Waggoner's Word - March 27, 2015

March 27, 2015

Dear Parents,

Calendar of Events for the Week of March 30^th-April 3^rd:

Monday, March 30^th: STAAR TESTING FOR: Day One 7^th Writing

Tuesday, March 31^st: STAAR TESTING FOR: Day Two 7^th Writing & 8^th Reading

Wednesday, April 1st and Thursday April 2^nd: Boys and Girls District Track Meet @ Dragon Stadium 4:30-7:30pm

Friday, April 3^rd: Good Friday.  Student/Staff Holiday

PARENT SURVEY---WE NEED YOUR PARTICIPATION!!

Please take a few minutes to let everyone know how you feel about being a Hornet Parent!  http://bit.ly/1HMZv3V/ The Parent Climate Survey will close tomorrow!  Your responses will help our school get the good rating our kids and community deserve from the State based on the House Bill 5 criteria.  Please click on the link or copy and paste into your browser and fill it out by the end of the day on Friday, March 27th!! Thanks for your help with this!

STAAR Testing Information

Due to STAAR testing, the campus will be closed to outside visitors.  Please help us create the best testing environment possible for all children as we temporarily “close” the campus to outside visitors during these days. Please do not make plans to eat lunch with a student or visit with a teacher on these days.

• Please make every effort to have your student to school on time so we
        may start our testing window promptly at 8:20. 
• Please refrain from taking your student out of school while they are taking
        their STAAR test. 
• Students should leave their cell phones, tablets, and electronic devices at
        home and bring a book to read after they have completed the test.  Also,
        please no phone calls or text to/from your student during testing days.  
• Students need to get a good night's sleep the night prior to testing and eat a healthy   breakfast.  During STAAR testing FREE BREAKFAST will be served to all students. Remember that testing days are regular school days and students are expected to stay until 3:30.  Removing your student simply because they are done testing will be an unexcused absence.

New PTA Board Elections:

Hello Hornets and Future Hornets!!! It’s that time of year and we are gearing up to elect a new board for our PTA. If you or someone you know would like to serve on our fun, energetic, and active PTA then please send an email to the Committee Chair,

Sandy Logston, Hopewell  PTA Parlamentarian 2014-2015 at mrsloggy@yahoo.com

 Please include your name and phone number. We will send you a brief questionnaire to fill out and return to help our interviews go more quickly.  Nominations and questionnaires are due to us no later than Monday, April 13th 2015. Our recommendations will be posted on our Hopewell PTA Facebook page no later than Monday, April 20th, 2015. Elections will be held at our last General Membership meeting on May 27th, 2015 at 3:45 in the Hopewell lecture hall. Let’s Rock the Hive Hornets.

Clothes Closet Donation opportunity and competition vs. Hernandez MS!
I am still accepting RRISD dress code appropriate clothing articles for K-12 graders until May 15th.  This will allow me time to sort & wash all items before Hopewell’s last day volunteering at the clothes closet which is May 21st.  The decorated box is still in the lower commons near the athletic display case. 

Please remind your students to check the lost and found located next to the cafeteria for lost items.  There is a huge quantity of lunch boxes.  On May 15th I will also collect all clothes from the lost and found to donate to the clothes closet. (Again, this gives me time to sort & wash them before the 21st.)  All lunch boxes & other items will be donated to the Texas Baptist Children’s Home on Mays St in Round Rock. 

Up-coming competition against Hernandez Middle School:

 Hopewell & Hernandez will compete May 4-15 for NEW sock and underwear donations.  The principal of the school donating the least amount of NEW socks & underwear will wear the spirit shirt of the winning school.  So purchase your NEW items & be ready to donate, donate, donate!  We don’t want to see Mr. Waggoner in a Bulldogs spirit shirt.

I Am That Girl Club

We had our first IATG club meeting that is open to ALL Hopewell MS 6^th – 8^th grade girls Thursdays after school from 3:45-4:30PM in the Lecture Hall.  Our teacher sponsor, Monica Baldini has contacted the national IATG club organization and they are sending her curriculum to use for our girls along with topics of discussion that will help empower them and help our HMS girls gain more self-confidence as they grow in adolescence.   Your daughters are all encouraged to join and be a part of this girl power movement!  If you have any questions regarding our IATG club, please contact Monica at:monica_baldini@roundrockisd.org

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Karl

Waggoner's Word - March 13, 2015

March 13, 2015

Dear Parents,

Calendar of Events for the Week of March 23^rd-27^th:

Monday, March 16^th-Friday, March 20^th: Spring Break 2015

Thursday, March 26^th: Boys and Girls Track meet @ Chisholm Trail MS 4:30PM

Saturday, March 28^th: UIL Band Competition Georgetown ISD PAC

PEYTON JAMES TREE DEDICATION

Friday afternoon at 3:05 we will be gathering and dedicating a crape myrtle in Peyton's honor that has been planted in the front of the building on the green space in front of the cafeteria area.  Hopewell Student Council and Hopewell MS chipped in to purchase the blooming tree as well as a metal plaque as a living memorial to him. Peyton's parents, former teachers, other family members and selected 8th graders that were his friends here at Hopewell will be present for the informal ceremony. 

I, along with Jennifer Alviar, our student council president will say a few words, Mr. Kline-6th grade math teacher will do a short reading, and then his parents will speak. Mrs. James has organized a wonderful initiative in Georgetown called "Kindness Matters" and will most certainly talk about that.  I believe they have a website – check it out.  Any staff member and attending students that would like to speak of course may.

We are here for this grieving family, to dedicate a beautiful tree, to let them know that they and Peyton are in our thoughts and prayers and that he will forever be a Hopewell Hornet.

Really puts things into perspective doesn't it?

HOPEWELL SPIRIT NIGHT AT DELL DIAMOND FRIDAY, MAY 8TH, 2015

We will be holding our first annual Hopewell MS Spirit Night cheering on the Round Rock Express as they take on the Omaha Storm Chasers at Dell Diamond.  Infield reserved tickets will be sold for $11.00 each with $3.00 coming back to Hopewell MS.  Lawn tickets will be sold for $6.00 each with $2.00 coming back to Hopewell MS.   The more tickets we sell, the more money Hopewell MS makes that will go directly back to the students to purchase instructional materials and books.  What a great way to have some family fun at the ballpark and also help out your child’s middle school! You may begin purchasing your tickets now.  Refer to the attached flyer and use the promo code that is included.  You may pay by credit card or mail in your check with the printed attached flyer.  I am trying to get our choir to sing the National Anthem and have some of our band and orchestra members accompany them.  A great time on Friday night May 8th for Hopewell students and parents! Come on and join the fun!!

I AM THAT GIRL CLUB AT HOPEWELL MS:

We at Hopewell MS are organizing an I AM THAT GIRL CLUB at HMS that will begin Thursday, March 26th after school from 3:34 - 4:30 in the Lecture Hall. Ms. Baldini one of our staff members will be sponsoring the club for our girls with the mission of the IATG club being to develop a sense of “sisterhood” within our girls and to strive to become positive, strong, confident young women that are comfortable in their own skin.  This club is a direct spin off from our Alexis Jones presentation two Fridays ago.  For more information on this important initiative please visit: www.iamthatgirl.com and www.alexisjones.com

HOPEWELL JUNIOR HISTORIANS interesting article written by our own Charles Goins:

 “If you insist on digging for the truth, you can start at the cemetery…” (This Book is not FOR SALE, Jarod Kintz, 2011). That is where the Hopewell Middle School Jr. Historians’ relationship with a cemetery all began. Union Hill Cemetery (UHC) has been in use for decades by local residents, dating back to the early 1900s, for documentation purposes. Information about it had been pursued from time to time by local folks such as the Brinkman family, David Hollingsworth, Chris Dyer, Mickie Ross, the Galloway family, Williamson Museum, and many others. As most efforts, especially with smaller cemeteries, are strictly voluntary in nature, everyone’s plate grew full, and other endeavors were pursued. Enter the Junior Historians, and one Pastor John Gurley! It was a fortuitous visit in the late fall of 2006 during a Williamson Museum field trip, that Mickie Ross (then Education Director) asked a simple question to our visiting Hopewell Jr. Historians: “Would you like to adopt a local cemetery?” With a resounding “Yes!” that Club, and all subsequent Clubs, have continued the work started so long ago. Our new logo became the “Union Hill Cemetery Guardians”. During previous years, Pastor Gurley, a local resident and retired WWII Submarine Veteran, had been attending to other small local cemeteries in need. We linked up with him at UHC that year, and began a partnership to finish the work that had been started in the past! Pastor Gurley, now approaching 90 years young, became the primary caretaker and an additional guardian of the cemetery. UHC was hard to find when given the general location, mainly due to all the overgrowth of grasses and trees that had covered the entire cemetery. Thus began a massive clean-up effort, as well as the research on UHC plots by the Club. Cemeteries require ongoing grounds maintenance and upkeep, a labor of love that the Club sponsors, Club members and Pastor Gurley shared. When the dust cleared, we even found a re-interred Confederate Veteran, Pvt. Nathan Brinkley (CSA), buried at UHC, and all of the markers and head stones became visible once again! Missing information, crucial for protecting UHC from the developing surrounding area, was needed to secure the coveted Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) designation as required by the Texas Historic Commission (THC). Meeting regularly with then Director of Cemeteries in Texas, Anne Shelton, the Club and Ms. Shelton worked to ascertain how to proceed to find the necessary information. Our local leadership also came from Williamson County’s Mickie Ross, PJ Stephens, Wayne Ware and the WCHC Board. The proverbial “Needle in the Haystack” was hidden away in the Williamson County Municipal Courthouse archives, and was found after a painstaking hunt for this information and other original documents pertaining to land grants, designated ownership, maps, etc. Suffice to say, the proper documentation was found by the Club, protocol was followed as per Texas cemetery law, and the Historical Texas Cemetery designation was entered into record on May 7, 2009. This was followed up by signage onsite to recognize that UHC is a protected site. That led to the 2008-09 Hopewell Jr. Historians making an award winning Video. The work for the cemetery is not complete, yet. The Club members have continued over the years to do the research needed, an ongoing endeavor. Over the past several years, the Club has worked with many sponsors, such as the Meadows Foundation, to raise money needed to fund property and perimeter surveys. Many nameless Jr. Historians, as well as the support of their parents, have participated over the years to honor those that came before us, and to never forget that “The people in the cemetery, they’re not all alone...” (Part Time Love, Janie Bradford & Richard Wayne Wylie)

* Ron Goins, Advisor

STAAR Testing Information

Due to STAAR testing, the campus will be closed to outside visitors.  Please help us create the best testing environment possible for all children as we temporarily “close” the campus to outside visitors during these days. Please do not make plans to eat lunch with a student or visit with a teacher on these days.

·         Please make every effort to have your student to school on time so we 

          may start our testing window promptly at 8:20. 

·         Please refrain from taking your student out of school while they are taking 

          their STAAR test. 

·         Students should leave their cell phones, tablets, and electronic devices at 

          home and bring a book to read after they have completed the test.  Also

          please, no phone calls or text to your student during testing days.  

·         Students need to get a good night's sleep the night prior to testing and eat 

          a healthy breakfast.

  Thank you for your understanding!

 STARR Testing Schedule

March 30- 7th Grade Day 1 Writing
March 31st- 7th grade day 1 writing and 8th grade reading
April 20th- 8th grade Math
April 21st- 6th and 7th grade math and 8th grade Social Studies
April 22nd- 6th and 7th grade Reading and 8th grade Science
April 23 - Make up date
May 4-7th - Algebra 1

Hope everyone has a wonderful spring break!

Will see the students back at school on Monday, March 23rd!

Karl

Waggoner's Word - February 6, 2015

March 6, 2015

Dear Parents,

Calendar of Events for the Week of March 9^th-13^th:

Monday March 9^th: Friday, March 13^th: Book Fair in the Hopewell Library ALL week

Wednesday, March 11^th: Band UIL Non-Varsity Contest @ Vista Ridge HS

Wednesday, March 11^th: Early Release 1:30PM – Teacher Professional Development PM

Wednesday, March 11^th: No Homework Night

Wednesday, March 11^th: Orchestra UIL Competition @ RRISD PAC

Thursday, March 12^th: Beginning Orchestra Trip to RR Library

Thursday, March 12^th: Formal Choir Pictures

Thursday, March 12^th: Track Meet @ Deerpark MS 4:30-7:30PM

Thursday, March 12^th: UIL Orchestra Competition @ RRISD PAC

Friday, March 13^th: Peyton James tree dedication 3:00PM front of building

Monday, March 16^th: Friday, March 20^th: Spring Break 2015

Monday, March 23^rd: Classes resume

NO HOMEWORK NIGHT WEDNESDAY:

No Homework will be assigned to our Hopewell students on Wednesday, March 11^th and no tests or quizzes will be given on Thursday, March 12^th. 

PEYTON JAMES’ TREE DEDICATION:

We will have an informal tree dedication for former Hopewell student Peyton James will be held at 3:00, Friday, March 13th in the front of the building.   Any student who wants to attend the tree dedication will be allowed to do so. 

BOOK FAIR INFORMATION:
Our annual BOOK FAIR will be held in the library beginning Monday, March 9^th and will end Friday, March 13^th.  It will be open from7:50-4:00PM M-F except for the Wednesday early release day for staff professional development time.  There will be a large selection of popular books, posters, school supplies, as well as items for parents and younger kids. A portion of all sales will go to our library to help finance visiting authors, books, reading programs, and more.  Please show your support for the Hopewell library and shop the BOOK FAIR!

WATCHDOGS

Dads, if you have some spare time during your day and can help walk our halls for a few hours each week we could use your help!  The very least you’ll get a free t-shirt out of it!  If you are interested, shoot me an email at: karl_waggoner@roundrockisd.org.  Thanks!

INSTAGRAM and SOCIAL MEDIA ISSUES

We have some students that have been creating false social media (Instagram) accounts in the name of other students that are bullying and very hurtful in nature.   Please help us curb this behavior by checking your child’s phone and social media accounts to double-check and verify that they are posting  on social media information that is appropriate and responsible.  We are encouraging our students here at Hopewell to not feed into that negativity and comment on the hateful postings.   You are the owner of that phone your child uses and you have every right to check it out in order to keep your child safe and address any inappropriate material.  It’s important to give your child advice and direction regarding appropriate and responsible social media use.   Smart phones and social media are definitely here to stay but we must teach them how to responsibly use them.  Thank you for your help and support regarding this important issue that our students are facing both at home and at school.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a great Spring Break 2015!
Karl

Waggoner's Word - March 2, 2015

March 2, 2015

Dear Parents,

Calendar of Events for the week of March 2^nd-6^th:

Tuesday, March 3^rd: Pre-UIL Concert in the HMS Cafeteria

Thursday, March 5^th: Spring Pictures

Thursday, March 5^th: Boys and Girls Track Meet @ Canyon Vista 4:30PM

Sunday, March 8^th: Spring forward one hour!  Daylight Savings Time ends

CHOICE SHEETS ARE DUE!

Parents, make sure that your child has turned in their parent signed course selection sheets for next school year to the counseling office.  We are in the process of imputing choice sheets into the computer and we want to make sure that your child has theirs in so he/she will have a schedule next fall.

Below is an email I sent my staff as a follow up to our guest speaker Alexis Jones this past morning. Her message of empowering our girls to love themselves for who they are and not for how Hollywood and social media defines them was inspirational and made a profound impact on many of our Hopewell girls.  Her anti-bullying message was very well received by our girls and supported by our incredible staff.  My letter below outlines my thoughts on the event.  I am working hard to secure a speaker later in the spring after STAAR for our Hopewell boys:

“Dear Hopewell Teachers and Staff,

If you haven't heard yet, our speaker for all our girls morning Alexis Jones was an absolute grand-slam home run with our girls.  I have seen quite a few of her presentations to both middle and high school girls through the years but never have observed more attentive, engaged, and focused girls throughout her hour long presentation as our Hopewell girls.  I don't think one girl was re-directed by a teacher to pay attention.  Her message and presentation was inspirational and hopefully will be sustained for the remainder of the school year and beyond. At Hopewell, I am absolutely 100% committed to ensure that our students are taught how to treat each other with dignity and with respect and I believe it's our job as educators to both model and teach that life skill to them in a positive, relevant way. We are much more in RRISD than just teaching the TEKS and getting our students STAAR ready. We must teach both academic AND emotional health to our kids as we are doing at Hopewell by raising the rigor and making learning relevant.  If you want more information on Alexis' message and mission, go to: www.iamthatgirl.com or to www.alexisjones.com.  Men staff, I strongly encourage and urge you to also check out her message to help you better understand where the girls you teach are coming from.

An example on how powerful and profound Alexis'  message was, is the absolute explosion on social media through Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook by our students.  Additionally, we have over 150 orders for Alexis' I am that Girl book which she is selling for only $12. If any teachers would like a copy, please let me know and I'll put you down for an order.  I am purchasing two copies for our library.

I would encourage you all as teachers and advisory teachers to seize the opportunity to incorporate her message into your lessons, assignments, and writing prompts. The more we can sustain her message and keep it alive, the more it will not only benefit our girls, but maybe our boys will learn something too! I am very close to securing an equally impacting presentation for our boys later in the spring and hopefully will be able to secure that soon. Thank you to our men staff and any other staff that stayed behind to supervise the boys so our girls could hear Alexis. Your part in this event is greatly appreciated! 

Lastly, MANY girls have approached me about forming an I am that Girl club here at Hopewell and we will need several teacher sponsors that are willing to organize the girls, gather materials from Alexis Jones' group, develop and carry out a meaningful community service project, and consistently meet with the students beginning right after spring break.  Our girls are hungry for this message and we must take on the responsibility here at Hopewell to help support them.  If you are interested in committing your time after school for this club and being part of this girl empowerment revolution at Hopewell please email me and let me know!  We will be putting up IATG club information, presentation video clips and pics on our website this next week.  

Thanks again everyone for working with our middle school students in such a positive way.  Their brains are growing faster than ever before, their bodies are changing, and they are learning to become more independent people. They are many time frustrating and other times rewarding.  It's definitely our job to guide them through this difficult time in their development and understand where they are coming from. This is where that relationship building piece is crucial as their teachers patiently guide them become productive and prepared citizens.

Karl"

NCLB School Report Card Info:

You as parents will be getting a hard copy notification with the 4^th 6 weeks report card regarding our academic performance last year as specified by our Federal Report Card.  This report card is reflective of our performance as a school as part of our federal obligations through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.  Federal Report Cards for the state, the RRISD, and Hopewell Middle School are also now available online through the district’s website at: http://roundrockisd.org/departments/assessment-and-audit/performance-indicators/ or are also available on the Texas Education Agency website at: http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Laws_and_Rules/NCLB_and_ESEA/NCLB-ESEA_Resources/Federal_Report_Card/

Hopewell Honor Code on our school website under latest news:

Don’t forget to check out our Hopewell MS Honor Code.  We will be holding our students to the highest level of academic honesty as we continue our mission of increasing the academic rigor at Hopewell MS.  We are not going to be teaching to the STAAR test at Hopewell MS but rather will be making sure that all Texas Essential Knowledge Skills or TEKS are taught with fidelity and honesty with an increase in academic rigor, critical thinking challenges for all students through relevant learning.  We will continue to use available data provided through our Benchmark tests to ensure that we are effectively hitting all learning targets in preparation for STAAR but will not get lost in the weeds of that data.  Teacher planning time is being spent on developing relevant and academically rigorous lessons, developing grade level common assessments, and ensuring that class activities are appropriately aligned to learning targets.  The Hopewell Honor Code will ensure that our students are doing their own work and taking individual responsibility for that work.  It’s a life lesson and great prep for high school and beyond. We appreciate your help and support of this important new HMS initiative.

Lastly, please encourage your children to self-advocate.  This was part of Alexis Jones’ presentation to our girls. Our girls must take responsibility to help them build that confidence to confront uncomfortable, sometimes awkward situations.  Meeting with a teacher on their own in solving various academic issues is a wonderful life skill.  As parents, it’s very difficult at times to allow your child that space to talk on their own with a teacher is just so essential in their overall emotional health development. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Karl