HAROLD MARTIN SCHOOL NEST

Dear HMS Families and Friends,

What a week at HMS! As anticipated, this week was filled with excitement—the full moon, the Book Fair, a special Animal Encounters presentation for our third graders, and, of course, all of the Halloween excitement and today’s parade. There certainly was not a dull moment!

Today, our students also took part in a schoolwide “Where’s Waldo?” game. Throughout the day, students searched for clues around the building and worked to narrow down which staff member was the real Waldo. A huge thank you to our Kindergarten and First Grade Case Manager, Mrs. Sloane, for organizing such a fun activity for our school community. There were lots of smiles, guesses, and excitement from both students and staff! Thank you as well to everyone who helped make today’s Halloween celebrations and parade such a fun experience for our students. It was a wonderful way to wrap up an especially busy and exciting week at HMS!

Looking ahead, we turn our clocks back this weekend, we will return for a regular day of school on Monday, November 2. Please remember that there will be no school on Tuesday, November 3, due to Election Day.

Families should also be on the lookout for Parent-Teacher Conference sign-ups coming from classroom teachers. Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to connect, celebrate student growth, and talk together about the year so far.

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Sara Duval

Harold Martin School, Principal

• Tuesday, November 3 – No School: Election Day
• Tuesday, November 10 – No School: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Wednesday, November 11 – No School: Veterans Day
• Tuesday, November 24 – Report Cards Go Home
• Monday, November 30 – Picture Re-take Day
• Wednesday, December 9 – K-3 Holiday Concert

What a perfect day for our Halloween tradition! Thank you to our HMS families and friends who came to cheer us on and support our parade. We love being part of this community!

A huge thank you to our PTA for sponsoring Animal Encounters to visit HMS. It was an exciting experience for our third-grade students! Derek from Animal Encounters brought incredible animals to HMS, including a coatimundi, crocodilian, chinchilla, giant African bullfrog, Fennec fox, and Burmese python. This experience enhanced our studies in our Amplify curriulum.

Thank you, PTA, for continuing to provide these wonderful opportunities for our students! We are so grateful for your support and partnership.

A message from our School Counselor, Jackie Kleiner:

How many times have you asked your child not to run in the house, or not to touch something but they keep doing it anyway? It’s easy to think that because you’ve asked them not to do something repeatedly that they should understand your expectations. However, this is not always the case. Young children lack self-control, which is why it seems like they’re always testing our patience.

For the next couple of months, HMS students will be exploring the competency of self-control and how to pause and choose a better solution when dealing with a big feeling. As children mature, it is important that they identify how and when to control their impulses and emotions. One way that your child can practice this skill is by being able to express and demonstrate behavior aligned with classroom rules. During our classroom lessons we will discuss and discover many different ways to adhere to social, behavioral, and moral standards at home, at school, and in the larger community.