Middle School -

Absences from school and extra-curricular activities-- Students who are absent from school due to illness for more than half a day may not participate in any school-sponsored activity conducted the date of the illness. If a student must be absent from school for an excused family matter, the parent/guardian should contact the principal to discuss eligibility that day. Students who are suspended in-school or out of school may not attend extra-curricular activities.

If your child should need to leave school during the day, the following is the procedure for doing so: PROCEDURE FOR LEAVING SCHOOL Students are not permitted to leave the school grounds at any time during the day. If you must leave the building because of illness or any other emergency, you must be signed out in the office by a parent or guardian.

Fifth graders finish out their first week with a friendly STEAM competition!

Did you know that failure is OK? The Importance of Failure: 5 Valuable Lessons from Failing: https://www.wanderlustworker.com/the-importance-of-failure-5-valuable-lessons-from-failing/

Does it matter if a child missed school? How much is too much?

"TODAY IS A NEW DAY. WHAT CAN WE DO WITH IT?" The trials of yesterday are behind you. A new school day dawns, and with it come possibilities. Chances for success, empathy, and discovery are abundant. Inspiration is everywhere you look. The opportunity to be better than you were yesterday is right here, right now.

Extended Absences--Occasionally, a parent or guardian may decide it is important to remove the student from school. While the school does not approve of such absences, it will be responsive to family needs and wishes. Parents may request work a maximum of two (2) days in advance; however, teachers are not required to prepare detailed advance assignments or assist students who have prearranged absences. Please keep in mind the Saginaw County Truancy policy mentioned in previous posts when planning student absences from school.

Does if matter if my child is late to school? Does it matter if (s)he leaves early?

Communication--Collaboration--Creativity--Critical Thinking. What does have to do with gummy worms and paper clips? If your child is in one of our STEAM classes today with Mrs. Kato, ask them when you are together what they worked on today. These 4C's are the kinds of skills that will make all of our students more successful in their classroom, post-high school, and in the careers. We practice them every day in many different ways.

Parents and students can access the middle school student handbook on the district website at https://www.hemlockps.com/o/middle-school/documents

Welcome Back! We're excited to get started!! Please remember, parents, to pull as far ahead as possible in the lineup to drop your child off, regardless of which for they are headed to. Let's have smooth traffic flow. Have a great day!!

What's going on? WEEKLY SCHOOL EVENTS NOTIFICATION One of our school district goals is to provide parents and students with complete and up to date information regarding school activities and events. This is accomplished in many ways. We post upcoming events on our school sign; we maintain a building Twitter and Facebook page; we post daily announcements to the middle school portion of the district app; we provide parents and students with e-mail access to staff; we provide parents and their designees secure access to their student(s) grades and attendance information via Skyward; we provide automated calls each day notifying parents of student absence; we staff our office each school day from 6:45 AM to 3:30 PM; and we provide regular calls/emails to parents detailing school events for the ensuing weeks using the district messaging system. This regular event notification is intended to be as comprehensive as possible at the time it is sent. Parents should still arrange for receipt of daily announcements to ensure that information is as up to date as possible.

HMS LUNCH PERIODS AND CAFETERIA PROCEDURES It is each student’s responsibility to act in an orderly fashion, be well mannered at all times, and clean up after her/himself. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action. A. Food and drinks must remain in the cafeteria area unless special arrangements are made with your teacher. If you bring your lunch or buy it in the cafeteria, please finish eating it before you leave. B. Areas of the building where classes are in session are closed to traffic during the lunch periods. C. Students must remain on school grounds during the lunch periods. D. Students will properly dispose of the lunch refuse as directed.

Effort will go a long ways in helping you be successful in school. Effort means being in school every day, paying attention in class, using class time wisely, completing and turning in assigned work, studying until you have mastered material, and keeping track of your progress so you know what your standing is in each class and how to improve it.

DIRECTORY INFORMATION and STUDENT IMAGE INFORMATION Directory information may be released to the public unless such release is objected to, in writing, by the parent or guardian at the beginning of each school year but no later than September 15. You may opt to exclude your child from being photographed here at school or to exclude any distribution of photos taken of your child by notifying the office of your wishes in writing.

Good school attendance is...

Back to School starting Monday! Time for some reading, writing and 'rithmetic.

GOT POP or OTHER DRINKS? Please remember that drinks except for water are not allowed in classrooms or hallways. Drinks must be consumed in the cafeteria during non-class times.

Research shows that missing 10 percent of the school, or about 18 days in most school districts, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and that’s known as chronic absence.

Should you need to contact someone here at school for assistance, please email that person directly or use the following information to get started: SCHOOL PERSONNEL AND INFORMATION PRINCIPAL: Terry W. Keyser keyser@hemlockps.com ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: Frank Yell yell@hemlockps.com COUNSELOR: Jamie Otter otter@hemlockps.com DIRECTORY OF TEACHERS: https://www.hemlockps.com/o/middle-school/staff OFFICE HOURS: 6:30-3:30 PHONE: 989.642.5253 WEBSITE: www.hemlockps.com For ease of usage, get the district app--use your phone's app store to search for Hemlock Public School District to download the app. Also check out our Hemlock Middle School Facebook and Twitter pages.