The Cubby Chronicle
December 1, 2023
"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."
December Dates To Remember
December
1-1:15 Early Release-Teacher PD
4-Wrestling @ Montesano; 5:00
5-Girls Basketball @ Miller (7th-4:00; 8th-5:15)
JV Girls Basketball (7th (H) Tenino-4:00; 8th (H) Miller 5:15)
6-Girls Basketball (H) Montesano (7th-4:00; 8th-5:15)
7JV @ Bush MS 4:00
7-6th Grade Trip to Seattle-Nutcracker Ballet-all day
8-1:15 Early Release-PLC Time for Staff
2nd Quarter Progress Reports coming Home
11-Girls Basketball @ Elma (7th-4:00; 8th-5:15)
8JV (H) Oakland Bay-4:00
7JV (H) Montesano-5:15
12-Girls Basketball (H) Rochester (7th-4:00; 8th-5:15)
8JV @ Rochester MS-4:00
7JV @ Chehalis MS-4:00
13-HMS Band and Choir Concert @ 7th Street-7:00
14-6th Grade Trip to Seattle-Nutcracker Ballet-all day
15-1:15 Early Release
Winter break is December 18-January 1. School resumes January 2.
Toys for Tots Toy Drive
Rube Goldberg time!!!
Never leave your phone unattended...
Mr. Cook learned that unattended phones often lead to dozens of "selfies" that gum up his "Photos" folder...
Special Guests
We were so proud and grateful to have some local veterans join us for our Veteran's Day Observance in early November. Combining choir, band, a guest speaker, and a slide show, Ms. Schmidt staged a fitting tribute to our veterans, to whom we cannot say thank you enough.
Sports: It's Never too soon...Season 3 Sports tips off January 2
Students interested in Boys Basketball and Cheer need to make sure they are cleared through Final Forms prior to the first practice which is scheduled for January 2. If you are looking for Final Forms, you can find it at this web address: https://hoquiam-wa.finalforms.com/
Parents need to create an account. Here is where you can find directions for making an account: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/sportshub2-uploads-prod/files/sites/2656/2020/12/14094353/Hoquiam-FinalForms_ParentPlaybook.pdf
For families who have athletes in Girls Basketball and Wrestling, you can see the Current Season Sports Schedule here: https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=33572
Schedules for Boys Basketball will be available at the beginning of the season. Please understand that contests can change at any time. We will work hard to keep you abreast of changes as we are made aware of them.
Great Words from Sgt. Tricia Scheer
Sgt. Scheer is a vocalist in the US Army, and we were fortunate enough to be joined by her for our Veteran's Day Assembly. She shared a message challenging students to think big when exploring their futures.
Crazy Hat Day??? Challenge ACCEPTED!
Another day is done...
Trying to be artistic here....should have used my flash. The sun is setting behind Cub Rock after a long day of school.
December Early Releases/Holidays
December 1: Friday Early Release-1:15 pm
December 8: : Friday Early Release-1:15 pm
December 15: Early Release-1:15 pm
December 18-January 1: Winter Break-No School
Counselor's Corner
It is the beginning of the holiday season. So many activities are happening that may bring up some anxiety in our youth. This month's topic in the classrooms are relationships and boundaries.
Boundaries and anxiety go hand in hand. Students learned how to set boundaries, which can be very difficult for some students. We also talked about healthy and unhealthy boundaries for relationships. Healthy relationships are encouraging/supporting, respecting, caring, trusting, compromising equally, and listening. Unhealthy relationships are full of jealousy, rumors, teasing, and disrespecting. Sometimes our teens have a difficult time knowing the difference.
It becomes difficult when our very best friend has been the friend for a very long period of time and then there is a change in the relationship. The friend dealing with the unhealthy relationship does not want to give up or end the friendship. This could cause depression and anxiety with your child when s/he is going through this. It is very sad when a friendship ends and there is a need to find new friendships. It takes healthy conversations with you to help them learn safe boundaries with others.
Creating safe boundaries helps our teens understand themselves and their needs in relationships. It also lessens anxiety they may have in social situations. When setting boundaries, we need to know ourself, noticing what makes us comfortable and uncomfortable in situations. We need to be flexible, like a rubberband, because situations change, changing our relationships. It is okay to reset our boundaries within relationships many times because teens are still learning about who they are.
Hope Squad
Our team is now QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer) trained!! This has been an exciting time for our team to learn and practice. We took about two weeks to practice how to use it with different scenarios. Some had the chance to be the Hope Squad student with an adult who was pretending to be a student in a situation. They did awesome!! I will spring more practice on them throughout the school year to help them remember how to use QPR. If you are a Hope Squad parent, ask your child to tell you about it.
The high school is working on an opportunity to train others in QPR. They are hoping for a couple dates in December. If I have to teach a class, I will be asking some of our team to help me out. Look out for the flyer.
Attendance
Each day you show up matters! Attendance is part of the student success equation. #ShowingUpMatters #AttendTodayAchieveTomorrow
Like all schools, our school is also focused on attendance. Last month I mentioned our students taking an attendance survey, WARNS. I have been working on the data from this survey, and the results are on par with our nation. The survey is broken up into six sections with a total score: aggression/defiance, depression/anxiety, family environment, peer deviance, school engagement, and substance abuse. The area that is the highest is depression/anxiety. This topic has been in the news in education. We are hoping with our SEL (Social-Emotional Lessons) in homerooms, Counselor Talks in classes about once a month, and talking with students and families about counseling needs will be a help to our students. If your child is feeling depressed or anxious, please call your family doctor and have the conversation. Or you may call me, Ms. Andrews, and I can try to answer your questions/concerns.
We have also started honoring homerooms with the most students having perfect attendance for the month. In September we had a tie and gave donuts to Mr. Templer's and Ms. Shasanmi's classes and in October Mrs. Falla's class received donuts. Can't wait to see which class wins for November!
We love seeing your child(ren) at school! If they are absent, make sure you are calling the school to excuse them. If they have a doctor's appointment, bring in a doctor's note to excuse. If you are planning a vacation, contact the office to set this up in a timely manner. Mrs. Webber is our attendance person, 360-538-8221 or ewebber@hoquiam.net.
New Resources for Parents
Below are some new programs available in our community for parents. Please check them out.
Dads M.O.V.E.
Family Youth System Partner Round Table
Twin Harbors Empowering Dads
Nutcracker Ballet Trip-December 7 and 14.
On December 7 and 14 the 6th grade at HMS will be taking a field trip to Seattle to view a performance of Pacific NW Ballet's "The Nutcracker." Students who are going will be bringing home information before the trip. We have a school lunch for all to be eaten before the performance, and we are ordering Subway boxes for afterwards. Each box has a sandwich, cookie, chips, and water will be provided. Students may bring up additional food if needed.
HMS School Contact Information
Here is a list of school personnel and how to contact them. This will be a permanent fixture in the newsletter. Click this link to get a full staff list: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mfFtC4_VSMXjA75i-siy6mrLNsMjp1SCWsn3YINUa00/edit?usp=sharing
School Contact Information
Main Office/Ms. Glasgow 360-538-8220
Attendance Line/Ms. Webber 360-538-8221
Principal/Mr. Cook 360-538-8225
Dean of Students/Ms. Ounsted 360-538-8220 xt 1236
Counseling Center/Ms. Andrews 360-538-8224
Athletic Director/Shane Krohn 360-538-8213
October Rotary Students of the Month
Each month Hoquiam Rotary honors two 8th grade students who embody the virtues that Rotary stands for: Service to others, citizenship, commitment to excellence, and hard work. The students are honored at a monthly luncheon, after being selected by our 8th grade staff.
This month's students embody these traits, and I am proud to introduce them to you!
Our first student of the month is Axel Garcia Boyzo. Axel was nominated for this honor based on his citizenship, service to others, and hard work. Axel is the son of Antonio and Isabel Garcia Boyzo. Axel has three siblings: Iker, Guillermo, and Sophia. His favorite class at HMS is AVID with Ms. Krohn. He particpates in Wrestling, and is a member of the Grays Harbor Gulls Soccer Club. In his off time, Axel enjoys running, playing soccer, and video games. Axel is very proud of improving his grades at school this year. Next year his looking forward to wrestling at the high school. Congratulations Axel!
Our next Student of the Month is Monica Garcia. Monica was also selected for her citizenship, service to others, and great work ethic. Monica is the daughter of Guadalupe Aguilar Cuniga, and Sairos Garcia. Monica has six siblings, Jackie, Bella, Santi, Jesus, Evelyn and Lupita. Monica's favorite class at HMS is ELA with Ms. Krohn. Monica's primary focus is on being a good student, but in her off time she enjoys riding bikes and doing things with her family. She is very proud of her grades, and that the teachers thought enough of her to nominate her for this award. She is looking forward to being able to go to the same school as her sister, and taking part in some of the dances and social activities.
Thank you for being awesome, Monica!
Congratulations to both of these awesome students!
A song of Appreciation
Sgt. Charyl Schmidt, who doubles as the music teacher at HMS, proudly directs the HMS Choir in a medley of patriotic songs during our Veteran's Day Assembly.
The force is strong with this one...
A splash of color...
November CTE Student of the Month: Karter Zilyette
Mr. Allan would like to honor our CTE Student of the Month, Karter Zilyette. According to Mr. Allan, Karter has an amazing engineering mind. He is able to be extremely creative in his problem solving skills. Karter has been a great resource for others he helps in class. Love having this inspirational student in class.
Congratulations Karter, and thank you for all of your hard work!
Shout Outs Spotlight Students Recognized by Staff!
Mr. Allan has a stocking full of Shout outs:
Brittany Alcala- Brittany is such an intelligent positive student to have in robotics class with a great problem solving mind. Her best quality is her ability to help others when needed.
Sylara Hazen- Sylara is so resilient in robotics class when faced with challenges she does not quite fully understand. She has the grit to stick with it until she accomplishes the outcome she wants. Inspiring person.
Josh Randall Schuman- JR is so intelligent and motivated to learn with anything thrown his way in our coding class. He excels when the challenges get greater.
Karolyn Ogg- Rory took extra time to complete an extra assembly of LEGO rovers so other students could code them on time. Truly helping others.
Shayla Bradshaw Pigott- Shayla has proven to be extremely dynamic with every problem thrown her way in coding class. Truly resilient and more intelligent than her gentile character shows. Love having her in class.
Neveah Jensen- Naveah comes in every day with a positive attitude and is always the first to help with any needs in the classroom. She is so appreciated!
Ms. Schmidt wants to give Shout Outs to:
Emme Conley, Herandi Cortes-Arzate, Annie Leslie, and Ciara Worthington- For outstanding conducting and class leadership while the sub was here
Mr. Rogers is giving a big Shout Out to the 8th Grade Girls Basketball team for starting the season off 4-0, with wins over Miller, Montesano, Elma and Rochester! Great job ladies!
Ms Falla is giving Shout Outs to:
Tucker Schwitzke: Respect and kindness. Tucker's generous nature and willingness to pitch in make him a "rock star" student!
Cesar Gonzalez Nieto: Dedicated learner. Cesar's quiet attention to detail and always making the right choices make teaching him a pleasure.
Lyric Ramstein: Willingness to help. It doesn't matter what I ask her to do- Lyric steps up EVERYTIME and does the task with fervor and dedication.
Ms.Hara would like A Double Shout Out to Cayden Keffer and Jensen Barrett for being kind to another student in class and making her smile, laugh and feel welcome and at home in the classroom. Thanks guys!
Mr. Templer would like to give a Shout out to Ashlynn Bale. Ashlynn comes to school physically and mentally prepared everyday. She has a consistent attitude, which includes respect for herself, her peers and staff. Ashlynn is a model student and wonderful person!