News Detail
A Note from Mrs. Kramer - May 16, 2013
Read this week's message from Linda Kramer about electives forms due May 24th, afull after-school program, C.A.R.E. Calendar artists, Math Club, eighth grade graduation, and the Green and White Competition.
Dear Middle School Parents,
Finally, our Fifth Grade Art Show opened this week; we invite you to a reception to view the artwork in Purnell Gallery this afternoon from 3:15 - 5:00p.m. Eighth grade parents, please remember that your daughters will not attend school tomorrow as they are provided a review day at home for their upcoming exams on Monday, May 20th, and don’t forget the May 24th evening, graduation party put on by parents for eighth graders and their friends from St.Mark’s and Cistercian.
Have a lovely weekend,
Back
You should have received a selection form for electives that will be provided for your daughters in the fall. These forms must be returned to the Middle School Office by May 24th. You may fax (214-360-6446), email (aheck@mail.hockaday.org), mail, or have your daughter bring them to Alexa Heck by that date. Electives are offered to give girls a chance to explore areas beyond their regular classes. Each girl takes one elective that meets two times in each rotation. Some electives require a year-long commitment and others will run until the end of January, at which time the students may choose a different elective for the remainder of the year. If your daughter chooses choir or orchestra, she does need to be aware that choosing an additional elective will reduce her study time during the school day. Please call me if you have any questions or have your daughter stop by my office for clarification.
New on the horizon are other exciting opportunities that will be offered after school for Middle School students next year. Melissa Curtis, Auxiliary Programs Director, is in the beginning stages of launching a full after-school program for our girls. During the 2013-2014 school year, enrichment courses for Middle School will take place from 3:30-4:30 and will meet weekly; most course offerings will run the duration of a semester (fall/spring). Students will also still be able to gather each day in our Middle School Library for study time until 6:00 p.m. Hockaday teachers will lead some of the new programs, and we also will be partnering with the Dallas community to offer a variety of other offerings; Dallas Children's Theater and the Perot Museum are already on board! You should receive information regarding the program quite soon from Melissa Curtis.
New on the horizon are other exciting opportunities that will be offered after school for Middle School students next year. Melissa Curtis, Auxiliary Programs Director, is in the beginning stages of launching a full after-school program for our girls. During the 2013-2014 school year, enrichment courses for Middle School will take place from 3:30-4:30 and will meet weekly; most course offerings will run the duration of a semester (fall/spring). Students will also still be able to gather each day in our Middle School Library for study time until 6:00 p.m. Hockaday teachers will lead some of the new programs, and we also will be partnering with the Dallas community to offer a variety of other offerings; Dallas Children's Theater and the Perot Museum are already on board! You should receive information regarding the program quite soon from Melissa Curtis.
Each year, Hockaday fifth graders submit art entries to the C.A.R.E. calendar contest. Winning entries are printed in the annual C.A.R.E. calendar that promotes healthy, drug-free living for teenagers. The artwork was completed during the girls’ art classes under the guidance of Visual Arts Chair, Susan Sanders. The Hockaday entries were beautiful and creative, and the following have entries that were selected for the calendar: Emma Ross, Madison Kanjanasim, Shea Duffy, Natasha Chuka, Sophia Friguletto, Menaka Naidu, and Shalini Kishore. Receiving an honorable mention were Alexandra Hart, Ella Ezelle, Daniela Vallejo, Emma Schnitzius, Sabrina Fearon, Margaret Thompson,Sarah Beth Kelton, and Meghan Shimer.
Additionally, this spring the Middle School Math Club has been busy competing in statewide contests. Our students had to qualify to go to the Texas championship contests by either making a qualifying score or earning a top placement at a regional contest. We had a team of four qualify for the State MathCounts contest and a group of twenty-six girls qualify for the State TMSCA Math and Science Championship.
The Hockaday team of Elizabeth Zhou, Lin Lin Lee, Elizabeth Guo, and Effie Guo traveled to Austin to compete against the top four-person math teams in Texas. MathCounts is a difficult contest that is sponsored and administered by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. For the second year in a row, Hockaday finished in the top ten teams, earning tenth place. In an event that is largely dominated by male students, Hockaday is gaining a reputation as a dangerous opponent in mathematics! As a result of their excellent showings at the Texas MathCounts Contest and the American Mathematics Contest earlier in the year, eighth grader Elizabeth Zhou and seventh grader Elizabeth Guo have been asked to be part of the team representing Texas at the American Regions Mathematics League contest at the University of Iowa this summer. They are great representatives of Hockaday.
The Hockaday team of Elizabeth Zhou, Lin Lin Lee, Elizabeth Guo, and Effie Guo traveled to Austin to compete against the top four-person math teams in Texas. MathCounts is a difficult contest that is sponsored and administered by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. For the second year in a row, Hockaday finished in the top ten teams, earning tenth place. In an event that is largely dominated by male students, Hockaday is gaining a reputation as a dangerous opponent in mathematics! As a result of their excellent showings at the Texas MathCounts Contest and the American Mathematics Contest earlier in the year, eighth grader Elizabeth Zhou and seventh grader Elizabeth Guo have been asked to be part of the team representing Texas at the American Regions Mathematics League contest at the University of Iowa this summer. They are great representatives of Hockaday.
The MS Math Club team also did a great job at the TMSCA Math and Science Championship in San Antonio. The Hockaday team was recently moved up to the 5A division. This is the largest school division, and we had to compete with teams that have more students in one grade level than we have in our entire school and elective classes in math competition. Our mathletes fought through these circumstances and still made a great showing with several top twenty finishes. Hockaday earned the 6th place award in team mathematics, 7th place in team calculator, and 10th place in team number sense. Individually, Elizabeth Zhou won 2nd place, Elizabeth Guo won 9th, Mira Mehta took 11th, Effie Guo placed 15th, and Lin Lin Lee won 18th in mathematics. In calculator, Elizabeth Zhou won 11th and Elizabeth Guo took 8th place. In number sense (mental math), Elizabeth Zhou placed 8th and Elizabeth Guo won 13th. All of the girls who qualified for state deserve high praise and were excellent representatives of the Hockaday School.
While this week has followed a fairly “normal” routine, next week will not! Fifth through seventh graders have regular classes on Monday and Tuesday; Monday will include exams for eighth graders and special activities on Tuesday. All Middle School students will clean out their lockers at some point during the day on Tuesday. Please be sure your daughter has enough strong bags in which to load up her belongings. Wednesday morning will offer an All-School Convocation meeting for teachers and students, special grade level activities, Eighth Grade Graduation practice for seventh and eighth graders, and conclude with our annual Green and White Competition from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. Your daughters wear their regular uniforms in the morning and then change into “competition” gear for the afternoon festivities. Click here to see attire for Green and White Day. Please note that dismissal is at 3:00 on Wednesday. This event is truly a spectacular afternoon of fun and spirit for the girls and their teachers!
Please refer to the events calendar link to determine your daughter’s schedule for Thursday morning; all Middle School girls attend the Closing Assembly on Thursday afternoon and should check in to advisory at 12:15p.m. The Closing Assembly is a celebration of our students’ accomplishments and efforts throughout the year. In addition, we announce our seventh and eighth grade Honor Roll students and numerous eighth grade academic awards at this time. This year we are making a slight change in the presentation of several other eighth grade awards. The Miss Ela Award and the Citizenship Awards were traditionally given at Eighth Grade Graduation when all Middle School students attended this event and could celebrate these girls’ accomplishments. However, as space issues have now limited attendance in our Graduation audience to only the seventh graders and eighth grade families and friends, we will move the presentation of those awards, our highest Middle School honors that encompass Hockaday’s Cornerstones, to our Closing Assembly. It is quite obvious that our younger students will learn from and emulate these sterling role models.
Eighth Grade Graduation rounds out the week on Friday, May 24th at 1:00 p.m. Eighth graders arrive in their white dresses at noon for their class photo; seventh graders should report to advisory at 12:30 in their dress uniforms; and doors will open for audience seating at 12:30. A reception for the eighth graders and their teachers, family, and friends follows at 2:00. Seventh graders are dismissed for the summer at the conclusion of the ceremony. Even as we add final touches to this year’s graduation, plans have begun for next year’s celebration. As we will likely be transitioning from Phase I construction (science) to Phase II construction (arts) for our Centennial Center in the spring of 2014, we are considering implications for parking and space in planning for Eighth Grade Graduation. In our Centennial year when a sense of community will be broad and meaningful, attendance of all Middle School students at Eighth Grade Graduation also seems quite appropriate. Therefore, we will hold our Centennial Eighth Grade Graduation in Penson Athletic Center, and fifth through seventh grades will once again share in this joyful day with their eighth grade peers. This venue is set up and decorated each year for Upper School Commencement (in case of rain), so we know that we are well-equipped to serve our audience and provide a beautiful ceremony for this important occasion.
Finally, our Fifth Grade Art Show opened this week; we invite you to a reception to view the artwork in Purnell Gallery this afternoon from 3:15 - 5:00p.m. Eighth grade parents, please remember that your daughters will not attend school tomorrow as they are provided a review day at home for their upcoming exams on Monday, May 20th, and don’t forget the May 24th evening, graduation party put on by parents for eighth graders and their friends from St.Mark’s and Cistercian.
Have a lovely weekend,
Linda Kramer
The Hockaday School
Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.