Here is the Middle School website: 
http://www.hamiltonschools.us/schools/hamilton-middle/

 This first week we have been doing getting-to-know-you activities and practicing routines. We will be involved in all classes beginning Monday which will help students fall into routine better.
 We have been talking about having a Growth Mindset- we can do and learn anything if we give effort, get comfortable with making and learning from mistakes, and don't give up!

Field Trip: A note about our September 21st field trip to Camp Manitou-Lin came home on Thursday. It's team-building day and quite fun. Students will need to return the permission/lunch order form and $30 by Friday. If cost is an issue, please contact me and we can set up a payment plan or other option.

Planners: You do not need to sign your child's planner. Your child should look at the planner each night so they are prepared and don't forget anything. We only write in homework, special events, notes needing returned, etc.

"Home" Folder: Your child chose a folder to be the "Home" folder. This should go home every day. Students will put notes and homework in it. Some students chose to use an accordion folder in their Trapper keeper which is fine. Students should check this folder every night to create good habits.

Personal Technology: We have a policy throughout the building that students have no personal devices on from the moment they are in the building until 2:45. They may bring it to school, but it should be shut off and in their lockers.


Bus: At the MS, students aren't allowed to get bus passes to go home with other students on the bus.

Lunch: I shared a slideshow with the kids about lunch which I will attach to the email I send out. Lunch can get expensive fast if kids are not getting a Type A lunch. 
Additionally, you may want to discuss how often you are OK with your child buying treats such as slushies, sports drinks etc. Lunch can go from $2.85 to $5 pretty quickly.
  Free and Reduced Lunch- if you need this form. please contact me.

Your Kids: Being at a new, larger school with a lot of new faces can be a little scary. When we wrote down our MS Jitters on Wednesday, the commonalities were: 

*I'm afraid I will get lost- They are all doing well and teachers are helping out.
*I'm afraid I won't get my locker open - By Friday most could consistently do this, and all teachers help them out.
*I'm nervous about making new friends/not having my usual friends in my class.
They will make friends with others and still see other friends. This all takes time. 
    If your child is feeling more than the normal nervousness about new things at school, please contact me so I can help out.

MATH:  We took the Delta Math test on Friday and completed a unit pretest on Thursday. Next week we begin our Adding and Subtracting Fractions unit. We will also begin Math RTI which will be 4 days each week.

LANGUAGE ARTS 
This week we discussed the difference between a complete sentence and sentence fragments and had a group activity. We also began some work with main idea and detail.

SCIENCE: 
This week we just discussed our unit briefly which is Forces and Motion. It is a very hands-on unit that kids enjoy. We try to get outside for these activities as much as we can.

SOCIAL STUDIES:
Students began seeing Mrs. Maxson for Social Studies on Thursday and will begin a unit on early American History next week.