March 13, 2015
Dear Parents,
Calendar of Events for the Week of March 23rd-27th:
Monday, March 16th-Friday, March 20th: Spring Break 2015
Thursday, March 26th: Boys and Girls Track meet @ Chisholm Trail MS 4:30PM
Saturday, March 28th: 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
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
