EARLY RELEASE DAY: This coming Wednesday, March 22, 2023 will be an early release day for all students. Dismissal will be at 11:05am.
MCAS Grade 3-8 Schedule: MCAS is fast approaching! As we prepare it will be important to review the calendar and know when your students are testing. Attendance on testing days is of utmost importance. Please make sure your students get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and are at school on time. We appreciate your support. Please see the attached link for the testing schedule:
HUNKING THEME OF THE MONTH: Hunking will be embracing a theme of the month which will be focused on in and around our School building throughout each month. Hunking staff will promote and nominate students each month who they feel have personified the monthly theme on a consistent basis. Based on those nominations, one boy and one girl in each grade will be recognized as a “Hunking Hero” and receive a t-shirt.
Throughout the month of March, our theme will be a familiar one to morning announcements…. Kindness & Respect. Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. How you can care for others. Respect is the admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. It is the regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others. It is Treating someone how you and they want to be treated. You can care about others. Staff will be on the lookout this month as we are everyday for the students who personify kindness & respect.
Future themes will include:
April – Patience & Peace:
May –Honesty:
June – Pride:
Tuesday, March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day. Anyone who would like to celebrate can wear mismatched socks or the colors blue and yellow.
The 2023 theme is With Us Not For Us.
Here’s a link if you are interested in learning more!
https://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS:
FOOD DRIVE:
VIP FLYERS:
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION NEWS:
WELLNESS EVENTS: Stat Geek Flyer 2023
Spanish Stat Geek Flyer 2023 (1)
Portuguese Stat Geek Flyer 2023
MAKE IT HAVERHILL ELL CLASSES:
APRIL VACATION ACADEMY: April 2023 Vacation Academy
Spanish – April 2023 Vacation Academy.docx
PTO NEWS:
- Spiritwear Is back! We’re trying out a new vendor…orders will ship directly to you and right now everything is 25% off! https://1stplacespiritwear.com/schools/MA/Bradford/Caleb+D.+Hunking+Middle+School
- The next PTO meeting is scheduled for April 12th!
- The 8th Grade performance, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, has been postponed to Fri., Mar. 31st @ 7:00 pm! This is a one-act performance and tickets are $5.00 each…preorder them here: https://hunking-drama-grimm-brothers.cheddarup.com!
- The Read-A-Thon starts on Monday, March 20th and will run until Monday, April 3rd! Research shows that reading 20 minutes a day expands vocabulary, general knowledge, critical thinking skills, and writing. It can also boost mental health by decreasing stress and improving sleep! The goal is to read (or be read to) for at least 20 minutes each day, or approximately 300 minutes during the 2-week timeframe.
To add your child as a participant, please follow these 3 easy steps:
- Go to this link – https://app.99pledges.com/fund/BobcatsRead/addme
- Enter your child’s name, enter your email(s), and select their group.
- Click “Add” > this will take you to your newly created pledge page!
Registration is completely free and we hope ALL STUDENTS will participate. Even if you don’t collect pledges (this part is optional), encourage your child to READ, READ, READ! All of the minutes that they read will count toward their classroom’s total minutes and help them win a special prize!
100% of donations will go to the Hunking PTO and will be used to pay for field trips, buses and enrichment activities for students in grades K-8. Please know that no amount is too small! Thank you for your generosity… and happy reading!
NEWS FROM GUIDANCE:
Your School Counselors:
Sarah Petrick k-4 School Counselor sarah.petrick@haverhill-ps.org
Terri Carney 5-8 School Counselor terri.carney@haverhill-ps.org
Haverhill High School (Scheduling) Here We Come!!!
This is an exciting time for 8th graders!!! Eighth graders who have not submitted an electives form (two options below) need to do so immediately. Students will select their first choice electives as well as back up choices. Please select 10 elective options (you will only have three).
Two Options to Access Form: (just choose one of the options, whichever is the easiest for you to complete)
Google Doc HHS Course Elective Selection Form
Word Doc HHS Course Elective Selection Form
Send or share completed form back to Guidance
Last name A-M send to terri.carney@haverhill-ps.org
Last name N-Z send to sarah.petrick@haverhill-ps.org
HHS 9th Grade Course Descriptions
Whittier:
Questions about Whittier Admissions should be directed to Whittier. Please contact the admissions staff at Whittier:
- Ms. Lisa Zappala – Confidential Secretary to the Dept. Head of Guidance & Admissions
- Ms. Jill Karatkewicz – Director of Guidance and Admissions
- Whittier Admissions: 978.373.4101 x252 | admissions@whittiertech.org
Work Permits
Lots of students are looking to start jobs! Work permit information can be found here:
https://www.haverhill-ps.org/work-permit-information/
Guidance Information
We are introducing a new avenue for you to access all information regarding applications and the transition to high school. We recommend you utilize this resource as often as possible, as we will consistently update this site throughout the week. We at Hunking believe that working together to support student success is paramount.
https://sites.google.com/haverhill-ps.org/roadmaptohighschool/hunking-home-hnk
EDUCATIONAL HAPPENINGS:
Hunking’s ST Math Puzzle Clubs!
i-Ready March Madness
i-Ready March Madness started this week! We are looking at ELA and Math Lessons Passed averages. Updated brackets were posted Monday. Congratulations to our classes who made it to the next round. Mrs. Pike, Mrs. LaRochelle, Mr. Ivancic, and Mrs. Bonilla all won the snack raffle for their classes!
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES: If you have received a referral from the Health Office for vision, hearing or scoliosis, kindly return any documentation from the doctor when evaluated. If you opted your child out of postural screening, please provide a current physical (within the last 12 months) or a doctor’s note stating they are screened for postural assessment.
LOST AND FOUND: Our lost and found for any clothing items is located in the locker room area in the main hallway of the school. Any lost lunch boxes or water bottles can be found on the shelves in our cafeteria. We encourage you to have your students check frequently, as all unclaimed clothing at the end of each month is then donated by the school.
ATHLETIC NEWS:
Volleyball:
3/20/23: girls practice 3:00-4:30
3/21/23: boys practice 3:00-4:30
3/23/23: GAME @ home v SHS girls play first
** This week’s canceled game v nettle will be made up on 3/27/23 @ Nettle, girls play first.
CLUB NEWS:
ACADEMIC BOWL: Congratulations to the Hunking junior team for their victory in the championship over Consentino 190 to 115. This victory capped off an undefeated season!! Great job Bobcats!
We also wanted to say thank you and job well done to the senior team– the 7th and 8th graders fought hard but came up short to Consentino, 190 to 100 in the semi-finals. You had a terrific season and we are so proud of you!
GRIT: GRIT will continue to meet every Monday 2:45 -4:30 until April 10.
GSA: The GSA will next meet on Friday, March 31st.
CHORUS: Mrs. Rico missed all of the Junior Chorus members very much this past week! Senior Chorus had a great rehearsal on Thursday. Junior Chorus will meet this Tuesday, March 21st and Senior will meet Thursday, March 23rd. See you then!
STUDENT COUNCIL: A big thank you to everyone that donated to the “Pennies for Patients” fundraiser. It was a huge success. Your support is very much appreciated!
NJHS: The spring food drive will run from Wed March 15 through Wed March 29 and will benefit the Sacred Hearts Food Bank in Bradford. Please consider donating non-perishable items to homeroom teachers during this time.
DRAMA CLUB: 8th Grade class play news! The cast members had a meeting and took a vote to move the show officially to June, date yet to be chosen it will be the week of the 12th. They want to work more on the script and make some edits. Any tickets purchased will be refunded, the new show date will have no cost for tickets. 8th Grade cast members will meet every Tuesday from 2:45 to 4:00 for the rest of March and up until April Vacation.
Xanadu starts rehearsals on Monday March 20th from 2:45 to 4:45 a rehearsal schedule will be handed out and posted in the google classroom. We are also looking for 80’s clothes donations. Headbands and leg warmers are welcome, perfect timing if you are doing a little spring cleaning.
We want to thank the Hunking community for your continued support while we build the drama club here at Hunking.
GUITAR ENSEMBLE: Mrs Fairbrother is looking forward to seeing you all at 8am on Thursday the 23rd!
YEARBOOK: ATTENTION ARTISTS! The Yearbook Cover contest is still open! If you would like to submit a cover, please bring a 8.5×11 colored drawing to Room 213 (or email a high resolution image to matthew.thornton@haverhill-ps.org) before April 14th. Hunking Staff will vote on both a front and back cover. In addition to being featured on the Yearbook, winners will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card. Click here for a sample of last year’s submissions.
Lastly, if you would like to pre-order your yearbook, click this link to create an account and purchase a yearbook. Here’s an informational flyer with more information.
ODDS & ENDS:
-All students in grades 5-8 have been issued school IDs. It is required that they bring and wear their ID badges each day.
-Please make sure that your student(s) are coming to school daily with a fully charged chromebook.
-Please make sure that you are sending your student(s) with a water bottle. We have a limited supply of cups and we do not have access to water fountains, only water bottle filling stations.
SCHOOL POLICIES:
MORNING DROP OFF: To all families that drop their students off in the morning, please remember to drop your students off at the proper end of the building. All K-4 students should be dropped on the lower school side of the building. All 5-8 students should be dropped off on the upper school side of the building. Please be aware that there should be NO DROP OFFS AT THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING BETWEEN 8:00AM-8:30AM. This is for safety reasons. We appreciate everyone’s support and cooperation with this procedure. Thank you!
UPPER SCHOOL DROP OFF: Parents and Guardians, please be aware that the safety and security of our students is the number one priority. We kindly ask that all parents/guardians who drop students off in the morning on the upper school side of the building, please follow the proper traffic pattern to ensure everyone’s safety. Please do not cut across the parking lot. We ask that you drive slow while on school grounds, and we appreciate your patience as we are aware that many people have places to be after dropping off. Again, we appreciate you prioritizing the safety of our students. Thank you!
CAR PICK UP & DROP OFF: Safety and Security of our students, staff, and families is our number one priority, so we would like to ask that those families who utilize car pick up and drop off be cognizant of our security guards directing traffic. Security would like to emphasize the use of turn signals when picking-up or dropping-off your student. If you are not turning, please flash your headlights so that they are aware that you are continuing straight. We want to make sure everyone remains safe. We greatly appreciate your attention and support with this matter.
Lower school pick up: If you are walking to pick up your K student please wait near the kindergarten doors and if you are walking to pick up your grade 1-4 student please wait at the lower school walker pick up door. DO NOT come to the lower school playground to pick up your child. The students in the playground area are waiting for car pick up only.
Student Dress Code: I have attached the dress code policy that can be found on page 23 of the HPS student handbook for all families to review:
“The responsibility for the dress and appearance of the students will rest with individual students and parents.
They have the right to determine how the student will dress providing that attire is not destructive to school property, complies with requirements for health and safety, and does not cause disorder or disruption. The administration is authorized to take action in instances where individual dress does not meet the stated requirements.
This does not mean that student, faculty, or parent groups may not recommend appropriate dress for school or special occasions. It means that students will not be prevented from attending school or a school function, or otherwise be discriminated against, so long as their dress and appearance meet the requirements set forth above.
Students are not permitted to dress in any manner that is distracting to teaching or learning, to other students or disrupting the educational process or environment of the school. Clothing that is considered to be distracting includes but may not be limited to the following:
- Extremely short skirts or shorts rising more than 7″ above the knee.
- Shirts or blouses bearing midriffs.
- See-through clothing.
- Halters or tank tops with less than 1″ straps, tube-tops, or blouses with excessively low cut tops.
- Low rider pants and pants that do not cover underwear.
- Clothing or jewelry that advertises or promotes products or activities that are illegal.
- Clothing containing inappropriate or suggestive language or pictures.
- Clothing that identifies students as members of a gang or an imitation of gang paraphernalia will not be permitted. This includes but is not limited to bandanas, pins, insignias, colors, jewelry, emblems, wave caps, etc.
- Studded accessories such as belt buckles, bracelets, chains, etc. are not permitted.
- Any other dress that distracts, disrupts, intimidates or provokes can be deemed inappropriate by the Principal or Assistant Principal.
The Principal and Assistant Principal have the final decision in making the determination that there has been a violation of the dress code policy. In the event that the Principal is unavailable, the Assistant Principal has the full authority to make the final determination on whether a student’s clothing is in violation of the dress code policy.”
CELL PHONE POLICY:
-Cell phones are not allowed to be used throughout the school day. The expectation is that the phone is turned off and put away.
-If students are found to be using their cell phone for any purpose the following policy will be followed:
-1st offense: Cell phone will be confiscated and submitted to the main office where the student can get the phone back at the end of the day with a warning.
-2nd offense: Cell phones will be confiscated and submitted to the main office where a parent/guardian will need to pick up the phone.
-3rd offense: Cell phone will be confiscated and submitted to the main office where a parent/guardian will need to pick up the phone and the student will be issued an office detention.
-4th offense: Cell phone will be confiscated and submitted to the main office where a parent/guardian will need to pick up the phone and a meeting will need to take place in order to establish a contract where phone can either be dropped off at arrival time and picked up at dismissal, or the phone is not allowed in school.
-Students will not be allowed to have cell phones in the bathroom. Students will need to leave their phones face down on their desk when leaving for the bathroom.
-We recognize the importance for students to have cell phones, but we respectfully ask for your support in reinforcing the cell phone rules. If there is ever a reason for a student to call home, I am happy to allow them to utilize my office phone. Also, if you have to get in touch with your student, we would ask that you please contact the main office during school hours.