Dear Helen Keller Middle School Families, 

Do this experiment on your child(ren). You'll need a pen and paper. Step 1: Read (don't show) this string of random numbers, read each slowly and distinctly asking them to remember as many as they can.  12, 5, 9, 15, 3, 7, 11, 6, 2, 8   Step 2: Wait 10 seconds.  Step 3: Ask them to repeat as many as they can and write down their answers.  Repeat all steps.  Chances are really good that they remembered the first few numbers and the last couple of numbers, but recall of the middle numbers is pretty low.  As humans, our retention is very strong at the beginning of a task, lesson, article, movie, etc.  But over time, our retention fades.  This is called the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve. This is why introductions are so important, chances are the reader, viewer, or listener will remember this section really well.  Likewise, the end of a lesson, book, movie, etc. is easier for us to retain over time.  In education, we call this part of the lesson "closure."  This also translates to the school year.  Chances are your child can recount the beginning and end of the school year really well.  The middle tends to get mushed up into one big ball of "stuff" they learned and skills they picked up.  This is why the end of the year learning is so important.  We have a chance to crystalize some really important lessons over the next week that will stay with the students well into the future. 

As you review this week's newsletter look for those culminating experiences coming into focus. The 8th-graders are completing their "Ten Year Plans" for their future.  Mr. Walsh and Mr. Mac are guiding the student through educational and career planning.   "What do you want to do and how will you get there?" I can't think of a more powerful way to bring closure to their middle school years.   Our concerts are another good example.  A whole year's learning performed in front of family, friends, and teachers, and boy did they perform well!  It's hard to believe most of the 6th-grade band couldn't even put their instruments together in September, or that the 8th-graders had to wait two and a half years to perform.  I hope you enjoy those videos below.  Math classes are taking final exams and each subject is reflecting on the year's learning and looking ahead to how it applies to the larger world and their paths ahead.   Conversations with your child(ren) about these experiences will further crystalize their learning, so keep it going at home. 

One of the most memorable events to end the year will be our field day.  As the letter that was sent out earlier in the day indicates (and copied below in "happenings"), we will have our field day on the last day of school (6/21) which is a minimum day (dismissal at 12:50).  We will make our triumphant return to the ECC for field day.  The last time it was held there was in 2019! So none of our current students have experienced the extravaganza of an ECC field day. It is going to be awesome!  A BIG SHOUT OUT to the PTO for providing a huge grant to subsidize the cost of the event.  It would have been $30 per student.  Their generous grant knocked the price down to $20.  

I hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter and your weekend ahead!

Sincerely,

Steven Clapp, Ed.D.

Principal

Helen Keller Middle School

360 Sport Hill Rd, Easton, CT 06612

(203) 268-8651

sclapp@er9.org

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

Is your child missing that new fleece, sweatshirt, sweater, jacket, or shoes (wait, shoes...but...how?)?  Come on by the lost and found, there is really nice stuff in here!  Just let Mrs. Cahalan know when you will be coming and we will arrange a private browsing experience!* All items left behind after the last day of school will be donated to charity!

*(or just ask your child to check it, its right in the cafeteria)