Hendricks Herald
March Newsletter
Message from Mrs. Riddle
March is a hectic month full of activities at the Nest. I strongly encourage all parents to attend the final installment of our West Community Parent Academy presented by the Forsyth County Schools’ Safety Department on Keeping Students Safe on Social Media. Please review the HMS BYOT Expectations with your child. We have had an uptick in cell phone issues of late. Most infractions include not having their phones off and out of sight while in the classroom. Another issue we are having is how our students choose to use their phones outside of school, and those choices are being brought into the school and causing disruptions. I implore you to get involved and learn more about keeping your child safe on social media at the West Community Parent Academy final event. This event will be held at West Forsyth High School on March 14, beginning at 6 PM. Later in March, we will celebrate our West cluster of schools at West Fest on March 25 from 3 to 5 PM. Many of the clubs and activities will be represented at this event. It is going to be a fun time for the entire family. As always, we want our students to carry out our SOAR expectations of being Scholarly, Open-minded, Accountable, & Respectful!
Continue to SOAR Hawks!
Important Dates
March 2: Hawks Academy after school 4:30-5:30
March 2: Reading Celebration in the Media Center
March 3: Pajama Day to Benefit Earthquake Victims
March 4: Soccer at FCHS- B team at 2; A team at 2:45
March 6-10: National School Breakfast Week
March 6-10: School Social Workers Week
March 6: 7th Grade Chorus Field Trip for LGPE at Focal
March 7: 6th and 8th grade Chorus Field Trip for LGPE at Focal
March 7: Golf Match at Polo
March 8: Golf Match at Iron Horse
March 9: Early Release for Parent Conferences
March 9: Band and Chorus Trip Parent Meeting at 6PM
March 10: No School for Students for Staff Development
March 10: Track and Field Meet at WFHS at 2:00
March 11: Soccer at FCHS- B Team at 12:00; A Team at 12:45
March 13: 7th Grade Field Trip to Zoo Atlanta
March 13-17: School Board Appreciation Week
March 14: Golf Match at Olde Atlanta
March 14: West Community Parent Night on Social Media Safety at WFHS
March 15: Track and Field Meet at SFHS at 5:45
March 16: Quarter 4 Begins
March 16: Hawks Academy after school 4:30-5:30
March 18: Soccer Meet at FCHS- B Team at 2:00; A Team at 2:45
March 21: Golf Match at Laurel Springs
March 22: Track and Field Meet at WFHS at 5:45
March 22-23: Block Days
March 22-25: Band & Chorus Disney Trip
March 23: SOAR Celebration
March 23: Hawks Academy after school 4:30-5:30
March 25: West Fest at WFHS from 3 to 5
March 27: Golf Match at Countryland
March 29: Track and Field Meet at FCHS at 5:45
March 30: Hawks Academy after school 4:30-5:30
March 30: Golf Match at River Pines
2023 Duck Dive
Since 2016, the Forsyth County Education Foundation has provided over $410,000 in grants for students and teachers. But, even with this success, we have not been able to meet all the needs in our schools. This is why we need everyone's help to make a big splash for education again with our annual fundraiser, the DUCK DIVE FOR EDUCATION!
For only $10, you could win $10,000 and support grants for schools!
The deadline to join the raffle is March 31st at 10AM. The Duck Dive drawing on March 31, 2023 at 1PM at the Cumming Aquatic Center, and you can watch here. Students, parents and the community are invited to adopt a duck by paying $10 to enter the raffle. Each duck adoption gives you the chance to win $10,000 and supports grants in our schools. Click here for the rules and regulations.
A Duck Dive is a raffle. When you adopt a duck for only $10, you will be assigned a duck number. Please see the list with links below to adopt a duck (or 2 or 3 or more!). The list of duck numbers will be available by midnight on March 24th so you know your assigned duck number before the raffle drawing. All numbered ducks will be thrown into a "pond". At the drawing, one lucky duck will be drawn and the winner will win $10,000.
How Do You Adopt Ducks and Enter the Raffle?
- My Payments Plus
- PayPal (Visit forsyth.k12.ga.us/edfoundation and click DONATE NOW)
- Fill out this form and return it to your school or FCS BOE/PDC (1120 Dahlonega Highway Cumming, GA 30040) with cash or check (made payable to your school with Forsyth County Education Foundation Duck Dive on the memo line or Forsyth County Education Foundation)
The deadline to adopt ducks is March 31st at 10AM!
All money raised from the Duck Dive will go toward grants in our schools in fall 2023. Click here to watch how The Duck has made a difference in our schools. We hope to make an even bigger splash in 2023, and we need you to be a Quacker Backer! If you have questions, please email hsamples@forsyth.k12.ga.us.
Hawks Academy
HMS BYOT Expectations
Coming in April: Multicultural Night at the Nest
Contagious Illness Information
Nominate an HMS Teacher for Teacher of the Month
News from the Counseling Department
We started transition activities for rising freshmen. Parents can view their child's courses in parent portal March 3rd-March7th. You may want to follow your rising freshman's high school on social media to keep up with events taking place at the high school.
We are beginning transition to middle school activities with rising 6th graders later this month. Please see the flyer below for additional information on all events for rising 6th graders.
Our 7th grade Sources of Strength peer leaders have been working on a campaign to create a large hawk in our upper commons. Each feather was created by an HMS student listing a source of strength in that student's life. 7th graders are launching an additional campaign later this month. Click here to learn about the Sources of Strength program and the value it adds to our school.
We need positive mentors for students here at Hendricks. If you or someone you know is interested in mentoring a student at HMS, please click here for training dates.
Car Rider Drop Off Map and Expectations
Car Rider Pick Up Map and Expectations
HMS Communication
There is a lot happening here at Hendricks Middle School! We want to communicate to our
community efficiently and effectively, so our plan for this is the following:
1. Our website is our first line of communication and is updated frequently. Many
parents do not have social media and platform use is inconsistent, so the school
website is where you can find dependable school information.
Each department maintains their own page. For example, parents can find
their students’ sports practice and game schedules on the athletic pages.
Events such as parent nights, conference days, and picture days can be found
on the front page of our website under “School News” and “Upcoming
Events”.
Student News/Announcements contain things like club meeting days/times,
spirit day information and other student interests can be found on the front
page of our website under the “Quick Links” and “School News” sections as
well as our students’ ClassLink page.
2. As a second method of communication, as much information as possible will be
pushed out through social media. Please refer back to our website if you are looking
for more information on a social media post. Most social media posts are simply
highlighting information that exists on our website. If our website doesn’t answer
your questions about a social media post, please email the contact given in the post
or our administration. We don’t always see questions asked on social media or in
direct messages.
3. Our third line of communication will be regular newsletters. These newsletters will
be placed on our website and posted on social media as well.
4. Critical or last minute safety information will also be sent via Parent Portal/IC
Messenger.
Communicating with our students is important to us as well. Many times your student will
have information about upcoming events or other items of interest at Hendricks. Here are
the ways we communicate with them:
1. All students are enrolled in our itslearning student course titled “HMS Student
Information Course”. This course contains announcements and links that may need
to be accessed throughout the year for surveys, tutorials, or events.
2. Announcements scroll all day on digital signage around our school. These
announcements are also posted in our students’ Classlink, Student Information
course in itslearning, and our website.
3. Video announcements air every day. These are also made available in Classlink, HMS
Student Information Course in itslearning, and our website.
We hope that this plan will help our community stay on top of necessary and important
information from HMS. We deeply appreciate your support!
2023-2024 Kindergarten Registration Information
Connect with Us
Website: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/hms
Location: 4950 Hyde Road, Cumming, GA, USA
Phone: (678) 965-5038
Facebook: facebook.com/HendricksHawks/
Twitter: @HendricksMiddle