Harmony Team Collects $2,253.82 for Holiday Family

Once again, our Harmony Team kiddos astounded us by collecting $2,253.82 for the family we adopted for the holidays. We were able to provide a wonderful holiday season for our family. The kids were amazing, collecting from friends, family and neighbors. Some kids even did fundraising events. We like to incorporate service into our team culture and this is our big service project for the year. We will also be doing some smaller service projects as the year progresses. Harmony Team is indeed "the little team that could".

This total is not unusual for Team Harmony. In the ten years that Team Harmony has been in existence, we have surpassed $1,500.00 every year. That is our longstanding goal. In the ten years that we have been collecting for Holiday Families, we have raised a total of $20,765.26. Incredible! How does this year's team rank against all of the other Harmony Teams in terms of Holiday Family collections? Below is a chart of all Harmony Team Holiday Family collections including the all-time rank in parentheses. Congratulations to all of the students and families that helped make this possible.

Holiday Family Collections by Year

2015 - 2253.82 (2)

2014 - 2068.68 (5)

2013 - 2243.53 (3)

2012 - 3228.82 (1)

2011 - 1847.03 (7)

2010 - 2197.16 (4)

2009 - 1686.35 (9)

2008 - 1733.24 (8)

2007 - 1996.40 (6)

2006 - 1510.23 (10)

Total - 20765.26

Monday Memo: Pitch Day and Holiday Family

Next Tuesday is Pitch Day, one of the high-stakes days of our 20% Time projects. Kids will pitch their ideas to the committees. Each student will have five minutes to show their commercial, talk to the committee and answer questions. We expect that most kids will be very prepared for this event and will experience great success.

Our Holiday Family collection is up to 1453.82. This is an incredible effort by the kids and we will still collect through Monday. Any families that purchased items from the list should send those in by Monday. We will be wrapping gifts on Monday. If you have extra gift boxes, we could use them. Thanks for all of your help in making this a success. BTW, as part of our collection, we auctioned off the street signs in Eckert's room and the kids who won those may take them home at the end of the school year.

Grades close next Friday which is the end of the semester. The semester grade is a final grade and of course, no make-ups or redos can occur after that. Kids need to make sure that everything is turned in by then.

#StuCamp, Holiday Family and Skating

Tomorrow, Harmony Team is participating in #stucamp, a national student edcamp. We have run two very successful student edcamps on team so far and this is a chance for our kids to teach and learn from middle and high school students from around the country. We are very excited to participate in this first annual event. We are using an app developed at MIT called Unhangout. We'll have a wrap-up blog post on our other blogs telling how it all went.

Our kiddos are going ice skating on Monday and Wednesday. They should bring a coat, tall socks and gloves. Skating costs $3.00 and kids can bring that to the gym teachers before or after school.

Our holiday family collection is at $1179.33 so far. We have eight days left to collect. Collections end on December 11. Many kids have asked for a letter from us about our holiday family collection so we made that available to anyone who asked. The kids are motivated to close our our fundraising in a big way! So far, this experience has been awesome!

We are collecting food items for our annual Holiday Baskets. We give baskets to district families in need. We appreciate any donations you can give. The link to sign up for a food donation is here (Food Donation Link). If you would like to nominate a family to receive a basket, please e-mail Sarah Bodi or Linda Peterson in the counselor's office.

Holiday Family: We Have Our Family!

Our counselors gave us our holiday family this year. Our family is a mom with six children. They are currently living with another family member and are really struggling. We are collecting as much as we can. We have been mainly collecting cash but gift cards (Schnucks, Shop n Save, Wal Mart, Target) would be great as well. In our Jug Wars competition, the kids decide how to apply the cash, checks or gift cards (for their own team or against the other team). If some are sending checks to school, please make them out to Hixson Middle School. We appreciate all of the help this holiday season. We are determined to make this holiday a special one for our Holiday Family. Melissa and I match 10% the total donation of the team. If the team reaches its goal of 1500.00, then we contribute 150.00. This is an added incentive for the kids to get creative in their collecting.

If anyone is interested in purchasing gifts for the family, we have a need/want list. We can make that available to any parents who e-mail either Melissa (hellwig,melissa@wgmail.org) or myself (eckert.don@wgmail.org). Thanks again for all of your help this holiday season.

Monday Memo: Holiday Family and EdCamp Harmony

Our Holiday Family collections are going well. Thus far we have $372.00 toward our goal of $1500.00. The kids are pretty motivated and may come up with some creative ways to raise funds. Please encourage that! If we reach our goal, this would be the tenth consecutive Harmony Team to raise at least $1500.00 for our Holiday Family. Amazing!

We will be running our second EdCamp Harmony on Monday, 11/23 from 8:45-10:15. Last time kids did an amazing job teaching their classmates about all kinds of things from coding to independent apps. The kids love learning from each other and we want to foster that kind of learning.

Our Harmony Team gear came in today. It looks great! Kids will be bringing it home this afternoon. We will also be sending home a fundraising packet from the school. Orders are due by 11/20.

Melissa and I will be out on Wednesday for a professional development day around learning design.

Monday Memo: Holiday Family and Rachel's Challenge

Our holiday family collection is off to a great start. Already we have collected over $250.00 and the kids are motivated to beat our goal of $1500.00. We had some questions about tax deductibility of donations and we think they are tax deductible but we are double checking. Thanks for all of your help.

This week we are having an assembly to kick off our Rachel's Challenge program. There is also a parent assembly this Thursday evening at 6pm in the Hixson auditorium for anyone interested. This is a great program that promotes kindness and positive actions among our kiddos.

Grades closed and Term 2 progress reports will be mailed out this week.

Pumpkin Drop Pics and Videos

Monday Memo: Grades, Holiday Family and Secret E-mail

This Friday is the last day of Term 2. Grades will close at 3:15 on Friday. Report cards (progress reports) will be mailed home next week. Please have kiddos check the portal to make sure they have everything turned in. We have been getting after kids to turn in all missing assignments.

We kicked off our Holiday Family service project today. Every year, we begin collecting donations for a family in need that we adopt for the holiday season. This year, we will be shooting for our standard goal of $1500.00. We have surpassed that goal every year for the last nine years. We are hoping to eclipse it again this year. We have to say that the kids seem especially motivated this year so we have very high hopes. This is such a good service project for the kids to really make a difference in a family's lives.

We will both be absent on Thursday and Friday to present a program on 20% Time at a conference in Illinois. This occurs two or three times per year and we like it because we get to talk about the amazing things these kids are doing during 20% Time.

Please be on the lookout for a TOP SECRET e-mail from Melissa's e-mail account. Every once in a while, a student hacks into their parent's e-mail account to find out the secret. Please do not let this happen. Our plan hinges on the kids being surprised so please be extra cautious. Thanks in advance!

Pumpkins and Play Doh

Next Wednesday, we are doing a pumpkin drop in science class. If you have an extra pumpkin or three, please consider donating them to Harmony Team. The kids have a great experience on pumpkin drop day.

Also, if you have old Lego sets, Play Doh or art supplies, would you consider donating those to our team as well? Recently we wrote a grant to fund a MakerSpace in our classroom but were only partially funded. We decided to order a Raspberry Pi, a Makey Makey and two Arduinos for our team. We were not able to get the Squishy Circuits, Play Doh, Legos and art supplies that we had in our grant. If you have any of these supplies laying around and would be willing to donate them, please send them in. These kids are so eager to make, create and innovate. We are excited about the learning possibilities.

Monday Memo: Pumpkins, Party and Pictures!

Next Wednesday, we are conducting a pumpkin drop in science classes. We are wondering if Harmony Team families could donate a pumpkin for this event. They can be of any size except the really small ones. If you are willing to donate a pumpkin, please send it in with your kiddo in the next few days. We really appreciate all of your support.

Picture re-take day is this Friday. Also, this Friday is the first after-school party of the year. The cost is $5.00 and it must be paid in advance.

Red Ribbon Week is next week. There will be special events each day.

He Named Me Malala Field Trip

On Tuesday, October 20, the students and staff at Hixson Middle School are going to see the documentary film called "He Named Me Malala" at Ronnies 20 Cine and IMAX. This field trip experience was funded through a grant from The Malala Fund. The field trip is free to all students, including transportation. The concession stand will be open for students to purchase snacks and all students will be given a 13% discount on their purchases. This is a powerful film about one girl's efforts to make education available for girls in Pakistan. In 2014, Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

This field trip is free to all students and only requires a signed slip if students are OPTING-OUT of the trip. We understand that permission is given to attend the field trip unless a signed OPT-OUT form (attached here), is turned in. We will be missing our regularly scheduled lunch time but will have lunch on team when we return. Kids can bring their own lunch or get a sack lunch from the cafeteria upon our return.

Below is a trailer for the film so that you can get a flavor for the upcoming experience.

20% Time Kicks Off!

Every year, at the beginning of October, we kick off our 20% Time program. 20% Time is a chance for kids to pursue their personal, individual learning goals. We spend a lot of time coaching kids to accomplish things they never would have dreamed of accomplishing at school before. The amount of innovation and creativity that kids show during 20% Time is unparalleled. We keep a blog all about our 20% Time program. If you are interested in what your kids are talking about when they mention 20% Time, check out the 20% Time blog, Harmonized Learning, here.

Monday Memo: EdCamp and Conferences

This morning we had our first EdCamp Harmony. An EdCamp is a way of learning that is growing more and more popular in the education community. EdCamps started about six years ago as a way for teachers to share their learning in an immediate, relevant way as opposed to the top-down professional development opportunities that are the norm. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to afford our kids the same opportunity to learn from each other. Last week we planned out the format and sessions to be offered. The kids did the rest. It was an awesome morning of learning. For a full blog post about our EdCamp this morning, click here. Below are some photos from the event.

Conferences happen this week. We conference from 4-8 pm on Tuesday and Thursday and also 1-5 pm on Wednesday. Wednesday is a half day for kiddos. There is no school on Friday; all teachers will be sleeping. We hope that you have your conference scheduled and have received the reminder e-mail. If you don't remember your time, you can e-mail us or have your child ask and we will look it up. We are looking forward to seeing you this week and talking about these awesome kids. Because we have conferences this week, there are no after school activities this week (unless previously arranged).

The Pumpkin Drop Lab is coming up in science. We will be determining the effects of gravity on objects in space by dropping pumpkins out the window. We do need donations of pumpkins (any and all sizes except for the "toy-dog" size). 

The school party is next Friday, 10/23. The cost is $5 and kids must pay during their lunch period. There will be a student council table set up to sell tickets during lunch.

Thank you, "MONTE"!!

Today, as the students left school they each found a little surprise in their lockers.  "Monte" had delivered some personal mail to each student, a list of amazing qualities that every student has that was given by their peers.  Monte (our mascot) hopes that the parents got to see the same smiles we did at the end of the day!

Upcoming Hixson Student Council Events

Fall Party – October 23, 3:30-5:00

·         Cost of student attendance - $5

·         Students can pay to attend during their lunch between October 19-22

Red Ribbon Week – October 26-29

In addition to informational activities at lunch, Student Council has planned the following spirit days to bring awareness to living a drug- and alcohol-free life:

·         Monday, 10/26 – “WGSD is Drug Free” (wear spirit wear)

·         Tuesday, 10/27 – “Drugs are a CRAZY Idea” (crazy hat or hair day)

·         Wednesday, 10/28 – “Stay in the Game – Be Drug Free!” (wear favorite sports jersey/apparel)

·         Thursday, 10/29 – “Scare Away Drugs and Alcohol” (wear your Halloween costume – not masks or fake weapons)

Gear, Conferences, EdCamp and 20% Time

Upcoming Events:

Wednesday 10/8 - Harmony Gear order are due
Wednesday 10/8 - Harmony Team goes to the Hixson Book Fair
Monday 10/12 - Harmony Team Student EdCamp
Tuesday 10/13 - Thursday 10/15 - Parent-Teacher Conferences

If you would like to sign up for a parent-teacher conference, please click here. Here is more information from the main office.

7th grade parents: Please schedule a conference with your child's team. This conference will be with your child's English, Math, Science, and Social Studies teachers. (If your child's math teacher is not one of their team teachers, he/she will make every effort to come to a portion of your scheduled team conference.) Please schedule separate conferences with your child's elective teachers.

On Wednesday, Harmony students will browse the Scholastic Book Fair in the library. Kids can purchase books or just browse the shelves. The book fair will be open during conferences and we encourage parents to take a look as well. All proceeds of the book fair go to the library fund.

Harmony Team gear orders are due Wednesday. Kids are able to order t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. The link to the form is here.

On Monday, October 12, we will be conducting our first-ever student EdCamp. The idea of an EdCamp is peers teaching peers. Students will be able to teach mini-classes to their peers on Monday. There will be three 25-minute sessions. Those kids not presenting will attend the sessions of their choice. This is a great opportunity for all of us to teach and learn together.

On Friday, 10/2, we kicked off our 20% Time program. We spent two class periods going over the "whys" and "hows" of an effective 20% Time program. The "letter to parents" below outlines what a 20% Time program is, why we feel it is so important and how it will work this year. Needless to say, the kids are very excited. We are too! They are already in the idea-generating stage of 20% Time and we are excited to see their minds racing with the possibilities. Click here to see the 20% Time letter.

A Note About Conferences

From the office:

7th grade parents: Please schedule a conference with your child's team. This conference will be with your child's English, Math, Science, and Social Studies teachers. (If your child's math teacher is not one of their team teachers, he/she will make every effort to come to a portion of your scheduled team conference.) Please schedule separate conferences with your child's elective teachers.

Here is the link necessary to schedule conferences: Conference Link 

Harmony Gear is Here!!

Every year, in an effort to build our community, we offer Harmony Team gear for the kiddos. Normally it is a huge hit! This year is no different. For the next couple of weeks, kids (and parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.) can order t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies featuring our Harmony mascot, Monte! The shirts are a great way to show team pride. The gear is available to anyone who wants to order it. You can print it off and send it in with payment. The kids got order forms today in class as well. Thanks for all of your support.

Here is the link to the form:

We Were Invited to NASA's Digital Learning Network Event -- Live Video Chat With The Martian Stars and NASA Experts

We are so excited! We found out that yesterday the Hixson 7th grade has been accepted as one of the schools to participate in NASA's Digital Learning Network Event -- Live Video Chat With The Martian Stars and NASA Experts.  We will be participating in this on October 1, 2015 as a grade level in the auditorium from 10:30 - 12:00.  

As NASA prepares for humans' first steps on Mars in the 2030s, it is important to understand what is fact verses fiction about living on Mars. On Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, NASA's Kennedy Space Center will conduct a Journey to Mars Education Event called "So You Want to Be a Martian". A curated panel discussion with Bob Cabana; Kennedy Center Director, NASA's Planetary Science Director, a NASA astronaut, a NASA botanist and two stars from the movie The Martian will be hosted on NASA’s Digital Learning Network.

We will join their discussion by asking questions as interactive participants! A representative from NASA will moderate questions during the program. 

Monday Memo: Fall Conferences, Grades and Trivia Night

The fall conference sign-ups are open. Click this link to schedule your conferences. We love the opportunity to talk about these amazing kids this year.  Hopefully we will get to see all of you during conference time. If you have a conflict, we can also do conferences by phone or e-mail. Just let us know your preference if you're not able to sign up for a face-to-face conference.

This Friday, grades for Term 1 close. This "report card" is actually a progress report. Kids always have an opportunity to make up missing work. Progress reports should reach home by next Friday.

October 3 is Trivia Night at Hixson. We are still collecting donations for our Trivia Night basket, themed "The Artist in All of Us". Any art supplies or art-related items are most welcomed.

Fall Conference Information

We cannot believe that fall conferences have arrived!  Here is the information to get a time and we look forward to seeing all of you!

Fall conferences are October 13 – 15. You may schedule a fall conference with us at the following link. When you schedule a conference with our team, you will be meeting with your child’s English, Math, Science, and Social Studies teachers. To schedule a conference with your child’s elective teachers, please revisit the site and select the teacher’s name.

Hixson Trivia Night update

On October 3, 2015, Hixson teachers will be hosting our sixth annual Hixson Trivia Night and Silent Auction. You may find the registration form and/or register online at hxtrivia.blogspot.com. Proceeds from this year’s event will be put towards bringing the Rachel’s Challenge program back to Hixson this fall. Can't fill a table of 8? Click here to register and we'll try to get you connected with others to fill a table.

Our team has been asked by the auction committee to create a themed basket to be auctioned. We have chosen Bring ourt the "Artist" in you as our basket theme.  We would appreciate your help in collecting items that relate to our theme. Please send any donated items to school with your child by September 30th. We will take care of getting all donated items ready for auction.

Alternatively, if you would prefer not to purchase an item, we would be happy to accept any monetary donation that may be used to purchase items for our basket.

Monday Memo: Grades, Progress Reports and Trivia

Happy Tuesday! This is a short, busy week. We are putting in several grades this week so please look for them. There are many students with missing assignments and we want to make sure that everyone stays on top of the due dates and assignments. To check grades, go to the SIS link on the right or click here.

Progress reports will be send home in three weeks. There are two permanent grades this year. The first is the Semester 1 grade in January and the second is the Semester 2 grade in May. This first report home is a progress report.

The Hixson Middle School trivia night is October 3. This is a big fundraiser for Hixson. If you'd like to register a table, please visit this link.  Also, we could use your help. Our team is responsible for putting together a basket for the Trivia Night Silent Auction. The theme of our basket is "The Artist in Us All". If you could donate any art supplies (sketch pads, paints, markers, colored pencils, brushes, etc) we would really appreciate it. The deadline for our basket is Friday, September 25. Thanks in advance.

Please check Google Classroom for Science. There will be an assessment on the Scientific Method on Thursday.

Hixson Trivia Night Information

Trivia Night is a month away!!

Funds raised on October 3^rd will be used to bring the Rachel’s Challenge assembly back to Hixson this fall.

Here’s how you can help:

Advertisement

·         A Facebook event has been created on the Hixson Facebook page. Share the event on your timeline!

o   Hixson’s Trivia Night and Silent Auction is October 3^rd! Proceeds from this year's event will be used to bring the Rachel's Challenge program back to Hixson. For more information and to register your table of 8, please click here.

Silent Auction

·         If you have any items that you would like to donate to our team basket our theme this year is Art Lover.  So we are wanting to put together a basket filled with all kinds of art/crafting supplies.  If you can help in anyway, let us know!

Register a Table Today!

·         Click here to register and pay online.

·         Click here to print the registration form and turn in to Stacey Hill.

Thank you for all of your support!

The Trivia Night and Silent Auction Committee

Reviewing the scientific process through BUBBLES!

Today, I wanted to share what the students were doing in science.  WE have been reviewing the scientific process in class these past couple of weeks (and have a test next Thursday on it!) but today they worked through a lab determining which dish soap would blow the biggest bubbles.  Who doesn't love bubbles?!

They were having so much fun, learning through doing is our motto.  These practices are super important as we do inquiry based labs through the entire year and they become more independent as the year passes.  Enjoy the pictures.

3rd hour science:

5th hour science:

Monday Memo: Pictures!

This Friday is Picture Day! Kids were given packets to order their pictures but you can also go online to order there. Click here to read more about Picture Day and link to the order form.

This weekend is a three-day weekend. There is no school on Monday.

Check the assignment calendar. Anytime we post an assignment to Classroom, we also put it on the Harmony Team Assignment Calendar.

The Hixson Trivia Night is coming up on October 3. If you have any questions or want to reserve a table, please e-mail Aimee Vogt at vogt.aimee@wgmail.org.

If you have not already filled out the Parent Homework, please do. The form can be found here.

Picture Day and Parent Homework Reminder

Picture day is going to be September 4th.  We will have our pictures taken at 10:45 in the morning.  You can send in the packet or go the website. Click here for the website. If you go to the website use the code 00569Y. The website is really easy to use and order from, I did for my own daughter at Edgar Road.

Also, if you have not completed the parent homework, please do so!  Though, we are flexible, we would love to have it by the weekend!  Click here for the blog with the Parent Homework.

Email us if you have any questions.

Monday Memo: Remind, Homework and Calendar

We hope everyone had a great first week of school. We enjoyed open house and look forward to getting to know you all over the course of the year. Here are a few business items you that may interest you. To the right, under the thumbnail Assignment Calendar, is the Remind link. Just click on the link and enter either your phone number or e-mail address so that you can receive the latest reminders. In case you can't see it, here is the link: https://www.remind.com/join/26cf87

Remember, the Homework for Parents is due this Friday. If you didn't see it already, please click the following link to fill out the form: http://hixsonharmonyteam.blogspot.com/2015/08/homework-for-parents.html

Please continue to check the Google Calendar for assignment due dates. We hope the second week of school is as great as the first! This is a wonderful team. Team Harmony rocks!!!!!!!!!!

Open House Information

15-16 Open House Schedule and Information: Thursday, 8/20 6:30-8:15

During our middle school open house, parents will have the opportunity to "live" a sample version of their child's daily schedule.  Student schedules will be disseminated for open house through the following methods:

• Parent portal access to SIS.  Parents are able to view and print student schedules via the portal in the SIS system
• Students can copy their schedules into their student handbook planners for parent use, or write a copy for their parents
  • If you do not have your child's schedule from the parent portal or your student, back-up copies of schedules will be available at the main entrance of the school at 6:00 pm before open house begins at 6:30.  We anticipate most parents having the schedule ahead of time, so back up schedule lines should not be too long.  

Hixson Open House Schedule:

6:00- lines begin for back-up schedules

6:26- Use your child's schedule to navigate your way to his/her 1st hour class

6:30-6:45- 1st hour- you will hear a message from our Superintendent, Dr. Riss and the Hixson principals.  The remainder of the 10 minutes will be used for learning all about your child's first hour class.

6:49-6:59- 2nd hour

7:03-7:13- 3rd hour

7:17-7:27- 4th hour

7:31-7:41- 5th hour

7:45- 7:55- 6th hour

7:59- 8:09- 7th hour

8:09-8:15- Wrap-up

Special Open House Notes:

• If your child's schedule has PE/Discovery listed, please report to PE and not Discovery.  Your child's team teachers will be able to give you a brief overview of Discovery time.
• If your child has GEMS listed on his/her schedule, please report to GEMS with Mrs. Gavin in the cafeteria before open house begins
  • 5:30-6:00 pm 7th grade GEMS parents
  • 6:00-6:20 pm 8th grade GEMS parents

Homework for Parents!

Every year, we ask parents to help us get to know their kids. The embedded form is a way for us to learn more about each of the kids on our team this year. The information is for our eyes only. If you'd prefer to write a note to us instead of filling out the form, please do. If you would prefer a short conference to talk more about your child, we can do that too. We appreciate your participation and help!

Welcome to Team Harmony!

Monday is the first day of school at Hixson Middle School. We are really excited to meet all of the new kiddos and their families. This year promises to be a great year unlike anything the kids have experienced before in their school careers. We are excited about so many things we'll be doing on team this year. The team-building starts the first day of school. We hope to get to know all of the kids as soon as possible. Have a great weekend and we'll see all of the kids on Monday!

Summer School Sign-Up!

Signing up for summer school is easy. Just click the link below and fill out the form. Summer school should be a fun and enriching experience for the kiddos this year. Melissa Hellwig is the summer school principal.

Summer School Sign-Up Link

Tune in to Student TED Talks!

Tomorrow, our kiddos will be doing their Student TED Talks. If you are unable to come but still would like to watch, you can tune in to our Google Hangout on Air broadcast. This is our first attempt to broadcast on Google Hangouts so we will see how well it works. If you would like to check it out, here is the link:

Tune in here

If you would like to have an approximate time the your child will be speaking, here is the link:

Schedule

Last year, TED Talks went more quickly than we had anticipated so plan to tune in earlier than the time on the document. Once one talk is over, we will transition and start the next talk immediately.

If you miss the talks altogether, we will have videos of each talk posted on our blog, Harmonized Learning Blog within the week. Thanks again for all of your support.

Last Day Information (5/21)

Hi Team Harmony Parents,

A few quick reminders for the last day.

1. Money ($21) and permission slip are due by this Friday, May 15th if your child is planning on attending.

2.  All fines need to be paid by the end of the year. Some students have some late book fines but nothing crazy!

3. We will leaving for Sports Fusion at 10:00 on that Thursday, there will be pizza/water for lunch and will return around 2:45.

4.  Students will be dismissed as we arrive back at 2:45.  So your student could be home 30 minutes early that day.

5.  Students may bring money to purchase snacks while they are there too.

6.  Have your student dress appropriately for Sports Fusion. Be comfy!

7.  Students will not need to bring backpacks or anything else on that day.  We will be cleaning out lockers the day before to make sure everything gets home.

8.  If you need permissions slips, they can be found below on the blog.

Let us know if you have any questions!

Melissa & Don

Its Time for TED Talks!

Friday morning is our time for student TED Talks. We will begin in the auditorium at 9:00 am and are planning to end by noon. The schedule is attached here. As you can see, the talks are scheduled for five minutes each with a one-minute transition time. Last year, every talk did not go the full five minutes so we ran much faster than the schedule showed. Therefore, if you plan to come in to see your kiddo's TED Talk, please show up early in case we are running more quickly than the schedule. The schedule is only an approximation of the time frame the kids will be speaking.

Grades close next Wednesday, May 20. These are final grades.

Here is the information about the last day of school activities. From 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, we will be going to Sports Fusion in Chesterfield. You can see the letter explaining the trip by clicking this link. A copy of the permission slip can be found at this link. The lunch that is provided includes two slices of Papa John's pizza and a bottle of water. Students can opt out of the provided lunch, reducing the cost of the trip by $3.00. There is a snack bar at Sports Fusion where kids can buy food and of course students are welcome to bring their own lunches.

Hixson Middle School Track Day

If you would like to see a few short videos of our Hixson Track Day experience, please click on the link right here. We had a great time and as you can see, the kids showed a LOT of team and school spirit.

Monday Memo: Pizza and Track Day!

Every once in a while, community businesses host fundraisers for Hixson Middle School. On Monday, May 11, Dewey's Pizza in Webster Groves is donating 20% of food and beverage purchases back to Hixson Middle School. The coupon is right here and it is valid from 4pm until 10pm on Monday, May 11. It might be time to plan a night out with the kiddos! Just print out the coupon, show it when you order and enjoy your pizza!

If you are interested in summer school, there is some information available. Please make sure to sign up by May 15. Here is the flier for summer school. Summer School Flier

Here is the information about the last day of school activities. From 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, we will be going to Sports Fusion in Chesterfield. You can see the letter explaining the trip by clicking this link. A copy of the permission slip can be found at this link. The lunch that is provided includes two slices of Papa John's pizza and a bottle of water. Students can opt out of the provided lunch, reducing the cost of the trip by $3.00. There is a snack bar at Sports Fusion where kids can buy food and of course students are welcome to bring their own lunches.

Student TED Talks will be on Friday, May 15 in the Hixson auditorium from 9:00 am until about 12:00 pm. We will have a schedule made soon so that you will know the approximate time frame when each student will be presenting. We are in the process of slotting kids this week. We begin our preparations for the TED Talks today in class. 

Track Day is May 6. This is a longstanding tradition at Hixson Middle School and a whole lot of fun for both students and staff. On May 8, we have a half-day at Hixson. Kids will be dismissed at noon.

We nominated our blog, harmonizedlearning.blogspot.com, for an Educator Commentor / Blogger Bammy Award. If you would like to support our blog for this award, you can vote atthis link.

If you would like to vote for Melissa for a Middle School Teacher award, you can support her here.

If you would like to vote for Don for a Middle School Teacher award, you can support him here. 

You can vote for one of these or all of these.

Dewey's Pizza Coupon for May 11!

Every once in a while, community businesses host fundraisers for Hixson Middle School. On Monday, May 11, Dewey's Pizza in Webster Groves is donating 20% of food and beverage purchases back to Hixson Middle School. The coupon is right here and it is valid from 4pm until 10pm on Monday, May 11. It might be time to plan a night out with the kiddos! Just print out the coupon, show it when you order and enjoy your pizza!

Monday Memo: TED Talks and Track Day

We finished MAP testing today during third hour. We asked the kiddos how they felt about the test and they seemed to feel like they were in command during the testing. That is a good sign!

If you are interested in summer school, there is some information available. Please make sure to sign up by May 15. Here is the flier for summer school. Summer School Flier

Here is the information about the last day of school activities. From 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, we will be going to Sports Fusion in Chesterfield. You can see the letter explaining the trip by clicking this link. A copy of the permission slip can be found at this link. The lunch that is provided includes two slices of Papa John's pizza and a bottle of water. Students can opt out of the provided lunch, reducing the cost of the trip by $3.00. There is a snack bar at Sports Fusion where kids can buy food and of course students are welcome to bring their own lunches.

Student TED Talks will be on Friday, May 15 in the Hixson auditorium from 9:00 am until about 12:00 pm. We will have a schedule made soon so that you will know the approximate time frame when each student will be presenting. We are in the process of slotting kids this week. We begin our preparations for the TED Talks today in class. 

Track Day is May 6. This is a longstanding tradition at Hixson Middle School and a whole lot of fun for both students and staff. On May 8, we have a half-day at Hixson. Kids will be dismissed at noon.

We nominated our blog, harmonizedlearning.blogspot.com, for an Educator Commentor / Blogger Bammy Award. If you would like to support our blog for this award, you can vote atthis link.

If you would like to vote for Melissa for a Middle School Teacher award, you can support her here.

If you would like to vote for Don for a Middle School Teacher award, you can support him here. 

You can vote for one of these or all of these. 

Weekly Memo: Testing and Field Trip

Student TED Talks will be on Friday, May 15 in the Hixson auditorium from 9:00 am until about 12:00 pm. We will have a schedule made soon so that you will know the approximate time frame when each student will be presenting. We are in the process of slotting kids this week.

MAP testing is this coming Friday and Monday. ALL STUDENTS need HEADPHONES to take the test. Part of the test is auditory and students must be able to listen to the auditory parts by themselves. We test in the morning each day.

Algebra readiness test for next year's math courses will be given tomorrow and Thursday during the kids' regular math classes. All kids should have a pencil for the test.

We have some information about the last day of school activities. From 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, we will be going to Sports Fusion in Chesterfield. You can see the letter explaining the trip by clicking this link. A copy of the permission slip can be found at this link. The lunch that is provided includes two slices of Papa John's pizza and a bottle of water. Students can opt out of the provided lunch, reducing the cost of the trip by $3.00. There is a snack bar at Sports Fusion where kids can buy food and of course students are welcome to bring their own lunches.

We nominated our blog, harmonizedlearning.blogspot.com, for an Educator Commentor / Blogger Bammy Award. If you would like to support our blog for this award, you can vote at this link.

If you would like to vote for Melissa for a Middle School Teacher award, you can support her here.

If you would like to vote for Don for a Middle School Teacher award, you can support him here. 

You can vote for one of these or all of these. 

If you are interested in summer school, there is some information available. Please make sure to sign up by May 15. Here is the flier for summer school. Summer School Flier

Last Day Activities and Testing

We have some information about the last day of school activities. From 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, we will be going to Sports Fusion in Chesterfield. You can see the letter explaining the trip by clicking this link. A copy of the permission slip can be found at this link. The lunch that is provided includes two slices of Papa John's pizza and a bottle of water. Students can opt out of the provided lunch, reducing the cost of the trip by $3.00. There is a snack bar at Sports Fusion where kids can buy food and of course students are welcome to bring their own lunches.

The Algebra testing for eighth grade math placement will be next Wednesday and Thursday in math classes.

MAP testing will occur Friday, April 24 (ELA) and on Monday, April 27 (Math).

A 3D Doodle Pen Grant

We are putting one last grant on DonorsChoose.org. This grant is for a 3D Doodle Pen. Since we have gotten our 3D Printer, we have been using it quite a bit to print out our ideas. Some things cannot be 3D printed on the printer and a few of the kiddos want to freehand their 3D idea. Therefore, we put up our grant. We had two DonorsChoose gift cards that we applied to the grant and so all that we need now is 98.00. If our donors give using the doubling code SPARK, then we only need 49.00 donated. If you would consider a donation to our cause, we would really appreciate it. Just click the link to donate. Thank you for all of your support all year long.

Link to DonorsChoose project.

Monday Memo: Welcome Back and Upcoming Highlights!

Welcome back! We hope that you all had a restful and fulfilling spring break. It is crazy to think that we have about nine weeks left of school. Where did the time go?

On Friday, April 10, there will be a trivia night for students. The information is pictured below.

On April 6, we will be going to the SLU medical labs for our pig heart dissection. The field trip form can be accessed here: Field Trip Form. In addition to the form, we also must have a signed waiver in order for the kids to go. That waiver can be found here.

MAP testing is during the third week of April. We will have more information on the testing later on.

Term 5 ends in about two weeks. Kids should check their grades to make sure they are what the kids expect. Any missing work should be turned in as soon as possible.

20% Time Checkpoint Assignments are due this Friday. This is a rather large grade in science for 20% Time.

Monday Memo: It's Time for Spring Conferences!

This Wednesday and Thursday from 4-8 pm, we will have spring conferences. Almost all of our slots are booked but there may be a few left. Please visit the Conference Link and book one if you'd like. We can also conference through e-mail or over the phone.

Thursday morning, kids will have another opportunity to have school pictures taken. They do not have to but many of the kids would like to have a "spring set" of school pictures. Kids were given envelopes with the picture information.

On Wednesday, there is a math test. Study guides were given out last week. The study guides can also be found on Google Classroom. 

This week is the Hixson Spring Book Fair in the Library Annex. When you come in to have your conference, you can stop by the annex and browse the fair. We are taking kids down to the book fair tomorrow (Tuesday) so they can browse and shop.

Our next field trip is April 6 from 9-11:30. We will be going to the SLU Practical Anatomy Lab. We will send out permission slips and a call for chaperons after spring break. 

Spring Break starts on Friday. 

Monday Memo: Conferences and Grades

This week is a busy one. We will be out of school Tuesday and Wednesday at the RCET Conference presenting about 20% Time. We will be bragging about all of the incredible projects that the kids are creating this year.

Conferences are next Wednesday and Thursday. They are filling up fast. If you still need to sign up, please click this Conference Link.

Please check grades. We have put in several grades over the last week or so and there are many missing assignments. The kids may have the winter blues but they are falling a bit behind.

Next Thursday, another big 20% Time assignment is due. This Checkpoint Assignment was given last week so that the kiddos have plenty of time to complete it.

Have a great week and we'll see you at conferences.

Monday Memo: Conferences, Orientation and Missing Assignments

Spring Conferences are on March 11-12 from 4pm to 8pm. The link to sign up for conferences is at:

Conference Link

We hope to see many of you during those times. We can also do e-mail or phone conferences if those times prove inconvenient for you. Thanks as always for your active participation and support of your kids' learning.

Tomorrow evening is Incoming 7th Grade Parent Orientation. If any of you have sixth graders, we will see you tomorrow evening if you come to the event. The orientation begins at 6:30 and runs until 8:00.

We are encouraging kids to check their grades as there are a considerable number of missing assignments at this time. You should have already received report cards for Term 4. Thanks for helping the kiddos keep up with their work. 

Monday Memo: Printer and Grades

Today was a big day. After printing some of the demo models that were stored in our 3D printer, the kiddos figured out how to create artifacts in TinkerCad, export them in the right format to the XYZ Printer software and print them out. As I write this, a series of stars (a logo for a 20% Time project) is printing. Learning the ins and outs of how the printer works was a great learning experience for the few kids who figured it out. Now it's time for them to teach all of the other kiddos. Already, the kids are clamoring to print artifacts for their projects. This learning is so cool!

This week, grade cards will be mailed out. This is a progress report and signifies the end of Term 4. Today, Term 5 began and many of the kids had a change of electives. While we had warned about missing assignments for the last two weeks, some of the kiddos didn't realize the effect those missing assignments had on their grades. Most of the missing assignments can still be turned in.

Monday Memo: Jets, Grades and Trivia

Tomorrow there is a Jets Pizza fundraiser for Hixson Middle School. 20% of all orders totals, with a coupon that your child received in class, will come back to Hixson. This is a nice twist on 20% Time! :)

This Thursday, grades close. There does not seem to be much urgency on the part of the kids even though many of them are in danger of having failing grades for this report card. We are encouraging the kids daily to check for missing assignments and get them turned in as soon as possible.

The Hixson Trivia Night raised over $6,400.00 on Saturday night. This was an awesome night for the entire Hixson community. Thanks to all who supported our efforts to raise funds for programs at Hixson.

There is no school for kiddos on Friday, February 13 and Monday, February 16. Hopefully everyone will have an awesome four-day weekend.

Our 3D Printer Has Arrived! Thank YOU!

Today our 3D Printer arrived. This is the same printer that you helped us get through our DonorsChoose.org grant. We really appreciate your help in our endeavor. Please stay tuned for pictures of some of the things that the kids create with the printer. This enhanced learning was made possible by everyone who donated and supported our efforts. Let the creating begin!

Monday Memo: Deadlines for Grant and Grades

Our donorschoose.org grant is still up and it is mostly funded. We just need a little push to fully fund it. Donorschoose.org will match any donations (up to 100.00 each) today and tomorrow. If you were considering donating, or know someone who is, please donate today or tomorrow and use the Promo Code SPARK to get the matching funds. We have 321.00 to go, which translates into 160.00 in donations plus the 160.00 in matching funds. We thank you in advance for your support. We already have some projects lined up for the 3D Printer. Here is the link to the grant: Learning in 3D 

This Wednesday, February 4, is the 20% Time Idea Showcase. This is a chance for teachers, students, district staff and community members to see the Harmony students' 20% Time project ideas. It will be held in the Hixson cafeteria from 8:45 am until 10:15 am. We hope to see many of you there.

Grades close next Thursday, February 12. Right now, because many students are missing assignments, grades are lower than they should be. We are encouraging the kids to turn in every missing assignment as soon as possible. If you have a moment, please check the portal. 

The Hixson Trivia Night is this Saturday, February 7. It is a good time and we hope that many community members show up for a fun night. Our Harmony Team is responsible for creating a basket for the silent auction. Our basket theme is "A Family Night In" and we plan to include board games, Redbox gift cards, microwave popcorn, etc. If you would like to donate any of these items, or think of something else, please send them in with your kids this week. We should have our basket completed by the end of the week. Thanks again.

Here is more information.

February 7, 2015

Holy Cross - St. Michael's Campus

7630 Sutherland Ave., 63119

6:00pm - Doors Open

7:00pm - Trivia Begins

$160 for a table with a maximum of 8 participants