Hurricane Maria caused a devastating humanitarian disaster involving 3.4 million US citizens. Students and staff were asked to donate backpacks and school supplies to be sent via a cargo ship out of Boston this Thursday. The Educational Commissioner of Puerto Rico is asking the northeast for our help as millions still lack water, electricity, and shelter.
From the desk of....Mr. Mailloux, School Counselor
Families of Grade 8 Students,
Below is a list of important events for grade 8 students and their families. Please mark your calendars. If you have any questions about these events, please do not hesitate to call me. Bob Mailloux, Hampstead School Counselor, 603-329-6743 ext.2514.
Upcoming Important Dates (by date order)
· Pinkerton Academy’s 8th Grade Student Data Sheet: October 19, Distributed to students at HMS (Copy of data sheet can be found in PDF format on HMS homepage)
· Parents Return Data Sheets to Middle School: November 13
· CTE Career Planning Night: November 29, 5:30 - 7:30 PM
(starts in Senior Café, then Stockbridge. This is an opportunity for parents and students to learn more about the Career & Technical Education department at PA (Copy of CTE flyer can be found in PDF format on HMS homepage)
· Distribution of Course Catalogs and Course Selection Worksheets: late December/early January. These Catalogs are given to students at HMS. Course Catalogs, class descriptions, selection process are explained during in-class lessons with Mr. Mailloux.
· Preview Night for 8th grade Parents and Students: January 8 and 9, 6:30 – 8 PM. Department Descriptions, Foreign Language, Graduation Requirements and general introductions to High School life are explained. The evening is hosted by PA Administrators, Teachers, & Counselors.
· Information Day open house for all 8th graders: January 22
HMS sponsored field trip to PA for ½ day.
· Course Night: February 1, 5:30 – 8 PM (Snow date: 2/7)
Course Descriptions, Information about Courses, Classroom Visits, Meet the Teachers.
· Freshman Field Day: August TBD, 2018
Team building activities, Student ID cards, Meet & Greet.
For more detailed information for incoming Freshman, please see the Pinkerton Academy Website:
http://www.pinkertonacademy.org/index.php/incoming-8th-grade-students
5th and 6th Grade School Counselor Lessons Begin
School Counselor, Mrs. Karpinsky, is rotating through the 5th and 6th-grade classes teaching lessons focused on empathy, respect, and bullying. Students had a lot of fun acting out scenarios and discussing positive ways to handle situations that may arise at school. Next week, lessons for 6th graders will begin!
HMS Advisory Program
Each Friday, our students have Advisory during their WIN time. Students and advisors kicked off the school year with a focus on building relationships in Advisory. Students are creating an Advisory Crest that represents their homerooms and characteristics of the students that make up those homerooms. The Crest will be used as part of school-wide STEAM events.
During the month of October, Advisory topics focused on Service and Citizenship. Our students ran an amazing week-long food drive to benefit the community food pantry and collected over 800 items (and there are still homerooms reporting final tallies!) and participated in additional community service activities.
At the end of October and throughout November, we will focus on school climate with conversations and activities around tolerance, bullying, empathy
, and respect.
The school counselors want to share an excellent resource to help parents navigate all things media and technology: Common Sense Media is the leading independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology. They empower parents, teachers, and policymakers by providing unbiased information, trusted advice, and innovative tools to help harness the power of media and technology as a positive force in all kids’ lives. Media and technology are at the very center of all our lives today, especially our children’s. Kids today spend over 50 hours of screen time every week. The media content they consume and create has a profound impact on their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Learning how to use media and technology wisely is an essential skill for life and learning in the 21st century. But parents, teachers, and policymakers struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing digital world in which our children live and learn. Now more than ever, they need a trusted guide to help them navigate a world where change is the only constant. Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. They offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music. Their Parent Concerns and Parent Blog help families understand and navigate the problems and possibilities of raising children in the digital age. Parents can sign up to get emails sent right to their inbox with tips and advice on everything from movie ratings to information on cell phone use and social media or check out their website at www.commonsensemedia.org.
Red Ribbon Week
The Hampstead Middle School is recognizing Red Ribbon Week by asking students to sign our pledge on Friday, October 27th. Our pledge is to show support for Red Ribbon Week and to pledge to grow up safe, healthy & drug-free. Students are encouraged to wear red clothing to school on this day.
Red Ribbon Week is the Nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention program,
reaching millions of Americans during the last week of October every year. Red
Ribbon Week is celebrated annually October 23-31. By wearing red ribbons and
participating in community anti-drug events, young people pledge to live a drug-free
lifestyle and pay tribute to DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
HMS Athletic Updates
The HMS field hockey team came in 2nd place in their regular season Division 2 8-1. They will play in the semi-finals Wednesday at home. The finals will take place at Derryfield school Saturday at 12:00 pm. The boys' soccer team placed 2nd in their regular season with an 8-2 record. They won the Division 3 quarterfinal game 6-2 and will play in the semifinals Tuesday at home. The finals will be held Thursday.
The girls' soccer team held 7th place in the regular season 4-4-2. They won an exciting preliminary round with 2 overtimes and penalty kicks to decide the outcome. The quarterfinals are Monday at Nashua Catholic, with semifinals on Wednesday and finals on Friday. The cross country teams proved to be contenders this season capturing 1st place for the boys and 2nd place for the girls in the state meet at Coe Brown Academy on Saturday, Oct 21.
Cross Country Winners!!!
Ethan Charles placed in 3rd, Theo Davis came in 4th and Phoenix Beaulieu placed 9th.
The first place team was made up of Ethan Charles, Theo Davis, Phoenix Beaulieu, Aiden Dowd, Jacob Adrien, Jack Cameron, and Alex LeBlanc.
Girls placed tied for first - Mariesa Preble placed second, Jazzy Georgoudis was 7th and Nicola Borbone was 8th.
The girls' team was made up of Mariesa Preble, Jazzy Georgoudis, Nicola Borbone, Casey Burinskas, Riley Sweeney, Rachel Keisling, and Laura Adams.
At the final league meet these runners also received medals:
Nels deAlmedia, Nick Goyette, Tony LeBlanc, Bella Pappalardo, Hannah Bernard, Camille Belkus, Cori Wintle-Newell
Congratulations to all our of talented athletes!!!
7th-grade Ventures students
visited two manufacturing facilities as part of Manufacturing Month in New Hampshire.
Students were welcomed to Seabrook Medical in Seabrook and Foss Manufacturing in Hampton. Both of these companies graciously welcomed us and provided informative tours of their facilities.
From the Nurse......
It's fall and flu season has arrived! Please don't forget to get your flu shots! Convenient MD gives flu shots for free if you do not have a regular physician, no appointments needed. Best way to stay healthy is to wash your hands! Protect others by coughing or sneezing into the crook of your arm and stay home if you have a fever and/or body aches. Don't forget if you are trying out for any Fall sports/ activities then please remember you need a current physical exam from your physician.
WIN (What I Need) instruction for students follows the RTI (RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION) model this year.
This model ensures delivery of targeted instruction to meet each child's individual needs. Hampstead Middle School uses a Three-Tier Model instructional approach for language arts and math. Part of this model is aimed at identifying students at-risk for language arts and/or math difficulties and providing interventions with the goal of having students reach proficiency in both language arts and math. As part of the Three-Tier Model, all students receive Tier 1 language arts and math instruction centered on the adopted academic programs under the instruction from the classroom teacher. Academic support staff members are placed in selected reading or math classes to provide Tier II (small group and individual) support to students in need. Tier III support provides additional language arts and/or math instruction in a small group setting with a reading or math interventionist. Tier III support provides additional instruction each day during the WIN periods. Proficient students have the opportunity to choose an Enhanced Learning activity during this time. Students exceeding proficiency are provided enrichment opportunities through the Ventures program or extended learning opportunities during the WIN period.
HOMEWORK CLUB TO BEGIN IN OCTOBER
The month of October kicks off the start of the Homework Club for the 2017-18 school year. The Homework Club is available to all students at the Hampstead Middle School and is a great opportunity to work on homework with the support of HMS staff. Staff assists by answering questions, performing re-teaching, and checking the final work before the students leave the Club.
Students are welcome to attend whenever they deem it helpful, as long as they have turned in a signed permission slip. The Club meets most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45-4:00. Any student interested in attending Homework Club can pick up a permission form, information letter and schedule outside of Mr. Mailloux & Mrs. Karpinsky’s rooms anytime throughout the year, or by going to the HMS website.
FREE Parent Forum Bullying, Technology, Kindness, & Respect
Nationally renowned speaker, parent, and special educator Carol Todd shares her story at the third annual FREE Parent Forum offered as part of the 2017 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference (CMTC17). For the third year, the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference announces a FREE Parent Forum. This year the focus is on Bullying, Technology, Kindness, & Respect. Join Carol Todd for an intimate and engaging discussion around what digital responsibility looks like in our youth. Carol is the founder of the Amanda Todd Legacy dedicated to Carol's daughter Amanda
Who: Carol Todd ~ Parent, Educator, & Founder of the Amanda Todd Legacy
What: Bullying, Technology, Kindness, & Respect
Where: Radisson Hotel 700 Elm Street Manchester, NH Session will be held in Salon A
Please RSVP for this FREE event at the link above or the link on the conference website ~ www.nhcmtc.org ~ by Friday, November 24th
PTSA News
Meadow Farms Fall Fundraiser
The Fall Fundraiser has ended and we appreciate everyone’s participation this year. This program is so important to the PTSA and allows us to provide numerous programs and events for the students, staff and the community of Hampstead. We are grateful to the families who worked hard to help us reach our fundraising goal. All items ordered will be delivered by Thanksgiving. We would like to send a big thank you to Jaclyn Watson, the chairperson for this year, who did a tremendous job organizing the fundraiser! Please contact
fundraiser@hampsteadptsa.org if you have any questions or concerns about your order.
NH PTA Reflections Program
Information for this year’s Reflections Art Competition recently went home with students. This event allows children to get in touch with their creative side and express themselves through a variety of mediums. The theme of the competition is “Within Reach”. We look forward to seeing what awesome projects are created this year! The deadline for entries is November 21
st. Please visit the PTSA website,
www.hampsteadptsa.org, for more information. You can email Denise or Tori at
reflections@hampsteadptsa.org if you have any questions.
The PTSA Student members worked hard on a pink candy wreath for Play for a Cure raffle! - they did an outstanding job. Thank you for your hard work!
Last Friday, October 20th was the 5th grade social and also the HCS Halloween party. We had an incredible showing by our PTSA students. We are always amazed at the enthusiasm and passion that our students have. Below is an email from the hosts of the HCS party. You should be very proud of your students. Please share this with them. Their efforts truly are noticed by all!
Dear PTSA Parents,
On behalf of the PTSA, we thank you for coordinating your schedule so your child could help at the Halloween party. And we thank your child for helping us.
We got to see these kids shine… we saw patience as they helped the littlest ones with games and crafts, high fives and “good jobs” when the kids completed games and smiles galore.
Please let your child know we really appreciated their help and that we enjoyed working with them.
Thank you so much,
Molly Freilich & Ellen Cabral
● Book Tastings: Ask your child about these events (all grades)! There are resource lists via the library catalog by grade for the Sept. & Oct. book tastings. Visit the Library Media Center website.
● Global Read Aloud: Grade 5 is experiencing A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. We are raising global awareness, experiencing historical fiction, and sharing this experience with a classroom from Wilson Elementary School in Manchester NH.
● Upcoming Maker Programming: Grade 6 Electricity & Grade 5 Hour of Code
HMS Play 4 the Cure 2017
On Thursday, October 5, the Hampstead Middle School participated in the annual Play 4 the Cure fundraiser. This event helps raise money for Breast Cancer. All students and staff were welcome to wear pink, and each item sold at school went to funds to help out breast cancer patients. Each of the sports teams: Field Hockey, Boys Soccer, and Cross Country had a game or meet on this day, all resulting in a pink fueled victory! There were raffles, baked goods, and amazing music from DJ Cliff West! Special thanks to Kris Erio who helped organize this amazing fundraiser. Overall, Play 4 the Cure was a great success, and students, teachers, and coaches had a great time wearing pink to support breast cancer.
Submitted by Kristina Packowski, 8th grader
Happy Halloween from all of us at HMS!
