Excerpts from The Hall Weekly Bulletin - June 9, 2008

Principal's Message

Graduation Events Graduation is upon us, and next week will be replete with graduation-related activities. Here is a guide to the upcoming events. The first of two graduation rehearsals will be on Thursday, June 12, from 1:00 pm – 3:05 pm. All graduates must attend. The 8th Grade Awards Assembly will be Friday, June 13, from 8:40 am – 9:50 am and will recognize students for their academic achievement, participation in extra curricular activities, attendance, and community service.  Immediately following the Awards Assembly will be the second, and final, graduation rehearsal.  Students will be released from school at the end of the rehearsal, which should be around 12:00 pm.  Graduates must arrive no later than 2:00 pm for the class portrait. Graduation Ceremony and Reception – Friday, June 13, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2008 will be on Friday, June 13 at 3:00 pm. The ceremony will be in the gym and a short reception will follow. Given the size of this year’s graduating class, seating will be extremely limited. Guest seating in the gym can accommodate four guests per graduate. We ask that all families follow this guideline. The graduation dance will take place in the Hall gym from 8:30 pm – 11:00 pm. We prefer that parents accompany their children to and from the dance. Parents are invited to see the dance decorations and then return to pick up their graduate at 11:00 pm, unless they are chaperones. Only graduates from the class of 2008 may attend the dance. Attendees will not be permitted to leave the dance early without parent permission. Graduation Attire For the Awards Assembly in the morning, students can wear school clothes. Students are permitted to dress up for this event, but are not required to, especially considering the fact that a two-hour rehearsal follows the ceremony. At the graduation ceremony boys should wear a dress shirt and a tie.  Girls may not have bare shoulders, but are permitted to wear spaghetti straps.  At the dance students can choose to dress up or dress casually.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Picnic Wednesday This Wednesday we will be celebrating the end of the year with the annual school-wide picnic. This year we will celebrate close to home – Piper Park will be the location for our outside activities and games.  A permission slip went home with your child on Thursday.  Please contact the office if you did not receive one. Students must have a signed permission slip in order to participate in the event. Additionally, students must have all textbooks and library books returned or paid for in order to participate. Please support your child’s attendance at this event by ensuring that all materials are returned on time. Needs for Next Year I mentioned in my last message that we need a parent for Site Council for next year. Please contact me if you are interested. Also, we need a parent to help us to go green and organize and disseminate our Weekly Bulletin electronically. We will be losing the wonderful services of Carlos Pedraza next year and will need someone to step in to this important role. Changes for Next Year The enrichment wheel for sixth and seventh grade will undergo a small modification next year. In both sixth and seventh grade, students will take a quarter-long class that is split between Fine Arts and Quest. Students will take Fine Arts for half of the quarter and Quest for half, as well. Quest is a character education and decision-making class that helps students identify their values, maintain positive relationships, and make healthy decisions. By offering half-quarter classes at both grade levels we will be able to provide content and activities that are age appropriate, sequential and in the case of Fine Arts, builds upon the Artist in the Classroom lessons in sixth and seventh grade. Our lunch program at Hall will also look different next year. After a year of research and deliberation, we are looking to implement the Good Earth lunch program that has been in effect at Neil Cummins. A Wonderful Year This was another great year at Hall Middle School. I continue to be impressed with the academic program our teachers provide to our students and proud of the effort and achievements of our students. I appreciate all of the support that parents, community and Board members have given to Hall this year. This year we have seen our Odyssey of the Mind teams win county titles and compete on the State level. Our Mathletes team finished second in the county (first among public schools). Our athletic teams have represented the school with honor and distinction and at the recent county track meet many of our students earned awards for their performances. Our students continue to shine in and out of the classroom!   - Daniel Norbutas - Hall Principal