Week of 9/25/2017

Quote of the Week:

Happy Sunday Panther Nation!

It was a great week at Hilsman. My portion of the blog will be short this week as we have many announcements. Thank you again to all of the families that participated in the Hispanic Heritage Night. It was a great turn out and I want to encourage all of our families to keep coming out to support Hilsman's events and most importantly, the students. Our students and staff are proud of their work and enjoy sharing it with all of YOU. Be on the look out for information regarding the Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences. They will be held October 11th-13th. Evening conferences will be held on October, 12th.   We look forward to seeing you at our next series of events.

Thanks,

Ms.Tolbert

Announcements:

To ensure the safety of our students, only those that are participating in high school activities, should be on Cedar's property in the afternoon. Students that are not participating in the activities should NOT be on the school's property. They are not properly supervised during this time and we want to avoid any issues. If your child is attending the games, please ensure that they are properly supervised by an adult.

Uniform Reminder

Parents please help ensure that your child is wearing Hilsman's uniform. Shirts should be gold, white, or black polos. Many students are reporting to school with navy shirts or simply a t-shirt. This is not acceptable and will result in the child receiving a consequence. Pants should be black or khaki. NO legging, jegging, or jean material. The pants must have belt loops. Many students are wearing red, blue, and other color shirts underneath their polos. Under garments should not be visible however if students are wearing garments that are visible, they need to be in compliance with the uniform policy. We relaxed the policy just a little as a result of students' voice. We are asking that you help us to help the students by making sure that they are appropriately dressed in the right uniform before the arrive to school. If we have any families that are in need of assistance, please contact the office.

Grade Level Parent Night

In an effort to address many of your questions regarding curricula and grades, each grade level has scheduled a Parent Night. Administration will not be on the agenda as this is a time for parents and teachers to converse about what is needed to ensure our students are successful academically as well as behaviorally. Please see the schedule below:

6th Grade- October 9 @ 6:30

7th Grade- October 10 @ 6:30

8th Grade- TBA by tomorrow at noon

Band

Band Concert:  Monday, October 2 at 6:30

• The concert will take place at the Cedar Shoals High School Auditorium.  
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• Students need to take instruments home from school on Monday.  
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• Students need to arrive at 6:10 to get ready to perform.
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• Band uniform is the black band shirt (or black polo shirt) and khaki pants.   

Hilsman Band Rockathon, Friday, October 6 at 7:00pm - 7:00am

• All money needs to  be turned in Friday, October 6.
• We need parent chaperone for all hours of the night.
• Please email campl@clarke.k12.ga.us if you can volunteer.

Cookie Dough Fundraiser

We are on our last stretch of the Cookie Dough Fundraiser! Again, if every student sell at least 1 bucket of dough we could potentially raise $5000.00. Due to Hurricane Irma, the deadline was extended to the 30th of September. Every student that sells at least 2 buckets will earn 2 uniform free days! These funds will be used to help support our PBIS initiatives as well as other student and teacher activities. Funds must be collected at the time of the sale. Students should turn their packets into the front office. Thank you for your help!

Announcement from Hilsman's PTO

Hilsman Families - Please support our PTO FUNDRAISER!

PTO is raising money to support TEACHERS and CLASSROOMS through the PURE Tumbler Fundraiser -  high quality stainless steel, double wall vacuum insulated Tumblers, with a copper plated liner to keep drinks COLD for 24 hours and HOT for 12 hours.  PURE is one of the highest quality drinkware brands on the market and sells for less than most retailers. We also have one plastic tumbler offering, with a UGA logo; all other tumblers/bottles are the PURE Drinkware, including a PURE tumbler that says “Hilsman.”

Our Goal is for every Student to sell ONE tumbler.  Our monetary Goal is $8,000 - and if we meet it, Principal Tolbert has agreed to a Pie in the Face to support this goal. Top Sellers in each grade level will get a Rush Swag Bag, which includes 8 passes to Rush. Tumblers will be delivered to your student at school by December 1st, and student/parent will deliver the items to the purchasers. These are great everyday use and make wonderful holiday gifts!

• Today, each student received a sales brochure envelope.  Please record all sales on the back of the envelope, collect the money (checks made to Hilsman Middle School PTO, or cash), and return the envelopes to your homeroom the week of Oct 16 to Oct 20.  Deadline is Friday October 20 to qualify for the Rush Swag Bag Top Seller prize.
• Start selling immediately to friends, co-workers, relatives and neighbors.  For safety, no door to door sales are allowed without a parent or guardian present.

Checks payable to Hilsman Middle School PTO.

Sale ends October 20th.

Tumblers delivered by December 1st.

Questions?  Matteebarkdoll@gmail.com

Thanks for your support!!!  Hilsman PTO

Hilsman Panther Families and Stakeholders:

We cordially invite each of you to participate in an upcoming dinner dialogue series guided by themes explored in Richard Milner's text, Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and Race in Schools and Classrooms.  

We have a set number of books available for participants.  If you plan to attend, please let us know by Friday, September 29th by submitting this form: https://goo.gl/forms/3XCIowIRKjp1ZkeE2.  The information you provide will help us confirm dates for the series.  

Tutoring Opportunities

Ms. Rohrbach holds 6th grade science tutoring on Thursdays from 4:00-5:30.

Students are encouraged to stay after school with Ms. Jones in room 112.  Students must be picked up by 5 p.m. or bring a note giving permission to walk home.  Please make arrangements the day before with Ms. Jones.

IB

As part of our service learning, Hilsman teachers and students have launched  a Hilsman Bands together campaign in order to support recent victims of natural disasters. The campaign includes donations, a penny drive, and recycling items for Terracycle.  The house that raises the most will receive a dress down day.

Many ELT classes are supporting inquiry learning through Science Fair, Social Studies Fair, and Writing Competitions. Further information on these opportunities will be given during grade level parent nights. We would love volunteers to help mentor students through this process. Please contact Mrs. Maxey with any questions.

In order to recognize students who show the IB Learner Profile Traits, we have started a Hilsman Scholars Program for students who go above and beyond in school, home, and in the community. Information on the program is available through Mrs. Maxey.

Yearbook

Yearbooks are on sale through February. Please see Mrs. Maxey or Ms. Hubbard for details.

Note from the Nurse

Please remember parents that immunizations that are out of date must be completed by September 29th  and a copy must be submitted to the school.  Our October audit is just around the corner and each child out of date will cost us $100. Let us all ensure that we are in compliance.

Thank you and much Love

Your nurse

Week at a Glance

Monday

Cross Country Meet @ 4:00 @ Athens Academy

21st Century morning and afternoon

Tuesday

Volleyball Game:  Hilsman v/s CMS @ Hilsman @ 4:30

21st Century morning and afternoon

Wednesday

21st Century morning and afternoon

Thursday

C-Team Football Game: Cedar v/s CCHS @ 5:30 @ CCHS

21st Century morning and afternoon

Friday

Week of 9/17/2017

Quote of Week: 

Happy Sunday!

Last week was a short one but I am so thankful  that we are set to return to a normal week. We have a lot of grounds to cover over the next few weeks as we prepare for the end of the first term. Progress reports were sent home Friday. If you did not receive a copy, please contact your child's homeroom teacher. Parents, please take time to review your child's grades. Our goal is to teach to reach every child at Hilsman. We are all holding each other accountable for the rise of our students. This is our progress marking period and students have time to recover! Let us ensure that this happens ASAP. If you have questions regarding your child's grades, please contact the teacher via email or phone. 

You will notice in the announcements that we have several fundraisers that are taking place at Hilsman. Please do not feel pressured to participate in all of them. We want to raise funds to support our school and families but do not want the fundraisers to become a burden to any family! Whatever and however you support is GREATLY appreciated!

As our community is recovering from the storm, if you are aware of any families that may be in need of anything, please contact the school. Let's continue to keep those affected in our thoughts. 

Thanks,

Ms. Tolbert

Announcements:

Cookie Dough Fundraiser

We are in the midst of our annual Cookie Dough Fundraiser! I am asking every child to sell at least 1 bucket of dough. There are also subscriptions to magazines and some great looking chocolates! We will get 40% of each item sold! The funds will be used to support our PBIS initiatives, student, and teacher activities. I was able to use some of the funds from last year to provide nice gifts and surprises for teachers as they returned to school this year! Please consider supporting our efforts! Our teachers and students are more than deserving of nice surprises! If you are in need of an order form, please contact the front office. The deadline for sales is September 27, 2017. Thank you in advance for your help!

Panther Prowl

It is official and is on the calendar! The Annual Panther Prowl 5K will take place on February 3, 2018. We are so excited about this event. Mrs. Skinner and Mrs. Fassbender are working to make sure this event is a success! We have to get 2500.00 from sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please contact Mrs. Skinner. More information regarding this event will be shared soon. Be on the look out and start getting in shape! We have tapped a parent to help motivate us all as we are preparing to train for this event. Please come run with us! 

Heritage Night

We are excited to announce that Heritage Night will be this Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at 6:00. This event will be held in the cafeteria and is hosted by our World Language Department! It is free and open to all of our families. You are invited to come out, dance, learn, and enjoy some tasty snacks! Thank you to our teachers that have worked to plan this event! 

Tutoring for 6th Graders

Students are invited and encouraged to stay after school with Ms. Jones in room 112 for makeup work and tutoring.  Please make arrangements the day in advance.  STUDENTS MUST BE PICKED UP NO LATER THAN 5 PM OR BRING A PERMISSION SLIP TO  WALK HOME.

Message from our UGA Professors/Students

"For the fourth year in a row Hilsman has welcomed Dr. Sujata Iyengar's UGA students to school for "Shakespeare in the Classroom," which brings UGA English and Education majors to Hilsman to work with 8th grade Language Arts teachers and pupils on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Dr. Iyengar teaches literature and writing in the UGA English Department and is the author of several books and many articles about Shakespeare's England, including Shades of Difference: Mythologies of Skin Color in Early Modern England (2005) and Shakespeare's Medical Language (2011). She urges parents, teachers, and Hilsman students to feel free to bring her your questions about Shakespeare, the value of lifelong learning, and the importance of the humanities. She especially encourages Hilsman students to ask her UGA students about learning and life in college. UGA students will pop in and out most days of the week from now until December, but look for Dr. Iyengar and her students especially on Tuesday mornings between 8 and 12."

Local School Governance Team Meeting Date and Agenda

Hilsman Quadrant (Cedar Shoals, Hilsman Middle, Barnett Shoals, Gaines, Whit Davis)

• Monday, September 25 - Dinner serve at 5:20
• Location: Gaines Elementary

This training will cover Human Resources & Personnel, which is one of your 5 Governance Decision-Making Area. At the conclusion of the HR training, I will be presenting your next steps to move forward as a team, including your LSGT Grant Funding Allocations and how to successfully receive your funds. We will have a very important activity centered around your LSGT's Priority Work Area & Innovative Project.

Hilsman Can Sing

Chorus is being offered after school during 21st Century. Wednesday afternoon only.

The Hilsman Middle School Chorus are selling Dominoes "Slice The Price" cards for a fundraiser. The cards are $10 and donations are welcomed. The proceeds are going towards the groups Spring events.

HMS Chorus Fall Performance is October 5, 2017 at 6:30 pm.

6th Grade Parent Night 

This event will be held October 9, 2017 from 6:30-7:30. This night will be for all of our 6th grade parents to come in and visit with the teachers as well as for teachers to communicate ways to help you child be successful! Do not worry 7th and 8th grade parents, your night is being organized! More information will be shared once a date has been selected.

Information from the Nurse

It's that time of year again, Immunization audits for 7th graders. are happening now!  I am mailing home letters and parents/students have 14 days to comply after which the student will not be allowed to return to school until it is completed. Please work with me as I ensure that we are compliant. If we are found to be non-compliant, we will be fined 100.00 per student. If your child receives a letter, please respond immediately. Thank you.

Week at a Glance

Monday
C-Team v/s Stephens County @ 5:30

Tuesday
Volleyball Game HMS V/S Coile @ Coile @ 4:30

Wednesday
Heritage Night @ 6:00

Thursday
Cross Country Meet @ Crows Lake in Jefferson @ 4:00

Friday

Week of 9/11/17

Quote of the Week: 

Wow, Wow, Wow! It has been a week thus far. I am thankful that many in the Hilsman Community survived the storm. It was definitely a time of distress for all of us but the bright side is that we are all safe with minimum damage to our homes and lives. I realize that there are many families that are still without power, please contact us at the school or by email if you are in need of any assistance. Thank you to Mrs. Fillingim and other members of our PTO for your continuous communication with the community. It was greatly appreciated.

Tomorrow we are back at school. Although there are many with sad faces, I must admit I missed the students/staff of Hilsman and is looking forward to our return to school. Due to the unexpected time away from school, I am asking that you all remain patient with our staff as we work to make changes to lesson plans and events that were planned for this week. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact any teacher or member of our administrators staff.

Thank you to the parents that participated in last week's Principal's Coffee. The staff that presented did a phenomenal job of providing engaging instruction about Google Classroom. If you missed it, please do not worry, Mr. Hussain agreed to create a short video to help get you Google Classroom ready too! In the mean time, if you have questions, contact any of our staff members.

I hope most of the students had an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful weather today. It is going to be a great relief for many of them to return to school and see all of their friends. I am sure there is plenty to get caught up on! Please remind them of the uniform, behavior, and academic expectations as they are preparing to return tomorrow. We are all back in business! See you soon.

Ms. Tolbert

Announcements:

Cookie Dough Fundraiser

We are asking every student to sell at least 1 bucket of cookie dough. This fundraiser will support our PBIS, student, and teacher activities. If we all commit to just one bucket, we can raise over 5,000.00! We can do this. A packet was sent home last week with every student. The last day for the fundraiser will be September 27th! There is also an online site. Please consider helping with this initiative. Please click the link below to view the parent letter.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=4aadd8b767&view=att&th=15e4f6cfbc74061d&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_j76urtcl0&safe=1&zw

21st Century

21st CCLC will run in the morning from 7 till 8 AM and afternoon from 3:45 till 6 PM and Friday morning from 7 till 8AM.  Hopefully next week will be a normal schedule.

 Volleyball Team

 If we have school, please plan to attend practice on both Thursday and Friday from 4-6 pm. 

Yearbook and Picture day Information

The cost of yearbooks through 2/28/18 is $22.00. As of 3/1, the cost goes up to either $25. Yearbook order forms were distributed to all teachers in their mailboxes early last week, so all homeroom students should have been provided with the order form with pricing and particulars to take home.

Picture Day is Tuesday, September 19th! Students will need to be dressed in uniform attire. Fall pictures are used for the yearbook and it is our desire to be uniformed. Students will be allowed to be out of uniform for Spring pictures. Lifetouch is our provider this year. If you are in need of an order form, please contact Mrs. Hubbard.

Week at a Glance

Thursday

Agriscience Fair Practice, ENR, Floral Design and Quiz 4:00-5:00

8th grade Washington, D.C. Trip meeting- 6PM Room 506

Friday

SAE Check in All Ag Classes. 2 hours and 2 pictures are due on Google Classroom. 

Week of 9/04/2017

Quote of the Week:

Good afternoon,

We are all super excited about the three day weekend! Football season is in the air and excitement is buzzing throughout Hilsman. It is going to be a great weekend in the city of Athens. I do ask that while we are enjoying the game and time with loved ones that we remember that families in Houston, TX and surrounding areas that have suffered a lot of loss. Although we have many that are in need at Hilsman, our staff and students are working on ways that we can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. We ask that you please support our efforts. If you would like to suggest some ideas as to how we can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Maxey or Mr. Martin.

Today, we had our first uniform free day. Most of our students earned the incentive and did a great job of following the dress code. Please continue to encourage your scholars to follow the PAWS Expectations. We are almost at the mid term grading period for the first term. I recommend that you ensure that your children are progressing well in their classes. If you are not connected to Parent Portal, I encourage you to get connected to stay abreast of your child's progress. As always, if you have concerns, please contact your child's teacher(s). Parents are welcome into the building at anytime to observe. If there is a need to speak with a teacher, we ask that you schedule a conference. Otherwise, please feel free to come to Hilsman at anytime! Have a great weekend and see you all Tuesday.

U. Tolbert

Announcements

Hilsman Trashes Hunger & Harvey!

Hilsman Middle School's Trash Hunger Campaign is now Trashing Hurricane Harvey!  

We collect old health and beauty products containers, ship them to Terra Cycle, and Terra Cycle sends a payment in our school's honor to UNICEF, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, and now to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey to help victims meet their needs.  This fall, Terra Cycle will double the credit they provide for health and beauty product containers if we donate the earnings to Hurricane Harvey Relief through their partnership with the American Red Cross.  For example, an empty shampoo container or nail polish bottle that is usually worth 5 cents will now be worth 10 cents.  

Please save your old health and beauty product containers to help us Trash Harvey and help people impacted by this tragic storm.  

Slide here:  ​

 Trash Harvey Slide

Washington D. C.Trip Information Meeting

We will host our WorldStrides D.C. Trip parent meeting on Thursday 9/14/17 at 6:00 pm in room 506.

Thanks

E.Blake

MAKEUP WORK AND TUTORING AVAILABLE TUESDAYS FROM 4 - 5! 

Students missing work may stay with Ms. Jones every Tuesday in room 112 to finish assignments.  I will also provide tutoring as needed.  Two requirements:  make arrangements with Ms. Jones the day before and MAKE SURE YOU ARE PICKED UP NO LATER THAN 5:00 p.m.  Bring a  note to Ms. Jones if your parent is okay with your walking home.

Cookie Dough Fundraiser

We are preparing to gear up for our 1st fundraiser of the year. Hilsman is partnering with Great American to sell cookie dough as a means of raising funds. The funds will be used to help support our PBIS initiatives, community outreach programs, and other school based activities. Packets will be sent home Tuesday with every student. I am asking that every family commit to selling just two buckets of cookie dough. If we all commit to doing this, we could potentially raise over 5,000.00! Please support our efforts! More information regarding prizes will be given next week!

Answers from Ms.T 

PTO School Store- one day a week with items to sell? 

This is an awesome idea. However, members of our SpEd Department would like to run a school store to help raise funding for their Community Base Instruction field trips. In addition, they would like an opportunity to operate the store to help students practice their daily living skills. I would suggest building a partnership with PTO and our SpEd Dept.

Converse with cluster school PTO officers from our feeder schools?

This is actually a PTO decision. I think it is great to work with the officers from our feeder schools in an effort to build community as well as help with the transition to middle school. In an like manner, getting the Local School Governance Teams working together is also another way to do this work.

Wish they could carry backpacks.

Due to safety concerns, our students are not allowed to carry book bags throughout the day at school. They are given frequent locker breaks in an effort to keep them from carrying too many supplies throughout the day. The small messenger bags that hold the laptops or trapper keeper binders are permissible. 

Homework- systematically assigned, i.e. weekly, all assignments given at once in order to support time management.

This is a teacher based decision. I realize that it is a great way of helping to keep students organized but no directive is given to the teachers from the administrators regarding homework. There are guidelines regarding the purpose of homework and the grade weight. I will submit your suggestion to the content teachers.

Support each science class with a class pet and supplies for class projects.

We welcome any support with supplies to help our teachers and students with projects. We have not entertained having class pets since we have a great AgriScience program at Hilsman. My suggestion would be to speak directly to the teacher to see if having a class pet is something that they would like to consider as apart of their class. Just a reminder that we do have to consider students with allergies.

Can students carry computers in drawstring bags?

Drawstring bags are not allowed for computers however students are allowed to carry their computers in a small messenger or laptop bag.

Week at a Glance

Monday- NO SCHOOL

Tuesday

MathCounts meets from 4-5:30. All students are welcome. Get an application from Mr. Hussain or Mrs. Dalton

Wednesday

Thursday

Volleyball Game: HMS v. CMS @ HMS @ 4:30

Friday

JagNation News

9/5/17 
Cedar v. Rockdale @ 5:30

9-6-17 

Cedar v. Lake Oconee Academy (Softball) @ 5:00

9-7-17

Cedar v. Flowery Branch (Softball Game) @ 5:15

C Team Football v. North Oconee @ 5:30 @ N. Oconee

9-8-17

Cedar Varsity v. North Oconee @ 7:30 @ Cedar