NO SCHOOL FRIDAY, APRIL 3RD IN OBSERVANCE OF GOOD FRIDAY
Hunking Spring Family Engagement Survey LINK
Pesquisa de Engajamento Familiar da Primavera LINK
Encuesta de participación familiar de primavera LINK
Earlier this year many of you took time to complete our fall family survey. Your feedback was incredibly helpful and has already guided some of the work we’ve done this year, including prioritizing student activities and family events, reflecting on how we communicate with families, and reviewing how Chromebooks are used at school.
As we head into the final stretch of the year, we would appreciate your help once again. This short spring survey (about 3–5 minutes-only 11 questions) will help us understand how we are doing and where we can continue to improve.
Our Site Council will review the results and compare them with our fall survey data as we plan for the remainder of this year and begin preparing for next year.
Thank you for partnering with us and for taking the time to share your feedback.
MCAS SCHEDULE: MCAS season is once again nearly upon us. Our grades 3-8 students will be participating in the state’s annual MCAS testing. This is still a very important assessment for our students and measures our progress as a school in comparison to other schools in our district and throughout the state of Massachusetts. Students’ participation in this test is of utmost importance.
Please find the link to the MCAS schedule below, where you can find out exactly when
your student(s) are scheduled to test.
Hunking’s 4th Annual Multicultural Night:
Just when you think it can’t get any better than the last, the Hunking community pulled it off again! What an amazing night last night at our 4th Annual Multicultural Night! Thank you to everyone who came and participated. It takes so many people to pull off such a successful event like this one, and we appreciate every single family and person who contributed, but I do have to give an extra large shout out and thank you to a few people, who without them, this event would not be what it was. Thank you so much to Ms. Law & Ms. Polanco who went above and beyond to ensure that this was the best event yet. And I want to thank Ms. Mclaughlin and her daughter Emily, as well as Mr. Kellerman for the amazing traveling Buttonwood’s museum and history of the Merrimack River in the library. If you haven’t had a chance to see it, please check it out while it is still displayed today! Overall, I can’t wait for our 5th Annual Multicultural Night!
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THOUGHT. COULD YOU PLEASE SCAN THE QR CODE TO TAKE A QUICK 2 MINUTE SURVEY TO SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK:
Literacy & Math Night!
We are excited to invite our families to a K–8 Literacy and Math Family Game Night on Thursday, April 16th from 4:30pm – 6:00pm! Join us for an evening of Bingo for Books (K-5) and this year we’re adding hands-on games that support important literacy and math skills while bringing students and families together. This event is designed to show how learning can be engaging and playful, and it’s a great opportunity to connect with your child through interactive activities. We hope you can join us for a night of learning, laughter, and family fun! Since this is a fun event for the whole family, we kindly ask that parents stay with their children throughout the activities.
Please sign up here to let us know you’re coming!
https://math-and-literacy-night-30188.cheddarup.com
Theme of the Month: We have been embracing the theme of GRIT throughout the month of March. Grit is courage or resolve; strength of character. Grit is courage and determination despite difficulty. Grit is a personality trait characterized by perseverance and passion for achieving long term goals. Grit entails working strenuously to overcome challenges and maintaining effort and interest over time despite failures, adversities, and plateaus in progress. Staff will be on the lookout throughout 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.
NEWS FROM GUIDANCE
Terri Carney, School Counselor, grades 5-8
Eighth Grade Parents: please be sure to check the email used to apply to other schools, such as WVT. Students are being moved off the waitlist and being accepted into WVT. Please respond by their deadline and don’t forget to decline the program/school your student is not choosing!
Also, please do not forget to notify me (email address above) if your student is now attending somewhere else.
Seventh and Eighth grade families: The Attitudes and Behaviors Survey will be administered on April 6th. Please find additional information in the attached letters. There is an Opt out link embedded within each letter.
Portuguese Notification letter
Haitian Creole Notification letter
Work Permits
For those that have obtained a job:
Work Permit Applications: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/work-permit-information/
EDUCATIONAL HAPPENINGS:
Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Families: Save the Date! Our K-2 concert “Music From around the World” is Wednesday April 15th at 9:00am! We can’t wait for you to see all your children’s hard work!!
7th Grade: ELA MCAS on Monday 3/30! Please make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep, gets to school on time and has a charged Chromebook!
8th Grade: 🛑 ELA MCAS on TUESDAY 3/31! Please encourage your students to get a good night sleep, eat a hearty (high protein/low sugar) breakfast, and CHARGE THEIR CHROMEBOOKS. Thank you for your help! The second ELA MCAS test occurs on April 9th.
🎉 Congratulations to our 8th grade GRIT award winners!
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES: Happy Spring and the weather remains unpredictable in New England. Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate clothes for the weather and using good hand hygiene to prevent getting sick. We have noted an uptick in Influenza B and Strep cases in the past couple of weeks. Proper cough etiquette is important to keep from spreading germs so please sneeze or cough into your elbow or a tissue. If your child has an illness or medical issue, please let the health office know so we can make accommodations (if needed) for your child.
If your child has had a physical recently, please send a copy to the health office. It is important for the health office to have up to date information so we may keep your child safe and healthy while at school.
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.
Volleyball: Schedule for next week 3/30-4/3:
Monday: Boys’ practice 3-5pm
Tuesday: Game at Home vs Nettle (Girls play first) also have open gym at 7:45am
Wednesday: Girls’ practice 3-5pm
Thursday: Game at Sacred Hearts (Girls play first) also have open gym at 7:45am
Spring Track: Ready to hit the track? Tryout sign-ups are officially open for students in grades 5-8! Lace up your sneakers and get ready to run, jump, and sprint into an amazing season of fun and teamwork!
Tryout dates will be announced at the beginning of April! Sign up HERE!
Hunking 26’ Track Remind Group Sign Up HERE
Tennis: The HHS Boys Tennis team has recently received a waiver that allows 8th graders at district middle schools to participate this season. The team meets Monday – Friday for practices and matches at 3:15. The practices are currently at HHS but will shift to the Winnekenni tennis courts once the weather improves. This will also be the site of most of our home matches. Athletes are responsible for their own transportation to and from HHS/Winnekenni. If you are interested in joining or have any questions, please reach out to the head boys tennis coach, Zach Eldridge at zeldridge@haverhill-ps.org .
CLUB NEWS:
Academic Bowl: Congratulations to our Senior Academic Bowl team on their 3rd consecutive city championship!!
Guitar Ensemble: No guitar ensemble next Friday, April 3rd. We will meet again on Friday, April 10th. Our concert will be on Friday, May 29th. More details to come.
Chorus: This week we are following our regular schedule, preparing for our May events: Fisher Cats May 1st (more details coming next week) and our Spring Concert Thursday May 7th.
Tri-M: A HUGE shout out to all the Tri-M students for a successful Multicultural Night Instrument Demo! I am so proud of everyone for their hard work. Our next meeting will be Wednesday April 8th.
Student Council: Monthly Meeting and Events Schedule can be found here.
🐱The Student Council revealed Hunking’s new Bobcat Mascot at Multicultural Night! Students have worked hard at the Halloween Dance and K-2 Winter Activity Event to raise the funds for this community addition!
NJHS: The NJHS calendar can be found here. Next Bobcat Buddies is April 8th!
GSA: The GSA calendar can be found here.
Lego Club: The LEGO Club calendar can be found here.
Yearbook: We are looking for any photos of the 8th Grade class, past or present, to use for the yearbook. Upload your pictures using this Google Drive link.
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 PROCEDURES: Please click on the link below to review Hunking procedures, including cell phone and pick up & drop off procedures:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u0UOrpoO9vRnMMJuYpeJmaSGKcywt29SX94AQmSHFzQ/edit?usp=sharing