Weekly Newsletter- Week of October 27

Upcoming Dates for HMS Families- Mark Your Calendars!

10/27-10/31 Red Ribbon Week

• 10/28 and 10/30 Red Ribbon Lunch Activities

• 10/30 Wear Red for Red Ribbon Week

10/29 College Day  - Wear Your Favorite College Gear

10/29 & 10/30 Halloween Kindness Candygrams for Sale at all Lunches 

11/6 Thrive Together Night (Be Nice Parent and Family Event) 5:30-7:30 @HMS

11/11 8th Graders Transmatic Field Trip

11/18 8th grade Be Nice Club Field Trip

11/20 Career Day!  Special Schedule all day (1:00-2:40 actual career event)

Thrive Together Night: A Family Mental Health Night November 6 | 5:30–7:30 PM

Join us for an evening dedicated to family mental wellness! Parents will hear from local experts about supporting student mental health, online safety, and community resources. Meanwhile, students will enjoy fun activities in the Media Center, including affirmations, coping skills bingo, and a Music & Mood game.

After pizza, families will explore our Family Wellness Fair with hands-on “make and take” stations:

• Stress Balls – Create your own calming squishy

• Coping Strategy Cards – Build a personalized calm book

• Aromatherapy Sachets – Make a soothing scented bag

• Gratitude Journals – Decorate and fill with positive notes

• Resource Stations – Learn about local support services

Bring your family and connect, learn, and create together!

This Week… Halloween Kindness Candygram Sales Are Back! 🍬

This week, Students can send a sweet message to a friend, teacher, or classmate! Candygrams are small notes with a piece of candy attached that students can purchase to spread kindness and positivity. The Halloween Kindness candygrams are purchased at lunch and then they will be delivered to 7th period classes on Halloween day. They’ll be on sale during lunches on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, and all proceeds will go toward supporting the be nice club. The cost is 50 cents for a small sucker and $1 for a ring pop. Students can make someone’s day a little sweeter!

Peer Support Groups Starting

The HMS Counselors and Counseling Intern will be hosting several support group opportunities for students starting in late November.  Groups focus on topics like managing anger, family changes, self-esteem, organization, and leadership. Each group meets weekly for 5–6 weeks and provides a safe, supportive space for students to learn, share, and build new skills.

👉 Click here for details about HMS Support Group Opportunities.

Red Ribbon Week: October 21–25 – Life is a Puzzle, Stay Drug Free

This week at HMS, we’re celebrating Red Ribbon Week, a national campaign that raises awareness about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, and vaping. Our goal is to help students make healthy choices and discover their own healthy “natural high.”

During the week, students will participate in daily advisory activities focused on avoiding risky substances. We’ll also have lunch activities on Tuesday and Thursday, and students are encouraged to “Wear Red” on Thursday to show their support.

We use lessons developed by Natural High, an organization with research-based resources for both students and parents.

Did you know teens who consistently learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to 50% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t? That’s the power of your voice—and we’re here to back you up!

To make this an even more powerful experience for your child, we encourage you to talk with your kids about what they are learning this week. Here are a few prompts to help you get the conversations rolling and engage with your child at home:

●      What is one thing you learned about the dangers of substances this week?

●      What is one thing you learned that you think I should know?

●      What do you think concerns me most when it comes to you and drugs and alcohol?

Here are some other tips for talking with your tween about drugs/alcohol/tobacco (taken from talksooner.org):

1. Take time to be a family---  Still plan family outings, even if your kids think it’s not cool. Make family dinners a priority—eating together has been shown to reduce risk-taking behaviors in youth while increasing things like self esteem and GPAS.
2. Consider Your Actions---  At this age, kids will notice when a parent has a glass of wine or beer at home, or grabs medicine from the cabinet every once in a while. Being responsible with your own use of alcohol and drugs is also teaching an important lesson.
3. Look for teachable moments in any place possible---The car can be a perfect place as they are “trapped.” Ask open ended questions and really listen to their answers.
4. Establish yourself as a resource---If kids know they can count on you for answers to their questions, they will come back for more information.
5. Never stop building your relationship with them---Continue to work to establish a level of trust so they know they can come to you with any concern.
6. Continue to establish and enforce clear rules---Be willing to talk about why these standards are important to you.
7. Make sure to share your views and opinions with them---Let them know how you feel about drugs/alcohol/etc. and what your expectations are for issues like these.
8. Help them learn to resist peer pressure---Role playing scenarios will help prepare them for possible situations and build confidence in standing up for what they believe in.

Upward Bound Program Opportunity
Throughout this month in Advisory, all 8th grade students will be learning about the Hope College Upward Bound Program, a federally funded program that provides academic support, mentoring, and enrichment opportunities. Being successful in high school and preparing for college can be challenging, but Upward Bound has a tremendous success rate in helping students stay on track and reach their goals. Applications are now open for current 8th graders who are interested in joining the program as they begin 9th grade. This is the website link for more details and the application: https://hope.edu/offices/upward-bound/

Upward Bound is an extremely valuable program for first-generation students—those whose parents or guardians did not complete a four-year college degree. The program’s goal is to help students build confidence, strengthen study skills, and explore future education and career options. This is an incredible opportunity, and we encourage families to learn more and consider applying!  Contact Mrs. Legg at klegg@hollandpublicschools.org for more information.

Attention students!
Holland High School’s fall musical, SpongeBob the Musical, is looking for middle school students to join the ensemble! No singing experience is required, and rehearsals are flexible. If you’re interested, email our director, Kate Leighton-Colburn, at kleighto@hollandpublicschools.org. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the show!

SPORTS: 

N/A

GENERAL INFO

Important Reminder regarding food delivery: 
The use of food delivery services including but not limited to Door Dash, GrubHub, UberEats, restaurants etc. is not permitted by students or parents during the school day or during early release on Wednesdays.  If it is necessary, parents may drop off lunch to the main office during the designated lunch period or at the early release time.  

TARDY POLICY

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We want to inform you that a revised Tardy Policy will go into effect starting Monday, September 15, 2025. A tardy report will be run every Friday at 2:45 pm OR end of the school week. Parents of students with a minimum of 5 unexcused tardies will receive an email with an exact total along with additional information pertaining to your student’s status. Please note that tardies to Advisory will now be counted toward a student’s total number of tardies for the current quarter. Repeated tardies will result in disciplinary consequences in accordance with our school guidelines. The following link is a copy of the revised 2025-26 HMS Tardy Policy 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xAF2ck-t-dslrJj6nUqSogYyS14lE5FeHJzXD4zKWvM/edit?usp=sharing  

We appreciate your support in helping students arrive at school and to classes on time and ready to learn each day. 

Sincerely,

Holland Middle School Administration

FREE LUNCH-  Please sign up!  Our goal is to get all HMS students signed up.  Your student will get a sweet treat by Friday September 5th.  https://www.hollandpublicschools.org/pub/news/posts/3298 

Chromebooks- Students will receive their chromebooks Monday.  They will leave these at school daily, unless they check it out from their 7th hour teacher.  It is their responsibility to bring it back charged.  

Lockers- We allow students to have backpacks during the day.  We will allow students to sign up for a locker starting Q2.  This is so students can focus on getting to class on time and not another location.  Athletes do have lockers in the gym.  

Information on drop-off times: School begins promptly at 7:30 a.m. Students should be dropped off in front no earlier than 7:00 a.m. Doors will open at 7:00 a.m.

Important notice regarding food deliveries: The use of food delivery services, including but not limited to DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, restaurant delivery, etc., is not permitted by students or parents during the school day. If necessary, parents may personally drop off lunch to the main office during the designated lunch period.

A reminder about attendance: Regular school attendance matters! Research has shown that students who miss more than 10% of school days are at a higher risk of lower grades in high school and college, and an increased chance of high school dropout. Parents/guardians, help your student succeed by helping them to establish a morning “get ready” routine, come up with a “plan B” for transportation if your student misses the bus, and if your student is sick, call school and provide a doctor’s note if possible so their absence can be excused.

Contacting Teachers - Use the staff directory to help contact your student's teachers.  You can also email directly from the Parent Portal Staff Directory