FOOD DRIVE: Our Food Drive has concluded! Coordinated by the Upper School Community Service Committee, we collected donations of food for hundreds of families in the Dallas area. Your generous assistance will help feed a family of four for a week as the North Texas Food Bank is experiencing a shortage this month. Thank you so much for your donations and support!

CARPOOL INFORMATION: As we continually seek to improve the safety and convenience of our carpool traffic patterns, the Middle School morning carpool procedure adjusted on Monday, February 6. As always, your entry onto campus will remain Rosie Mae Bell Drive. However, the drop-off points will now include both the north and south sides of the Horseshoe area—much like it is for the afternoon carpool. Please click here to view the traffic map that charts the shift. You’ll notice that in both lanes, drop-offs are made on the north side of the lane only to ensure the girls’ safety. We do not want girls crossing lanes of traffic except at the regular, monitored crosswalk. We will also be adding another security officer to help manage traffic flow and use of the crosswalk. Thank you to Karyn McCoy, Director of Safety and Security, for her diligence in always seeking new ways to make our lives more convenient and for adding security personnel to keep our girls safe and on time!

 

VALENTINE’S IN MIDDLE SCHOOL: Valentine’s parties for all grades will be held on Tuesday, February 14 during advisory. Valentine’s bags have been 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.

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!

EIGHTH GRADE DANCE: Our eighth graders hosted a lovely dance last Saturday evening. Thank you to eighth grade moms Susan Haseley and Sonja Shelby for guiding the girls in their planning and decorating and then during the dance. We send appreciation to all parents who helped to chaperone and decorate. In addition to having a great time, everyone attending the dance made donations to the Family Gateway.

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.  

FIRST LEGO LEAGUE: A huge congratulations to our Middle School robotics teams. We had two teams compete in the North Texas Championship at Parish Episcopal School on Saturday, February 4. These girls went up against over 300 teams to be named two of the sixty champion teams this season. Hockaway (Madeline Sumrow, Sophia Yung, and Tianxin Xie) won the Inspiration Award for Core Values. This award celebrates a team that displays extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit. They were praised for their teamwork, creativity, knowledge, and “playful banter.” Thanks also to Julia Haetzel who was not able to attend the event but was a part of Hockaway’s success. The Hockadadaisies (Sarah Crow, Morgan Day, Veronica Fang, Riya Guttigoli, and Sydney Slay) won the third place Champions Award. This award recognizes a team that fully embraces core values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the robot game and project. They were praised for their polished communication skills, solid robot design, innovative programs, well-researched project, and excellent teamwork. They placed third overall out of the sixty champion teams and have been invited to compete in the North American Open in Carlsbad, California in May. We are so proud of all of our girls. They have worked very hard this season and deserve all of the recognition they have received. I extend a huge congratulations and much appreciation to our faculty sponsors, Laura Baker and Lisa Dwinal. Thank you also to the girls’ parents for all of their help and support.   

I wish you all a safe and fabulous Winter Break and a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

Linda Kramer

Head of Middle School