TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23RD IS AN EARLY RELEASE DAY. DISMISSAL WILL BE AT 11:05AM, PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL FROM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24TH THROUGH FRIDAY, JANUARY 2ND IN OBSERVANCE OF OUR WINTER BREAK. STUDENTS WILL RETURN TO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH.
Theme of the Month: Throughout the month of December, we celebrated the theme of Generosity. Generosity is simply the quality of being kind & generous. It is the quality of being unselfish and sharing what you have without expecting anything in return. It is your willingness to share your resources with others, with no strings attached. Generosity is not just about giving material things; it is also about giving your time, energy, emotional support, encouragement, or wisdom.
Food Services has changed the menus this year. When you go to FD MealPlanner, 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 justin.hodgkins@haverhill-ps.org.
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS:
Food Pantry Info:
Resource Guide: 2025 updated resource guide 10-29
Spanish-Resource Guide ENGLISH March 2024-2025_Al-Camila_updated (2)
Holiday Drive: Copy of 2025 Haverhill 2025 holiday drive (3) (1)
2025 Haverhill 2025 holiday drive (1) (2) (3) (1)
Haverhill Youth Lacrosse: HavLax2026Flyer
PTO NEWS: During the holiday season, raise money for Hunking by purchasing gift cards at face value. Shop 750+ top brands and immediately earn up to 20% on every gift card you buy for Hunking!
Simply create an account on the RaiseRight app or at raiseright.com using Hunking’s enrollment code: 2LE6ECBC18345!
NEWS FROM GUIDANCE
Terri Carney, School Counselor, grades 5-8
If you are in need of food assistance resources, please access this folder with local resources. Local Food Resources
The deadline for both HHS CTE and WVT is January 9, 2026
HHS Options
- HHS Career Technical Education (CTE) HHS CTE Application Deadline to apply Jan 9, 2026
- HHS CTE Application Instructions
- Classical Academy Application Deadline to apply: January 17th, 2026.
WVT
- WVT Application. Deadline to apply Jan 9, 2026.
- WVT Application Instructions
- WVT has announced they will have a straight lottery system for admissions.
Essex North Shore
- There are 7 programs that Haverhill students may apply to
- Application window closes on January 10, 2026
- Essex will have a straight lottery
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
Introducing Julia Rossi, Youth Wellness Coach
This year, our district is welcoming an additional community resource – a Youth Wellness Coach Intern to Hunking! Ms. Julia Rossi will be a support to our counseling team to specifically serve the middle school grades. Youth Wellness Coaches are fully trained and vetted from a local organization, C4 Innovates and HPS to serve as non-clinical behavioral health providers with our students. As youth peers, they draw on their own lived experiences to build rapport with students, model resilience, and serve as an extra set of hands to support youth directly using evidence-based practices and interventions. Ms. Rossi will be on site on Mondays and Wednesdays to provide additional non-clinical behavioral health capacity to our existing teams.
We have been contracting with C4 Innovates for the past three years. Youth Wellness Coaches are employed by C4 Innovations and will be serving in our schools at least two days a week for the next five years as part of a statewide initiative to enhance and improve SBIRT screening which is a screening tool used for grades 7 & 10. HHS has had the benefit of having a Youth Wellness Coach to support implementation of programs and students for a variety of needs and services. It’s great having friendly faces who are capable of connecting with students and staff to support initiatives.
If Ms. Rossi will be working directly with your student providing services beyond the basic daily interactions with the counselors, she will reach out to families individually for consent. If you have questions about how Youth Wellness Coaches will serve our community, please feel free to reach out to the C4 Innovations team at oasis@c4innovates.com or Ms. Terri Carney, Hunking School Counselor terri.carney@haverhill-ps.org . You can learn more about C4 Innovations at www.c4innovates.com. Watch this space for more information about how this new team member will support our school!
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/
EDUCATIONAL HAPPENINGS:
Kindergarten: We had an amazing time decorating gingerbread cookies with our special adults on Wednesday morning. A huge thank you to our PTO for purchasing the cookies, our wonderful kitchen staff for baking the sugar cookies and to all our incredible families for your generous donations and time to make this such a special time.
Grade 8: Monday December 22nd, the 8th grade will be going to The Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport to see the Panto version of The Nutcracker. These pantos are highly engaging for audiences of all ages! The cost to students is $10, but we have received several donations to offset the cost of any students who find this fee a hardship. Please, let a teacher know if help is needed, please. Contrary to our original plan, students will be returning to school in time to have school lunch at 1pm. Permission slip
In ELA, students have completed their GR8 Debate! Congratulations to everyone who participated.
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES: A friendly reminder that we have many students with dietary restrictions / allergies. Please do not send in snacks / treats without checking with your child’s homeroom teacher and/or the health office first and please make sure it is well in advance so we can plan.
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. If your child does develop a fever or has a stomach bug, please notify the nurse’s office (978-420-1913). Students may return to school after being 24 hours fever free without any medication.
We are wrapping up screenings for vision and hearing. We have sent home referrals for any child who has trouble seeing or hearing. If your child did receive a referral, please send in any notes from the doctor or the completed referral form. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
ATHLETIC NEWS:
In order to participate in any Hunking sports a current physical exam (done within the last 12 months) needs to be provided to the health office. This is a Haverhill Public School policy.
Girls Basketball:
UPCOMING GAMES:
Tuesday, 1/6/26 @ JGW (Boys play 1st)
Thursday, 1/8/26 vs. Sacred Hearts (H) (Girls play 1st)
Boys Basketball:
UPCOMING GAMES:
Tuesday, 1/6/26 @ JGW (Boys play 1st)
Thursday, 1/8/26 vs. Sacred Hearts (H) (Girls play 1st)
Volleyball:
Hello families,
Thank you to everyone who has already responded to the volleyball clinic interest form. To better organize instruction and group students appropriately, we are now using separate interest forms by grade level:
- Grades 4–5
- Grade 6
- Grades 7–8
Between us, Coach Ada and I have over 40 years of coaching experience, not including our own playing careers. Because there will be two coaches working each clinic, space in each group will be limited so we can keep instruction focused and supervision appropriate. Once a group reaches capacity, additional students may be placed on a waitlist or given priority for a future clinic.
At this point, a specific Saturday has not yet been selected. We are collecting interest first so we can choose dates, plan gym space (make sure it’s open to rent), and make sure we are setting up clinics that run well.
We are especially interested in getting younger students playing early, so they can build confidence and learn the game before reaching the middle school level.
Please be sure to complete the correct interest form for your child’s grade level. Filling out the form does not commit you to attending—it simply helps us plan.
Interest forms will close on Sunday, January 4.
If a grade group does not reach the minimum number needed to run a clinic, families will be notified and offered priority for future clinics.
Once forms close, we will follow up with dates and next steps.
CLUB NEWS:
Student Council: Monthly Meeting and Events Schedule can be found here.
Student Council and the 5th Grade are teaming up to host a WINTER DANCE! It’s been dubbed The Snow Ball! Why The Snow Ball? Because students are encouraging semi-formal attire for an extra special touch! So, save the date: On January 30th Grades 5&6 will run from 5pm-6:30pm and Grades 7&8 from 7pm-8:30pm.
NJHS: The NJHS calendar can be found here. Next meeting will be held on Jan. 9, 2026!
GSA: The GSA calendar can be found here.
Lego Club: The LEGO Club calendar can be found here.
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.
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