For the Week of 3/27 - 3/31

Dear HKMS Families,

It is hard to believe we have made our way though March and are turning our calendars to April! With the first full month of Spring comes many special spring events.  Our "Closing Ceremony" for 8th graders will be held the last week of school.   We will make a final determination as to the specific date by the end of next week.  We have set the date for the grade-eight end of year trip to Brownstone Adventure Park for June 14.  Our Chorus and Jazz Band are heading up to Lake Compounce for a fun-filled educational music festival with adjudication on 5/19. We have field trips planned to the Easton Public Library for all grades during the last week of school. We are putting the final touches on our Job Fair, being held on 4/18 (see our Counselor's Corner section for more information).  Additionally, we secured the ECC for our Field Day, which will be on June 16, the last day of school. All of these confirmed events are also included in the upcoming events section of this newsletter.

This was a week full of terrific teaching and learning as is highlighted in this newsletter.  Please take a few minutes to enjoy student presenters, African cultural explorations, Civil War research, and "matball" madness! 

Wishing you and your family a wonderful weekend!


Sincerely,

Steve Clapp

Principal

Helen Keller Middle School

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

Grade 6

Who is that teaching Mrs. Burke's class? That's Charles from 7th-grade presenting about media bias!  

Mrs. Brodeur's mathematicians are seen here grappling with percent of money application problems, in groups, pairs, and individually.    

Grade 7

Mrs. Rose's social scientists are exploring African culture.  From traditional masks representing symmetry to the end of colonialism. Students will be exploring primary and secondary source and reading biographies of influential Africans. 

What should you do when things get frustrating or challenging??  The answer is...you persevere!  Seventh graders spent time with Mrs. Dunkerton, our math specialist, working through mind-boggling challenges. They reflected on how they handled their initial thought to give up as well as the feeling of fulfillment after forging ahead and solving the challenge!  

Grade 8

Mr. Crawford is setting up some lessons that allow students to work in dynamic and flexible groups, utilizing the white boards and standing desk so they work interdependently with lots of different learners!

Mr. D's social scientists are working on their essays about the cause of the civil war.  They have also signed up to attend mini-lessons with Mr. D about the different components of persuasive writing.  

FPA

Mr. Dolecki is playing and conducting at the same time as he helps students learn new music for the upcoming spring concert.

Matball madness in PE!

Art classes did some research about favorite artists this week.  Thanks to Mrs. Gale for working with small groups to help with the research process.  

This year, on April 18, 2023, from 8 a.m-11:15 a.m, Helen Keller will hold its first Career Fair for all students in grades 6-8.  Each student will have the opportunity to select six sessions to attend for 25 minutes in length. Students will rotate through their selected sessions. These sessions will be held in various locations throughout the building and will be facilitated by adults in the community, representing a wide range of careers and jobs in many sectors. While we have many volunteers already, we are continuing to seek additional volunteers who would like to share their knowledge and experiences in their field with our students. This is an exciting opportunity for our students and we hope it will be just as exciting and rewarding for our volunteers!  Please complete the google form to the right if you are interested in this opportunity: 

If you have any questions, please contact Annie Mohr, (amohr@er9.org) at 203-268-8651. Thank you for your consideration. 

We hope to see you there!
Helen Keller Middle School Counseling Department

Scout Troop 66 

Their annual gourmet breakfast returns on April 1 at the ECC!

School Spiritwear Store!

https://stapleskellerspiritwear.com/

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