Hampstead Middle School
Principal's Newsletter June 2018
Congratulations to our 8th Grade Graduates! We are so proud of you! Best Wishes!!!
Quarter Four Hawk Awards
Respect, Responsibility, Relationships
Congratulations to our winners who were recognized on June 15th, 2018 at an all-school assembly.
8th grade- Trevor Grover, Keana Gullage, Montgomery LeBlanc
7th grade- Joshua Chase, Chloe O'Neil, Maiah Sanborn
6th grade- Taylor Schwalje, Taylor Curran, Gianna Rosa
5th grade- Logan Dyer, Caroline McGaffigan, Madeleine Murray
Mary Anne Sarbanis
MaryAnne has many qualities of a special educator, she is compassionate, creative and always positive with staff and students. MaryAnne Sarbanis was hired in 1991 to research models of inclusionary preschool/kindergarten. MaryAnne reported to Director of Special Education, Jane Beaudin and from there formed a committee and made recommendations to the school board to start what is now the TEECH program. In 1998 MaryAnne was the assistant preschool coordinator working with Fran Bauhmor. In 2008, she then switched over to the Special Education department as a learning center case manager at HCS, then in 2011 moved to the HMS learning center. In 2014, she became the inclusion facilitator where she completes her teaching career. Her dedication to the school is evident as she has been the Co-chair of Wellness committee the past 5 years, organizing wellness activities for staff. MaryAnne has the ability to address the needs of each student she has taught. She goes above and beyond with her job and her enthusiasm always shines through.
Sandy Ouellet
Sandra Ouellet is our go-to girl! She goes above and beyond what is required! She started at HMS in 1987 as a fifth-grade science teacher. Sandy has taught 5th grade for all 30 years here at HMS, teaching all subjects, most recently the 5th grade Social Studies. Sandy’s dedication to the students goes beyond the classroom, as she has been an advisor for student council, school newspaper, and currently the Anti-Bullying Club. In 2007, Sandy received the well-deserved “NH MATH TEACHER of the Year” award. Sandy has not only made an impact on students but on staff as well. She has been a mentor to many student teachers who later became teachers in our district. For over 20 years, Sandy served on the district professional development committee. Sandy also served on various other committees such as teacher evaluation committee and curriculum development committee. As she finishes her teaching career, she has made a difference across several generations, teaching parents of students she currently has, including a current school board member! Sandy’s dedication to the students and staff is evident and she will be missed tremendously by all.
On June 15, 2018, students will be finishing their final mile of the Mighty Milers program.
Students who have completed 26.2 miles will be awarded t-shirts and medals.
Other prizes will also be awarded to students that have achieved other goals.
5th-grade Writing Poetry Unit
Roomba by Avery Barcelos
I make the dogs bark
bumping into walls and chairs
zooming through the house.
The Pig by Callie Miller
Some say I am gross.
Splishy. Splashy. Mud flies now.
A fat blob. A pig.
The Kangaroo by Devon LeBlanc
Monster with great height.
Ali would stand down the fight.
Pouch holds babies tight.
Washington D.C. Memories
by Alexandrine Lacasse
Getting on the bus bright and early at 5:30 am we were prepared for our trip through eight different states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, starting in our home state of New Hampshire. For the better part of the morning, we were on the bus sleeping or doing whatever had caught our interest at the time.
As we entered Philadelphia, we began to hear more excited chattering as we made our way into the Historic District. When we got off the bus, we went to our chaperones and almost immediately we were off to the Liberty Bell center. We took our pictures with it and listened to the ranger explain the history and significance of the Liberty Bell before we were off to see Independence Hall. As we stood there, the guide explained the history and significance of this historic place, surrounded by the bustling city life. We soon were off to view the foundation of Benjamin Franklin’s home, now but a metal outline among towering monoliths. The guide then directed us to the printing shop that once belonged to the descendants of Franklin, getting a live viewing of the actual process they went through centuries before and an explanation as to what went into it. As we went on to view more and more historic places, Christ Church and Betsy Ross’ house, for example, we were able to link these places to what we have today, freedom and the understanding of sacrifice. These explanations and stories held in our minds as we got back on the bus and made our way to Washington D.C.
When we got on the bus that next morning we all held excitement to see the capital of our country. We first went to pay our respects at the WWII Memorial before making our way to the Vietnam Memorials. We then made our way to the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial and then the Capitol Building. We were able to tour not only the Capitol that day but also the Library of Congress. We had the opportunity to see the dome and also the first book ever published. Afterward, we went to the United States Botanical gardens and the Smithsonian Aerospace and Science Museum.
The next day, still processing what we had seen the day previously, we were eager to see what was ahead of us. We went and toured the White House and Mount Vernon, being able to take in the beautiful architecture of the houses of the first and the most recent presidents. We also went and saw the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln and King Memorials that evening.
The day we were to leave we went to Arlington Cemetery to honor those who sacrificed their lives for us, especially to honor Hampstead Middle School alumni, Jonathan Grassbaugh, who died April 7, 2007, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. We held a short memorial service in remembrance of his life and saw the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before heading for home. These experiences are held fast in our minds to be treasured. It was an honor for all of us to be able to take part in this trip and to hopefully start a tradition for those coming after us.
From the Nurse...
SAFETY REMINDERS FOR THE SUMMER
1. Practice Summer Sun Safety for Kids
· Apply Sunscreen
· Get some sun-protective clothing
· Shop for some cool shades
· Remember that you can still get a sunburn even if it’s cloudy.
2. Protect Against Bugs
· Use insect repellants
· Wear long sleeve shirts and long pants when going outside
· Never leave stagnant pools of water around the house
· Avoid using scented soaps or perfumes on your child because these sweet, strong scents can attract bees and wasps and increase your child’s risk of being stung.
3. Prevent Dehydration
· Your child should drink water before exercise and during breaks, which should be every 15-20 minutes.
4. Don’t Forget Helmets
· Your child should wear a helmet whenever (s)he is on anything with wheels!
· A helmet is the most important device available that can reduce head injury and death.
5. Practice Food Safety
· Foodborne illnesses increase in the summer because bacteria grow faster in warmer temperatures and humidity.
· Be sure to wash your hands before preparing or serving any food.
· Never cross-contaminate.
· Consider the temperature.
6. Guard Against Drowning
· Put barriers around the pool to restrict access.
· Never leave kids unsupervised.
· Remember that drownings can happen silently because you may not hear splashing or a call for help.
· Do not use flotation devices.
· Learn CPR.
· Learn about the dangers of secondary drowning, which can happen on dry land, hours after a child inhales water into the lungs.
· Do not assume that a teen or relative will be watching.
7. Avoid Trampoline Danger
· Last year, it was estimated that among kids under 18, there were 103,512 ER visits dues to trampoline accidents. Trampoline injuries tend to be more severe than those caused by other notorious kids’ activities.
8. Warn Kids about Hiding in Enclosed Spaces
· Teach children to never play hide and seek by crawling inside an enclosed space such as a car trunk, chest, or old cooler or appliance.
9. Use Caution When Doing Yardwork
· Never allow children to ride on lawnmowers or to play near motorized lawn equipment. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that no child under 16 ride on an ATV.
10. Safeguard Home Playgrounds
· Make sure the ground beneath the equipment is soft enough to absorb enough impact in the event of a fall.
From the library...
Ways to Manage
Summer break is right around the corner (or here for some of you), and many of us are looking forward to having a little more free time. Youth will have more time to breathe and explore their interests beyond school, but so often downtime becomes screen time. Summer’s wide open time spans can heighten battles over technology use.
Here are some ideas for managing screen time this summer:
- Take a moment to ask your kids (students) if they have anything they want to do, people they want to see, projects they want to take on, or finish during summer time? See if you can get them to say one or two specific things. You can call them “goals” but sometimes this word can shut down teens since the word “goals” can conjure up work.
- The more you can have systems in place to have tech go off at defined times, the better. It is not fun to police screen time. Last week I wrote about Apple’s new Family Sharing screening time controls that may be released in beta at the end of June but isn’t scheduled for a full release until September. Late last week I also did a little analysis for the Washington Post of Apple’s versus Android's family screen time controls. I’m really looking forward to seeing how these controls will help change the culture around screen time. For those of you battling the Fortnite obsession, don’t forget that if your child plays it on XBOX, the console does have a way to set screen time limits. Here is a link to some third party apps to help manage time screen time. And, lastly, introduce them to pro-social games as a great alternative to all the intense video games out there.
- Now is a good time to get more creative about possible “house help” projects for the summer (aka chores but I prefer house help)....thinking up new tasks that will give your children new skills. I am excited that my teens have agreed to help me paint my home office. They’ve never painted a room and I think it’s a good skill to have. Other house help ideas I have for this summer are fixing the broken wood garage door, having them do more cooking, and of course the usual (weekly sweeping and bathrooms).
Given that it is completely normal for kids and teens to be frustrated and angry(*and remember you can always print the TTT to bring to the table). Julie Lythcott Smith, former Stanford University Dean of Freshmen, said in her TED Talk about raising adults:
“The longest longitudinal study of humans ever conducted is called the Harvard Grant Study. It found that professional success in life, which is what we want for our kids, that professional success in life comes from having done chores as a kid, and the earlier you started, the better, that a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-pitch-in mindset, a mindset that says, there's some unpleasant work, someone's got to do it, it might as well be me...I will contribute my effort to the betterment of the whole, that that's what gets you ahead in the workplace.”
- Summer is a great time to encourage creative projects using technology. Did you know that on average kids only spend 3% of their screen time doing “content creation” such as making videos or composing music on the computer? You might suggest that your video gamer consider learning how to design and code their own video game. Or, how about your kids that love to listen to music, see if they will try to write their own songs on Garageband? Your YouTube watching tweens and teens might enjoy shooting their own movie right on their phone camera and then learning how to edit it on the computer in iMovie or another program. I use Premier and my daughter Tessa learned it super fast.
- Reading—sure enough, reading has gone way down over the past few years but it does not have to be that way. In an upcoming TTT, I will be sharing some of my favorite pre-teen and teen books along with favorites of the Screenagers’ team. I find that having a few new titles in the home (via borrowing from the library or friends or ordering) increases the chance my teens get interested in reading them. Stay tuned for some great titles!
Here are a few questions to get the conversation going:
- What are 2 things you would like to accomplish this summer?
- Is there a new skill, like video editing or creating music or coding that you might be interested in learning more about?
- How much time do you think is reasonable per day this summer for you to spend doing things like playing video games or scrolling social media?
- What “house help” projects can you come up with that would teach you a skill you are interested in—or at least mildly interested in? Or at least not completely dreading?
Also...
From all of us at Hampstead Middle School we want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the PTSA for all you do for our students and staff day in and day out!
Parents, Please Read...
Click the link below:
Open House is August 27th.
The first day of school is August 28th.
*Please check our website this summer for Back to School Information.
