Hawk Talk
Hobby MS /Magnet - January 29th - February 2nd
Twitter- @NISDHobby
Twitter- @NISDHobbyHealth
A Message from the Principal
Hello Hobby and Hobby Magnet Family,
Thank you for all of your support!!
Continue to stay connected by checking out the Hobby Middle School Calendar , Web page, Hobby PTA on Facebook and Twitter (X)
As Always,
You Matter!
Praise, Promote & Protect.
Lawrence Carranco - Principal
Email: lawrence.carranco@nisd.net
Phone: 397-6310 office
PTA
LOTS TO CELEBRATE:
PTA Sister School Partner: In a program coordinated by our Northside ISD Council of PTAs, Title I schools within the district are paired with non-Title campuses to boost reach and scope of what the PTA is able to accomplish. While we have an excellent team here at Hobby, we are always excited to receive additional support that can help us care for our Hobby students and their families. Our sister school, Bernal Middle School has already proven to be an excellent partner and we look forward to working alongside them.
Hobby Pantry: No surprise, but the Hobby community came through in significant ways to help us send 50 families home with a reusable grocery bag full of food during the Thanksgiving holiday. With some to spare and more to come, we are hopeful we can provide the same number of families food during Spring Break. Thank you, NJHS and Hawk community for Stocking the Pantry!
Angel Tree: This Hobby tradition reached new heights this year with the support of our PTA sister school: Bernal Middle School. Traditionally, Hobby teachers and staff have nominated 25 students to be gift recipients and with the additional support of Bernal PTA we were able to include 25 additional students. In a beautiful display of generosity the students were given items to add to their own holiday celebrations. A special thanks to our teachers and staff who ensured so many students had a special winter break.
Coat Drive: Again, our PTA sister school, Bernal MS hosted a coat drive on our behalf. Over 60 coats were given to Hobby and we have been busy distributing those based on teacher referrals and coordinated by our Communities In Schools and Family Engagement liaisons.
Give Like A Hawk Fundraiser: We were just short of our goal, raising close to $4,000. We are grateful for your support! Your donations help us accomplish all of the things in this newsletter, plus some. Thank you!
Thanksgiving Teacher Luncheon: No teacher left hungry. PTA provided desserts and drinks and made the place fun and festive, but the real MVPs are Mrs. Murphy and her fantastic team including Mrs. Bravo and her talented group of students who cooked all week to provide a gorgeous meal for our teachers and staff.
Winter Teacher Luncheon: Rinse and Repeat! No teacher left hungry. PTA provided desserts and drinks and made the place fun and festive, but the real MVPs are Mrs. Murphy and her fantastic team including Mrs. Bravo and her talented group of students who cooked all week to provide a gorgeous meal for our teachers and staff.
Hobby Hangout: Another successful hangout is in the books! We do the easy part and help sell tickets at lunch, but our Admin and Teachers do the hard part where they organize and entertain kids at the end of a long week. Thank you teachers!!
Stock the Workroom: Our teachers are STILL caffeinated and we want to keep it that way! If you’d like to donate you can do so here: Spoil Our Teachers
Hobby Hubs: Has your student located the TWO Hobby Hubs? Our Hawks are starting to get the hang of it and are posting info each week.
Hobby Hub Club Grant and Wish Lists: We are excited to announce that PTA will grant $600 to on-campus clubs this month. We will also be coordinating a Club Wish List to help our club sponsors make their grant money go farther. Be on the lookout for that on our socials and in next month’s newsletter.
Spirit Shirts: We love seeing our Hawk students, families and teachers sporting their Spirit Gear on campus. We have limited quantities of t-shirts and hoodies in both prints left to sell. If you are interested please reach out via email: hobbymiddleschoolpta@gmail.com
Membership Drive: We did it! To be fair our AMAZING teachers and staff did it again this year… 100% of full-time staff are PTA Members. The Golden Apple award is important to our campus and something we should all be very proud of. Your Hobby teachers and staff are truly better than all the rest!
Spirit Nights: Thank you for supporting our Chick-fil-a and Bush’s spirit nights. We can’t wait to partner with Tri-County Meat Market again in February. More info to come.
MORE TO DO:
SOUPER BOWL: A beloved Hobby tradition is just around the corner and we need your culinary skills! We need soups and desserts to feed our teachers and staff. This one is all on us, Hobby parents… let’s show our teachers how much we love them! Use the sign-up genius below and send in something yummy! There will be a contest this year!! Will you be SOUPER BOWL champion?!
Sign Up Genius:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4BAFAC2DABFE3-47273995-souper
Hawk Tutoring: Hawk Tutoring has started! We are excited about the possibilities available to us this year, taking our best practices forward and helping our students achieve success in the classroom. No experience or course specific knowledge is required. Just a willingness to help! Join us TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS 10:50-11:30 in the Hobby Cafeteria.
7th Grade Dance: 2/9 6-8pm Help us decorate: 3-5 on Friday afternoon.
SAVE THE DATE:
Love Our School Day: Saturday 2/10 9am-12pm Join the family engagement department for a morning of beautification projects on campus. All hands are welcome! Service hours available!
Hobby Fiesta Fundraiser (2nd Annual Version): April 12th More to come.
HAWK TUTORING PROGRAM
Join us and help Hobby students achieve success in the classroom. Tutoring does not require any experience and is more about encouragement than education! Can you help us? Tutoring happens every Tuesday and Thursday during flex periods 11:00-11:30.
Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080944AEA7283-45861133-hawk
Volunteers must have an active NISD Background Check. Submit here:
From the Magnet School Director
We are about to embark upon a month of celebrating our love for learning at Hobby Middle School. But today I want to write about how much I love my job! I was extremely moved on Wednesday by something that may not mean much to some but to me was a very big deal. As you are all aware, your children sacrifice a lot to come to our campus every day. Many of them have bus routes that exceed an hour each way and that is on a good day before you throw in the challenges of our weather. I was worried that many wouldn’t make the trek on Wednesday being that it was “just a half day” but they showed up! With all of the crazy weather and sickness that we have dealt with the last few weeks, they showed up. I want to thank you and your families for your sacrifices to get them here. I want to thank my staff for engaging them in awesome activities and lessons. I want to thank our students for putting in the work and showing up! We are planning some amazing activities this semester and I can’t wait to continue our journey with these amazing students.
Upcoming Dates:
Feb 1st: Group 2 of Scobee Field Trip
Feb 8th: STEM night @ Galm 5:30-7:00 Need 2 student helpers
Feb 8th: STEM night @ Timberwilde 5:30-7:00 Need 2 student helpers
Mission
We will transform the learning experience within our inclusive community.
Upcoming events
6th Grade I Heart Learning Night
7th & 8th Grade I Heart Learning Night
A message from Mr. Dylla and Dr. Johnson
Next year (2024-2025) Course Selection is about to begin. All 6th and 7th grade students will be selecting their courses for next year. Counselors will be visiting all students next week to review the process and courses available for next year's schedule.
6th Graders
January 30, 2024: 6th graders enter courses into HAC (through Science or Magnet Career Investigations classes)
7th Graders
January 22, 2024: 7th graders enter courses into HAC (through ELA classes)
All students will have the course guidance card prior to registration and Parents will be able to check student course selections for next year through the parent portal or student account. The registration process closes on February 2, 2024. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Hobby Counseling Staff.
From your Academic Dean - Ms. Christina Lora
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Our campus was one of many selected by the Texas Education Agency to participate in a 2024 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading Language Arts Field Test in Grade 6 and Grade 8. On Thursday, February 8, your 6th grade and 8th grade son/daughter will be participating in this assessment.
Students are to bring their Northside provided Chromebook (fully charged) and charging cable to school on testing days. Students who have not checked out a Northside Chromebook will be provided a device on testing days. Students are not allowed to use personal technology devices including cell phones during state assessments.
The current STAAR assessments are based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state-mandated curriculum. Each STAAR assessment measures what students are learning in a specific grade or course.
Schools and families will not receive scores for this Field Test as the results will be used by the state for STAAR assessment development in future years.
For additional information and an overview of the statewide assessment program, visit the Texas Education Agency information website at: https://www.texasassessment.gov/
Please feel free to contact Ms. Christina Lora should you have any questions regarding assessments.
Counselor's Connection
Parents this week as we visited our Hawks through English Langauge Arts to meet with our rising 8th graders (current 7th graders) to input their courses into HAC for next school year. If you are aware that your child was absent, please have them complete the request to see their counselor so that we can meet with them to complete course selection and HAC entry. Note: Our last day for a student to make changes for next year courses is June 06, 2024, our last day of school.
We will continue our HAC entry next week with our rising 7th grade Hawks (current 6th graders) on Tuesday 01/30/24, please continue to speak with your child about their classes for next year and remind them to bring their yellow course planning guide to school with them.
Please check out our January Counseling Newsletter for details about classroom guidance and counseling department related info: https://www.smore.com/04982
Your Hobby Counseling Team:
Mr. Texidor- Head Counselor, Student Last Names A-F. (210) 397- 6325; jose.texidor@nisd.net
Mr. Alonzo- Student Last Names G- O. (210) 397- 6273; jesus.alonzo@nisd.net
Ms. Castro- Student Last Names P-Z. (210) 397- 6326; jennifer.castro@nisd.net
Mrs. Staib- All Health Science Magnet Students (210) 397- 6286; nikki.staib@nisd.net
From the Nurse
Parents please do not send your child ill to school. Anything over 100.0 is considered a fever/temperature, please keep them at home. They are most contagious when they are having a fever/high temperature. Stay well hydrated and eat well. See a clinician/physician if symptoms worsen.
Stay warm and dress accordingly. Layer your clothes to stay warm. It is easier to remove a layer of clothing than to try finding clothes while in school to layer on.
Library
This week our first round of Hawk Book Boxes went out, and the kids LOVED it! One class even broke out in applause when a box was delivered to their classmate! Thank you for supporting literacy and helping our campus build a culture of literacy. We’re looking forward to next month’s book boxes as the buzz around this library program has started to grow.
Library Palooza
Library Palooza will be here before we know it!
This FREE event will take place February 24th from 10am-4pm at Brandeis HS. See the image below for a list of this year’s featured authors. Can’t wait to see you there!
8th Grade Lock-In
Student Council will be hosting an 8th grade lock-in next month! Tickets will go on sale the week before the event during 8th grade lunch.
Family Engagement
Resources/Upcoming Events
- CPS Energy Website - weather tips, helpful videos, and other useful information on winter preparedness: cpsenergy.com/wintersafety.
- Northside ISD Family Engagement Leadership Academy [Please see flyer below.]
- Triple P at Metro Health Parenting Teenagers Group Class - FREE positive parenting classes for parents of teenagers (children aged 13 to 17); attend all 8 classes and receive a $50 HEB gift card [Please see flyer below.]
- VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program - FREE tax preparation for individuals and families who earn $60,000 or less: https://vitasa.org/ (English); https://vitasa.org/es/pagina-de-inicio/ (Spanish)
Clubs
HAC
If you are having issues with HAC please click here or contact stacey.reynosa@nisd.net
Lawrence Carranco
Email: lawrence.carranco@nisd.net
Website: nisd.net/hobby
Location: 11843 Vance Jackson Road, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-397-6300
Twitter: @ElCarranco1