Covering the week of 11/24 - 11/26
Embedded Files
A Message from Dr. Clapp
Gratitude Peeks
Gratitude Happenings
Be Grateful!
Be Thankful!
Upcoming Events
Dear HKMS Families,
This week we feature a special "gratitude edition" of the HKMS family newsletter. Instead of focusing on all the students are learning or what the staff is teaching, we are sharing something more important, what we are all grateful for. Expressing gratitude is not just a nice thing to do around the holidays (it is), but gratitude is a core energy reproducing practice that binds families, friends, and communities together. Gratitude boosts happiness and physical health by triggering the brain to release "feel-good" neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. It can also strengthen neural pathways to improve mood, increase resilience to stress, and reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Practicing gratitude has been linked to benefits such as improved sleep, better heart health, reduced anxiety and depression, and stronger social connections...and it's FREE!
This week Mrs. Mohr and I sought out students and staff to tell or show us what they were grateful and thankful for this holiday season and we've replaced our classroom peeks section with pictures of our Gratitude Assembly, our Gratitude Activities, our annual band trip to Playtots Preschool and (of course) Pajama day!
One piece of official administration business. Today, Trimester 1 (T1) closed. We are officially 1/3 of the way through the 2025-26 school year! T2 starts on Monday. Teachers will be finalizing grades next week and we will open up report cards to you on Monday 12/8. We will send out notification when the portal is open for access to the report cards.
The entire main office staff, including Mrs. Mohr and Ms. Pollock, extend our deepest gratitude to you. Educating middle-schoolers is a partnership that must be founded on mutual trust. We are thankful every day for the confidence you place in us and for the respectful way you engage with our team. HKMS is a wonderful community for working, learning, and growing, all because of the strong relationships we have built together. Parenting is a nearly impossible challenge, and raising your children right is your most important job. Thank you for taking this task so seriously; please keep up the great work! :)
Hoping you and your family have an amazing Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season!
Sincerely,
Steve Clapp, Ed.D.
Principal
HKMS is grateful for....
The Gratitude Assembly!
Lean on Me.MOVLean On Me performed by Raisin' Helen
Sweet Home Helen Keller.MOVSweet Home Helen Keller performed by Raisin' Helen
Thankful Statements.MOVGratitude Statements by Students & Staff of HKMS
Opalite.MOVOpalite performed by Raisin' Helen
Gratitude Activities
PJ Day
A Thanksgiving Band Trip to Playtots Preschool
A group of 8th grade band students joined the ECC Playtots Preschool Thanksgiving celebration. They played some fun sing-along songs and even did the Turkey Trot Dance!!
Can you believe it?!?!
This year will be the 50th Annual Pancake Breakfast at HKMS!!!
The 8th grade class council is hard at work preparing for this beloved event. Please mark your calendars so you don't miss this heart-warming and delicious experience!!!!
Extra Help at HKMS
Extra Help at HKMS
“Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.” -Brené Brown
We are so proud of students when they seek out extra help, especially on their own. To help support our middle students all teachers offer extra help time before or after school. See the doc linked in this section to see all teachers' extra help schedules.
Extracurricular Clubs and Activities!
This Gantt Chart shows our extracurricular timeline for the school year. If the month is colored in (i.e., not white) the activity is running that month. The color of the cell represents a day of the week and time. For example, Volleyball in dark yellow runs Wednesdays from January - March from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. The musical is the most unique activity as it will be running from November - February in some combination of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (depending on rehearsal group). Which is why the musical cells are a gradient of orange, yellow, and green. All current clubs and activities also have a flyer below this chart with more details about time, location, and advisor.
Dear HKMS parents,
I have the pleasure of leading the Homework Club this year. It’s held every Thursday for an hour right after school. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Timothy Vale, School Counselor
Registration is open for the 2026 HKMS Ski Club run by the PTO. Join your friends on three after-school Friday trips to Mohawk Mountain. Get all the details and registration links at eastonctpto.com/ski-club
SEPTA!
Easton's Special Education Parent Teacher Association
A message from SEPTA President Jill Madeo
Happy November! Wanted to remind everyone about our Burn Bootcamp Adaptive Family Workout that we are hosting this Saturday, November 8th at 10:45, generously donated by Ffld’s Burn Bootcamp and taught by one of our very own paraeducators! Open to all families, just please RSVP to eastonctsepta@gmail.com.
Also, we’re VERY grateful to be partnering with SPED NET – an amazing group led by parents out of Wilton. They offer a TREMENDOUS amount of resources on their website for parents of kids with special education needs and also offer INCREDIBLE educational programs for parents. All are FREE (just require RSVPs for certain programs). Attached are pdfs on a few of the upcoming programs, also including links below to the upcoming dates, as well as our BBC event AND a sensory friendly performance of the Nutcracker at the Quick Center in Fairfield!
Saturday, November 8 – 10:45 am – Adaptive Family Workout at Burn Bootcamp in Fairfield – 1939 Black Rock Turnpike Ffld
Monday, November 10 – 10:30 am Calm First, Learn Later at Wilton Library 137 Old Ridgefield Road Wilton
Wednesday, November 12 – 11 am - Holiday Harmony:Helping Kids Thrive During Gatherings and Routine Changes
Monday November 17 – 10:30 am - Strength in Stories: Parenting Neurodivergent Children - at Wilton Library 137 Old Ridgefield Road Wilton
Tuesday, December 2 – 8 pm – Easton CT SEPTA Meeting (via zoom)
Monday December 8 – 10:30 am - Executive Function Skills Your Teens Need Before Graduating from High School at Wilton Library 137 Old Ridgefield Road Wilton
Sunday December 14 – 1 pm – Sensory Friendly Nutcracker at the Quick Center in Fairfield
NO STRESS, JUST CHEER! JBHS PTO is here to make your holidays simple, festive & fun!
Outdoor porch arrangements for your home or a friend's
Mini-Poinsettia gifts (with optional gift card)
delivered to teachers & staff at any Easton or Redding school!
Open to everyone in the ER9 community — parents, neighbors, alumni, and friends!
References for the Opening Letter
Allensworth, E., Moore, P., & Stevens, W. D. (2018). The predictive power of student attendance data in Chicago Public Schools. UChicago Consortium on School Research.
Ansari, A., & Pianta, R. C. (2019). Child attendance in elementary school and the achievement gap: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(3), 488–502.
Ansari, A., Purtell, K. M., & Gershoff, E. T. (2020). The long-term effects of childhood absence from school. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 69, 101131.
Applied Survey Research. (2011, July 15). Attendance in early elementary grades. https://www.attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ASR-Mini-Report-Attendance-Readiness-and-Third-Grade-Outcomes-7-8-11.pdf
Balfanz, R., & Byrnes, V. (2012). The importance of being in school: A report on absenteeism in the nation's public schools. Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Organization of Schools.
Cohn, E., & Johnson, C. (2006). Incidence and impact of student absenteeism in an urban school district. The Journal of Negro Education, 75(2), 170–179.
De La Torre, M., Allensworth, E. M., & Stevens, W. D. (2018). The predictive power of student attendance data in Chicago Public Schools. Consortium on Chicago School Research.
Gottfried, M. A. (2014). Absent peers? The effect of student absenteeism on peers' academic achievement. The Elementary School Journal, 114(4), 494–516.
Musser, E. (2021). Peer effects of chronic absenteeism in the elementary grades: The importance of context and measurement. American Educational Research Journal, 58(5), 903–936.
Neild, R. C., & Balfanz, R. (2005). From grade eight on: A final analysis of student enrollment, movement, and dropout trajectories. The Consortium on Student Retention Data Exchange Journal, 9(1), 1S–78S.
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