Hickory Creek Middle School October 2020 Newsletter · Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2...
Transcript of Hickory Creek Middle School October 2020 Newsletter · Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2...
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
Hickory Creek Middle School
October 2020 Newsletter
Dear Families,
Once again, we would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of
you for your continued support of our staff, programs and success of our school.
We have weathered the turbulence of the most unusual start of a school year
that any of us have experienced and we have come out stronger than before! We
look forward to the month of October. We will be welcoming in-person learners
and remote learners at the same time. Regardless of the learning pathway that
your child has chosen, they will be interacting with the same curriculum,
instruction and standards of excellence that we have all come to know. Our
phone lines and emails are always open, please do not hesitate to contact any of
us with questions, concerns and most importantly, celebrations.
Sincerely,
Tricia Dotson Jason Crockett Paula Paymaster
Principal Assistant Principal Assistant Principal
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
August/September Highlights
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
We are extremely proud of our Hickory Creek
Middle School Physical Education department
for earning the Blue Ribbon Award of
Excellence. This award is granted by the Illinois
Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance. The criteria used to
evaluate our program was: curriculum,
instruction, facilities, equipment and financing
and medical/ safety precautions.
By earning this recognition, our program will
be showcased in one of the IAHPRD journals
and we will reserve this status for five years.
HCMS PE DEPARTMENT EARNS BLUE RIBBON AWARD
NOTES FROM SIXTH GRADE
WE WERE THRILLED TO MEET OUR 6TH GRADERS AT THE SUPPLY-PICK UP IN AUGUST
AND OFFICIALLY WELCOME THEM TO HICKORY CREEK! WE KNOW THAT
TRANSITIONING TO MIDDLE SCHOOL CAN BE A CHALLENGE (ESPECIALLY FOR THIS
2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR), BUT WE HAVE BEEN SO IMPRESSED BY THEIR POSITIVITY
AND COMMITMENT TO MAKING THIS A FANTASTIC YEAR! OUR 6TH GRADERS HAVE
QUICKLY ADAPTED TO THEIR DAILY CLASS SCHEDULES AND THE OVERALL FASTER
PACE OF EACH CONTENT AREA. WE LOOK FORWARD TO CELEBRATING ALL OF YOUR
SUCCESS THIS YEAR, 6TH GRADE!
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
NOTES FROM SEVENTH GRADE
NOTES FROM EIGHTH GRADE
It's been a wonderful start to this 7th grade year with the 'cards we
have been dealt'. Students have been motivated, engaged, and
stepping up with being responsible during these unprecedented times.
"Stay Gold' has been the motto from ELA classes having read The
Outsiders this first quarter. We will continue to learn from one another
and grow from the lessons we all are learning during this unique school
year. Students thank you, parents 'thank you' for your support at home,
and we look forward to a great rest of the school year with students in
person and remote learning.
As an 8th grade team we embrace the role of giving your student the
tools and instruction to not only have a strong end to their middle
school experience but also prepare them for success in High School. We
expect quality work for our students and challenge them to rise to the
occasion. We would like to see more 8th grade students advocate for
themselves and check their progress in our classes. Please encourage
your student to check Power School using the website or smartphone
app. We look forward to the school year and continuing to learn more
about our students. This year has many instructional/ learning
challenges but we are committed to working as hard as we can to make
it a great 8th grade year and prepare all students for success in High
School and beyond.
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
NOTES FROM ENCORE
NOTES FROM PE/HEALTH
Spanish - Our students have done a great job with our transition to Remote
Learning! We have enjoyed meeting our 6th graders and welcoming them to HCMS; it's also been great to see our returning students in 7th and 8th grade, and to meet our new ones! Please remember to study your vocabulary each night, and above all: work hard and be kind!
STEM- 6th graders did a great job using Tinkercad to design pencil cases and
treasure chests. Their designs will be printed and brought home soon! They also used Tynker.com to learn different computer programming languages. We will explore WeVideo and film editing next! 7th and 8th graders have been hard at work with their individual Makerspace goals. Students have created great projects with Tinkercad.com, Tynker.com, WeVideo, and Cricut.
Remote Physical Education has opened the year off introducing our students to the Health & Skills Related Components of Fitness. Within these units, students have been able to identify their personal fitness levels and set long/short term SMART goals. The PE & Health Department highly encourages physical activity throughout the day especially during these unprecedented remote learning school days. We look forward to moving to in-person learning and see all the student daily on October 5th!
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
6th Grade : Students need friendships and social connections with peers to be happy
and successful. Students with friends have a more positive attitude toward school,
have better relationships with teachers, are more engaged in class, and have
greater school success.
7th Grade: Students who develop empathy and perspective-taking skills are less
likely to be aggressive and more likely to help others. They are also more able to
negotiate challenging situations when pressured to engage in unhealthy choices. In
this lesson, students practice trying to understand the perspectives of other
people, including someone they disagree with. Students can work more
successfully in groups and collaborate on projects in the classroom if they know
how to communicate about differences in a respectful way.
8th Grade: Being an ally is one way students can help others, including younger
students, even if they are not friends with those they assist. By thinking of ways to
promote success of sixth graders in their school, students explore strategies to
show responsible leadership and support others.
Remote Learning begins on October 5th for those who have chosen
that pathway for learning.
All remote students have been invited by their remote teachers to
join a new class Teams.
Individual schedules were emailed out to families earlier this week.
If you have any questions about remote learning, please reach out
to your child’s remote teacher/teachers.
Here is an introductory video or our new remote teachers.
Social Emotional Learning at Hickory Creek
Meet our Remote ELA and Math Teaching Team
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
A Note From Nurse Laura…..
On balmy, late summer afternoons inside many family’s
doctor’s offices across the nation, kids are dressed in
summer clothing, sporting sun-kissed cheeks and are
rolling up their t-shirt sleeves to ready themselves for
their annual flu shots. “Why are we getting our flu shots
so early?”, they ask. “Has everything changed?”, others
complain. We all experienced change this month.
Fortunately, change can be a catalyst for growth. We
emerge from September adjusted to remote learning,
in-person learning, new school schedules and school
guidelines. You may have experienced changes in your
health, family life, and work life that you have worked
through or overcome. I am grateful for parents and staff
who reached out to advocate for themselves, each other
and their students as we navigated these times
together. I am also grateful for your support and kind
words.
Here is a quick summary of information I hope is
helpful:
1) October 15th immunizations and physicals are due for
6th graders, new and transfer students.
2) Check out these guidelines from IDPH for exclusion
guidance: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/IDPH-
COVID19-Exclusion-Decison-Tree.pdf
3) Remember to self-certify each morning and wear your
bracelet.
4) If your student has a medical concern, contact me so
we can create a health care plan.
5) Vision and Hearing screenings will start soon and in
accordance with IDPH guidelines.
6) For those of you interested in getting a flu shot this
year, they are available at local doctor offices and
pharmacies.
October will probably bring more change to our lives, I
hope it also brings you room to grow.
Join the Library Litwits book discussion
group! We discuss a different 2021 Caudill
nominee each month--join tday and be
qualified to vote in February!
We are still offering curbside (well, door 19
& front door) contact-less pick-up and the
opportunity to schedule a time to visit the
library for anyone who is interested.
Contact Mrs. Raynes @815-469-4474 or
[email protected] for more info. You
can also contact me on TEAMS.
Congratulations to Kaitlyn & Emily Skopek
for reading all twenty 2021 Caudills before
school even started! Way to go, girls!
FROM OUR LIBRARY
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
Student Life……
Chorus: Our Varsity Chorus, Advanced Choir and Show Choir are all organized
and rehearsing! Our groups have been meeting after school outside and working
on a variety of warm-ups and new pieces. We're starting to plan performances in
the near future!
Band/Orchestra: Band and Orchestra are up and running! Students have been
attending their sectionals (both online and in-person), and after-school rehearsals
are going strong. Students are already posting their online performances, such as
this superb presentation of The Star-Spangled Banner:
https://safeyoutube.net/w/eqmbb
Keep your eyes on the Instrumental Music rehearsal calendar. It should be your
first stop as we navigate the schedule together!
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/embed?src=157cinstrumentalmusic@
gmail.com&ctz=America/Chicago&pli=1
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
National Junior Honor Society: The NJHS officers and advisers met in
September to discuss their roles this year. The officers helped put together goody
bags for new students to HCMS. They helped brainstorm ideas of what else we
could go into the bags. We discussed upcoming dates and how our meetings will
run beginning in October. We are very excited to begin our year.
Athletics: Cross Country will be finishing their season with the IESA Sectional
meet on Wednesday, October 14th at Morris JHS. Hickory Creek will have 20
athletes representing our school (10 boys and 10 girls). Best of luck to all of the
runners!
We will be exploring the opportunity to offer all other traditional fall and winter
sports in early January.
Congratulations to our
Regional Champions at Hickory Creek Middle School!!
Varsity Boys’ Baseball Varsity Girls’ Softball
Varsity Girls’ Softball
Our first Executive Board meeting with officers and advisers will be October
16th from 2:15 - 2:45. The officers will create the agenda for our first
member meeting and discuss what needs to be shared out from each
officer. The first member meeting will be the week of October 19th. The
days are TBD. We will split the meetings into 1 day for 8th and 1 day for
7th. More information to come!!
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
October Calendar
October 2nd – SEL Friday schedule
October 9th – No School – Institute Day
October 12th – No School – Holiday
October 15th – Immunization records final due date
October 16th – SEL Friday schedule
October 30th – SEL Friday schedule and end of Quarter 1
Block Schedule Calendar for Science, Social Studies, Encore and PE
“A “Days = 1st Hour class, 3rd Hour class, 5th/6th Hour class, 8th Hour class
“B” Days = 2nd Hour class, 4th Hour class, 7th Hour class, 9th Hour class.
Date A or B Day Schedule Date A or B Schedule
October 1st B October 19th B
October 2nd A (SEL Friday schedule)
October 20th A
October 5th B October 21st B
October 6th A October 22nd A
October 7th B October 23rd B
October 8th A October 26th A
October 9th No School October 27th B
October 12th No School October 28th A
October 13th B October 29th B
October 14th A October 30th A (SEL Friday schedule)
October 15th B
October 16th A (SEL Friday schedule)
Hickory Creek Newsletter 2020 Volume 2
Congratulations to the Hickory Creek Middle School
Students/Athletes of the Month.
Team Students being recognized for showing great
Enthusiasm
6B Caroline Pardue
7A Rami Hussein
7B Tiag Hertsberg
8A Jayden Randle
8B Kaitlyn Skopek
Encore Andrew Castillo
PE Natalie Sambo
Athlete Students of the Month
Sam Jarosik 8th Varsity Softball
Ellie Feigl 8th Cross Country
Colin Bettenhausen 6th Golf
Sarina Nayden 8th Golf
Brett Gentry 7th JV Softball
Charlie Cosich 8th Varsity Baseball
Nathan Schroers 6th Cross Country
Tyler Rea 7th JV Baseball