Camping

The majority of our 6th Graders will go camping on Sept 27 and 28.  Students should arrive at school like normal.  At 7:30 they will get organized and load the busses to go to Camp Wanake.  Campers should have shown their parents this information over the weekend - Camp Update

The buses will return at 6:00 PM. Parents will meet their children in the West Gym. There will be football and volleyball games going on at HMS at the same time. Please park in a parking spot and enter the front or back of the building to proceed to the West Gym. You will pick your child up there.  We will have a home football game on Wednesday and a home volleyball game on Thursday.  If you get here early, stop in to cheer on the HMS Hornets!!

Those 6th graders not going to camp will have alternative activities at HMS.

Picture Retake Day

Picture Retake Day will be Oct. 4  This will be our last picture day.  If you did not get your picture taken on Aug. 15, then you will be photographed on Oct. 4 for the yearbook.  Pictures will start at 7:40 am and should be completed by 9:00.  Forms are available in the office or online at lifetouch.com using Picture ID: EVT4TXTQV

Parent Teacher Conferences

The first Parent Teacher Conference will be held on October 11 from 4:00 - 7:30.  Parents may sign up for a time at the link below.  This link is a video that gives an overview of how to sign up for a conference - SIGN UP VIDEO.  This video was made a few years ago so disregard the dates and all conferences will be held in person, not zoom.

Sign Up for a Conference

Click HERE to sign up for a parent-teacher conference.

Sign up for Parent Teacher Conference Dinner

The HMS PTO generously provides a dinner for the teachers prior to Parent-Teacher conferences.  Check back to see if they need donations for Oct. 11.

DC Parent Information Meeting

An informational meeting for parents about the Washington DC trip will be held on parent-teacher conference night. The same meeting will be held at 3 different times.

Oct 11 at 4:00, 5:30, and 7:00 in the HMS Media Center

Tech Toolkit for Families and Guardians

Are you unfamiliar with the Google Suite of products your child uses at school?  This will give you a good overview of the common classroom learning tools.

Google for Education

Parent Drop Off

Congratulations drop-off drivers!  You are doing well.  On Sept 7 more than 100 cars dropped off between 7:12 and 7:21.

“My locker is jammed”

99.9% of the time a student's locker is not “jammed.”  All students are able to get into their lockers.  However, performing their locker combination with precision while talking to a friend still needs some work. If your child is having trouble, ask them to focus on the task at hand.  You do have to stop right on the numbers of your combination to get it to open - close isn't close enough.

Put Your Name On It

Our lost and found averages 2 sweatshirts, 3 lunch boxes, and 4 water bottles per day.  It is a lot easier to return to the owner if their name is on it. 

Are There Any Positive Effects of Social Media on Teen Mental Health?

Article

LifeAct - 7th Graders

LifeAct is coming to Highland Middle School to present a two-day suicide prevention curriculum to 7th grade students who are currently in Health class on October 9th and 10th.  You can read more information about the program HERE. LifeAct will return to HMS on February 20th and 21st to present to students who have Health class second semester. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Britney Raies (School Counselor) at braies@highlandschools.org. 

PTO 

No Sell Fundraiser - In lieu of having student's sell items, the HMS PTO asks parents to send in a donation to the HMS Office marked "PTO No Sell Fundraiser."

Chipotle Dine-to-Donate - A portion of the proceeds between 4 PM and 8 PM on Oct 18 will support the HMS PTO.  You can order online or in the store using code: FAAY9JF.  This is for the Chipotle at 3070 Medina Road.

Hornet Buck Store

Highland Middle School is going to continue to celebrate and reward positive student behaviors in our school throughout the 2023-2024 school year. As part of our Positive Behavior Intervention Supports, we have a "Hornet Store" that will be filled with student favorites. Last year we put out a survey to our students to find out what they preferred as rewards when they show their PRIDE in our NEST. In true middle school fashion, the students shared a variety of tangibles they would like to earn for being the best students they can be. 

HOW IT WORKS: Students earn Hornet Cash for demonstrating positive behaviors throughout the school. Students can earn Hornet Cash anywhere at school when they exhibit positive behaviors (in the classroom, cafeteria, hallways, on the bus, etc.). These Hornet Bucks can then be used in the Hornet Store for items of their choice. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: We need YOUR help making the Hornet Store something truly special for our middle school students. We want to thank those parents that contributed last year, and we are looking for contributions this year to have the store stocked in preparation for the start of the school year. Please see the Amazon Idea List for some items we are looking for. You can drop off any donations to the Middle School on Move-In Day (August 15th) or to the Middle School Office any time before school starts. Please label any items "Hornet Store". We greatly appreciate your contributions so we can reward Highland Middle School students for their positive behaviors!

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.

• Breakfast (Middle and High): $2.50

• Lunch (Middle and High): $3.50; Deluxe Lunch: $3.95

• Extra Milk: $0.65

Questions? Please contact the Highland Food Service Department at 330-239-1901, ext. 5512 or email emakarek@highlandschools.org.

PTO News

PTO Meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of each month at 9:00AM.  The next meeting is Sept 13

Morgan Domokos, President

Kristi Peterson, Vice President

Shara Blagrave, Secretary

Shannon Stiggins, Treasurer

Committee Chairs

Hospitality - Open

Supply Sale - Jessica Gaydos

Activities - Open

PTO Website  https://www.highlandschools.org/2/Content2/76

Highland Middle School PTO is on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/HighlandMiddleSchoolPTO/

Email: highlandmspto@gmail.com