The HAMSLetter

Back to School Edition

Welcome to the 2021-22 School Year!!

Dear Hannah Ashton Middle School Scholars and Families:

Welcome to the 2021-22 school year! I hope that your summer has allowed you time to relax and recharge. I am excited about welcoming our scholars to in-person learning this school year and about some of the changes that you are sure to see at HAMS this year. At Hannah Ashton Middle School, we truly believe that Knowledge is Power, and we are dedicated to providing a school where scholars learn to empower themselves academically and socially. You have made a great choice in our school!!

This school year will be an exciting one, as all of our scholars are coming together in the same place to learn. Along with our pursuit of academic excellence, our focus for the year will be to develop a culture where scholars and staff focus on Collaboration, Community, Empathy, and Respect. As a part of the New Tech Network of schools, HAMS scholars will be engaging in and learning through a variety of different projects over the course of the school year in many of their classes. We are excited about all of the possibilities that Project-Based Learning will bring for our scholars this year!

Throughout the summer, our teachers and staff have been working hard to create engaging lessons, gather new resources and prepare our building for your arrival in August. In order to help your scholar transition to the new school year, I have highlighted some important information for you to consider:

Scholar Schedule: Scholar schedules will be uploaded into Power School and distributed to scholars on August 17th during the Raider Check-in at HAMS. During the first few weeks of school, there may be a need for reorganization of your scholar’s schedule based on enrollment numbers, class sizes, etc. For this reason, classroom assignments are tentative. Schedules may be considered “locked in” by September 3rd. Please be sure to review the Scholar Handbook on our website for more information regarding scheduling.

School Supply List: Thanks to our partnership with Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church, HAMS scholars will be provided with all necessary school supplies to start off the school year. Please note that additional supplies may be requested by your scholar’s classroom/team teachers and/or throughout the year. If so, the teacher will communicate that with the scholars and their families.

Meet the Teacher Night: This year’s “Raider Check-In” will be held Tuesday, August 17, 2021 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to come to the school to meet your scholar’s teachers, visit classrooms, and update necessary paperwork. On this night, families will also be able to sit in on one of our Echo Parent/Guardian Training sessions. Echo is the new scholar learning system that we will be using this year, and the sessions will help families familiarize themselves with how to check scholar assignments and grades. Scholar agenda books will not be needed this year, as their agendas will also be in the Echo system.

First Day of School for Scholars: The scholars in Reynoldsburg City Schools will begin the school year on a staggered schedule. The first day of school for scholars with the last name beginning with letters A – K is Thursday, August 19th. The first day of school for scholars last name beginning with letters L – Z is Friday, August 20th. ALL scholars report on Monday, August 23rd. Scholar hours are 7:25 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. School doors will open at 7:10 a.m.

Scholars should not be dropped off prior to 7:10 a.m., as there is no supervision for your scholar. Scholars will be greeted by HAMS staff and directed to the Cafeteria for breakfast. Additional District events are located on the Reynoldsburg City Schools 21-22 Calendar.

Bus Transportation: If your child is eligible for bus transportation, you will be receiving information from Reynoldsburg City Schools Transportation Department. Plan to be at the morning and afternoon bus stop 20 minutes prior to the designated time. Note that the bus stop times may need to be adjusted by the Transportation Department in the first few weeks of the school year, so your patience and flexibility are appreciated. If you have questions or need to make changes to your child’s transportation, please contact the Transportation Department of 614-501-1041 or visit the Transportation page at https://www.reyn.org/Transportation.aspx .

Athletics: Sports are already underway for some scholars. Because HAMS has an early dismissal time, scholars who participate in athletics will need to report home prior to attending practice. Some scholars may utilize athletics shuttle provided by the Reynoldsburg Athletics Department. For more information about shuttle transportation, please contact your scholar’s coach or the Athletics Department.

Family Newsletter: Our HAMSLetter, the scholar/family biweekly newsletter, is sent out every other week on Sundays. This newsletter contains information about the events and activities taking place in our school. Please check your email for this newsletter, which will also be posted on the HAMS website and on all HAMS social media sites.

We are excited to begin another school year at HAMS, and are dedicated to building a partnership with families and the community to support the academic, social and emotional growth of all of our scholars. We encourage you visit our school and to become more involved in our school community by joining the Hannah Ashton Middle School PTO. Information about the PTO will be available at Raider Check-In.

Again, welcome (back) to Hannah Ashton Middle School! I look forward to meeting you at our Raider Check-in Night and beginning a successful 2021-22 school year!

Ms. Slauter

Important Updates

Welcome, Mr. Toby Quinn!!

We are excited to have Toby Quinn join HAMS as our new Assistant Principal! After growing up in Texas, Mr. Quinn lived in Washington State where he earned his graduate degree in Public Administration, and his teaching degree. He started his career in the Olympia School District as a Middle School Teacher. After nine years as a 6th grade Social Studies Teacher, Mr. Quinn earned his administrative credentials and served as a Dean of Students for the last two years. Mr. Quinn takes pride in working with staff, parents, students and the broader community to support the success of all students.

This summer, Mr. Quinn moved with his wife and two young sons across the country to be closer to friends and family. “We were spending every summer out here in Ohio visiting my wife’s family, and we just decided finally that we wanted to be closer. When I learned of the opening at HAMS, I was excited about the opportunity to serve the community- working with the caring HAMS staff towards the success of all of our students. The staff at HAMS have very quickly shown me what a family they are and got me excited about what we’re going to do together this year!”

Welcome to Hannah Ashton Middle School and Reynoldsburg, Mr. Quinn!

Important 2021-22 Forms

Emergency Medial Forms

Reynoldsburg City Schools requires an updated Emergency Medical Form to be kept on file for every scholar. Please fill out the EMA HERE and return to the HAMS Main Office during Raider Check-in on August 17th or to your scholar's homeroom teacher on the first day of school

Food Services

Reynoldsburg City Schools Food Service Department recognizes the importance of providing
students with healthy and nutritious meals at school. The complete Food Service policy can be located at: https://www.reyn.org/policies.aspx

Breakfast—Reynoldsburg City Schools provides a breakfast program to all students in all schools in accordance with federal regulations. For pricing and menu information, please check with your child’s school, or visit: https://reyn.nutrislice.com/menu.
Lunch—Reynoldsburg City Schools offers a hot lunch service daily featuring a variety ofitems. Menus and pricing information are available at https://reyn.nutrislice.com/menu.

PaySchools Central is a secure and convenient website application that allows parents to add to their child’s meal account online using any Visa or Mastercard (including Debit Visa and

Mastercard). To use the PAYFORIT.NET online system visit www.PaySchoolsCentral.com website.

Please note that breakfast and lunch will be free for students for the 2021-22 school year, however, we are strongly encouraging all families who are eligible for Free and Reduced lunch to still complete the application https://payschoolscentral.com/. It is still important for families to apply for meal assistance. This is what helps determine how much funding the school district gets for programs that help children, families, teachers and administrators. If your child has been approved for free meals and has a negative balance, you are still responsible to pay off the balance on their account.

Technology Acceptable Use Form

The district offers a variety of technology tools, computer network and internet access to students and staff. Students are permitted and encouraged to bring personally-owned devices to school to support and enhance their education. They are provided filtered, internet access for personal devices, but not direct access to the district's networks, including printers and shared drives.

With these privileges come high expectations for responsible technology use and behavior. All students and staff must sign the district's Computer and Technology Acceptable Use Policy in order to be granted access to the district's network and technology resources. Please review this policy and keep in mind that it may be updated at any time in order to accommodate rapidly changing technology.

The Technology Acceptable Use Form must be completed for each student prior to distribution of his/her/their school issued device.

HAMS Events