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Guest Speaker of Honor– Nick Lancellotti
Parent Newsletter – Final Edition June 17, 2016 Dear HMS Community, This is our final HMS Parent Newsletter of the year, with our last day of school taking place on Monday, June 20th. Last evening, we held our 8th Grade Promotional Ceremony. This was a wonderful event for our students. Thank you to everyone that was in attendance in order to support the eighth grade class. I was proud to be able to recognize the students, as well as our two retirees, Mrs. Libby and Dr. Combes. This was truly a special event for students and their families, and a great way for the kids to end their middle school careers. Good luck to the HMS Class of 2016! As we end what I think was a great school year at HMS, I would like to thank all of the parents and guardians for their support throughout this year. I would also like to thank the PTO for all that they do for our students and teachers. Finally, I would like to send along a special thank you to the faculty and staff at Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School for all of the work that they do for our students on a daily basis. Your children are very lucky to have such a top-‐notch, professional group of educators supporting them. Furthermore, I am also extremely fortunate to be able to work with these educators and serve as the principal of Hurley Middle School. The first day of school for next year is scheduled for Tuesday, August 30th. Remember that you can follow me on Twitter @DrWhalen3 for updates and information even throughout the summer. I wish everyone in the HMS Community a fun, safe, and relaxing summer vacation! Sincerely, Dr. William V. Whalen III Principal
Hello Hurley Families,
This week has been filled with many exciting events, from field trips, to the 6th and 7th grade student recognition assemblies, the 8th grade promotional ceremony, and the stars of the year and student leadership team breakfast. With all that has been going on, I have been pleased with how well students have behaved, and remained focused these final days. I would like to thank Dr. Whalen and the HMS Staff for their continued support throughout my time as Interim Assistant Principal. I have had the pleasure of developing new relationships with students, and have enjoyed many new experiences in this position. In addition, I have met many parents and I truly appreciate your support as well. Thank you for being involved in your child’s education, as I believe that a strong partnership between the school and families is so important. I hope that you all have a fun, safe, and active summer! You have worked very hard this year, and it is important to relax and rejuvenate over the summer months. Congratulations and best wishes to our 8th graders as you embark upon your high school journey! The 2016-2017 Student Handbook & Student Athletic/Activities Handbook (new separate handbook) will be posted on the Principal’s and Assistant Principal’s page of the HMS website in July. Below are a few Student Handbook changes for the 2016-‐2017 school year, in which I will also mention to the 6th and 7th grade before the school year ends.
-‐ No gum chewing anywhere in school at any time. -‐ Small back packs & string bags-‐ Only allowed to transport physical
education attire. -‐ Purses- small purses may be used to carry small personal and academic
items. The size should be no larger than 6” wide by 8” tall by 1”
Sincerely, Ms. Bouchard Interim Assistant Principal
Dr. Whalen and Ms. Bouchard would like to thank the Student Leadership Team for all of the work that they did this school year. This edition of the newsletter includes some reflections that Student Leaders wrote regarding various projects that they worked on. Eli Morrison Joshua Valente
State of the School Address
One of the many projects executed by Hurley Middle School’s Student
Leadership Team was helping plan the yearly State of the School Address, as well as
giving a brief presentation during it. The State of the School was a presentation given
around the middle of the year. Its main goal was to remind students of all the school’s
policies, as well as provide information on future plans and ideas in store for the school.
It was also associated with informing the eighth graders on what they should remember
for their future years in high school and sixth and seventh graders on what they could
better understand before they go to high school. Our principal, Dr. Whalen, was running
it for the most part, but many others including teachers and our new nurse, Mrs. Cavaco,
also spoke. Overall, it was a very enjoying and rewarding experience for everyone
containing many life lessons.
All members of the Student Leadership Team collaborated with Dr. Whalen and
Ms. Bouchard to help make the presentation as informative and engaging as it could be.
There were actually three presentations in total, one for each grade. Each one was the
same for the most part, it was the Leadership Team’s presentation that varied in each.
Three or four students were assigned to make a special brief presentation for each
grade. They all covered important topics, such as procrastination, bullying, judgement,
and respect. All of the students also helped develop a very unique idea that was
executed at the end of each State of the School Address. We decided it would be fun to
try to end the State of the School on a high note: a dance-off. It started with just five of
our faculty members dancing, but students were invited to join in soon after. It was a
really fun and memorable time for all of us followed by many laughs. All of the students
in the crowd were very attentive throughout the presentation, but it was clear that they
were really pumped up to get up out of their seats for a while. They just needed a time
to relax from all the information being thrown at them all at once so we gave them that
as a treat. It seemed to work out well and the presentation went smoothly with lots of
points to remember. Speaking to others was nerve-racking at first, but soon you realize
that you are shaping other minds with your words and that your view matters. In other
words, it was a really humorous time and lots of enjoyment went into making this
presentation.
Over the year, we as eighth graders were presented with many opportunities. One
of these opportunities was the Student Leadership Team. We ten students helped with
speeches, helping Dr. Whalen, etc. One of the activities we were able to help with was
reading to the elementary students at both Martin and Aitken schools. My reading partner
Eli and I got to read to Kindergarteners. This was an amazing experience for as well as
him. Reading these little children books to these little kids who are in awe at these eighth
graders reading to them. I was even brought back to these easier days in Kindergarten. I
was given the privilege of reading Good-night, Owl! By Pat Hutchins, to children. This
book reminded me how books shaped me and others alike to be the way we are. In the
book the owl tried to sleep all throughout the day. However, the animals that were awake
during the day kept making noise. When night fell and the day animals slept, owl arose
and made all of the noise he could, waking everyone up. This teaches you to treat others
the way you want to be treated and that what goes around comes around. In conclusion, I
had tons of fun reading to the elementary students and I hope that everyone signs up and
tries to make it onto the Student Leadership Team.
- Marcus Hoskins
Just a few months ago, our HMS student leadership team made a visit just a
couple miles down the road to Aitken Elementary School. This was one of the many
things we had the opportunity of doing in Student Leadership, including presenting at the
State Of The School Address alongside the teachers, Ms. Bouchard, and Dr. Whalen,
guiding the new 6th graders around HMS, creating a unified basketball league, and
visiting both elementary schools to discuss with the 5th grade classes about their
questions about coming to Hurley Middle School. Back to the topic, the Student Leaders
visited Aitken to read in front of students from various grades and classes. I read along
with Josh Valente, and we had the privilege of reading in front of Mrs. Cosimini’s 5th
grade class. The class enjoyed both of our books, one being a true story about a dog and
his master that was serving in the military, and the other being a short story, talking
about the lesson of how shutting down all of your electronics may get you disconnected
from the internet, but it will get you reconnected with your family and the people around
you. Josh and I both enjoyed reading in front of the 5th grade class, and would be
pleasured to do it again if given the opportunity. Like said before, joining Student
Leadership gave us student leaders gave us just another way to become better leaders in
our school community, and speaking for all student leaders, we all really did enjoy
working alongside Dr. Whalen and Ms. Bouchard on all of these projects and we
encourage the 7th grade students coming up to 8th grade to join Student Leadership since
it is a memorable experience that you won’t regret or forget.
- Benjamin Pope
Unified Basketball Game By Bailey Adams & Grace MacDonald
On April 6th, 2016, Hurley Middle School held its first Unified Basketball game. The student leadership team worked with the students in the BASE program to form these teams. We practiced for 5 weeks before the big game to get better at basketball and learn the skills. From dribbling to shooting, we worked on it all. We practiced the drills by doing simple exercises and played some fun games to improve them. Soon, we got into playing some real basketball games to practice for the big game. All members of the teams got basketball jerseys to wear to school the day of the game, and to wear while playing in the game. Our game was supposed to be on Monday, April 4th, but mother nature didn’t want us to play, so she decided to let some snow down on Seekonk, making the school cancel all after school activities. The game was rescheduled to 2 days later, April 6th. The teams were formed, and we played the first unified basketball game in the school. The leadership team and the BASE students worked together to play the 20 minute game. Overall, all the students had a lot of fun playing this game and are all very glad we had the opportunity to play in this. Being part of the Unified Basketball team was an amazing opportunity. We all encouraged each other and had a lot of fun. Most of us had never played basketball before, but everyone was so supportive and helped us through. In the game, we did a lot of teamwork. We passed the ball more than dribbling to make sure everyone got a turn. We cheered when shots were made, whether they went in or not. It was all about effort, teamwork, and supporting each other.
5th Grade Tours
By: Mia DiBiase & Allison Houle
At the end of the school year when we were in fifth grade, we visited the middle school
where eighth graders led us around the school pointing out important classrooms preparing us for
the upcoming years. This year it was our turn to lead around the small fifth graders. As far as we
could see there were many anxious little fifth graders awaiting their tours and seeing how middle
schoolers interact with each other in the classroom. We could tell that some of the little fifth
graders were nervous being in a much bigger school. They got to witness a locker break, visit
some classrooms and meet their new teachers. We witnessed that this made the fifth graders feel
more comfortable in an environment that was much bigger than what they’re used to. As we
continued touring the school, we could tell the students were becoming excited for middle school
little by little as each of them started to speak up and ask many questions. It was a great
experience for us because we got to help kids that look up to us and prepare them for what's to
come. As we met the kids as we went, they all had great attitudes and lots of enthusiasm that’s
going to be very fresh and welcoming to our school next year. All though we are graduating and
won’t be there to help the incoming sixth graders, we know that they will do great and succeed
there because they have some great supportive leaders that are still there. They are ready to
have the freedom and responsibility of sixth graders as well as accepting the challenges of a new
school. All of the students had very good senses of humor as many of them asked if they could fit
their bodies into the lockers. Overall, we feel that the incoming sixth graders felt more confident
walking out of the middle school knowing a little bit more of the middle school and having an idea
of where everything is. We know that they will thrive as they walk in through the doors in August.
Blue Team
ELA:-I wish you all a safe and relaxing summer!! Let reading take you away!!
I look forward to you “visiting” from 8th grade next year! I will miss you!! Science I can’t believe this year has come to an end. Thank you all, students and parents, for such a great year and welcoming me into Seekonk schools. I enjoyed working with all the students and we all have grown a lot over the year. As we approach summer, please remember to go outside and explore the world around you. As Ms. Frizzle says, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” Math: We’re winding down the year by doing a little work with the binary system (base 2), converting between it and our own decimal system. Perhaps some students will someday be using binary to program computers! We’ll also take a look at how math is used in the real world to solve crimes before saying our goodbyes and good lucks. The students have worked hard this year with algebraic topics that they will continue with next year in more depth. They’ve come a long way since September! Social Studies: I can’t believe the end of year is already upon us. I enjoyed working with all the students so very much throughout the course of this year and can’t say enough about how courteous, well-rounded, and appreciative Blue Team Students have been all year! It has been truly remarkable to see their transformation from shy and reserved students on the first day of school, trying to figure out the expectations and personalities of the Blue Team, to comfortable and confident individuals ready to take on 8th grade! I am confident that they will excel throughout the rest of their time here at HMS and I wish them all the best of luck next year. Have a safe, happy, healthy, and most importantly...FUN summer!
Health Education News It has been a pleasure teaching your children in Health this year. We learned a lot and I hope that they take what they learned and practice those skills to be mentally, physically and socially healthy. If you’re feeling like me, you can understand that this is such a trying time in society for today’s adolescents. Things are very different with the pressures they face from when we grew up. Although it’s not true for all adolescents, statistics show that today’s adolescents are overweight, inactive, feel insecure with themselves, they don’t know how to communicate and they don’t know how to express their emotions or cope with disappointment. It was really important to me to spend time with each grade this year covering those topics and I hope your children will really think about and practice skills that were taught in class. Those skills were covered in topics such as proper nutrition (with treating themselves to the “tasty” stuff once in a while), body image, communication, bullying, empathy, depression, building a support system, expressing or talking about their emotions in an assertive way, etc. Over the summer, I’ve encouraged my students to get moving, make wise food choices, TALK to each other face to face instead of texting, and avoid media influences that may make them feel insecure with or bad about themselves. As a parent myself, I understand that we have lots on our plate with our jobs, chauffeuring our kids around and other family or personal obligations and responsibilities. Let’s try to make sure we schedule some time each day to talk to our kids about these issues and encourage them to be the best person they can be mentally, physically and socially. Have a wonderful, safe and healthy summer!
2016 8th Grade Students – Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School
Special Thanks to our Guest Speaker of Honor – Nick Lancellotti – Seekonk High Valedictorian 2014
SEEKONK PUBLIC SCHOOLS | 2016-2017 CALENDAR
AUG 2016 (2 days) S M T W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
29 Meeting Day (8 AM-10 AM) 30 First Day Students (Gr. 1-12)
FEB 2017 (15 days) S M T W Th F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 PD 18
19 // // // // // 25
26 27 28
17 Early Release for Pro-fessional Development=No PM Pre-K & Kinder. Classes 20 Presidents’ Day 20-24 Winter Vacation
SEPT 2016 (21 days)
S M T W Th F S
1 2 3
4 // 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
01 First Day Pre-K & Kinder. 05 Labor Day
MAR 2017 (23 days) S M T W Th F S
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 PD 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
09 2nd Trimester ends (60 days) 17 Early Release for Pro-fessional Development=No PM Pre-K & Kinder. Classes 30 3rd Term ends (45 days)
OCT 2016 (20 days)
S M T W Th F S
1
2 3 4 5 6 PD 8
9 // 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 PT PT 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
07 Early Release for Pro-fessional Development=No PM Pre-K & Kinder. Classes 10 Columbus Day 19-20 Parent/Teacher Conferences = Early Release for Elementary Schools (No re-K & Kinder. Classes)
APR 2017 (14 days) S M T W Th F S
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 PD // 15
16 // // // // // 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
13 Early Release for Pro-fessional Development=No PM Pre-K & Kinder. Classes 14 Good Friday 17 Patriots’ Day 17-21 Spring Vacation
NOV 2016 (18 days)
S M T W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 PD 9 10 // 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 ER // // 26
27 28 29 30
08 Professional Development=No School 11 Veterans Day 02 1st Term ends (45 days) 23 Early Release-Holiday (No PM, Pre-K and Kinder. Classes) 24-25 Thanksgiving Break 29 1st Trimester ends (60 days)
MAY 2017 (22 days) S M T W Th F S
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7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 // 30 31
29 Memorial Day
DEC 2016 (17 days)
S M T W Th F S
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11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 // // // // // 31
26-30 Holiday Break
JUN 2017 (8 days) S M T W Th F S
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 ER 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
12 4th Term ends (45 days) 12 3rd Trimester ends (60 days) 12 180 Days (tentative) and Early Release (No PM Pre-K and PM Kinder. Classes) 19 185 Days (snow days)
JAN 2017 (20 days)
S M T W Th F S
1 // 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 // 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
01 New Year’s Day 02 New Year’s Day Observed 03 Schools Re-open 16 M.L. King Jr. Day 19 2nd Term ends (45 days)
Approved by Seekonk School Committee on 03/28/16 JEWISH HOLIDAYS: 10/03/16-10/04/16 Rosh Hashanah 10/12/16 Yom Kippur 10/17/16 Sukkot 12/25/16 Hanukkah 04/10/17 Passover
// No School ER Early Release = No PM, Pre-K or K classes PD Early Release for Professional Development = No PM, Pre-K or K classes PD Full Day Professional Development = No School PT Parent/Teacher Conference
Stars of the Year were honored this morning at a ceremony held in Central Office. Students also enjoyed a breakfast buffet!
Stars of the Year 6th Grade RED Kate Lienson Ian Kane 6th Grade YELLOW Stephanie Letourneau Kyle Cristino 7th Grade BLUE Gerard (Ace) Ayotte Katherine Corbett 7th Grade GREEN Kyle Oliveira and Eva Glaser ENCORE
Grade 6: Lucy Codega Ian Kane
Grade 7: Madison Sirois Hailey Bodick
Grade 8: Bailey Adams Brendan Morales 8th Grade Orange Team: Seth Pina Mackenzie Jeannotte 8th Grade White Team Stars of the Year Molly Loiselle Dan Thibault
Computer Applications News from Mrs. DeLeo Another great year in the books. I took a risk this year and tackled social media with my 8th grade students. They have made me so proud. Earlier this year, one class worked with me to produce a video to enter the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Curious Classroom Contest showcasing innovations in the classroom. Our social media project placed 3rd in the international contest. Two students, Zach Lozowski and Julian Mendes, attended a School Committee meeting with me to speak to the members and community about what they’ve learned and about the contest. This winter, these same two students along with Brendan Morales, came with me to Channel 9 News and we were featured on a “Concerned Citizens” show. Our hosts are as proud of these young men, and the other 8th graders, as I am. I continue to be humbled by my students and thankful that you share them with us! Follow me on Twitter (@MrsKDeLeo) this summer and next year to see what my fellow PBS Digital Innovators and I are learning about cutting-edge effective technology use in the classroom to expand student achievement. Happy Summer! Math Lab News from Mr. Botelho
In Math Lab, students recently finished a unit on chess and how it relates to mathematical thinking. As part of the unit, students competed in a chess tournament. Congratulations to the 2016 math lab chess champions! 6th Grade: Devin Dailey Joseph Poirier Evan Masse
Aryn McDonald 7th Grade: Mackenzie Newman Joshua Ferrara Anthony Dinsmore Aidan Metivier Thomas Duffy Aidan Steele 8th Grade Jarred MacDonald Nicole Lopez Nicholas Thibault Physical Education News from Mr. Pellegrino & Ms. Skodras
We recently completed out fitness unit and were extremely proud of the results. We both chose the top male and female finishers from each grade and awarded them with a Golden Sneaker. We wish everyone a happy, healthy and safe summer! 6th- Bria Dunphy (7.37), Nathan Mello (7.20), Lauren Couitt (7.36), Nicholas Lehourites (7.05) 7th- Caleb Steele (7.20), Julia Rickard (9.08), Madison Natale (9.23), Tyler Pimental (6.47) 8th- Sadie Swist (8.26), Robert Strycharz (6.10), Abby Tenreiro (6.10), James Tenreiro (6.26) Please check Twitter for more information: Ms. Skodras @msskojpe; Mr. Pellegrino @mrhmspe
