Dear HKMS Families,

Happy 60th Anniversary!  One of the things I loved about studying the past is trying to understand our place within the arc of history.   Are we riding the wave of history or making waves ourselves?  At different points in our lives, we are making waves, and other times, we are riding them.   I fully believe the educators and staff of HKMS have been making waves for the last 60 years.  When the school opened for the 1964-65 school year it was deemed as a place that pushed education into a new era as “middle school” was a yet untested concept in education.  “The dedication of the new school, The Helen Keller Middle School, … marks the introduction of a new philosophy of education in Easton, the grouping of students into a ‘middle school’…” (Merillat, 1965 - article included below).  

Today's rousing rededication ceremony, attended by Sen. Tony Hwang, Rep. Anne Hughes, Rep. Tony Scott, members of the Easton Board of Education, the Easton Board of Finance, our Town Selectmen's office, and our Central Office all paid tribute to our namesake and to Mikey Friedman, The ceremony was highlighted with performances by our Jazz Band, the select choir, Raisin' Helen, and every student in our first ever flash mob!  Proclamations from the State of Connecticut's General Assembly, and the Easton Selectman's Office were read and these officials declared today Helen Keller Middle School Day!  The big moment happened when we revealed the results of the Mikey's Madness initiative.  The all-in costs to hosts a Mikey's Way day at a hospital is $8500.  Mrs. Mohr was excited to announce that the HKSM community had raised $7330!  Mrs. Mohr was then able to announce a surprise drop off.  The Umbrella Club, a local charity with the philosophy that "a helping hand can make a life-changing difference",  heard about our efforts and wanted to help!  Just this week, they contributed $750, putting out total at $8080!  That's when the 8th Grade Class Council President, Nikhil stepped up and offered $500 as a class gift from 8th grade to make sure that we fully reached our goal!!!!  As if this wasn't enough........So inspired by this act of giving, Dr. McKinnon and Mr. Hicks then threw in another$500, bringing our total to $9,080!!  

As we celebrate the past, we also look to the future. We continue to strive to not only be on the right side of the wave of innovations in education, but also make some waves ourselves.  As school districts around the state move to implement “restorative practices" in their schools, HKMS was an early adopter and has helped propel this movement.  One of the first STEM programs in the area PLTW, brought about by a grant for innovation from ELF, was right here at Keller.  From the way we provide students with “voice-and-choice” to the ways we use data to drive decisions, and how we always put relationships first, we are and have been on the cutting edge for 60 years.   

Whether you've been here for 60 years or you just moved to town, we are all part of the innovative wave of educators bringing love and learning to our students for the last 60 years. Congratulations! 

So many pictures and videos from today and this week.   I hope you get a few minutes to enjoy them all!

Sincerely,

Steve Clapp, Ed.D.

In ILA students are working with their book club partners to gather evidence from their books that support their claim of the central idea.  

Our seventh-grade mathematicians were using their prior knowledge about proportional relationships to uncover the relationship between original and scaled copies.

A new game called "Two Ball" is amazing! A combination of soccer, dodgeball, and capture the flag! 

 Ask your child to explain this crazy fun!