Post on 02-Aug-2020
Parent Newsletter October 5, 2018 Dear HMS Families, I have really enjoyed this past week at our school, as I dedicated a tremendous amount of time to observe, participate, and engage in classroom activities with teachers and students. On Tuesday, I utilized our new mobile desk for the very first time this school year.
I started my day on Tuesday by visiting Mrs. DeLeo’s Computer Applications class. We learned about how computers worked, and played “Kahoot.” I enjoyed it so much, that I returned to Mrs. DeLeo’s class again today to play Kahoot along with SRO Keith Perry. Also on Tuesday I visited Ms. Skodras and Mr. Pellegrino in the gym, where students were playing wiffle ball. I even saw a homerun! I visited Mrs. Thivierge’s 6th grade ELA class, where students were learning about the use of suspense in writing, and I even took the opportunity to share a story of my own. In Mr. Durand’s class I examined some African artifacts with students, some of which were authentic and brought in by one of the children from the class. I also spent some time traveling and speaking with students and staff in the hallway….
In Mrs. Handfield’s class, students were engaged in an interactive notebook activity using Google Classroom. I spent time observing Dr. Shurtleff’s 7th grade ELA class, where students were reading The Pig Man aloud, and taking two-‐column notes. In Mrs. Dumas’ room, students were working on preparing for a research assignment in a co-‐taught class that was supported with Ms. Damiani. I stumbled upon Mr. LaFond’s science Super Core class in the hallway, preparing for an upcoming activity. In Mrs. Turner’s class, students were using Google Classroom in preparation for a writing assignment for the novel, The Phantom Tollbooth. I returned to Mrs. Turner’s co-‐taught class that includes Mrs. Hindle on the next day, and participated in discussion about people and their influence in our lives. This related to who influences the character Milo in the story. Students were also engaged in discussion about other characters from The Phantom Tollbooth, and worked on their note-‐taking strategies during that time. In addition to visiting classes, I spent time in the cafeteria, chatting with students and teachers, and enjoyed some chicken nuggets as well! On top of all that, I have been very busy meeting with teachers as they set their Student Learning and Professional Practice Goals for the school year. I feel blessed to work with such a dynamic, hard-‐working, creative group of people on a daily basis. On Tuesday, October 9th, I will be meeting with the 8th grade class to present the itinerary and logistics of the DC Trip to them. I will follow that up with a meeting for parents on October 24th at 6 pm in the cafeteria. On Thursday, October 18th, I will be offering a Pizza with the Principal session for parents at 6 pm in the cafeteria. I will present some information regarding curriculum, instruction, assessment, and school-‐wide data. Ms. Bouchard will be on hand to discuss school culture and safety. We will also open it up to questions and answers, and hope to receive feedback from parents and guardians as well. I am proud to announce that on Friday, November 2nd, we will be hosting administrators from Massachusetts and from across New England at our school. As a NELMS Spotlight School, Ms. Bouchard and I have the opportunity to showcase our school, and present best practices to others. We consider this quite an honor! Have a wonderful Columbus Day Weekend! If you have not accessed the parent portal in order to view your child’s Term 1 Progress Report, we ask that you please do so. Information in regard to this can be found at the end of this newsletter. Feel free to contact your child’s teachers or guidance counselor with any questions. Dr. Whalen
Hello Hurley Families, On Thursday this week I spent the day visiting many classrooms as well as participating in activities while navigating my way through the building with the mobile desk! I decorated the desk with our core values of The Warrior Way, as well as sending a message to always choose kind. Our core value Be Kind is one in which we will reinforce this month as it National Bullying Prevention Month. Ms. Balasco advises the Bullying Prevention Poster Club which has already begun, and we will also come together in a school-‐wide pledge to choose kind. Stay tuned! See pictures below from my mobile desk experience, and all the great things that happen at HMS on a daily basis!
Mr. Durand’s class discussing the reign of Mansa Musa. Density stacks w/ Mrs. Downing
8th graders in art drawing from observation! Sara Grace explaining expectation in Mrs. Kenney’s class.
Mrs. Yttredahl’s class discussing Charlemagne. 7th graders in Mrs. Reilly’s class working with microscopes.
Mrs. Cipoletti’s students working dilgently.
Mr. Mare’s class practicing their cuneiform.
Mrs. Ditrolio’s 8th graders working on slope and y-‐intercept.
Have a great long weekend, Ms. Bouchard
Gray Team
ELA:-This week we had fun doing a cool anticipation guide prior to reading Poe’s “The Black Cat.” Students were instructed to find facts about black cats vs. myths. We uncovered some startling information. Students were eager to begin reading the story now that they know so much about black cats. Science: Now that we know what defines life, we spent time looking at life through a microscope. The students were able to identify simple parts of cells and compare how the different types of cell look from each other. The students will explore in more detail bacteria and its effects (both positive and negative) on Earth when completing a webquest. Next week: comparing unicellular vs multicellular and plant vs animal cells. Math: This week we challenged ourselves to add and subtract signed fractions and mixed numbers. We combined our knowledge from last year on fractions with the integer rules we learned this year. Students will have their first math test of the year at the end of next week.
Gray Team September Spotlights! Congratulations to the following students for achieving Gray Team’s
coveted Spotlight Award!! Students were chosed unanimously by all four of their Core teachers for their attitude, effort, academic success, and for being
role models to others! They will be honored with a mid-year pizza party with their parents!
Perry Biggs
Pierce Donnelly Samantha Hamilton
Caleb Helgerson Seamus Kane
Maeve McNamara Jayde Moniz
October 18th 6 pm
HMS Cafeteria
BAND NEWS 10/5
GREAT JOB by all 6th grade clarinet students at the after school extra help. You will be hearing them practicing “going over the break” at home. Some students tried the Bass Clarinet too. Special thank you to 8th grade assistants Lauren Corbett and Sophia Wilcox for helping out! Teacher assistant Emily King worked with French Horns. GREAT JOB everyone. NEXT week (10/10) is after school help for 6th grade percussion. We will work on rolls, rudiments and timpani. Slips have been sent home. After school help is from 2:40-3:30. Late busses are available. Our first HMS BAND PARENT MEETING is this Wednesday, Oct. 10th from 6:00-7:00 PM in the band room. All are welcome to come and see what the group is all about. NEXT JAZZ REHEARSAL is Tuesday Oct. 9th at 7:15 AM. Remember to drop your child off at the “farm” door, to the right of the school. WELCOME Connor Terrien on Tenor Sax. Glad to have you join us! Please return the signed Jazz Band Contract. Thank you A few reminders for 6th grade students: ALL instruments belong in the CLOSET after class. Please do not leave them in the middle of the band room. Make sure your name is on the case and your folder/book. Builders Club Update
Thank you very much to all of the families who have donated socks! We will be collecting them for another week. Our donation will accompany news shoes, along with a handmade card to needy children in the area. Since October 8th is a holiday, the next Builders Club meeting will be held on Monday, October 15th after school in the art room. Mrs. Farrow & Mrs. Kenney Advisors
Computer Applications News from Mrs. DeLeo Grade 6: Students have been working on the “How Computers Work” unit for the past 2 weeks. This week they turned in a take home quiz and we reviewed in class using @Kahoot! and Quizlet (which is linked to their Google Classroom). Last week I recommended they read over their notes every night for 5-‐10 minutes to help retain all this mostly new info. They have videos linked to their GClassroom that will also help them study. A135 students will take their test on Tuesday, 10/9 and A246 & D246 students will have theirs on Wednesday, 10/10. Please remind your child to spend focused time studying for this test (it is the most difficult one they will have in this class this semester). Grade 7: Classes have spent the week writing scripts for the topics they chose that mean a lot to tweens/young teens for their PSA projects. Next we will be finishing storyboards, learning about camera shots & angles, then shooting their video projects. Plenty of time is given during the class to do all of this so they should not have to do this at home unless they choose to! We will share a link to their videos once they are produced and posted! Grade 8: We have spent a lot of time learning about news – what makes it relevant, trustworthy sites, types of news, and now we are on to real vs. fake. We also started building their digital portfolios using Google Sites. This project will be worked on throughout the semester (requiring time out of the classroom to complete it as well). It will be graded in place of a final exam and worth 200 points at the end of the semester. As always, students may stay after school on Mondays or Wednesdays to work on this. October Means Breast Cancer Awareness AND Honor for all Cancer
Patients
Here we are in October already. For me, that means sharing my story and promoting breast cancer awareness. Students and staff will be donating money to “build a wall” but ours is of honor and hope, HMS’ Wall of Hope. Pink honor cards will be sold at all lunches for .50 each to line the wall outside of the lunch room. We will also be selling pencils with multi-‐colored ribbons to honor victims and survivors of all cancers for .50 each. All proceeds will be donated to the American
Cancer Society. Our annual PINK OUT DAY will be October 26th, the students always look forward to this as we turn HMS pink! 8th graders will once again take a class photo in the shape of pink ribbon – so, Grade 8 – go all out with the pink!
October 26th
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
HEALTH OFFICE The following mandated annual screening will be starting for all students that are having PE class.
6th – scoliosis 7th – scoliosis, vision/hearing, height/weight 8th – scoliosis
Inform the nurse if you do not want your chilld screened. If you have any questions about any of the annual screenings please contact the nurse
Please inform the school nurse via email, phone call, or note about any illness that is contagious so I can monitor for any increases in specific illness.
If your child has a fever or has vomited please keep your child home for the 24 hour free( no vomiting or fever) period.
Thank you !
Physical Education News… Ms. Skodras & Mr. Pellegrino
Net Games
6th grade -‐ Pickleball Pickleball is similar to tennis and ping-‐pong! The ball must bounce once and players have one shot to return it over the net. We will discuss the history and practice some skills such as the forehand and backhand shots. We will also set up a video projector to watch and analyze a regulation pickleball singles/doubles match.
7th grade -‐ Badminton We will discuss the history and set a video projector to watch and analyze an Olympic badminton singles and doubles match. Students will learn and practice the forehand/backhand/clear shots, and underhand serve.
8th grade -‐ Volleyball We will set up a video projector and watch an indoor and beach volleyball game to analyze the game play and differences. Students will have the opportunity to track different objects in the air and “keep it up” working on adjusting to the objects and communicating with each other. Students will learn the bump, set, spike, and serve. We will also discuss the history of volleyball and game concepts.
Health Education News! 6th Grade: Students have moved on to the subject of Puberty. I must say, they are all handling it well and we are actually having some fun learning it! :) As I mentioned in the memo I sent home earlier this semester, we will be discussing the physical changes as well as social and emotional changes. At the end of this topic, students will be able to: o Identify the male and female reproductive systems o Identify the physical, emotional, social and developmental changes that occur during puberty o Identify how to care for menstrual period (females only…this will be done in a private class separate from the boys) MA Frameworks Standards covered: o Sexuality and Reproduction (4.1, 4.2, 4.5) o Growth & Development (1.9) National Health Education Standards: o Standard #1: Core Concepts o Standard #7: Self-Management 7th Grade: Students are continuing with our Mental Health unit. We are finishing the topic of Body Image and Eating Disorders. Students will be reviewing for a quiz on October 15th or 16th, depending on when their class meets. I have posted a Quizlet in their Google Classrooms to help them prepare. I will post the quiz dates in the Google Classroom and the Portal. In this unit, students will be able to:
Students will be able to: • Identify and describe the experience of different feelings and how feeling affect daily functioning • Identify healthy ways to express emotions • Identify positive ways to guild self-esteem • Explain what stress IS o Identify positive ways of dealing with stress o Identify the long-term damage of chronic stress • Identify ways to de-escalate their anger • Demonstrate stress management skills at school and at home. MA Frameworks Standards covered: o Growth & Development (1.8)
o Mental Health (5.8, 5.8, 5.11, 5.16, 5.17, 5.19) o Violence Prevention (11.2) National Health Education Standards:
o Standard #1: Core Concepts o Standard #5: Decision Making o Standard #7: Self-Management 8th Grade: Students are continuing to learn about communicable diseases, those that are spread from person to another person, animal or object. We have already covered many diseases that are spread and we are currently learning about the immune system and how it prevents us from getting sick. Students will have their first homework assignment given to them today and will be due on Wednesday. In this unit students will be able to:
o Describe how the body fights germs o Apply the skills to prevent & control the spread of
disease o Explain how the immune system functions to prevent
and combat disease o Identify positive behaviors that reduce the risk of
communicable and noncommunicable diseases o Explain the prevention and control of communicable and noncommuicable
disease MA Frameworks Standards covered:
o Disease Prevention & Control (8.1, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7, 8.13, 8.14, 8.19) National Health Education Standards:
o Standard #1: Core Concepts o Standard #5; Decision Making o Standard #7: Self-Management o Standard #8: Advocacy
Personal Development News We have been learning some strategies for note-taking. Some students identified in their needs assessment at the beginning of the semester that they needed help in this skill area. We will continue with study skills next week. I cannot stress enough that students need to come to class prepared with their PDL Folders and AGENDA. MOST IMPORTANTLY, students need to fill out their agendas daily. I periodically check their agendas and some students are not using the strategies given to them. Using their agenda is essential in helping students with homework completion and preparing for assessments in their classes. As always, if you have any concerns or questions regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Student progress reports have been uploaded to the portal. Parents’ who have not created their Plus Portal Account must activate their account in order to view their child’s progress report and report cards. Activation emails have been emailed home to the main email address on file. If parents have not received an activation email please contact your guidance counselor. Below please find the helpful screen shots and links on activation and the Plus Portal.
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Guidance News
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6- https://www.rediker.com/solutions/student-information-system/plus-portals