HMS Parent Newsletter
August 11, 2016
Welcome Back, Class of 2021, 2022, and 2023!
Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year, parents! We are well into registration week here at HMS, and it has been great to see so many familiar faces. We are eagerly preparing for the first day of school. Thank you for entrusting your children to us during the school day. We love what we do because we love kids... and we especially love our HMS kids!
A Message from Principal Neeley
Hi,
My name is Nikki Neeley and I am the principal at HMS. I am married to my wonderful husband, Gary, and we have 2 sons, Jake (23) and Jordan (15). When I am not in school, I love to read, travel, and hang out with my family and friends.
I am so excited for the 2016-2017 school year! I just know it is going to be the best year ever! Parents, please continue to partner with us to ensure that your child is successful. Stay in constant contact with your child's teachers throughout the school year. Check your child's grades using our student management system, Skyward. Please don't hesitate to call our main office if you have any questions or concerns. We are BRICKIES! Brickie Up!
What did the Admin Team do this summer???
Mrs. Nikki Neeley, Principal
The Neeleys had the best summer ever! We spent vacation time on Mackinac Island. We rode bikes throughout the entire island and stopped along the way to admire all the beauty. We also spent time at Lake Wawasee at our family's lake home. We went tubing, swimming, and paddle boarding. We love the water and spending time with our extended family! Summer time is a way to relax and rejuvenate for the next school year! I hope all our HMS families were able to have fun-filled family time. See you soon, Brickies!!
Mr. Brett Munden, Assistant Principal
The Mundens had a great summer spending time together as a family. We have made some great memories welcoming our newest member, Vaughn, who is now 6 months old. We visited San Antonio, Texas for a week and also spent some time in Bloomington, Indiana with the rest of our family. Looking forward to another great school year at HMS!
Mrs. Misty Scheuneman, Assistant Principal
Mr. Matt Whiteman, Dean of Students
After a very enjoyable first year as Dean of Students, I was happy to take a break and do some traveling. I went to Dallas for an education conference and Boston for fun. Fenway Park was my favorite visit, and I couldn't get enough Lobster rolls. I was happy to see my nephew a few times, and meet my newborn niece. I'm really looking forward to this school year!
Mike Jimenez, School Resource Officer
This summer, we celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. My parents, my sister's family, and my family all took a vacation to Walt Disney World. We also went on a Disney Cruise where my parents renewed their wedding vows. The vacation was the best week of my life. I'm very excited to be the new School Resource Officer, but will miss being in patrol every day.
Greg Bialata, Student Safety Supervisor
ISTEP rescore requests need to be submitted by tomorrow night, Friday 8/12!!!
https://results.pearsonaccessnext.com/login
- You need to set up an account and then log in to your email and follow the verification instructions.
- You will need your ISTEP access code, which you should have received in the mail this summer. If you need your code, please call the HMS main office.
- Once you are logged in, you can view your child's results and, most importantly, request a rescore. This must be done by 10pm Friday, 8/12!
- You can actually see what your child wrote for some of the applied skills answers!
Why request a rescore?
Simple: your child's score can only go up. This helps your child as well as our school. We recommend that everyone submit a rescore, even if your child is Pass+.
Also, sitting down with your child to look at his/her score together sets a positive tone for the school year. Your kids care what you think. When you pull up their answers and discuss them together, you are validating their effort, helping them self-reflect, and most importantly, you are giving them your time. This is priceless.
What is Core+?
Mrs. Scheuneman's review of the ReThink app
Bottom line: Is it foolproof? No. Nothing replaces daily conversations that you have with your kids and daily monitoring of their social media. But can it help our kids develop good habits? Absolutely.
Would I get it for my own child? Absolutely. I currently have a 6th grader who does not have social media at this time. But when he does, this app will be the first thing I install.
Check out the video links that describe the app (which by the way, was developed by a teenager!) Trust me, these links are worth your time!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkzwHuf6C2U
A new year, a new schedule... school starts at 7:45 this year!!!
You may also notice that the class periods are 60 minutes, as opposed to our former 50 minute periods. Why? We know that we need to increase our instructional time. Teachers and students simply need more time together for each class period. The additional 10 minutes may not sound like a lot, but an extra 10 minutes can mean more time for small-group instruction... and we know this benefits our Brickies!
Lunch!!!
As usual, administrators will supervise lunches, along with our amazing student supervisors!
We will have Crew Time approximately once per month, as this is an important pause in the day where we can meet with our students about important issues. All of the HMS administrators were teachers first, and always will be, so this time with our students is especially important to us.
Finally, you may have heard a rumor that we are getting a new cafeteria. I am happy to report that the rumor is true, and we are scheduled to break ground soon! The new cafeteria will be where the "play yard" currently is. Stay tuned for pictures of the project! We are thrilled about our new addition, and it will serve our students as well as the community! It is something that Hobart will truly be proud of!
"Mom, what's a Brickie?"
Crazy 8's
As my kids get older, I find that the after school timeframe is busy, busy, busy! Between homework, sports and activities, dinner, a new baby, and trying to get the kids to bed at a decent time, the night goes by so quickly. I realized that we weren't having the quality family time each day that we used to have when the kids were younger. So we started playing a quick game of Crazy 8's before the kids go to bed each night. It's a time for us to pause and just have a little bit of fun together and end the day on a positive, happy note. But then something unexpected started to happen: my kids started sharing important things with me about their days. As we dealt the cards and played the game, I began to find out what was on their hearts, what was bothering them, and what they were worried about... all without me having to ask a single question. It has become something we really look forward to each evening. Even when we have had a very busy afternoon and evening and my husband and I are so tired, when the kids ask if we can play a round of Crazy 8's, we make time for that.... and we are always glad that we did. It is such a little thing that has made a huge difference.