June 1, 2023

Vol. 4, Issue 42

Last Day of School: Thursday, June 8

June Principal Update

By: John Burkholder

As the end of the school year draws near, we reach a time when we say our goodbyes. These June goodbyes are inevitable markers of lives that come together in schools for relatively short periods, and then diverge onto well traveled paths of continued learning and personal growth. These paths lead our students to a place of becoming adults, and for those of us already adults, across the arc of a career. For this year, and as part of this annual tradition, I say goodbye to our impressive 8th grade students. I give you my thanks, 8th graders, as you are a wonderfully talented group and a joy to be around each day. I wish you nothing but the best as you move on to high school and what are hopefully some of the best years of your lives. Your future is bright for sure! I also give thanks and say goodbye to school staff members who will be occupying their time come September somewhere other than on our Hamilton campus. I thank you for your service to our community and send you off with the highest hopes for a happy and healthy journey, wherever your path may take you.

For me, I personally say so long to all of you as I move into retirement. As I leave, I thank all our students across grades 6, 7, and 8 for bringing your joy to school each day, along with the laughter that keeps us older folks young at heart. I thank our entire Hamilton staff, whose creativity and uniqueness provide our students with opportunities that go well beyond what most middle schools offer. And to our Hamilton families, I thank you for your always generous support and unwavering advocacy for our students and school. Many of you I only saw on a very occasional basis, yet your positive comments and words of encouragement sent me home many evenings with the kind of good feeling in my heart that will be hard to replace in retirement. Thank you. I have lived in the Hamilton community for 20 years, sent my own children to Hamilton for nine years, and had the joy of serving as your principal these past four years. As I move on, know that I will continue to live in our community, and look forward to seeing you in the years to come, and especially hearing about the future successes of our Hamilton students past, present, and future.

Officially, I want to wish our entire Hamilton Middle community a wonderful summer, filled with the people you love, the type of weather you enjoy, and the kinds of activities that keep you young at heart.

Final Week Reminders

Just a few of quick reminders to keep us all on the same page as we head into the last week of school for the 22-23 school year:

Monday: B Day

Tuesday: Regular school day

Wednesday: 8th Grade field trip; regular school day grades 6 & 7

Thursday: Last Day of School. 8th Grade meets at West High at 9:30am for Movin' On (Don't come to Hamilton first). Grades 6 and 7 have end of year walking field trips.

Friday: NO SCHOOL--Summer Begins!

Spring Musical: Mary Poppins

Our 8th grade Theater students, under the direction of Margaret Jenks, put on the Spring Musical last week with two evening shows of Mary Poppins, along with some daytime shows for students at both Hamilton and Van Hise.

Ultimate Success!

For many years, Hamilton Middle teacher David Long has run our after school Ultimate Frisbee club. Many of our students go on to form the lion's share of the Ultimate teams at West High. The West girls and boys ultimate teams recently played over at UW-Bay Fields in the state championships. The girls team took second in the tournament, losing to #1 ranked Middleton. The boys team took home the championship trophy after beating Middleton in the final game. Both teams, made up heavily of Hamilton grads, all represented Hamilton and the community well. Ninth-grader Nora played a major role on the varsity team in her first year, and current Hamilton 8th grader E.J. is a real leader of the J.V. squad, both with his play and his good spirit and attitude. Congrats to these teams and especially to our Hamilton grads!

School Start and End Times, 23-24

The school district has set the start and end times for the 23-24 school year. All middle schools, including Hamilton Middle will have the following schedule:

8:25am: Doors open for students eating breakfast only

8:30am: Doors open for all students

8:40am: Start of instructional day

2:30pm: Dismissal, Monday only

4:10pm: Dismissal, Tuesday-Friday

Calendar: Looking Ahead

The below Important Dates section has expanded to include some dates that are coming for new and returning Hamilton Middle students and families as we head toward the 23-24 school year. Online enrollment will open for all students across the entire district on Thursday, August 3. Most returning families will be able to complete the entire enrollment process online. There is an in-person enrollment date on Friday, August 18. This in-person date is for families new to the district, or current families with a new address to report, or who have a change in the adult membership of their household. Of course, anyone needing help completing the online portion of the enrollment process can feel free to stop by the school on this date as well.

Note that the first day of school is Friday, September 1, and is for 6th grade students only. All students attend school together beginning on Tuesday, September 5. Our first round of school pictures will be on September 26. Open House is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, September 27, 5:30-7pm. More information will follow in the weeks and months ahead, but I wanted you to have an early heads up on these important dates.

Photo Finish:

And indeed, many of the student created CO2 charged race car races in Kristi Slovik's Technology classes DO come down to a photo finish!

Hamilton Middle Website