I hope you all had a great week! We had a great week here at HPMS, and I want to tell you all how proud I am of your students and their Math Diagnostic scores! Students tested on Wednesday, and as of this writing, 98% of our students have completed the test. Once again, I appreciate that greatly because it means that you all made sure they were present for this important test. Thank you! I also want to share that we had the highest schoolwide achievement data for math (students on or above grade level based on the standards) since the iReady diagnostics began here! We once again had incredible growth data as well. 71% of our students met their annual goal for growth, and 35% of them met their stretch goal! All of this took place despite having a challenging start to the year due to COVID. Statewide, math was the hardest hit subject due to the shutdowns because students missed some key information to prepare them for the next level. While we are still seeing the effects of that time, this is an excellent sign that we are moving forward and getting everyone caught back up. I am so proud of our students and teachers! We will need our students to show up for state testing in May with the same level of effort!

Thank you all once again for your ongoing support as we work together to improve achievement for all of our students and prepare them to be highly successful in high school and beyond. Again, none of this happens without your support at home and without your emphasizing the importance of these tests to your students. We will need to continue to support our students here and at home to do their best as they prepare for state testing in May!

Boys Tennis Update

8th grader Sam Lowie won his tennis match against Mid-Carolina this week! This was a playoff match, and his win helped advance the Bears in the playoffs. The Bears fell later in the week to Union, but we are still proud of their effort this season on the court! Other HPMS athletes on the team include Boone Hanks, Bryce Mitchell, Isaac Walker, and Max Walfield. Go Bears!

Teacher Appreciation Week

I just want to remind everyone that next week is teacher appreciation week, and if you feel so led, I would encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher(s) and offer encouragement or appreciation for them next week. I know so many of you do a great job with this all year long, and even something as simple as a quick email can be tremendously uplifting and will not go unnoticed. Thank you in advance if you are willing and able to show appreciation for our great HPMS teachers!

Honea Path Youth Town Council

The town of Honea Path has developed its first ever Youth Town Council. 8th grader Jared Morris, from HPMS, is the President. They are searching the Honea Path community for more youth leaders to serve as board members. Students who reside in Honea Path and are currently in grades 3rd-12th are eligible and will be considered. This is a great way to have young voices be heard in our community and raise up future leaders! Applications are available in the front office at school, and they can be submitted to Town Hall on or before May 31st 2022. If you have further questions, please contact Tina Scott @ adjupstate@gmail.com.

8th Grade Career Education Update

Mrs. Janet Taylor, our CDF, provided this update regarding the 8th graders this week:

"This week the 8th grade students used Onet and researched a rapid growth job. Each student found a college or training program in SC for their job along with a company in SC that currently would hire for the career. The students presented to the class 3 interesting facts about the career along with where they could obtain a degree or certification and what company would hire them in our great state of SC. All the students participated and did a fantastic job." It is great for our students to have these experiences now to help them set goals before beginning high school!

Yearbook Update

Yearbooks can be ordered online at JostensYearbooks.com until May 20.

Cash or check can also be sent to school and given to Mr. Taylor.

As of this writing, we have 66 left to sell, and we expect to sell out this year.

Website

Please take a moment today to check out our new website at hpms.anderson2.org! I also want to ask everyone everyone to please download our new Anderson School District 2 app if you haven't already done so! This is a great way to quickly stay connected to what is going on at the school and get important updates. It is available on the App Store and Google Play. I have linked the app below, so if you're on your phone while reading this, you can go ahead and download the app from there!

4-H Leadership Camp Information

The South Carolina 4-H Pinckney Leadership Program is committed to empowering students to grow their leadership abilities and awareness in civic engagement. Founded after the late Senator, Clementa Pinckney, they work hard to create events and opportunities that set forth the standards and principles valued by Senator Pinckney. 2022 Summer Program applications are open. They are looking for students who want to learn and grow in their leadership to join the 4-H Pinckney Leadership Program this summer.

Rising 7th and 8th graders can apply for camp here: 2022 South Carolina 4-H Pinckney Leadership Camp. Youth can get the full camp experience at Camp Long in Aiken, SC from July 24-29.

State Department Tutoring Resource

This is a great resource from the state for students and parents. The link below is a quick Screencastify video that shows how to go to the Tutor.com program through discus. (No audio)

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/xXFJ54tuo7maIx8GiJDr

Grade Level Newsletters/Agendas

Click Here for the 6th Grade Newsletter/Agenda

Click Here for the 7th Grade Newsletter/Agenda

Click Here for the 8th Grade Newsletter/Agenda

After School Program

The After School Program began earlier this week. At this time, we still have slots available. If you are interested in having your child participate in this program, please contact Mr. Allen Taylor - ataylor@asd2.org.

Free and Reduced Lunch Application

We recognize that lunch and breakfast are free at this time for everyone; however, having accurate information about our free and reduced lunch recipients is critical to the funding of our school and district. Please view the application and fill it out if you believe you qualify!

Free and Reduced Meal Application Link

Thank you,

John Michael Hall, Principal of Honea Path Middle School

The flyers above explain how students can utilize Tutor.com for free through scdiscus.org. Also, the link below is to a video tutorial that explains how it works and what features it offers. This is an excellent resource and we want to make sure all of our students have the information needed to access it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5vseB8vIXI

COVID Protocol Update

We strongly encourage mask wearing for our students at this time. We cannot and will not mandate masks for students, but your help with this effort of keeping our students and staff safe, our doors open, and our children learning is so greatly appreciated. The short version is that we want our students here learning and our teachers here teaching, and we believe that the simple step of mask wearing will help us in that critical effort.

If you haven't seen the message from Superintendent Johns, here is the link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvbW0d1Rb90

Please also note that the State Department of Education has now reinstituted its mask requirement for bus riders.

Arrival and General Procedures

Please continue to assist us in the mornings with drop offs. Around 7:35, when we start getting more cars, it is very helpful to us and the other parents in line if you will pull forward, at least until the end of the brick flowerbed wall out front to let your child out if you are in the front of the line. We ask that other cars behind the lead car to pull forward as well. This adds only a few extra steps for your student, but it goes much faster for everyone and helps everyone get to class on time if we can unload 4 or more students at a time out front. Please note that homeroom begins at 7:50. We recognize that this is an adjustment from what it was last year, but this is to provide as much class time to our students as possible. Please note that students will have to sign in as late if they are coming into the building after 7:55.

Dress Code Information

We appreciate in advance your help with our updated dress code for this year. There were some changes made across all secondary schools in the district to handle the dress code. I ask you to please review these for yourself and with your students. They have been covered in school with the teachers, but we greatly appreciate your help at home. The most common issues we see are holes in pants that are far too large or too high, shorts that are too short, shirts that are too short or cut too low, exposed undergarments, and shirts/tops that aren't long enough over leggings. Please also note that we don't allow blankets or hats/hoodies worn in the building.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CURRENT HPMS DRESS CODE

Student Cell Phone Information

Please help us by reminding students that they are only to use their phones during designated times (before 7:50, during lunch, during recess when applicable, and whenever they have teacher/administrative approval). Please help us with this by contacting the school directly if you need to speak with students. Texting students or having them call home during the day without administrative approval can result in an infraction if it becomes known to us. We have phones available for emergency use in the front office, and we will absolutely make sure you are notified in the event of an emergency.

Bus Drivers Needed!

Bus drivers are needed to ensure a timely pick up and drop off for our students. If you are interested in becoming a bus driver for our district, please see this link. Once opened scroll to page 2. Bus Driver Information

HPMS Wall of Honor

Help us honor our heroes! Get your submission in TODAY!

HPMS Wall of Honor Submission Form LINK

PTO

If you’re interested in volunteering to help with the PTO, or if you're just interested in finding out ways to help support our students and teachers, please contact the PTO at hpmspto@gmail.com for more information! We would love to have you involved!

COVID Contact/Positive Test Procedure

It is critical that you let us know if someone in your household has been diagnosed with COVID or your student has been named a close contact due to a contact that occurred outside of school. If you become aware of this after school hours or on the weekend, please feel free to email me at jmhall@asd2.org AND Nurse Snipes at msnipes@asd2.org. We also encourage you to call during school hours ASAP and hold your student out of school until you receive more information from us based on our guidelines from DHEC. Your help with this is critical to keeping the school safe for everyone.

HPMS Parent/Student Handbook

This is our updated version and we ask all parents to familiarize yourself

with our policies and procedures.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CURRENT HANDBOOK

Arrival

Please drop your students off at or after 7:30 to aid in arrival procedures. Students who arrive before 7:30 will be seated in the hallways. All students who arrive at or after 7:30 will report directly to their teacher's classroom. Staff will be supervising to make sure social distancing is maintained.

Dismissal Procedures

If you are going to pick up your child in the afternoon, please create a placard to display in your windshield with their printed first and last names large enough for our staff to see from the outside).

Bus riders will be dismissed by bus to maintain social distancing. This will be the same process that we will use throughout the school year with the understanding that we may adjust according to potential new guidelines or conditions.

Links to Information (You may have to right-click on some links to open them)

Online Registration Site

Free and Reduced Meal Application Link

At this time, we will follow the procedure shown in the map I have provided. I’ve broken the directions down by grade level for you here:

6th Grade - 6th grade students will continue to be dismissed to the front “car loop,” and we will continue to have parents pull forward as much as possible. The only change to this for 6th grade parents is that we are asking you all to approach the school from the Main Street side of Central Avenue. This will keep us from backing up on to 252 from Brock, and it should require very little driving out of the way to get in line.

7th Grade - 7th grade students will now cross the road to get in cars which will be on Park Avenue on the right side of the road. Please do not block the entrance/exit to the parking lot in front of the school when you are in line. Park Avenue is wide enough that if you will pull to the right, it will still allow traffic through on Park as needed. We are asking that you turn left onto Brock Avenue to help us keep that crosswalk cleared.

8th Grade - 8th grade students will still continue to go to the parking lot across the street for dismissal. We are asking that you turn left out of the parking lot when you leave. We realize that this is less convenient for those of you who normally turn right, but it will keep from having two sets of traffic turning onto Brock Avenue at the same time and creating a bottleneck. If you are picking up two or more students, you are welcomed to use this lot as well, regardless of grade level.

We will have someone helping to direct traffic and keeping the entrance unblocked at the parking lot exit. We ask that you drive even more carefully than usual around the school because there will be several different valves of traffic going to and from the school.

• 5/2-5/6 - Teacher Appreciation Week
  
• 5/3 - Music IDEALS Spring Concert @ BHP - 7 PM
• 5/6 - Middle School Band Spring Concert @ BHP - 7 PM
• 5/10 - SC Ready ELA Testing Day 1
• 5/12 - SC Ready ELA Testing Day 2
• 5/16 - BHP Senior Parade - 6PM (Come join us in front of HPMS to support the seniors!)
• 5/17 - SC Ready Math Testing
• 5/19 - SC PASS Testing 6th Grade Science
• 5/20 - Last day to order yearbooks
• 5/25 - Algebra I EOC
• 5/26 - TDA Field Test
• 5/27 - Student Chromebook Collection
• 5/27 - BHP Graduation
• 5/30 - Memorial Day - School Closed
• 5/31 - Awards Day in the Morning - Grade Level Ceremonies - Information Coming Soon
• 6/1 - Field Day/Half day for students
• 6/2 - End Q4/Final Day/Report Cards/Half day for students