Notes from the Principal
Good Afternoon Middle School Families,
Thanksgiving is almost here, and it's a good time to think about the things in life that we’re thankful for, both at home and at work. One thing I'm thankful for is how many of our families want to stay connected to the school and stay updated on how their child is doing. Families who are involved, along with our improved communication about conferences, led to a bit of a challenge this fall, with more families wanting conferences than we had time for. Our teams have been working hard to make sure we can still meet everyone’s needs.
We want you to know that we have a plan for spring conferences. Before COVID, many of our schools were doing student-led conferences at the middle school level, and we’d like to bring that back. There are many benefits to this. For example, it helps students be more engaged in their learning, gives them a chance to speak up about their progress, and helps teachers and families understand the students’ needs better. It also makes it easier for more conferences to happen at the same time because the student leads the conversation while the adults check in. Here is an article to take a look at if you are interested: https://www.edutopia.org/article/student-led-parent-teacher-conferences/.
It takes time to get students ready to lead their own conference. They will need to gather work samples, think about what they’ve done well and where they can improve, and plan what they want to say about each of their classes. Some of this work will happen in class, and some might happen during advisory. We’ll keep you updated as we move forward with this plan.
I also want to give a big congratulations to the students who took part in the play "I Hate Shakespeare" this past Wednesday. It takes a lot of courage to perform in front of an audience, whether it's in sports, academics, or the arts. We are proud of our students who are willing to take risks and grow from the experience!
This fall, our teams have been focusing on themes like being present and building community. In the next couple of months, we plan to spend more time on community service. In the spring, we’ll focus on things like reflecting and resetting, healthy friendships, kindness, civility, humor, and how to handle change. While schoolwork is always important, middle school is also about building character and learning the skills needed to face life’s challenges. As I remind our students each morning, be kind, make good choices, and take care of each other.
Thank you for trusting us with your children. We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!
Jennefer Paquette
FHUMHS Co-Principal
FHUMS PTO
Join us on Facebook or at our next meeting! Thank you all for supporting our Slater Middle School Students! If you have any questions about the Middle School PTO, or their events, please reach out to the individuals listed below.
NEXT MEETING IS December
Officers:
President: Kim Lemois, berlyJay06@comcast.net
Vice President: Ashley Bruce, Abruce86@icloud.com
Treasurer: Nicole Rice, nicole.rice1515@gmail.com
Secretary: Amanda Crowningshield, galvin1110@yahoo.com
Participate virtually through this link: FHMS Monthly Meeting Link
