Covering the week of 12/15 - 12/19
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In this Edition
A Message from Dr. Clapp
Classroom Peeks
Happenings
Community Clicks!
Get Involved!
Upcoming Events
The Mohr You Know
From the Principal
Dear HKMS Families,
One of the quintessential experiences that defines middle school is our 8th grade council toy drive. Last week YOU donated over 500 toys to the council, which they wrapped and delivered to students at the Curiale School in Bridgeport. Not only do they get to play "Santa", but they played games, made crafts, and read stories with these young students who come from a less privileged background. This event becomes a core memory of middle school often deemed "my favorite experience in middle school" by our alumni. They remember the joy they brought to these youngsters, but also the conditions from which they come. A new found appreciation for "how good we have it" is often the sentiment from our returning students. Check out the Happenings section for pictures of the trip and quotes written by our 8th graders about their experience.
This week we "peek" into classes to see students learning about cloud formations in 6th grade, navigating a Silk Road Simulation in 7th grade, and 8th graders debating the concept of "freedom" and where it comes from. In our FPA classes the pickleball tournament has crowned new champions, the band is editing Beethoven's 9th as they prepare for our January Concerts, our artists are using oil pastels to make lovely holiday artwork, and so much more!
Don't miss this week's The Mohr You Know segment, which includes a recommendation on an important gift you can give your kids this time of year (and all year round). You can find that segment at the very end of this newsletter following our upcoming events.
Speaking of upcoming gifts, next week is a short but fun one. Tuesday the 23rd will be an early dismissal, letting students out at 11:50 a.m. For this short day we are bringing back the "HKMS Color Wars." Students will be divided into color teams, with students competing on multi-grade-level teams across a variety of activities like; volleyball, door decorating, an academic race, and many others. At the end of the day points will be totaled to crown a 2025-26 HKMS Color Wars Champion.
Wishing you a wonderful first weekend of winter!
Sincerely,
Steve Clapp, Ed.D.
Principal
Dear Students,
Please take good care of your Chromebook over our Holiday Recess. Below are a few simple steps to be sure your device is ready for the New Year!
Charge up your Chromebook to ~80%
Unplug it and store it in a safe place (we recommend your school backpack).
Make sure you fully power off your device before storing it!
Here is a a simple tutorial to watch if you'd prefer!
Thank you!
-ER9 Technology Crew
Classroom Peeks
Grade 6
Our young scientists are using text annotation strategies to dissect the cause & effect conditions that allow clouds to form. Students then conducted a short experiment with hot water and ice packs to demonstrate how those cloud ice crystals form, taking notes about what they observe along the way.
Last year the Easton Learning Foundation (ELF) awarded a grant to our Library Media Specialist Allison Gale to bring Book Breaks to HKMS. Book Breaks are author talks, recorded live and archived for future viewing. This week, 6th grade students viewed and interacted with the Gordon Korman Book Break, filmed just last week. Mr. Korman has penned over 30 young-adult books, all of which are on the Keller shelves. He wrote his first book when he was in 7th-grade as part of his language arts class. Students took notes, answered questions, discussed implications of his books, and decided whether they'd like to read one of them. Thanks to Mrs. Gale who lead the learning on this informative author talk and to ELF for always supporting innovative learning approaches!
Grade 7
Our social scientists are exploring the Silk Road (the routes from far Eastern China to Europe) in this interactive simulation. Along the way students will strategize on route risks, opportunities, and obstacles that traders face along this trade corridor. This will help them better understand how cultural diffusion has impacted modern societies.
These mathematicians are solving and graphing one-step inequalities. Guess what comes next? Yup, multi-step inequalities!
Grade 8
Our eldest French speakers are improvising a trip on a plane, using only the target language. This is very sophisticated use of the language as they must apply their vocabulary knowledge to different scenarios without a script.
Q: What is freedom, and where does it come from?
Our 8th grade historians are struggling to answer this essential question, so Mr. D designed a Socratic Seminar to help students grapple with it. Rooted in the Socratic method of inquiry, a Socratic Seminar empowers students to ask questions, listen actively, and build shared meaning, moving beyond simple recall to deeper analysis and intellectual growth.
FPA
While creating some seasonable art, Mrs. G helps students develop their art techniques for blending oil pastels!
Musical blasphemy is going on in Mr. Dolecki's band classes as he is asking the students to revise (even improve?) the dynamics of Beethoven's 9th Symphony!
The concert in January will feature an "improved" version of this renowned symphony.
HKMS Happenings
8th Grade Student Leadership Toy Drive Trip!
The 8th grade Toy Drive Delivery trip to the Curial School in Bridgeport is always a highlight of the 8th grade year, and this year was one of the best ever! With over 500 gifts, our 8th graders got to know, work with and play Santa to hundreds of less privileged children. Below are some images and quotes from our 8th graders about the tip.
"The toy drive today was an absolutely incredible experience. After seeing the kids at the Curiale school, I am very grateful for the life that I am blessed to live. I felt like I was truly doing something to help, and it made me feel good. I just wish I could give a gift to every child in the world, and do something that could really make someone happy. Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces, getting hugs from them, and even playing with them in PE was a very memorable experience. I really got something out of this trip today, and I feel better about life."
"One fun story I had from today is when me, Anna, Enza, Frankie, Selia, Mackenzie convinced all the kids that we were elves from the north pole and Mr. Fearn is Santa. They all looked so happy when we gave out gifts and said that they would save them because that's the only gift they will get, the teacher had to explain that Santa was coming early to make them feel better about not getting a gift on Christmas."
"Once I gave the kids their presents they opened them and all had exaggerated gasps. One kid got 2 gifts and he chose to keep one for his sibling at home. I gave a kid a present and she said Santa didn't come last year. While we were taking her gift out of the box she told us to be very careful. It was the only gift she was getting this year."
"We gave out all the toys, and they were all so happy and excited. They put them in their bags and were all so happy to get the gifts. I also heard a story from one of my friends who had first graders and she said that kids told her that Santa didn't come last year and he won't come this year. I want to help more people because of these stories I have heard today."
"A moment that really stood out to me was the joy of all the students when we read a story book and handed out gifts. The whole class was smiling and having a good time. Also the craft after was very fun."
"My favorite moment was when we were handing out the gifts. The teacher was telling all of the kids to not open their presents, but they were so excited that they were peeling the wrapping paper off to get sneak peaks. Some kids' presents were already half open because of a bad wrapping, which made them laugh. Overall this was an amazing experience, and there are many more stories to tell."
"My favorite memory was when we were about to leave. They were really sad and they were hugging me really tight and they didn't want us to go. That was really sad and my most memorable moment during the trip."
"There was this one kid that didn't want a present and seemed sad and I tried to talk to him but he wouldn't say anything."
"Most of the boys were really happy and grateful for what they got and were playing with their toys the whole time. One boy even asked me to play with him with his cars and we were playing for a long time together. It was so adorable."
"This is not one of the nice stories where the kid told me a really sad story, or someone started crying from joy. First, one of the kids had a six seven hat which was pretty cool. Second, when I was about to hand out the gifts, a kid started jumping on me trying to snatch a box. Then, two of the kids were trading gifts back and forth until one of them decided they wanted both gifts. There were tears. Another girl decided she wanted a barbie doll instead of the bracelet making kit she originally got. There were also tears. Another kid decided that she didn't want her present after playing with it. There were A LOT of tears. Phoebe attempted to a gentle parent that kid. Spoiler alert, it did not work. That was my experience."
"We went to a 4th grade class. When we first got to the class we helped them make stockings for people in the nursing home. After we brought them the presents, they were convinced that we were elves in disguise and that Mr. Fearn was Santa in disguise. When we had to go they decided that we were gonna be pen pals! So they are going to send letters to the school directed to us and we are going to send them back!"
"A girl got a barbie doll and she stared at it for like 5 minutes probably thinking something like "is this mine" then she went around to everyone and showed them her new Barbie doll. She was just so happy to get something that most of us took for granted when we were younger."
"During my trip to the toy drive the part that stood out to me the most was when I overheard the two teachers talking. They were talking about a really nice and giggly kid named Ethan and how he came to school smelling like cigarettes and smoke because his guardians, his mom and grandma, both smoke and he gets caught in it before school. Ethan is in kindergarten. This made me realize how different peoples' lives are in just a short distance."
#THANK YOU EASTON PTO!
The annual PTO fundraiser raised enough to purchase a new foosball table (the blue one) and a new picnic table for our patio. These amenities are so well used by our students and add a great screen-free indoor play time for those energetic middle school bodies and minds. Without the PTO's support these fun playtime activities would not exist!
Holiday Sing-Along at the ECC!
A wonderful annual tradition continues as our 8th grade Chorus students went to the ECC's Playtots program for a concert and singalong!
The HKMS School Climate Advisory Board
This week our school climate advisory board met to review the data from the student school climate survey administered in November. The group also took time to learn about the appreciative inquiry method for data analysis and enhaced their connections with team building activities.
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
Get Involved
SEPTA!
Easton's Special Education Parent Teacher Association
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, December 24 – 2 pm – Sensory Friendly Christmas Eve service at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Weston – 285 Lyons Plains Road Weston
Tuesday, January 6th – 8 pm SEPTA Meeting - https://bakerlaw.zoom.us/j/93682028947?pwd=I6SCBsqR92238EL85Zvp4zcnGTu7rB.1
Community Clicks
Upcoming Events
As parents we are flooded with info, advice, scientific studies and a mountain of information that can make our heads spin. Each week Mrs. Mohr will weed through the deluge of info for you and share a helpful resource or tool.
As parents we are flooded with info, advice, scientific studies and a mountain of information that can make our heads spin. Each week Mrs. Mohr will weed through the deluge of info for you and share a helpful resource or tool.
Dear All,
'Tis the season for giving. If you are struggling to come up with gift ideas for your children, I have a suggestion for you. Give them the GIFT OF BOREDOM! When they whine that they are bored, you can let them know how fantastic that is!! Whenever my kids utter the phrase, "I'm bored!", I provide them with an article to read about the power of boredom and the advantages it will give them in life. You can image how quickly the whining stops when the alternative is reading neuroscience articles from their mom! Check out the info below to see why boredom is such a gift.
Happy Gifting!
:) Annie
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