Hocker Grove Principal's Newsletter
September 22, 2020
Good Afternoon Eagle Families,
As an additional reminder, teachers have been encouraged to lock their remote classrooms and only let students in that have names matching those on their rosters. We want all students to have updated names on their Webex accounts so there is no confusion moving forward.
PTA Meeting This Week
The first HG PTA meeting will be held virtually this week on Thursday at 7:00 pm. We hope you can join this organization as we support students and teachers even in this current dynamic.
Information for the Zoom meeting is available here:
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88924550803?pwd=dndzTThYNVFkaEVZOWlGbksrQTIwZz09
Join ID: 889 2455 0803
Passcode: 265616
Meals Provided For SMSD Families
Meals are funded entirely by USDA as part of their Summer Meals Program extension. These free meals will continue as long as federal funding is available and could end prior to 12/31/20. We encourage families to continue to apply for free and reduced meals in the event the funding is no longer available by clicking here. Qualifying may allow for other support through the district so it is important to continue to apply for free and reduced meals.
- Meals will be available for pick up at all 47 SMSD schools.
- Pick up is on Fridays from 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
- No advance ordering is needed. (The online digital ordering system has been disabled.)
- Available only for students enrolled in SMSD.
- May pick up meals for all of your students at your most convenient location.
- At pick up, the student(s) SMSD ID number(s) will need to be presented. Please have this ready in advance. (Student ID may be found in Skyward.)
- Pick up will be just inside the doors of school. Pease wear a mask and follow social distancing.
During remote learning each week’s pick up will include 7 breakfast and 7 lunches for each student.
Menus are available on the district web page by clicking here and are subject to change due to availability. All entrées and sides need to be taken home and refrigerated or frozen until ready to heat or consume.
- Each breakfast meal includes these components: fruit, grain, and milk
- Each lunch meal includes these components: protein, fruit/vegetable, grain, and milk
When the district is able to move to the hybrid model, the students will receive their in-person meals at no cost during the two days they are in school. Meals may be picked up on Friday for the other 5 days of the week. Any extra ala carte purchases the students make while in-person learning will require money to be on their food service account.
Meals are prepared by District Food Services staff and distributed following food safety and sanitary practices.
Please contact the Food Service office with questions at (913)993-9710 or foodservices@smsd.org.
The school breakfast & lunch menus, digital pre-order information and other nutrition information are available on the district’s website at https://www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service.
Activity Fee Payment
We are asking all parents to pay fees ONLINE this year.
- The Online fee payment portal is now open and we appreciate your patience as student schedules are now finalized. Go to www.smsd.org hover over the “Families” tab and click the link entitled “Pay Fees Online”. The site can also be found at this link: https://www.smsd.org/families/pay-fees. You may also call the Hocker Grove Bookkeeper with Credit Card information to pay fees.
- Required fees include: textbook ($80.00), ID card ($5.00), and Elective Course fees (Art, Humanities, Industrial Tech classes-Robotics, Design & Modeling, Projects)
- Optional fees – Student Activity ticket and Yearbook – if a student does not want or need, these will automatically be deleted from the student’s account if it is unpaid at the end of first quarter. The online system will allow parents the option to not pay these fees.
- All payment plans and KanCare 19 can be completed over the phone or email. KanCare has been applied to many accounts already, so please check fees in Skyward to see if the textbook & ID card fees have been waived. Please contact our bookkeeper, Michele Dirks for help with this. micheledirks@smsd.org or 913-993-0220
- Past due fees-2019-2020 were due June 1, 2020. Please pay these NOW to avoid being sent to collections.
- If you need to pay by check, you will need to go to the pay fees online portal to find out your student fees. Please make your check payable to Hocker Grove. Mail your check with your students ID number to Hocker Grove, attn: Bookkeeper, 10400 Johnson Dr. Shawnee, KS 66203
BIST Virtual Parenting Series Continues This Evening
As part of ongoing support for families, Hocker Grove is offering a series of classes for parents and guardians through a partnership with the Behavior Intervention Support Team (BIST). These training sessions are designed to help you manage your child’s virtual learning, provide ways you can support your child’s developing behavior skills, and increase consistency between home and school. They will be offered on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm according to the following schedule:
6:15 PM - 6:30 PM Enter Zoom Room
6:30 PM - 7:15 PM Informational Session
7:15 PM - 7:30 PM Questions and Answers
September 22: Problem Solving Toward Change
September 29: Strengthening Our Team
If you have not able to join the Zoom BIST Parenting meeting previously because of technical difficulties with the link, try to download the free Zoom app. Then create an account on it. This should make it easier for you to join for the remaining sessions.
This week's Zoom link is here:
https://zoom.us/j/91873141412?pwd=U2VMOXNDbjRxdlNONEswU3djZUdDdz09Meeting ID: 962 9745 0891
Passcode: 402200
Last week's Zoom meeting was recorded and can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KgSWnwRbIiO1LWNlGspboq6FJ8RCxcYc
Remote Learning Log Form
Hocker Grove Middle School
Email: ChrisKase@smsd.org
Website: hockergrove.smsd.org
Location: 10400 Johnson Dr, Shawnee, KS, USA
Phone: 913-993-0200
Facebook: facebook.com/HockerGroveMiddleSchool
Twitter: @HockerGroveMS