Parent Bulletin
3
HKMS
January
23, 2008
1.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE FOR GRADE 6 Parents:
There is a mandatory meeting of all grade 6 parents is TONIGHT, Thursday,
January 24 at 7 PM in the HKMS auditorium to go over Nature’s Classroom
Trip details.
2.
Your
child will bring home a mid term progress report this
Friday. Please sign one
copy and return it to school with your child.
3.
There have
been some concerns raised about the change in criteria for High Honors
designation calculated at the end of the first term for students in grades
5 - 8. After discussion with the our MS transition committee and our team
leaders last year, the decision was made to raise the bar from an A- to an A
average for High Honors. The Honors criteria remain unchanged. This change
was included in our parent/student agenda book but was not highlighted in any
additional publications prior to the end of the first term. It is
important that we address any concerns parents may raise prior to the completion
of the next term. Therefore, I have scheduled a meeting for February 14
at 6:30 PM in the main office conference room prior to our monthly PTO
meeting. If you are unable to attend that meeting, please feel free to
email me any questions or concerns so that it can be part of the record of our
discussion. I will also add it to the agenda of our January team
leaders meeting so that we can review our current award system and make
recommendations as necessary.
4.
Congratulations to our
school wide winner of the geography bee was Hayden Accola, grade 7. The
geography bee was taped by our HKMS TV crew and will be forwarded to TV news 17
for airing on the educational access - channel 18. We are now gearing up
for our Spelling Bee scheduled for Tuesday, January 29.
5.
Congratulations to our
Connecticut Art Education Association winners. These students placed in a
state wide juried contest. Their art work will be on display at a
·
Mary Morton,
Gr 8–Honorable Mention (Mixed Media) and Gold Award
(Painting)
·
Patrick
Dougherty, Gr 7 – Gold Award (Painting)
·
Allie
Peplau, Gr 8 – Honorable Mention (Painting)
·
Jasmine
Toppin, Gr 7 – Silver Award (Painting)
6.
Congratulations to those
students who auditioned and qualified to participate in the All Southern Music
Festival the first weekend in February. They
are:
·
Celine
Coleman, Grade 8 – Mallets for Band
·
Jack
Marriot, Grade 8 – Trumpet for Orchestra
·
Emma
Soneson, Grade 8 – Clarinet/Viola for Band or
Orchestra
·
Austin
Boulay, Grade 8 – Chorus
·
Gunnar
Soneson, Grade 6 – Alto Sax for Band
·
James
Spineti, Grade 6 – Guitar for Jazz Band
7.
We will be
mailing home invitations for specific students to attend our After School CMT
Academy today. We are targeting those students who just missed mastery
(level 4) on last year ‘s 2007 CMT in math, reading or writing. The
academy will be held from 2:55 to 4:10 three days a week beginning next Tuesday
(1/29). Parents who receive invitations are asked to return the permission
slip by next Monday.
8.
As you may
have read in our superintendent’s weekly message, our transportation system is
struggling with the resignation of four bus drivers. Please realize that
this may mean afternoon bus route changes and last minute rescheduling of
athletic events.
9.
Starting in
February, Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc., will be
running three after school groups for our students at our MS:
·
The first
group will be held on Monday’s from 2:45-4:15pm beginning on February 4t
for 7th and 8th graders. This club will focus
on working together, team building and social skills development. Theatre will
be the main component to achieve these goals. Students will create, write and
star in short group skits by the end of the eight week session to be performed
for family, friends and peers.
·
The second
group for 7th and 8th graders is Great Initiatives
Volunteering Everywhere (GIVE), which will be held on Thursday’s from 2:45-4:15
beginning February 14th. This group is for students who have a
passion for helping others and for community service. Field trips may be
taken to local organizations to volunteer.
·
A homework/transition club
for students who are in grades 5 & 6. The group will meet every
Thursday after school. The club starts on February 14 and will run until April
3, 2008 from 2:50pm to 4:15pm. Students will have
a chance to do their homework, enjoy a snack, and have the opportunity to
discuss the transition from elementary school to middle school. This
will be done in a quiet and safe environment where students will have the
chance to share their joys and challenges of middle school. Also students will
be given tools to help them better succeed and have fun in middle school.
For more information or
if you would like to register your child for any of these after-school
clubs, please call Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc at
860-345-7498.
10. Winter clubs
will be organized after
11. A reminder from our traffic guards
on Rte 81 to those parents picking up or dropping students off:
·
Don't talk on cell phones
·
Keep speed to 5 mph
·
Give right of way to buses
·
Always use signals at main
entrance
·
Use headlights in rain, snow and
especially fog
12. Students are
taking mid year assessments this week after homeroom each morning. The
short answer questions are scored by content teachers who do not have the
student in class. The scores of these grade level tests will appear on the
next report card.
·
Tuesday
1/22: Writing Prompt
·
Wednesday
1/23: Mathematics
·
Thursday
1/24: Social Studies
·
Friday 1/25:
Science
Mim
Miriam Furey -
Wagner
Principal,
860-663-1241
Mim
Miriam Furey -
Wagner
Principal,
860-663-1241