HMS Quarterly Newsletter

Eli

The Newsletter Club has been a very enjoyable experience this year. I really enjoyed this year altogether, from dances, to projects, and much more, middle school is a whole new experience that I never thought that I would like. It’s been a blast helping create the Quarterly Newsletters this year, especially being able to help write all of the details of what has gone on throughout the year. I hope that you enjoy this newsletter as much as I did creating it, and have a great summer!

Dexter

I’ve had so much fun this year! Part of that is because I have joined the Newsletter Club. I have made so many new friends and the combination of dances, fun events, and great academics has really made this my year. Thank you everyone for reading all of the quarterly newsletters and have a great summer!

Seneca

Thank you so much for reading our Newsletter. This year has gone by very quick, but I have really enjoyed it from meeting new people, to learning a whole new language to all of the fun activities and dances HMS offered us. Being in the Newsletter club has been awesome and we hope you enjoy our last quarterly newsletter of this year! Have a great summer!

6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Dances

Students spent a "Night In Hollywood" for their grade level dances held at the high school. Fun was had by all students who attended! Thank you to the PTO for hosting these dances for us.

NJSLA Pep Rally

After working to prepare for the NJSLA, we kicked off NJSLA testing with a grade level pep rally! Students from each Tiger Team took part in relay games - so much fun!

District Show: SpongeBob Squarepants: the Musical

On May 19th, 20th, and 21st, over 100 students came together from every school in the district to perform the hilarious story of the SpongeBob musical. The next middle school production is going to be Descendants, the Musical and the next high school production will be Into the Woods. The 2024 district production will be announced in August.

Class Field Trips

6th grade: On May 24th and 25th, the 6th grade students had a blast getting in touch with nature during our trip to the Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood. First, students put their inner scientist to the test by completing a stream study analysis. Using small nets, students got their feet wet (literally!) by uncovering specimens under rocks and within the water. Students found caterpillars, crayfish, frogs and insect larvae. Second, students tested their survival skills by finding materials on the forest floor to use to ignite and maintain a palm sized fire.

7th grade: 7th graders took a trip to The Great Swamp, a wildlife refuge and outdoor education center. On their trip, students experienced first hand the ways of the pioneers and settlers. After a mini-lesson in the classroom, students went on a nature walk to learn about plants and animals native to the area.

8th grade: 8th grade students visited the Sterling Hill Mining Museum! Students were given a tour of old mines, learned about how miners worked, and scavenged for various types of rocks.

Spring Concert - May 30th

On Tuesday May 30th, our award winning Music Department presented their stunning Spring Music Concert to a crowd of 500 community members.

Path Poster Contest Winners

Port Authority and PATH hosted Hoboken Public School District's students and families in a spectacular event held at the PATH terminal. Our Top 25, Top 3, and Grand Prize WInning students all gathered, along with their families, to celebrate being chosen out of over 500 pieces of art!

5th Grade Visits

5th Grade Hoboken Elementary School students had the opportunity to visit Hoboken Middle School for their first official 6th Grade Orientation. Fifth Graders met with Hoboken Middle School Ambassadors, a select group of current middle school students from NJHS and Best Buddies, who were able to immerse these future Tigers into a true middle school experience.

Field Day

Students had a blast participating in many different outdoor activties! We also enjoyed a delicous barbeque!

Math

The 6th graders have learned a lot of math throughout the year. This past marking period they prepared for the last NJSLA of the year and put loads of effort into it. They worked a lot on analyzing histograms, box plots, and dot plots, and even made their own. Once they finished their topic 8 envision series, they dove into a big unit on mean, median, mode, and range. They learned the MAD (median absolute deviation), and the IQR (interquartile range) as well and mastered all these topics in a short period of time. These students have pushed themselves so far and displayed a lot of knowledge in the NJSLA. The 6th graders topped off the year with finding an understanding of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers.

Science

Our 6th graders had a blast in the last marking period! They first reviewed Newton’s laws of motion and took an assessment to measure how much they have learned this year. Then, they had an amazing lab for Newton’s laws to really test their knowledge. Next, students analyzed the question of how humans can reduce impact on the environment and watched the documentary: A Plastic Ocean which helped raise the students’ awareness of how they can reduce the amount of plastic they use and educate them on the effects of plastic. After sharpening their familiarity with this topic, our students focused on learning about many things that have a direct impact on the Earth’s atmosphere. To finally top of this amazing year, they read informational texts, articles, and watched videos to interpret various scientific terms, explain natural effects on Earth’s atmosphere, and explain human impacts!

Social Studies

Students worked very hard for Social Studies this marking period and showed what they have learned in the Literary Analysis Writing Task and also their Social Studies Diagnostic test to prove how much they have learned. They studied the Framers and all the challenges they faced on their journey of attempts to get the Constitution passed into the highest law. Next, they each picked an influential Jewish person for their Jewish Heritage Month Projects and wrote about their impact on the Jewish community and their lives. The 6th graders prepared for their end of year test to show their understanding of all the topics covered.

ELA

For ELA this marking period, students sharpened their skills to get prepared for next year! Our students finished their feature articles and peer read each other’s work. To prepare for NJSLA, they focused on their mastery of the author’s point of view, making connections to yourself, the world, or other texts, and citing textual evidence. After NJSLA, students entered the home-stretch of ELA. For the final project, students had a choice to complete an activity of their choice with any whole-class novel we have read this year. They chose from creating alternative endings or a thematic essay; as well as putting their creative artistic skills to work by creating a setting-based diorama or board game based on the novel. Thank you for such an amazing year!

Math

Our 7th grade students learned so many amazing things! The marking period began with students learning how to find the surface area of 3D figures. In addition, 7th grade students analyzed and described cross-sections of prisms, pyramids, and polyhedral. Later on, students were introduced to the formula for the volume of a right rectangular prism and solved many problems involving area, surface area, and volume. To prepare for NJSLA, students mastered topics such as: geometry, equivalent expressions, the constant of proportionality, probability, and inequalities. Students will be able to use all of this knowledge to soar in the upcoming years!

Science

In this marking period, students had a blast in science! Firstly, students used synthetic material to minimize waste and the overuse of natural resources. Students then explored the interactions between living and non-living things. Not only did they explore how energy is obtained by both plants and animals, but they also were able to determine how the energy is used by animals and plants to carry out their life processes. Next, our lovely 7th graders made lab observations with the regeneration of plant roots on pineapple plants, and compared traditional growth of seeds in soil to that of seeds in a hydroponic system. Students researched and presented their findings on the threats to biodiversity within ecosystems. To assess their classmates’ understanding of the topic their team presented, students were able to create an educational game to gather data. After NJSLA, the science classes were able to finish their Biodiversity presentations, and participate in an academic challenge Kahoot! created by their classmates. We ended the marking period reflecting in groups and sharing opinions on whether invasive species will be considered native species as long periods of time have passed.

Social Studies

In social studies, students worked in groups to research the culture, environmental issues, economies, and governments of the Andes and Pampas. Students were also able to recognize the dangers and benefits about changes to certain issues in this region today. They created propaganda posters aimed at persuading an audience to choose their side of the issue. To finish up the Andes and Pampas unit, students took a test regarding all of their knowledge and got amazing scores! For the new unit, students started learning all about Brazil. They worked in groups to discover the geography of Brazil including deep diving into the Amazon Rainforest and the different ecosystems it contains. To sharpen up their skills even more, students took a virtual field trip to the Amazon Rainforest, exploring each site on Google Earth, and watching short videos as they progressed on their trip. During NJSLA testing, our 7th graders were able to research famous Jewish Americans for Jewish American Heritage Month. Students then read more about Rio De Janeiro, the capital of Brazil.

ELA

In ELA, students had an amazing time! Students continued their reading of The Wednesday Wars, focusing on character development. They studied the characteristics of “flat” versus “round” characters and “static” versus “dynamic” characters. While reading “February” and “March,” students categorized major characters from the novel using the character types previously discussed. To increase their understanding of character development even more, students annotated texts for descriptive language, sensory detail, and changed words in order to identify the tone and mood in passages from The Wednesday Wars. Seventh graders practiced working through an unfamiliar text to determine emotion and meaning and also continued preparing for the NJSLA by focusing on specific reading and writing strategies. They focused on informational text structures, story elements, and strategies for defining unknown words. During NJSLA testing, students celebrated both Asian American Pacific Islander Month and Jewish Heritage Month by reading a series of short stories. Thank you seventh graders for such a wonderful year!

Pre-Ap Algebra

Students had an amazing time this marking period! Students focused on learning different ways to solve quadratic equations and figuring out the best option to solve the question given. Additionally, students took an IXL Diagnostic Assessment to see the progress they’ve made throughout the school year! Students wrapped up explorations with quadratics and seeing how these functions compare to exponential functions and started to solve quadratic problems in context. They used these skills to address how these problems might look on the NJSLA. Students continued by exploring geometric patterns in exponential relationships, and applied problems to familiar and less familiar circumstances. Wrapping off the year, students looked at how cubic functions could be factored as an x factor and two binomial factors so that they could find the x intercepts for cubic functions and considered operations with irrational numbers to determine when these operations might result in rational numbers. Students are glad to finish up the school year and use their newfound knowledge in upcoming years!

Pre-Algebra

Students in Pre-Algebra sure learned a lot this marking period! Students started discussing Unit 6: Congruence and Similarity. Students discussed the concepts of translation and reflection where students noticed how when looking at a mirror it reflects you, which can also be applied to reflecting figures on a coordinate plane. Additionally, students worked with their peers to translate figures on a coordinate plane and started learning about rotations and dilations. From this, students were able to finish learning about transformations and completed problems on dilations and rotations. Students also completed practice problems for the NJSLA, which went back to the fundamentals of long division and multiplication with double and triple digits! They were also able to compare three-dimensional figures to two-dimensional figures, while also looking at the differences between them to identify the difference in area between these figures. Students then completed problems utilizing the correct formulas to answer each question, and then also answered questions regarding the volume of three-dimensional figures.

Science

Students sure went through many topics this marking period in science! Students continued their Human Impacts topic, playing a game representing the relationship between consumers and producers to create a line graph to illustrate the relationship, and even analyzed data from an island with an overpopulated amount of deers and how it was regulated by wolves! Students completed their last Monthly Writing Task and differentiated non-renewable and renewable sources through a simulation. In addition, students completed a WebQuest analyzing deforestation data. Students then continued their exploration of natural resources and completed a virtual lab where students recorded expense and energy output data and were tasked to determine the optimal conditions for each energy source, including the price and efficiency of each one. Students even completed a mini group research problem where each group chose a region and resource to gather data. Furthermore, students researched how the human population and the per-capita consumption of their resource has changed in their region over the years and researched how their resource is obtained and processed, including the effects it has on the environment. Students completed an open-note quiz on natural resources, and worked with a simulation to determine the causes of the moon phase, how the moon affects Earth, and what it is like on the moon. Starting to close out the marking period, students completed a hands-on activity to model solar and lunar eclipses, and talked about the planets in our solar system.

Social Studies

Social Studies this marking period covered many interesting topics! Students learned about the history and culture of the city of Samarqand, which is a city located on Silk Road. In addition, students examined how the location of the city made it a trade center and what things they produced. We also analyzed accounts of a Chine traveler and a Spaniard, while comparing and contrasting the descriptions of each traveler based on the time period. Students continued to explore more of Central Asia and the Caucasus, and even drafted a script for a tourist advertisement for the city of Samarqand by putting together slideshows. Students learned about Central Asia as it stands today and recorded important information as they read on a graphic organizer and examined the geography of South Asia and its mountain ranges. Students then dove into the history of South Asia and the wars, invasions, and conquests that occurred in the region. Students then wrote a short journal entry as if they were a traveler in South Asia and wrote about their experiences.

Pre-AP World History

During the 4th marking period, students were introduced to Ancient Greek and Hellenistic States of the classical period. Students examined the impact of people such as Alexander the Great during and after his role in Greece, specifically focusing on the role he played into spreading Greek influence into other cultures. During this unit, we learned about Greek politics, philosophy, and culture. Students read an excerpt from Plato and watched a video explaining how the Greek people viewed the world. Another aspect that students investigated was the influence of Greek architecture all over the world. In regards to the Roman Empire, students examined the economy, it’s effect on powerful leaders, and the Roman Empire’s advancements in technology. Additionally, students synthesized information from multiple sources and formulated a claim and thesis statement using information from the units.

ELA

During the 4th marking period, 8th grade ELA students read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a novella highlighting themes of relationships and the American Dream. Students analyzed each chapter, focusing on theme, character relationships, and conflict while reading and discussing the tale of Lennie and George. Students completed and published an argumentative essay piece. Additionally, students continued to work through 8th grade vocabulary words, taking quizzes of lists 6 and 7. To prepare for NJSLA, students practiced standard skills on theme, citing text evidence, analyzing characters, and identifying cause and effect. In May, we celebrated both AANHPI and Jewish Heritage Month by completing research based projects. To finish the school year, 8th grade students read Night by Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust memoir. Students then put their own memior skills to use by writing an original memoir highlighting an important memory.

French

Here in our last marking period, students concluded the year by learning so many new things! 6th graders worked towards their goal of mastering a new topic of vocabulary by involving different specialized leisure activities. They learned how to conjugate their first irregular verb, préférer, and used it to write about their preferred leisure activities. 7th and 8th graders learned how to conjugate verbs ending in -ir which is especially troublesome because of the irregular spelling. Students then showed their learning by completing a quiz on the topics learned. Next, 6th graders learned how to say and write supplies in French.They identified items in the classroom and discussed the cultural differences between the US and France as it pertains to the teaching of handwriting in schools. 7th and 8th graders then prepared for their test on Units 5B & C by identifying important vocabulary and grammar points through various review games. Afterwards, 6th graders learned how to count from twenty to one hundred in French. We spent time breaking down the logic of how numbers work in French, and even diagrammed some math problems! In 7th and 8th grade, we took a break from a long week of testing to focus on vocabulary involving much anticipated summer!

Spanish

For this marking period in Spanish, grade 6 students discussed everything about student exchange programs in spanish-speaking countries. Grades 7-8 students explored the new structure of Dominican families and how the higher cost of living has affected the lifestyle and customs in this country. They then discussed how the instruments used in merengue and Bachata reflect the influence of European Taino, and African cultures. Throughout the week, Grade 6 students took a break after a long week of testing by practicing their reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills by spending time completing lessons on Duolingo. Grades 7-8 students continued discussing about music genres from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. They enjoyed learning about “La Plena”, “La Bomba”, Salsa and Reggaeton. After the week of testing, 6th grade students discussed why celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month is so important for Latinos, and Mexico’s independence day. Students sharpened their listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills and reviewed different expressions used in a comic strip. Grades 7-8 students reviewed their reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills by spending time completing lessons using Duolingo and Wordwall websites. We are so proud of everyone!

Mandarin

In Mandarin, 6th graders began the marking period by continuing to learn about animals and learning new adjectives. Students used what they learned to describe their pets and their ideal pet. 7th and 8th grade students learned about weather and used brushes to draw pandas. We’re so happy to see our students shine!

This marking period, students participated in volleyball, speedball and basketball!

Strings/ Pre-AP Music/ Band

The Music Department had a fantastic last marking period, filled with exciting performances, trips, and competitions! Band students performed at the Trills & Thrills competition at Six Flags Great Adventure, receiving a rating of “Excellent,” while the choir earned the first “Superior” in school history! In their first ever appearance at Hudson County Teen Arts, HHS String students won a Judge's award, and the graduating 8th grade string students are thrilled to join that ensemble next year! Students have consistently engaged in sight reading new repertoire in solo, duet, trio, and ensemble arrangements, challenging each of them to grow their musicianship skills. As academic musicians, our Pre-AP students analyzed their repertoire and determined ways to interpret it expressively. They also wrote their first composition using the web-based software “Chrome Music Lab” creating a musical manifestation of a narrative they developed.Our band, choir, and string students worked hard since January to prepare music for our May 30th concert. The band performed “Mission Impossible” from the famous movie franchise, “Dark Ride” a concert band piece based on the narrative of a creepy adventure through the woods, and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” the epic 80s song by New Jersey native Jon Bon Jovi. The chorus performed an a capella-style version of the Backstreet Boys classic “I Want it That Way” and the lyrical Lewis Capaldi song, “Before You Go.” String students performed the traditional folk song “Ashokan Farewell” as well as the Guns ‘n’ Roses hit “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” Bravo to these dedicated students on a fantastic year!

Visual Arts

In Pre-AP Visual Arts, students completed final projects for the school year! Students wrote 3 pararaph statements about a meaningful art project from the marking period to summarize their experience of the course.

Creative Writing

This marking period students focused on creating dialogue and including figurative language in their writing. Using pictures with a sentence starter students created a complete story from a variety of genres.

Pre-AP Dance

In Pre-AP Dance this marking period 6th graders went through their introduction to movement with concepts covering various aspects of performance and interpretative dance. Anchor works were interpreted, analyzed, and discussed in order to better understand the how and why of movement. They ended each concept segment with a product created by themselves. In grades 7th and 8th students explored the genres of Ballet and Hip Hop with an intense look at histories, famous compositions, and where each genre is today. They learned and practiced key movements from each, and are ending their marking period with combining genres and fusion dance which takes into account their own dance experiences.

Pre-AP Theater

Marking Period 4 in Pre-AP theater was a blast! The warm-up game “Director in House” once again proved to be a favorite across all grade levels. Sixth graders explored the world of West Side Story viewing it primarily through the lens of a director. Seventh and Eighth graders used Peter and the Starcatcher as their primary source material for reference when devising their own performances of classic myths. Mr. Benson is very glad to have finished out the year with such fantastic groups of students and is looking forward to exploring commedia dell’arte with students next year.

March

6th Grade: Katelyn Mariniello

7th Grade: Asher Cooke

8th Grade & Overall: Angelina River

April

6th Grade: Mahki Miles

7th Grade: Amelie Cademartori

8th Grade & Overall: Emerson Bliske-Villavicencio

May

6th Grade: Nicholas Kogan

7th Grade & Overall: Vincent Decock

8th Grade: Olivia Loeb

June

6th Grade & Overall: Saira Bindra

7th Grade: Neva Gold

8th Grade: Ayden D'Sa

Newsletter

We started and polished off our last marking period newsletter of the year! We hope you enjoy!

Yearbook

The yearbook club is proud to announce that they have finished the 2022-2023 HMS yearbook and have sent it to the printers!

Academic Team

The Academic Team prepared for their National Social Studies League meet and continued to work on academic skills. We received results from all of our competitions from this year and were awarded the following:

• 6th Grade Team: 3rd Place in National Geography Challenge

• 7th Grade Team: 2nd Place in National Current Events League & 2nd Place in National Geography Challenge

• 8th Grade Team: 3rd Place in National Current Events League

• Amelie Cademartori: 2nd Place in National Current Events League; 1st Place (tied) in National Geography Challenge

• Harrison Green: 1st Place in National Social Studies League; 3nd Place in National Current Events League; 1st Place (tied) in National Geography Challenge

Best Buddies

Best Buddies led 5th grade friends around the building and got them ready for their first year at HMS. Best Buddies also participated in a Friendship walk.

Student Council

Student Council rounded off their year organizing the 6th, 7th and 8th grade dances to celebrate a great year at HMS and say goodbye to our 8th graders who will be heading off to high school.

Literary Club

The Literary Club curated a list of YA books and created bookmarks with quotes from authors.

As well as spending some time outside reading and enjoying some ice cream.

National Junior Honor Society

The Pulchra Varietate Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society will be inducting our new members on June 15th. Our outgoing 8th graders will be leading the induction ceremony and ushering in the next class. Congratulations to all!

Junior Thespians

This final semester of Junior Thespians was an enriching one. Despite many members missing several days due to frequent rehearsals in preparation for the district-wide musical SpongeBob we were still able to accomplish so much. Activities ranged from a variety of improvisation games to mirroring and pantomime. One day was dedicated to a gauntlet of collaborative ensemble based brain teasers while other days included multiple rounds of the role-identification game Werewolf. Students who participate in Junior Thespians next year can expect to hit the ground running as we prepare for the STANJ competition.

Band

Our 7th and 8th graders prepared for their festival and traveled to Summit, NJ to compete against some of the best middle school bands in Northern NJ. Our band received a rating of “Excellent” from the judges!

GSA

GSA planned for Pride Month and designed special pride T-shirts for their club! The GSA club attended the pride flag raising event in celebration of pride month!

Spring Passport Activities:

Streetwear Startup

Intro to Swimming

Rock Climbing

Pickleball

Chef It Up

NJSLA Prep

Cheerleading

Sailing

Rock Climbing

Archery

Pickleball

Jiu Jitsu

Skateboarding