They should please wear jeans (no shorts or leggings) and closed-toed shoes. You received information about this event at your conference on March 23. As this is a required event for our students, please contact me if your seventh grader has a schedule conflict. Girls who are unable to attend must make up the three community service hours missed. They may either choose a service project of their own, or I can provide suggestions and opportunities. Click here for more information.

 

FIFTH GRADE OLYMPICS: We are looking forward to the Fifth Grade Olympics tomorrow, Friday, April 7. Fifth grade parents are invited for all or parts of the day and should gather in Penson Gym (not the girls’ classrooms except for team moms) for the opening ceremonies which begin at 8:15 am. Fifth graders will come to school ready to participate in Olympic competitions designed by the P.E. Department. Each girl has been assigned a country and will compete both individually and as a member of that team for the day. Please have your fifth grader report to school at the regular time wearing her country’s t-shirt, P.E. shorts, and tennis shoes. The T-shirt has been given to each girl prior to the event. Goff’s Hamburgers will be catering lunch for the girls and faculty in Tarry House.

FIFTH GRADE FIELD TRIP: Our fifth graders are fortunate to be invited to view Lyda Hill’s mineral collection downtown on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 12. The girls will leave right after lunch and return before carpool. They will need to wear their dress uniforms (with blazers). What a fabulous way to extend their study of rocks and minerals and how appreciative we are for Ms. Hill’s generosity! 

STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS: Fifth through seventh graders are filing this week for 2017-18 Student Council offices. We try to provide a “real” election experience in that the girls file for office, engage in a primary process, obtain a nomination, and then run for office. Each candidate who is nominated is informed about guidelines and presents a campaign speech for peers in grades five through seven. Eighth graders do not vote as they will be in Upper School next year. The process ends with our Student Council Installation on May 11. Current fifth graders may choose to run for Treasurer; current sixth graders may choose to seek out the offices of Speaker of the House or Secretary; current seventh graders run for the office of President with the runner up moving into the office of Vice President.

CHEERLEADER TRYOUTS FOR CURRENT 8TH GRADERS:  Interested eighth graders who are interested in trying out should attend mandatory clinics at St. Mark’s in Hicks Gym on Monday, April 10 and Tuesday, April 11 from 6:30- 8:30pm. On Wednesday, April 12, there will be an optional (but highly encouraged!) practice time with seniors from 5:00-6:30 p.m. OFICIAL TRYOUTS will begin that night (Wednesday, April 12) at 6:30pm! The 2017-2018 squad will then be announced Thursday after school. If you have any questions about tryouts or just about cheer in general, feel free to contact any of the rising senior cheerleaders: Morgan Fisher, Beth Ryan, Shannon Dorey, Sophia Silva, Kaleigh Beacham, or Eliza Parker. With questions about logistics, email Coach Kiki Pennington (kikipennington79@gmail.com).

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY: Your parents have received an invitation to our Middle School Grandparents’ Day, and we hope they will be able to join us and attend classes with your daughters. Seeing their granddaughters and our teachers “in action” is always a real treat. Middle School Grandparents' Day is from 8:15 a.m. until 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, April 12. We have scheduled two classes for your parents to visit and a refreshment break in advisories at 9:50. I encourage our visitors to wear comfortable clothing and shoes as our campus is quite spacious. Your daughter will report to her A period class at 8:00 a.m. without her grandparents. The girls who have visiting grandparents will then pick them up in the LLARC between 8:45 and 8:55. The morning’s schedule is stated below.

8:15-8:45        
Grandparents arrive at Forest Lane Parking Lot and drive to front entrance of the LLARC. Valet parking will be available. They then enter the LLARC, pick up nametags, and enjoy some light refreshments and a video in Hicks Meeting Room. Your daughter will come to pick up her grandparents around 8:45 and escort them to her class.

9:00-9:50        
B Period class

9:50-10:15      
Break - Light refreshments will be available in your daughter’s advisory while grandparents visit with her advisor.

10:25-11:15    
E Period Class (grades 5, 7, and 8) and G Period Class (grade 6)

Our classroom visits will end at 11:15, and students will then attend regular classes for the rest of the school day. We ask that the girls stay on campus to eat lunch; regretfully, we do not have enough room in our Dining Hall to invite grandparents to join us for lunch. Grandparents' Day is a delightful experience for all involved, and we truly hope your parents will be able to share the morning with us.

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!

INCOMING MEETING FOR PARENTS OF RISING 7th GRADERS: This meeting will be held tonight, Thursday, April 6 for rising seventh grade parents. This meeting is for parents only of current students and parents and students new to the Hockaday community. You will have time to visit and have some refreshments before we start the meeting at 6:00 p.m. We ask that you please wear your Hockaday nametag. This is a marvelous opportunity for returning parents to meet and welcome new families who are joining our school community. You will also meet parent representatives from the Hockaday Parents' Association and learn about the fantastic academic programs from our Middle School teachers. Click here to download letter.

C.A.R.E. CALENDAR: Congratulations to our fifth grade artists! Out of over 300 pieces of art submitted, six of their pieces for the C.A.R.E. calendar (available to children as reminders to avoid the pitfalls of drug and alcohol abuse) will be presented as the artwork for a designated month on this organization’s annual calendar. Those students are Zariah Arrington, Stella Grabham, Rachel Manley, Sofi Sethuraman, Zoe Stone, and Helen Taylor. In addition, their artwork will be on display at an exhibit at NorthPark Center between April 10-23. Let your friends and family members know so they can visit the exhibit and see your work! In addition, the following girls received an honorable mention: Erin Antes, Abby Curtis, Meredith Burkhart, Alexandra Dassopoulos, Paige Glowacki, Nadia Gomez, Tarini Gupta, Taylor Hua, Avery Jackson, Alyssa Kurji, Lily Mckenna, Hayden Marchant, Madelyn Neuhoff, Isabella Sky Pendergrass, Estee Phaneuf, Lauren Shaw, Katherine Shoup, Julia Small, Eva Spak, Emery Stehel, Harper Tagg, Alex Underwood, Ariana Wang, Olivia Zambrano, Elena Zeballos, and Sophia Zhu. Their work will also be on display at NorthPark.

 

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL CALENDAR: It is time to send out notification regarding the last month of school as you begin to make plans for May and summer. I have included the times girls need to arrive at school for special events and rehearsals. Please make your late-May /early summer plans according to the dates and times in this link. Click here to download calendar.

UPCOMING EVENTS: April is an extremely event-filled month for us. In addition to the Fifth Grade Olympics, Seventh Grade Community Service, Grandparents’ Day, and a Good Friday holiday on Friday, April 14, our Middle School orchestra has an evening performance on Tuesday, April 18 at 6:00 p.m. Mrs. Ludford has provided participants and their families with detailed scheduling and attire information. Latin students also will hold their annual Roman Banquet on Monday, April 17 at 6:00 p.m., and the seventh grade will leave on Sunday, April 23 for New Mexico.  In addition, Hockaday alums will visit campus on Friday, April 21 for Alumnae Day; students are required to wear dress uniforms on that day. We also will celebrate our final One Hockaday SPC Spirit Rally on Wednesday, April 26. The girls always have such fun cheering on our Upper School teams as they head off to SPC sports competitions.  

IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDER: No children are allowed to walk across Welch Road for pick up in the afternoons or drop off on Welch Road in the mornings. Parents may park on a side street and cross to accompany children onto or off campus during carpool. We have been very clear with the girls about the dangers of not following these guidelines.

 

Have a lovely weekend,