Thursday, June 22, 2017

June 2017 HMS Newsletter





June 2017
HMS Principal's Newsletter



Congratulations to our 8th Grade Graduates!  We are so proud of you!  Best Wishes!!!


Happy Retirement Mr. Cournoyer!

Mr. Paul Cournoyer will end his thirty plus year career as a physical education instructor at HMS this year.  Mr. "C" as staff and students so affectionately know him has impacted everyone's lives in a positive way and he will forever have left his mark on all of us at HMS.  Best Wishes and Happy Retirement!



Quarter 4 Hawk Assembly

Each Quarter Hampstead Middle School recognizes students in each grade for demonstrating excellence in our school's 3 R's creed

Respect, Responsibility and Relationships.  
Congratulations to our winners who were recognized June 19, 2017 at an all school assembly.


Congratulations HMS Winners!


8th Grade:Sophie Caputo, Kiyoshi  Dustin

7th Grade:Adam Woidyla, Erika Murawski
6th Grade:Ethan Flaherty, Hope Frost
5th Grade:Erin Flynn, Zachary Fortin

Unified Arts Award Winners:

5th grade - Elise Clohecy
6th Grade - Tony LeBlanc
7th Grade - Peyton Knowlton
8th Grade - Madison Henry





Art & Family Consumer Science Project 
June 21st

The Empty Bowls project is an event that raises awareness about hunger.  Bowls are typically made by artisans in the area and a event is hosted where participants can "buy" a bowl and receive a meal.


In Art, Mrs. Downey's students made bowls which were saved for this purpose. Our Empty Bowls project will include the FCS program as well.  Students have been learning about money management.  We have developed a business plan and learned the difference between a for profit and not for profit organization.  Our concluding project will be to prepare food that the students can purchase to put in their bowl.  There will be paper bowls available for all students.

We plan to make brownies, cookies, cheesecake bars, and rice crispy treats.  We may even have some toppings as well. There will be gluten free and dairy free options for our friends with these allergens.  No nuts will be in any of the foods prepared.

Students will enter the event through the art room to find their bowl and proceed to the FCS room to pick out their treat.  

The suggested donation is $1.00.  All proceeds will go to the Isaiah 58 program started by Reverend Yasenka.  This program helps families and individuals who are homeless or in need of a meal and/or financial assistance receive the support and means to regain a manageable lifestyle.   



On behalf of Mrs. Rubin’s 4th Quarter Food Consumer Science Class, we would like to thank all of our community members for coming in and meeting with us to discuss your careers.

Thank you to the following people:

Mr. Bruce Scamman, Mr. Peter Megan,Mrs. Lori-Lyn Griffin,Mr. Joe Dionne,Mrs. Megan,Mr. Evan Sorensen,Mr. Rick Berard,Mr. Kyle Megan,Mr.Paul Ott, Mr.Dane



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There's still time to secure your child's spot at Camp Invention!

Camp Invention
July 17th-21st 8:00am - 2:30pm
@ Hampstead Middle School

Register your child today to join Hampstead Middle School teachers, Heather Mailloux, Lori-Lyn Griffin, and Travis Nason for a week of fun, hands-on challenges!  Inspired by the Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, participants at Camp Invention will 
CREATE their own personal, ultimate Spy Gadget Alarm Box by taking apart  everyday machines.
LAUNCH water rockets, build Bubble Blasters, and engineer giant castles.
EXPLORE a distant new planet and design inventions to create the next Earth.
DESIGN duct tape products and pitch them to mock investors.

Ventures

The 7th grade Ventures students would like to extend a huge thank you to Mr. Remillard, Mrs. Downey, and Mr. Robins for their time, patience, and expertise with our Ukulele project.  To say we couldn’t have done it without you would be an understatement!

This amazing integration project started with a DIY kit graciously bought with funds granted to us from the school board last summer.  We, the 7th grade Ventures students, began assembling our ukuleles under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Remillard.  



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After assembling, we then proceeded to the art room where Mrs. Downey facilitated our creativity.  We were encouraged to design our own artwork that would convey our originality. We created some beautiful works of art!  



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After constructing and creating, we began learning how to play our ukuleles under the direction and patience of Mr. Robins.  After learning some of the basics, we were tasked to learn a song that we would then teach to our classmates.  


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To say the least, this has been an awesome integration project that we will never forget!  Thank you again, Mrs. Downey, Mr. Remillard, and Mr. Robins!





Summer Reading 2017

HMS Library Website Resources Galore:  Book Lists for ALL Ages, Book Trailers, Website Links, …  Library Home Page:  Located under “Student Life” off the HMS website.  Don’t forget to also visit the “Find Books” tab.  



  • Support your child as they choose their own titles.
  • Don’t forget audiobooks are great for car rides.  
  • Share some time reading together this summer!





YouTube Channels to Check Out:  Look for “Top Trailers”, “Popular”, “Author Interviews”, etc.
  • Epic Reads
  • Harperteen
  • Penguin Teen
  • Random House Kids
  • Simon & Schuster Books
  • Scholastic

Technology Department Updates


Dear 8th Grade Parents:
 As your child prepares to leave Hampstead Middle School, we’d like you to be aware of the following information concerning your child’s technology device/account.
 Google Account:
  • Your child’s Hampstead Google Account will be available until December 31, 2017.  Any documents that your child wishes to keep must be transferred to their personal Google account or their new Pinkerton account in the fall. Instructions for transferring files can be found by clicking here.


Mighty Milers 

Over the 2016-2017 school year, students participated in the NYRR Mighty Milers program. Students completed their final mile for the year during the school wide miler race on June 15th.  Over 350 students successfully participated in the program. Congratulations for a job well done.





Welcoming our incoming 5th graders!
We have been very busy preparing our incoming 5th graders for the transition to the Hampstead Middle School! Mrs. Karpinsky, 5th and 6th grade HMS school counselor, has been working closely with Mrs. Crisa, HCS school counselor, to prepare our students for the upcoming transition.

5th Grade Ambassador Program
Mrs. Karpinsky kicked off the 5th Grade Student Ambassador Program and traveled to HCS with groups of current HMS 5th graders to visit each of the fourth grade classrooms. HMS Student Ambassadors returned to their former classes. During the hour long program, students performed a skit titled Middle School Adventures, presented Fun Facts about HMS, and answered lots of questions our 4th graders had about their new school! Mrs. Karpinsky worked with 5th grade HMS Ambassadors during their lunch/recess and WIN period practicing and preparing for the trip! It was fun for our 5th graders to visit their old classrooms and they all did an excellent job as student leaders helping the 4th graders learn and get excited for the transition to HMS!

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5th Grade Ambassadors visit Mrs. Burkett’s fourth grade classroom.

PARENT NIGHT: On Wednesday, May 25th, Mrs. Karpinsky held an information night for incoming 5th grade parents. Parents learned all about the transition events planned to help prepare incoming students to learn about our school and program offerings.

MEET & GREET: In early June, Mrs. Karpinsky and the 5th grade teachers welcomed our current HCS 4th graders for Meet & Greet Day! HCS 4th grade students traveled to HMS with their classes, Mrs. Crisa, and teachers, and spent a few hours meeting HMS staff, touring the 5th grade wing and their classrooms as well as our school. It was a fun day for all and the 4th graders are getting excited to join our school community!

LUNCH MEETINGS: Mrs. Karpinsky has been visiting HCS for lunches with 4th graders - an informal lunch to tell the kids about HMS and answer any of their questions.





Math Practice:

Below are some ways that are available for your child that may help keep up and improve their math skills over the summer months.  Or just to provide some enjoyment!


Big Ideas (our 6th - 8th grade text) Basic Skills Review and Skills Review (has problems and answer keys)  https://bim.easyaccessmaterials.com/protected/content/bsh/   and  https://bim.easyaccessmaterials.com/protected/content/srh/ 



Big Ideas Free Access to our text books:  
NCTM Illumination                 https://illuminations.nctm.org/    includes Calculation nation which  one can play online math strategy games against players from around the world.

NCTM also make quality free apps for ipad/phone and for android devices. These all have web versions available also.  http://illuminations.nctm.org/mobile/   One of my favourite's is "Pick-a-Path"


Sites to practice math skills and facts:

Card and Board games also help to develop math skills and strategic thinking. Jigsaw puzzles and find the picture books (e.g. Where's Waldo and I Spy)are also excellent for strategic thinking and spatial reasoning.


Backpack Safety!!!

To ensure the safety of our students we will no longer permit students to carry backpacks between classes.  This is a result of several factors, 1) backpacks grossly exceeded weight recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics which may result in health issues for children and teenagers, 2) Chrome books were damaged as a result of being carried in backpacks, and 3) backpacks left in hallways, classroom, and doorways pose a safety risk blocking fire exits and main pathways.   Students have ample time to go to lockers in between each class.  Teachers unanimously support this new procedure, and students will  learn to organize and plan for their day accordingly.  Students may carry a light string backpack or tote only.  




Wishing all of our students and families a safe and wonderful summer!  See you August 30, 2017!