News from Panther Headquarters
February 2019
From the desk of the Principal...
Hello Panther Families –
This month I would like to touch on two different topics that help to define a highly effective, world-class learning community: Safety & Collaborative, hands-on learning and play with our 2nd annual Global Play Day.
Let me first mention Safety. This is paramount among all other aspects of school. Safety must always be kept to the forefront because unless our students are kept safe and feel safe when attending HIJH, nothing else really matters. Being a safe school encompasses many areas of school. We pride ourselves on ensuring that our students will be in a safe and caring environment within the walls of HIJH. We proactively address social issues such as bullying and character education consistently through our PAWS initiative. But, we also need families' help to ensure that our students and staff are safe upon entering or leaving school in our parking lots. We have several students who are car riders in AM and PM. We have a system in place where cars pull up to a cone near Door # 19 to maximize the number of cars along the curb where students can get out and get in their respective vehicles. When the vehicle pulls away from the curb, we ask that parents drive slowly and watch carefully for those students or staff members who may be walking from the lot to the sidewalk. Essentially, only staff members and their children should be walking in from the parking lot. All car riders MUST be dropped off or picked up at the curb for safety. I know it is difficult to patiently wait in a car line, but in the interest of safety, we do not allow parents to park in the lot and have their child walk across the parking lot. Please help keep our students safe and adhere to this rule daily.
Also, given the cold Indiana winters, we ask that you make sure your children are wearing a coat to school, especially for those intermediate students who may be out a recess per district guidelines of above 15 degrees. For their safety, we will not let students go to outside recess if they do not have the proper warm clothing.
Finally, our 2nd Annual Global Play Day will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 6th. Students are all signed up to participate in three different activities of their choice. This global initiative allows students to actively engage in collaborative activities with peers and teachers while experiencing a fun and stress free day.
Respectfully,
Tim A. Mankin
Upcoming Important Dates
February 6 HSE Parent Night 7-9 at HSE (8th Graders)
February 8 PTO Meeting 9:30 am
February 8 Panther Palooza - 6:30-8:30 pm (7th & 8th Graders)
February 11 DC Trip Meeting at HIJH - 7-8 pm (8th Graders)
February 12 DC Trip Meeting at FCJH - 7-8 pm (8th Graders)
February 18 NO SCHOOL - Presidents Day
February 21 Dine to Donate-Hot Box Pizza
Student Absences
Early Dismissals and Returning to School
Address and Bus Changes.
Counselor's Corner
Mark your calendars for the following 2019 dates.
FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING HAMILTON SE HIGH SCHOOL:
February 6, 2019 from 7-9 pm, 8th Grade Parent Night in the Leonard Auditorium at Hamilton Southeastern HS. The purpose of this evening is to provide 8th grade parents with pertinent high school information, and make you aware as to what is to be expected over the next four years.
February 20th, 21st and 22nd, 2019 - is when you and your 8th Grade child are scheduled to meet with a HSE High School Counselor, at our HIJH building, to create your child’s Course Requests for the 9th Grade. Letters were mailed January 18th with those appointment dates and time. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the HIJH guidance office at (317) 594-4124.
FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING FISHERS HIGH SCHOOL:
February 22, 2019, is when you and your 8th Grade child are scheduled to meet with a Fishers High School Counselor, at our HIJH building, to create your child’s Course Requests for the 9th Grade. Letters were mailed January 18th with those appointment dates and time. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the HIJH Guidance Office at (317) 594-4124.
Current 6th and 7th Grade Students. Watch for information explaining scheduling choices for their 7th and 8th grade year. Sometime second semester, those students will meet in classrooms with their junior high counselor to discuss course selection options for the 2019-2020 school year. Please know that you will be able to verify those course selections later in the spring.
Current 5th Grade Students. Course selection for the 2019-20 school year will be a natural progression of the courses they are currently scheduled.
We are very excited to have reached such an exciting point in the year!
HONOR ROLL postings are now on the HIJH website! HIJH honor roll is located on the Home page of the HIJH website. https://hij.hseschools.org
Students receiving high honor roll have received no grade lower than an A-. Students receiving regular honor high honor roll have received no grade lower than a B-.
Testing Dates to Note: Please mark your calendars to ensure your child is in attendance these testing periods.
ILEARN testing window - April 22 - May 17, 2019
It is extremely important that your child be in attendance and on time during these testing days. Please assist us by ensuring that your child is well rested and eats a healthy breakfast. Also, it would be advantageous to reschedule any appointments you have scheduled during these days. Thank you in advance for your assistance with this testing process.
Click here for the Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS).
Click here Twenty-First Century Scholars.
Messages from the Nurse
HSE Illness Policy. District policy is if student has a fever of 100 degrees they need to stay home for 24 hours. This means they need a regular temperature WITHOUT using fever reducer like Tylenol or Ibuprofen. If your student vomits then they need to be home for 24 hours from the last time they vomited. This is without using medication that helps to stop vomiting.
IMMUNIZATION REMINDER to stay in compliance-double check immunizations. If your child had a Hepatitis A shot this summer-then most likely number 2 is due now.
DO NOT SEND MEDICATION WITH YOUR STUDENT TO TAKE INCLUDING COUGH DROPS. All medications must have specific forms signed for your student to have in the school.
Be That Girl Club
Be That Girl is a club looking for girls in 5th-8th grade that provides leadership, social, and personal development. We know that by empowering and emboldening girls, we can help them find their voices, inspire action, and make the world a better place. We provide mentoring to girls of all grades, a safe place to talk, fun activities, and games to promote self-confidence, growth, and empowerment.
Cost: $15- new members for 2nd semester only, which covers the cost of the club shirt and snacks. 1st semester members who have already paid do not owe dues for 2nd semester.
Dates: Wednesdays, 1/16, 1/30, 2/13, 2/27, 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 4/24, 5/1 (End of Year Party)
Time: 3-4:00 p.m.- Pick up is at Door #3 at 4:00 pm.
Location: Mrs. Berry's Classroom, Room 319
News from the HIJH Panther Cafe
The HIJH Panther Cafe will serve breakfast on school days with a 2 hour delay.
Free Math Help
Choir Information
6th-8th Grade Choirs are preparing for our March Choral Festival Preview Concert on Monday, March 11 at 7 pm in Panther Hall. There is no dress rehearsal for this concert.
7th and 8th Grade Choirs. 1st Period Panther Sound and 3rd Period Panther Sensation will participate in our HSE Jr. High Festival on Friday, March 15 at HSE High School from 4-8 pm. More details coming soon! Please mark your calendars.
HIJH Spring Musical Beauty and the Beast
5th and 6th Grade Support Groups
Click here to learn more about the 6th Grade Support Groups. Permission slips are due by February 8th and groups start the week of February 11th.
Attention all parents of 8th Graders
Attention all parents of 8th graders going on the Washington D.C. trip: There will be two pre-trip meetings:
Meeting ONE is from 7-8 pm in the HIJH auditeria on Monday, Feb 11th (Please park in North Lot and enter at door 14)
Meeting TWO is from 7-8 pm in the FCJH auditeria on Tuesday, Feb 12th. (Please park in Bus Parking Lot and use the main entrance)
It is MANDATORY that all students going on the trip attend ONE of these two meetings (whichever is more convenient for you.) The same material is covered at both meetings. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend with their 8th grader. The purpose of these meetings will be to handout packing lists, supplies, flight info, and to go over trip plans and guidelines. Important information about the trip will be coming home from these meetings and is also posted on the google drive linked to our trip website www.dctrip.info . Also, please make note of the special arrangements you will need to make for Friday’s (2/15) departure. If you have any additional questions please contact Eric Brown (ebrown@hse.k12.in.us )
PTO News
PTO Website. Checkout our PTO website (www.hijhpto.wordpress.com) for the 2018-19 PTO calendar, PTO meeting schedule, past meeting minutes, newsletters, and more.
February PTO Meeting. The next PTO meeting will be Friday, February 8 at 9:30 am at the school. All parents are invited to join us.
Panther Rewards. HIJH families who link their Kroger card number to our school help earn our school money! When you use your Kroger card, a portion of the sale goes to our school. It’s an easy way to support the PTO without costing you (or your fuel points) anything! Go to kroger.com/communityrewards, click “I’m With An Organization…” then “Request Your Kroger Plus Card” and create an account or sign in. Find HIJH-PTO (WT583) and link your card to our account.
Amazon is another simple way to help our school money. Go to HTTP://smile.amazon.com/ and type HSJH PTO under “supporting”. You will need to go to smile.amazon.com each time (rather than use the app)- saving it under bookmarks makes it easy to use.
Tyson Rewards and Box Tops. Keep clipping Box Tops and Tyson Rewards. Each student that brings in 10+ box tops/Tyson rewards OR a Kroger receipt showing at the bottom community rewards going to HIJH PTO gets a treat at lunch. Put all rewards in a baggie labeled with your student’s name, grade and teacher. Receipts need name, grade and 1st period teacher written on it. Contact Lisa Gruber with questions at gruber5@comcast.net.
Panther Fest. Save the date! Friday, March 22 is the fourth annual Panther Fest: A night of games, sports, challenging activities, music, food, and fun for HIJH 5th and 6th grade students. From 6:30-8:30 pm our school will be transformed into a carnival, street fair, sports arena, and fun house all rolled into one. information and volunteer requests will be coming out soon. Contact Tim Baldwin (baldwin.timothy@gmail.com) with any questions.
Dine to Donate. Save the date! The next dine to donate is Thursday, February 21 at Hot Box Pizza.
2018-19 HIJH Yearbooks
Kidz in Motion
This fitness conditioning Boot Camp will be a music thumping, heart pumping fitness and conditioning class. This class is a fun way to introduce a “boot Camp” style of fitness to kids! Kids will have to opportunity to learn more in depth exercises and training programs with equipment such as the rower, treadmill and other various pieces of equipment. Some of our favorites include paper plate pushes, sliding gym mats, skiing and much more! Class will focus on the importance of safety and proper techniques when working out. It’s time to encourage our kids to get FIT, stay FIT, and live FIT!! Fitness and conditioning class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Feb. 19 through March 14 from 3-4 pm. Forms located in the Enrichment Module on Mrs. Miller’s Canvas page or see Mrs. Miller. Questions? Contact smmiller@hse.k12.in.us.
Panther Pride Geist 5k Team
Chess Club 5/6 Graders
Chess club (grades 5/6) meets Thursdays after school from 3:00-4:00 beginning January 31. Permission slips are available from Mrs. Bowman (Room 208) or in the office.
6th Grade Humanitarian Project
Student Council Val-o-Grams
HIJH Playground
E-Waste Recycling Program
HIJH Equity Cafe
HIJH Connect
Middle Years
February Multicultural Holidays
Click here to find out about the Multicultural Holidays for the month.
NEWS AROUND THE DISTRICT
Text-A-Tip is a program that allows students, parents or others to anonymously send a text or email to our school resource officers.
Permitted use of school newsletters as required by the Equal Access Act is not an endorsement of this group or this group’s beliefs by Hamilton Southeastern Schools or the Board of School Trustees.
Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate/Junior High
Ph: 317-594-4120
Attendance: 317-594-4126
Guidance: 317-594-4124
Fax: 317-594-4129
hse.k12.in.us/hij/home.aspx
Twitter: @HIJPanthers
Athletics Twitter: @HIJathletics