-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL September 2013
Wildcat News
Hixson Middle School
INFORMING HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, STAFF AND PARENTS IN
THIS ISSUE
Dear Hixson Middle School Family,
Thank you again to all those who took part in our Wildcat
Discount Card Fundraiser and met the challenge to “STRIVE TO SELL
FIVE” and beyond. Our fundraiser party, WILDCATPALOOZA was held on
September 27. Photos on pages 9-10.
SAVE THE DATE: Freaky Friday is October 18 and Report Cards go
out the same day. Also, our PTSA is hosting the WILDCAT CRAWL, a 5k
and fun run, on November 16.
Thank you to Prison Prevention Ministries
On September 12, 2013 Prison Prevention Ministries brought two
young adults to speak with our 8
th
graders about making the right choices. We appreciate Prison
Prevention Ministries for their dedication and support of our
students in becoming successful citizens of the Hixson
Community.
It is great to be a Hixson Wildcat!!!!
LeAngela Rogers, Principal
Sports Round Up Go Wildcats! Catch the last football game of the
season on October 1 and then get ready to watch some great HMS
soccer. Get more sports details inside.
Page 4
The Student Section New! Every month Wildcat News will feature
some of our talented students. In this issue, two 8
th graders showcase a scientific
principle through storytelling…Do you have student school work
we should feature? Send it in to [email protected].
Page 7
Principal’s Corner
Hixson, TN
www.hixsonmiddle.com
September 2013
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 2
Successful local writer talks to Hixson Middle School students
and parents about his path to becoming a published author and how
important it is to read.
On Tuesday, September 17th
, a selection of students, parents, siblings and staff of Hixson
Middle School were treated to an evening with local author Greg
Wilkey and Read 20
representative Sheila Elliot for the 2nd
Annual Literacy Night. Greg Wilkey, author of
Growing Up Dead and three other books in the Mortimer Drake
series, grew up reading in Chattanooga. He became an educator in
Hamilton County and while teaching noticed a need
to get students, especially boys, more engaged with books. Thus
was born Mortimer Drake the young adult vampire and Greg Wilkey the
author. Greg has now sold over 8,000 books, plus a few more won by
a lucky HMS student at Literacy Night.
The 2nd
half of Literacy Night was an introduction to Read 20, a
public/private partnership in Hamilton County that promotes
reading. Sheila Elliot shared her
favorite book pick the Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris
Lessmore by William Joyce, a story she said that will bring tears
to your eyes. She encouraged parents and students to read together
and to just read, read, read. Read for 20 minutes every day (or
more) and enjoy better vocabulary, better narrative skills and
better written skills.
Thank you to Greg Wilkey, Sheila Elliot and Read 20 for your
generosity! Thank you as well to the HMS staff who put the evening
together. Almost everyone left with a door prize and dessert. Make
a note in your calendars now for Literacy Night next year. You
don’t want to miss it!
Literacy Night
RECYCLING!!
The library is recycling used inkjet cartridges, laser
cartridges, cell
phones, GPS devices, iPods, video games and consoles,
digital
cameras, laptops, PDA's, DVD's, iPads, Tablets, and eReaders.
Just
get a new phone? We will recycle all your old electronics to
raise
funds to get more books. Send them to the library to keep our
planet
GREEN!
Library News:
It's exciting! The first 15 days the library was open, students
checked
out 1401 books! That's 93 books a day. Keep it up. READING
ROCKS!!
We have added 163 new books since the beginning of the year
and
now have over 11,000 to choose from!
Library News
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Winner! Philip Herrin was the winner of the “Guess the Pages”
contest last month at the Book Fair. The competition was fierce.
Students submitted guesses one over and one under, but Philip
guessed the exact page count. An avid reader, Philip combined his
knowledge of books with some math skills and came home with a gift
card. Congratulations.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Book Fair!
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 3
Message from Your PTSA President
The PTSA has been very busy gearing up for our fun and exciting
events that will take place in the months of October and November.
First up in the month of October, we will be hosting our annual
“Donuts with Dads” breakfast on Thursday, October 10
th from 6:45 am until 7:30 am. So, Dads, plan to stop in and
enjoy a quick breakfast with your child before heading off to
work.
On Saturday, October 12th
we will be partnering with the Friends of Hixson to host a
“Clean & Green” day of our school grounds. This is a community
wide event and there are several other schools participating to
help beautify the Hixson community, so come out and join us from
9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Last but not least, in the month of October
will we host the highly anticipated “Halloween Dance” on Friday,
October 18 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm. If you plan to stop in,
prepare to get spooked as you walk through our Haunted House!
Plans are already underway and we have been working to obtain
$250 sponsorships for our 5K run, “The Wildcat Crawl”, which will
take place on Saturday, November 16. This is a great opportunity to
get out, get moving, and bring the family to meet other families at
our school. So plan now to be involved and come enjoy the day! But
we still need your help in obtaining $100 “Route Sponsors”. If you
own a business or know someone that owns a business, please ask if
they would consider becoming a “Route Sponsor” to support our
school. The cost is $100 and it goes toward the purchase of a sign
that offers advertisement along the route of the 5K. The
sponsorship forms can be found in the foyer of the school or there
is one attached to the newsletter for your convenience.
Thank you to the businesses that have already committed to
become a $250 Sponsor: Center for Sports Medicine Front Runner
Dr. Barto, DDS Highland Pediatric
Rogers Taxidermy
And also thank you to Grace Church of the Nazarene for signing
up to host a water stop. Thank you in advance for supporting our
school and PTSA! Sheila Rector Hixson Middle School PTSA President
[email protected]
Have questions or want to get a copy of the newsletter? Contact
Kirsten Desai at [email protected].
Attention all Dads!
Join us for Donuts for Dads, Thursday, Oct.
10th from 6:45am-7:30am in the school
activity room. It's a great way to meet other
Dads and spend a little time with your child.
Coffee and orange juice will also be served.
We look forward to seeing you at this popular
event!!
SAVE
OCTOBER 18, 2013
THE HALLOWEEN DANCET
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 4
SCHOOL CALENDAR
October 2013
CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO:
1 – Last Football! @ HMS vs Sale Creek
2 – 4 Girls & Boys Soccer Try-outs! 10 – Donuts with Dad in
the Library 11 –End of 1
st Quarter
Last Day of PTSA Membership Drive 12 – Clean & Green Hixson
day Come spruce up the school! 17 – Girls soccer vs Ooltewah @ N.
River Boy soccer vs Ooltewah @ N. River 18 – Freaky Friday
Fundraiser Report Cards come home! Turn in your box tops –
thanks!
Halloween Dance at HMS 19 – 28 Fall Break, no school
28 – PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES Send in your conference
slip!
November 2013 5 – Girls & Boys soccer @ HMS vs Soddy
7 – Girls & Boys soccer @ HMS vs Hunter
8 – Progress Reports
11 – Huddle House Fundraiser
12 – Girls & Boys soccer @ Camp Jordan
14 – Girls & Boys soccer @
16 – WILDCAT CRAWL!! Join us for this Fun 5K run or walk to
raise money for technology
Football HMS has had a great season. With one game left against
Sale Creek, the varsity team has a 4-2 record. Max Riemer has done
a great job leading the team at quarterback. Preston Ward is
leading the team with tackles. New comer Ivan Buckner has led a
potent offense that includes Seth Ayala. Seth led the rushing
attack for Hixson for over 550 yards and 5 TD! The JV team has seen
its highs and lows this season. With a 2-4 record, they have
suffered through several injuries during the season. Godfred
Collins leads the rushing attack with 7 TD. Landon Wallace has
emerged as a solid quarterback for the team. The JV program is
young with a lot of promise for next year. Coach McElhaney is very
proud of his team and the efforts of his coaching staff.
Soccer Girls try-outs are Thursday and Friday, October 3rd and
4th at 2:30. Boys try-outs are Tuesday and Wednesday, October 2nd
and 3rd at 2:30. Plan to spend October watching some great middle
school soccer games. Remember Academic Excellence students (Honor
Roll) get in to home games free!
.6TH GRADER SYDNEY BUCKNER
PHOTOS FROM THE HUNTER GAME
HMS Football Players
Wildcat Sports
GO WILDCATS!
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 5
BETA CLUB. Congratulations to all the new Beta Club members!
Please pay your $25 fee for new members and $5 fee for returning
members as soon as possible. As you complete service hours please
get a signature and document these hours. Mark your calendar for
our trip March 2-4 to the Junior Beta Convention in Nashville.
WILDCAT PRIDE Pep Club
Pep club is selling aluminum water bottles with a clip, $8.
Contact Jamie C. Isenhour at 423-847-4810 ext. 243 or
[email protected] for more information
Technology Student Association
Hixson Middle School’s Technology Student Association, TSA, is
looking
for members to participate in Tennessee TSA’s Regional and State
Conferences. Students who participate will be given the opportunity
to display their leadership and technological knowledge and skills
in representing Hixson Middle School, Chattanooga, and Hamilton
County. Members are needed who have at least a 2.0 grade point
average without any grades that is D or below; who have not been
suspended; who are in good standing with their teachers and
administrators; and who will be able to attend TSA meetings after
school. There is a $15 membership fee for all students that must be
submitted for state and national affiliations.
Please contact Mrs. Bulls for additional information at
847-4810, extension 261 or [email protected].
Arts & Entertainment
CHORUS
Mr. Ailey is EXCITED to share that we have started the chorus
year off with a BANG!! Over the three grades we have a total of 124
students enrolled in chorus here at Hixson Middle!!! The first
chance to see all of our awesome chorus students performing
together will be at the October 1st varsity football game where the
choruses will join forces to sing our National Anthem!
For our Veterans Day program, which will be at 1:00 pm on
November 11th in the gym, our 8th graders are working on a rousing
arrangement of “God Bless America”, the 7th graders are working on
a very moving version of “In Flanders Fields” and the 6th graders
are working on a patriotic medley that includes “God Bless the
U.S.A.” and “America the Beautiful”. As usual, all choruses will
combine to honor our veterans with the “Armed Forces Salute!”
Wildcat Clubs
Chorus T-shirts are currently on sale. If anyone would like one,
they are $20.00. (We are doing this as a self-fundraiser. A portion
of each shirt sale goes into the chorus account to purchase new
music and materials for the class) Please notify Mr. Ailey if you
would like to order a shirt. They are on sale until October 16th
and they are dress code compliant!
Our Holiday Pops concert is currently scheduled for Monday,
December 9th at 6:30pm in the gym. This is going to be an
outstanding year for vocal music here at Hixson Middle!! Our spring
stage production is going to be Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Getting
to Know Oklahoma!”, a Broadway Jr. style version of “
Oklahoma!”.
mailto:[email protected]
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 6
Guidance This month in Guidance, the 6th grade had a “Welcome to
Guidance” orientation where the students were able to come to the
guidance classroom and get to know how guidance will work and some
upcoming lessons we will be going through this year. I read the
students the story of EGGBERT, the Slightly Cracked Egg and the
students were given an opportunity to write a reflection about what
the story meant to them. If you have a 6th grade student or your
student has been through 6th grade at HMS, they have all heard
EGGBERT and I invite you to ask them about the stories meaning.
The 7th grade has taken a Career Assessment to help them see how
their interests and their abilities could play a role in a future
career.
In October, the 8th grade students will be talking about the
requirements to be accepted into college and how the Explore test
plays into them receiving scholarships in the future. The 8th grade
will be taking the Explore test in October.
The 6th grade will be focusing on “Bullying Forensics” in
October, where they will become experts on what bullying is and
questions they need to ask themselves in order to determine if a
situation is bullying behavior. They will learn the Hixson Middle
School policy for bullying and how they can help stop bullying in
their school. Thank you for sharing your children with me, Nicki
Haynes Guidance Counselor
8th Grade
Language Arts students completed their first five paragraph
expository essay in preparation for TCAP Writing. They read an
excerpt from Tom Sawyer, and analyzed one of Tom’s many life
lessons, “the great law of human action.” First quarter exams will
be given the week of October 7th. Tutoring has begun! It is
available on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30-3:30.
Coming up: The new unit “Looking Back on America” will focus on
historical texts, and how various perspectives impact the
story.
Students will expand on their writing repertoire with additional
practice with creating claims and supporting claims with textual
evidence.
U.S. History students have been learning about the establishment
and development of the 13 original colonies and will continue to
study the beginnings of an American identity focusing on the roots
of American Democracy and how the French and Indian War contributed
to this.
In 8th grade science, classes will be focusing on atoms and
states of matter. These topics are the introduction to more
difficult concepts like conservation of matter and chemical
reactions. If you have not paid your $10 science fee, please do so
and this will help us replace chemicals and supplies for
experiments. Thank you for the opportunity to teach your child.
DID YOU
MOVIE OPPORTUNITY! Don’t delay! Join HMS PTSA today.
Last day to join and for your child to be eligible for the movie
will be October 11
th.
When you send in your registration please include your child’s
name and homeroom teacher. Also we’ve received several
registrations without payment. Payment must be received for your
child to be eligible for the movie day. Send in your $5 to your
child’s homeroom teacher now!
8th Grade Team Extra Credit Opportunity If you are one of Mr.
Henderson’s students and you are out seeing the sites in Tennessee
(think Fall Break), you could be getting extra credit. Please see
Mr. Henderson BEFORE you go to get specific assignment
information.
We want your Box Tops! It’s that time! Send in your Box Tops.
HMS gets 10 cents for each one submitted. Please put your Box Tops
in a baggie or envelope, put your student’s homeroom teacher’s name
on the baggie and send them in to your homeroom teacher. The
winning class in each grade will get a dress down day. The deadline
for submission is October 18
th. Remember to put the teacher’s
name on the baggie in order for that class to get credit. Keep
clipping and help HMS earn money!
Academic Update
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 7
Each month Wildcat News will feature the work of our talented
students. This month we have two student interpretations of the
scientific principle of adaptation. Thanks to our two
contributors!
. Explaining poem: Read = reading, summer books Write = writing
notes Draw – art class or boredom Play = band or with my
friends
Adaptation by Annika Desai, 8th grade
Adaptation by Breanna Waller, 8th grade
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 8
HMS Soccer 2013
SOCCER
October 17th Ooltewah @North River
Girls at 4:30
Boys at 5:45
November 5th Soddy-Daisy @ Hixson
Boys at 4:30
Girls at 5:45
November 7th Hunter @ Hixson
Girls at 5:00
Boys at 6:30
November 12th East Ridge @ Camp Jordan
Boys at 5:00
Girls at 6:15
November 14th Red Bank @ Red Bank
Girls at 3:30
Boys at 4:45
November 18th Signal Mountain @ Signal
Boys at 5:00
Girls at 6:15
November 19th East Hamilton @ Hixson
Girls at 5:00
Boys at 6:15
November 21st Loftis @ Middle Valley
Boys at 4:00
Girls at 5:30
Tournament December 3rd-6th
Details TBA
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 9
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 10
“It’s great to be a Wildcat!”
-
WILDCAT NEWS HIXSON MIDDLE SCHOOL | September 2013 11
WILDCAT CRAWL
1-Mile Family Fun Walk/Run and 5K Saturday, November 16,
2013
Start/Finish: Hixson Middle School (Proceeds to benefit HMS
technology additions & enhancements)
SPONSHORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Route Sponsor $100
Company name on one of the route signs displayed throughout the
3.2 miles
Sponsorship deadline – November 12, 2013
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please mail form and payment to:
Hixson Middle School, 5681 Old Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343 Or
fax to 847-4811
Donor’s (Company) Name:
____________________________________________________________
Address:
___________________________________________________________________________
City: _____________________________________ State:_______ Zip:
_______________
Phone: _______________________________ Contact Name:
________________________________
Email Address:
______________________________________________________________________
_____ $100 Route Sponsor
PAYMENT INFORMATION
Check enclosed:$ ______Please make check payable to HMS/PTSA