Dear Families in the Middle,

We are anticipating celebrating Veterans Day with our students on Friday, November 11.
Please use this link to share with us a veteran you and your family may know who would be willing to spend a little time at Hudson Middle School talking to a group of students about their service and responding to a few questions students may have about a career in the military. More details are provided in the linked letter.

We are anticipating our second Boys in the Boat small group discussion tomorrow, Friday, October 28 in a special 10th hour (2:04 - 2:37). Many thanks to our planning committee of several educators who share creative ways to learn from this important story each month! If you are willing and able to serve as a Guest Reader (reading a chapter or two during a class) over the next month, please use this link to let us know!

Many of our Middle School families - students and staff - are experiencing struggle and sadness in their lives. I often think about the importance of being present "in the middle" of storms and struggles to support and walk with people through the challenges. Thank you for the many ways each of you reach out to help another. Your kindness does not go unnoticed and helps lift the spirits of our entire community by the example you set. Our counselors have a sign near their doors:

Be kind. Always. Everyone we meet is fighting a battle we know nothing about. 

When autumn arrives, I think about the difficulty of letting go...of old habits, old ways of thinking, old emotions. May you trust in what's to come as you let go and "winterize" yourself.

Hope to see many of our students (in costume) at the dance Friday night, sponsored by our HMS Student Council, 6-8 PM. Bring a food shelf item to share!

Warmly,

Ann

Dear Families in the Middle,

This morning several girls in 6th, 7th and 8th grade were able to participate in a Girls in STEM & Manufacturing Breakfast, thanks to a collaborative effort of several folks! Sponsored and funded by the The Wisconsin Womens Council, the event was planned and coordinated by Ms. Melisa Hanson, Hudson School District Career & Technical Education Coordinator, Jodie Bray, Engineering and Technology Teacher here at HMS, and many women in the manufacturing industry. Students had the opportunity to work in teams to create a useable tool from recyclable materials, weld virtually and manually, use a laser and metal bit engraver, and a robotic arm. Breakfast was prepared and served by our Family & Consumer Science students. Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch, a mother of two middle school girls, shared the message, "We're investing in you. Invest in yourself and apply your learning. You are Wisconsin's future and we're counting on you!"

For photos of the STEM event and to see more great things happening at HMS every day (Thanks to Mr. Brian Nadeau, our Dean of Students), please follow HMS on Twitter by using @hudsonmiddlewi! 

We hope to see many of you at our FALL PARENT SEMINAR Tuesday evening, October 25, 6:30 - 8 PM. Back by popular demand, Alison Feigh will provide all of us (including students) with tips and strategies to safeguard our online footprint. We'll be meeting in the Multi-Purpose Room, so parking in the north lot (near Prairie Elementary) is probably best for this evening seminar. 

In case you missed the website photo of our Groundbreaking last week, Tuesday, October 18, these are a few of our Student Leaders on the Learning Space Team. Several were able to meet with Bray Architects Tuesday morning to learn more about their careers.  

Bryce Meyer, John Boily, Marissa Brown, Annika Lautenbach, Will Aschenbrenner,
Ryleigh White, Jenny Lund, Kristin Denny, Mira Lenzen

We are very grateful for the strong and positive community support for quality education and for expanding and strengthening our middle school House concept with the addition of learning space. The construction process will be a learning experience for so many of our students and staff! Opportunities to re-establish green space and a garden area east of the track near the pavilion, for re-thinking our use of space, color, and lighting and their impact on learning, and for innovating in our instructional practices will enhance this learning community!
Warmly,
Mrs. Ann Mitchell

Dear Families in the Middle,

Fall Student-Parent-Teacher conferences are such a wonderful opportunity to visit with you about your child's learning progress, strategies we can collaboratively use to support each child through moments of frustration, and to share stories that make us laugh and cry. Please call our office and talk to Cheryl or Terri or Kelly for assistance in scheduling your child's conferences. 

Many thanks to our parent group for a delicious meal before conferences! Sandwich fixings, salads, soup, fruits and vegetables, chips, salsa and sweet treats provided a joyful atmosphere around which to visit with each other for a few minutes before the evening began. A video may have more vividly conveyed the immense appreciation for your kindness! THANK YOU!!

We hope you enjoyed the "mini mall" during conferences. Between our Book Fair, our Yankee Candle Fundraiser and several entrepreneurial student products - yes, I hear these items will be available during next week's conferences as well - there is something for everyone!

An opportunity to meet the architects and learn more about our HMS building addition happens next Tuesday evening, October 18 at 6 PM with a community update to follow. HMS Student Ambassadors and Staff and Student Learning Space Team members as well as our district leaders will be present for a "Groundbreaking" ceremony. Please join us! 

Please mark your calendars for our FALL PARENT SEMINAR! Tuesday, October 25, 6:30 - 8 PM, Middle School Multi-Purpose Room. Alison Feigh is returning to Hudson for a highly touted message regarding online security. Alison will share practical ways parents can support responsible and thoughtful use of tech tools and social media. 

We know many of you (and we) have been challenged with the introduction of new technology, platforms, and communication tools. We are striving to align our communication to make it easier for families to see, hear, and learn about their child's Middle School learning experiences.

While we work with students to update the House Communication tab on this blog with the most effective way to find information, support student learning, and communicate with your child's teachers, we think this guide might help you navigate and find teachers and their web pages in our Hudson Middle School Learning Community.  At the present, every House is not using the same system. However, we are moving in that direction and hope to be there before the end of next year. Thank you for your patience and perseverance and positive suggestions as we navigate these new systems and identify a platform most of our families will find easier to navigate. Here's another basic introduction to finding staff and their classroom information from our website.

Happy autumn!

Ann

Dear Families in the Middle,

Recently, our Hudson Middle School leadership team was made aware of FREE opportunities our local YMCA provides for students after school. Please consider checking out these links for more information:
YMCA website
YMCA Facebook
We are eager to partner with the Y to support our students developing leadership skills!

Speaking of students developing leadership skills...thank you for partnering with us to remind your son and/or daughter of the importance of their role in difficult situations. To ensure everyone in our learning community experiences safety, respectfulness and responsibility at all times, these talking points might be helpful in your conversation.

* Our HMS Vision Focus for the year is to know ourselves and each other as learners and people; Raider Pride and The Raider Way includes being welcoming and inclusive as we strive to understand each other. Who has your son or daughter met so far this year and what did they learn about them?

* Sometimes we need to remind ourselves and be reminded of more effective ways to respond to difficult situations. For example, when a friend makes a negative choice, what we all learned at the elementary level still applies at the middle level: 1) Stop! (hold your hand out with your palm open),
2) Walk away from the situation (to think, to calm down, and to get help), and 3) TALK - to an adult who can help you think it through and respond respectfully.

* When your child talks about something that happened at school and you are concerned, please speak directly to the adult closest to the situation (your child's Advisor or Teacher, the Dean of Students, a Counselor or an Administrator). We strive to communicate with families, to respond to situations thoughtfully, and to be respectful in all of our interactions. When you hear something that raises questions in your mind, please contact us.

On a related note, the "creepy clown" reports and rumors circulating around our country are cause for concern. The most significant concern is for the safety of our families. Please review these safety tips with your child:
* Walk in groups; do not walk alone
* When a stranger approaches you, quickly walk away and find a trusted adult
* Stay in the area you are expected to be (at school, at home, with a coach or advisor)
Another concern is the legitimacy of the reports and rumors. Please remind your child to ask questions, focus on facts, and talk to a trusted adult about rumors.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ann Mitchell

Dear Families in the Middle,

We are looking forward to visiting with you about your child's progress in learning!
Please call us if you need assistance signing up for a conference time with your child's Advisor. Students are ALWAYS welcome to join the conversation!

OCTOBER 2016 -- MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT / PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES

Student/ Parent/Teacher Conferences for the Hudson Middle School will be held Thursday, October 13 from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Thursday, October 20 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.  Hudson Middle School Faculty will be scheduling Student/Parent/Advisory Teacher conferences online through Family Access.  Parents/Guardians will meet with their child’s Advisory teacher to discuss academic progress in the core courses and address general questions and/or concerns.  Exploratory and elective teachers will also be available for scheduled conferences.  If you do not know your Family Access login and/or password, please contact our office at 715-377-3820.  Physical Education, Health, and Traveling teachers will not be individually scheduled ahead of time, but will be available during conferences on a first come, first serve basis.  Physical Education and Health teachers will be available in the Multi-Purpose room.  Traveling teachers will be available in the Media Center.  Music teachers will be available in the Music Department.  Please schedule your conference by Tuesday, October 11.

Directions for using Skyward Family Access to schedule conferences.

The following schedule is for teachers who are assigned part-time to Hudson Middle School.

Present Thursday, October 13 only Present Thursday, October 20 only

Lori Lacey - Orchestra Lessons (6 pm - 8 pm) Bethany Bakken - German 8

Corey O’Keefe - Adaptive PE Paul Krasin - Band Lessons (5 pm - 7:30 pm)

Ryan Pagenkopf - Business Ed 8 Jessica Slaikeu - World Studies 6

Trevor Peck - World Studies 7 Liya Wegner - Mandarin Chinese

Jaclyn Gundersen - PE 7