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Issue 13: Friday, April 20, 2012
 
Breaking News: Car Wash this Saturday,
Garden Work Day Saturday, April 28th

If your car looks a little less than lovely after the recent pollen bloom, stop by Hardy TOMORROW, from 9 am - noon, and get it washed by 7th grade teachers and students. Proceeds will support 7th grade end of year activities (rain date: Sat. 4/28) 

Do you love to garden? Does your child love to get dirty? Then we have the event for you! Next Saturday, April 28, from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Hardy students, parents, teachers and volunteers will be building raised beds on the field in preparation for the 6th Grade planting an organic vegetable garden. This project, which is supported by a grant from Lowes, will allow students to expand their knowledge of life science and healthy eating. For more information, please contact Ms. Whitty, 6th Grade Science Teacher, at britni.whitty@dc.gov.  Or just show up with your gardening clothes on !
Message from the Principal
"...and the Band Played On"

Blues skies and a warmer than usual April weather brought out lots of friendly onlookers to Pennsylvania Avenue as Hardy's 7th and 8th grade Marching Band played in the Emancipation Day parade on Monday. Students were impressive both in their performance and attire. The Hardy Marching Band was started about four years ago with the motivating goal of building a sense of belonging in the student body. Band members and the flag and drill team spend extra time practicing both before and after school and it shows!. Led by Mr. Joseph Chisholm and assisted by Ms. Rhonda, Hardy students marched in the annual Cherry Blossom parade last year and the legacy of excellence continued with this year's parade invitation and performance. They even made the news on Monday evening! Go Hardy Hawks!!



Helping middle schoolers transition from elementary AND traverse pre-adolescence is an important ongoing goal for all middle school teachers and administrators. Hardy staff, supported by parents, have worked hard to help band students connect and demonstrate their individual talents while presenting a very strong sense of school pride, commitment and unity. These young people, ages 11-14, were at school by 8 a.m., in uniform and on the bus by 9, performing at 11 and arriving back at school by 2. For most it was probably another hour before they arrived home. That's commitment.



The Emancipation Day celebration is a an historic occasion here in the nation's capital, with this year marking the 150th anniversary of the signing of the DC Compensated Emancipation Act by President Abraham Lincoln. I am proud that the Hardy Hawks were invited to participate in the event and very proud that each and every one chose to attend Hardy. As I walked along the parade route and watched our students, I was once again reminded of just how very bright our future is.

Peace,

Dr. Mary
P.S. If you want to see the band in action again, please come to the May Music and Arts Festival. More on this soon on the Hardy website.
News from the PTA

Dear Fellow Hardy Parents:

 

 Some exciting developments occurred at the general membership meeting of the PTA on April 11 in the school library. We were blessed with the offering of personal time and treasure from neighbors of Hardy! Rob Dunn and Rajiv Rao, representatives from Georgetown University's student volunteer organization called "Compass" (please visit their website: www.compassincubator.org), attended our meeting. At that time Rob and Rajiv explained Compass's decision to assist local DCPS schools in fundraising and increasing PTA membership. Compass would offer service from students who are adept or interested in IT, marketing, financing, and social media. Three or four students would commit to 5 to 10 hours of volunteer service per week to Hardy's PTA. Your PTA leaders are now working with Rob and Rajiv to put in place a collaborative work plan for the next school year. What good neighbors we have at Georgetown U.

 

Another special guest, Marcio Duffles, addressed the PTA membership on April 11. He is the parent of a 5th grade student heading to Hardy next year and a former Hardy PTA president. Marcio invited the PTA to quickly pull together (by April 30) a grant proposal for a theatre production in the 2012-2013 school year that would be funded by an anonymous donor. Discussion ensued and a proposal was firmed up by consensus of everyone attending the meeting. We can work fast!

 

Speaking of fast, the school year is coming to a close and we want parents to think seriously about putting his or her name in the hat for elections to next year's PTA executive committee and Local School Advisory Team (LSAT). We are looking for candidates for the PTA offices of president, vice president, treasurer and secretary and for four parent representatives on the LSAT. If you are interested, please submit your name and contact information to either nominating committee co-chair - Greg Mize (gemproductions@mac.com) or Dee Lofton (deborah.williamslofton@yahoo.com) by no later than May 7.

 

The next PTA meeting is set for May 8 at 8 a.m. in the school library. Please join us at that time.

         

Your PTA Executive Committee

 

News from Ms. Stubblefield  
 

Buddy Day Blast!

 

This year's Buddy Days at Hardy Middle School were phenomenal! I cannot say enough about our sixth grade students: they rocked the schoolhouse while hosting students from several feeder schools over the past few weeks. Hardy students approached me eagerly to ensure they made the Buddy List and students from the feeder schools gave rave reviews to their buddies and also our teachers, administration, and counselor. One student said "I love this school" and then went on to say, "I want to marry this school."   (A quote that would fit perfectly in the book  "Kids Say the Darnedest Things.") Sixth grade students deserve a round of applause for demonstrating the best of Hardy.

 

Kudos also to Sixth Grade Team; Administration; Mr. Chisholm, Band Director; Mrs. Carpenter-Nickens, Art Teacher; Ms. Hester, School Counselor; and Ms. Ronda for actively engaging students from the feeder schools, providing ongoing support of the effort, and being flexible as schedules evolved. Each day the Marching Band did an outstanding job and teachers gave a small snippet of rigor and classroom expectations. As a result, students answered ratio questions in Math class and engaged in a Language Arts philosophical chair debate. In addition, feeder school teachers and Hardy's faculty and counselor took advantage of the opportunity to discuss ways to help students transition to middle school. Overall it was a great success

 


Important Dates

4/17 - 4/24  DC-CAS Testing Period

4/21 - Car Wash,  9 am - noon in the Hardy parking lot..

4/21 Hardy Day at National's Park; Nats vs. Marlins, 1:05 p.m.

4/23 - mid-May - Hardy's Baseball, Softball and Girl's Soccer teams have games scheduled for the next several weeks; However, the schedules are subject to change. Contact Ms. Hester at lucille.hester@dc.gov. or by calling the office for the most up-to-date info.

4/24 - Third Quarter marking period ends

4/25 - Softball vs. Jefferson (location TBD)

4/26 - LSAT Meeting, 7 AM, Hardy Library

4/26 - Girl's Soccer vs. Lincoln (location TBD)

4/28 - Girl's Soccer vs. Lincoln (location TBD)

5/8 - PTA General Meeting, 8:00 a.m. in the Library


HEY HAWKS:
Show your Pride! 


THere's still time to get a Hardy MS bumper sticker! They're just $5 each, with all proceeds going to the PTA.

Let the world know about the great things going on at Hardy Middle School.  

Contact Brian Cohen at
brian.a.cohen@gmail.com to purchase a bumper sticker (or two!).

How to Reach Us

PTA Executive Committee Members
 
Greg Mize, PTA Co-President

gemproductions@ mac.com

Barry Hudson, PTA Co-President
blehudson@gmail.com 

Hudson Primus, Vice President
hfprimus@msn.com 

Stephen Frum, Treasurer
sfrum@mac.com 
 
Doug Kendall, Co-Secretary
doug@theusconsti- tution.org 

Mesha Moody-Pratt, Co-Secretary
mpratt3318@aol.com

Brian Cohen
Development
brian.a.cohen@gmail
.com 


Hardy Middle School
1819 35th Street, NW
Wash DC  20007
(202) 729-4350

Dr. Mary Stefanus, Principal

mary.stefanus@dc.gov

 

Loren Brody,

Assistant Principal

loren.brody@dc.gov

 

Sah Brown,

Assistant Principal

sah.brown@dc.gov

 



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