Dear Helen Keller Middle School Families, 

This is the celebration and gratitude edition of the 2022-23 HKMS Family Newsletter.  The look back at our last 7 school days is inspirational, heartwarming, and exciting.  I am inspired by our eighth-graders who, from a middle school perspective, have been the hardest hit of our current students.  All three of their years here were disrupted in major ways, from full remote and hybrid instruction to masks and mass quarantines, they have had anything but a normal middle school experience.   Yet this group moves on, as ready and prepared for high school as our pre-pandemic rising-high-schoolers were.  It is a sign of remarkable resilience and perseverance in how far this class has come despite the adversity they have faced.  As I said to them on Friday night, they give me great HOPE for a positive and successful future and that is their legacy, which warms my heart.  The future is exciting indeed as we saw end-of-year projects exploring the body's various "systems" that sustain humans in 6th-grade science and beautiful poetry from 6th and 7th-graders.  I am excited to witness and foster the legacy of these classes as well as our rising middle-schoolers as they transition from SSES.  

I owe much gratitude for this year and all the success HKMS has experienced.  First, to all of the parents, grandparents, and guardians for all the incredibly supportive input, feedback, and effort put into this year. I truly believe it takes a village to raise our children and all of the villagers have stepped up in a thousand different ways.  A special shoutout to Beth Andrews and Daniele Fanzo for their leadership and efforts to lead the PTO through this tumultuous year.  I also want to thank and congratulate the faculty and staff.  They had to adjust yet again to new conditions and new leadership, and they held true to our values and belief that all students can succeed at high levels despite the conditions.  Mrs. Cahalan and Mrs. Neff in the main office are uncompromisingly amazing at their jobs and invaluable to day-to-day operations. Our team leaders, Mr. Walsh, Mrs. Rose, Mrs. Maggi, Mr. Breyer, Mr. Sather, Mrs. Aponte, and Mrs. Dunkerton were incredibly patient in working through and implementing many new processes and learning. They are an amazing team and we are lucky to have them in their roles as both teachers, counselors, specialists, and leaders.  I would be remiss if I did not also mention the incredible leadership, tenacity, patience, and care Mrs. Mohr brings to her role as our Assistant Principal.  I feel incredibly lucky to have such a talented administrator to lead the school alongside.  

Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank the students.  I want to thank them for trusting us and believing in our overall mission and vision. They accepted me, an unknown, leading their school.  They did so with care, grace, and a bit of healthy skepticism.  I will forever be grateful for their acceptance of this "first-time" principal as I look forward to many years of being the "known" principal of the school.   

I could easily thank a hundred other people who made this year successful and I would still leave off many who lent a hand, offered a kind compliment, or were willing to do what needed to be done.  Really, thank you all, every one of you! 

I hope you enjoy this final installment of the newsletter.  We packed in tons of pictures, videos and thoughts that concluded the year.  From the 8th-grade BBQ bash and our closing ceremony to final projects and reflections on the year.  We look forward to returning to the family newsletter on September 2nd!   

By the way, the first day of the 2022-23 school year is August 31st, which is only 71 days from today!!  Good luck to all our Freshmen, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of you in the fall!

Sincerely,

Steven Clapp, Ed.D.

Principal

Helen Keller Middle School

360 Sport Hill Rd, Easton, CT 06612

(203) 268-8651

sclapp@er9.org  

Photos by Alexandra Szebenyik Photography

© ALEXANDRA SZEBENYIK PHOTOGRAPHY 

Many of the wonderful activities, events, and learning going on around HKMS this week (and beyond!).