News from Panther Headquarters
October 2018
From the desk of the Principal...
Hello Panther Families –
It is once again my pleasure to share pertinent information about HIJH to our Panther families. At HIJH, we have embraced the idea that in order to get the most out of their learning experiences, students need to "Own their Learning." This means that in order to maximize their growth throughout the year, students need to know and understand where they are in their learning journey, know where they are going (end results), and know the path it takes to get where they are going. This requires setting long-term and short-term goals, collecting assessment data, and selecting artifacts of their work from all classes. All of this is placed in individual student portfolios in each of their classes. To that end, we will be engaged once again in Student-Led Conferences this school year that will take place within the window of October 23 through October 25 from 3:00-7:00. Before or after school meetings can also be arranged on Monday or Friday as needed. A Homeroom teacher or an SLT teacher should have contacted parents/guardians with time and date options through an electronic form such as PTC Fast or Sign-up Genius. Families will have an opportunity to let their child lead them through his or her learning experiences this year in 20-minute sessions. They are to select one or two content areas of choices to share goals and artifacts, share one HSE21 (21st Century) life skill goal, and establish a third goal with their parents/guardians to work on throughout the rest of the school year. Teachers will be on hand as facilitators of the process, but the students themselves lead the conferences. This conference is not the time to discuss classroom specifics or address concerns with the teacher. Parents can set up teacher meetings at any time throughout the year for those purposes. The research on Student-Led Conferencing is overwhelming that giving the student the opportunity to understand and articulate their growth and achievement as a learner is a powerful tool, and the National Middle School Association, The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform, and National Association of School Principals endorse them, among others. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with parents to support student achievement and appreciate your support throughout the year.
Respectfully,
Tim A. Mankin
Upcoming Important Dates
October 1-5 Camp Tecumseh
October 5 First Grading Period Ends
October 8- Fundraiser Product Pick-up at HIJH-AUX GYM. Enter through Door #3,
3-7 pm *Parents must come to pick up products for their children.
October 9 Choir Concert - 7 pm in Panther Hall (Gr. 7/8)
October 10 Orchestra Concert - 7 pm in Panther Hall (Gr. 7/8)
October 10 Dine to Donate - Dairy Queen 5-8 pm
October 12 PTO Meeting - 9:30 am
October 15-19 - Fall Break
October 23-25 Student Led Conferences 3-7 pm
HIJH Student Handbook
Early Dismissals and Returning to School
Book Fees and IPad Rental
Student Course Fees were assigned mid-September with a due date of October 5, 2018. Skyward has been updated with all book/Ipad fees for 18-19 school year. Fees can be paid online through efunds, (be sure to click optional fees payment tab), check or money order, NO CASH please. If paying by check, please put your child’s ID number in the memo line. This will ensure the amount is applied to the correct student. Please allow up to two weeks for Skyward to show paid. Receipts will not be sent home. If you have any questions, please contact Doty Gaertner, Treasurer at 317-594-4120.
Counselor's Corner
HIJH Student Services does everything in our power to help students and families in need, including academic, career exploration, and social/emotional needs. The latter is sometimes more difficult for HIJH to resolve with the means available.
School Counselors often receive information from outside resources which may benefit the needs of our families. We, the counselors, compile a list of available resources in the event that families ask for such information. After the available means through HIJH Student Services Department is exhausted, we continue to try to help in any way we can.
Although we do not recommend any one service in particular, we can offer this compilation of community resources at your request. If you choose to seek outside services and would like to view information made available to HIJH, please contact us at your convenience. Please remember, all requests are kept confidential.
Resources may include: Food pantries, Clothing distributers, Prevention Programs, and Grief and Loss Counseling/ Therapy. We are here to serve you!
Planning for the Future. Getting one’s thoughts in order is a good start for planning the future. Simply sitting down with your child and asking, “What do you think you want to do with your life?” is a great way to start planning. Promote conversations that focus on where your child wants to be academically and what their career interests might be at this time. Take a half hour every other week to research some of the careers of interest discussed, as well as colleges, universities, and vocational school that support such careers. Simply open the door to future planning; you may be amazed at what you find!
This year we again will be talking with all students about college and career readiness over the next two months. Students will be provided a magazine titled Learn More. This magazine talks about college and career readiness, where some parts of the magazine will be discussed. Please feel free to talk with your students about the magazine.
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.
5th Grade Support Groups
Messages from the Nurse
As school nurses, our priority is to provide care for students who are injured or become ill while in our school building. The clinic is not a substitute for your private physician's care. Nurses monitor for signs and symptoms of an illness; however, our scope of practice does not include diagnosing illness—that is the role of a physician. Additionally, we are here to assist students with medication administration and to help manage students' special medical conditions. If your student is well enough to come to school but needs allergy or cold meds, please administer them at home, as we do not stock these medications in the clinic.
October 26, 5th Grade will have their vision screening and October 30, 8th Grade will have their vision screening. Please remind your students to bring their glasses or contacts on those days.
***EMERGENCY MEDICATIONS*** If your student is carrying emergency medication on them while at school (Epi Pen or Inhaler) we MUST have a doctor's note on file. Please have your child's doctor fax a note to 317-594-4129. Please remind your child to wash hands frequently with soap and water throughout the day at school. Think of all the places hands touch that are “germy”-stair rails, door handles, etc. Washing hands is proven to be the best way to prevent the spread of germs.
HIJH Cafe Info
Free Math Help
Camp T Reminders-7th Grade
Attention all parents of 8th Graders
Attention all 8th grade parents: The deadline to register for the 8th grade Washington DC trip has passed and the planning for the trip has begun! Our next step will be a roommate selection meeting which is tentatively scheduled for HIJH students on Friday December 7th at 7am in the main gym. For other general trip information please go to www.dctrip.info or contact Eric Brown (ebrown@hse.k12.in.us).
Band Notes
Orchestra News.
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.
October PTO Meeting. The next PTO meeting will be Friday, October 12 at 9:30 am at the school. All parents are invited to join us.
Panther Rewards.
Kroger. 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 a Customer” then “Request Your Kroger Plus Card” and create an account. If you already have an account, sign in. In the Find Organization box, type HIJH-PTO or WT583 and link your card to our account.
Amazon. 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. 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!
Tyson Rewards and Box Tops. Keep clipping Box Tops and Tyson Rewards. Our next collection will be on October 10. Each student that brings in 15+ rewards gets a treat at lunch. Put all rewards in a baggie labeled with your student’s name, grade and teacher. Contact Lisa Gruber with questions at gruber5@comcast.net.
Dine to Donate. Our next dine to donate is Wednesday, October 10 from 5-8 pm at Dairy Queen on Olivia Way. Please present the attached flyer when ordering your food. Click here for the Dine to Donate Flier.
HIJH Playground
HIJH School Fundraiser
If your child sold items in this year's Red Apple fundraiser, the product pick-up is Monday, October 8 at HIJH-AUX GYM. Enter through Door #3 from 3-7 pm. *Parents must come to pick up products for their children.
E-Waste Recycling Program
HIJH Connect
Chaucie's Place
Hamilton County Coats for Kids
Middle Years
October Multicultural Holidays
Click here to find out about the Multicultural Holidays for the month.
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
hse.k12.in.us/hij/home.aspx
Twitter: @HIJPanthers
Athletics Twitter: @HIJathletics