The lost and found is overflowing – including many coats! All items will be donated on Monday afternoon, so please have your child check if they are missing something.
Theme of the Month: We celebrate and focus on a theme each month here at Hunking. Our first theme of the school year captures our number one rule: KINDNESS. Kindness is the quality of being generous, considerate, and compassionate toward others, often involving acts of help or service without expecting anything in return. Kindness can be practiced through actions like sharing, listening, or offering support. Practicing kindness can improve one’s own mood and well-being, strengthen relationships, and create a positive chain reaction here at Hunking and in the world in general! It is treating others the way that you want to be treated. Staff will be on the lookout throughout this first month for the students who best personify this theme.
At the end of the month, we celebrate by conducting brief grade-level assemblies to recognize those students who have best personified the theme of the month.
Food Services has changed the menus this year. When you go to https://www.fdmealplanner.com/, and type in “Hunking” for the school location, you will see a WEEKLY menu. You will see the main lunch and other options available for the day. You will still be able to filter according to food allergens. Any questions, please contact Food Services at anna.perracchio@haverhill-ps.org.
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS:
CELEBRATING HISPANIC & LATINX HERITAGE MONTH:
From September 15th through October 15th, Massachusetts celebrates the contributions and history made by those of Hispanic & Latinx heritage. Be sure to check out some local events at the Haverhill Public Library (Friday Movies), Northern Essex Community College, and other Merrimack Valley cities and towns.
For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month’s origins, check out the Library of Congress’ website.
PTO NEWS: We are proud to announce field trips are already being planned and the PTO is happy to support money towards these experiences! Grade 6 is leading the ship here!
- The next PTO meeting held at Hunking is October 2 at 5:30pm. Free babysitting is available by NJHS.
- Beginning Friday, chocolate bar sales for $1 each will take place during lunches. Chocolate bars are gluten free except the wafer option.
- Coming up:
- Big Dog at Bradford Common 10/24-10/27. Come and vote!
- Boosterthon Fun Run 10/27-11/6. Our yearly goal is to raise $45,000 with your support. We CAN accomplish this!
- Our contact is HunkingPTO28@gmail.com
NEWS FROM GUIDANCE
Terri Carney, School Counselor, grades 5-8
Today at Hunking for Grades 5-8, we had a High School and Career Fair!
Today we had many guests from HHS, Career Technical Education (CTE), Classical Academy, JrROTC, Essex North Shore and Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. Students heard about the many options for them at high school including Early College, AP courses and more! Please be sure to ask your student about today’s amazing event!
For all parents and caregivers!
Massachusetts Partners for Youth has a wonderful resource! Check out the Parenting Solutions Library! https://peaceathomeparenting.com/mpy-solution-libraries/
Grades 6-8 December 4th is family night at HHS from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Important Information for Parents of 8th graders
The new guidelines for CTE programs include providing student access to programs and upcoming events, and includes an opt-out to release Grade 8 information to local tech schools. All Tech schools and HHS are working on their Middle School Pathways Policy and their application process. Our middle schools will know more about the Essex Tech/Whittier Tech lottery by October 15th.
English/Spanish/Portuguese CTE/HHS notification for middle school families 25-26
Parents of 8th Graders: Planning Ahead, High School Options:
HHS
- The 8th-grade tour will be on October 24th during school hours! Look for the permission slip closer to that date!
- HHS Career Technical Education (CTE) will begin accepting applications on November 1st.
- HHS Classical Academy is accepting applications soon. The deadline to apply is January 17th, 2026. Classical Academy Application
WVT
- The application window opens on November 1st
- Open house for 8th graders and families is on November 2nd from 1-4
- WVT tour for students is Dec 11th. Look for permission slips closer to the field trip.
Essex North Shore
- Students from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are eligible to apply
- Application window opens November 1, 2025 and closes on January 10, 2026
- Essex Open House is November 22nd Registration Required, go to website
Other high school info:
- Private school application windows open early
- If you are planning to attend a private school for 9th grade, be sure to look at their websites for important information about applying and deadlines
Technology Resources:
DESE Learning Standards for Families: learning benchmarks for math and ELA per grade level.
Technology Webpage: How to Access Parent Portal (PDF), Google Classroom, Parent controls (Qustodio), and basic iPad and Chromebook usage tips.
Remind app: How to download and use Remind to communicate with teachers.
ML team : ML News for parents and families:
ML students are using a new platform to develop and advance their English skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Families have 4 free accounts to use for any family members who want to learn, develop or advance their English language as well! Directions are below: Step-by-step instructions:
- Log in to the student portal using your student’s credentials. (Summit K12 on student launchpad)
- Find the “My Account” dropdown menu within the student portal.
- Select “Family Access” from that menu.
- Locate the User ID and Password for the family account from the information provided.
- Go to the Summit K12 website at https://lms.summitk12.com/ to log in with the provided credentials. Please reach out to your student’s English Language Development teacher with any questions or concerns.
EDUCATIONAL HAPPENINGS:
5th grade and 6th grade: Permission slips went home today for the Topsfield Fair field trip. Please be on the lookout for these as they are on a yellow piece of paper. Both grade levels will be attending the fair on Oct 9 and the forms with the money are due back to your child’s homeroom teachers by next Friday Oct 3. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to
Mrs. Fielding (5th and 6th grade math interventionist- jfielding@haverhill-ps.org) who has planned this for the kids. Looking forward to a fun day with the kids.
8th Grade:
ELA: In ELA, the students had their first presentations in class! Next week, we launch our first StudySync unit officially.
Science: Students are testing their knowledge of astronomy this week and will begin their earth science unit next week.
Civics: Students have learned about their rights as citizens and are beginning to learn about the road to the American Revolution.
Math: Students have been working on applications in scientific notation.
Health Classes:
In 5th grade, students are working on a unit to assess their self esteem, improve self esteem and understand its importance to our overall health.
In grade 6, students are learning about the many health habits one can do to improve physical, social and mental/emotional health.
Grade 7 students have been learning about the important life skill of setting goals and how to develop a SMART Goal plan.
In 8th grade, Students are learning and applying a decision making model to situations teens may face and predicting consequences of a variety of unhealthy decisions.
GROUPS 6C & 6D will be attending a field trip to the New Balance Track Complex in Boston on Thursday, October 2 . Ms Curry was invited to take 50 students as a celebration of their participation in the Boston vs. Bullies curriculum they did last year in grade 5 health classes. Permission forms with letters went home early this week.
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES: We have started vision and hearing screening with our lower school students. Please make sure your child wears glasses to school (if they need them). We will be sending home referrals for any child who has trouble seeing or hearing. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
If your child has any medications that are needed at school, such as Epipens and inhalers, please drop off the medication and forms in the health office. The Health Office needs an order from the student’s provider and parental consent for medication administration, and the medication should be in the original bottle/box with a pharmacy label. Please reach out to the Health Office if you did not receive an allergy/asthma packet.
You should have received an Annual Health Update and Permission form. Please complete and send back to school as soon as possible, if not already done. Please list the medications you do not want your child to have in school (This is a change from last year’s form) and sign the bottom of the form.
If your child will be participating in any sports this year, they will need a current physical in order to play. Our fax number is 978-274-1944 if you would like the doctor to fax it to our office.
Please remember to send your child in with a water bottle. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Health Office (978-420-1913).
ATHLETIC NEWS:
Soccer: 2025 Hunking Soccer Practice & Game Schedule
Girls had another strong win Tuesday with goals from Emma Johnson and Grace Leate, plus a shutout from Maddie Davidson. The boys battled hard after an early goal but fell 1-0. As soon as we have a date for the rescheduled game, we will announce via our Remind page.
To get the most up to date information on schedule changes, click this link to joining the Hunking Soccer 2025 Remind classroom.
Weekly Practice & Game Schedule:
9/29 Boys & Girls Practice 3-430
9/30 Consentino @ Hunking (Boys first)
10/2 Whittier @ Hunking (Boys first)
Cross Country: Thank you to all of our XC runners and parents for another great week of practices! We have our first meet right around the corner, so please take advantage of the weekend workouts and/or the practice day workouts that are sent through our Remind group. Completing these is the best way to make the most of their season. As always, thank you for your support and please reach out at any time.
Your kiddos biggest fans,
Coach Law & Coach Melyssa
Meets Date for this season:
10/1 Wednesday meet for Gr. 6-8 vs. Haverhill District Schools
10/8 Wednesday meet for Gr.4 & 5 vs. Haverhill District Schools
10/20 Monday meet for Gr. 6-8 vs. Haverhill District School
10/28 Tuesday meet for Gr. 6-8 vs Methuen &North Andover
All meets are held at Winnekenni Park in Haverhill. Start times are as close to 3:30pm as possible; historically, times have been pushed to almost 4, as we are at the mercy of traffic and limited buses for all middle schools in our district to arrive. Parking at Winnekenni can be challenging at times as well, so I would also recommend either parking on the main road or backing into a spot inside the park to make exiting easier.
Bussing is provided to and from (back to Hunking)
Please note*Considering traffic during the end time of meets, we do encourage parent pick up/car pool when possible from Winnekenni at the conclusion of the meet.
Unified Bocce Ball: The Unified Bocce Ball team will get the balls rolling next week as the first practice will be on Wednesday October 1st from 3:00pm – 4:00pm in the Hunking gym. Please plan to pick up your player following practice at the Hunking main entrance. All that is required for your child is a good pair of sneakers and a positive attitude!
BASKETBALL: Any grade 6-8 student who plans on trying out for basketball this year WILL NOT be able to try out without an updated physical. Physicals are due no later than Monday, October 13th. They can be turned into Mrs. Mansour in room 301 or the nurse’s office.
CLUB NEWS:
Mentor/Mentee: We had over 100 students in grades 7 & 8 express interest in being a mentor. Of that 100, 84 were new and 16 were returning mentors. Therefore, many great candidates will not get an opportunity unfortunately, due to the limited available spots and the large number of applications. All staff were allowed to vote for their personal top 10 in each grade and the top vote getters will be chosen. Official notification of selected candidates is by Wed.Oct. 1
Chorus: Chorus will be continuing our schedule of Upper School Mon-Thur, and Lower School Tue-Fri.
Tri-M: Tri-M will start officially in October, more information will be out soon.
Model UN: Do you like debating big ideas, solving world problems, or stepping into the shoes of global leaders? Then Model United Nations (Model UN) is the club for you! In Model UN, you’ll:
- Represent different countries
- Debate real-world issues like climate change, human rights, and world peace ️
- Work with teammates to create solutions
- Build confidence in speaking, writing, and leadership ✍️
No experience needed—just curiosity and a willingness to think big! See Mrs. Seed in room 211 for more information. Meeting days will be announced next month!
Student Council: See the monthly meeting schedule here.
Elections
Campaigning is officially underway! Candidate election videos are due by Tuesday. Voting will take place next week in grade-level classrooms, and results will be announced on Friday.
Student Council wants to recognize PTO APPRECIATION DAY! Thank you for all you do to make our school a better place!
NJHS: The NJHS calendar can be found here. Wednesday was our first Bobcat Buddies meeting! We colored, molded kinetic sand, sculpted with PlayDoh and played Bocci
GSA: GSA will begin in October
Lego Club: Lego Club will begin in November.
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 ensure 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. The HPS website (under technology) explains SDC and has instructions on how to sign 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 and pick up & drop off procedures:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u0UOrpoO9vRnMMJuYpeJmaSGKcywt29SX94AQmSHFzQ/edit?usp=sharing