Week of 5/12/19

Good Sunday Panther Nation!

Happy Mother's Day! We had a fantastic last week as we celebrated our students in grades 6th-8th for having met and/or exceeded academic expectations throughout the year. They were served lunch from Olive Garden and' Papa John's pizza. It was a sight to see all the students smiling and showing a sense of pride for their accomplishments. A huge shout out goes out to our Connection teachers and our coaches for organizing some awesome field days. The students had a blast, showed great sportsmanship, and upheld all of our PAWS expectations. 

Our teachers were also showered with small tokens of appreciation in honor of Teachers' Appreciation Week. The work that educators do is not easy and a week of appreciation is not enough to show our thanks. Teaching is hard work but they do it day after day while persevering through some challenging moments. Thank you to the parents that sent gifts, posted messages, or simply said thank you! 

I realize that we ended the week with news that has deeply disturbed our school community. Please know that along with district support, we will ensure that our students receive support if needed to help them process the incident. Please encourage your child to speak to someone if they need the support. The safety of our students will remain our number one priority as we enter the last week of school. 

I challenge you to continue to focus on the growth that our students and school community have made this year. Under the leadership of Mrs. Hughes, our Science and Energy team helped Hilsman to be recognized as the NEED School of the Year at the national level. This is a monumental achievement led by Mrs. Hughes that no other school in Georgia has ever achieved. Under the leadership of Mrs. Martin, Hilsman Middle FFA members won 1st place in 3 divisions of the Georgia FFA State Agriscience Fair and will represent our school at the National Competition in Indianapolis in October.  Lastly, as a result of focused teaching and learning, many of our students met their academic goals in the area of literacy as measured by the MAP Assessment. Our Panther Nation is continuing to become stronger and better every day! Here is to the last week of school!

Please read the announcements and information below.

Thanks,
Principal Tolbert

Announcements

Please check your grade level blogs for more specific information about the week!

6th Grade: hilsman6.blogspot.com

7th Grade: www.hilsman7.blogspot.com

8th Grade: http://hilsman8.blogspot.com/ 

Summer School

If your child received a notice to participate in Summer School please register them ASAP. If you need help with registration, please contact the front office.

Awards Ceremonies

6th Grade-May 15th at 10:00 am @ Cedar Shoals (auditorium)
7th Grade-May 14th at 10:00 am @ Cedar Shoals (auditorium)
8th Grade-May 16th at 6:00 @ HMS' Gym

Upcoming Events

May 13th, FFA Banquet 6pm -cafeteria 

May 15, 8th-grade Semi-formal Dance 6pm @ Hilsman New gym 

May 17th last day of school early dismiss

Week at a Glance

Monday-College and Career T-shirt and Jeans Day
Spanish Makeups

FFA Banquet 6:00-7:00- All FFA members (even if you could not attend a meeting) will be recognized. Parents should attend and we will have dinner during the program. If you would like to bring a side or dessert we would be appreciative.

Ag Class Final Makeup Workday 7:45-8:10 or 4:00-4:30. If you have things to make up and do not do so during this time you will not be able to attend the career fair.

Tuesday-7th Grade may dress down in casual attire for the Awards Ceremony
Spanish Makeups

Wednesday-6th Grade may dress down in casual attire for the Awards Ceremony
8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance
Spanish Makeups

Thursday-8th Grade students may dress down in casual attire the Awards Ceremony
8th Grade Moving On Ceremony

Friday-Early Release

Week of 5/6/2019

Happy Monday!

We are off to a great week! We have a busy last 10 days of school left. It is great to see our students remaining focused their academics and finishing the year strong. As a school community, we want to support our students by holding them accountable for their actions as well as their behavior. Thank you for your continued support of Hilsman! It is going to be a great close to the year.

Please be sure to take a close look at the dates and events that will be taking place for the next two weeks. We have had some changes to dates and times for Field Days and other events. I apologize for the confusion regarding field trips and events. However, as a team, we have worked through the challenges and made the decisions that are in the best interest of the students. 

We invite you to come out and enjoy the festivities with the Panther Nation! Remember Hilsman wants and needs you! YOU are the village and YOU matter too! WE will see you in the coming days.

Principal Tolbert

Announcements

Congratulations HMS' Science and Energy Team!

Hilsman Middle School's Science & Energy Team is the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project's Georgia School of the Year and National School of the Year at the Junior Level. A special thank you to Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Hue for all of their hard work, long hours, and dedication to the team! We appreciate all that you do for our students and school community! 

Information for Parents of Students enrolled in Elevate K-12

Parent Letter (Please Read)

Early Check Outs

Parents,

We respectfully ask that you do not check your child out of school after 3:15. This has been an expectation and a practice for our school community for several years. 

Field Days
Tuesday, May 7: 6TH GRADE (4th-period class teams)
Wednesday, May 8: 8TH GRADE (5th-period class teams)
Thursday, May 9: 7TH GRADE (4th-period class teams)

Atlanta Civil Rights Museum

Thanks to members of the LSGT and our amazing teachers some our 7th and 8th graders will participate in a field trip to the Atlanta Civil Rights Museum on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The seats were limited due to the lack of transportation that could be provided by our Transportation Dept at the end of the year. Students that signed up and were selected to attend received a permission slip last Thursday and must have it returned it no later than tomorrow morning in order to go on the field trip.

Awards Ceremonies

6th Grade-May 15th at 10:00 am @ Cedar Shoals (auditorium)
7th Grade-May 14th at 10:00 am @ Cedar Shoals (auditorium)
8th Grade-May 16th at 6:00 @ HMS' Gym

More Upcoming Events

May 7th, High School Science EOC

May 8th, Placement Exam Spanish 1. Makeup test May 10th

May 9 and 14, Spanish make up days 4-6pm 

May 10th- 13th, Revision during Spanish classes

May 13th, FFA Banquet 6pm -cafeteria 

May 14th, 7th-grade Awards Ceremony 10am 

May 15th, 6th-grade Awards Ceremony 10am 

May 15, 8th-grade Semi-formal Dance 6pm @ Hilsman New gym 

May 16, 8th-grade Moving On Ceremony 6pm @ Hilsman New gym

May 17th last day of school early dismiss

Band Announcement

Band Concert Monday, May 6 6:30 PM Cedar Shoals Theater

Week at a Glance

Monday

FFA Concession Stand Meeting. FFA members, If you are interested in helping during field day please attend this meeting. Field Days are May 7-9.


Tuesday

FFA Banquet 6:00-7:00- All FFA members (even if you could not attend a meeting) will be recognized. Parents should attend and we will have dinner during the program. If you would like to bring a side or dessert we would be appreciative.

Wednesday


Thursday


Friday

Week of 4/29/19

Happy Monday Panther Nation!

The blog is here! We have endured two weeks of testing at Hilsman Middle School. Thanks to Mr. Forker and his testing team, our students were able to finish Milestone Testing with minor disruptions. Our scholars worked hard and we can only hope for the best! The staff at Hilsman have worked diligently all year to prepare our students and we are looking forward to some great results. Today, we are administering the Math MAP Assessment. Our goal as a school is to have every student grow a total of 10 points on the assessment in reading and math. During conferences, goal sheets were provided to parents and students. Additionally, teachers shared a rubric that we use to help our school community gain a better understanding of the RIT score. We are excited about the progress that many of our students have made and the progress that we know they will make at the end of this race.

Progress reports were sent home last Friday. Please be sure to check your child's grades. More than 175 students were given Summer School letters however only 25 students are currently registered for classes. It is critical that the students that were identified as needing to attend Summer School get registered ASAP. There are only 3 weeks of school left. Students have a limited amount of time to get assignments completed and returned to teachers. You are encouraged to remain in constant communication with the teachers to ensure your child successfully complete the school year.

As we come to a close this school year, I want to remind you of our commitment to ensure that your child is safe at Hilsman. We often have observed a rise in fights taking place on and off campus at the end of the year. Please know that our staff and administrators will continue to hold our students accountable for their behavior as well as remain highly aware of situations in our school community. You too are encouraged to contact the school to report any situations that could potentially negatively impact the school.

We are almost finished! Thank you to all of the parents, community members and students for helping to make the Panther Prowl, SET Fundraisers, Sporting Events, Saturday School, PSP, and FFA a success! Our village has worked hard to honor our commitment to raising our school. Thank you for your continued support! Let's finish the race!


Announcements

Congratulations to Ms.Tonya Ward and Mr. Tyrone Scott! Ms. Ward is HMS' 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year and Mr. Scott is the Paraprofessional of the Year! Both of these individuals have worked hard this year supporting our students and our staff! They are more than deserving of this honor!

FFA Members are going to Nationals! 

Congratulations to HMS' FFA Members and Mrs. Martin! Thank you for your hard work and representing HMS. We are SUPER proud of you! A big thank you to Mrs. Martin for helping our students! 

Hilsman Middle FFA members won 1st place in 3 divisions of the Georgia FFA State Agriscience Fair! Please congratulate these FFA members tomorrow at school! They will represent our school at the National Competition in Indianapolis in  October. 

Environmental & Natural Resources - Division 2- Ellie Crane and Coriander McGreevy 

Plant Systems - Division 2-  Chloe Smith and Lillian McGreevy 

Power Structure & Technology - Division 2- Hilsman Middle Tory Ratajczak Emma McElhannon 

Music News

Band Concert: Monday, May 6 at 6:30 Cedar Shoals Theater

Final Family Series!

Please join us in the Hilsman cafeteria on Wednesday, May 1st from 6:00 pm-7:30 pm to learn about a wide variety of fun and educational summer programs available to middle schoolers. We will serve a light dinner, so bring the whole family! If you have any additional information to share about summer opportunities, please email seymoure@clarke.k12.ga.us

News You Can Use

Parents, please be advised that we have scheduled our end of year ceremonies based on the availability of venues that can host our events. As you are aware, our facility does not have a space that can accommodate all of our events. We have strategically worked to make decisions that would best support our students as well as our families. The programs will be no longer than an hour and a half in length. Please plan accordingly. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Important Upcoming Dates to Remember:

May 1-5 8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip

May 6-Band Concert

May 7-FFA Banquet

May 7-SET Trip to Atlanta
May 7-7th Grade Field Day

May 7-High School Science EOC

May 8-8th Grade Field Day
May 9-6th Grade Field Day

May 9-6th Grade Field Trip

May 9-7th/8th Field Trip to Atlanta Civil Rights Museum

May 13-College/Career T-Shirt Day

May 14-7th Grade Awards Program 10:00

May 15-8th Grade Semi-Formal 6:00 @ HMS Gym

May 15-6th Grade Awards Program-10:00 am

May 16-8th Grade Moving On Ceremony@ 6:00

Week at a Glance

Monday-21st Century

Milestone Makeups

Tuesday-21st Century

Milestone Makeups

Agriscience Meeting 7:30-8:00am

FFA Ice Cream Social- 4:00-6:00. Bring a topping if you would like or just come and enjoy those provided by FFA and our leadership team!

Wednesday-21st Century

Milestone Makeups

Thursday-21st Century

Milestone Makeups

SAE Workday 4-5

Friday-21st Century

Milestone Makeups

SAE Final Check 3 hours/3 pictures due in Google Classroom on the SAE Template (ALL AG CLASSES!). This is a test grade! You can receive partial credit so make sure to upload any hours or pictures you have of you working!

Week of 4/7/19

Dear Panther Nation!

Serving Hilsman Middle School has been one of the greatest highlights of my career. The opportunities that the community and staff have given me as a teacher and administrator has helped to shape me as a leader that is focused on what is best for students. This is why I greet you today with bittersweet feelings with the announcement of my promotion to the District Office as the Coordinator of SpEd for Elementary Behavior Support Services. Although I am saddened to leave the Panther Nation, I am intrigued by the opportunity to serve in a position that will continue to allow me to advocate for the students of CCSD.

I will forever be grateful for the many relationships and opportunities that Hilsman has afforded me. The students, community members, and staff members will always have a place in my heart. Although I will not be returning for the 2019-2020 school year, I will be returning Monday and continuing the very important work that we have pledged to do for our students. I am committed until the end and challenge and welcome all of you to join me as we continue to remain focused on raising student achievement.

Our motto remains it takes a village to raise a school. Village, let us run the last leg of this race with all of our might. Let’s continue to support our students and our teachers as we do what is best for our students!

Thank you for your continued support, words of wisdom, and for allowing me to lead the Panther Nation.

Sincerely,

Principal Tolbert

Panther Prowl

Thank you to everyone that participated in the Panther Prowl today! We had an amazing time. A huge thank you to Mrs. Neace for organizing such a great event. To all the sponsors, parents, teachers, students, and community members that helped to make today a success, THANK YOU!

Sounds of Music Announcement

Our Spring Orchestra Concert is coming up! The concert will be held on Thursday April 11th at 6:30 in the Cedar Shoals High School Theater. All orchestra students will perform! We'll see you there!

Gear Up

Gear Up 4 High School: The UGA Admissions and CCSD will be hosting the Gear Up 4 College Event for all 8th graders at the Tate Student Center Saturday, April 13, 2019, from 9am-12pm. Parents and students will learn about the college admissions process and other important information about attending college. There will be free food and prizes. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Jonathan Brunson at jmaurice@uga.edu

News From 21st Century

Afternoon 21st Century for the 2018-2019 school year will end on Thursday, May 9. Morning 21st Century for the 2018-2019 school year will end on Friday, May 10.

News from PSP

PSP has concluded for this school year!

Saturday School last day is April 6th, 2019!

A huge shoutout to the students that attended either of the programs.

Week at a Glance

Monday-Binder Dress Down Day

21^st Century

Tuesday

21^st Century

Wednesday
21^st Century
Wednesday- CTAE Advisory Dinner

Boys Semi-Finals -- played @ Coile Middle School #2 Clarke Middle vs. #3 BHL -- 4:30 PM #1 Coile vs #4 Hilsman -- 5:30 PM Girls Semi-Finals -- played at Clarke Middle School #2 Coile vs #3 BHL -- 4:30 PM #1 Clarke Middle vs #4 Hilsman -- 5:30 PM

Thursday

21^st Century
Wildlife Test Agriscience Workday 4:00-6:00 SAE Workday 4:00-5:00

Friday

21st Century

Looking Ahead Ag/FFA April 16- SAE Checkpoint #2 April 22 Makeup Day for Tests Quizzes and Missing Work (Not SAE) 7:45-8:10 and 4:00-4:30

Week of 4/1/2019

Happy Sunday Panther Nation!

Monday is quickly approaching and I am sure that your scholars are so ready to return to school.  We will back on our mission to complete the year strong! Your scholars worked hard last week, did a great job of staying on task, and engaged in their instruction. Please encourage them to continue to do good work. I also ask that you continue to hold them accountable for their behavior. Our discipline data shows a decrease in physical aggression and this is worthy of a celebration. However, we want all of our students to practice being kind and respectful to every adult that they encounter in the building as well as their peers. This helps to maintain a positive school environment where everyone feels safe, welcomed, and important! Remember it takes a village!

I also encourage parents and students to be in constant contact with the teachers. Know where your child stands academically as the end of the year is not far away. Most of our pride is doing well however we do not want to get to the end of the year and realize that our scholars have failed. As educators, we commit to keeping you informed too. Your concerns were heard during conferences about feedback and support for your scholars. We are responding to your requests and concerns. Please make sure that you are reading the grade level blogs. They include information and important dates that pertains directly to that grade level. If you have any questions, please contact any teacher on the grade level or the front office.

Have a great Sunday,

Principal Tolbert

Announcements

New Registrar

Please help us welcome Ms. Crystal Ross to Hilsman. Ms. Ross is serving as our new Registrar and is eager to get to know all of you! She worked diligently last week getting attendance corrected for many of our students. If you have any questions related to attendance or school records, she is here to serve you!

Elevate K-12 (Online Platform)

Thank you to the parents that reached out to me regarding Elevate K-12. I had the pleasure of meeting with our representative last week to discuss the concerns that were communicated to me. We are planning a meeting on April 8^th or the 9^th to address your concerns. In the meantime, please know that your child will receive instruction Monday-Thursday of every week and a quiz is given every Friday. Students can access the platform from home to review and study for the weekly quiz. If your child is absent, they will be afforded an opportunity to make up the quiz. It is also important that they arrive to class with a notebook to capture daily notes.

Snacks

Parents, please encourage your child to not eat or buy snacks from their peers. With the drastic increase in snacks being laced with THC, it is extremely important that we ensure that our students are safe from any pranks or illegal activity. We have not had any incidents of this nature to affect our school community. However, we want to make sure our students are aware of the possible danger they may face from what appears to be safe snacks.

Smile, it is Picture Day At Hilsman

Spring Picture Day at Hilsman is on Wednesday, April 3rd. Flyers were given out by homeroom teachers last week for students to take home. Spring pictures are prepay only. If you did not receive a flyer, additional flyers are available in the front office. Prepayment methods are by exact cash (photographer is unable to make change), check or money order made payable to Lifetouch, or you may order online with a credit card. Ordering information and pricing are found on the flyers.

Students must adhere to the dress code expectations as set forth by CCSD and Hilsman. If you have any questions about appropriate attire, please contact the school or your child's homeroom teacher. 

Field Trip Information

6th Grade Field Trip to UGA on Wednesday, April 3rd!

Sounds of Music Announcement

Our Spring Orchestra Concert is coming up! The concert will be held on Thursday April 11th at 6:30 in the Cedar Shoals High School Theater. All orchestra students will perform! We'll see you there!

Gear Up

Gear Up 4 High School: The UGA Admissions and CCSD will be hosting the Gear Up 4 College Event for all 8th graders at the Tate Student Center Saturday, April 13, 2019, from 9am-12pm. Parents and students will learn about the college admissions process and other important information about attending college. There will be free food and prizes. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Jonathan Brunson at jmaurice@uga.edu

Binder Dress Down Monday

Monday 4/1/10 is Dress Down Day for binder checks for the month of March. Students who received 200 or more pts on their March binder checks may dress down. Please make sure students follow the HMS dress code policy. If you have any questions or concerns about binder checks, please email or call your student's teachers.

Week at a Glance

Monday-Binder Dress Down Day

PSP

21^st Century

SAE Workday 4:00-5:00

Tuesday

PSP

21^st Century

HMS Soccer: Tuesday, April, 2

Where: CMS

Time: Boys- 4:30 Girls-5:30

Wednesday

21^st Century

SAE Check #1 in all Classes. Please see Google Classroom for ideas and directions. This is checked even if you are absent- it can be turned in early.

All students are permitted to dress down. Please remember to follow our dress code.

Thursday

21^st Century

FFA Trip to UGA for Wristband and Fundraiser. Agriscience Fair Practice 4:00-6:00 (Interview Practice)

Friday

21^st Century

HMS Track Meet

Where: CCHS

Start Time: 4:30 p.m.

Creed Paragraph 2 Quiz.

Saturday

Saturday School 

Week of March 25, 2019

Happy Monday Panther Nation!

We had a fantastic time meeting and greeting all of you last week. The Parent Conferences went well and we are pleased to announce that we are almost at our 100% mark! If you have not held your conference, please contact your child's homeroom teacher ASAP. There was some pertinent information shared related to your child's academic and behavior progress that you do not want to miss. If we are going to do better, we must remain connected with each other to ensure that our students continue to climb the ladder of success. I can not reiterate our motto "it takes a village" enough! It is going to take all of us to help move our school to another level. 

As we continue to focus on the next level, please do not hesitate to contact the school with any concerns or questions. During my time with parents last week, many questions were presented about the happenings in the school. Many of the questions were related to the great things that are happening in and around our school community. I found that a great number of parents are not connected with the school therefore, I have decided to provide a few printed copies of the blog to be posted in community centers to keep everyone informed. It is important that everyone is privy to the information and services offered by our school. If you are employed at an establishment that serves our school community and is willing to post a copy of our blog, please contact Ms. Tolbert at 706-548-7281. 

Our mission in CCSD expresses our commitment to excellence to the implementation of rigorous standards in a safe and supportive environment in every classroom for every child.  We are driven by our mission and therefore continue to urge our school community to join us in our walk to be BETTER EVERY DAY. 

For the children,

Principal Tolbert

Announcements

Rising 6th Grade Parent Night

Thank you to our rising 6th-grade parents and students! We held a Rising 6th Grade Parent Meeting tonight and it was well attended by our new Panther Nation members! A huge shout out to Dr. Ezekiel and the Gaines Elementary School community for allowing us to host the meeting at Gaines. The Eastside Family Engagement Specialists and counselors worked to make sure that the meeting was a success! 

Shout Outs

Congratulations to our Chess Team for bringing home the Championship this past Saturday at the Chess and Community Conference! Thank you, Coach Scott and Coach Pratt for all of your help and support.

Congratulations SET members!

Briggs, Ava, Annie, Alyssa, & Lily were honored today for their award-winning films about conservation and litter prevention.  The two films were, The Litter Critics and Water You Doing Littering?

The film, The Litter Critics, also won the Audience Choice Award!

Congratulations to the Boys Track Team! They took 3rd Place last Friday out of 18! Our Girls took 7th Place out of 18! Way to go Panther Nation!

Panther Prowl

We are fastly approaching April 7, 2019. At this time we only have 22 people signed up for the race. Our goals are to have 100 runners participate in the run and to raise at least $2000.00. If you are not a runner and would like to make a donation towards our cause, please contact Mrs.Catherine Neace at 706-548-7281. Proceeds from the race will allow us to plan incentives for our students. It also provides us an opportunity to bond as a school community. Please help us make this cause a success! 

LSGT Elections

Please use the link below to vote for parents to serve on our Local School Governance Team. These parents will play a key role in helping our school grow, plan for the years ahead and constantly improve to benefit students. The team will allow for parents, community members and educators to have a greater voice in important decisions regarding Hilsman. Please click the link below and vote for the two that you feel will best represent our parent community. I respectfully ask that you vote once.

Here are links to the parent ballots for Hilsman.

English ballot

Spanish ballot

Parent Conferences

Thank you to all of the parents that came out to your child's conference last week. If you have not held a conference, please contact your child's homeroom teacher or the front office ASAP.

Spring Pictures

Spring Picture Day at Hilsman is on Wednesday, April 3rd. Flyers were given out by homeroom teachers last week for students to take home. Spring pictures are prepay only. If you did not receive a flyer, additional flyers are available in the front office. Prepayment methods are by exact cash (photographer is unable to make change), check or money order made payable to Lifetouch, or you may order online with a credit card. Ordering information and pricing are found on the flyers. Only students who are prepaying for pictures may be out of uniform for Wednesday's picture day. Students must adhere to the dress code expectations as set forth by CCSD and Hilsman. If you have any questions about appropriate attire, please contact the school or your child's homeroom teacher.

Book Fair

Spring Scholastic Book Fair is still going strong! The last day is the 26th! We hope to see all our parents, faculty and staff, and students!

Panther Outreach Committee Information

Dear Parents, Hilsman Middle School is offering a new service to children and families in our school community. The Hilsman Food Pantry Program is available to students, families, and faculty that are dealing with temporary or long term food insecurity. Listed below is some information about the new program: The School Pantry Program will provide non-perishable food and hygiene products to your child to assist him or her when food is not consistently available at home. This support is also available for parents and student’s siblings regardless of their enrollment status in school. The program is scheduled to begin March 25, 2019 and will continue throughout the school year. There is no cost for this program. Distribution will be done in a discreet manner. To ensure that we can provide assistance to as many families as possible there may be limitations on the amount of food and frequency of access to the food pantry, but our main priority is to be as helpful as possible to those in our school community. Please be advised that these items may contain peanuts, nuts, soy, wheat eggs, and milk. Please let us know if you have any allergies or dietary restrictions and we will do our best to accommodate you. All food is labeled and sealed by the manufacturer. If you are interested in participating in this program you may con

Week at a Glance

Monday-
21st Century
PSP
Mammal Madness-Ag Science

Tuesday-
21st Century
PSP
Wildlife Notes-Ag Science Class
Soccer Game @ BHL
Girls 5:30
Boys 4:30

Wednesday-
21st Century
Wildlife Worksheet-Ag Science Class

Thursday-
21st Century
Kaibab Deer Lesson Part 1-Ag Science Class

Friday-
21st Century
Online Enrollment (Last day to turn in Syllabus during your class period).
Soccer Make Up Game @ Coile
Girls 4:30
Boys 5:30

Saturday-Saturday School FFA Tuesday- FFA Meeting 4-6 Thursday- Agriscience Fair Practice 4-6