The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Parent  Newsletter  May  9,  2014  

 Dear  HMS  Community,       This  is  an  extremely  busy,  but  fun,  time  of  the  year  for  our  students  and  faculty  members.  Last  night,  I  attended  the  opening  performance  of  this  year’s  HMS  Drama  Club  production  of  The  Little  Mermaid  Jr.  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  show!  The  students  in  this  production  are  amazingly  talented.  I  won’t  say  too  much  for  those  of  you  that  have  not  seen  it  yet,  but  I  guarantee  that  you  will  have  a  few  laughs  while  enjoying  the  show.  I  was  very  impressed  with  Eliza  Dantas  (Ariel),  Andrew  Lancellotti  (Prince  Eric),  Elijah  Benson  (Sebastian),  Hannah  Bedrosian  (Flounder),  Maia  Millard  (Ursula),  and  Ben  Pope  (King  Triton).  The  supporting  cast  and  stage  crew  also  did  a  phenomenal  job.  I  would  like  to  recognize  Mrs.  Handfield,  Ms.  Thivierge,  Mrs.  Lehane,  Mr.  Carulli,  and  Ms.  Karalis  for  all  of  the  time,  effort,  and  hard  work  that  they  have  put  in  this  year  with  these  students  to  make  the  production  a  success.           Yesterday  afternoon  I  also  had  the  chance  to  get  outside  and  watch  the  HMS  baseball  team  play  Case  Jr.  High  on  the  Seekonk  High  School  varsity  baseball  field.  Our  boys’  got  out  to  a  quick  start  with  a  six-­‐run  first  inning.  Terry  Smith  pitched  an  excellent  game,  and  our  team  won  by  a  final  score  of  6-­‐1.    The  Lady  Softball  Warriors  also  won  a  close  game  against  the  Lady  Cardinals  from  Swansea  by  a  score  of  1-­‐0.       This  morning  we  held  our  Star  of  the  Month  Breakfast  for  April.  This  edition  of  the  newsletter  includes  a  photo  of  the  students  that  were  selected  by  their  teachers.  This  week’s  newsletter  also  includes  the  HMS  Honor  Roll  for  the  third  quarter.       Today  was  the  deadline  to  turn  in  the  final  payment  for  students  that  are  going  on  the  8th  grade  class  trip  to  Washington  DC  and  Gettysburg,  PA.  All  students  must  turn  in  the  medical  form  and  have  paid  off  their  balance  to  be  able  to  attend  this  exciting  trip.  Next  Wednesday,  May  14th,  there  will  be  an  informational  meeting  for  parents  of  students  that  are  going  on  the  trip  at  6:30  pm  in  the  HMS  cafeteria.  There  will  also  be  a  short  PTO  meeting  that  will  begin  at  6  pm  on  the  evening  of  May  14th.       MCAS  test  administration  will  resume  next  week.  All  students  will  take  the  MCAS  for  math  on  Tuesday  5/13  and  Wednesday  5/14.  8th  graders  will  take  the  MCAS  for  science  on  Thursday  5/15  and  Friday  5/16.  Breakfast  will  be  available  for  all  students  at  no  charge  on  MCAS  testing  days.    

@DrWhalen3  

Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle SchoolSchool 650 Newman Ave.650 Newman Ave.

Seekonk, MA. 02771Seekonk, MA. 02771 508508 -- 761761 -- 75707570

www.seekonk.k12.ma.uswww.seekonk.k12.ma.us Dr. William V. Whalen III Mrs. Mary C. Westcoat Principal Assistant Principal

                   

     

 

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

MCAS  Testing  May  13th  –  May  16th    Tuesday,  May  13th  –  Math  (all  grades)  Wednesday,  May  14th  –  Math  (all  grades)  Thursday,  May  15th  –  Science  and  Technology  (8th  Grade)  Friday,  May  16th  –  Science  and  Technology  (8th  Grade)    HMS  offers  a  rigorous  curriculum  that  is  aligned  with  our  state  frameworks,  and  incorporates  the  Common  Core  State  Standards.  We  explain  to  our  students  that  the  MCAS  is  an  opportunity  for  us  to  collect  data  in  order  to  identify  their  strengths  and  weaknesses,  and  helps  to  drive  our  classroom  instruction.    We  urge  them  to  stay  calm,  relax,  and  not  to  become  overly  stressed  because  of  the  test.  Also,  it  is  imperative  that  students  get  plenty  of  rest,  with  a  good  night’s  sleep  prior  to  test  days.  On  all  of  the  MCAS  testing  days,  we  will  be  offering  our  students  breakfast  prior  to  taking  the  test.  The  breakfast  will  include  cereal,  a  choice  of  milk  or  juice,  and  a  piece  of  fruit.  Please  remind  your  child  to  read  the  test  questions  carefully,  take  their  time,  and  not  to  leave  any  test  questions  blank.  If  you  have  any  questions,  feel  free  to  contact  your  child’s  guidance  counselor,  Mrs.  Westcoat,  or  me  at  anytime  during  the  school  day.  Furthermore,  you  may  access  the  Massachusetts  Department  of  Elementary  and  Secondary  Schools  MCAS  website,  at  www.doe.mass.edu/mcas  for  more  information.        Dr.  Whalen    Science Department All 8th grade students participated in "Throwback Week" in preparation of the science MCAS next week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they returned to their 6th grade classrooms to review the content they learned two years ago. In turn, the 6th grade students visited with the 8th grade teachers where they experienced an 8th grade lesson on genetics as well as completing a chemistry lab. On Thursday and Friday, 8th graders switched with the 7th graders as they took a walk down memory lane with Mrs.Reilly and Mrs.Metcalf. A lot of science content was reviewed in the past 4 days! Bring on the MCAS!

(Pictures are of 6th graders completing a rainbow lab in the 8th grade)

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

 

   HONOR  ROLL  –  3RD  QUARTER         2013  –  2014    HIGHEST  HONORS    GRADE    8  Hayley  Bartlett,  Elizabeth  Belliveau,  Gabrielle  Blum,  Benjamin  Brady,  Noah  Brennick,  Devlin  Danner,  Alexia  Desrochers,  Armen  Eghian,  Claudette  Elkhoury,  Shaelyn  Fiske,  Liza  Gagnon,  Lindsay  Guertin,  Jason  Ho,  Eric  Kerr,  Madeleine  Kinney,  Jared  Kogut,  Jillian  Machado,  Brian  Marulis,  Aidan  Morrison,  Connor  Pozzi,  Devin  Renquinha,  Kathleen  Santos,  Jacqueline  Sicard,  Leanne  Silva,  Sofia  Silva,  Terry  Smith,  Olivia  Strzalka,  Caitlin  Tavares,  Megan  Terra,  Angeleigh  Tousignant    GRADE    7  Cheyenne  Ayotte,  Devon  Bento,  Erin  Broadmeadow,  Justin  Cardoza,  Katelyn  Charron,  Thomas  Ciolfi,  Nathan  Costa,  Jenna  Dunphy,  Emily  Ferrick,  Cameron  Garabian,  Cedrick  Gustave,  Morgan  Halpin,  Olivia  Klegraefe,  Sara  Letourneau,  Casey  Merola,  Kiarra  Morales-­‐Sandoval,  Saarah  Papineau,  Aditi  Patel,  Deirdre  Rocha,  Ethan  Santos,  Kelly  Shanahan,  Lauren  Shanahan,  Matthew  Silveira,  Samantha  Silveira,  Nicole  Simas,  Bethany  Smith,  Olivia  Soares,  Hannah  Stoepker,  Madeline  Whelan    GRADE    6  Bailey  Adams,  Alyssa  Baker,  Amelia  Biggs,  Amy  Botelho,  Lyla  Carvalho,  Laura  Catalano,  Page  Fecteau,  Christina  Gennari,  Natalie  Kach,  Jessica  Kogut,  Grace  MacDonald,  Katerina  Mihailides,  Brendan  Morales,  Eli  Morrison,  Benjamin  Pope,  Ariel  Nault,  Jaden  Pappas,  Isabelle  Soito,  Abigail  Tenreiro,  James  Tenreiro,  Vianne  Turcotte,  Joshua  Valente    HIGH  HONORS    GRADE    8  John  Anghinetti,  Alison  Auger,  Ariana  Ayala,  Hannah  Bedrosian,  Kathryn  Calverley,  Alexis  Chapman,  Nicole  Clarke,  Justin  Coelho,  Tori  Cordeiro,  Azurae  Cruz,  Richard  Curzake,  Hannah  DiFrancesco,  John  Doorley,  Ryan  Fecteau,  Cheyenne  Frausto,  Melissa  Harris,  Amber  Harrison,  David  Holden,  Andrew  Lancellotti,  Kate  Lanzi,  Aubree  Lawson,  Kurt  Lawson,  Casey  L’Heureux,  Michaela  Ludwig,  Chloe  Lunnie,  Ethan  Mace,  Sara  Mallon,  Jaiden  Mayo,  Sydney  McDonald,  Tyler  Mello,  Eleni  Mihailides,  Sarah  Mullen,  Kayla  Nastari,  Alexandra  Perry,  Rachel  Pion,  Zane  Propatier,  Sabrina  Russell,  Kyle  Sanborn,  Matthew  Tortolani,  Jayden  Vincente,  Olivia  Vincente      

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

GRADE    7  Stephanie  Allen,  Mackenzie  Almeida,  Savanna  Amaral,  Isabella  Bartlett,  Mykenzie  Beland,  Rachel  Bennett,  Elijah  Benson,  Alexander  Bergstrand,  Lillian  Birch,  Kenneth  Boardman,  Ashley  Boutin,  Abigail  Brennick,  Jared  Cabral,  Sarah  Cabral,  Diana  Carney,  Marissa  Carney,  Logan  Casala,  Denise  Dagraca,  Hannah  Desmarais,  Samantha  Dietel,  Hannah  Forrest,  Brady  Fournier,  Haley  Fournier,  Gage  French,  Sophia  George,  Robert  Gerardi,  Kaitlyn  Gorton,  Ethan  Hill,  Jun  Hong,  Adam  Horowitz,  Sabrina  Howarth,  Emily  Jankowski,  Alex  Kileen,  Abigael  LaFleur,  Christopher  Lane,  Evan  Lima,  Megan  Loiselle,  Trevor  Lopez,  Benjamin  Lunnie,  Kelsey  Majkut,  Michael  Martins,  Julia  Medina,  Brooke  Michaud,  Jayde  Monteiro,  Erin  O’Halloran,  William  Ott,  Evan  Pacheco,  Brooke  Parks,  Pritesh  Patel,  Aidan  Perkins,  Felicia  Prata,  Kaitlyn  Provazza,  Gabriella  Raposo,  Gianna  Repoza,  Hanna  Saisselin,  Abigail  Sampson,  Shelby  Sloane,  Hunter  Studley,  Taylor  Troiano,  Kathryn  Vasu,  Morgan  Viccione,  Ty  Wheeler,  Ashleigh  Wyrostek    GRADE    6  Raina  Abatecola,  Megan  Accardi,  Macy  Anderson,  Matthew  Anghinetti,  Madison  Bedrosian,  Tyler  Benson,  Jacob  Calamar,  Nicole  Campatelli,  Joshua  Contois,  Giana  D’Ambra,  Elise  Dezotell,  Mia  DiBiase,  Charlotte  Drainville,  Elizabeth  Dyson,  Kaylee  Fonseca,  Matthew  Frias,  Ryan  Gill,  Tayla  Handy,  Madison  Horlbogen,  Marcus  Hoskins,  Allison  Houle,  Henry  Jordan,  Nicole  Kach,  Erin  Keough,  Madison  Khan,  Katerina  Killam,  Charles  Lehourites,  Jessica  Leonard,  Brian  Marulis,  Sydney  Mello,  Edward  Monigan,  Joshua  Morra,  Kevin  Moszkowicz,  Sophie  Percival,  Katherine  Perry,  Jordan  Pina,  Tiffany  Rainho,  Jack  Murphy,  Meredith  Paris,  Isabella  Paterson,  Meredith  Riordan,  Jenna  Sevigny,  Robert  Sheahan,  Elizabeth  Sicard,  Madison  Silva,  Macayla  Sousa,  Robert  Strycharz,  Catherine  Testa,  Juliya  Tolman,  Olivia  Tortolani,  Austin  Wellman,  Liam  Whelan,  Jocelyn  Wozny,  Eric  Zirkel,  Logan  Zonfrillo    HONORS      GRADE    8  Mitchell  Blanchard,  Michael  Cabral,  Taylor  Chancey,  Brittny  Correia,  Eliza  Dantas,  Brian  Dias,  Nicholas  Gennari,  Hayden  Gill,  Shaelyn  Heath,  Nicole  Labossiere,  Mason  Martin,  Molly  Morales,  Olivia  Pagano,  Brandon  Petronio,  Alyssa  Poland,  Ryan  Sheahan,  Kamryn  Taylor,  Lindsay  Whelan    GRADE    7  Kaleigh  Almeida,  Laurel  Barbosa,  Elizabeth  Brady,  Collin  Brown,  Victoria  Cabral,  Nolan  Carlson,  Daniella  D’Amico,  Sarah  Elderkin,  Nicholas  Feeney,  Jamie  Holland,  Daniel  Jensen,  Madison  Medeiros,  Matthew  Morency,  Abigail  Pacheco,  Jenil  Patel,  Joshua  Resendes,  Nicole  Veader    GRADE    6  Lexie  Adams,  Blake  Anderson,  Victoria  Correia,  Aleksander  Diarbian,  Aram  Diarbian,  Kailey  DiPietro,  Mathieu  Dundas,  Miguel  Jorge,  Jacob  Klang,  Mya  Lamonte,  Alyssa  Lamoureux,  Nicole  Lemos,  Ryan  MacDonald,  Jacob  McKitchen,  Lyndsey  Menard,  Artur  Mendes,  Madison  Meyer,  Charlotte  Millette,  Ryan  Pelletier,  Zachary  Read,  Jordan  Saleeba,  Aidan  Stiness,  Samantha  Studley,  Sadie  Swist,  Jacob  Tousignant,  Lila  Yan,  Charlotte  Young    

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

6th Grade News: The first progress report of 4th quarter will be issued on Friday 5/16/14. YELLOW TEAM NEWS

Yellow Team Math:

We have finished up our Statistics Unit and have moved onto

the wonderful world of circles! We read about the History of Pi

and we learned firsthand by measuring some circular objects how

this special value is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its

diameter. With this background, we are now able to use the

formulas to calculate the circumference and area of a circle.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13th and 14th, students

will complete the Math MCAS test. The test will be taken in their

homeroom during the first three periods of each day. Students

are encouraged to get plenty of rest and be prepared to do their

best.

Yellow Team Social Studies

Just before vacation, students on the Yellow team finished up their study of Asia and began learning about Africa. They completed 2 map challenges and it is wonderful to see the improvements in their ability to pinpoint locations using longitude and latitude. We have just

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

completed learning about the history of Africa, which I think was an eye opener to many. When we had made a list in Word Cloud of the words they knew connected to Africa, many were limited to the variety of indigenous animals. They should have many more terms to add at the end of the year.

Next week students will join new groups for their African Five Themes of Geography Projects. They will have a choice in the format of this project and it will be interesting how they wish to share their new knowledge.

   Blue Team English with Mrs. Dumas- Students are continuing with their class novels. Periods A & F are reading Among the Impostors, by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Working in groups, students found passages that were surprising, important, amusing, and descriptive and had to give supporting details of why those passages were chosen. In addition, they illustrated those scenes. They also participated in a "Write Around" where they were given a topic sentence about selected chapters in the book. Then they kept passing the papers around adding a sentence at a time to their groupmates' papers. The papers got passed around for several minutes and then the groups shared within their groups and chose the best group paper for grading. Periods C and D are reading Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue. They also completed the passage activity and illustrations. In addition, they chose one of two writing prompts for their journal activity. One topic was regarding the student's career choice for the future. The other possible prompt was about a gift received that was the most special one ever. The journal was then shared with a classmate and interviews took place. The interviewer reported out on what they learned about the interviewee. A follow-up activity will be the student interviewing an adult.

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

A Message from the HMS PTO :

8th Grade Dance – May 30th Invitations are being sent home to all 8th graders to this year’s dance to be held Friday, May 30th at Hurley Middle School. Dress- Semi Formal

Gentlemen- recommended shirt\tie and dress pants Ladies- recommended dress or dress blouse and slacks

Dance will be from 6:30pm to 9:30pm We ask that students are dropped off at the front entrance. The school highly discourages rental of limos for this event. Students may begin arriving at 6pm for photos to be taken in the library. Package prices can be found on the next page for planning purposes. Student may be picked up at 9:30pm from the back of the school for better traffic flow. Requests for donations of drinks and food will be sent home and can be brought to school on Friday, May 30th during the day and left with the office. Please consider donating a food item or supply to the dance. This will be a special night for the whole 8th grade class!! Be sure to encourage all students to attend this special night with their classmates. PTO 8th grade dance committee PLEASE CONTACT Maria Harris WITH ANY QUESTIONS at Maria65@comcast.net

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

 

 

         

April 2014 HMS Stars of the Month

Grade 6 Jacob Calamar and Isabelle Soito Christina Gennari and Eli Morrison Grade 7 Michael Nadeau and Sarah Cabral Brian Pires and Monica Tawadros Grade 8 Claudette Elkhoury and Ethan Mace Matt Tortolani and Kate Lanzi Encore Noah Cooney, Logan Zonfrillo, Dan Jensen, Noah Brennick, Heather Fraga Also  pictured  is  Alexis  Chapman.  She  was  selected  as  a  Star  of  the  Month  for  March.  

             

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Band News from Mrs. Grande All parents wishing to help chaperone the HMS Band Festival field trip to the Grist Mill Pool Club must have a current CORI form on file. Please check in the main office to complete the form and requirements. The trip is planned for June 11th from 11:00 to 3:00. Permission slips and payment forms will be going home next week. Due to MCAS next week, there will be NO early morning lessons for students. Library News from Mrs. St.Michel All Library Materials Due June 6 All HMS library materials must be returned to the library by Friday, June 6. This due date is necessary so that Mrs. Cabral & I can resolve all outstanding library obligations with the students before the end of the school year. If your child has a library book, please be sure that they return it to us by this date. Students who have lost or damaged library items will receive a bill that must be resolved by end of the school year. Long outstanding bills will be mailed to the home. Please note that we do allow students with lost or damaged items to pay for these items by donating similar books that are approved by Mrs. St. Michel.

     

   

DC  CLASS  TRIP  PARENT  MEETING    Wednesday,  May  14th  

6:30  pm  HMS  Cafeteria  

   

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

   

     

Dear Parent or Guardian, All students entering 7th grade for the 2014 – 2015 school year need a recent physical (within the last 12 months) and proof of receiving a second Varicella (chickenpox) shot, and a T-dap (tetanus) booster shot. Please have these documents sent to the school before your child starts 7th grade. Screenings will begin again this fall. All students will be screened for Scoliosis. 7th graders will also be screened for vision, hearing, and BMI. If your child has any unusual findings, you will be notified and asked to take your child to a physician as a precaution. The majority of students exhibit no findings. If nothing unusual is found, we will not be contacting you again until the screening next year. If you do not wish to have your child screened at school (scoliosis, vision, hearing), written documentation provided by your child’s physician must be submitted to the school nurse. This documentation must include the date of screening, results and physician’s name. If you do not wish your child to be screened for BMI, a written note from the parent is all that is needed. If you have any questions, please contact me at 508-761-7570 ext.3158. Sincerely, Angie Volpe, RN, BSN School Nurse  

           

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

         

   

The Seekonk School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.