1

May 2018

Hereford Middle School 712 Corbett Road

Monkton, MD 21111

T: 410-887-7902

F: 410-887-7904

Guidance: 410-887-7905

FROM THE HMS SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE

Mental Health Awareness Week is May 6-12, 2018

Children’s Mental Health Matters Campaign is a Maryland Public Awareness Campaign designed to highlight and teach the importance of Mental Health awareness in our community.

It’s easy to know your child needs help dealing with a fever or a broken bone, but mental health problems can be harder to identify. The tricky part of parenting is knowing the kinds of behaviors and moods that are usual for the stage of development your child is in – and when your child has gone beyond the norm and needs help.

Here is a great resource for learning more about Mental Health issues and ways to find help if you need it Family Resource Kit (2018)

If your child is in crisis, Baltimore County has a Crisis Response Unit that can come to your home any hour of the day for assistance: Baltimore County Crisis Response System 410-931-2214

Attached are some resources that you may find helpful regarding

issues such as ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Substance Abuse and

more…

April 30-May 5- Penny Wars during lunch shifts

May 2- PTA Meeting

May 5- Tennis Tournament-New Town High School

May 7-11- Teacher Appreciation Week

May 8- Chorus Concert

May 9- Band Concert

May 10- Orchestra Concert

May 11- Steel Band & GT Art Show

May 17-18- Drama Performance

May 19- Allied Softball

May 23- NJHS Induction

May 24- 5th Grade Visitation

May 28- Memorial Day-Schools & Offices Closed

June 14- Schools close 3 hours early

June 15- Last day of school- Schools close 3 hours early

Principal: Julie Dellone jdellone@bcps.org

Assistant Principal: Lisa Frey mfrey@bcps.org

Assistant Principal: Brenda Thompson

bthompson4@bcps.org

http://herefordms.bcps.org/

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Combined-FRK-2018.pdfhttps://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Combined-FRK-2018.pdfhttp://herefordms.bcps.org/

2

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ADHD.pdf

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Anxiety-Disorders.pdf

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Depression.pdf

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Eating-Disorders.pdf

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Self-injurious.pdf

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Substance-Use.pdf

If you need help don’t hesitate to contact your school counselors at Hereford Middle for assistance.

Your pediatrician can also be an excellent resource for you in navigating the teen years and can

help you determine if your child’s behavior is “normal” developmentally appropriate teenage

behavior of if your child needs additional assistance. Your insurance company can also be an

excellent resource for you in determining which providers are in your area that accept your

insurance plan. Early intervention is key in helping your child with their mental health.

DRAMA PERFORMANCE

Hereford Middle School Theatre Department Presents:

Thursday, May 17th at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m.

Performances held at Hereford High School

General Admission $5

To purchase tickets online go to: http://herefordms.seatyourself.biz

Tickets will be available for purchase at the door-Cash Only

https://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ADHD.pdfhttps://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Anxiety-Disorders.pdfhttps://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Depression.pdfhttps://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Eating-Disorders.pdfhttps://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Self-injurious.pdfhttps://www.childrensmentalhealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Substance-Use.pdfhttp://herefordms.seatyourself.biz/

3

May 1, 2018

Dear Parents/Guardians:

The PARCC Assessment is quickly approaching! This assessment will be administered to

students in grades six, seven, and eight. Below you will find a list of the dates that your child will

be taking the Mathematics/Algebra and English Language Arts (ELA) assessments. The

mathematics assessment will be given over a three day period. The ELA assessment will be given

over a four day period. Although students need no special preparation, they must be in school on

time and ready to begin. Testing will occur morning on the designated dates. The PARCC tests

are very important and scores will be used to assist with placement and to determine how well your

child has learned the Math and English Language Arts content that Maryland has determined all

students should know.

Additionally, due to the security requirements outlined for schools administering the PARCC, it is

necessary for us to strictly enforce the Student Behavior Handbook policy that requires students to

keep all electronic devices in their lockers during the school day. This includes cell phones, I

Watches, pagers, iPods, MP3 players, Kindles, and any other wireless communication devices. If

any student is found in violation of this policy, he or she may be suspended from school.

Below you will find a list of test taking tips and the complete testing schedule.

PARCC Testing Schedule

All Grades: May 2, 4, 7, 14 (ELA)

May 15, 16, 17, (Math & Algebra)

Successful Test Taking Tips

1. Get a good night sleep before the test. 2. Eat a healthy breakfast. 3. Arrive to school on time. 4. Bring 2, sharpened #2 pencils with erasers. 5. Believe in yourself! 6. Do your very best. 7. Read all directions and questions carefully. 8. Don’t rush! 9. Check your answers. 10. Bring your device fully charged with your earbuds!

4

SUMMER ENRICHMENT READING

Who can participate? ANYONE

Why participate? Review needed skills to prepare for a great start to the 2018-2019 school year.

When? June 1 to September 21, 2018

What do you do?

1. Students will read (2) books- One Black Eyed Susan text and one of their choice.

2. Visit the school website. Click on the Summer Reading link.

3. Each grade level page will have its own list of activities.

4. The grade level activities review skills learned in the 2017-2018 academic year. This review will help students be well prepared for the fall.

5. There will be 9 activity options for grade level.

6. Students will complete (2) of the activity options for each book they read for a total of 4 activities.

7. Students print out the activity pages of their choice and submit hard copies to their Fall 2018 Language Arts teacher.

The Black-Eyed Susan Committee of the Maryland Association of School Librarians is pleased to announce the 2018-2019 nominees.

As always, we encourage parents, caregivers, and teachers to please be sure that these books are appropriate for your readers.

Grades 6-9

Anderson, John david- Posted

Burt, Jake- Greeting from Witness Protection!

Diaz, Alexandra- The Only Road

Gratz, Alan- Projekt 1065

Gratz, Alan- Refugee

Hautman, Pete- Slider

Korman, Gordon- Restart

5

Lowitz, Leza- Up from the Sea

Sherman, Delia- The Evil Wizard of Smallbone

Wolk, Lauren- Beyond the Bright Sea

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

On April 4th the chamber orchestra performed for the Baltimore County Middle School Orchestra Assessment. They performed grade three music which exceeds standards for middle school groups and received top ratings from all four judges and an overall rating of I, which is the highest you can earn. Way to go!

Jack B., Sophia W., Tracey R., Roah H., and Amelia B. all performed recently for the Baltimore

County Solo and Ensemble festival. All students played very well and earned superior and excellent

ratings from the judges. Jack, Sophia, and Tracey will go on to the state level solo and ensemble

festival on May 12th. Proud of all of them!

Thank you to Erin Z., Emma P., Sophia W., and Jack B. for the extra practice they have undertaken

to perform for the Baltimore County Public Library Art show featuring artists from HMS. They played

background music for this event on April 19th.

These same students also performed for some Chinese teachers recently who were visiting HMS.

Here are the members of chamber orchestra:

Violin I. Violin II.

Patrick G. Lola C. Lilly R.

Emily K. Claire W. Anita M.

Jackson G. Emma P. Sarah L.

Erin Z. Matthew R. Roah H.

Emma P. Sophia P. Mirren H.

Fowyn T. Darby J, Jesse Z.

Dominic W. Amelia B.

Sophie H, Eliana K.

Sam K. Maddie R.

6

FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE

Parents of sixth graders: A reminder to send in the documentation as soon as your child has

received the Tdap and Menactra vaccines (required for grade 7).

QUIZ BOWL

Congratulations to the Quiz Bowl team on becoming the Eastern Division champions! They won

the division championship game against Cockeysville with a score of 370-230. They will now go to

the county championships against Sparrows Point. Wish them luck!

7

HMS ART NEWS

Hereford Library Art Show

During the entire month of April, over 100 Hereford Middle School Students

had their work on display at the Hereford Branch of the Baltimore county

Public Library. Congratulations to all the students who had work displayed!!! The reception held to

honor the students featured beautiful music from the HMS string quartet and was the highest

attended reception the library has had! Thank you for supporting the Arts in Hereford.

GT Art Show and Steel Band Concert

With a special guest performance from the HMS Dance club

On May 11th, the arts will be showcased at HMS! Students in the 7th and 8th grade GT art classes

will have their work from the past year on display, the steel band will share their lively music, and

the HMS dance club will give a performance as well! It will be a memorable evening!

HMS BANNER CONTEST

Do you love being a part of the Hereford Community? Do you want to help celebrate all that

Hereford is? Do you enjoy designing posters and exploring graphic design? If so…

Create a design for the new Hereford Middle School Banner!

All are invited to create a banner design, which will be made into an official banner, to be on

permanent display in the HMS cafeteria. Your design must be on white computer paper, and

should include the school name. Consider images and designs that remind you of Hereford and

will help portray what our school and community is all about.

Submissions are due to Mrs. Pagani by May 18th. They can be dropped off in her Mailbox in the

front office, or brought to her room in E-10.

Good luck and Happy Designing!

8

BCPS Laptop reminders

- Please encourage students to charge their laptop each

night.

- SAVING FILES – at school, by default, files are saved on

the school server. Because of this, files cannot be accessed

at home. We refer to this as the ‘H’ drive. If a student needs

to work at home with a file, they will need to ‘save as’ into

their laptop ‘download’ folder at school.

Then they can access the file at home.

-A teacher might ask students to save to their ‘OneDrive’

cloud storage via BCPSOne.

This will also allow a student with internet access to find

and open the file outside of school.

Carrying laptops-

Students are required to carry laptops in their bags at

all times with zipper closed. They are also told to use

the handles or the shoulder strap.

Customize bags! - ‘blinging your laptop bag’ (without

defacing it) We are limited to temporarily attaching

something to the handles but can still be creative!

The idea is to customize the bag to lower the occurrence of

students picking up the wrong bag. (Think of airplane

baggage carousel/ the bag with the pink ribbon on the

handle)

It could be a tag or piece of ribbon, etc. No stickers or

permanent

sewing or

attaching.

Questions? Email Chris Putnam at cputnam@bcps.org

HMS Tech Repair

If your child has a problem

with their laptop, they are

asked to write a tech repair

ticket. All classrooms have

blank tickets.

- Fill out the form

completely

- Drop off the form in room

A-2

- Once a student’s laptop is

in for repair they will be

issued a loaner. The

student should be

checking back daily to

room A-2 to see if their

laptop is repaired.

- If a student misplaces

their laptop, they should

check in room A-2 and the

main office.

- If a laptop is missing for

more than 24 hours, the

student must report this to

the main office.

- No student is allowed to

attempt to get through the

BCPS web filter.

Violation of this is a

Category 1 offense.

mailto:cputnam@bcps.org

9

8th GRADE DANCE Join us on the Red Carpet

(This year’s theme)

Saturday, May 19, 2018 7-10 PM

Our Lady of Grace Hall

If any family is in need of financial assistance, please contact Vicki Shields at Hereford Middle School vshields@bcps.org or Linda Price of My Neighbor’s Foundation at linda.d.price@comcast.net Student Name __________________________________________________________________________ Parent Name ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone __________________________________Email __________________________________________ My child will need to bring emergency medication. My signature below reflects my consent for medication administration. Medication _______________________________Allergies_______________________________________ Permission:

I, ______________________________________, agree to adhere to the guidelines set forth in the Expectations of Student

Behavior & Dress Code. Failure to comply will result in immediate removal from the dance.

Student Signature________________________________________Date____________________________

I, ______________________________________, give permission for my son/daughter to attend the 8th grade dance. I have

reviewed the Expectations of Student Behavior & Dress Code with my child and understand that if he/she fails to comply

that he/she will be removed from the dance. I also give permission for emergency medical treatment as deemed necessary

by the 8th grade dance committee. In addition, I consent to my child having his/her picture taken.

Parent Signature_________________________________________Date____________________________

**This event is not associated with Hereford Middle School or the Hereford Middle PTA**

Hereford Zone Robotics announce the 8th annual

HZR Summer Camp seriesExplore programming, building, and sensor guided robots.

Explore 3d printing, CNC, & laser applications

Build robots to gain knowledge for VEX robotics competitions. VEX

IQ, EDR, and custom IDEA Lab robotics platforms

Date: July 16-20, 2018 Location: Hereford High Schoolcamps include: Level 1 VEXIQ gr.4-7 Level 2 VEXIQ robotics, gr.6-7

(as of 2018-19 school year)

VEX EDR 'metal' robotics- gr 8-12open to all students

Full website at: hzr929.com Contact: Chris Putnam- cputnam@bcps.org

Check out full camp descriptions on our website save $$ - Early bird registration by May 27th

Camp page link>> http://www.hzr929.com/robotics-camp.html

10 HZR teams at 2018 Worlds, 12 years in a row competing at VEX Worlds, latest V5 VEX EDR systems, Robot Virtual Worlds, Robot Mesh Studio, IDEA Lab, strong mentor/student

ratio, Teachers with combined 80 years experience in k-12 Engineering instruction

IDEA LAB MAKER Camp, gr. 4-8

http://www.hzr929.com/robotics-camp.htmlhttp://www.hzr929.com/

11

12

Do you have bicycles that your children have outgrown?

Would you like free bikes for your children, grandchildren or school?

Are you interested in recycling bikes instead of buying new ones?

Do you want to save money?

WHEN: Saturday, May 12, 2018

WHERE: Hereford High School front parking lot.

HOW:

9 am to 11 am - Drop off used bikes that your family has outgrown or that you no longer want. The bikes must be in good working order.

Noon to 1:00 pm - Select a free used bike that fits your child. Daycare centers, schools and the public are welcome to take any remaining bikes after the Bike Swap is over.

Please note:

The first people to drop off bikes in the morning will be the first ones to select other used bikes beginning at noon. First come, first served.

No cash is exchanged. This is a free service intended to recycle used bikes and provide free bikes to children who need them.

Community service hours are available for teens from 9 am to 1 pm. Just show up at 9 am and bring cleaning supplies so that you can clean and repair the bikes.

Even if you don’t need another bike, you can donate your used bikes to the Bike Swap if the bikes are in good working order.

Leftover bikes are free for the taking.

This project is sponsored by the Hereford Optimist Club (www.HerefordOptimist.org) For more

information, please contact Bob Roth nwbmwbob@yahoo.com Thank you very much!

Bike Swap – May 12, 2018

RECYCLE your old bicycles!

13

14