Hickory Creek Middle School
January Newsletter 2023
A Notes from the Administration Team
- We hope that everyone had a safe and memorable Winter Break and Holiday season!
- Each Friday, families will continue to receive Team Newsletters with curricular updates. We hope that this information provides families the opportunity to be connected with your child's work at HCMS.
- 8th Grade Graduation date has been set- we will celebrate the Class of 2024 on Wednesday, June 5th at 7:00 P.M. The graduation ceremony will be held in the Lincoln-Way West gymnasium.
- The 8th Grade Class trip to Great America is scheduled for Monday, June 3, 2024.
- The 7th Grade Springfield Class trip is scheduled for Monday, June 10th.
- The 6th Grade Class trip will be scheduled and shared in March. The date of the 6th Grade Class trip will be in June as well.
- Our doors at Hickory Creek are always open. Please reach out throughout the year with celebrations, questions and concerns. We appreciate our family partnerships!
Building Goals for the 2023-2024 School Year
Academic Goal:
- We will continue to provide rigor and opportunity for academic growth to all students in grades 6th- 8th.
Social/Emotional Goal:
- We will support staff and student social and emotional needs and enhance the opportunity for growth in relationships with one another.
Communication Goal:
- We will increase opportunities for family engagement both during the school day and through extra-curricular activities.
Safety Goal:
- We will provide a safe learning environment for staff and students in our learning community.
January Calendar
January 8th - Teacher Institute Day
January 9th - Students return to school
January 10th - Band Booster Hot Lunch
January 15th - No School MLK Day
January 17th - FSP Hot Lunch
January 19th - FSP Smoothie Day
January 24th - ED Foundation Hot Lunch
January 24th - HCMS Spelling Bee at 4:15 P.M.
January 26th - End of Quarter 2
January 29th - Quarter 3 Encores begin
January 31st - Athletic Booster Hot Lunch
A Note from Our Librarian, Ms. Testerman
There will be no LitWits meeting in January so that the students can focus on reading Caudill books.
A Note from Nurse Bush
What to do when they wake up in the morning not feeling their best or have already missed a few days of school due to illness? The following link can help When to Keep Your Child Home Sick from School - HealthyChildren.org.
We do allow students to have cough drops in school to help with minor throat irritations. However, Students are not to be carrying any OTC or prescription cold medicines, ibuprofen or Tylenol in school. Parents may come in to administer any medication needed to their child in the nurse’s office. If your child needs something long term here at school, please call the nurse’s office for assistance.
Social and Emotional Learning Updates
Feeling out of control can be scary. This is a common, completely normal feeling. It’s important to acknowledge that there will always be a number of things that you cannot control, and it’s okay to let those things go.
Here are 3 ways to feel IN control, even when you’re NOT”
1. Focus time and energy on things that you can change:
Make a list of easy things you can do that will help a situation that you are worried about. Making progress towards any of your goals will ease the tension felt by other worries.
Example: I worry about my grades because I am busy with basketball. I can make the goal to study at least 20 minutes every night. (This will give you a feeling of control and help you meet one of your goals.)
2. Let go of things you cannot control:
Make a mental note of things you are currently worrying about that you cannot control. Vow to limit the time you think about those things. Some people and some things are not going to change, regardless of our efforts. Don’t waste time worrying about those things.
3.Expect the best outcome by using positive thinking:
Imagine the things that worry you working out for the best. Pretend it has already worked out and try to feel those feelings. It can’t hurt to imagine the best possible scenario rather than imagining the worst, which we do so often.
“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don't.”
Hickory Creek Monthly Highlights
NJHS Student Peer Tutoring available on Wednesdays
Starting November 8th, students who wish to have an NJHS student tutor them after school, can come to the Library after school on Wednesdays for this support. All students should check in with Ms. Testerman, the Librarian, and she will help get them connected with a peer tutor.
All students staying after school must have rides promptly at 3:15 P.M. on Wednesdays.
Extra-Curricular Updates
Athletic Updates
Cheerleading
- Our team has now completed our first competition at LWE, where we took 2nd place. The team came back to clinch a 1st Place win at the Joliet West Competiton the following weekend. We will be continuing to cheer for the 7th and 8th grade boys basketball teams!
Intramural Dance Club
- We are thrilled to announce the beginning of dance intramural practices this January. Our dedicated choreographers have been working hard crafting an incredible routine for all participants. The team will meet every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday to prepare for our upcoming performance(s). We can't wait to turn the rhythm up and dance the afternoon away.
6th Boys Basketball
- The 6th grade boys’ basketball A and B teams have been performing exceptionally well throughout the current season. Both teams have displayed improved skills and teamwork, resulting in a conference record of 5 wins and 2 losses each. Their dedication to training and strong defensive play has been instrumental in their success.
- With 5 games remaining in their schedule, the A team is eagerly preparing to compete in the DPVC tournament. Their hard work and determination make them serious contenders in the upcoming tournament.
7th Boys Basketball
- The boys are playing very solidly as they move towards the end of the season. The record for the team is 11-3. They will finish the last stretch of 6 games and look forward to getting a top seed in regionals. The team has been led by Lorenzo Nash and Jack Lee.
8th Boys Basketball
- The guys are continuing to grow into a versatile team that can play against anyone. Adapting to different styles of play, they still carry amazing defensive principles and work extremely hard. Their record so far this season is 12-2. The team is led by Marcus Gordon and Vinny Owens. They also will receive a top seed for regionals and look to make a solid run.
JV and Varsity Girls Volleyball
- The Lady Tigers Volleyball teams are gassing up for our first month of game play! Our first game of the season will be played at home vs. Minooka on Wednesday, January 10th. We will compete against BUGC, Manhattan, Martino, Mokena, Oak Prairie, Summit Hill, and Lake Zurich North this month. On Saturday, January 20th, we will travel to Kingsley Jr. High in Normal, IL to compete in their annual Round Robin Tournament. The girls on both teams have been pouring their hearts and best efforts into every rep at practice. We’re looking forward to some strong gameplay this season!
Club Updates
Chess Intramurals
- HCMS Chess launched its season on December 20th. Our activity spans into February and students can choose one of two tracks: intramural and State competition bound. Information about attending State in Peoria can be found on our team. Meanwhile, we will work on strategy, openings and sportsmanship while enjoying each other's company!
Student Council
- The HCMS student council had a very busy and productive December. The members celebrated the upcoming holidays with a party in the library on December 12th. The members also planned and promoted the annual pre-winter break spirit week. The theme days for this year were winter hat day, light up day, color wars day, holiday character day and finally pj day for our last day before break. The community relations members had the opportunity to spend time with senior citizens on December 19th when they visited the Clarendale Senior Living Center. The students spent the afternoon visiting with and decorating cookies with the center’s residents.
NJHS
- In December, we had a successful meeting! We talked about tutoring, the OAA award, and service! Just a friendly reminder that everyone does need to have 5 completed service hours by the January meeting! During the school year NJHS members must have 10 completed hours. Members must have 4 school hours as well. We also talked to our members about tutoring! Tutoring is a good way to get a service hours for school, and to help your peers as well! The last thing we talked about was the Outstanding Achievement award or the OAA! In each state, multiple people can win! If you win, you get $500 in college funds and support! As NJHS we would highly recommend everyone applying! If anyone needs any help with their applications, Ms. Bartolomeo and Ms. Sandowski are hosting a workshop to help students with their applications on December 20! After we talked, we collectively played a fun winter Blooket! Happy Holidays!
- Our next meeting will be Friday, January 19th. See you then!
POZ Squad
- December was a month for Poz Squad members to focus on our unique characteristics and qualities that make us, well... us! We decorated snowflakes to demonstrate how being one-of-a-kind is absolutely beautiful. We also participated in our annual winter scavenger hunt. Our members had a blast searching high and low through the halls of Hickory Creek for seasonal trinkets they brought from home! Our Poz Squad meetings would not be complete without exciting games and opportunities to have funs with our friends. Our January meetings are on January 17th and January 31st.
- This month begins Poz Squad’s Winter Sunflower Challenge, an attempt to bring sunshine indoors for the winter. Each advisory and faculty group will be given a sunflower seedling to care for throughout the winter months. This challenge will extend from January until March. We cannot wait to see the beautiful flowers that emerge from all of the TLC from our HCMS community.
Best Buddies
- The Best Buddies club at Hickory Creek continues to grow. We now have over 70 members. Last month, we met to celebrate all of the upcoming holidays. We played several different games and activities to promote inclusion. Our next meeting is on Monday, January 22, 2024.
Tiger TV
- The Tiger TV club is dedicated to guiding students in mastering the art of news broadcast production, video recording, and editing. Students will develop expertise in teleprompter reading, camera operation, sound and lighting equipment management, video and audio editing utilizing WeVideo, and live stream recording for HCMS events.
- Experience our weekly broadcasts and live streams by visiting our YouTube channel: Tiger TV - YouTube
- Students can explore the monthly Video Editing Challenges, where club members can unleash their creativity by creating and editing videos and features for potential showcasing on our YouTube channel or broadcast. These captivating challenges occur every Third Thursday of the Month.
Art Club
- Artists in Art Club are finishing up our bookend collaboration with the HCMS library. Students have carefully color coded and painted bookends to represent various genres of literature in the library. Students are excited to share their work with the entire school community. In January, we will finish art club up for the school year.
Spanish Club
- I'm thrilled to share the wonderful experience we had at our recent club meeting. We gathered to prepare delicious sopapillas, a true delight of Spanish cuisine. At the end of the day, each of us took home a portion of happiness in the form of golden, crispy dough, ready to be baked. It was a delicious and enriching experience.
- We look forward to our next meeting on Friday, January 15th where members voted to meet at Amigos Mexican Restaurant.
Dungeons and Dragon Club
- Dungeons and Dragons had their first official meeting December 5th. We will continue to meet every Tuesday from 2:30-3:30 every Tuesday from now until the end of February :)
Mathletes
- Our Hickory Creek mathletes competed in their first round of the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics mail-in competition! This competition consists of two parts: a team competition and an individual competition. Our students did a fabulous job and the coaches and team cannot wait to see how Hickory Creek placed in this first round! Mathletes should continue to reference the schedule of practices and competitions that was distributed in November.
Music Department Updates
Band/Orchestra
- The HCMS Orchestra and Jazz Band had a very successful concert earlier in the month. The Orchestra portion of the evening included some fun movie themes as well as a little holiday music. The jazz band wowed the audience with some Mariah Carey holiday music and some Aretha Franklin R&B. A fun night was had by all!
Message from The Chorus Boosters
- The Chorus Boosters would like to invite parents to join us as we work behind the scenes to help our kids shine on stage. After Winter break, the Chorus Boosters will be working on supporting the Chelsea 4th & 5th Grade Chorus, the Middle school district choral contest and the Spring Musical: Willy Wonka! We have so many amazing parents in our community. We hope you come volunteer and share your talents to help make this year's chorus program the best one yet! Our next meeting is 6:30pm Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at Hickory Creek in the PLC Meeting Room (across from the main office, on your left when you walk in the building). Reach out to chorusboosters157csecretary@gmail.com with any questions.
December Students of the Month
Students of the Month for December
We would like to recognize our Students of the Month for December 2023. Each grade level and team selected two students, who encompassed this month’s character trait of HCMS students are people of integrity.
Congratulations again to our Students of the Month for December 2023!
6A-Jason Klukas and Emmie Elliot
6B-Chloe Bishop & Lukas Inka
7A-Larenzo Nash & Lyla Lahey
7B-Lucy Corbett & Rafferty Cooley
8A-Colton Woodward & Eliana Dozier
8B-Marcus Gordon & Morgan Stoiber
ENCORE-Brady Sandling & Lucy Sullivan
PE-Landry Rose & Mia Feigl