Greetings Huskies!

Welcome to the second quarter of the school year! On behalf of our entire staff, I would like to thank all of you who attended our virtual parent-teacher conferences in October in order to have conversations with your student’s teachers. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of our teachers if you have any questions or concerns. All of the teachers’ emails and phone numbers are found on our Herget Middle School Website

I would like to remind you that free breakfast is available to those interested when students arrive at school at 8:25 am, Tuesday-Friday (9:20 am on late start Mondays) in the café. With the weather changing, we know many of our students like to wear hooded sweatshirts aka, “hoodies”; please let us know if your child needs a warm coat. We want our students to arrive at school dry and relatively warm, especially when standing at the bus stop.

I would like to acknowledge our awesome PTO that continues to plan a number of events for our students and staff this year. Our PTO is a group of parents who work closely with our school Administration Team and Teacher Rep, Mrs. Andrews to find ways to support student initiatives, achievements, and celebrations. Please reach out to our Herget PTO with any questions and how you can get involved!

Mark your calendars…American Education Week is November 14th-18th. American Education Week happens the week prior to the week of Thanksgiving in which we celebrate our public school community. We recognize and honor all those who work in our nation’s public schools and we are certainly appreciative of our Herget Staff for their dedication and the efforts they continuously give on a daily basis.

With the guidance of our Athletic Director, Mr. White, we have boys’ basketball, cheerleading, and wrestling in full swing. If you’re in the building, check out our refinished gym floor, and our new athletic board which features Husky Alum participating at the next level and supporting our students at a game or match. There is no fee to attend our sporting events and when concessions are available, we would love your support as funds go towards school celebrations.

Lastly, Save The Date! Another upcoming opportunity to support our students will be the Fall play, Happy Hollandaise, which is December 7th and December 8th at 7:00 p.m. and will be held in the cafetorium. There is a small admission price at the door…stay tuned for more information!

Respectfully,
Ms. Larry,
Principal-Herget Middle School

Hello Herget Families,

October brought the end of our first quarter, and grades were available to be seen in Home Access on Friday, October 21, 2022. If you are having trouble navigating Schoology or Home Access, please use the following link to our District Parent Portal to help you navigate those systems: https://www.sd129.org/parents/parent-portals

We also had the opportunity this past month to conference with parents during our virtual parent-teacher conferences. We hope you were able to participate in those at the beginning of the month.

We continue to be committed to creating a culture that demonstrates a clear…

Commitment to Learners

• Relationships are important and matter to creating environments where learners feel welcomed, safe, and connected.

Commitment to Dialogue

• High-quality dialogue enables learners to generate ideas and think more deeply leading to transferable learning

• Dialogue creates space for learners to expand and reinforce ideas that share and deepen their perspectives

• The learning environment and culture of each classroom encourage learners to make their thinking visible

• Planned dialogue opportunities are created and modeled to intentionally challenge student thinking and understanding

Important Information from West High regarding the Naviance system we use throughout the district and upcoming surveys and activities:

District 129 values and supports all students as they work their way to West Aurora High School and beyond. Our College, Career, and Life Readiness framework provides a blueprint to prepare middle and high school students for success after graduation. Naviance is a comprehensive post-secondary online program that enables students to discover strengths, interests and find their best-fit path after high school. Later this month, students will complete activities utilizing Naviance during their PE or Health class. We encourage students to log in and show families the various aspects of this important program.

How Student Login into Naviance

Dates, Events, and Information to put on your radar…

• No School - Non-attendance Day - 11/8/22

• Half Day - SIP Day - 11/11/22

• No School - Thanksgiving Break - 11/23. 11/25. 11/26

• 2ND Quarter Mid-Term (IPR)

• Mid-Term ends Friday, November 18th, 2022 (all assignments must be dated Nov. 18th or earlier).

• Mid-Term Grades are due Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022 by noon.

• Mid-Term Grades available to students via HAC on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022.

We are thrilled to announce the opening of our remodeled library!! We finally welcomed our students back after three weeks off due to renovations. The LMC is now equipped with four comfy areas, new tables and chairs, and new shelving! The students have loved utilizing the new space!

Thank you to all the families that supported our Fall Book Fair! We met our goal and are now in the process of filling our shelves with the new books we were able to purchase thanks to our profits. As a result of meeting our goal, we were able to give away over 60 books to students and staff whose names were pulled from our raffle box!

Rebecca Gal, the teen librarian at Messenger Public Library, came to visit our 6th-graders and a few 7th and 8th-grade classes. She shared the teen programs that are being offered and book talked about recommended books. We are so thankful for this partnership!!

Happy November!

We can hardly believe that the first quarter has come and gone. Here are a few things that have been happening in ELA this year. We continue to develop the curiosity, complexity, and joy of learning. The students have been engaging in meaningful dialogue about various vocabulary words, different writing styles, and different parts of speech. The students have really enjoyed the dialogue activities. We continue to learn and apply our vocabulary words in a variety of ways. We continue to work on grammar rules, and how to use the different parts of speech in our writing. Sixth grade will be working specifically on using different parts of speech in our Narrative Unit this quarter. As always, we like to remind the students that “Reading is like breathing in. Writing is like breathing out.”

Sixth grade and seventh grade will be reading various novels together over the 2nd quarter. Students will be discussing characterization as well as what we already learned about plot. All of our Language Arts students will continue developing their vocabulary skills and applying newly acquired vocabulary words in their writing.

Questioning is a skill that all of our ELA students have also been working on. We have discussed the difference between open and closed questions. We encourage students to ask open-ended questions that help drive conversation and lead to deeper understanding.

Please take a few minutes to share what you are reading and ask questions about what is happening in the book. Dialoguing with your student about their reading will encourage them to continue and make it a priority. It also is a great way to check in with what they are reading and make connections. Remember reading for pleasure is something that we want everyone to do. If you get a chance, sit down and read quietly with your student to show them that reading for fun is something we do even after we leave school.

Thanks for all your support, and effort to make this year as successful as possible. We look forward to continuing our work together!

The Herget Social Studies department continues to find ways to engage the curiosity, joy, and complexity of learning. As we begin Quarter 2, please take time to look over your student’s Quarter 1 report card grades with them. Take time to ask your students what they are proud of and what they will focus on for Quarter 2. Remind students that it is essential to check Schoology grades daily in each of their courses. Teachers will continue to update Schoology course pages on a regular basis. Most often the answers to your, or your students' questions can be found on our Schoology course page.

Routines that help your student to be successful:

1. Log into Schoology daily

2. Check each teacher’s course page for the daily agenda and upcoming assignments

3. Check the “Grades” tab on the left side of each course page

• Contact the teacher if you have questions

4. Check Inbox on Schoology

• Stay caught up on messages and tasks

We appreciate everything you do to help make sure that your child is successful!

Hi Herget Huskies!

The math department is working hard to continue to keep JOY as part of the math classroom each and every day.

• We, as teachers, are making sure we have developed strong relationships with our classes. Students feel comfortable sharing their thinking and are willing to take risks.

• Students know that mistakes are ok and can be valuable. Those mistakes allowing thinking to happen.

• They know they can persevere through the challenges that they are presented and never give up!

Before second quarter gets too far ahead of us, we would like your student to stay on top of the assignments they have for all classes, Here are a few recommendations that may help guide your student in the right direction.

Your student could:

• Reach out to his/her teacher if they have any questions or concerns about an assignment or assessment. This can be done in class or through Schoology. Communication is key!.

• Attend Homework Club. This is a fantastic opportunity to get some extra help on an assignment or just have a structured environment to complete their homework or project. Homework club is every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:45-4:30.

October has been a busy but greatly successful month for the Herget Choirs. First, we had a great first concert Thursday the 13th. If you missed it here is video, audio, and pictures of that concert.

On Wednesday the 26th the 7th and 8th grade choir participated in the West Aurora Middle School Choral Festival. This festival brings together all four middle school choirs and the High School A cappella Choir. They prepare 4 songs, experience what it is like to sing in a choir at West High and then show off their work by performing for the public that evening. Here is the unedited audio recording of that concert performance. Enjoy.

Looking ahead, the choirs continue to be very busy performing as the holiday season approaches. Performances would include: The 7th and 8th grade choir singing with the High School A cappella Choir at our Veteran’s Day assembly November 11th, the 5th Grade Honors Choir Festival here at Herget Saturday December 3rd, and the Herget Holiday concert Monday December 19th at 7:00PM. Many great things happening in choir!

Links for reference only:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11VlpatYdnE63rlsTxOVfOnUGYDE06ioZ?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kFhJOyqY-Ud4udV5mLtJ5exXvJa-njas/view?usp=sharing

7th and 8th Grade CTE students are finishing up woodworking project #2... the West Aurora logo! This project introduced students to power equipment as they learned to safely use the scroll saw. As the project progressed, their confidence and professional work habits grew. These projects are definitely something they can be proud of! Great job in the woodshop, Huskies!

Building Vocabulary

Vocabulary contributes greatly to a reader’s comprehension. Readers cannot understand a text without knowing what most of the words mean. Luckily for us, students learn the meaning of many words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language. However, learning and collecting other words to add to students’ speaking, listening, writing, and reading vocabularies requires careful instruction. Here’s what you can do at home to support and expand your students’ budding vocabularies:

• Engage your student in conversation every day, challenging yourself to use new and interesting words

• Read something you find interesting to your student each day, encouraging them to stop you and ask about any words that are unfamiliar

• Talk about the steps you normally take when you encounter an unknown word like using context clues, other words around the unknown word, or a STUDENT dictionary (I highly recommend learnersdictionary.com)

• Draw or search for pictures of unknown words so that your student can visualize their meaning

• Play vocabulary-based games like password, charades, Pictionary, Catch Phrase, Scattergories, Scrabble, Boggle, Bananagrams, Balderdash, Taboo, Last Word, Electronic A to Z (you can play or create free versions of almost all these games!)

• Be sure your student is reading independently EVERY DAY so that they can encounter and learn more words.

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Remember to have fun, be purposeful, and just keep the bottom line in mind: The more words a child knows, the more information that child has access to.

The winter season is in full swing! The first part of the winter season includes 6th-grade boys basketball, 7th-grade boys basketball, 8th-grade boys basketball, 6/7/8 wrestling, and 7/8 cheerleading. You can check out the game schedules for those sports at the athletic website, https://il.8to18.com/herget/home. The second half of the winter season starts in January and that includes 6th-grade girls basketball, 7th-grade girls basketball, 8th-grade girls basketball, and 7/8 poms. Go Huskies!

Our middle school students are busybodies; I am sure this is no shock to you. Between sixth grade and eighth grade you will see growth spurts; maybe even a new need for new glasses or some emotional sensitivity. These are all part of the changes that happen during middle school years. Here at Herget, we remind your student to eat breakfast, even if it is just a piece of fruit and a carton of milk can do wonders for his/ her busy body. Herget offers breakfast for any student; he or she can get off the bus and go to Herget's cafeteria for breakfast.

A Few Tips for Self-Carry “Prescribed Rescue Inhalers”

Asthma inhalers are lifesavers for those who need them. As you well know, middle school is the life event for body changes. Your child is growing and becoming aware of his or her body's responses. One of these body responses includes changes in response to medication. It is no surprise that some middle school children who might have had mild asthma as an infant are now in need of a “rescue inhaler”. A rescue inhaler is a metered dose of medication delivered through an oral pump. If you find that your child needs to carry a prescribed inhaler for immediate relief of asthma symptoms please allow us to help you by sending in a written note with your permission for him/her to carry the inhaler.

If your child has a diagnosis of asthma please submit a copy of his/her asthma action plan to the Herget health office. Teach your child to document the times he/she uses the inhaler in his/her assignment book or help him/her create an “asthma chart”. Ask your pharmacist to put a label on the inhaler and explain to your child that he/she should leave the pharmacy label on the actual inhaler.

Through the years we have found unlabeled misplaced precious inhalers that should have been in the pocket of a short-of-breath child. Remind your child never to share his/her medication. Inappropriate handling of self-medication in school could lead to consequences. Asthma is a serious life-threatening illness and with good management and proper preventative planning with a healthcare provider; your asthmatic child can have a safe and healthy school experience. Illinois, P.A. 99-0843, regarding Asthma law requires each district to request an Asthma Action Plan for all students with a diagnosis of asthma.

Regarding glasses, please don’t hesitate to call me if you need assistance in obtaining an eye exam for your student. You can leave a confidential message at 630-301-5243 – Elizabeth Silva RN-CSN

Email: hergethuskies@sd129.org
Website: https://herget.sd129.org/
Location: 1550 Deerpath Road, Aurora, IL, USA
Phone: (630) 301-5006
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HergetHuskies/
Twitter: @HergetSchool