Dear Families in the Middle,

In case you hadn't heard, one of our very own Hudson Middle School students, Rebecca Tank, will be recognized this Saturday, August 20, in Waunakee (near Madison) as one of the top student composers in the state of Wisconsin! Rebecca competed in the Wisconsin School Music Association Composition Project and submitted an original musical composition titled, "The Quest for the Cookie Jar." We are so very proud of her and grateful her musical gifts are being honored!

Many thanks for the positive and helpful feedback on Registration Days! Each year, we hope your experience is a smooth one. Added changes such as online registration and Fee Pay are meant to be a convenience and we appreciate your patience as we work through the adjustment phase! Another thank you to the many parents who took a moment to e-mail and alert us that the schedule wasn't displaying. Your alert helped us locate an incorrect setting and correct the glitch Tuesday morning. More importantly, your messages were thoughtful and supportive. Thank you for your patience and for presuming positive intent!

A special shout out to Mrs. Diane Schofield, our Associate Principal taking the lead on schedules, and to Cheryl Engnes, our Registrar Administrative Assistant for the hours and hours of attention they've given to providing schedules that we hope do the following:
* Honor student choice in electives (8th grade)
* Create as small an advisory as possible for more personal attention
* Balance class sizes for maximum student support

From our HMS Parent Network Group: the HMS Spirit Wear Sale ends this Friday, August 19th, at 11:59 PM. Info and store link can be found on the HMS website under General Information and HMS Parent Group. Another way to access the HMS Spirit Wear store is to go directly to hudsonstcroixsports.com

Our HMS store is on the home page.  A second sale will be offered by our Parent Group during October conferences.  

These warm and humid summer days will quickly give way to cool and crisp autumn mornings. While Safeway finalizes bus routes (they're nearly finished!), teachers collaborate with teams to revise plans and make changes in their classroom set-up, and our custodial team works feverishly to complete moving, painting, and repairing projects...we wish your family lovely days of anticipation this August! 

Warmly,
Ann

Dear Families in the Middle,

It has been such a joy to see so many of you during Registration Days. We hope you and your middle-level student(s) experienced a smooth registration process and the experience has left your family eager for another year of learning in our Raider community! PLEASE take time to READ our Middle Musings blog posts for updates and information.

The shift from varied house lists to a common grade level list resulted in a couple of items in question. We noted a couple of items needing clarification:

7th grade supplies - the pre-ordered KITS included ONE binder; the hard copy list included THREE binders. Please anticipate the need for ONE binder to begin the year. If an additional binder is needed, teachers will communicate that need at a future time.

8th grade supplies -  8th grade pre-ordered kits do not include "2 pkgs. of looseleaf paper" but the hard copy list includes that item. Teachers will confirm with students during the school year whether looseleaf is needed.

Pre-ordered Supply Kits - if you were unable to pick up your student's supply kit from HMS during Registration Days, the kit will be placed in your student's Advisor classroom for your student to pick up the first day of school. If you'd like to pick up the kit prior to the first day of school, please stop in the office and we will do our best to help you locate the box in the Advisor classroom.

Chromebooks will be distributed on Tuesday, September 6th in Advisory. We want to focus on listening and observing, relationships and knowing, understanding, supporting and challenging each other as we begin a new year.

Feedback on Registration Days - In case you were unable to leave your feedback in the basket on your way out the door, please use this link to give us feedback and share suggestions for improving the registration process. Thank you!

An interesting bit of trivia:
* The Class of 2023 (6th grade) is 463 students strong and still growing! We've added three traveling teacher advisors to the team and anticipate the addition of a house in 2017-18 with great joy!

Please encourage your middle-level student to check out the Student Leadership Opportunities and apply by clicking on the links on the Student Leadership Tab in this blog. Every student has something wonderful to share with others! Thank you!

Warmly,

Mrs. Ann Mitchell

Dear Families in the Middle,

As our district continues to improve our use of technology to enhance learning, I want you to be aware of several opportunities for learning more about Chromebooks, Google Apps for Education, and our district policies, practices and procedures to support students positive and responsible use of technology.

A letter from our new District Technology Coordinator, Jennifer Lotze, provides you with an overview of our district 1:1 initiative.

During Registration Days, parents have the opportunity for a 20 minute Chromebook orientation session. These sessions will begin at 11:00 and will be offered every hour (on the hour) until 6:00 PM each day, August 8-9-10. You'll have an opportunity to meet, ask questions, and learn more from our HMS Technology Integration Coaches and Tech Council members.

Chromebooks will not be distributed to HMS students until Tuesday, September 6th. The first two days of the school year will be focused on getting to know one another, establishing our team, strengthening our community, and sharing expectations. We think this people-knowledge is far more important than the technical skill of using devices.

Parents will have another opportunity for Chromebook and online learning support during our fall parent orientation Monday, September 19, at 5:30 PM, just prior to the kick-off Parent Group Network meeting at 6:30 PM. We hope you'll consider coming for both informative meetings!

Always seeking ways to improve our communication, please take time to share feedback on our Registration Days. We appreciate your questions, ideas, and suggestions for strengthening our learning community! See you next week!

Warmly,
Ann