From the Principal, Dr. Smith...
Greetings to our Hixson Family! It has been a busy few weeks here at HMS with MAP testing, learning, spring, and planning for the remainder of the 2014-2015 school year together. Our 8th grade students have been champions of learning and assessment over the past several weeks. State testing is never easy, however, even when presented with this new challenge, they stepped up to the plate and continue to do so. The 3rd and 8th grade state assessments are the most challenging and time intensive, which is excellent news for our 7th graders. Our 7th graders will begin testing on April 24th and we anticipate a testing end date of around May1st. During the start of May, some of our 8th grade students will be taking the End of Course (EOC) exam in Algebra I. We are definitely proud of the students and their drive to show what they know and put their best foot forward on our state tests. Thank you for supporting your child as we head into the final weeks of testing this spring.
Congratulations to our very own superstar, Nurse Linda Neumann. Mrs. Neumann has been awarded the Excellence in Nursing Award and will be featured in the May 2015 edition of St. Louis Magazine (preview above). Thank you to Nurse Neumann and her many years of service caring and nurturing of students and staff at Hixson and throughout the Webster Groves School District.
Our students have been busy having fun learning this spring as well! Some instructional highlights to share with you include 7th grade exploration of understanding prose and differentiating between fiction and non-fiction text. Students were given a preassessment of their prior knowledge of fiction and non fiction, placed into groups and worked collaboratively to assess several books assigned to their group and make a justifiable determination of fiction or non-fiction. 8th grade science students have been brain-deep in the scientific inquiry process and creating viable experiment design to carry out, test, and prove or disprove hypotheses. Students are working to understand how visible light interacts with different surfaces, recognize the source of electromagnetic waves and how this light exists in a spectrum. Learning is fun at Hixson!
Upcoming Dates to Note:
4/22: 7th grade band concert, Gymnasium, 7pm
4/23: 8th grade band concert, Gymnasium, 7pm
4/27: 7th and 8th grade choir concert, Auditorium, 7pm
4/29: Fine Arts festival, Hixson/Cafeteria, 6:30 pm
Upcoming Dates to Note:
4/22: 7th grade band concert, Gymnasium, 7pm
4/23: 8th grade band concert, Gymnasium, 7pm
4/27: 7th and 8th grade choir concert, Auditorium, 7pm
4/29: Fine Arts festival, Hixson/Cafeteria, 6:30 pm
8th Grade Celebration
It is our goal to maintain the tradition of a special event to recognize our 8th grade students and celebrate their accomplishments in middle school as we wish them luck and proudly send them off to experience all that high school brings. 8th grade recognition will take place on the evening of Wednesday, May 20th. We will hold recognition ceremonies by team in both the gymnasium and the auditorium. Journey and Quest will each hold their recognition ceremonies at 5:30 pm, one team in the gym and one in the auditorium. Innovation and Synergy will each hold their recognition ceremonies at 7:30 pm, one team in the gym and one in the auditorium. We feel the smaller events with the team focus will allow a more personal recognition for students and their families, while being able to accommodate our students’ families and loved ones at the celebration events. Thank you for your support of your 8th graders, we are certainly extremely proud of them and look forward to recognizing and celebrating their efforts!
Please be looking for an important letter from our PTO in the next week or so. We thank our PTO for their support of our students' learning and growth at Hixson and appreciate all they do for our students. The spirit at HMS is engaging and contagious right now as we rally together to compile resources and brainstorm ideas for 2015-2016 to keep learning and growth for each student our top priority. We are grateful for what we have, excited for what is to come, and completely committed to putting what is best for our students at the forefront of every decision we make. It is a wonderful spring to be at HMS and next year is going to be even BETTER! Thank you for your continued support of your students and our school. We look forward to our continued partnership!
Please let me know if I can be of help to you or your child in any way. Feel free to email, call, or schedule a visit- my door is always open!
Sincerely,
Dr. Smith
smith.stacie@wgmail.org
Please let me know if I can be of help to you or your child in any way. Feel free to email, call, or schedule a visit- my door is always open!
Sincerely,
Dr. Smith
smith.stacie@wgmail.org
Other Important News from HMS:
Notes from the HMS Communication Committee meeting
Reminders
Click on the links below for more information.
- Hixson Summer Enrichment Program - June 1 to July 2
- The PTO has worked with Johnny Macs to offer Class of 2019 and Class of 2020 gear, if you are interested please click the image below. Thank you to our PTO for putting this together for our families and students.
- Hixson Summer Enrichment Program - June 1 to July 2
- The PTO has worked with Johnny Macs to offer Class of 2019 and Class of 2020 gear, if you are interested please click the image below. Thank you to our PTO for putting this together for our families and students.