Week of 2/3 - 2/7
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A Message from Dr. Clapp
Classroom Peeks
Happenings
Get Involved
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Upcoming Events
Dear HKMS Families,
Today we conducted our 3rd lockdown drill of the year. The students and teachers did a great job of sheltering in place, being quiet, and cooperating with EPD. Detective Lyman reported to me "all classrooms followed our procedures to the letter." Thankfully the drill only lasted 7 minutes and 12 seconds. The state of Connecticut requires each school to conduct a safety drill every month of the school year (so, 10 drills per year). They can be either fire drills or lockdowns. It is a fact of modern schooling that we have to practice these drills, which we know has an impact of students psychological well-being. There is not one of us in a school for these drills who doesn't think, "what if this were real, what would we do?" This is one reason we don't "surprise" our teachers and students with lockdown drills, it can be traumatizing. These drills are announced in advanced. If your child is expressing any fear or anxiety around lockdowns, please let us know. We have an amazing team of mental health providers who can help our kids "reframe" the experience into a more positive one.
I'm not sure if you noticed, but whenever unexpected changes to routines happen, everyone seems to get thrown off-kilter. With both a delayed start and snow day this week, it was hard to get momentum, but we managed! Check out the Peeks section for glimpses of students working through advanced placement (AP) level questions in science, a student-created gallery walk and calligraphy in social studies, the start of the volleyball unit in PE, and the magic of spreadsheet formulas in PLTW.
As of now it looks like more winter weather is on the way next week. Stay tuned for any delays, early dismissals, or closures that may result.
Wishing you a wonderful winter weekend!
Steve Clapp, Ed.D.
Grade Six
Mrs. Brodeur breaks down the sometimes confusing wording of story problems with ratios from Wednesday's independent practice and homework.
As our young writers finish their personal narratives, Mr.s Burke challenges them to include more figurative language.
Grade Seven
Above: Being active while learning shows great benefits in cognition and overall health. Students in social studies explored major eras in Chinese history, while also exploring the halls of HKMS. The best part of this gallery walk? All the activities were made by students!
Below: Students take on calligraphy and writing Chinese Characters. This is not as easy as it may seem!
"What effect do humans have on photosynthesis in the Great Barrier Reef?" This is an example of an AP level question Dr. Baca is having students grapple with this week. By exploring their virtual science platform, Gizmo, students are building their knowledge of photosynthesis and how it works. They are also learning about what variables affect the process and to what extent they are impacted.
That's so Baca!
Grade Eight
As students "move Westward!" they are developing questions that furthers their research. This "inquiry process" Mr. D uses is a natural reflection of how humans learn (pictured below). Check out some of the great questions these scholars are composing!
What makes an ocean wave wave? How do larger waves have exponentially more power? These 8th grade scientists are studying the amplitude and energy created by ocean waves.
FPA
7th graders in PLTW are using formulas and conditional formatting in Google Sheets to bend these spreadsheets to their will!
Serve, bump, set... seems easy right? For some, this comes really easy while others are still getting the basics down. No worries, Mr. Breyer is on hand to break it down and do 1:1 coaching when needed!
Monday Morning Meeting
Enjoy this week's official HKMS newscast, The Den! (Just click on the image below).
TICKES ON SALE NEXT WEEK!!!
NEW CLUB ALERT!!!!
The HKMS math club meets on Tuesday mornings @ 7:25 in Mr. Crawford's classroom. Math club students are currently learning about topics from the Barlow Geometry curriculum. They use the honors geometry textbook to pull problems/concepts. In these pictures, "math clubbers" learned how to rationalize a denominator and how to simplify irrational radicals. Next week, we will extend this topic to learn about special right triangles.
Space is limited to 25 students each week, so make sure to sign up on Mr. Crawford's door by Monday each week (the day before the club meets)
Easton SEPTA
It has been a wonderful first year for our special education PTA group. Whether you have a child with learning needs or not, please consider getting involved in SEPTA. Here are their upcoming meetings (all via Zoom).
Tuesday, February 4th at 8 pm
Tuesday, April 1st at 8 pm
Tuesday, June 3rd at 8 pm
Answer to Mr. Jockers' the pun of the day: "The girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club but I never met herbivore." Bahah!
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