News from Panther Headquarters
May 2021
From the desk of the Principal...
Greetings Panther Families–
Oh, what a year it has been! As principal of HIJH, I want to say thank you for partnering with us in ways we could not have imagined years ago. I know how difficult it has been to help your child navigate through assignments and Zoom Meetings in various forms throughout the school year. It was SO nice to be able to see students in person this spring. As difficult as it has been for teachers to teach synchronously and students to work remotely for a large part of the school year, we have learned many things, which is the key to school. Teachers have learned new ways to increase communication and allow for remote conferencing and pivot as needed regarding best practice instruction, and students have learned patience, problem solving, and critical thinking beyond the content areas that will serve them well in future real-world scenarios. As we look to the start of the 21- 22 school year, teachers will focus on academic areas of need through the various data we have collected. Below is the statement from the elementary and secondary Directors of the general plan for teaching and learning:
For the remainder of this school year, teachers are targeting instruction towards the most essential standards to equip students with the prerequisite skills they will need for the next grade level or course. In the beginning of the next school year, teachers will work to meet students where they are in their learning, fill in any gaps by adjusting curriculum and move students in the direction they need to go in. Teachers will spiral the review of grade level standards through their subjects and courses. It is also important to remember all students across the state and much of the country are facing the same challenges.
As we wrap up this school year, we do plan to acknowledge various students with TEAM/Classroom PAWS and academic awards, but we will not be having any large-scale programs to end the year. Again, thank you for your continued support of the Panthers!
Respectfully,
Tim A. Mankin
Upcoming Important Dates
Please click here for May's Upcoming Important Dates.
Attendance
Students are expected to be present for all classes, zoom or physically in person. If your child is going to be Late, Absent or needs an Early Dismissal, in person or virtually , we ask that you report the absence to the Attendance Line, 317-594-4126. If the absence remains unreported, it will be Unexcused in Skyward.
Thank you for your help in this important matter!
Ipad Collection Dates
In person students. Ipad collection for HSE rental devices will be Monday, May 24th for Grades 5-6 and Tuesday, May 25th for Grades 7-8. More details will be sent out closer to collection. Please keep in mind that you will be charged if any parts of or entire cases are not turned in.
Virtual-only students. Ipad collection will be Thursday, May 27th from 8 AM until 6 PM in the Front Office. If you are unable to drop an Ipad off during those hours, please contact Nick Drumm (ndrumm@hse.k12.in.us) to make other arrangements.
Panther Preview
Save the Date. HIJH Panther Preview is Wednesday, July 28th from 2 PM - 7 PM. More details to follow as the date gets closer.
Counselor's Corner
Current 5th Graders. Student schedules for next year will reflect the natural progression of their current courses. Team assignments will be available at Panther Preview Day.
Current 6th and 7th Graders. Families should have received a Skylert to view course selections for next year. The window to view your child’s courses is now closed to allow Guidance to continue working on scheduling. Please contact the Guidance Office (via email at this time) if you would like to verify those course selections.
Current 8th Graders. All 8th Graders should have met with their High School Counselor to go over next school year’s scheduling options. If your child has not yet met with a High School Guidance Counselor, please contact your HSEHS Guidance Department counselor to make an appointment or set up a time to discuss courses.
All schedule changes need to be made by the end of this school year or June 1st.
8th Grade Students Attending a Private School Next Year. If your student will be attending a private school for 9th grade year, you must notify the HIJH Guidance Office, Cheri Mahoney (cmahoney@hse.k12.in.us), and sign a withdrawal form. HSEHS requires that we forward these withdrawal forms to them at the end of this school year. If one is not completed, you will be phoned by the high school to come in to sign their form before they will release records to your new school. Thank you in advance for helping us with this.
Withdrawing Your Student. If your child will be withdrawing from HIJH, any time prior to the last day of school, you must notify the Guidance Office at least two days in advance of your child’s last day. Withdrawal forms prepared by the Guidance Office will need to be signed by the parent/ guardian. Once all administrative items are completed, a copy of the withdrawal form, current grades and schedule will be given to the student to provide to their future school for enrollment.
Address Changes. Anyone requesting to change their address due to a move to a new home must provide proof of residency to the attending school to make this change. Residency documents needed are a current signed lease, HUD statement or title with the address and closure signature. Also needed is a utility bill and/or a driver license. Only one document is needed to change the address, however, the others may be provided within 45 days. Please feel free to update your address at this time by emailing or scanning those documents to the Guidance Registrar, Cheri Mahoney (cmahoney@hse.k12.in.us). As the return to the buildings will be quite busy, we are happy to take care of these updates for you at this time.
Honor Roll Postings for 7th and 8th Grade Students. HIJH 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 B1.
Click here for information on HSE's Royal Rumble for incoming freshman.
Click here for Twenty-First Century Scholars information.
Click here for information on Northwestern University Midwest Academic Talent Search.
Messages from the Nurse
Attention to All 5th Graders. Students going into 6th grade will be due for Tdap and Meningitis shots. Please send shots to eallen@hse.k12.in.us as soon as you receive the vaccinations. You do not need to wait until school begins in August.
Clothing Donations. Please donate any gently used leggings to the clinic and black or gray boys sweatpants.
Covid. If you think your child has Covid symptoms or has tested for Covid, please inform the school nurse. Additionally, if someone in your family has tested positive for Covid, please contact the nurse for quarantine instructions. This would even include virtual students.
We have created an online form that we ask you fill out if your child has received a positive COVID-19 test result or has been notified as being a ‘close contact’ of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Once you submit the questionnaire, a staff member will contact you to gather additional details.
Another COVID-19 testing site dedicated to prioritizing testing for school-related exposures for Hamilton Southeastern Schools and private schools in Fishers will open at 8933 Technology Drive. Appointments can be scheduled by going to the Fishers Health Department website and selecting “School Testing” on the assessment.
Please stay safe and be healthy!
Library News
School Library Month was in April! The library hosted contests and events. The Spring Into Reading Bingo Challenge is still open and runs until May 14.
HIJH Library will be hosting a virtual Book Fair through Follett from April 26 – May 8. Hooray for books and book fairs! This will be a great chance to find new books to read, to get a head start on encouraging summer reading, and to support the HIJH library. The virtual fair is open now!
ALL library books are due back Thursday, May 13. This helps tremendously for us to get everything accounted for, repaired, inventoried, and ready for next school year. We appreciate your help!
Keep an eye out for Hamilton East Public Library’s summer reading information later in May!
HIJH Sports Information
HIJH Music Department
Click here for more information from the HIJH Band.
HIJH Student Council Pennies for Patients
HIJH is once again participating in the annual Pennies for Patients campaign which is now known as the HERO Squad. We will have 2 weeks of Fund-Raising Fun!
Week 1: Dress up Spirit Days $1 per day
Week 2: HERO Squad Donation Challenge - Who's class will donate the most?
The Student Council wants YOU to show your school spirit by participating in our dress up days starting Monday, May 3rd! Students can participate in the dress up days by donating $1 each day they participate.
Students in grades 5/6 will give the money to their home room teachers while the 7/8 graders will turn in their money to their SEL/SLT teachers.
Spirit Days:
Monday, May 3- Stronger Together Day: camouflage clothing
Tuesday, May 4th- Teacher Tuesday: Dress like one of your HIJH teachers
Wednesday, May 5th- College Wear Wednesday
Thursday, May 6th- School Spirit - Blue Out
Week 2: May 10 -May 13
Classes will donate each day to their classroom donation box. The class in each grade with the highest donation dollar amount will win a prize for the entire class.
Teachers may also award their classes for 100% participation or raising a certain amount.
Families may also donate using the HIJH HERO Squad link:
https://events.lls.org/pages/in/Hse-Interm-Junior-High-School-20212021
Attention all 7th and 8th Grade Parents
Attention all parents of 7th Graders. Our early enrollment for the 2021-2022 Washington DC trip was HUGE! We already have over 150 7th graders enrolled! You can still sign up your 7th grader for the trip. If you sign up before June 4, 2021 you get the $100 early enrollment discount! To sign up go to: https://worldstrides.com/custom/hamilton-intermediate-jr-high-school-dc/. If you have any questions please contact Eric Brown (ebrown@hse.k12.in.us).
Parents of 8th Graders. Our trip has moved! We are officially scheduled for Labor Day weekend in September (9/3/21-9/6/21). This will allow Washington DC plenty of time to open things back up for us. With the new dates, I have reopened registration until May 12th. Email Eric Brown (ebrown@hse.k12.in.us) if you are interested in registering or have questions. On Thursday, May 13th we will have our mandatory roommate selection meeting during school for all the 8th graders registered for the trip. Please make sure all registered 8th graders attend school that day.
School Kits for 21-22 School Year
Account number 30065. If you have any questions, please contact Laura Clark at hijhpto@gmail.com.
New/Gently Used Shoe Drive in May
8th grade Panther, Dillon O’Rourke, started a shoe customizing business over quarantine called D1 Customs. He has created a number of shoes for local students, coaches, teachers, and even a professional athlete. Wanting to give back to the community, his business, D1 Customs, will be sponsoring a new/gently used shoe drive for the month of May. All collected shoes will be donated to Soles4Souls. There will be a collection bin in the foyer by the main door, Door 1.
-Donate your new or used shoes
-Check out the Soles4Souls organization to learn how they impact the community https://soles4souls.org/
-And, if you are interested in a pair of customized shoes for yourself, check out the D1 Customs website at https://d1customs.studio/
PTO News
PTO Website. *Follow @HIJHPTO on Facebook for the latest and up to date HIJH information. Checkout our PTO website (www.hijhpto.wordpress.com) for the 2020 - 2021 calendar, meeting schedule, past meeting minutes, newsletters, and more.
Next PTO Meeting. The next PTO meeting will be Monday, May 3rd at 11 AM. All HIJH parents are invited to attend; however, if you plan to attend please RSVP to the HIJH PTO Facebook page.
Teacher Appreciation Day. Teacher Appreciation Day will be coming up the first week of May. We will be collecting gift cards and gift baskets to be given away to our amazing HIJH staff via fun raffles and games throughout the week. Thanks in advance for your help.
Dine to Donate. Dine to Donates for the month of May are: May 20th from 5-9 PM at SchoolHouse 7 and May 26th Kona Ice from 3-6 PM in Avalon, Welchel Springs and Hunters Run.
Panther Rewards. Send money back to the PTO so we can do awesome stuff for HIJH and your kids at no additional costs to you. It’s FREE money – it just takes a few moments of your time to sign up for these programs. The more families who are linked, the more money the PTO earns - and it all goes back to the school! Thank you for your support of the PTO and those families who have already linked their accounts to our school!
Kroger. You STILL earn all your Kroger reward/fuel points – this is just BONUS money for the PTO to use towards awesome things for HIJH and your kids. https://www.kroger.com/
1. Sign in to your account by clicking the person on the top right hand corner of the screen
2. Once you are signed, click “My Account” under your profile tab.
3. Click “Community Rewards” on the left hand side of the page.
4. Type in “HIJH-PTO” or use the school code WT583
5. Click “Enroll”Amazon. NOW HIJH can earn money when you shop AMAZON on BOTH the app and desktop at no cost to you. (“set up” has to be on your DESKTOP or in Safari NOT app) **Login to Amazon on your desktop or safari, then go https://smile.amazon.com/ type HSJH PTO under “supporting. (note: there is a S not an I – in HSJH). AFTER set up on desktop or safari – now go to the Amazon App, go to settings (=), click on Amazon Smile and follow the on screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
Coke Rewards. Send Coke Bottle Caps in or enter codes online for HIJH.
Box Tops. Keep clipping & scanning Box Tops & send the clipped ones in with your child's name, grade, teacher on envelope or baggie. Five raffle prizes will be drawn each semester for those who enter 25 or more. Click here for more Box Tops information.
Thank you for your support of the PTO and those families who have already linked their accounts to our school! The more families who are linked, the more money the PTO earns - and it all goes back to the school!
E-Waste Recycling Program
Middle Years
NEWS AROUND THE DISTRICT
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
Twitter: @HIJPanthers
Athletics Twitter: @HIJathletics