HMS Hiller Heads-Up
All the news from Hopkinton Middle School
Note from the Principal
Below you will find information about the MathCounts program run by a volunteer group as part of the HMS community. As a reminder, activities like this are announced during homeroom in our daily announcements, and these daily announcements are able to be viewed in a couple locations which we will highlight here.
We post the daily announcements in Schoology, which you can view by logging in with your student. We have added a location on the HMS website where daily announcements can be viewed by families. We also highlight them in the Hiller Heads Up, thank you for continually checking!
Rotation Cycle - Week of November 9
- Day 1: Monday, November 9
- Day 2: Tuesday, November 10
- NO SCHOOL: Wednesday, November 11
- Day 4: Thursday, November 12
- Day 5: Friday, November 13
Important Upcoming Dates
November 11
No School - Veteran's Day
November 12
Grade 7 Fall Fun Fest
November 16-18
6th Grade Outdoor Classroom Trip 1
November 18-20
6th Grade Outdoor Classroom Trip 2
November 23
Picture Retake Day
November 25
Early Release - 11:20 Dismissal
November 26 & 27
No School - Thanksgiving Break
December 4
Trimester 1 Ends
December 10
MS Winter Concert - Grades 6 & 7 Band
December 11
MS Winter Concert - Grades 6 & 7 Orchestra & Chorus
December 22
MS Winter Concert - Grade 8
December 24 - 31
No School - December Recess
Grade 7 Fall Fun Festival
This event is open to all seventh grade students of HMS.
Date: Thursday, November 12th, 2026
Time: 6 pm-7:30pm
Location: HMS
Activities:
Games and relay races in the Brown Gym
Short movies in the Auditorium
“Just Dance” in the Cafeteria
Arts, Crafts and photo booth in the Entrance Hallway
Light refreshments will be served in the Cafeteria
There is no cost to students to participate!
Students:
may wish to wear their favorite fall colors
Wear comfortable closed toed shoes (sneakers)
Come ready to have fun!
Parents:
6 PM Drop off by the Brown Gym/Water Tower parking lot side entrance
7:30 PM Pick up in the same location, please form a line for a safe and efficient pick up.
Additional Information:
Fill the Wheelbarrow Food Drive (for Project Just Because). We ask all students to bring one canned food item to help us fill a wheelbarrow of food for the local food pantry.
Happy Fall Y’all!
MATHCOUNTS School Competition Registration
Greetings, Parents and Guardians!
My name is Yongjian Zheng, and I am the volunteer coach for the 2026-2027 MATHCOUNTS program. As we begin preparations for this year’s competition series, I would like to invite your child to join our school-level contest, taking place on November, 20th 2026. The Registration link is down below and will close on Friday, November 13th.
Participating in MATHCOUNTS is a great math enrichment opportunity for 6-8th grade students to challenge themselves and improve their problem-solving skills. If you’re unfamiliar with the Competition Series, there are 3 main components for all schools:
1. A School-round competition, which will be held on Friday, November 20th, 2026, after school, at 3:00 pm in the HMS cafeteria. This will help us select 14 students to advance to the Metrowest Chapter Competition.
2. Chapter Competition, which takes place in February, 2027. We will send the top contenders from the school round to represent HMS at this event. I’ll share more event info as soon as I have it from our local MATHCOUNTS coordinator.
3. Team practices that are led by a coach to prepare students for the chapter competition. I’ll share more information about when/where/how frequently meetings will be after the chapter team is formed.
Depending on how they do at the Chapter level, the students may advance to the State Competition in March. Then, the top 4 students from each state receive an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the National Competition, which takes place in May. Last year, the HMS team achieved outstanding results, placing 3rd in the Metrowest Chapter and 10th in the Massachusetts State Finals.
MATHCOUNTS problems are unique, unlike anything your child will see in their regular math classes. They focus on critical thinking and problem-solving skills and are aligned with many sets of standards across the country. Here is a sample Chapter competition problem from last year for practice and assessment of difficulty levels:
MATHCOUNTS is a fun, exciting, challenging experience that helps kids think of math in a different way, and they’ll build skills that will serve them well in their current math class and beyond. I hope your child is able to join us for the Competition Series this year! Please use the link below to sign up by November 13th, 2026, if you are interested in participating.
https://forms.gle/156pC61XX jYu v9
Please check out the MATHCOUNTS website for info and FAQs, and reach out if you have any questions.
https://mathcounts.org/programs/competition-rules-faq
Thank you and best regards,
Yongjian Zheng
Volunteer Coach, MATHCOUNTS 2027
zhengyongjian2009@gmail.com
Last Call for Volunteers – 8th Grade 5K
We’re looking for parent volunteers to help with next week’s 8th Grade 5K on Tuesday Nov 10th. Volunteers will be stationed along the race route to help cheer on our students. The time commitment is 12:30–2:00 PM.
If you’re available to help, please sign up using the link below or email us at middleschool@ptoonline.com.
HPTO Event Updates!
Game Details
Wednesday November 18th
7 PM - Hopkinton High School
Tickets are on sale - get them today!
Design the Hiller Hut!
The contest invites students in grades K–12 to help reimagine the outside of the high school concession stand. It’s a fun opportunity for students across the district to share their creativity and Hiller pride!
Submissions are due November 24. Details and the submission form are available at hptoonline.com/hillerhut.
Donations needed!
Please click on this sign-up genius link to help donate a snack or paper product for the grade 7 fall fun fest. Please drop off donations on November 12th during the school day. There will be a labeled cart in the vestibule for donations. Thank you!
HMS Winter Atheletics Offerings
Hello,
With the winter season fast approaching, please take a look at the below information regarding our 3 sport offerings.
8th Grade Girls Basketball - Tryouts begin Monday, December 7th
There will likely be cuts due to numbers
For more information please reach out to Varsity Coach Mikayla Pucci (mpucci@hopkinton.k12.ma.us)
8th Grade Boys Basketball - Tryouts begin Monday, December 7th
There will likely be cuts due to numbers
For more Information please reach out to Coach Dan Carrai (dcarrai@hopkinton.k12.ma.us)
MS (6th-8th Grades) Coed Wrestling - No cuts, will begin the week of December 7th
For more information, please reach out to Varsity Coach Corey Mills (cmills@hopkinton.k12.ma.us)
Please use the link below to register. Complete registration includes:
1) Parent Registration and Sign off
2) Student Registration and Sign off
3) Uploaded physical that is within 13 months of last physical
*Please note that the student school emails may not work when registering. Personal emails should work.
If one of these three things is not complete prior to the start of tryouts, you will not be eligible to participate on Day 1.
https://hopkinton-ma.finalforms.com/students
Tryout/Practice times will be sent out in the coming weeks.
Regards,
Hopkinton Athletics Staff
Picture Retake Day is here!
HMS will have picture retakes on Monday, November 23rd. Please note there are no pre-orders for retakes and you need to remember to bring in your original picture proof and photo for replacement.
Grade 8 Students -Career and Technical Education (CTE) Lesson
Keefe Tech is hosting their Career Night next month for prospective students and families. If your student is thinking that Career and Technical Education could be a good fit for high school, this is a great evening to attend. All 16 Career and Technical Programs will be open, academic teachers will be there to answer questions about their curriculum, as well as multiple presentations on the high school experience Keefe has to offer. Families can pre-register for this event here: https://www.keefetech.org/admissions/career-night
Hopkinton Parks & Recreation News
The Chess Wizards Chess Tournament will be held on Saturday December 12th from 10 AM - 1 PM. Registration is required and this event is free!
Ski Club registration is open. Weekly trips on Tuesdays from January 5th - February 9th. Lift tickets, lessons and equipment rentals are made directly through Wachusett Mountain after purchasing a bus pass through Hopkinton Park and Recreation for $230 at hopkintonrec.org. Registration Deadline is December 11th. For questions please contact Hopkinton Parks & Recreation directly.
For the registration link please click here.
