The Student Council and the 5th Grade Team announce:
❄️ THE SNOW BALL Semi-Formal dance!
Friday January 30th
Grades 5&6 from 5-6:30 pm
Grades 7&8 from 7-8:30 pm
Tickets $5
*Going on sale week of 1/19 at lunch, CheddarUp, or buy at the door
Pizza, Water, Snacks and Treats for $1-$3 each
Theme of the Month: Throughout the month of January, we will be celebrating the theme of commitment. Commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. The act of committing, or engaging oneself is a pledge, promise or obligation. Such as we have made a commitment to show up to school each and every day, and to put forward our very best effort. Commitment is being dedicated and responsible for being kind and respectful to everyone. Staff will be on the lookout this month for the students who best personify this theme.
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:
SEPAC:
PTO NEWS:
Coming Soon
Someone Special Dance
Feb, 6th, 2026
Grades 3-4 Immediately after school 3:00-4:30pm
No Guest
Grades K-2 5:30-7:00pm
Must have a Guest over 18 years old
**Next Meeting Feb. 12th 5:30 with NJHS babysitting and homework help available
NEWS FROM GUIDANCE
Terri Carney, School Counselor, grades 5-8
HHS
- HHS CTE Admissions Lottery Will Be Held On January 29th 4:00PM
- Lottery numbers will be generated approximately a week prior to the lottery
Middle School Pathway Exploration
- Classical Academy Application Deadline to apply: January 17th, 2026.
WVT
LOTTERY DRAWING INFORMATION
- WVT will assign numbers approximately a week prior to the drawing
- Lottery Drawings for the current admissions cycle will be held at the following date/time.
Class of 2030 Fall Admissions: Tuesday, January 27 4:00 PM - All lotteries will be streamed live on our YouTube Channel.
For additional information: https://www.whittiertech.org/o/wrvtd/page/admissions
Upcoming: Selecting Electives for HHS
Towards the end of January, beginning of February, the 8th graders will begin selecting electives for 9th grade at HHS. This will be done during the school day, but they can then show parents/guardians/grownups the courses that they chose by going into their school brains. Below is the letter that was sent out to families. It also contains the program of studies to view the courses students may choose from. Please be aware that not all courses are offered to 9th graders. Some courses are grade level specific and some require a pre-requisite before taking the course.
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:
Homework Help: Drop in homework support is being offered Wednesday mornings from 8:00am – 8:30am starting December 3rd in the library with Mrs. Corcoran. You must provide transportation. If you have any questions, please email tcorcoran@haverhill-ps.org.
Grade 7 : 7th Grade Math has started paper-based homework. It will go home on Mondays and due on Friday! Also, welcome to Mrs. Banda who will be covering Social Studies until Mr. Kellerman returns!
Grade 8: ELA students are starting Alan Gratz’sj Refugee, an historical fiction novel told in three narratives about refugees from different times and places across history. Students are beginning with the story of Josef, a teenager fleeing Nazi Germany on the MS St. Louis and are working on analyzing the author’s choices by keeping a journal as they read. In Math, we will be analyzing ways to represent the relationship between two variables through tables, graphs, and equations.
Please join the Parent Run FaceBook Page to be in the KNOW!
Multilingual News: Wishing all our ML families a Happy New Year!
Each year, students in English learner programs take the ACCESS for ELLs language proficiency test. The test measures academic English language proficiency for students learning English in our school and throughout our state. The students are tested in the 4 language domains (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing).
Teachers in our school use this information to help them make decisions about instruction for your child. Teachers also use these test scores to monitor the progress your child makes toward English proficiency.
Access Testing will begin on Jan 8, 2026 Please make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep, charges their chromebook, and eats a healthy breakfast to help keep your child focused during the test.
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES: 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.
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.
We will be starting Postural/Scoliosis screening for all 5th through 8th grade students at the beginning of February. This screening is to check the spine for scoliosis and is required by the state. The screening requires the exposure of the student’s back for assessment so we request girls wear a sports bra for gym class. The screening is done in a private space and done during gym class. If you would like your child to be opted out of this screening, a written note needs to be sent to the health office either by email or paper. We would also need a current physical showing the child was screened by his/her doctor for your child to opt out. If you have any questions or concerns, you may reach the health office at 978-420-1913.
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: Practice will be held on Thursday, 1/15 from 3:00-4:30pm. There will also be an optional open gym/practice on Wednesday morning from 7:45-8:30am.
Games next week: Tuesday, January 13th vs. Consentino @ home (Boys play first)
Boys Basketball: Practice will be held on Monday 1/12 from 3:00-4:30pm & Wednesday 1/14 from 3:00-4:30pm. There will also be an optional open gym/practice on Wednesday morning from 7:45-8:30am.
Games next week: Tuesday, January 13th vs. Consentino @ home (Boys play first)
Volleyball: We are in the process of reserving the gym for Saturday January 24th. Our intention is for grades 7-8 to have their clinic go from 11:30am – 1:00pm. Still waiting on grades 4-6. That clinic would be from 10am – 11:30am. You’ll be notified if you have a spot reserved. We sent out flyers yesterday for those grades (4-6) and will be doing so again today. Please remember, we only have so many spots available. If we get enough participation, we’ll look to run some more of these!
CLUB NEWS:
Guitar Ensemble: See you next Friday, January 16th! We will be looking at new songs for our Spring performance. We are also open to new members at this time so if you’re in grades 5-8 and interested-come check it out! We meet Friday afternoons from 2:45-3:30 in Mrs. Fairbrother’s room (143).
Chorus: Chorus will resume rehearsals starting Monday. We are excited to announce that we will be performing The National Anthem at a UML Basketball game on Saturday January 31st! Please come and support your singing Bobcats, see the attached flyer for details!
The Hunking Bobcat Chorus proudly presents (1)
Tri-M: The next Tri-M meeting is scheduled for Wednesday January 21st until 3:30 in the music room. Please check Google Classroom for important updates!
Student Council: Monthly Meeting and Events Schedule can be found here. The next Winter Dance Committee meeting is Thursday January 15th in room 301 until 3:30 pm.
ALL MEMBERS must turn in their field trip permission slip for the January 22nd trip to The Edward Kennedy Institute at UMass Boston. See Mrs. Corkum for forms.
NJHS: The NJHS calendar can be found here.
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