Dear Families in the Middle,

We hope you are anticipating family, food, flannel and fun (our family would add five hundred, the card game) over the winter break next week! My husband reminded me today was the Winter Solstice and the daylight would gradually lengthen. Yay! Daylight is a source of energy for me.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, suggestions, support and sense of humor through our efforts to provide a safe and smooth traffic flow around HMS each morning and afternoon. We know the flow wasn't good BEFORE construction, and we're hopeful for continuous improvement as we make changes. Please DO NOT PARK in the south lot nearest the building. These spaces must be reserved for specific vehicles (School Resource Officer and handicapped, for example). Thank you for following guides at intersections to provide safe and quick traffic flow.

Whether you have a sixth grader learning about a bear's need for enrichment, a seventh grader learning about Islam, or an eighth grader learning about slope, we hope you're seeing progress in their thinking, speaking, writing and reading skills. Your questions and interest in their learning fuels progress!

We know this can be both a stressful and highly spirited time of year for all. Many families have shared kindnesses this past week - treats, candies, cookies, nuts, fruit. We are so grateful for your generous gifts. Most significantly, we are thankful for your kind words. Every person contributes to the positive learning community we enjoy here at HMS!

Warmly,
Ann

Dear Families in the Middle,

We have a Science Olympiad Team, advised by Mr. Anderson (8th grade science), in their second year of competition. They competed in the Regional meet in Boyceville this past weekend and represented Hudson Middle School well! Last year our team won two medals; this year they brought home a whopping 22 medals! Watch for a story in the Hudson Star Observer in the coming weeks!

Construction activity is in full swing at HMS, despite the colder temperatures. We are grateful for the stamina and strength of these workers as they dig, drill, pour and fill the footings and foundations. Hudson Prairie Kindergartners occasionally visit our Media Center for a close-up look at the construction. Following their visit, they write a sentence about the progress and changes they see in each visit.


In anticipation of some MAJOR equipment and materials on our HMS site, please note a change in our parking and traffic on the south and west sides of our school. We strongly encourage all families to make use of the Safeway Bus Transportation OR to carpool during this busy construction time. There will be very limited access to the south parking lot and parent pick-up and drop-off will be limited to ONE LANE on the LEFT side of the west drive. Please be alert, patient and safe!

Congratulations to our Hudson Middle School creative students for their recognized artwork in the Stop Drugs Calendar Program, sponsored by the St. Croix County Sheriff's office: Trista Oberle was the overall grand prize winner ($250) and Maddi Gillen was a 7th Grade winner.

Some of you may be aware of a Yankee Candle recall. Fortunately, our HMS fundraiser catalog did not include the item on recall. Here's a link to the article in case you know of someone who may have shopped online and purchased the item.

As you anticipate the winter break here in Hudson, we want you to know the YMCA will be open EVERY DAY! Activities and snacks are available and the linked flyer provides more details.

Dear Families in the Middle,

Recognizing December brings all kinds of positive and negative stressors to our lives, we want to encourage you to seek out moments for peace and appreciation. This morning's professional learning for our teaching team focused on finding, creating and sustaining balance in our lives as we engage in this very important people profession. Whether you find balance in meditation, time with family, a visit with a friend, exercise, creating and crafting...to care for others, we know it is important to attend to care of self.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Sommers, Molly Powers, and several parent helpers and HMS ambassadors who worked together to sort and distribute Yankee Candle fundraiser items yesterday. We are so grateful, not only for the generous gift of time and energy to this fundraiser, but also for the many opportunities the parent group funds afford to our students. Most specifically, those funds provide bus transportation for field trip experiences at all three grade levels (For example: MN Zoo, Guthrie, Hudson's History Walk), House supplies, and support for families unable to afford the cost of a field trip experience admission.

When you come to the HMS site, you may notice several additional trucks, more equipment, and increased activity this week. We are anticipating the arrival of pre-fabricated walls to frame the two-story addition later this month. Please be very alert to parking lot access changes during this busy construction time.

In this time of cell phones and immediate connectivity, please help us ensure the safety of your child by encouraging him / her to check in at the health office when he/she is not feeling well, rather than to only text a parent. This helps us help you by allowing us to check symptoms, offer support, and ensure teachers know where students are at all times. Thank you for partnering with us on this important safety concern.

Attending music concerts is one of the ways I find balance in my life. Music provides peaceful, rhythmic inspiration for me. I hope you have enjoyed a band, choir or orchestra concert this season!

Warmly,

Ann

Dear Families in the Middle,

This week, I shared a brief article with our Hudson Middle School staff called Milestones of Caring. There were several insights I gained from reading what the authors had to say about the importance of developing a strong "ethos" of caring in these middle years.

* A successful middle level education depends on building successful, empathetic relationships among ALL members of the learning community.
* A focus on CARING helps us transform indifference, ignorance, and disdain into curiosity, interconnectedness, and conceptual understanding.
* The impact of CARING is powerful enough to turn mere superficial platitudes into ambitious action and genuine concern for multiple perspectives.
* An "expansion of caring" is critical during unstable, emergent and ever-shifting developmental stages and begins with "bold and ambitious questions," and does not come in predictable, organized or even intentional bursts, but often arrives with serendipitous and chaotic surprise in our lives.
* A sense of caring disrupts our certainty and our complacency and grows from "intentional reflection" on an experience, an observation, an event, an interchange, or an idea.

The authors suggest we adults contemplate how we became caring people. What memories evoke recollections of caring for us? As parents and educators, we take on many roles - trailblazers, advocates, teammates, questioners, visionaries, guides, and inspirers. "Critical" and courageous conversations in these roles, where we listen to others, process and consider ideas different from our own, and acknowledge our biases and assumptions help us and the children with whom we work develop the strong sense of CARE critical to our HMS Mission:

HMS Learners understand, challenge and support each other to be caring, capable and creative contributors.

Special thanks to our parent chaperones for our sixth grade MN Zoo trips this past week. While visiting the bear exhibit with students, one of the chaperones shared a MN Zoo volunteer asked that she relay back to our Hudson Middle School learning community what a GREAT group of kids we have! She said staff and volunteers noticed how respectful and kind they were during their visit to the zoo. Thank you to our students, staff and families for leaving such a positive impression!

With a grateful heart,

Mrs. Ann Mitchell

Dear Families in the Middle,

Thankful for students and staff who take risks, lead by example, and look for opportunities! Read on for HMS examples...

We honored 18 students - six from each grade - for leading others in the Habit of Mind: Questioning and Posing Problems! This is one of my favorite Habits of Mind because I believe authentic curiosity opens minds AND hearts to new ways of thinking, alternate perspectives, and a revised view of the world. In my experience, people who are unafraid to ask questions and pose challenges are also ready to seek new learning and change in life. If we're going to solve problems in our world, these folks are the ones who will help us get started! Kudos to these students for showing the rest of us how to question thoughtfully and pose problems to help us clarify, explore, and make sense of life!

Thank you to our Parents - You're going to want to join our November 21 Parent Group Network Meeting Monday evening at 6:30 P.M. Seventh grade teachers, Mrs. Swanson and Ms. Rolstad and a few seventh grade students will share a couple of innovative and engaging teaching and learning ideas in action at HMS! A status report of our fall fundraiser will also be shared.

Thankful for our Veterans - for their generous gift of time, service and skill to safeguard our freedom. Special thanks to 38 veterans who took time last Friday to visit with our students and respond to interview questions about their experience in the military. We were honored by your presence among us!

Thank you to our Construction Crew: The space between our offices and the gymnasium looks much larger now that work has begun to remove the storm drain and prepare for footings and foundations. Students have also been busy imagining and researching ideas for furnishing the new and existing spaces in ways supportive of collaboration and personal learning needs. Here are a couple of examples from Ms. Mueller's Health Class, after hearing an article, "Sitting is the new Smoking!" Student Ideas: Evgenia Roth, Gabriel Stolz

Dear Families in the Middle,

Here in the middle, we recognize the communication dynamic between parent and child changes a bit. Between the extremes of NOT talking and talking all the time is that wonderful place of meaningful conversation between parent and child. I recently read an article with fabulous suggestions for questions and reminders for those conversations we long to have with our child. Here are a few questions the author suggests to replace "How was school today?"

1. Tell me about a moment today when you felt excited about what you were learning.
2. Think about what you learned and did in school today. What’s something you’d like to know more about? What’s a question you have that came from your learning today?
3. Tell me about a moment when you felt care and respect from a classmate or teacher. 
4. Tell me about an enjoyable conversation you had with someone. 
5. What was challenging about your day?
6. What do you appreciate about your day?
7. What did you learn about yourself today?
8. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
9. What question do you wish I’d ask you about your day?

Tips for Asking Questions

According to the author of the article, "how and when we ask these questions makes a big difference in the information we receive from our kids. First, you don’t want to ask all of these questions on the same day. You might ask one or two. After a while, you’ll figure out which ones elicit the most meaningful responses. You’ll want to ask during a time when you have the ability to focus so that your child feels they have your full attention." Dinner and driving in the car are optimal times for these conversations.

More Suggestions

To help keep conversations positive and powerful:

• Don’t interrupt. This is a good rule for any conversation, but especially if you want to get a lot of information from someone.
• Ask for more. Simply say, “I’d love to hear more about that...” Or, “Can you expand on that a little?”
• Ask about feelings. After a child describes an experience, ask, “How did you feel in that moment? What did you notice about your feelings?”
• Validate feelings. Whatever your kid feels is normal and okay. Let them know that. Feelings are okay. Talk about how to express those feelings in ways that help others know how to help. 
• Thank them for sharing with you. Always appreciate their honesty and willingness to share the highlights and bright spots, as well as the difficult moments. This will fuel their confidence in telling you more.

Source: Elena Aguilar, 15 Questions to replace "How was school today?," Edutopia, October 27, 2016. 

On a related note...thank you for the many ways you model, teach and re-teach kindness and respectfulness in moments of disappointment, stress and frustration. Staying calm, asking questions and listening attentively helps us understand another perspective and respond thoughtfully. 

Gratefully,
Ann 

Dear Families in the Middle,

The beautiful weather makes the realization that it's November even more perplexing! How quickly the autumn days pass on the calendar, and yet how slowly the warm and sunny autumn days are leaving us (thankfully!).

During the month of November we are grateful for many opportunities:
* Construction begins on our two story addition of twelve classrooms and an additional gymnasium. Please be watchful of the signs and safety regulations on our school grounds.

* A Team of 20 of us traveled to Chaska Middle School East (Eastern Carver County School District) to observe a personalized learning environment, learn from educators, and interview students about the approach.

* Next Friday, November 11th, is Veterans' Day. We will be honoring our veterans with a special ceremony (7th and 8th grade) in our gymnasium at 9 AM. Following the ceremony, veterans will be sharing their stories and journeys with students in smaller advisory groups in each house (6th, 7th and 8th grade) during 4th hour (10 - 10:40). Students have prepared questions for these special interviews. We look forward to honoring and learning from our veterans.

Sincerely,

Ann