HMMS Newsletter

Hello HMMS Families,

It has been a while since I’ve shared an update, and I’m excited to give you a glimpse of what’s been happening here at Hartford Memorial Middle School.

Before our first holiday break, the sense of community and spirit was high at HMMS. Students and staff came together for a fun-filled spirit week, complete with themed days created by our student council. Although Mother Nature had other plans for our Hurricane Hustle tradition, we adapted and hosted a school-wide Kahoot game in advisory. Students answered questions about fun facts related to our staff, and the cheers and laughter echoed through our halls.

Another highlight was the success of our first middle school dance. Students were well-behaved, respectful, and enthusiastic throughout the event. One student even said, “This was the greatest event of my life!” Stay tuned for updates on future events. That same evening, many parents attended a special screening of Screenagers, a film designed to help parents navigate challenges related to technology and social media use with their children. We will continue to offer these opportunities during dance or activity nights.

Our student-led Belonging Group has also been hard at work. After reviewing data from our belonging survey, they identified passing time as a moment when some students do not always feel they belong. To address this, they are creating slides for advisory lessons focused on “hallway etiquette,” emphasizing how certain behaviors during passing time might make others feel anxious. Additionally, the group is exploring ways to redesign the hallways to foster a stronger sense of belonging during these transitions.

On the academic side, our math department recently participated in a two-day workshop centered on the All Learners curriculum. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

The final week before the holiday break was also filled with energy and excitement. From the smiles in the hallways to the teamwork in classrooms, there’s so much happening here at HMMS that makes me grateful to be part of this community.

• Prevention groups are getting prepared to go to CADCA conference and present in Washington DC February, 3rd, 2025. They did a phenomenal job presenting to the Hartford Community Coalition Annual Meeting 11/20!

• Team Eclipse’s MAPS (Multi-Age Problem Solving) Groups are doing a great job finishing up their Invention Fair Projects. We look forward to sharing them with families in January!

• Team Nebula students enjoyed a fabulous day watching Beauty and the Beast presented by Northern Stage on 12/12. The kids did a wonderful job representing HMMS at the theater, and enjoyed a first class performance followed by a Q&A with the company.

• Team Polaris 6th grade students have been participating in the Adopt a Cow program to learn about agriculture and dairy farming on Fun Fridays in science class. Recently Payton Willey came in for a class and taught a lesson to the 6th graders about cow showing and talked about her experience showing her cows. Huge thank you to Payton, the lesson was awesome!

• Team Atlas 6th grade projects where students teamed up with Jack Barbeau to create some very cool projects, such as a wooden sailboat and stilts-picture below!

We wanted to let you know that we have decided to wait until Winter Break to donate the items in our Lost and Found. This will be the final reminder to check for any belongings your child may be missing.

At Hartford Memorial Middle School, we are excited to announce the establishment of our new winter activities program. This program aims to provide high-quality opportunities for all students to engage in winter activities, nurturing their interests, and developing essential skills to enjoy the outdoors while fostering healthy lifelong habits. The winter activities program includes a variety of options such as downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, skating, and snowshoeing, and serves as part of our physical education curriculum. We will modify our academic schedule to allow this program to run . Use the links to read more about this program!

Winter Activities start when we return from the winter break. Please make sure that your student is signed up for their chosen activity. LINK for signup.

• Screen Time and Youth Mental Health

• Monday, December 16th 7pm-9pm HMMS Winter Concert (band & chorus)

• Thursday, December 19th 6:30-7:30 pm PTO Meeting (HMMS library or online meet.google.com/fjh-rmia-fmo )

• WINTER BREAK/NO SCHOOL 12/23/24-1/3/25

• Hope Happens Here & HCC Holiday Fun Day! Sunday Dec 22nd from 11:30am - 4:30pm, Hartford High School Cafeteria and Auditorium. Activities include: Cookie decorating, Face painting, Photo station for pictures with Olaf, Ongoing raffles, Food–please register ahead of time at Hartford Parks and Recreation

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 Hartford Community Coalition virtual screening and discussion of “Screenagers” documentary 6:30-8pm (link to follow)

HMMS is seeking donations of healthy snacks to support our students. Examples of snacks that would be greatly appreciated include granola bars, pretzels, crackers, and similar items. If you are able to help with this request, I know our students would appreciate it. Thank you for considering contributing to this effort to keep our students energized and focused throughout the day! Snacks can be brought to the font office and Mrs. Wagar will assist.

• Hartford Youth Lacrosse - open stick in the gym this December, for all students in grades 3-8 - See more information HERE
• The Vermont Department of Health wants to hear from you! We want to hear from Vermont parents and caregivers! Use this link to complete a survey that will help the Division of Family and Child Health better understand the needs of children, adolescents, young adults, parents/caregivers/guardians, and families so our programs and activities can better meet those needs. All individuals taking the survey can be entered into a drawing to win a $50 gift card. Thank you for your participation. Please contact Emily.j.smith@vermont.gov with questions.
• Curiosity Corner- Updates/Tools from our district equity coordinator Julia Lau.

• Need information on upcoming athletic events? Check out https://hmmsvt.com/extracurriculars/hmms-athletics .

• Referees are hard to find! Please thank our local referees. Hartford has many professional and support staff employees who help our athletic programs run smoothly including Cody Tancreti (principal), Tim Leonard (support staff), Jamie Briggs (support staff), Jamison O’Neill (Wilder), Jon Grobe (retired teacher, coach)

Please check out the regularly updated Student Assistance Program newsletter, click here– SAP Newsletter for information on prevention, substance misuse, bullying and wellness

Cody TanCreti

Principal HMMS

tancretic@hartfordschools.net