September 4 - Labor Day, No School

September 11 - Late Start Day, school starts at 9:40 am

September 27 - Changing by the Minute documentary screening, 6pm

September 25 - Late Start Day, school starts at 9:25 am

September 26-30 - 6 Unity to Camp Wyman

We had a really fantastic time with our 6th grade parents at our visit to Camp Wyman on Tuesday evening! Thank you to all of the parents who attended! The slide show that was shared during the informational meeting can be viewed at the link below. If you have questions about camp, please contact your student's Science teacher.

6 Unity Science teacher: Kelly Williams (williams.kelly@wgmail.org)

6 Bravery Science teacher: Dawn Meyer (meyer.dawn@wgmail.org)

6 Integrity Science teacher: Adam Vorel (vorel.adam@wgmail.org)

After-School Activities will begin on September 12. Activities run from 3:30 to 4:20 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Students must be off campus by 4:30. Transportation is only provided for students in the VICC program. Students' attendance, grades, and behavior must be in good standing to participate in after-school activities. Students will sign up for after-school activities next week during Statesmen Time.

Attached is a list of activities.

In continuation of our efforts to support the academic and personal well-being of each student, district culture and climate surveys will be administered to students in grades 3-12, families, and staff. Surveys will solicit participants' perspectives about learning strategies, culture and climate, and experiences in the classroom and/or school.

The surveys will allow for students, families and staff to offer feedback specifically about school safety, their sense of belonging, teacher-student relationships, cultural awareness and diversity and inclusion. For comparison purposes, the same surveys from 2022-2023 will be used this year.

The survey window for students and families will be October 2-13, 2023 and March 25-April 5, 2024.

To learn more, including survey previews, aggregate data from last year, and how you can exclude your child from participating in the surveys if you choose to, click here.

Attention parents! Please be aware of the following regarding bus transportation.

• Your student may not ride another student's bus home without 24 hours written (email) notice to the school, permission from BOTH sets of parents/guardians, and confirmation that there is space on the other bus. We will deny any student who attempts to ride another student's bus if the above process has not been followed.
• Please remind your student to always engage in safe and appropriate behavior on the bus. Students who choose not to comply with bus expectations will be not be allowed to ride the bus for the rest of the school year.
• We have been experiencing issues with late buses over the past two weeks. We are really hoping that First Student can work these issues out very soon.
• You may notice that the buses are now dropping off on the Main Entrance lot in the morning. This is because of Moss Field being closed. The buses were having a hard time making the turn out of Hixson and on to Colebrook. The turn is just too sharp for a bus. Therefore, they now drop off on the Main Entrance lot.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation with bus transportation.

Morning arrival seems to be going okay, so I have just a few reminders about dismissal. If you are picking your child up from school in the afternoon, we kindly ask that you follow our dismissal procedures. Dismissal takes longer when we do not have your full cooperation. It has been very hot this week, making it very difficult to endure a prolonged dismissal (for staff supervising dismissal and for students on buses waiting to be dismissed) due to lack of cooperation.

During dismissal, please be sure to take note of the following:

• Please be kind and courteous to ALL Hixson staff and students.
• Please do not wait in front of the building for your student to exit. We need you to keep moving forward. Your student will find your car in line and enter your vehicle from wherever you are in line. When parents/guardians refuse to move forward, it takes a longer amount of time for us to move cars off of city streets (ie: Ambrose, Colebrook).
• Students exit the building from the Main Entrance AND the Cafeteria/Student Services Entrance.
• Cars are not allowed in the bus lanes. Please do not attempt to make a left turn into the bus lanes.
• The flow of traffic is one way. It is not two lanes in front of the Main Entrance. One way, one lane traffic while in front of the Main Entrance helps us keep our students safe when they cross the street to board the buses or walk home.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Dr. Mayes

The BRIDGING Our Stories - (Building.Relationships.Inclusion.Diversity.Growth) program allows WGSD middle and high school students and staff to tell their stories through art. Students and staff members can express themselves through art such as poetry, photography, music, dance, painting, etc. These creative expressions will be placed in a Community Gallery for the public to view, learn, and appreciate. In addition, the art will be used in a professional development session for staff to learn about the power of storytelling, relationship building, and building community. The grants are able to cover funding for some art supplies. Students will be asked a year later to share how being a part of the project impacted their classroom experiences. This program is grant-funded by the WGSD Foundation and Lindenwood University.

Your student can register by clicking HERE. All artwork must be submitted by May 1, 2023. For additional information or questions, please contact Dr. Williamson at williamson.shane@wgmail.org.

Picture make-up/retake day will be October 2, 2023. The portal for pre-orders is now open! Wagner has moved to 100% paper-free ordering! Any family that does not have online access may call our convenient toll-free number to place an order over the phone!

ONLY ONLINE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

(Please do not bring checks, cash, or order forms to school as they will no longer be accepted.)

https://bit.ly/45bGgP9

www.WagnerPortraitGroup.com

Online Pre-Order Password: 2D2Q5T9S

Can’t order online or have other questions? We are happy to help! 314-567-5900

We will be offering another event to help all Hixson parents/guardians learn all about middle school on September 27, 2023! Changing by the Minute is a documentary that is all about what it is like to be a middle schooler in a middle school that follows a completely different structure than Hixson. During this event, we will watch the documentary together in the Auditorium and then engage in a panel discussion about how to best support our middle school students. Save the date and please consider joining us! More details to come!

Email: mayes.shenita@wgmail.org
Website: https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/Hixson
Location: 630 South Elm Avenue, Webster Groves, MO, USA
Phone: 314-963-6450
Facebook: facebook.com/HixsonMiddleSchool