Week of 9/3 - 9/6
Embedded Files
A Message from Dr. Clapp
Classroom Peeks
Happenings
Get Involved
Community Clicks
Policy Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Dear HKMS Families,
For our 60th anniversary, the PTO is planning an exciting fundraiser that will bring opportunities and improvements to each and every child's school day this year. I love this fundraising approach as we are doing this ourselves (with no 3rd party organizing involved) so there are no overhead costs, and all the funds raised will be used on the students this year. We have established fun competitions and incentives to help inspire the students, while informing all of you about where the funds raised will be spent. We will reveal the whole campaign at open house on September 19th at 6:30 pm.
As I said last week, our goal is to send out only one school wide email, and we came close this week (we sent out a reminder about Chromebook insurance, as the window on that is closing!). We have other news related to upcoming NWEA testing, extracurricular activities that are starting, how to join our school climate committee, information about our Flags of HKMS project, and joining our PTO and SEPTA parent groups. If those important updates were sent out individually, you would have an additional six emails from us! I know you love us, but eight emails in a week would be far too many. All we ask is you check out this newsletter or listen to our podcast every week. Last week we have over 300 unique views, thank you!
It was a magical week here at Keller as we moved from the "getting to know you" part of the year and into some real middle school content. Check out the "Classroom Peeks" section to catch up on math and social studies in grade six, ILA and math in grade seven, science and ILA in grade eight, and art and health from our FPA team. Don't forget to check out how to "Get Involved" or the "Upcoming Events" sections as well.
It has been a great second week of school and we can't wait to do it again next week!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Steve Clapp, Ed.D.
Grade 6
Mr. Bernardi's social scientists are kicking off the year studying the major features of the earth's geography, including the world's oceans, seas, and continents. Students here are taking notes on the continents, one sticky for each continent.
Mrs. Brodeur's math students were working with area this week. How many rectangles can you create with an area of 12? Can you make a square with an area of 12? If you don't know, ask a 6th grader...they do!
Grade 7
Mr. Rogers is getting to know the creative talents of his students with his new poster wall and the students are getting to know what they will learn about and do in ILA class this year by making group videos.
Dr. Clapp once received a detention for writing on his desk (c.1990). Fast forward to today and students in Mrs. Caldera's class are encouraged to write on their desks! Thanks to a generous donation from ELF, all the grade 7 math tables now have a "write-on" surface. the result...students scratch out more of their work and their answers are more accurate!
Grade 8
8th grade ILA students are improving their vocabulary and interpretive language skills in Mr. Jockers' room with the homophone game and the pun of the day.
In science class, Mr. de St Croix's students are learning about different variables by having group discussions and deciding on the best educated guess. Mr. de St Croix challenged each group to explain their thinking.
FPAs
8th grade students in art this trimester are learning to sew!!! Mrs. G. is teaching them different kinds of stitches and providing them with practice time and help! If you have any pants that need hemming....our art students will be able to help you soon!!!
Students in health are building their classroom community together by sharing what works best for them. They are also working on setting SMART goals for this trimester. The example in the picture at left is a great one....a goal of writing homework down every day in the agenda planner. If you child is in health right now, ask them about their SMART goal.
There are only 3 weeks left to enroll in Chromebook insurance!
Scan the QR code in this image or click on the link below for more information about how to sign up! It is worth it!
ER9 Chromebook Insurance Enrollment Form
The HKMS Extracurricular Offerings for the 2024-2025 School Year is here!
The HKMS Extracurricular Offerings for the 2024-2025 School Year is here!
See flyers of current clubs below the chart.
See flyers of current clubs below the chart.
NWEA Testing is coming!
Every fall and winter we administer the North West Educational Association's (NWEA) Measures of Academic Performance (MAP) test. This test gives us outstanding baseline data for the school year. We use the data to set grade wide and personalized goals in reading a math. Seen here is Mrs. Mohr leading the NWEA proctor training for teachers. For more information about NWEA teasting, check out the letter below.
Dear HKMS Parents and Guardians,
The climate of a community lives and breathes in the words we speak, the actions we display and a deep commitment to learning and connecting. Listening...truly listening to our students is the key to continuous growth and improvement of their learning environment. For the past several years, HKMS has run a school climate advisory committee made up of HKMS parent volunteers, HKMS staff volunteers and HKMS student representatives. This committee comes together a few times during the school year to listen to student voices and brainstorm ideas for community improvements. It was an awesome experience these past years and we can't wait to get started for this year!!
We are in need of parent volunteers to be a part of our committee this year.
The committee will meet 5 times total throughout the school year. These meetings will take place during the school day so that students are able to attend.
Please email assistant principal, Annie Mohr if you are interested and able to participate on this committee this year. Her email address is amohr@er9.org.
The magic of HKMS is that we all feel a shared responsibility for the well-being of our students and believe that student voice is the key to creating a supportive and growth-minded learning environment.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Annie
The Flags of HKMS
The ceiling and walls of the HKMS cafeteria will once again be adorned with flags that represent the various ethnicities, nationalities, and heritage of all our students and staff. Last year we had 44 flags flying! With new students and staff joining HKMS we want to update our flags to represent the 2024-25 HKMS community. Please fill out the form below and indicate what nationality is important to your family's heritage (even if you have in the past, to be sure we keep the right flags up). Thank You!
Join the Easton Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
Join the Easton Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
The Easton PTO is a volunteer organization dedicated to enhancing the learning experience of our children.
We promote programs that enrich and excite our students, as well as support the efforts of our parents and teachers.
We advocate for and fund initiatives and policies that further the overall and academic well-being of Easton children and our school community.
Please consider joining at: https://eastonpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/296068
Join the Easton Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA)
Join the Easton Special Education Parent Teacher Association (SEPTA)
Easton CT SEPTA was founded in 2024 in partnership with Easton PTO and Connecticut PTA. Our goal is to empower and support teachers and service providers to help them enrich the lives of children with special needs. By working collaboratively with our school administration, teachers, and parents, we are focused on:
Bringing together parents, families and teachers of children with special education needs to share experiences and gain access to specialized programming and resources;
Advocating for children with special education needs and their right to free and public education in the least restrictive environment;
Improving communication, both in the schools and in the community to increase awareness and consideration for children with a diverse spectrum of needs.
Join at: https://www.eastonctsepta.org/
What is way better than going home and playing video games? The ECC!
The Eason Community Center offers amazing afterschool programs designed to engage young adolescents. We have a group of 20-25 students who walk over everyday. Please check out their offerings at: https://eastoncommunitycenter.com/teen-center/
We need your help! With the warm late summer weather sticking around for a while, we are sending a reminder about the student dress code. This is a sensitive matter, and school personnel never want to embarrass students. We work hard to foster an atmosphere filled with respect and inclusivity within the Keller community. As such, it is essential to consider how we present ourselves to others, including our attire. It is important to note the value we place on freedom of expression and the consideration we have for personal autonomy. While we want our students to freely express themselves, it is important to remember that attire should be appropriate to the learning environment. The following is from the HKMS Student Handbook, p 14:
"The following guidelines apply to all regular school activities:
Clothing and jewelry should be safe and free of writing, pictures, or any other insignia which are crude, vulgar, profane, or sexually suggestive or which advocate violence, racial, ethnic, or religious prejudice, or the use of drugs or alcohol.
No clothing, article of clothing, or manner of wearing clothes that is inappropriately revealing is permitted. Underwear should not be visible.
Clothing or jewelry which is distracting, or disruptive to the educational program, or which poses a threat to the physical well-being and safety of the student or others, shall not be worn on campus or at school activities.
Hats are not considered appropriate attire for the school setting except when allowed for a fundraising or school spirit event. If a student does not comply with 1 directive to remove the hat for the duration of the school day, the hat may be confiscated by school staff and kept in the main office for retrieval by the student at the end of the school day.
No bags can be carried."
Thank you for your support and assistance!
The State of Connecticut Bicycle Helmet Law
We love seeing so many of our students riding their bikes to school! We also have an obligation to make sure state statutes and laws are bring followed. According to Connecticut Statute 14-128d, students 15 years old and younger are required to wear a proper fitting helmet when riding a bicycle. Since none of our students are 15, everyone who rides to school must wear a helmet. Officer Procaccini and Dr. Clapp will be notifying students and families of students who are in violation of this law.
Let's keep them riding, but also keep them safe!
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