HMS Connection

Congratulations to our September Team Members of the Month!

Each month, teachers are asked to select two students from their team who have stood out in some way.

This month's group were selected for their hard work, kindness, and leadership demonstrated during our first month of school.

A huge "thank you" to these individuals who are part of what makes HMS such a special place!

Thank you to all who were able to attend our Parent Info meeting for our DC trip.

For those who were not able to be there, or anyone who would ;like to review the information shared at the meeting, the slides are below.

We are aware that there was a problem with the QR code used last night, and it has been updated in this version of the slides.

Please pay particular attention to slide 10, which deals with the requirements for sending and administering medications. We need your help with this in order to safely run a trip of this size and scope.

In eighth grade science, students had the opportunity to test their own genetics by seeing if they carried the gene to taste PTC (phenylthiocarbamide) paper. When placed on the tongue, PTC paper will typically elicit one of two reactions in people; a strong bitter taste, which means you carry the dominant tasting allele, or no taste at all (compared to plain paper), which means you do not carry that allele.

Students reported tasting bitterness, a little bitterness, or nothing at all. This showed them which allele they have for the gene.

The Green Turtle Team welcomed guest speaker Britt Drews, Blue Stem Natives owner and HMS parent, to talk about native plants of Massachusetts. Students got their hands dirty with some organic soil and clay mix to create “Seed Bombs” that hold native plant seeds and can be dispersed in their yard to help promote native plant growth. We will also be able to use some of the leftover seeds outside of HMS to help promote pollinators and native plants.

A big thank you to Mrs. Drews for an informative and fun activity!

Thanks to our three new parent representatives joining the Hingham Middle School Council this year. We appreciate them volunteering their time and talents to this group.

Please read below to learn more about them.

Jackie Hourin

Meg Cragan

Meg grew up in Hingham and attended Foster Elementary (in its formative state), Hingham Junior High and HHS. She played Field Hockey and Lacrosse at HHS and is now coaching the 6th Grade Field Hockey team for HMS with a friend from grade school. She has a current 6th grader at HMS and a 3rd Grader at East Elementary School.

As a member of the East School Community, Meg has spent the last 4 years supporting the East PTO as one of the leads of the Green Team, passionate about reducing waste and making kids aware of the impact that waste has on our planet. Within the past year, she has begun her certification to become a Birth, Postpartum Doula and Lactation Consultant.

Meg attended Denison University and earned a degree in Political Science. She found a love for travel during her junior year abroad in Italy that eventually led her to live and work in London, England for the year following graduation from college. Upon her return to the US, she worked in Boston for various technology organizations in sales and eventually landing in a career in Customer Success.

Meg is currently recovering from an ACL injury earlier this year and is anxiously awaiting the to get back to tennis and skiing with her family this winter.

The HHS Robotics team invites Grade 4-6 HPS students to join them for an introductory workshop on LEGO robotics. The workshop will be held on Saturday, October 24th from 2-4:15 PM in the HMS cafeteria. Students will learn to build and code robots--no experience is necessary. To register, please complete the attached Google form. The workshop fee of $50 can be hand-delivered on the day of the workshop, via a check made out to the HHS Activity Fund. All proceeds benefit the HHS Robotics team.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month!

Kiera Knightley, Steven Spielberg, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Tom Holland, Octavia Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Cruise, and Salma Hayek all have something in common....they all have Dyslexia!!

HMS welcomes our community to celebrate and support our students with Dyslexia.

Important Dates

• October 13 - PTO Meeting, 10:00 AM
• School Council Meeting, 2:15, Main Office Conference Room
• October 15 - Adventure Club Trip - Sauchuk's Farm, 2:00 - 5:30
• October 16 - Grade Six Fall Festival, 2:00 - 3:30 at HMS
• Grade Eight Firepit Fest 7:00 - 8:30 at HMS
• October 23 - Grade Seven Halloween Social, 7:00 - 8:30 at HMS
• October 28 - Picture Retakes, 2:00

Check out the PTO's October Newsletter to learn all about what they're up to and how you can get involved!

Reminders:

• We are collecting dues (suggested $45 per family) to support all our PTO initiatives throughout the year (details in newsletter). Venmo @HMSPTO-1103 today!
  
• We could use a couple more volunteers to join our annual "pie palooza" committee for Staff Appreciation. You will help organize and attend the event on November 24th. This is a great opportunity to get to know some staff and experience their beloved HMS Thanksgiving tradition. Sign up here!
  

To see if your child's pictures are available to view, please log in to your account at mylifetouch.com. If you don’t have an account yet, you can create one using your email address.

To locate your child's photos, you'll need their Student ID or Portrait ID and Access Code. If you don't have this information, you can:

• Check your inbox for an email from Lifetouch that may contain your access credentials and a direct link to your child's images.
• Contact the Lifetouch Help Center for assistance

Please note that pictures may not become available for all students at the same time, so check back later if you don't see your child's images yet.