Talon Talk

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! Classes, sports, and clubs are in full swing and it's exciting to see all the students hard at work and off to a great start. My name is Kyle Stoecklein (pronounced StAckline) and I am so excited to be at Holden Middle School. This year we had class meetings for each grade level that I covered different procedures to help make our day run smoothly. I would like to take this opportunity to make sure parents were aware of:

1. Attendance is critical to student success. The adults in this building work diligently to make school a welcoming, supportive environment for learning. We want to see students coming to school and enjoying what has been prepared for them.
2. One dress code item that everyone should be aware of is that we do not allow hats in the building. I always tell students they can keep their hats in one of three places during the day: in their locker, in the office, or at home. Another dress code item is the rule regarding tops. Clothing that leaves large areas of the body exposed such as bare backs, midriffs, muscle shirts, halter tops, and spaghetti straps are not permitted. Garments must be of sufficient length to cover midriffs during normal school activities such as sitting, bending, and reaching.
3. Our cell phone policy is that students should turn off and put away their devices while at school. Parents will be contacted after the second offense for this rule.
4. Students are not allowed to consume energy drinks or highly caffeinated drinks during the school day. Any drink containers must have a secure lid that is not at the risk of spilling. We also ask that students do not eat in the classrooms or hallways unless a staff member has given them permission.

Thank you for supporting Holden Middle School and partnering with us to make this a great school year. We will have our first school dance in October, more information to come on that. Go Eagles!

September Character Trait: Respect

Things are starting off in a positive way in our Advisory classes. Because mental health is such a concern with adolescents across the nation, we are using research and evidence based data to teach ways to improve self-esteem, confidence, and overall mental health. Your students will regularly be doing mindfulness lessons. Mindfulness is quite simply slowing down your mind and reaction and learning to pay full attention to the present moment, your physical reaction, and emotions. It helps with impulsivity, sadness, anger, and regulation of big emotions that adolescents have. Science also shows that practicing gratitude is impactful on positive mental health and resilience. Students started gratitude journals in September during Advisory. Each day, they have a prompt that they will respond with something they can be grateful for in that category. This is their own private response and never needs to be shared with anyone at school.

Each month, our district teaches a positive character trait HMS teaches specifically what that trait “looks like”, “sounds like”, and “feels like to us and others”. This month’s trait is RESPECT. We’ve had some good lessons and discussions on these topics and we hope to strengthen our students’ mental health better equipping them to deal with challenges throughout life.

Soar is our daily intervention time that students work on closing any gaps they may have in their learning in the areas of math and reading. At the beginning of the year, students took an iReady diagnostic test in order to determine what their current level is in these areas. We appreciate the support of our parents when it comes to testing at school. Reminders about how important it is to do their best on tests so that teachers get an accurate picture of what students need help with are always helpful. If you have any questions about our Soar time or would like to receive your student's diagnostic results, please contact Amy Fennewald at afennewald@holdenschools.org.

Meet our 6th grade team! Pictured (left to right): Mrs. Howard (ELA), Mrs. Cobb (Math), Ms. Verbrugge (Science), Mr. Orton (Social Studies)

Together they have 17.5 years of teaching experience and degrees from Three Rivers Community College, University of Central Missouri, Truman State University, Southeast Missouri State University, and Western Governor's University. When asked who is better, Spiderman or Batman, the unanimous winner was Spiderman!

Dear Holden Middle School Families,

Welcome back! We are excited for you to join us in our fun, upcoming calendar of events this year.

The PTSO (Parent, Teacher, Student Organization), is about parents, students and teachers coming together to help enrich the lives of our students. The PTSO's primary goal is to ensure that each student in our school has the opportunity to receive educational tools that will enhance their learning experience. Each year the PTO hosts fundraisers and after school events that generate the funds necessary to pay for these items. Let us remember that we are a group of parents that are working together for a common goal, to let our young eagles remember and cherish their school years! So please remember, it's only $5 to join us, and with your sponsorship, you will receive a Sonic Community Card with over $24 in savings. You can sign up via the online sponsorship form and we will send the Sonic card home with your student.

https://forms.gle/dWfGkfr6jL87QokZ8

We encourage all parents to help in any way, whether it’s chairing an event, helping with donations, volunteering your time or an idea! We hope to see new faces in the future and thank you for your support of the Holden PTSO.

In addition to these fundraisers, the PTSO host several after school events throughout each school year that that allow students and their friends to come together for an evening of fun and fellowship:

Kids Night

BINGO Night

The following are the in-school events that the PTSO sponsors each school year:

Beef Stick Fall Fundraiser

Halloween Candy Grams

Restaurant Sponsored Fundraisers:

Sonic, 2nd Street Bistro, Andale Amigo and Key Coffee

Vendor Shopping Fundraisers

Christmas Store

Lucky Grams

Teacher Appreciation Week

Events will be posted on the school website under the PTSO tab as well as our Facebook Page.

"Like" us on Facebook @ HoldenMiddleSchoolPTSO.

By your contribution to the PTSO, you are helping to enrich the minds of our eagles.

For any questions, please contact us at HoldenMiddleSchoolPTSO@gmail.com

Thank you for the ongoing support of your Holden Middle School PTSO,

President - Jill Carver

Vice President – Jackie Hunnicutt

Secretary – Melissa Haggard

Recording Secretary – Cassi Page

Treasurer – Stacey Stringer

Each grade level team and the exploratory team pick their student of the week based on who they feel has exhibited the character trait of the month. We are so proud of the wonderful citizens we have at HMS!

Week of 8/28-9/1: 6th Grade- Liam Taylor; 7th Grade- Lily Ferguson; 8th Grade- Bella Totta; Explo- Fred Barnes

Dear Parents of current 7th-8th graders,

I am very excited to announce that I will be leading a group of students and parents on an educational tour to Washington D.C. on June 25th-28th, 2025. Information will be sent home with your student today!

Join us on: Monday, September 18 at 6:30pm via Livestream for a short informational meeting where each traveler will be eligible for an Early Bird Scholarship of $500!

To RSVP, click here: https://rsvp.worldclassrooms.com/rsvp/8321320364?rsvp_id=8321320364

To join the meeting, simply click this link: https://schooltrip.us/HoldenMO25

Check out this awesome video and see for yourself why we're so excited about this opportunity, and click here for additional information on the meeting, itinerary, scholarship and more!

I hope you are as excited about this opportunity as I am!
Mrs. Brewington

(816) 732 - 4125

301 Eagle Drive

Holden, MO