Dear HKMS Families,

We are officially ⅙ of the way through the school year! I hope you have had a chance to check out your child(ren)’s grades on PowerSchool this week.  If not, this weekend is a perfect time to check in and make sure everything is as expected.  The trimester closes on November 29th, so it's a good idea to check in on grades occasionally, especially as the next month progresses.  As always, the teachers are the best source if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions. 

Yesterday, 19 parents joined the PTO presidents, Mrs. Mohr, and me for an engaging and very therapeutic conversation about adolescent brain development. Not only is the science very interesting, but the common experiences shared among all of us were reassuring.  When one mom asked, “Why does my daughter ask me to stop yelling at her when I have never raised my voice?” We could all empathize as having been there.  Over-emoting, dramatization, and increased sensitivity are all typical characteristics of early adolescents.  Slowing the conversation down, taking deep breaths, listening for the underlying story, and empathizing (without “solving”) are all good strategies for deescalating these intense moments.  My favorite takeaway from the article we read and our discussion is how wonderful and important these middle school years truly are in the course of human development.  Besides birth to three, eleven-to-fourteen-year-olds grow more than at any other point in their life.  With that expansion comes amazing learning, skill development, and lots of adult emotions, which are tricky to get a handle on.  Try to remember this is all normal, even if it seems like your child has been abducted by hormones! 

Having successfully crushed our PTO fundraising with more the $7,000 in total raised, we are shifting gears to the ELF Innovative Learning Spaces fundraiser.  While the goal is much loftier ($30K), the time frame is extended, and will have several opportunities this fall, winter, and spring to get involved.  This Saturday is a perfect opportunity! The ELF Harvest Party will be on Saturday night, complete with food, drinks, and live music, and for only $50!  Sounds like a great date night or family night out! All proceeds go to the HKMS Innovative Spaces cause.  See the flyer below in “happenings.”  I hope to see you all there!

This five-day week (the first in a while), was full of terrific learning, inspirational lessons, and huge effort put in by our students and teachers.  Be sure to check out the classroom peeks section featuring 8th-graders experimenting with kinetic and potential energy, 7th-graders conferring with Mrs. Rose about writing an appropriate secondary-level introduction, and 6th-graders studying the expected human population growth in the coming century!  The happenings section has so many great pictures of our first advisory lesson, where everyone had a great time connecting with each other, the parent coffee, the student council officer speeches, and Halloween guidelines!  We are also starting a new section “From the HKMS archives” which will feature stores, artifacts, and legends connected with the history of our school.   

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Steven Clapp, Ed.D.

Principal

Helen Keller Middle School

360 Sport Hill Rd, Easton, CT 06612

(203) 268-8651

sclapp@er9.org  

Find your strength, build upon it, and share it!

Halloween is quickly approaching. It is fun to recognize the spirit of the day, but we want to ensure that the costumes do not impact students’ abilities to focus and learn in school.  Dressing up is optional, but, if your child would like to dress up on Monday 10/31, please work with them to ensure that the following guidelines are met.

1. The school dress code guidelines still apply.  Student dress must be appropriate and in line with our dress code reflected in the HKMS Student Handbook (p. 13).

2. Students wishing to participate by wearing a costume must arrive at school dressed in their costumes.  Students are not to change into costumes or apply hair products at school.  

3. Students are NOT permitted to wear “over the head” masks or other full-head coverings.   This includes, but is not limited to traditional Halloween masks, hats, hoods, wigs, etc. Protective face masks for COVID-19 can still be worn.

4. If a student's costume compromises their safety or the safety of others, they will be asked to contact home for a change of clothes. 

5. Students are NOT permitted to have weapons (or toys simulating weapons) as part of their costumes. 

6. Students are NOT permitted to wear face paint.

7. Students are NOT permitted to have any additional hand-held props to go along with their costumes.

8. Student costumes should NOT be overly graphic, suggestive, or depict violence, blood, or gore.

9. Costumes should NOT restrict movement or vision, or participation in normal activities.

10. Students are NOT permitted to wear inflatable costumes.  

Halloween here at Keller will be festive, but it will still be a normal school day; we will be following a normal class schedule.  We hope to enjoy good laughs with lots of learning, too!  Thank you for your support in ensuring that Halloween is a “magical” experience for all here at HKMS.  

A semi-regular section featuring stores, artifacts, and legends connected with Helen Keller Middle School.