2ND ANNUAL MULTICULTURAL NIGHT: We are less than one week away from our 2nd Annual Multicultural Night! We are hoping that you will all join us next Thursday, March 14th from 5:00-7:00pm right here at Hunking.
Our 2nd Annual Multicultural Night is meant to celebrate our diverse community. This is a family facilitated event, where we will have approximately 20 different countries represented.
This night will also include a showcase of student work, special performances, and raffle opportunities.
Once again, we hope that you will join us on what is arguably the best night of the year here at Hunking!
If you are interested in attending this event, we ask that you please register using the link below (Please remember that this is a free event): my.cheddarup.com/c/multicultural-night-2
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As part of Multicultural Night, the Student Council is collecting lines of poetry that reflect the family traditions of our Hunking community for Multicultural Night. Please, use our google form to see examples, sentence stems, and to add your writing. We encourage families to talk about their unique cultural identity and use those ideas to compose a line or two of poetry starting with the phrase, “I’m from…” All entries will be used by the Student Council to arrange a poem titled “Where Hunking’s From” to celebrate our diverse backgrounds and foster a sense of pride. This crowdsourced poem will be on display March 14th during our Multicultural Night. We hope to see every family represented.
Literacy News!
- Read Across America week has been going strong! Some K-2 classes have been enjoying guest readers. Be sure to have your children return their completed reading logs next week to receive a prize from Mrs. Bisegna.
- Mark your calendars! The Literacy Coaches and Interventionists are hosting a K-5 Literacy night on Thursday April 11 from 5:00-6:30. More information will be coming home soon!
MCAS: We are quickly closing in on that time of year again. Please click the link below to view the calendar with our MCAS schedule, to see and be prepared for when your student(s) will be taking MCAS: MCAS Calendar 2024
HUNKING THEME OF THE MONTH: We are embracing the theme of GRIT throughout the month of March. Grit simply means courage and resolve; and strength of character. To further explain, Grit is passion and perseverance for long term and meaningful goals. It is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. This kind of passion is not about intense emotions or infatuation. It’s about having direction and commitment. Staff will be on the lookout this month for students who personify this theme of Grit.
Please stay tuned next week to find out who our winners were for the theme of Friendship throughout the month of February.
(If the links are not working, please go to https://www.fdmealplanner.com/ , and type in “Hunking” for the school location)
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS:
WASHINGTON, DC GRADE 8:
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- Student Behavior Contract & District Permission slip must be turned in by 3/11/24
- Next payment is due: March 8th $225. Don’t forget if you participate in the Spring cookie PTO fundraiser, individual funds for what the student sells comes off the balance of what your student owes.
- Rooming: Students were provided with a google form in their google classroom homerooms & in the DC google classroom to list 3 other students for their room preference. Please have this filled out in the next few weeks as groups will be put together in April. Accommodations will be made as best as we can for students to room with their preferred choices. All groups will be reviewed by trip coordinator and/or admin and preferences will be taken into account, but can not be guaranteed.
Dates/Info to remember:
- May 22, 2024: Parent/Guardian meeting @ 6pm, Hunking. Please attend specifically for those students who will have medication distributed on the trip. Nurses will be available. Medication and doctors orders (please use this form) are to be brought to this meeting.
Questions????- Megan.arivella@haverhill-ps.org
PTO NEWS:
- Thanks to all who came to Wednesday’s PTO meeting! The next meeting is scheduled for April 10th at 6:30pm in the Hunking conference room! If you can’t make it in person, we will offer a link to join remotely (link to follow)! We’re looking for more lower school parents to get involved, so grab a friend and bring your ideas!
NEWS FROM GUIDANCE:
Grades 5 and 6: Sarah Petrick sarah.petrick@haverhill-ps.org
Grades 7 and 8: Terri Carney terri.carney@haverhill-ps.org
NEED A WORK PERMIT?
https://www.haverhill-ps.org/work-permit-information/
Haverhill High School
Career Technical Education (CTE): CTE will send decision emails to the email on record on or about March 29th. Be sure to check spam email!!!
Whittier: Whittier will send decision emails to the email on record on or about April 1st. Any questions about Whittier, their admissions process or decisions should be directed to Whittier Admissions office.
EDUCATIONAL HAPPENINGS:
ML team- Ramadan commemorates the first revelation of the Holy Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and begins with the sighting of the crescent moon after a new moon. It’s observed with a month of fasting, giving alms, prayers, reading the Quran, abstaining from bad deeds, and staying humble. In 2024, Ramadan is expected to start on Monday, March 11.
7th Grade ELA: Students are writing a persuasive essay with the goal of convincing their parents or guardians to reconsider a previously denied request. Be on the lookout for a request next week.
8th Grade: This week, our eighth graders, as well as students from Gateway Academy and Nettle, attended a presentation from Fritz Ottenheimer. Mr. Ottenheimer shared stories of his family’s direct experience of living as Jewish citizens in Nazi Germany during the 1930s. Our students gained a lot from these first-hand accounts and asked some remarkably well-thought-out questions.
Our Math classes are continuing to use systems of linear equations to solve real-world problems. Ask how to use inspection to tell how many solutions a system of linear equations will have. Science is getting ready to begin their unit on Biology. In Civics, students will soon begin their “Action Civics Project.” Stay tuned.
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES: Mandatory Postural/Scoliosis screenings will continue during the week of March 18th during gym class. The Purpose of the screening is to detect possible curvature of the spine in children. If the condition is detected early and appropriately treated, progressive spinal deformity may be prevented.
To assure a good view of the spine, we will request the students expose their backs during screening. It is recommended that boys wear a shirt that can be easily removed. Girls should wear a bathing suit top, or sport bra or a halter top under a shirt or sweater. Please make sure to have your child come dressed as recommended above on the day they are scheduled for gym.
If your child is currently under active treatment for a spinal problem, or if you have any objection to having your child participate in the screening program, please inform the school nurse in writing. A report from your healthcare provider is requested.
If your child was given a vision or hearing referral, please make sure it is sent back to the health office after seeing an eye or hearing specialist. Stay healthy.
ATHLETIC NEWS:
Volleyball: Congratulations to both the boys and girls teams who won their matches 2-0 against the Whittier teams on Wednesday afternoon. There was some great serving and hitting from the girls team, and some great hustle, diving, and net play from the boys. Great wins for both teams. Next game is Monday, March 11th at home against Consentino.
EARLY SPRING TRACK SIGN UP
We know the snow has just begun, but we cannot wait for Spring! My fellow coaches and I are already excited for our upcoming 2024 track season! I am hoping to get a good idea as to how many kiddos are interested in joining us this year, so I wanted to create this form to make sign-ups easier. SPRING TRACK SIGN UP
(*This sign up link has also been added to our school website*)
Prior to the beginning of the season I will follow up with students/parents that have filled this form out to confirm if they are still interested. We will still have a “sign up” available in-person as we have in the past; however this form can expedite that process.
Last, but certainly not least, if your athlete took part in a school sport during this year (2023-2024) you do not need to fill out another health participation packet.Only the first and last page is needed. If not, the entire packet needs to be filled, current physical submitted, signed and returned before participation is permitted.
Our main office retains hard copies for students to take home, but I have also included the link below if you’d prefer to print out and return ahead of time.
HPS (Middle School) Sport Permission Packet
When our season officially commences I will provide practice dates, schedules, meet information and all things track via our Remind class link (see below).
As always thank you for your continued support and please reach out should you have any questions!
-Coach Law
CLUB NEWS:
Academic Bowl: This Wednesday, the 13th, we have another home meet against Consentino. Start time is 9:30 Seniors are scheduled to go first.Practices will be held Mondays from 2:45 – 3:30. Seniors meet in Mrs. Bizeur’s room and Juniors meet in Mr. Ivancic’s room. The schedule for competitions can be found here.
GSA (Gender-Sexuality Alliance): The GSA calendar can be found here.
LEGO Club: The LEGO club calendar can be found here.
NJHS: The NJHS calendar can be found here. Bobcat Buddies will take place on our next half day March 20th.
Student Council: Student Council will be holding an extra meeting next Tuesday, March 12th from 2:45 pm -3:30 pm in room 301 to finalize preparations for Multicultural Night and prepare for our March 26th visit to City Hall. Here is our Meeting Schedule.
Guitar Ensemble: We are continuing to meet on Thursday mornings and are getting ready to strut our stuff at the May concert!
Drama Club: Rehearsals are going well, we are a little over a month away. The dates for Mean Girls Jr. are April 26 @ 7pm / April 27 @ 12pm / April 28 @ 1pm. Tickets are available online and will also be available at the door.
Chorus: Chorus is still meeting every Tuesday and Friday morning, and we are working on some exciting things! We will be making our debut at the Multicultural Night next week, have two performances coming up in May! We will be performing at a NH Fisher Cats game on May 10th, come out to the ballpark and support your singing Bobcats! See Ms. Avalos for more information, and see the flyer below!
GRIT: The GRIT group will be going to Academy Lanes on Friday, March 15 after school for their final get-together. Parents/guardians will be receiving a letter/permission slip next week with details. Check out pictures below of our last meeting where we did some TRUST activities.
Mentor/Mentee: Mentors and Mentees had their large group meetings over the last two weeks where we played Kindness Bingo and had some fun games.
YEARBOOK: ATTENTION ALL ARTISTS! The Yearbook Cover Contest is now open! Submissions will be accepted until April 12th. If you would like to submit a cover, please bring a letter-sized, colored drawing to Room 213 or email a detailed picture to Mr. Thornton (matthew.thornton@haverhill-ps.org)
ODDS & ENDS:
-All students have been issued school IDs. It is required that they bring and wear their ID badges each day. These badges are also used for breakfast and lunches as well as to “swipe” on & off the bus.
-Please make sure that your student(s) are coming to school daily with a fully charged chromebook.
HPS has chosen School Device Coverage (SDC) to insure the Chromebooks that students have been issued. The cost of coverage for the year is $20 and includes accidental damage, loss, fire, and theft. As of right now, families have the option to sign up during the month of September (we will let you know if it extends). After sign up closes, only new students will be given a special code to sign up at registration. Our website explains SDC and has instructions on how to signing up online:
https://www.haverhill-ps.org/technology/device-insurance/
Qustodio: a FREE student safety, digital wellbeing platform that helps parents/guardians control their child’s access to the internet on their school issued devices. Qustodio is FREE for HPS Students/Families. More information and how to sign up for Qustodio can be found on our website at:
https://www.haverhill-ps.org/technology/athome/student-safety-and-digital-wellbeing-platform/
-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: Please click on the link below to review Hunking policies including cell phone, dress code, and pick up & drop off procedures:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OOOIPyskLX9WyYSuAWqfyQCB0ZJZ8JFsTTgB_sNW8d4/edit?usp=sharing