Panther Periodical
HMS 2nd Nine Weeks Newsletter 2018-2019 School Year
Vision of the Zone
2nd Nine Weeks Ahead
The First Nine Weeks has come and gone. Wow! That was fast. Report cards will be sent home with the students on Oct 10. I will send out a telephone blast to remind everyone that the students have them to give to you.
Due to increased enrollment, we are adding three new teachers to the Hueytown Middle School family. We will be working on adjusting schedules for some students going forward to decrease the number of students in some of our classes in each grade level as the nine weeks progresses. We ask that you please be patient as this takes some time to ensure the schedules balance.
In this nine weeks, we will begin meeting with students to discuss the results of the Fall administration of the Scantron Performance Series. The Fall administration set the baseline for our students this year. We will take another round of the Scantron beginning around December 1st and a final round in the Spring. The state will use the Spring assessment on our 2019 A-F Report card. Each student will have a mid-year learning target and a Spring learning target based on the results of the Fall administration. Students who meet or exceed their learning target on the December administration will be eligible to exempt a semester diagnostic as long as they have a "C" in the class. Please stress to your students the importance of doing their best on these assessments as they are part of OUR grade.
In the next section, you can view information about Hueytown Middle School's Continuous Improvement Plan.
Please make sure you review the section on school attendance in this newsletter.
Do not forget that we will have semester diagnostics the last week of school in December and students who have amassed enough Panther Passes and passing grades can exempt a diagnostic of their choice. See the Pride of the Panthers section for more information.
We will continue making our weekly SchoolMessenger broadcasts on Saturdays. When the weekly broadcast runs long, expect it to be split into two parts with a second broadcast on Sunday afternoons. Please also check our Facebook page regularly as we are attempting to post updates their on a regular basis. Not all updates posted on the Facebook page will be posted through SchoolMessenger so as to not make the weekly message excessively long.
Every student received an agenda when they picked up their schedule this year so parents also have the student handbook. Please review the handbook to become aware of school policies and procedures.
The Jefferson County Student Code of Conduct went digital this year and can be accessed by following this link:
Look for the 3rd Nine Weeks Newsletter the week we get out for Mid-Year Holidays. Until next time,
Go Panthers!
Hueytown Middle School CIP at a Glance
School Attendance
Under the state accountability guidelines, any student who misses 15 or more days is considered chronically absent. Excused and Unexcused absences are counted in this total. Please keep this in mind when scheduling appointments and family trips.
Parents may write an excuse to cover seven (7) days for the year. After the seventh day, only doctor’s excuses may be accepted. Please keep this in mind when scheduling family trips because once those seven days are used they are gone for the year.
Please also keep in mind that students have three school days in which to bring in their excuse for an absence, a check-out or a check-in. After three days, the absence, check-out or check-in becomes unexcused and no make-up work will be given out. Work missed for unexcused absences, check-outs and check-ins will be recorded in the grade-book as zeros.
To participate in extra-curricular activities, a student must be present for a minimum of 1/2 school day. This includes participation in dances, competitions and practices.
C.A.R.E.
Three times during the school year, the Hueytown Area Schools host a Citizens Advocating a Return to Excellence (CARE) meeting at one of the schools in which parents and community members are invited to hear about the great things that are going on in our schools. The principals from Brighton, Concord Elementary, Hueytown Elementary, Hueytown High, Hueytown Middle and North Highland Elementary Schools all make presentations and answer questions. On occasion, local government, county government and county school leaders may also attend to provide additional information and updates to those in attendance. The format changes somewhat from time to time and may include presentations/performances from student groups from the host school.
2018-2019 CARE Meeting Dates:
- October 22, 2018, at Hueytown High School beginning at 6 PM - See below
- January 28, 2019, at Hueytown Elementary School beginning at 6 PM
- April 15, 2019, at Brighton School beginning at 6 PM
- July 15, 2019, Hueytown Middle School beginning at 10 AM
October 22 CARE Meeting/DOJ Community Meeting
Community Meetings re:
Stout v. Jefferson County Board of Education
Dear Jefferson County families,
Thank you for allowing us to educate your children! We hope that you have had a great start to this new school year. Successful educational opportunities are truly partnerships between our schools and our homes. Please review the community meetings notice below. If you have any questions, please contact us at 205.379.2000.
Sincerely,
Dr. Warren Craig Pouncey
Superintendent of Jefferson County Schools
The Jefferson County School District has long been a part of a school desegregation case, Stout v. Jefferson County Board of Education. The federal court supervising the case has ordered the Parties to the case (the Jefferson County Board of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund) to review the District’s operations to decide what steps the District needs to take before the
court will grant the District unitary status and end the case.
We want to hear from families about whether your children have equal access in District schools to qualified teachers, the gifted and talented program, advanced courses, career technical education, extracurricular activities, and quality school facilities, without regard to race. We would also like to hear from you about your experience with student discipline and whether students are treated fairly, regardless of race. Lastly, we’d like your feedback on how students and faculty are assigned to schools and classrooms so we can ensure that those assignments comply with the federal court order. Please attend one of the meetings listed below to give us your input. Each feeder pattern is assigned a meeting location. However, if you are unable to attend the meeting at your assigned location, you should feel free to attend one of the other scheduled meetings.
Date-Location-Feeder Patterns
- October 9, 2018 -- Fultondale Elementary School -- 6-7:30 PM -- Fultondale, Gardendale & Minor Feeder Patterns
- October 10, 2018 -- Clay-Chalkville Middle School -- 6-7:30 PM -- Clay-Chalkville Feeder Pattern
- October 11, 2018 -- Pinson Valley High School -- 6-7:30 PM -- Center Point & Pinson Valley Feeder Patterns
- October 22, 2018 -- Hueytown High School -- 6-7:30 PM -- Hueytown, Pleasant Grove & Oak Grove Feeder Patterns
- October 23, 2018 -- Mortimer Jordan High School -- 6-7:30 PM -- Corner & Mortimer Jordan Feeder Patterns
- October 24, 2018 -- Shades Valley High School -- 6-7:30 PM -- Shades Valley & JCIB Schools
- October 25, 2018 -- McAdory High School -- 6 - 7:30 PM -- McAdory Feeder Pattern
Grading Parameters
For the 2018-2019 school year, middle school grading will remain as last year with the following parameters:
- 75% Assessments
- 25% Classwork/Homework
Consequently, we do not administer nine weeks assessments. At the end of the 1st and 2nd Semester we will administer semester diagnostics on a modified schedule. The full schedule will be posted at the first of December. 1st Semester diagnostics will be begin December 12th and run through December 18th. Please keep this in mind when scheduling appointments.
These diagnostics will be teacher created and cover the content to be covered for that semester. The diagnostics will count as a 100 point assessment in the 75% assessment category for the 2nd and 4th Nine Weeks, respectively.
Pride of the Panthers/Panther Passes
For the 2018-2019 year, we are continuing our efforts to improve student attendance and encourage students to do the right thing. Students who are caught doing the right thing can receive “Panther Passes.” We also give Panther Passes on random days to students who are present and on time to 1st period so do not forget that school starts at 7:55 AM. Other examples of ways students can earn a Panther Pass include (but are not limited to): going out of the way to help another student, working diligently on an assignment while others are goofing off, etc...
Once earned, a Panther Pass can never be taken away.
Every two to three weeks, students will have the opportunity to cash in their Panther Passes for various opportunities and activities. One such incentive is to cash-in 30 Panther Passes to exempt one semester diagnostic providing the student has a “C” average in the class. It is possible that a student could save up enough passes to exempt more than one diagnostic.
Additionally, any student who has an overall “A” average at the end of the semester, no unexcused absences, unexcused tardies and no discipline referrals will be eligible to exempt all semester diagnostics for that semester and will receive a free “T-Shirt.” Students who are eligible both semesters will be recognized at the end of the year awards ceremony and will receive a special prize.
Important Dates for the 2nd Nine Weeks
Oct 8 - Teacher Work Day - School Closed for Students
Oct 9-11 - Girls Softball Tryouts @ Natalie Bunn
Oct 9 - National Junior Honor Society Meeting after school
Oct 9 - Boys Basketball Parent Meeting in gym @ 5:45 PM
Oct 10 - Fall Picture Make-ups for students who missed the regular picture day. A signed parent note must be received by Ms. Moreno to retake the original picture.
Oct 10 - Report Cards sent home with students
Oct 10 - Student Council Meetings after school
Oct 17 - 1st Nine Weeks Awards Day
Oct 22 - CARE/DOJ Community Meeting @ HHS beginning at 6 PM
Oct 23 - Newcomb Play Date for 6th Grade @ Hueytown Middle School
Oct 24 - Student Council Meeting after school
Oct 26 - Professional Development Day - School Closed for Students
Oct 29 - All County Newcomb 6th Grade @ Pleasant Grove High
Nov 4 - Daylight Savings Time Begins
Nov 6 - Monthly FBLA Meeting after school
Nov 7 - Monthly FCCLA Meeting after school
Nov 7 - Student Council Meeting after school
Nov 8 - Progress Reports sent home with students
Nov 12 - Veteran's Day - School Closed
Nov 13 - Monthly National Junior Honor Society after school
Nov 15 - Last day to register for Miss HMS Pageant
Nov 19 - Nov 23 - Thanksgiving Holidays - School Closed
Dec 4 - Monthly FBLA Meeting after school
Dec 5 - Monthly FCCLA Meeting after school
Dec 5 - Student Council Meeting after school
Dec 11 - NJHS Meeting after school in Room 201
Dec 12 - 18 - 1st semester Diagnostics - we will run a modified schedule. The schedule will be posted the 1st of December
Dec 18 - End of 1st Semester and Last day for students
Dec 19 - Teacher Work Day - School closed for students
Dec 20 - Jan 2 - Mid-Year Holidays - School closed
Jan 3-4 - Teacher professional Development Days - School closed for students
Jan 7 - Students return
Jan 9 - Report cards will be sent home with students
These dates are current as of 10/8/2018. Additional dates and activities will be added over time. Please check the Facebook page on a regular basis.