Dear Families in the Middle,

Based on my observations in several classrooms throughout the day, I'm thinking your 6th, 7th or 8th grader came home yesterday with a combination of exhaustion and excitement for the year ahead. I enjoyed watching the embraces as students reconnected, the joy as students teamed up in games, and the opportunity to learn something about each person I visited with throughout the day.

We are welcoming MANY new students and families to Hudson Middle School this week. Please encourage your middle schooler to keep an eye out for the loner, the anxious and nervous, and the child who is joining a community that may appear to have friendships already established. It takes a village to make sure each person feels comfortable, cared for and needed.

A small group of staff members were visiting for a few minutes during the day and all of us noted an unusually high level of consideration among our students today! From frequent and sincere "Thank You's", to unprompted "Excuse me...I'm sorry," to quick and positive responses of "How are YOU?" we have been impressed with the positive leadership and kindness among our students! Talk about Raider Pride!

Monday evening provided my daughter's and I a little insight about a source of that kindness. Megan and Libbie stopped by the middle school to help me haul 14 - 8 foot boards from the ballfields (where our HMS staff had used them earlier in the day) to the school entrance. As we started to stack and carry the boards, two Dads and two boys immediately stepped up to load the boards into a pickup and haul them to the school entrance. A 40 minute work out became a five-minute task, thanks to the immediate helpfulness of these guys! Thank you, Jeff and Jaiden Warner, Carter Mears and one more generous man with a truck!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Mrs. Ann Mitchell