Click here for The Blackhawk Beat-  This week's edition-  Main Page-  Archived Newsletters

Happy Thursday, Families!

It has been a busy week at HJH. Please take a moment to review this week’s Blackhawk Beat.

We have celebrated our Teacher of the Year, recognized our campus adopters, honored our Students of the Month, hosted a district Art Show, and completed a DBA. The momentum continues. Beauty and the Beast opens tonight at 7:00 p.m.

The 8th grade Science and Biology DBA is next Tuesday. Ensure your student is rested, nourished, and prepared. Students may read after they have completed the assessment, so bringing a book is essential.

Join Harwood PTA board! 

Cameron Ramirez
Principal

Updates

• HJH Volunteers-

We are incredibly thankful for all you do to support the Harwood Junior High students, staff, and community. Your time and dedication make a tremendous difference, and we want to recognize our amazing volunteers who work so hard throughout the year.

In order to properly recognize and celebrate you, we need your help. We ask that every volunteer:

• Complete the VIPS background check
• Log your volunteer hours

Logging your hours helps us capture the many ways you support HJH. It also shows our community how strongly you believe in our public schools. When others may speak negatively about schools or students, your commitment speaks volumes. By volunteering and documenting your time, you provide valuable data that demonstrates the strength and support behind Harwood Junior High.

To sign up for VIPS or to log your volunteer hours, please visit:
https://www.hebisd.edu/departments/vips-volunteers/vips-volunteers

If you have any questions about the process or need assistance logging your hours, please contact Crystal Sadler at crystalsadler@hebisd.edu.

• The 8th Grade Science and Biology DBA is next Tuesday. 

• In honor of Women’s History Month, we are highlighting amazing women from history each day to inspire our students and celebrate the impact women have made throughout time on our morning announcements.

• Speaking of Women’s History Month, we are also hosting an Art Contest! All artwork entries are due by Friday, March 27th. We encourage students to be creative and show us what Women’s History Month means to them through their artwork.

• 3/13 is World Down Syndrome Day- We will wear BOLD socks!

• Students who attend Trinity must go to Trinity in the afternoons. If they are in need of tutorials, they must attend in the mornings. 

• This week has been a wonderful time of celebration as we recognized the amazing people who make Harwood such a special place:

At the district HEB Art Show, several of our talented student artists had their work displayed for visitors at the Pat May Center. We are incredibly proud of the creativity and dedication our students showcased through their artwork.

Our Teacher of the Year, Mr. Martell, was also honored at the district Teacher of the Year Luncheon. This well-deserved recognition highlights his commitment to excellence and the positive impact he makes on our students each day.

In addition, the district hosted a reception to recognize Adopt-a-School supporters. Harwood was proud to celebrate and thank our wonderful community partners—Ash Lane Methodist Church, Kona Ice, and Horace Mann—for their continued support of our campus.

It has truly been a week filled with pride, gratitude, and celebration at Harwood!

Harwood’s Blackhawk Theatre Presents: Beauty & the Beast Jr.! 

Harwood’s talented Blackhawk Theatre students are bringing Beauty & the Beast Jr. to life this week in the Harwood cafeteria! This year’s production includes more than 60 students, and by opening night, they will have dedicated over 75 hours of rehearsal after school and on Saturdays. Their hard work, talent, and commitment truly shine on stage.

We are especially grateful for our fabulous theatre teacher, Mrs. Campbell, whose passion and leadership make these incredible opportunities possible for our students.

Performance Schedule:
🌹 Rose Cast – Friday at 7:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 PM
🪞 Mirror Cast & Crew – Thursday at 7:00 PM and Saturday at 7:00 PM

We invite our Harwood families and community to come support this amazing group of students and celebrate the arts on our campus.

🎟 Tickets are available at:   https://blackhawktheatre.ludus.com/

🎓 9th Grade Banquet – Legacy Loading…

We are excited to celebrate our 9th Grade Class at this year’s banquet, “Legacy Loading…”, on Friday, May 15, 2026!

The evening will begin with an Awards Ceremony from 6:00–6:30 PM in the Gym (parents and families are invited). Following the ceremony, students will enjoy a banquet celebration from 6:30–8:30 PM in the Cafeteria.  Banquet tickets can be purchased for $15.00 in the front office or online at https://hebisd.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/18952/191/False/True. More information will be coming soon. 

We look forward to celebrating the hard work, growth, and accomplishments of our freshman class as their legacy continues to load! 

Celebrating a Great Week!

It has been a great week at Harwood. 

We are proud to recognize our outstanding Junior High Students of the Month for March!

7th Grade: Cambria Scott & Gavin Campbell

8th Grade: Peyton Long & Coen Martin

9th Grade: Zoe McCormick & Freddy Contreras

Congratulations to each of these students for their hard work, leadership, and positive impact on our campus. We are so proud of you

Please join us in celebrating our outstanding Staff members of the month for March!

Teacher of the Month: Mr. Hernandez, Assistant Band Director
Mr. Hernandez’s dedication  and passion for music inspire our students every day. His commitment to excellence and support for our band program make a lasting impact on our campus.

Support Staff of the Month: Ms. Garcia,  Library Aide
Ms. Garcia goes above and beyond to support our students and staff. Her positive attitude, hard work, and willingness to help wherever needed truly make a difference.

Thank you both for all you do for our school community — we appreciate you! 

Gymnastics 

Congratulations to both the Men's and Women's Gymnastics teams on their successful season.  The Men's team ultimately fell to a strong Bedford Team, but the Women's team continued their undefeated season with a district championship. Top placers in district championships were.

Reece Harris 2nd on floor, 3rd on pommel horse, 4th on rings, 1st on vault, 1 on parallel bars, 2nd on high bar and 2nd all around

Gordon McNeese: 4th on floor, 3rd on rings, 4th on parallel bars, & 4th all around

On the Women's side:

Tatum Gilbert: 1st optional bars, 2nd optional beam, 2nd optional floor, 1st on vault, 1st on uneven bars, 3rd on balance beam, 3rd on floor and 1st all around

Kayla Elliot: 3rd on vault, 2 on bars, tie 4th on balance beam, 2nd on floor and 2nd all around

Blair Scallin 4th on vault, 3rd  on bars, tied for 4th on balance beam, 4th on floor, and 3rd all around.

Tannar Minnick 3rd on optional floor and 4th on the uneven bars.

A district win was the perfect way to end a perfect season.  Congratulations to everyone on the team!  We could not have done it without every one of you.

History Classes

Our 8th grade history students are channeling their inner John James Audubon as they celebrate Art in America! Students are learning about 19th-century authors and artists by stepping into the role of members of the Hudson River School, exploring landscape art and ornithology along the way. Congratulations to our Flamingo and Landscape Contest winners — Edwin Cruz and Jesus Altorre!

HJH Chess Team

On Saturday the Harwood chess team competed in the Tarrant County Regional Tournament, at Boswell High School, where they again earned 2nd place, in overall team standings, for the Middle School Unrated division.  

Nolan Crawford led the team with 2 winning matches followed by Robert Sanchez with 1 1/2 wins.  Jude Belk, Qaylen Roberson, Olivia Villegas, and Sameer Shaik all made it on the board with either 1 point or a 1/2 point draw.  

Additional thanks to Olivia for joining our team in her first tournament play.  Congratulations to the whole team as we end our 25-26 season!  However, Chess Club will continue to meet on Thursdays in C100 (except for this Thursday as we are taking a bye week and resuming 3/12).  

We welcome both new and returning members to join us, through the remainder of the year, as we extend our practice time until 5:30pm!  No experience is required.  We are a young team learning together!

______________________________________

Ongoing Reminders

Dress Code Reminder

As temperatures change, this is a friendly reminder about our campus dress code expectations. We are asking for your help in reminding your students about the following guidelines:

• No crop tops
• No off-the-shoulder shirts unless a tank top (at least three-finger width) is worn underneath
• Shorts and skirts must be longer than fingertip length
• Shorts must be worn at the regular waistline
• Undergarments should not be visible
• No pajamas or slippers
• Student IDs must be visible at all times

Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a positive, safe, and focused learning environment at Harwood.

No Door Dash- No food deliveries from a third party delivery service will be given to students during the school day. 

Cell Phone Policy- For alignment with other HEB ISD junior highs, the first time a cell phone is confiscated will be treated as a warning. If a student has a cell phone out during the school day, it will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day for the first infraction.

For the second infraction and any subsequent violations, a parent or guardian must retrieve the cell phone, and the student will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. This is by incident. Any personal communication device will count as an incident.

No Meta Glasses- These fall under the same category of personal communication devices and will be confiscated. 

• Beginning January 2026, all HEB ISD bus riders should have and use a SMART Tag each time they ride.

While all students are expected to use their SMART Tag, this requirement will be actively enforced for secondary students (grades 7–12). Students who do not present a valid SMART Tag may be denied bus service, including for athletics, band, and CTE shuttles.

HEB ISD provides a free SMART Tag to every student. Replacement SMART Tags can be purchased at your student’s campus front office.
Thank you for helping us keep transportation safe, efficient, and accountable for all riders.

For questions, please contact HEB ISD Transportation at 817-399-2441.

• Replacement IDs $3, Lanyards $1.00

• The 2024-2025 School Report Card has been added to the Helpful Resources Page and is linked here.
  
  

• Students may not leave campus in the mornings.
  
  

• Drop-off/pick-up: Please pull all the way to the gym; front entrance reserved for buses.
  
  

• Wednesdays = College Day / Thursdays = Spirit Day.
  
  

• Volunteer Fridays: Volunteers must be cleared through the district VIPS. 

• Support our teachers by preparing classroom materials (copies, sorting, etc.).

• 👉 Sign up here
  
  

🙌 Thank you for your support and partnership in making this year a success!

– Dr. Ramirez