HOLIDAYS & CLOSURES:

School Closed for Holiday Vacation: December 24th through 31st.

We return to school on Monday, January 3rd, 2022

MESSAGE FROM MR. JACKSON,

Season’s Greetings, Nathan Hale Families! 

The December vacation and holiday season are now upon us. This is a great time for families to reconnect with one another and enjoy the holidays together. It is also an excellent opportunity for your child to maintain or re-establish a daily reading routine. Just as your children exercise their bodies outside, they need to continue to exercise their brains to maintain their mental stamina. Here are some tips to reinforce positive reading habits over the holiday break: 

• Have your child read every day during the break. Choose a quiet place, free from distractions, for your child to do his/ her daily reading.
• Establish a regular routine. It helps if family members can designate a time to read together or at the same time, away from screens and other distractions. Encourage your child to read for a minimum of twenty minutes (the more, the merrier!).
• Take a few minutes to casually discuss books. Some examples of questions to discuss: What was the best part of the book? Why? Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why? Why do you think the character made that choice?
• Visit the library! If you can’t make it to the library, digital eBooks or audiobooks can be checked out. Allow your child to choose books that are of interest to him or her.
• Set up an account on Epic and your child can read books for free for up to two hours per week. https://www.getepic.com/learn/introducing-epic-free/ 

On behalf of our faculty and staff, please accept our sincere wishes for a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season. Enjoy your time away, enjoy time together as a family, and gear up for a great 2022! 

Sincerely, 

Eric Jackson 

Principal, NHMS

STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCES:

GRADE 7 SCIENCE HAPPENINGS

Here are some pictures and a blurb about what's been happening in Mrs. Fallon's science class. 

Our driving question for this learning sequence is: How is energy transferred throughout an ecosystem?  We started the unit with a living food web where each student was an animal, an organism, or the sun, and we connected each food chain using string to make the web.  Students then created models to show how energy is transferred among living things in a marine ecosystem.  We are looking forward to aquatic photosynthesis after the break. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BKqZ_3L7gOm6trnkLgeUrEnAlJunDrn4?usp=sharing

GRADE 8 SOCIAL STUDIES HAPPENINGS:

All 8th-grade students had the opportunity to participate in a historical simulation where, through a series of rounds, played Capture the Flag in order to simulate the successes and challenges of the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Students were divided into 3 teams: Red (British), Blue (Americans), and White (French). 

Each round, the "rules" for the game changed. For example, the White Team was on the sidelines cheering for the Blue Team, for the first 4 rounds. In Round 5, they entered the game to support the Blue Team, simulating the help that France sent to the Americans toward the end of the war when it appeared that they could defeat the British.

Students followed up with a reflection on what they learned and how it reinforced what we've already learned about the War. It was a great activity and students enjoyed the change of pace of having class outside.  

GRADE 8 SCIENCE HAPPENINGS:

Students in 8th-grade science examine the proportional relationship between the height of an object and the length of its shadow. As a full class, students demonstrate or act out an “observation”, “waves”, “refraction”, “reflection”, “transmission”. They share out two students who have made strong choices in levels, emotion, and connection. As partners or a group of 3, they created a Tableau for each wave characteristic. A spokesperson will make a general statement/fact about each one.

MESSAGE FROM THE CO-CHAIR OF THE NATHAN HALE SCHOOL GOVERNANCE COUNCIL, MS. KELLY TURNER:

Dear Fellow Parents/Guardians, 

I recently became aware of a disturbing trend on TikTok that I wanted to share with you. There are ‘tea’ accounts being created for NHMS, presumably by a student, with the sole purpose of spreading rumors, gossip, slander, etc.

These types of accounts are not unique to NHMS – it’s one of those unfortunate side effects of social media. But because they are being created anonymously, on private devices off school grounds, the school administration is limited in what they can do. 

That’s where us parents/guardians come in. We have the ability to check/monitor our child’s phone and we all share the responsibility to ensure they are not using them to engage in harmful, bullying, or damaging behavior. 

These types of accounts flourish off engagement – the more likes/comments/follows, the more their presence grows. And when one account gets shut down, another account is immediately created to replace it.

But we can partner together to stop it. Please ask your child(ren) not to engage with these accounts. Have their profile set to ‘private’, so they cannot be tagged in any posts. Instruct them not to follow any NHMS ‘Tea’ accounts, or like/comment on any of the posts. And when one appears, they can anonymously report it through TikTok to help get the account shut down. 

As a parent, I am finding the middle-school years to be the toughest yet. Please join me in coming together as a community and doing our part to spread more kindness across the hallways at NHMS. 

Thank you kindly and I wish you all a Happy Holiday, 

Kelly Turner

NHMS SGC Co-Chair

UPCOMING TESTING:

We will begin our middle of the year NWEA testing session starting on Tuesday, January 4th. Students will take the Math Assessment from January 4-6, and the Language Arts Assessment January 10-12, 2022.

A FEW IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR PARENTS:

MASKS: Masks must be worn by students at all times. WIth Covid-19 positivity rates soaring again, we need to remind everyone that masks need to be up and over the nose!

PHONES: Students should not have cell phones out during the school day. Phones are being confiscated if they are out and being used. Air pods are not to be word during the day. Remember, the school is not responsible for lost phones or airpods.

WATER BOTTLES: Students should have their OWN water bottles in school for water fountain use. The school does not supply cups for students. Please make sure your child's name is written in permanent marker on the bottle.

CHROMEBOOKS: Broken or damaged chromebooks must be reported to our Tech Coordinator, Mr. Malcolm Welfare - WelfareM@NorwalkPS.org

PICKING UP FOR EARLY DISMISSAL: Finally, parents are arriving at school to pick up their child for early dismissal without prior notification. Notes are required in the morning so your child will be ready for pick up. No early dismissals between 2:30-2:50pm at the end of the day. Please read below for the full overview - we keep this in every week's email to families.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS:

\Travel Basketball Tryouts:

Tuesday, January 04, 3:00-4:00pm - Boys

Wednesday, January 05, 3:00-4:00pm - Girls

Students must have a completed and signed permission slip to try out.

Print here: Travel Basketball Permission Slip

REMINDER: Early Dismissal Procedure

If you are picking up your child EARLY from school, send in a written note with your child in the morning - include your child's name and the time and reason they are leaving early.

Notes are to be brought to Mrs. Grasty in the Counseling Office before homeroom She will then update the Daily Attendance to indicate that your child is leaving early. Her direct line in 203-899-2910 x17208.

Your child should come on their own to meet you at the Security Desk at the appointed time. This will eliminate us looking for your child in the building and interrupting classes.

Please sign them out in the notebook and have your ID ready. Only those friends and family members listed on your child's emergency form are allowed to pick up your child.

No Early Dismissals between 2:30-2:50pm as busses are entering the parking lot for the close of the school day.

Thank you for your understanding and following this procedure. We are currently getting between 15-20 "emergency" or last-minute requests to find students for Early Dismissal. This is disruptive to classrooms and takes both security and office staff away from their locations to find your child.

Be sure to scroll down to the end of this email for a Calendar list of important dates!

In-School Covid-19 Testing at Nathan Hale Every Wednesday

In collaboration with Progressive Diagnostics, NPS is offering free Covid PCR testing for all unvaccinated NPS elementary and middle school students beginning with the week of September 27.

Research shows that school-based screening testing helps to identify cases sooner, rather than waiting for symptoms to develop. 

Progressive Diagnostics will offer free testing once a week at each school to unvaccinated students, not exhibiting any Covid-related symptoms, with parental consent.

Consent forms can be accessed by clicking on this link: https://progressive-diagnostics.com/school-testing/consent-form/

Schools will not be responsible for selecting students to participate in this program. Parents interested in having their child participate may submit the form electronically.

The test is a non-invasive swabbing of the lower nostrils (no “brain tickling”) and takes only a few seconds to collect.

Results will be available to parents within 24 hours via a HIPAA compliant online portal.

As we work together to keep our students and staff safe, please continue to keep your child home if they aren’t feeling well, or exhibiting any Covid symptoms. For additional information regarding Progressive school testing click here. FAQ’s in English or Spanish are available for viewing as well.

B.A.R.K. CONTACT INFORMATION:

For parents whose children are enrolled in the Carver Foundations' B.A.R.K. After-School Program: The program Director is Dr Thomas Stanford. If you need to pick up your child early, or have to inform Dr. Stanford of a change in plans, please contact him directly on the BARK Phone Number: 203-804-7550. That is the most efficient way of reaching the program.

CALENDAR:

Friday, December 24: Schools Closed for Christmas Eve

Monday, December 27 - Friday, December 31: All Schools Closed for Holiday Recess

See you all on Monday, January 3rd, 2022!

Tuesday, January 04: NWEA Testing - Math

Tuesday January 04, Boy's Travel Basketball Try-Outs, 3:00-4:00pm

Wednesday, January 05: NWEA Testing - Math

Wednesday, January 05, Girl's Travel Basketball Try-Outs, 3:00-4:00pm

Thursday, January 06: NWEA Testing - Math

Monday, January 10: NWEA Testing - Language Arts

Tuesday, January 11: NWEA Testing - Language Arts

Wednesday, January 12: NWEA Testing - Language Arts