The Middle Seat

January 14, 2026

Student Expectation Assemblies

Mrs. Boytim and Mr. Henry held grade-level expectation assemblies last week. We highlighted student successes and set goals for the students for the 3rd quarter. Overall, we are proud of the growth our students have made throughout the year.

While at the assembly, Mr. Henry reiterated two very important items to the students:

What you say matters, especially if what you are saying involves hurting others or yourself.
It is important to report incidents where classmates are talking about hurting others or themselves to a trusted adult right away.

The slides from our student expectation assembly are included here.

Parents, if your child reports to you that a classmate is talking about causing harm to other students or themselves, please relay that information to Mrs. Boytim, Mr. Henry, and/or law enforcement.

Friday Fun Day: Jan 16 New Year’s Ball Drop Raffle

On Friday, we will have a New Year’s Ball Drop Raffle for Friday Fun Day. Each period, we will draw one name from each grade, and that person will win fabulous prizes. If you purchased a Fun Day pass at the beginning of the year, then you are automatically entered in each drawing. If you did not purchase a Fun Day pass, you can pay $2 to the Main Office by the start of school on Friday morning to have your name in the hat for all 10 drawings.

Group Picture Day

Group Picture Day is on Jan 23. Different student groups will be called to the gym throughout the day to get their picture for the yearbook.

2nd Semester Hornet Store Volunteer Sign Up

The Hornet Store is in need of some parent volunteers for the second semester. You can sign up here Hornet Store Volunteers

Reasons to Celebrate

There are many reasons to celebrate in life; sometimes for our achievements and sometimes just because life says that we should. Honor Roll Certificates for the 2nd quarter were emailed yesterday. A few lucky 8th graders received Honor Roll Certificates without meeting the 3.7 GPA requirement (oops). Great job to all of our students

Perfect attendance certificates for the second quarter will be emailed out later this week.

College Credit Plus Meeting

Highland High School’s Counseling Department will host a College Credit Plus (CCP) Informational Session on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 6:45 in the high school auditorium. At this session, participants will learn about current application deadlines, course offerings on campus, and have the opportunity to speak with local colleges. This informational session is intended to be a Q&A session provided to parents and students after they have reviewed the CCP Annual Information Session virtually.

For a full overview of College Credit Plus, please review this 30 minute video in advance. This comprehensive video explains the program, rules/regulations, benefits and drawbacks, and both financial and academic impacts for students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufs3Yr5Y4U4

Students & parents may submit questions in advance of the info session to Carolyn Colbow, high school counselor, at 330-239-1901 x5212 or ccolbow@highlandschools.org. For extra information, here is the HHS CCP website: https://sites.google.com/highlandschools.org/hms-counseling/hhs-home/ccp-college-credit-plus.

8th Grade News and Notes

Washington DC: Parents, great job completing all of the items to have your child ready to attend the DC trip. The deadline for the trip payment/insurance is Monday, 1/19.

Students started forming hotel groups (groups of 4) this week. Next week, the students will begin to align with chaperones.

Freshman Scheduling: Scheduling for the students' freshman year of high school will start Feb 12. High school counselors will be at HMS on 2/12 and 2/13 to meet with 8th graders and provide them with the options and requirements for scheduling. They will return to schedule students on 2/19 and 2/20.

The HHS counselors will hold a parent meeting on Feb 12 at 6 PM in the West Gym at HMS regarding what to expect in the freshman year and the scheduling requirements.

MCCC: 8th graders will visit the Medina County Career Center for a tour on 3/4 and 3/5. A permission slip will be sent home along with high school scheduling information.

HMS PTO 2026-2027

The HMS PTO is looking for a treasure for next school year. If you are interested, please contact Mr. Henry or one of the PTO Board members.

December Students of the Month: Empowered

Madelyn Wintermute, Paige Stachowicz, Carter Kase, Jacob Prediy, Smith Lott, Mikey Fourmann, Luke Heiland

Save the Date

Jan 14 6:45 CCP Meeting at Highland High School Auditorium

Jan 16 Friday Fun Day: New Year’s Ball Drop Raffle

Jan 23 Group Picture Day

Jan 27 6:30 - 8:30 HMS PTO Skate Night at Brunswick Skate Station

Feb 9-13 HMS PTO Book Fair and HMS Honor Society Canned Food Drive

Feb 12-13 8th-grade student and parent meetings with high school counselors.

Feb 12 Parent Teacher Conferences

Mar. 4-5 8th-grade field trip to the Medina County Career Center

Food Resources

Here are two websites that give local food resources to families:

Feeding Medina County - https://feedingmedinacounty.org/
Highland Community Support Network - https://highlandcsn.org/

7th Grade Health and Medical Detectives

Violence Prevention Curriculum information - Health Chapter 7 Materials

Athletic Physical Form

Students wishing to participate in a school 7th or 8th grade sport must have a physical form completed to begin practice.

2025-2026 Physical Form

Lunch Menu

Breakfast (Middle and High) and lunch will still be available to all students; however, they will not be free to all students. This means that families will need to complete the Free and Reduced-price Family Application in Final Forms to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Students who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals must pay full price for breakfast and lunch.

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