🌟 Welcome Back, Hemphill!

Dear HMS families,

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year! It is hard to believe that we have already completed our first week of school. Our hallways are filled with energy, enthusiasm, and students who are already engaged in meaningful, hands-on learning experiences in their classrooms. It has been wonderful to see our students reconnect with friends, build relationships with their teachers, and begin the important work of growing as learners.

This year, we will send our Hemphill Newsletter on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month. These newsletters will be an important way for us to keep families connected to our learning community. You can expect to find information about classroom learning, field trips, upcoming events, student celebrations, opportunities for parent involvement, and educational topics that impact our middle school students.

Beginning-of-Year i-Ready Assessments

On Monday, August 18, and Tuesday, August 19, students will begin their i-Ready beginning-of-year assessments in reading and mathematics. These assessments provide our teachers with important information about each student's current skills and areas for growth. This data helps teachers understand the foundation students are bringing into the school year and determine how to best design instruction, provide appropriate levels of rigor, and meet individual learning needs.

We also use i-Ready data to identify students who may benefit from additional support in reading and/or mathematics. Students who demonstrate skill levels one or more grade levels below their current grade level may be placed in a WIN (What I Need) Reading and/or WIN Math class. These classes are designed to provide targeted instruction and support specific learning gaps while helping students make meaningful academic growth. Our goal is not simply to identify where students are today, but it is to use that information to determine where we need to go next and how we can best help every student get there.

Our Mission for 2026–2027

As the leaders of our learning community, our staff is committed to:

Empower a collaborative learning community through instruction, equitable learning opportunities, and rigor for every student to take ownership of their success today and in the future.

This mission reflects our belief that student success is a shared responsibility. Teachers, staff, students, families, and our community all play an important role in creating the conditions for every student to thrive.

Thank You for Partnering With Us

I want to extend a sincere thank you to the parents and families who are already volunteering, reaching out, asking questions, sharing ideas, and looking for ways to support Hemphill Middle School. Your involvement matters. Middle school is an important time in a student's development. Students are becoming more independent, discovering their strengths and interests, navigating new challenges, and preparing for the transition to high school. Strong partnerships between home and school are essential during these years.

We value your feedback, your questions, and your outreach. We want our families to be active partners in our learning community, and we look forward to continuing to build those relationships throughout the year. Thank you for entrusting your children to us each day. We are excited about the year ahead and all that our students will accomplish together.

JaLee Kitzman

At Hemphill Middle School, the safety of our students and staff is always our top priority. To ensure that everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency, we practice a variety of safety drills throughout the school year. These drills give students and staff the opportunity to learn and rehearse the safest procedures while also allowing us to reflect on and improve our processes.

• Fire Drills – Conducted monthly to ensure quick and safe evacuation of the building.
  

• Lockdown and Secure Drills – Conducted quarterly/semester to prepare for situations where we need to keep students and staff safe inside the building.

Regular practice builds confidence and helps everyone respond calmly and effectively if a real emergency ever occurs. We appreciate your support as we work together to keep our school community safe.

Meet Our School Counselor!

We are excited to welcome Alecia Suazo, our School Counselor at Hemphill Middle School! Mrs. Suazo is here to support our students with their academic, social, and emotional needs throughout the school year.

Whether you need someone to talk to, help setting goals, support with school, or simply have a question, Mrs. Suazo is here to help!

📞 303-622-9213

📅 Schedule an Appointment: https://calendly.com/asuazo-strasburg31j

You are never alone. We are here to support you! 💙

In math class, we have been reviewing how to multiply and divide multi-digit whole numbers. Each day, students begin class with bellwork designed to get them thinking critically, reviewing important skills, and challenging themselves before beginning the day’s lesson. Next week, we will begin working with decimals. Students will learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals fluently and accurately.

In WIN Math, students have been working on their 100 Minutes packet at the beginning of each class period to build consistency and strengthen their math skills. We have also been practicing multiplication facts using flashcards, math games, and multiplication fact sheets to build fluency and accuracy.

Students are learning important class processes and structures. We will begin our content study by defining “geography” and learning how geographers view the world and the tools they use.

Students are being introduced to scientific thinking skills and class processes. We will be practicing observational skills and scientific inquiry before beginning our unit on Exploring Space and the Sun-Earth-Moon System next week.

Students are working on a one pager project about themselves as well as building classroom expectations collaboratively. We will be working on our pre-assessments next week before beginning our first unit “Characters Who Change and Grow”.

In math class, we have been learning about integers, their opposites, and absolute values. We have also gone over rational numbers and how to convert fractions into decimals. We do bell work each day which is designed to challenge students by encouraging them to think critically.

Next week we will learn how to add and subtract integers, followed by how to add and subtract rational numbers.

We have been working on reviewing key concepts like long division, multi-digit multiplication, and manipulating fractions (converting an improper fraction into a mixed number and mixed numbers into improper fractions). We will build on these skills next week by discussing common denominators, adding and subtracting fractions, and mixed numbers.

We have been learning how to represent a problem with a two step equation (that includes a variable). We will continue with this through the end of this week, as well as how to solve these types of equations. Next week we will focus on the distributive property to help us solve equations with a variable.

We are welcoming students back to the school year and immediately jumping into human experiences before civilizations were established. Students were given a syllabus that shares the topics that we were learning about this year. By the end of the week, we will be learning about the region of ancient Iraq called Mesopotamia.

I am excited about this year! For the next two weeks, students will be working on some critical foundational math in order to be successful in the start of the 8th grade math curriculum. This week we are working on the order of operations, and next week we will work on fractions. Students will need to bring their math notebook to class every day.

Students will be working on memorizing multiplication facts of 3, working on integer operations, and getting some extra practice with the order of operations.

We are jumping right into the Algebra 1 curriculum! Students will be working on the foundations of algebra - variables, expressions, the order of operations, and equations! Students will need to bring their math notebook to class every day.

It is great to be working with this group of 8th graders again! We are discussing early human migration to North America then discussing differences between cultural regions of the United States. Students will be assigned a research project that will focus on the journey of European explorers in South, Central, and North America.

I’m excited to get started on the new school year! We are beginning with the CommonLit pre-assessment, and the Beginning of Year I-Ready assessments, as well as a written “essay” to establish a baseline for growth this year. Next week, we will begin our first unit, “The Art of Suspense.” Students usually enjoy this unit, we will be reading spooky and suspenseful short stories and analyzing the techniques used to create suspense.

All students should have a binder with 8 divider tabs specifically for Language Arts, this can be kept in the classroom to ensure that everyone has what they need, every day.

In the Resource Room students are becoming acquainted and learning more about each other and how we can support one another in our space. We practiced reading, writing, and even some math riddles since we started. We are focusing on the tips, tricks, and tools we will be using to achieve our goals during our time together.

So far we have been discussing simple strategies to help students improve their reading comprehension. We’ve read and discussed a short story about integrity in the bigfoot-hunting community, while also allowing the students to explore other texts they are interested in. We read daily Calvin and Hobbes comics and are excited to begin the Read 180 Curriculum next week!

In ELD, we have started a new curriculum called Read 180! Students will be working through Lessons 1–8, where they will learn about the Read 180 experience, explore Shadrack’s Story, and discover how our mindset can impact learning. We will also focus on building our brains, learning the language of school, and setting meaningful goals to help us become confident and successful learners.

Students have been getting familiar with how our drama class is organized and structured, as well as begun getting to know one another. During the next two weeks, we will be focusing on getting comfortable with our voices and bodies, as well as working on confidently performing in front of one another using games and short theatrical activities.

Over the next two weeks, students will work through a series of drawing exercises to build confidence and strengthen basic skills. After that, we’ll begin a week‑long lesson on the element of line, exploring how artists use different types of lines to create movement, texture, and expression.

In GT/Journalism, we’ll spend the next two weeks planning out our first paper. Students will take on different tasks, including photography, writing articles, and conducting interviews. The goal is to have our first issue ready by the end of the month.

In Spanish 2, students have started the school year by reviewing essential Spanish vocabulary and skills. During the first week, we are practicing the days of the week, months of the year, numbers, and colors by speaking, reading, and writing them to strengthen our language foundation.

Students are also beginning Unit 10: Encanto, where they will learn new vocabulary and develop their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills through engaging classroom activities.

In Spanish 3, students spent the first two days of school reviewing key Spanish concepts and refreshing their language skills to prepare for more advanced learning.

We are now beginning Unit 3: Somos. Throughout this unit, students will expand their vocabulary and improve their listening and comprehension skills by exploring authentic Spanish-language music and stories. These activities will help students build confidence while learning about language and culture in an engaging and meaningful way.

Students have been introduced to vocal warmups, games, and other activities designed to get them singing and feeling comfortable performing with others. In the coming weeks, will be introducing more skills and full choral pieces to begin rehearsing for performances later in the year.

We are going to start entering information into our Zello system to see what careers are suggested for each student based on the information they enter such as learning style, likes and dislikes, personality and skills etc.

We are starting a program called Typing.com to learn our touch typing skills.They will get a lot of practice at typing to increase their skill level.

Our sewing students have been busy learning new skills and putting their creativity to work! They are learning the basics of sewing, practicing different techniques.

📸 Check out some pictures of our talented sewing students in action!

Calling 6th, 7th, and 8th graders! 🎉

Cheer practice has started, but it’s not too late to join! We are still accepting students who want to have fun, build confidence, learn new skills, and show their school spirit. No experience is necessary!

📅 Practice: Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays

Come be part of the team and bring your energy and school spirit! We’d love to have you! 📣✨

Cheer Coach: Alaina Franklin afranklin@strasburg31j.com

Please note that ALL physicals must be completed on the official CHSAA physical form and MUST be turned in or uploaded online before a student is allowed to practice.

Important Dates:

• August 20: Team Pictures, Order forms will be available on the day!

• August 27: First Game @ Byers starting at 4:30 PM. Come and support the HMS Indian Volleyball team! Games will run D, C, B, A. Hope to see you there!

Girls' Volleyball Coach: Courtney Manahan cb.manahan01@gmail.com

Please note that ALL physicals must be completed on the official CHSAA physical form and MUST be turned in or uploaded online before a student is allowed to practice.

Football practice have began this week!

Football Coach: Steven Diedrich stevendiedrichjr@gmail.com

Please note that ALL physicals must be completed on the official CHSAA physical form and MUST be turned in or uploaded online before a student is allowed to practice.