Principal August Update: Welcome to the New Year!
By Principal John Burkholder
Welcome to Hamilton Middle and the 2022-2023 school year! At Hamilton Middle we believe in the creativity and uniqueness of every member of our community, whether student, staff member, parent, or community partner. Hamilton’s strength comes from its community. From classroom teachers and school support staff to parents, families, and external organizations, Hamilton is a community strongly connected to its school and to the success of all students.
Our work at Hamilton supports MMSD's vision that all students acquire the skills and abilities needed to be successful, including a mastery of content areas, growth mindset, self-knowledge, creativity, wellness, interpersonal skills, confidence, cultural competence, and community connection. In addition, we take intentional steps to ensure that all students are provided with a challenging and responsive curriculum that includes consistently high expectations in a safe and engaging learning environment. In the end, our students leave Hamilton ready for the challenges of high school and are community ready for their age.
I am confident that by working together across the 2022-2023 school year that there will be no limit to what we might achieve!
Welcome to the new school year!
John Burkholder, Principal
|
|
Continued Need to Fill Staff Positions at Hamilton
If you or someone you know is interested in a Special Education Assistant position beginning on September 1, please reply to this email. SEAs work to support students with identified special needs in classrooms and locations across our campus. These two positions are each 32 hours per week and come with full health benefits (single or family). The current rate of pay is approximately $15/hour, with a significant increase possible in September. Thank you!
|
|
Reminder: Registering for School
You are now able to register your child officially for the 22-23 school year. If you have been in the district for some years, know that the enrollment process continues to be about the same as it has been in recent years. Please read the below information carefully and enroll as soon as you are able as it helps us greatly in our planning for the new year.
Was your child enrolled in MMSD last year and you have not moved or changed adult household members (i.e., marriage or divorce)? If so, then you should be able to complete your child's enrollment completely online.
Were you enrolled in MMSD last year, but changed addresses or there was a change in the adult membership in your household? You will be able to complete the great majority of your enrollment online, but will need to come in on our in-person date with documents identified in your online enrollment.
Are you new to MMSD? If you are new to our district, then you will still complete most of your enrollment online, but will need to come to our in-person enrollment date with the documents identified in your online enrollment.
Enrollment Dates:
Online Enrollment, All Families, is currently open
August 18: In-Person Enrollment, 10am-1pm, Families New to MMSD
August 18: In-Person Enrollment, 2-6pm, for Returning Students with a Household Change
|
|
Infinite Campus: The Middle School Way of Communicating Student Progress with Parents
Sometimes parents can express some frustration that they are not hearing from their child's middle school teachers when their child has missing assignments or has not scored well on an in class assessment. Know that middle school is not elementary school. Most of our teachers carry well over 100 students on their rosters, and some have in excess of 200. As such, there likely will not be personalized emails from teachers when your child has missing work, low scores, etc.
The above said, our teachers DO actually communicate this information to you in a timely manner. The method of communication for assignments and grades across all middles schools in MMSD (and high schools) is Infinite Campus. If you want to keep up on the daily progress of your child, then you will need to access Infinite Campus through an app on your phone or via your computer. Students can also use these same tools!
Infinite Campus, or IC, is the main data warehouse of your child's educational progress. Downloading the IC app to your phone allows you to see grades on assignments, including the designation of "Missing" immediately after the teacher enters the information in their electronic grade book. The same type of notification will arrive to your phone for attendance where you can see immediately if your child has been marked absent or tardy. There are a variety of options in the app's settings for receiving notifications, including choices on the types of notifications you want to receive and those you do not want to receive. To download the IC app to your phone, see the below link, which also includes information on how to configure the appropriate notification settings in the app.
|
|
|
|
School Food Menus and Applying for Free and Reduced Food Program |
This week, MMSD launched a new system for you to access school menus and other information on the district Food and Nutrition programs. This is also where the link will be found to an improved process to apply for free and reduced price meal benefits. To view menus and apply:
-
Create your account on School Café now
- Log back in to your School Café account on Aug. 1
- Click the Free and Reduced Lunch application link in your School Café account
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blood Drive in Honor of Jodi Steidl |
Funk's Pub in Fitchburg is hosting a blood drive in honor of Hamilton teacher Jodi Steidl on August 20. Our Hamilton Middle along with our PTO is hoping parents will volunteer to donate blood/platelets for Jodi and others in need. Here is the link to REGISTER. Thank you so much!
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Dates of Interest |
Mark your calendars for these upcoming dates:
August
- 18-In Person Enrollment Day
- 20-Jodi Steidl Blood Drive
September
-
1-First Day of School 6TH Grade Only
-
2-First Day of School ALL Students
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
