A Letter from Linda Kramer

ELECTIVES FOR FALL 2017-2018: Next week I will mail out a selection form for electives that will be offered in the fall. These forms must be returned to the Middle School Office by Tuesday, May 23 or study hall will be assigned as your child’s elective. You may fax (214-360-6446), email (aheck@hockaday.org), mail, or have your daughter bring forms 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. Read More

The majority of electives are offered on Day 1 and Day 5 during Flex (11:10-11:40) before lunch. Fifth and sixth grade choir and some orchestras meet twice during each rotation during a portion of D period study hall or Flex Period on days other than Day 1 or Day 5. I’ll provide the specific meeting times on the selection form. 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. Once you receive the details, please call me if you have any questions or have your daughter stop by my office for clarification.

MATH PLACEMENT: During the week of in-service at the end of May, all Middle School math teachers and I meet to confer about next year’s math placement for our students. All incoming fifth graders are placed in the same level class. However, we do offer enriched sections of math in grades six, seven, and eight and also a concrete-approach section in eighth grade. Students in these enriched sections follow the same curriculum as the other students in their grade; however, the pace is quicker and the scope and depth of concepts is broader. Our concrete approach offers a more comprehensive, detailed approach when introducing new concepts. Movement into the enriched sections is reviewed at the end of each school year so that the enrollment usually grows by eighth grade. In our meetings, the math faculty and I analyze a wide variety of criteria: the results of each child’s end-of-year math inventory, report card marks, ERB scores, ability to comprehend new and more abstract concepts quickly and confidently, frequency and accuracy of work on enrichment/bonus (higher level) problems, and comfort with taking risks in class. Most students are placed in our regular sections of math (which are actually advanced in comparison to other math programs). If your daughter appears to be well-placed in an enriched section or the concrete section in eighth grade, I will call you in June to talk about that opportunity. Again, please note that math placement for any given year is based on your daughter’s current cognitive development in this area; her growth is repeatedly analyzed by our math teachers, and through differentiated instruction and the fluidity of our program, we fully expect to meet her math needs.

STUDENT COUNCIL: Our Student Council election results are in! Congratulations to the following girls: President, Sarah Roberts; Vice President, Minje Kwun; Speaker of the House, Kate Stevenson; Secretary, Ava Tribolet; and Treasurer, Avery Jackson.

WIILIAMSBURG DRAWING: Sixth grade parent chaperones for the Williamsburg trip were selected last week. Interested parents submitted their names, and the grade reps and I drew the names of chaperones from the returned forms and put the remaining names on a waiting list. I extend my appreciation to all of you who volunteered to help chaperone the Williamsburg trip next fall! Parents joining the sixth graders and their teachers on the trip are the following: Kyle Antes, Shonn Brown, Alicia Koo, Kelly Shoup, Nicole Small, Anne Taylor, Dr. Laura Zeballos, and Dr. Pablo Zeballos.

FLEX PERIOD, MAY 19: As we have done in the past, teachers in grades six, seven, and eight will meet with their incoming students for the next year on Friday, May 19 during our Flex Period. Fifth grade teachers do this on another day with the incoming fifth graders. This is just a time for the girls to put names with faces and to learn about exciting opportunities next year.

EIGHTH GRADUATION SPEECHES: As mentioned last week, some of our eighth graders presented their thoughts about graduating from Middle School to the eighth grade advisors last Friday afternoon. Isabella Page’s speech was chosen to be delivered at Eighth Grade Graduation. I also weave portions of each girl’s speech into my comments at that event. In that way, the feelings of all are shared as we celebrate the eighth grade class.

SNAPCHAT ALERT: It has come to my attention that some of our girls are posting on a Snapchat “game” that encourages anonymous, hurtful remarks about others. While this is obviously in your domain as parents and being done on the girls’ own devices, I wanted to partner with you and make you aware of the situation so that you can effectively handle and/or monitor your child’s online profile and behavior. We will continue to speak at school about the negative impact of this type of site to support your own work with your daughters at home. I also offer one of many links that can provide you more information about this component of Snapchat.

PLEASE RETURN: All Upper School and Middle School library materials and borrowed uniform items are due tomorrow, May 12. Please remind your daughter to turn those in if applicable. No report card is sent on a child who hasn’t cleared her library or uniform account.

SPANISH COMPETITION AT GOOD SHEPHERD: On April 22, 2017, the following Middle School students participated in a Spanish Competition at Good Shepherd Episcopal School: Lena Hicks (8th); Libby Warren (6^th); Jordan Hanna (6^th); Meera Malhotra (6^th); Olivia Park (6^th); SuSu Campbell (6^th); Caroline Zimmer (6^th); Zaria Osimetha (8^th); Anna Schindel (8^th); Catherine Stidham (7^th); Cristiana Miele (7^th); Avery Savage (8^th); Tianxin Xie (6^th); and Valentina Akhtar (8^th). They prepared their language skills thoroughly for the different categories listed and graciously represented the Hockaday School. I also thank Leslie Box, Martha Maldonado, and Amy Price for accompanying them to this annual event.

IMPORTANT DISMISSAL CHANGE TO MAY CALENDAR: Because of some scheduling changes that resulted from Commencement being held on May 20 and Eighth Grade Graduation on Thursday, May 25 this year, Middle School students will participate in their annual Green & White competition on the morning of Tuesday, May 23, resulting in a dismissal of fifth, sixth, and seventh graders at 11:40. Eighth graders and their Middle School younger sisters will stay for lunch and then a graduation rehearsal from 12:30-2:00. I have included a link to Green & White Day guidelines. On Wednesday, May 24, eighth graders, their sisters, and seventh graders will report to advisory for another graduation rehearsal at 10:00 a.m. before the fifth and sixth graders join them at 12:15 for our Middle School Closing Assembly which runs from 12:30-2:00. The fifth and sixth graders then begin their summer, and seventh and eighth graders return on Thursday for Eighth Grade Graduation at 1:00 p.m. Click here for May calendar information.

LOCKER CLEANOUT: As the girls clean out lockers next week, we have some reminders that will be helpful for them and our housekeeping staff. The expectation is that they will leave their lockers in the condition received. We will provide cleaning products for them when their grade level is scheduled to clean out lockers. There will be trash, recycling and collection containers in the hallways, and we encourage the girls to take advantage of the recycling and donation boxes as they clean out. Heavily-written-on 3-ring binders and notebooks cannot be donated. They need to be trashed if a child doesn’t want to save them to use next year. We will encourage students to start taking items home next week so there is less to carry on the scheduled clean-out day. They might want to bring in a rolling suitcase for easy transportation to your car on that day. Otherwise, they should bring in sturdy totes. Most trash bags will hold up to 40 lbs., and most locker items weigh more than that when carried in one bag. Cleanout times are scheduled for fifth on May 19, for sixth on May 18, for seventh on May 19, and for eighth graders on May 19. The girls may use their lockers after clean-out. The goal when cleaning out is to get almost all of their belongings out and home. The only items left should be those needed for classes and activities next week, including blazers for year-end assemblies. All lockers, 5/6 Commons, and 7/8 Commons will be checked on Tuesday, May 30, and any belongings found at that time will be donated to charity. A final reminder—the Middle School Lost and Found tables will be removed on Wednesday, May 24 and any items will be donated after that time.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Eighth grade parents, please remember that your daughters have an early dismissal from school on Friday, May 19 at 11:10 a.m. as they are provided a review afternoon at home for their upcoming exams on Monday, May 22. In addition, after-school care in Daisy Den will end on Monday, May 22. All Middle School girls are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24 from our Middle School Closing Assembly and seventh graders are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 25 from Eighth Grade Graduation. And…please add Monday, August 21 to your calendars for Registration. Specific times for each grade level will be sent to you later in the summer.

Have a lovely weekend,

Linda Kramer

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A Letter from Linda Kramer

The Hockaday School