Hornet News

Our focus is to BE HERE, BE PRESENT~ Pursue Excellence in our academics and character. We are Driven, Bold, Kind, Proud, and Honest.

Hello Hedrick Families,

We are a month into school and it has been fantastic so far! We have a great group of students! We will continue our level of rigor in the classroom to challenge your students in their academic growth and achievement. We will also continue to focus on Attendance. Attendance Matters! Students do need to be at school for so many reasons to support their growth academically, socially, and individually. We also held a student friendly Lockdown Drill. This was an opportunity to teach, ask questions, and learn how we all can support safety, and what to do in case there is a need. Thank you to all the families who were able to attend our Back to School night. Partnering with our families supports our middle schoolers growth. We look forward to student fun in October with an upcoming Spirit Week.

Lori Higgins, Principal, Hedrick Middle School

Join the Choir and Culinary Programs On Monday, Nov. 3rd at 6 pm in the Hedrick cafeteria for a fun night of Bingo and Chili Dogs! Just $20 gives you chili dog, chips, and a drink; and 5 game cards. There will be gift baskets for winners, snacks, treats and a dessert auction! Last year we were packed so buy your tickets early!

Fall I Ready Testing is complete! Student results will be shared at Student Led Conferences in November. Students have been having data chats with there ELA and Math teachers to set goals for growth for the coming school year. This information is valuable and one data point which helps us and students know where each students is at in their learning and what areas we can support them in their growth. Here is a snapshot of Hedrick data in the Fall.

I- Ready Data

Reading- 92% completed the assessment

Hedrick 6th 7th 8th

On Grade level 30% 22% 25% 32%

Math- 95% completed the assessment

Hedrick 6th 7th 8th

On Grade Level 19% 25% 18% 15%

Attendance Matters - Every Day Counts! Every Day Counts!

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and attending school each day is important for your child’s learning, growth, and well-being.

🤧 Kids don’t always need to stay home from school! Children can still attend if they have:
✔️ A cold (runny/stuffy nose, mild cough)
✔️ Eye redness (without fever, pain, or vision changes)
✔️ A mild stomachache
✔️ A rash from a known condition (eczema, psoriasis)
✔️ Have been fever-free for 24 hours without medicine

🚨 The biggest reasons to stay home are:

• Fever of 100.4°+
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

Students should be free of these symptoms for 24 hours before returning.

😷 COVID follows the same rule: students may come back once they’re fever-, vomit-, and diarrhea-free for 24 hours.

✨ Strong attendance builds strong learners!
#MSD549c #AttendanceMatters #HealthyKids #StriveForFive

As part of this effort, all Medford schools will be partnering with families by sending out weekly electronic letters to families whose students are absent 4 or more full days or 8 half days within a 4-week period, whether excused or unexcused.

The goal of these notifications is to help reduce irregular attendance and, when needed, prompt a conversation where the school can partner with families to support the student. This process is in accordance with ORS 339.065.

Did you know students who miss two days a month, excused or not, are at risk of falling behind academically? Help your child develop strong attendance habits early. Every Day matters! Attendance IS a school wide focus at Hedrick. Please reach out to your child's Advisor or Administration team if you need support or have questions please reach out. The image below is one example of how families can track the maximum days a student should miss without being considered CHRONICALLY ABSENT. This image is in the front of student planners if you would like to use it as a family.

Our current data: there are 286 who are considered CHRONICALLY ABSENT at this time per ODE because of the # of days they have missed school so far.

A friendly reminder:

If you are planning to pick your student up early during a school day for an appointment or other reasons, PLEASE notify us early. It helps if is the day BEFORE the appointment or a couple hours in advance of early pick up. This allows us to have your student ready for you without interrupting student learning environments. In an effort to ensure all students are able to learn with minimal disruption, we will not disrupt class time to pull students unless it is absolutely necessary. To avoid long waits or potential late/missed appointments, please call or e-mail ahead.

You can e-mail the attendance at hedrick.attendance@medford.k12.or.us OR call 541-842-3700.

We understand that emergencies happen, and we will do our best to get your student to the office for any last minute pickups. We are unable to ensure we will be able to have to them ready or to the office in a timely manner in the moment. Thank you for your assistance on this.

Thank you for all your support and efforts as we have implemented this new process to keep our students safe. Here is an updated graphic by one of our Hedrick parents. Thank you!

This is making a DIFFERENCE! Students are more engaged with each other and at school. Hedrick Middle School is a place for all students to be safe and successful, both academically and socially. To support in this mission, we will implement our Away for the Day cell phone policy for the 2025/26 school year in the Medford school district.

We ask that families and students use the main office when communicating messages from home or school.

Research:

Science supports an "Away For The Day" policy. When students do not have the freedom of accessing their phones during school hours, they are more engaged socially and academically. 97% of students aged 11 to 17 used their phones during the school day. Daily in-school phone use ranged from less than a minute to 6½ hours, with a median of 43 minutes of screen time.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope this message finds you well. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide students with the tools they need for academic success, your child has been assigned a Chromebook by the Medford School District for educational use throughout the school year.

We would like to take a moment to remind families that students are expected to be responsible for their Chromebook at all times. This includes handling the device carefully, storing it safely, and using it appropriately both at school and at home.

Responsibility and Damages
Students and their families are financially responsible for any damage that occurs while the Chromebook is in their possession.

• Reporting Issues: If your child’s device experiences any issues or damage or is lost, please report it promptly to the school’s Media Technician. A replacement device will be checked out to your student at that time.

• Manufacturer Defects: Any damage found to be the result of a manufacturer defect will be repaired or replaced at no cost to the family.

• Accidental Damage: Most accidental damage will result in a $100 repair fee. If the device is beyond repair, the full replacement fee of $350 may apply.

• Intentional Damage: If the damage is determined to be intentional, families will be responsible for the full replacement cost of the Chromebook.

• Replacement Chargers: Lost or damaged chargers may incur a replacement fee of $10. Repeated lost or damaged chargers may result in a fee of $25.

• Fee Determination: Final decisions about fines are made by school administrators based on available information.

Please take a moment to discuss these expectations with your student and help reinforce the importance of taking care of their assigned device and treating it with care. Our goal is to maintain the quality and availability of these tools to support learning and success for all students.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact your child’s school or the district’s technology department.

Thank you for your continued support.

Need a break from the busy cafeteria or loud gym at lunch time? Lunch Bunch is a chill space where Hedrick students can eat lunch, hang out with friends, play games, listen to music, or just relax. Whether you’re looking for a quieter spot to eat or want to meet new people in a low-key setting, Lunch Bunch is the place to be. Stop by room 214 to grab a pass from the counselors before going to the cafeteria to get food, or grab your lunch box and walk right in. Remember, if the door is closed and locked, we may have had an emergency pop up. So don’t wait in the halls for us - we will catch you in Lunch Bunch the next day. Have questions about joining Lunch Bunch? Give us a call and we will happily help to get you connected.

Your Counselors

Mr. Downey (A-K) 541-842-1617

Mrs. Meyer (L-Z) 541-842-1540

Dear Hedrick Families,

As our fall athletics season wraps up the week of October 12th, we want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible effort, energy, and enthusiasm our student-athletes have shown. It’s been amazing to see so many students step outside the classroom to try something new or dive deeper into a sport they love. Thank you for your continued support in helping our students grow both on and off the field.

Up Next: Winter Sports – Season 1

We’re excited to kick off our first winter athletics season with two great programs:

Boys Basketball

Girls Wrestling – That’s right! This will be the inaugural season for middle school girls wrestling, and we can’t wait to see our students make history on the mat!

Registration is now open!

Please visit the Hedrick Middle School website and sign up through InTouch.

Coming Soon: Winter Sports – Season 2

Looking ahead, Season 2 will include:

Girls Basketball & Boys Wrestling

We’ll share more information about Season 2 as we get closer to the start date.

Let’s keep the momentum going and continue to support our student-athletes as they learn, grow, and compete!

Go Hedrick!

Payments are going online!

Hedrick Middle School is moving towards online payments for almost all things throughout the year. We are encouraging families to make the move to using our InTouch Payment Portal for all payments. Field Trips, Fundraisers, PE Uniforms, Chromebook fees, Yearbooks, prior year unpaid balances, and much more will be available online for payment throughout the year. If you have not created an InTouch Account, please do so! We are moving away from collecting cash and checks as much as possible. Use the link below to access the online portal for InTouch.

https://or-medford.intouchreceipting.com/

Our PTSA formed this past year and we are looking for more parents and students who want to get involved in what is happening at Hedrick Middle School!

From going on field trips to planning student socials, selling concessions at sporting events to monthly meetings to discuss fun ideas. There is room for everyone!!

Please join us on September 23rd @ 5:30 at Hedrick MS. We will will have table at Back to School night with more information.

We hope to see you there!

If you would like to volunteer or chaperone you must go through the district VIM process. Use this link:

https://www.medford.k12.or.us/get-involved/volunteer-at-the-msd

October 8- Choir Concert

October 10- No School- Statewide In-service Day

October 17- Picture Re-Takes

October 20- Orchestra Concert

October 24- End of Q1

October 27- No School- Grading Day

October 28-31- Spirit Week

October 29- Band Concert

October 30- Fall Social 3:45-5:15

Lori Higgins, Principal lori.higgins@medford.k12.or.us

Jeremy Durst, Asst. Principal jeremy.durst@medford.k12.or.us

Chad Johnson, Asst. Princpal/ AD chad.johnson@medford.k12.or.us

Karlie Blair karlie.blair@medford.k12.or.us

Hedrick MS- 541-842-3700