SPRING CONFERENCES: After Winter Break, you will be able to sign up online for Middle School spring conferences which will be held on March 23 for grades 5-7 and April 3 for grade 8. Details will be forthcoming that will tell you both how and when to engage in the process. As you know, conferences are a great opportunity to engage in conversations regarding your daughter’s day-to-day life at Hockaday; we look forward to meeting with you in the spring. Fifth through seventh grade students, parents, and teachers will discuss goals set in the fall conferences and summer study plans while eighth grade families and advisors will plan for the upcoming ninth grade year.  

LEGO LEAGUE RESULTS: Congratulations to all of the girls who competed last Saturday at the super-qualifier in Grand Saline. They worked very hard and remained calm and cool under pressure during a very long day. The Hockadaisies, Hockabots, and Hockaway competed against fifty teams who also qualified for this second round. The girls performed well in all areas of the competition (robot game, robot design, and core values). The judges noted their excellent speaking skills, great manners, organization, and extreme preparedness. In the afternoon, nine out of the fifty teams were called back by the judges for award consideration. Three out of the nine were ours!

The top twenty teams on Saturday qualified for the championship competition. The Hockabots (Maia Hartley, Lola Isom, Maddie Muller, and Josie Sinwell) were a close contender for the core values award and barely missed out on qualifying. The Hockadaisies (Sarah Crow, Morgan Day, Veronica Fang, Riya Guttigoli, and Sydney Slay) qualified for the championship and were a close contender for the project award. Hockaway (Julia Haetzel, Madeline Sumrow, Tianxin Xie, and Sophia Yung) qualified for the championship and won the Judges Award. This award is given to a team that was close to winning another award (they were up for robot design) and who the judges felt had a little something extra.

Hockaway and Hockadaisies competed against over three hundred teams this season to make it to the championship. They will compete against sixty teams on February 4 at Parish Episcopal School. We are so proud of all of our girls and their hard work. Go Hockaday!

FOOD DRIVE: Hockaday will begin a food drive to benefit area food banks which are rather depleted after the holiday season. This drive begins on January 30 and ends on February 6; please help your daughter honor the commitment she has made to bring a specific canned or non-perishable good.

EIGHTH GRADE EXAMS: Remember that eighth grade parents may click here for information regarding the exam process and eighth grade students have received a hard copy of the details. They are to be commended for the diligent effort they are putting into preparing for these assessments. After exams are completed, we will actually begin a very slow “transition” process for our eighth graders as they gain valuable information about our Upper School throughout the spring. I’ll keep you updated about future transition opportunities for both the girls and then for you.

FIFTH GRADERS GETTING SCHOOL EMAIL: Fifth graders are receiving their school email accounts. The Hockaday email provider is Microsoft Outlook.  Our Middle School technology faculty, Mary Clark and Natalie Bravo, will first work with the girls on email etiquette and management. Specifically, students will be instructed on the following skills: 

SIXTH GRADE PARENT COFFEE: I will be meeting with sixth grade parents in Clements Lecture Hall on Monday, February 6 from 8:00-9:15 a.m.  We’ll be discussing the girls’ first report card with letter grades and all things “new” that will be coming up in the spring for our sixth graders. I look forward to seeing you there.

 

VALENTINE’S IN MIDDLE SCHOOL: With February almost here, Valentine’s activities also will fill our calendar. Eighth graders will host their peers from both St. Mark’s and Cistercian at our Valentine’s Dance on Saturday, February 4 in the Small Gym from 7:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. In addition, Valentine’s parties for all grades will be held on Tuesday, February 14 during advisory. Valentine’s bags are being handed out and decorated in advisory; there is no need to bring in “special” boxes or sacks from home. Our Valentine’s parties are held during the morning advisory period and are very low-key events, allowing time for girls to enjoy valentines from one another and some treats provided by the advisory volunteers for your daughter’s advisory. Students will be able to wear valentine-themed/colored tops and accessories with their uniform skirts and shoes on that day as we celebrate.

 

7/8 SPORTS: Tryouts for spring sports (softball, track, and lacrosse) will be held for seventh and eighth grade athletes beginning on Tuesday February 14 at 3:30 p.m. There will be no tryouts for spring tennis as those were held in November.  Spring tennis athletes will report to practice on February 14. Athletic Director Tina Slinker will hold a meeting for parents of spring athletes on Tuesday, February 7 at 8:15 a.m. in Clements Lecture Hall. Please note: in the period between the end of winter sports and the beginning of the spring sports season, afternoon carpool will be more crowded. You might want to adjust your pick-up time just a bit.

EIGHTH GRADE GRADUATION DRESSES: While our eighth graders have another term to complete before the end of their journey through Middle School, it is not too soon to start thinking about Eighth Grade Graduation on Thursday, May 25. You’ll receive more details about the event later this spring, but I did want to provide you with requirements for the girls’ dress that day. It is traditional that eighth graders wear white dresses or white skirts and blouses and white shoes to Eighth Grade Graduation. The governing principle at this end-of-year celebration is to dress with modest taste, meaning skirt lengths should be no more than four inches above the knee--no mini-skirts, please. If a dress is strapless or has spaghetti straps/halter top, a sweater or jacket must be worn also. The white is to be a true white, not ivory or off-white, and should not have colored trim. The required white shoes may be sandals but must have a strap around the back of the heel. The heels and soles may not be black or another color, but may be wooden, cork, or metallic.  In addition, adornments on the shoes may not be colored but may be metallic. For comfort and safety reasons, girls must wear flats or heels no higher than two inches. Remember…the girls are walking up and down multiple steps at this graduation ceremony!

UPCOMING EVENTS:  The month of February will be a busy one for special activities at Hockaday: 8th grade early dismissal at 11:10 a.m. on February 1; 8th Exams on February 2 and 3; 8th Valentine’s Dance on February 4 in Small Gym from 7:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.; Sixth Parent Coffee with Linda Kramer on Monday, February 6 at 8:00 a.m. in Clements; 7/8 Spring Sports Coffee on February 7 at 8:15 a.m.; a Black History Assembly; a Habitat for Humanity household items Drive; and Winter Break on February 13.

My best,

 

Linda Kramer
Head of Middle School