HMMS Happenings!
September 14, 2022
Dear HMMS Families,
I hope you are well! Today marks ten days of school completed for our students as I send off this latest communication. In some ways it feels like we have just gotten here, still adjusting to our classes, routines and school expectations. In other ways, it feels WAY longer than just ten days! Students and staff are doing a great job managing the many steps that ensure a smooth and successful transition. We appreciate all you are doing at home as well!
Please see below for some important information and reminders for this month, including:
- Reminder that Picture Day is tomorrow - Thursday, September 15th!
- Save the Date! Our PCC Fundraising kick-off is Tuesday, September 20th
- Information about MAP assessments and our upcoming testing dates
- Reminders for First Day Paperwork and Emergency Cards due September 30th
- Information regarding our parking lots and pick-up/drop-off procedures
As always, we have included Main Office contact information and "Important Dates to Remember" at the bottom of this newsletter.
Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to welcome another new staff member to the HMMS community. Brittany Crosby has been recently hired as our new School Counselor/Social Worker for the Franklin Middle Schools. This is a brand new position at the Franklin middle level, and we are thrilled to have Brittany join our team. Currently Ms. Crosby is working at ASMS on Mondays and at HMMS four days a week Tuesday - Friday. Our long term goal is to have Ms. Crosby supporting all three middle schools.
Ms. Crosby is providing additional support at HMMS this fall while we adjust to staffing changes in our HMMS Guidance Department. Ms. Michelle Leach, our School Psychologist, has left Franklin and taken a job in a different district. While we work to fill this vacancy, our team of School Psychologists at the elementary and middle levels will support our school's evaluation and assessment needs. Ms. Crosby will work collaboratively with Mrs. Lubenow, our full-time Adjustment Counselor, to support students' counseling and mental health needs.
All students will have an opportunity to meet Mrs. Lubenow and Ms. Crosby and visit our Guidance Office as part of an Advisory activity later this fall.
We know you join us in wishing Ms. Leach much success in her new district, and in welcoming Ms. Crosby to the Franklin Middle Schools!
Hope you are having a great week!
Sincerely,
Ms. Motte
Principal
Picture Day is Thursday, 9/15!
On Thursday, September 15, O'Connor Studios will be at HMMS for school pictures. You should have received an email with picture ordering information last week and paper flyers were also distributed to students.
Individual student and staff pictures will be taken during the school day. Families will have the opportunity to purchase picture packages and we will use these pictures for our yearbook. We will offer a picture re-take day later this Fall.
Save the Date! PCC Fundraising Kick-Off 9/20
We are excited to announce that the HMMS PCC is offering an AWESOME way to give back to HORACE MANN MIDDLE SCHOOL! On 9/20/2022 we will be kicking off an event to help raise funds that will benefit all of our students and staff.
The Step It UP! program and "Day of Awesomeness" fundraiser will help with funding towards Field Trips, Grade-Level activities and End of Year Activities. We will also be hosting a "Day of Awesomeness" experience in the spring for our school! See below for pictures from last year's event. We are excited to get started next week!
A few things to note:
- This program will be very easy for you. It only requires about 10 minutes of your time.
- Your students can earn great rewards, just for their effort. No money required!
- This is an online, donation-based fundraiser, and the email and text message donation requests can go to people you know anywhere in the world. That means no direct pressure on your shoulders.
Students will be bringing home more information next week, 9/20, after our KICK OFF
presentation. Please help your student register and complete the Golden Ticket
assignment THAT VERY NIGHT! All students who complete the Golden Ticket
assignment will receive fun PRIZES and it does not require any money to register. We
will also have some fun drawings for a $250 Amazon Gift Card and four Mini Party
Fridges stuffed with CASH!
I will be sending a few more emails throughout the fundraising time period. Please
contact me directly if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your
support!
Sincerely,
Ms. Motte and the HMMS PCC
"Day of Awesomeness" at HMMS!
NWEA's MAP Assessment for 2022-2023
Continuing to use Franklin's Portrait of a Graduate to guide our curriculum and instruction decisions, Franklin Public Schools implements NWEA's MAP assessments in grades K-8. MAP assessments are part of a research-based, nationally-normed assessment suite created by NWEA, a non-profit organization that has been committed to advancing student learning for more than four decades.
Students will take Reading and Math assessments three times throughout the school year in order to monitor students’ progress and determine what each student is ready to learn. This assessment does not impact students' grades, rather it gives educators the information they need to plan instruction that meets the needs of each student. Franklin educators are supported throughout the year to understand how to interpret the students’ assessment data, and to use this information to inform instruction. We look forward to further partnering with families as students learn and grow this year. We will continue to communicate this work with you.
Below are the assessment window dates for the year.
- September 12 - September 30
- January 9 - January 27
- May 15 - June 9
We will hold our Fall MAP testing at HMMS on Thursday, 9/22 and Friday, 9/23.
First Day Paperwork Due September 30th
If you haven't already, Please click below to complete the necessary "First Day Paperwork" for the 2022-2023 school year.
HMMS First Day Paperwork Form. This will ensure you have read our updated handbook and respond to the necessary consent forms. All families should complete this form by Friday, September 30th.
NURSE EMERGENCY CARD FORM This will ensure we have updated nurse and emergency information for your child.
Both forms should be completed by Friday, September 30th. Thank you!
HMMS Parking Lot & Pick-Up/Drop-Off Procedures
As you have all experienced our HMMS/Oak Street parking lot is a very busy place, especially at our drop-off and pick-up times. We are working collaboratively with Oak Street, Solutions and FHS to ensure our practices are safe and efficient.
FHS administration is helping us in the parking lot during arrival this week by redirecting any unauthorized student drivers using the HMMS lot. There is a small section of designated FHS parking spaces, but students need to be assigned a space and have a parking sticker to use them. We will continue to monitor this to ensure our lots are accessible to our HMMS and Oak Street drivers.
I have received several reports of aggressive driving during dismissal that we are also addressing. Officer Ayer will be helping to manage flow and safety during this congested part of the day. Any drivers who are not being safe or not following our traffic flow will be addressed. Thank you for your continued patience and attention as we try to get drop-off and pick-up cars through as quickly and safely as possible.
I am reposting our drop-off and pick-up processes from our HMMS Student/Family Handbook below. Please help us ensure the safety of all by following these practices. Please continue to report any concerns you have and we will do everything we can to address them.
Drop off and Pick up at HMMS
Please follow the drop off and pick up procedures as outlined below.
If you are dropping off or picking up your child by car, for safety sake:
Please follow the traffic pattern for student drop off and pick up by car. HMMS staff will be stationed outside to direct traffic and keep the line moving.
Cars need to line up along the driveway and flow into the parking lot. This will minimize back-up along Oak Street.
Please do not drop your student off in the parking lot at drop off or ask your student to meet you in the parking lot at pick up. Use of the parking lot crosswalk is limited during these times to ensure a safe and orderly process.
Students should not exit or enter a vehicle unless it is along the sidewalk in front of the building. Students should exit vehicles on the right hand side next to the building.
When walking to school, please be sure your child is walking safely using sidewalks and crosswalks to get to school.
Please trust that this system works when everyone follows the rules and is indeed the safest and most efficient system. We have worked carefully with the Franklin Police Department to develop this traffic plan.
Important Dates to Remember...
September
- Thu Sep 15 - Fall Picture Day!
- Wed Sep 21 - Early Release Day for Students, dismissal at 10:45am
- Mon Sep 26 - No School, Rosh Hashanah
October
- Oct 4 & 6 - Grade 6 YMCA Field Trip (more info to come...)
- Wed Oct 5 - No School, Yom Kippur
- Fri Oct 7 - Early Release Day for Students, dismissal at 10:45am
- Mon Oct 10 - No School, Indigenous People Day/Columbus Day
- Thu Oct 13 - HMMS Open House, Back to School Night! 6:30-8:00pm
- Tue Oct 25 - HMMS Visiting Author Day with Leslie Connor!
- Thu Oct 27 - Fall Picture Re-Takes
- Fri Oct 28 - Early Release Day for Students, dismissal at 10:45am
About HMMS
508-541-6230 ext 2816
Mr. Healy's contact information
508-541-6230 ext 2846
Email: name@franklinps.net
Website: https://www.franklinps.net/horacemann
Location: 224 Oak Street, Franklin, MA, USA
Phone: 508-541-6230
Twitter: @HMMSLightning