VHMS Hamilton Headlines

November 24, 2020

Vol. 2, Issue 20

Happy Thanksgiving!

From all of us at Hamilton Middle, we wish you a happy, safe, and restful Thanksgiving break! A special note of thanks to our Hamilton students who have worked really hard and have exhibited a great deal of patience throughout this period of distance learning! Thank you to our families for your continued support of your children--our students--as move through this holiday season. Best wishes from all of us at Hamilton Middle!

Health Points with Nurse Speer

Dear Hamilton Families,

As we head into the holiday season, I want to recognize the sacrifice and loss in Madison, Wisconsin, and around the world right now related to COVID-19. I appreciate the care and thought I have seen among so many in our Hamilton community in taking everyday steps to mitigate spread of the virus. It truly makes a difference when we act with public health in mind, including wearing a mask, distancing ourselves at least 6 feet from others, washing our hands frequently, quarantining after exposure, and avoiding gathering with people outside our household.

Along these lines, Public Health Madison & Dane County has provided the information in the following newsletter item regarding holiday gathering. Please keep this message in mind as our actions and choices matter now more than ever. Vaccine efforts appear promising and making sacrifices now will help to ensure we can safely gather with loved ones in the future. Thank you all for your efforts!

If I can help with questions or concerns related to COVID-19, please do not hesitate to contact me at jcspeer@madison.k12.wi.us or 608-204-4632.

Take care,

Nurse Jill

Hamilton/Van Hise

Celebrating Thanksgiving Safely

From Public Health Madison & Dane County

November 18, 2020

Thanksgiving celebrations must look different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Health Madison & Dane County strongly urges everyone to stay home and to celebrate Thanksgiving only with people you currently live. As cases and hospitalizations have been dramatically rising both locally and nationally over October and November, gathering for Thanksgiving, even if the gathering is small, puts our county and state at risk of overwhelming our health care system.

Here are some ideas of safe things you could do this Thanksgiving:

Host a virtual dinner or celebration
Watch parades and sports events from home
Shop for gifts online and mail them to people
Play a virtual board game
Share recipes with friends/family and cook the same meal in different homes
Order takeout or delivery from local businesses offering Thanksgiving meals

The following activities are not considered safe to do this Thanksgiving:

Attending any indoor gathering with those with whom you do not reside
Coming within 6 feet of someone you don’t live with, including hugging or touching
Not wearing a mask to an outdoor gathering
Sharing food, cups, or utensils
Seeing someone in person who is at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19. This includes anyone over age 65 and people with certain health conditions

If you attend any kind of gathering this Thanksgiving, you should stay home for 14 days after the event and monitor yourself for COVID-19 symptoms. If you are not able to quarantine before or after an event, then do not attend. Given the current spread of the virus in our communities, we urge everyone to not gather for Thanksgiving this year and to celebrate virtually instead. If you are going to gather no matter what, then Public Health Madison & Dane Count urge you to follow as many precautions as possible to slow the spread of COVID-19. Through our individual actions, we can protect our health care systems this holiday season. For more information and data about COVID-19, visit Public Health Madison & Dane County’s website:

Public Health Madison & Dane County

All 7th and 8th Grade Students Will Be Attending Future Quest Event Virtually

On Thursday, Dec. 3rd, Hamilton 7th and 8th grade students will participate in FutureQuest, a virtual opportunity for students to interact with professionals from a variety of careers. They will attend all of their regular zoom classes on that day for class periods 1-6 with an emphasis on academic and career exploration. In the middle of period 6, students will use the Future Quest zoom link to join the event. Students will finish the event around 3pm on that day and will not attend their regular 7th and 8th hour classes.

What students will gain:

Students don’t have to decide on a career anytime soon, and in fact they will likely have multiple careers throughout their lives. However, beginning to explore the journeys people take to get to their adult lives will help students to make better decisions later in their own lives. Interacting with adults from a number of different careers and backgrounds can provide students an excellent experience that leads to:

Knowledge of personal characteristics, interests, aptitudes, and skills needed to succeed as an adult;
A better understanding of high school and post-high school opportunities;
A better understanding of the relationship between school performance and future options;
More exposure to multiple careers; and
An understanding of personal goal-setting and decision-making next steps

Find out more about the event by visiting the FutureQuest website!