HCMS May Newsletter

Thank you for taking time to read this monthly newsletter. One of our goals is to ensure that our families have all of the information needed to help support your children as they make the most of their middle school years! In addition to our building monthly newsletter, each grade level team will send a weekly newsletter on Friday afternoons.

Our doors are always open should you have questions, compliments or concerns. We know that in order to provide the best education for the "Whole Child" our partnerships with caregivers and parents are essential. You will find our email addresses below.

Sincerely,

Tricia Dotson - Principal (tdotson@fsd157c.org)

Jason Crockett- Assistant Principal (jcrockett@fsd157c.org)

Tyler Sinclair- Assistant Principal (tsinclair@fsd157c.org

Academic Goal:

• We will continue to provide rigor and opportunity for academic growth to all students in grades 6th- 8th.

Social/Emotional Goal:

• We will support staff and student social and emotional needs and enhance the opportunity for growth in relationships with one another.

Communication Goal:

• We will increase opportunities for family engagement both during the school day and through extra-curricular activities.

Safety Goal:

• We will provide a safe learning environment for staff and students in our learning community.

• 5-1 School Improvement Day - Early Dismissal 10:45 a.m.
• 5-6 Hot Lunch - Education Foundation
• 5-13 Hot Lunch - FSP
• 5-15 Spring Musical - 7:00 p.m.
• 5-16 Spring Musial - 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
• 5-17 Spring Musical - 2:00 p.m.
• 5-18 7A Grade Trip to Shedd Aquarium
• 5-19 7B Grade Trip to Shedd Aquarium
• 5-19 Orchestra Concert - 7:00 p.m.
• 5-20 Hot Lunch - Band Boosters
• 5-22 Brain Cancer Awareness Walk
• 5-25 Holiday - No School
• 5-26 6th Grade - Shoreline Sightseeing Boat Trip
• 5-26 8th Grade - Great America Trip
• 5-28 8th Grade Graduation - Lincoln-Way West 5:30 p.m.
• 5-29 Last Day - Early Dismissal 10:45 a.m.
  

Reminder to register for the 26-27 School Year!

You should have received a letter in the mail in late March/early April with a SNAP code to enter in this link.

If you did not receive a SNAP code, please ensure that you have verified your residency for next year with the district registrar.

Any questions can be directed to cbrooks@fsd157c.org

• End of year field trips are fast approaching. If you have any concerns about the trips, please call my office. I only send medications that are in my office. If your child is permitted already to self-carry, please make sure they have it with them before they come to school on the day of the trip. If you don’t know if your student has medication here, please call to confirm.
• Dental Exams - All 6th grade students need a dental exam form turned in by May 15th, 2026. The form can be completed for any exam done between 11/15/24 to 5/15/26. If you have not turned this in, please do so very soon. Here is a link to the form: DentalExamProof.
• Eye exam referrals- If your child was recommended for an eye exam and you have those completed forms, please return those to the office at your earliest convenience.
• Medication from home- Please do not send your child to school with medications. Any medication that is needed at school must have a completed medication authorization form on file in the nurse’s office. If you have any questions about students taking medications at school, the information is posted on the district website, and you can always call the nurse’s office for more information. Forms for next school year are already available on the district website. Forms – Parents – Frankfort School District 157-C
• Nurse appointments for 2026-2027- For students that will need medications and health care plans at school for next year, please make an appointment to meet with the nurse to review everything and drop off paperwork. These appointments can be made through the front office. Be on the lookout for when you can start making these appointments which start approximately 2 weeks before school starts. Coming in early will help you avoid the line on supply drop off day.

• Fall Sports- Try-outs will start in July. Your student must have a Sports Physical, with all parts completed, on file with the front office in order to participate. You can drop them off in person at the Hickory Creek office location or email them to tbush@fsd157c.org. Coaches will NOT be accepting these. Form attached here: 172419-cf6dd699-be11-48f7-ac68-0b98b04bd754.pdf

We are wrapping things up in the library. All books are due during the week of May 11. Please make sure your students bring in any library books they have checked out. I will be performing inventory the following week. At that point, any books missing will be marked LOST.

All incoming 5th and continuing 6th and 7th graders, don’t forget that you can get a head start on your Caudill Book Award reading over the summer. The Frankfort Public Library has all the books and PlayAways available. Grab a book for your road trip or those days lying on the beach. Don’t forget to jot down what you think the main idea of the book is and if you like it or not and why or why not. Bring that with you to school in the fall. Remember, you have to read a minimum of three books to participate in all the fun!

It’s been a pleasure having your students in the library this year. I’m looking forward to an exciting 2026-2027 school year with incoming 5th and returning 6th and 7th grade students. Best of luck to all the 8th graders heading to high school. Good luck on your next adventure.

It is hard to believe that we are wrapping up the 2025-2026 school year! We covered so many important topics during our advisory time. Second Step advisory lessons are completed, and students will be finishing the year with Financial Literacy lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Monday is dedicated to Tiger TV episodes, Wednesdays are WIN days, and Friday finishes the week with team building activities. Enjoy the summer break; see you all in 7th grade!

We can’t believe we are about to finish the end of the year! Students will be continuing W.I.N days on Wednesday’s and Team Building days on Friday’s. Students will start their first week of May learning about Career’s and reflecting on those that spark their interest. The second week of May will include a fun Kahoot! Where advisory classes compete against others in their grade. We will then have Brain Tumor Awareness activities the third week of May on Tuesday and Thursday. The last week will include end of year activities! Have a fabulous break and enjoy!

The end of 8th grade is nearing. Mondays will continue to be Tiger TV and This Week at the Creek episodes. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be Financial Literary lessons--Managing My Money, Paying for My Wants and Needs, and My Credit and Spending. Wednesdays will continue to be WIN Days, and Fridays will continue to be Teambuilding Days.

As a reminder- Students may only have lunch dropped off by a parent or guardian. We are unable to accept food from others, including Uber eats or deliveries.

• Any dropped off food must be for an individual student, not for friends or lunch tables.
• Any dropped off food must not have drinks that have straws- screw tops only please.

Congratulations to the HCMS Scholastic Bowl Team who captured the Regional 10 championship title on April 29th in their final match against Summit Hill, winning 400 to 270. Hickory Creek went undefeated in the tournament series. The Tigers advance to sectionals on Monday, May 4th as they continue their journey to qualify for state.

Band and Orchestra

• Band and Orchestra have their big Spring Concerts coming up! Band is on April 30 at 6:30 p.m., and Orchestra is on May 19 at 6:00 p.m.
• After that, Band will have one last performance at the Village of Frankfort’s Memorial Day Ceremony on May 25. Watch for details coming soon!

Chorus/ Musical

• Everything is coming together for this year’s spring musical, “Bye Bye Birdie”! Public performances will be held on Friday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 17 at 2:00 p.m. For ticket information, please contact Leslie Walton at: lwalton@fsd157c.org
• The HCMS Varsity Chorus, Advanced Choir, and Show Choir will be finishing up the year by participating in “Music In The Parks” and performing for nationally recognized judges and celebrating at Great America on May 23!

Student Council

• Student Council has been busy wrapping up some meaningful projects this spring! Members recently finished painting colorful rocks that will be gifted to incoming kindergarteners during the “Kindergarten, Here We Come” event in May. In addition, students have shopped for and purchased items to assemble thoughtful bags for teachers in celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week. To recognize all of their hard work and accomplishments throughout the year, Student Council members will come together for a well-deserved pizza party on May 12th.

Best Buddies

• Best Buddies wrapped up our year with an Ice Cream Sundae Party; it was a huge success. This year we really worked on creating and maintaining life-long friendships with our “buddies.” The Will County Best Buddies Walk is on Sunday, May 3rd at 11:30am at Lincoln-Way East, all are welcome to join.

Track

• Track and Field is off to an interesting start to the 2025-2026 season – the weather really is not being cooperative for our 6th grade meets. Regardless of the natural disasters, the track and field team is off to a great success – beating personal records, setting goals and achieving them, and wiping the competition – we are so proud of all our athletes. Please look ahead at the schedule – if there are any conflicts, please have your athlete reach out to their attendance coach immediately!

Tiger TV

• Tiger TV is wrapping up another exciting season with only two episodes left this school year! Our students have worked hard all year to create entertaining and informative broadcasts filled with school news, features, and fun moments. We are so thankful to the hard work that all our production teams put forth this year!

Fitness Room

• Fitness Room intramurals are wrapping up for the year, our last meeting date will be Thursday, May 14th. Thank you for everyone that came out

Bowling

• The Hickory Creek bowling team was excited to send 2 qualifiers to Joliet to compete in the IESA state tournament in April. Congrats to Preston Doot and Logan Stabrawa on the accomplishment.

NJHS

• The NJHS is excited to welcome 150 new members at the end of May. Members to be inducted will have a practice Monday, May 18th from 2:15-3:30p in the cafetorium. The Induction Ceremony will take place Wednesday, May 20th at 6:00p. We ask that all inductees be at school no later than 5:30p to line up. Dress for inductees is a business causal.

Angler’s Club

• The inaugural fishing club was a huge success! We held a fishing derby on Saturday, April 18th and everyone that came out caught a fish. Thank you to everyone that participated. We are looking forward to next year, and the expansion of the Anglers club!

Intramural badminton

• The HCMS intramural badminton club included 24 enthusiastic players this spring. Students got the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of badminton, including proper grip, serving, footwork, and basic shots, all while building coordination, and confidence!

Intramural basketball

• The basketball intramural is off to an exciting start, with 40 students participating. The program gives students a fun, inclusive way to stay active while learning teamwork and sportsmanship. Each session is packed with energy, smiles, and plenty of great workouts. It’s been awesome to see so many students enjoying basketball and staying healthy together. They will end the sessions with a tournament and crown the champion.