Bobcat Bulletin 11/22/24

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH IS A HALF DAY FOR ALL STUDENTS. DISMISSAL WILL BE AT 11:05AM. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY. 

 

THANKSGIVING BREAK: THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL ON THURSDAY & FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28-29th. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

 

HUNKING’S FALL FAMILY ENGAGEMENT SURVEY: 

 

Hello Hunking Families,

It has been a goal and priority of ours here at Hunking to build and foster partnerships with our entire community. The success of our students benefits most when families feel a sense of involvement and that their voices are heard.

In an attempt to see how Hunking has been doing with this goal, we would really appreciate it if all families took the time (5-10 minutes) to complete this survey. This survey will remain open until Wednesday, November 27th. 

We will analyze and use this data to make necessary and continuous improvements at our school.

Thank you in advance for your support with this.

English Survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpYhGdMKzhgkZJPWiqMRZBLRODLf8G1E4_xp-5op40-kt74g/viewform?usp=sf_link

Spanish Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvgopNpiBBd37Z4i7kDyrhN8HQBzT6tlhhiAZ5Zjz5G1ZkaA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Portuguese Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMDLXVPdQDK81Mc0dZ07hX0zApbgNXV_kgQZ3m3gI8DqCocQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Haitian Creole Survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGaNAm-FYXtCazvPrqtSt9_YKivVSfXeh8ppOZPcjQOJD5vg/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

 

REPORT CARD CHANGES (K-4 ONLY): 

 

Dear Haverhill Public Schools Families,

We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to inform you about an important change in our reporting system that will enhance the way we communicate your child’s progress in school.

Beginning this academic year, Haverhill Public Schools will be implementing a Standards-Based Report Card for all students in grades K-4. This new report card will align with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) standards, providing a clearer picture of your child’s academic performance and growth.  

What is a Standards-Based Report Card?

A Standards-Based Report Card focuses on individual student learning relative to specific standards rather than traditional grading methods. This means that instead of receiving a letter grade for each subject, students will be assessed on their understanding of key concepts and skills outlined by the MA DESE end-of-year standards. The report card will provide detailed feedback on what your child has mastered, what they are working on, and areas where additional support may be needed.  Throughout the school year, some standards are taught and assessed at different times; as a result, you may see an N/A which means that the standard was not assessed during that trimester.  

Benefits of the New Report Card:

  1. Clear Expectations: Parents will have a better understanding of what students are expected to learn at each grade level.
  2. Focused Feedback: Specific feedback will help guide student learning and inform parents about their child’s strengths and areas for improvement.
  3. Encouragement of Growth: The new format promotes a growth mindset, emphasizing the learning process rather than just the final grade.

Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to your child’s education. We are excited about this change and believe it will greatly benefit our students’ learning experiences.

 

THEME OF THE MONTH: November’s theme of the month will be GRATITUDE. This is a feeling of appreciation by a recipient of another’s kindness. This kindness can be in the form of help/support, favors, or another form of generosity to another person. Gratitude is when you feel thankful for the good things in your life. This could be stuff that people often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, friends, and family. Gratitude is taking a moment to reflect on how lucky you are when something good happens, whether it is big or small. Staff will be on the lookout this month for those students who best personify this theme. 

 

NOVEMBER BREAKFAST & LUNCH MENUS

(If the links are not working, please visit https://www.fdmealplanner.com/ and type in “Hunking” for the location.)

 

COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS: 

 

FAMILY LITERACY CLASSES: 

English Family Literacy Flyer

Spanish Family Literacy Flyer

Portuguese Family Literacy Flyer

Haitian Creole Family Literacy Flyer

Arabic Family Literacy Flyer

Vietnamese Family Literacy Flyer 

French Family Literacy Flyer

 

 

PTO NEWS: 

  • Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who helped run our first annual holiday shop! It was a HUGE success and we couldn’t have done it without your help!

  • The next PTO Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 4th at 5:30 in the Hunking Conference Room!

  • Get your Hunking spirit wear at: https://1stplace.sale/40727! The sale runs from 1/4/2024 to 12/10/2024 and you’ll get 25% off all merchandise plus free shipping on orders over $75. Guaranteed delivery by Dec. 23rd!

 

 

NEWS FROM GUIDANCE

School Counselor: Terri Carney terri.carney@haverhill-ps.org

 

Attention All 8th Graders!!! 

Once a student has applied to the high school program of their choice, the next step is an interview which does not take place until Feb or March 2025. 

You will not hear anything until the interview schedule is posted. Thank you for your patience!

HHS CTE practice interview questions are available on the School Counseling google classroom and CTE posts them on their application page: https://cte.haverhill-ps.org/application-process/.

8th grade School Counseling google classroom code

Students, join the google classroom with: egta65o

 

WVT does not release their interview questions. 

 

Classical Academy @HHS

Classical Academy at HHS is accepting applications!!!!

The Classical Academy seeks students who are intellectually curious, who are passionate about learning, and who want to deepen their knowledge of the arts and sciences. Classical Application 2023_2024.docx

 

Career Technical Education (CTE) @HHS

HHS Career Technical Education (CTE) Program: https://cte.haverhill-ps.org/  

Is accepting applications NOW!!!! Please use a parent/guardian email address. School emails do not work for the application. Deadline Feb 14th. Decisions are made March 29th, 2025.

 

Whittier Voc Tech: Application and important dates: https://whittiertech.go2cte.com/ 

Whittier field trip for 8th graders is Dec. 5th. Please return the permissions slip no later than Dec. 2nd. Thank you. 

 

Work Permits: Find all the information needed to obtain a work permit here:

https://www.haverhill-ps.org/work-permit-information

 

 

EDUCATIONAL HAPPENINGS: 

 

7th Grade ELA: The 7th grade held an event to recognize several talented students and celebrate their excellent writing on the end of Unit 1 Narrative Essay. The students were joined by their families and received a certificate as well as listened to excerpts from their narratives. We would like to thank everyone who was able to attend the event and make it a special morning for the nominated students. We would also like to thank two amazing local businesses, Aroma Joe’s and Heav’nly Donuts, for their incredibly generous donations. 

 

 

8th Grade:

In Academics:

  • Math scholars continue to work with parallel lines and triangles using properties of algebra to find angle measures.  They’ve also begun proving right triangles by using the Pythagorean theorem
  • Science scholars just finished a unit on weather and will be starting to study climate change which will focus on the human impact on the environment
  • Civics students are learning how a bill becomes a law….Remember School House Rocks?
  • ELA scholars have outlined a writing plan and begun drafting their multiple paragraph essay on authors’ use of allusion, irony and symbolism in developing a theme in the texts read in Unit 1: everyone loves a mystery.  Next week we will give and receive peer feedback to drive our revisions.  Final draft is due December 4th.

 

Thank you to all the 8th graders who volunteered to help at the PTO Holiday Store this week!  

 

 

 

NEWS FROM OUR NURSES:  We will be wrapping up  screenings which include hearing, vision and height and weights this week for those who need rescreening or when absent. If your child wears glasses, please make sure you send them to school. If you have received a referral, please send it back as soon as possible. If your child has a physical, please send a copy to the health office so we may keep track of your child’s health needs at school. 

Cold and flu season has arrived. Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate clothes for the weather and using good hand hygiene to prevent getting sick. Proper cough etiquette is important to keep from spreading germs so please sneeze or cough into your elbow or a tissue. 

 

ATHLETIC NEWS: 

 

Basketball: After a tough and competitive tryout, both teams have been chosen for this year’s boys and girls squads and we have been working hard to get ready for our first game, Tuesday 11/26, against Nettle. We are away this week but our first home game is December 3rd vs Consentino. Come cheer us on!

-Coach Gibbs and Coach Mansour

 

 

Cheerleading: Rosters have been posted. Please stay tuned for more information…

 

 

CLUB NEWS: 

 

GRIT: Round 1 of GRIT is coming to an end sadly. What a great experience it’s been the last 9 weeks! Our final meeting will be a celebration of all the work we’ve done and the memories made. Students will enjoy some food & beverages and games after school on Monday, Nov. 25 with the advisors. Here are some recent pictures of our team building activities:

 

 

The MENTOR/ MENTEE program has been off to a good start these first few weeks. Mentors are getting to know their mentees better and doing all kinds of activities when they meet. Check out the pictures! 

 

Chorus: Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Thanksgiving Feast! You all did a fantastic job! If you enjoyed the Chorus’ performance last night, you should mark your calendars for December 17th at 6:00pm for the Hunking Concert, featuring both the chorus and bands! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

 

NJHS: The NJHS calendar can be found here. Our Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser is LIVE.  Click Here for amazing popcorn and support 50% of the funds to our group.

 

GSA: The calendar for the GSA can be found here

 

LEGO Club: The LEGO Club calendar can be found here. 

 

Student Council: This week, council members volunteered at the PTO Holiday Store and put together Mrs. Burrow’s paper flowers for our Community Feast!  At Wednesday’s meeting they made plans for a Winter Fun Event for grades K-2.  More information on this December 9th event to come.  Council Meeting Calendar can be found here. 

 

 

ODDS & ENDS: 

 

-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:

 

-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