HUMS Newsletter

Harwood Middle School Families -

Earlier this week I popped into Nick Gordon’s 8th grade social studies class where students were engaged in a lesson on “me and we” cultures. I was left reflecting on our community at Harwood and the culture we seek to create.

As the Class of 2032 finishes their first full week of Middle School I have been struck by how responsibly they collectively clean up their tables at lunch, and their gear from recess, and the respectful way they hold the door open for each other as we transition from lunch to recess to World Language.

Our shared values, The Harwood Way, bind our community and seek to continually reinforce both the strength and beauty of “we”. During TA (Teacher Advisor) and ELO (Extended Learning Opportunities), Harwood Union Middle School students and staff have been working together to establish clear expectations and shared routines in a way that fosters a strong collective sense of community. Next Tuesday we will have our first Middle School Community Meeting, where the entire school gathers to celebrate The Harwood Way, enjoy some positive TA competitions, and connect. Building pride in the “we” is a powerful way to prepare our students for the year ahead, and for High School beyond that, knowing that we are stronger together.

With excitement for the year ahead,

Meg and Jess

We’ve had a great start to the Fall season. In total we have 153 Middle School student athletes this year playing soccer, field hockey and running cross country. We are grateful to the many caregivers who have volunteered to support our larger teams. In total this is our highest number of registered fall athletes.

Practices for middle school are underway. For updated schedules and information please click here. If you have not already done so, please join your child's sportsYou team. This is where you will find all of the schedules and communications.

Thank you to all who responded to the survey sharing their feedback on our alternative communication for the start of this fall season. Almost 82% of responders liked not having a Caregiver Preseason meeting. As a result, we will continue this new practice for the winter season and will look for your feedback again when the season starts.

I am grateful to everyone who shared their feedback this past Spring. Your insights have been the foundation for my 2026-2027 school year goals.

My goals focus on intentional leadership and strengthening our partnerships to ensure a successful year for Harwood Athletics.

Goal 1: Increase Visibility and Intentional Leadership to foster strong relationships and subsequently strengthen and increase trust and partnership by specifically:

• Connecting with student-athletes on a daily basis in informal settings throughout the school day and during games/practices to provide reinforcement and support.

• Attending practices, across all teams, every day when there is not a game.

• Conducting weekly check-ins with each head coach to strengthen and increase our communication and collaboration.

• Holding an end-of-season reflection meeting with each High School head coach.

• Ensuring all teams in our athletic program are highlighted during each season.

Goal 2: Strengthen Communication and Partnerships with student athletes, families, and coaches through:

• Continuing to use SportsYou as the primary team communication platform for all programs.

• Keeping the athletic website up-to-date as a reliable source for schedules and policies.

• Continuing regular newsletters that recognize our student-athletes, coaches, and community partners.

Goal 3: Continue to increase Harwood Pride by growing more intentional opportunities for students, families, alumni, and youth organizations to engage and connect with our Harwood Athletics program.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. I look forward to working together to make this a wonderful year for our entire community.

Friendly reminders

• Caregivers can find all information related to Harwood Athletic programming here. Additionally, you can visit our website for up to date information and all team’s schedules.

• If you would like to nominate someone for the Harwood Hall of Fame please click here. Unlike many other halls of fame, our Hall of Fame is not limited to former athletes or coaches. Once nominated for the Hall of Fame, a nominee remains active for consideration for ten years.

• Looking for new Harwood gear (also HUMS/CBMS branded gear)? Visit our new highlander store, all items are customizable and ship to your house.

We have TWO nurses at Harwood - Magge Stone, who is starting her 6th year at Harwood, and Anna Lisa Reynolds who is returning after a year away and starting her 2nd year with us. Anna Lisa will primarily be in the Middle School - we have an office set up adjacent to Jen Dreimiller to better support the heart/head/body connection. Our goal is to provide care and assessments for students while they are in school to help keep them in school. Office hours are currently every morning until 11:30 in the middle school office, so students are free to stop in for health needs or questions. After 11:30, it's a longer walk to the high school office, but we are available until 3:30pm.

We are currently gathering all registration paperwork - it allows us to more efficiently care for your kids!

When you fill out the registration, indicate if we can provide them the medication listed - students are not allowed to carry medication with them in school so we have the basics available in the health office. If your student has an inhaler on them, that is okay - we just need to have the documentation that they are supposed to have it. As the school year goes on, if your student does have a changing need and will require meds/inhalers in school, communicate with the office so we can help support them. We can be reached at 802-583-8151 or humhs-nurses@huusd.org with any questions or concerns.

Welcome and welcome back for 8th graders! My name is Jen Dreimiller and I am the middle school counselor. For new families and as a reminder for returning families, my role is to support all middle school students and families with any challenges getting in the way of a student’s education including academic concerns, social-emotional concerns, mental health or any other challenge that might be impacting your student. Please feel free to reach out anytime and I can help connect you with the right resource.

Another part of my job is future planning. For 8th graders, high school is so close! We will be embarking on high school course registration in the spring. Students that are interested in Central Vermont Career Center (CVCC), please reach out to Jen sometime this month as applications are usually due in November.

Additionally, for 8th graders only, I am taking a group of students to the workforce in motion summit at the Champlain Valley Expo on September 29 (see flyer below). Please have your student reach out to me if they would like to sign up as space is limited.

Contact info: Jdreimiller@huusd.org 802-583-8155

One of the benefits of being back at school is having a delicious, FREE breakfast and lunch available to all students every day. Harwood students are fortunate enough to have a choice between a delicious salad bar or hot lunch.

Our staff prepares fresh, whole foods everyday to provide breakfast (which can also be eaten as a snack) and lunch free of charge for all students. For more information, questions, and/or concerns regarding our program please contact Director, Erika Dolan, at edolan@huusd.org.

Click here to view this month's menu

We’re happy to be working with Ember Photography this year for school photos.

Photo day for grades 7, 8, and 9 is September 9th.

Photo day for grades 10, 11 and 12 is September 10th.

This show is open to all CBMS and HUMS students. Auditions for performers are the week of September 8 after school at CBMS- sign up for an audition time here. Rehearsals begin September 15 and will be held every Tuesday and Wednesday after school until 4:45 at CBMS. No rehearsals on early release days. We will call Monday rehearsals for small groups as needed. Mark your calendars- performances are December 4 and 6 at Harwood! Questions? Email Molly Dubois at mdubois@huusd.org

Team Terra has had such a great time getting to know our new students over the past few days. In each class, we’ve been learning our classroom routines and systems, getting to know one another, and already diving into our first units. It’s been a busy and exciting start, and we’re looking forward to all that this year has in store!

Be sure to check the homework slide for up-to-date assignments.

Ask your child about:

- Word Workout (weekly vocabulary homework)

- Their break-up letter with King George III

- Our 7th-grade math class agreements

8th Grade Homework Communication!

In lieu of curricular announcements this week, we are encouraging you to learn our homework communication system.

Team Aqua gave students a “Due Date List” and will coach them in writing their assignments down to:

a) communicate work-due with caregivers, and

b) help them organize their time management

This same list will be mirrored HERE, shared in this newsletter biweekly, and can be seen as individual assignments in our respective Google Classrooms. We have invited all students to our Classrooms. They should have an email with a link to join. PLEASE HELP STUDENTS CHECK THEIR EMAIL AND JOIN.

Once they join, you can check that you have access to our Google Classrooms. Here are links to our pages:

8th Grade Schedule Adjustment & Field Expedition:

On Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9, Aqua will shift our schedule to a Long Core schedule to accommodate students’ ability to travel to our immediate outdoor stream to monitor water quality. This is part of the introduction to ecology in science class. Consider helping your child bring sturdy shoes and weather appropriate clothing. If students have Green or Red core science, they will go Tuesday. If they have Blue or Yellow core science, they will go Wednesday. Students will not miss picture taking on picture day.

Erika Lindberg

7th Grade French:

I have enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from Fayston and Moretown and meeting new students! We have begun the year with introductions in French as well as providing information about ourselves (age, hometown, adjectives, pets, siblings). They have created self portraits and have written short paragraphs about themselves.

The assumption is that they are new to French, however some students have done an impressive job retaining some of what they learned in elementary school!

Several students have not yet joined the class Google Classroom. This is where I post messages, reminders as well as class material. They received an invitation via email. You may join as well by going to: https://classroom.google.com/c/ODc0NDAxMjg0NzA5?cjc=ae47wq3i.

8th Grade French:

It's great to see my students from last year! They have impressed me by how much they have retained from 7th grade.

We have begun the year with a short story which reintroduces some of what they acquired last year. Becoming comfortable with question starters (Who, What, Why, Where) and being able to answer questions is one of the things we have practiced in class.

Several students have not yet joined the class Google Classroom. They received an invitation via email. You may join as well by going to: https://classroom.google.com/c/ODc0NDAwNDg3NzI1?cjc=z4jtfai2

Once again this year, Harwood Union Middle School students will be taking STAR 360 as a Universal Screener for math and reading. Students will be taking these two screeners during their WIN block at the beginning of the day on Tuesday 9/15 through Friday 9/18.

STAR 360 is a relatively short (20-30 minutes) adaptive test, meaning that the questions “adapt” and adjust depending on the student’s responses. Middle School students will take this in the fall, winter, and spring, and the results are used internally to help us identify students who may benefit from additional support in specific skills, as well as identify possible gaps across groups of students that could be addressed through learning in classes. While we don’t want students to stress over these tests (the results do not affect their course scores, and are not reported externally at all), we do want them to take them seriously so that we can have an accurate picture of their skills as individuals, and where we are at as a school and district.

Montpelier Performing Arts Hub wants to let you know about their Fall 2026 performing arts classes and afterschool programming for students of all ages!

Are you ready to design, build and fly your own drone?

On September 11, 12 & 13, the Sugarbush Airport will be hosting a Drone Design camp for students ages 13 - 17, and our old friend Brian Wagner is the camp director . . . so it is bound to be an enriching experience. The link for camp registration is below! If you have trouble with the tuition for the camp, reach out to jmccarty@huusd.org, to get scholarship information.

We hope some of you will take advantage of this opportunity to dig into the design-build process!

HELP YOUTH SOAR PROGRAM LINK

MakerSphere Middle Fall Programs

The afterschool programs for grades 5 - 12 offer opportunities for youth to learn new skills and develop their creativity. Middle school classes include clay, stained glass, and sewing.

Click for info:

New afterschool programs for middle and high school.

Website: harwood.org

Facebook: facebook.com/HarwoodUnionHighSchool

Instagram: instagram.com/harwood_union_high_school/
Phone: 802-244-5186

Location: 458 Vermont Rte 100, Moretown, VT 05660

Office Hours: 7:45 - 3:45