Greetings Hamlin Families,
We were thrilled to welcome our students back today! It has been fun to hear about all of the activities and sleeping in that happened over the break.
Our Semester ends on January 29th, so we are in the final push for students to get late work caught up and to retake assessments. If you are curious how your student is doing in their classes, you can log into ParentVue to check in. From ParentVue you can also email teachers if you have questions related to your child's classes.
December Social
Some activities were: sugar cookie decorating, cupcake walk, face painting, open gym, bracelet making and more. Our staff was so proud of how our students handled themselves during this unstructured time! We are looking forward to our next school-wide social.
Winter Benchmark Window
Our winter benchmark assessment window is open from January 13th - February 7th, 2025. Students will be taking their Easy CBM and iReady winter diagnostic during this time.
Hamlin students who reach their iReady growth goal this winter, will be celebrated with a pizza party at the beginning of 2nd Semester. 🍕
Family Belonging Survey
At Hamlin, we are focusing our efforts this year on improving academics by improving the sense of belonging for both our students and their families. We want everyone to feel as though they belong at Hamlin Middle School, so we need to know where we can improve.
Please take a minute to fill out this 15-question survey so that we can take your feedback to our Student Voice team, our teachers and counselors, and our admin team and create meanigful opportunities for everyone to feel like they belong at Hamlin.
TAG Referral Process
Spring 2025 TAG identification is right around the corner and we are beginning to take referrals for our program. The SPS Talented and Gifted program assesses through district wide tests and classroom work samples whether or not your student has the potential to perform at the 95%ile or above in the areas of Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies and/or Intellectual giftedness. The 95%ile means that if your student was in a line of 100 students, they would know more than the first 95 students in line. These students are at the top of their class, and typically above most students at their entire grade level at school and require more advanced work to meet them at their rate and level of learning, keeping them challenged.
Teachers, families and specialists can all refer students for identification if they feel they meet the criteria. Students must be referred for screening no later than February 28, in order for TAG contacts to be able to gather data for the upcoming testing session. If you would like to refer your child, please reach out to your child’s teacher for information on where your child is at academically and to start the referral process.
After you refer them for screening, the teacher will share with you the questionnaires, along with our preponderance of evidence form to begin filling out for your student. At this time the teacher will begin gathering together the work samples and testing data in a TAG referral file. If your family has any more information to add to the files, please share them with your child’s teacher when you return the questionnaire. All of this data will be used to create a “preponderance” of evidence in order to determine if the student will/will not qualify for the TAG program in one or more areas.
Thank you for your support and please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or David Wasserman, HMS TAG Contact.
Thank you!
As we begin another month here at Hamlin, I want to thank you for your continued partnership in supporting our students’ growth and success. It’s truly inspiring to see the energy and enthusiasm our students bring to their learning each day.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, feedback, or concerns. Together, we can ensure that Hamlin Middle School continues to be a place where every student feels valued and empowered to reach their potential.
Warm regards,
Brandi Starck
Principal
Ashley Moschetti & Brenda Newell
Meet Ms. Moschetti & Ms. Newell!
Ms. Moschetti:
Ms Moschetti is our Hamlin Dean of Students. Ms Moschetti's role is to support students with appropriate behavior and to assist in supervision of common areas. Ms. Moschetti runs our CICO, (Check in/Check Out) program, the student store, processes minor behavior referrals, and supports students who have peer conflict.
Ms. Moschetti is new to Hamlin this year, but has already made a positive impact on our students. She previously worked as a Behavior Interventionist at the elementary level and is excited about "graduating" to middle school.
Ms. Newell
Ms. Newell is our 8th grade Transition Specialist. She supports 8th grade students with academics, attendance and social needs. Her role is to help 8th grade students prepare for high school. Ms. Newell has previous middle school experience as an educational assistant and classified case manager.
The Student Voice Team met on Dec. 17 and discussed the purpose of our team and how we want to go about implementing activities and projects that promote equity throughout the school. After a lengthy discussion on equity and inclusion with a lot of positive student participation, some of the activities the students came up with include:
- Student-run Loggers Live YouTube announcements
- Videos promoting equity and belonging at Hamlin (anti-bullying, "Be Kind", etc.)
- Student vs. Teachers volleyball before the end of the quarter
- School-wide spirit assemblies
- Student Voice Delegation visit to the Springfield Board of Education meeting to promote our school equity initiatives
The Student Voice Team hopes to elevate the Hamlin culture to one of increased equity and inclusion. Not only do we want everyone to feel safe at school, but we want everyone to feel like they belong at Hamlin. We want everyone to feel like they are a Logger through and through.
Hamlin Food Pantry will be open on January 24th from 1:00-4:00 in the Hamlin Family Resource Center.
Please feel free to reach out to Kahlea if you have needs around, food, clothing, or supplies for your family.
PTSO Meeting- January 8th 6:00 pm
Stay connected! The Hamlin PTSO (Parent Teacher Student Organization) meets on the second Wednesday of each month from 6:00-7:00. If you can't attend, catch up on important updates through the meeting minutes link. Stay informed and involved!
Hamlin Middle School
Website: https://hamlinms.springfield.k12.or.us/
Location: 326 Centennial Boulevard, Springfield, OR 97477
Phone: 541-744-6356
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HamlinMiddleSchool/