News

We are so excited to announce that the Class of 2030 will perform The Spongebob Musical: Youth Edition this fall! This long-standing Hockaday tradition will continue to bring our eighth grade class and community together during this production process. We are also excited to introduce our Musical Chairs, Traci Lee and Katie Reese, to the community. Class of 2030 students and parents, please be on the lookout for upcoming communications from our Musical Chairs. We look forward to another memorable eighth grade musical experience!

Eighth Grade Graduation will be held on Friday, May 23, 2025, at 11:00 am. Eighth grade parents and students received a final communication this week with additional Eighth Grade Graduation details and upcoming important dates. Please contact Mrs. Christenson with any questions. If you did not receive this communication, please contact Alexa Heck in the Middle School office.

Please join us in celebrating our 2024-25 Middle School artists!

Hockaday Middle School Art Exhibition (May 7 - 19)

Reception on Thursday, May 15, 2:05-3:30 pm

Ann Bower '67 Gallery

Middle School students will have normal arrival and dismissal times during the last week of school, and fifth - seventh grades are dismissed for summer on Thursday afternoon.

 

Thursday, May 22
Regular arrival and dismissal times
MS Closing Assembly, 10:30 am-11:30 am (dress uniform) 

Green and White Day in the afternoon for 5th - 8th grades

 

Friday, May 23              
9:30 am: Eighth Grade students (in white attire) and MS Honor Guard (in Dress Uniform) dropped at Hoak Portico for Eighth Grade Graduation preparation

11:00 am: Eighth Grade Graduation and reception following the ceremony for 8th graders, faculty, and guests 

Now that spring sports are over, afternoon carpool traffic will be a bit heavier until the end of the school year. Afternoon carpool dismissal times are:

As multiple end-of-year activities and festivities are rapidly approaching, a friendly reminder that any treat or food that your daughter is asked to bring to school needs to be nut free.

As students clean out lockers, we have some reminders that will be helpful for them. The expectation is that they will leave their lockers in the condition received. Students may want to bring in a rolling suitcase or sturdy totes for easy transport of items to carpool. Cleanout time for all Middle School grades will take place on Wednesday, May 21. Students may continue to use their lockers after clean-out for items needed for the remainder of the school year, including blazers for the year-end assembly. All lockers, 5/6 Commons, and 7/8 Commons will be checked on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, and any belongings found at that time will be donated to charity. 

Lost & Found tables will be on display the week of May 12 for students to retrieve their lost items. We will inform students that all Lost and Found items and any belongings left in the Commons areas after May 23 will be donated to charity. Please encourage your daughters to check the Lost and Found and to bring home all items not stored in their lockers. 

All library materials checked out to Middle School students were due back to the Lower/Middle School Library by Monday, May 5. Weekly overdue notices are sent to students via their Hockaday email. If you or your child have any questions about their library account, please contact Ms. Walton at ewalton@hockaday.org.

All Middle School students are expected to read at least two books over the summer break. For grade-specific instructions, please log in to OnCampus and click the Library tile, or click here.

All incoming fifth graders are placed in the same level math class; however, based on teacher recommendation, we offer enriched sections of math in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades and a modified approach section in eighth grade.  

When making math placement recommendations, we analyze a wide variety of criteria:  the end-of-year math inventory, report card grades and feedback, ERB scores, the ability to comprehend new and more abstract concepts, enrichment/bonus (higher level) problems, and comfort with risk-taking. Most students are placed in our already advanced regular sections of math. Math teachers will reach out to families if your daughter is recommended for a sixth, seventh, or eighth grade enriched or modified section in eighth grade. 

Our highly anticipated Green and White Day is just around the corner! Throughout the year, students have been earning points in various activities and challenges during PE classes. On Green and White Day, they'll showcase their skills, team spirit, and sportsmanship in a day packed with thrilling competitions, friendly rivalry, and unforgettable memories. Middle School students will participate in Green and White Day in the afternoon on Thursday, May 22. Please refer to these guidelines: 

You will receive an email packet from the Middle School Office in late July that will provide back-to-school information. Please note that Back-to-School Day for next year is Monday, August 18. 

The Eighth Grade Musical Faculty Team will be holding a Virtual Meeting for current seventh grade parents and new eighth grade families on Thursday, May 8 from 6:00-6:30 pm to provide some useful preliminary information. Parents will receive another reminder with the link that week.

On Tuesday, April 22, sixth graders will enjoy a half-day social impact field trip, departing campus after lunch. They will partner with the Texas Conservation Alliance (TCA) to connect with their social impact theme of water and hear from TCA and the City of Dallas about local water sources and how conservation efforts help protect and support water systems. Students will participate in a challenge from TCA with St. Mark's sixth graders to engage more Dallas residents in conservation work. They will also support native plants in the area and use the design thinking process to develop solutions, which they will pitch to TCA staff and City of Dallas Parks and Recreation employees to increase engagement. Students should wear a Hockaday t-shirt, long pants, jeans or leggings, socks that cover the ankles, and closed-toe shoes (sneakers) and also bring a reusable water bottle. Work gloves, bug spray, and sunscreen are optional and recommended. Students will be given a Field Trip Information Sheet to bring home with additional information.

Sixth grade parents received an email explaining the process for world language selection for your daughters. The choices broaden in seventh grade to include Spanish, French, and Latin. Students were informed about their options in a recent class meeting. Please submit the online language selection form by Friday, April 11.

The Middle School Student Council will hold elections for the 2025-2026 officers this spring. Middle School Student Council offices include: 

Middle school students in grades 5-7 will receive an email the week of April 7th with information on the duties of each office, how to file for office, and guidelines on campaign expectations. The deadline to file for office is Thursday, April 17.  Elections will be held Wednesday, May 7. 

Parents will receive a communication next week when third term interims are available online. Students receive an interim from their teacher when there are areas for growth and improvement that need to be noted. If no interims are written for your child, no interims will show up when you are allowed access. Teachers are asked to call or email parents in advance of the actual written interims.  

Rising Form I Orientation
Eighth Grade families, please mark your calendars for the Rising Form I Orientation for parents and students on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00 pm. You will be receiving more details from Upper School.

8/9 Transition Day

All Middle School students will take the online CTP5 assessment provided by the Educational Research Bureau on the mornings of Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4. Afternoon classes and activities will be held at the conclusion of testing on both days. This assessment provides a standardized data point for the school and teachers to use in conjunction with classroom assessment to provide an overview of your daughter’s educational growth and our school programming. There is no special preparation needed for any CTP5 test except to be sure students get a good night's sleep and eat a nutritious breakfast. We ask that you not schedule any doctor or dentist appointments on those mornings; we do not provide make-ups as we value and study the longitudinal implications of these assessments rather than the results in any individual year. When you receive the results of these assessments in June, a detailed interpretation of your daughter’s scores will be included. Please keep in mind that these percentiles and stanines indicate how your daughter performed on certain tests on a given day and should be viewed in context of her overall classroom experience in learning and not considered an indicator of her future academic success.  

On Wednesday, April 9, seventh graders will enjoy a social impact field trip day. They will depart campus mid-morning and return in time for regular afternoon carpool pick-up. Students should bring a nut-free sack lunch and reusable water bottle. Students should wear a Hockaday t-shirt with jeans, leggings, or PE-approved sweatpants and sneakers; clothes should be appropriate for outdoor work. Students will engage in their theme of food insecurity by touring Paul Quinn College’s ‘We Over Me Farm’ and volunteering at ’Joppy Momma’s Farm.’  Students will be given a Field Trip Information Sheet to bring home with additional details.

It is time for the highly anticipated Fifth Grade Olympics on April 2nd! This thrilling tradition is a highlight of our Physical Education curriculum and a day the girls will remember for years. Country placements have been announced and teams are already hard at work practicing events during PE class. We have stressed the importance of sportsmanship and enthusiastic participation as the highest Olympic ideals, and we all look forward to a fun-filled day! We thank you for your support and hope you can join us for the event. Please check your email for a more detailed outline of the day's events. If attending any events, parents should follow campus security guidelines by checking in at Hoak or LLARC and wearing the parent name badge.

• Each girl will be provided a shirt and customizing the shirt in any way is not allowed.
• No face paint or temporary tattoos.
• The students need to bring the following PE equipment – water bottle, mouth guard, eyewear, shin guards, long socks, swimsuit, swim goggles, swim cap, towel, and sunscreen.
• Let the games begin!

Seventh Graders will have the opportunity to participate in an optional Social Impact activity with St. Mark's at White Rock Lake through For the Love of the Lake on April 12 from 10 am-12 pm.  Information can be found by clicking here.

 

Eighth Graders will have the opportunity to participate in an optional Social Impact activity with St. Mark's at White Rock Lake through For the Love of the Lake on May 10 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Information can be found by clicking here.

We look forward to seeing you on campus with your daughter for conferences on Thursday, March 13 and the morning of Friday, March 14. Please refer to this email if you have not already signed up. These conferences are an important opportunity to review your daughter’s progress this year. Eighth grade families and advisors will discuss the registration procedure for the upcoming ninth grade year.       

 The days at Hockaday seem to fly by, filled with the joy and energy each student and faculty member brings to our community. It is hard to believe we are approaching the third term, which also means report cards will be published soon. Families can expect an email next week with instructions on accessing their daughter’s report card. 

 

Report cards offer valuable academic insights and provide an opportunity for meaningful reflection. I encourage parents to focus on areas where their daughter demonstrated strong effort, as diligence and perseverance are always positive indicators of growth. Similarly, take time to celebrate any areas where your daughter showed improvement. Engaging your daughter in a conversation about her report card is an excellent way to support her learning journey. Here are a few guiding questions that can help facilitate a thoughtful discussion:  

Encouraging your daughter to articulate her thoughts helps place the focus on growth and fosters her ability to identify strengths and areas for development. These conversations can be especially meaningful for sixth-grade families, as this is the first time the girls are receiving letter grades. As always, please feel free to contact your daughter’s teachers with any questions or concerns. We are here to support your daughter every step of the way.  

As winter sports have come to an end, 7/8 afternoon carpool traffic will be a bit heavier until the spring season begins on February 18.  

Eighth graders will host their peers from both St. Mark’s and Cistercian at our Valentine’s Dance on Friday, February 7, in the Small Gym from 7:00-9:00 pm.  Please enter campus at the Forest Lane entrance for drop-off and pick-up. Attire for the evening is festive dresses. Sneakers are also required. Snacks and drinks will be served; please have your daughter eat dinner before the party. 

All Coffees will take place in Biggs Dining Hall from 8:00-9:00 am. A reminder will also be sent to parents closer to the event date. 

 

Fifth Grade Parent Coffee – Monday, February 3

Sixth Grade Parent Coffee – Tuesday, February 4

Seventh Grade Parent Coffee – Wednesday, February 5
Eighth Grade Parent Coffee – Thursday, February 6 

Happy New Year! As we settle back into home life and routines after the Holidays, the start of 2025 offers a wonderful opportunity to reflect, reset, and set meaningful goals for your family. Whether it’s small adjustments or big changes, here are a few ideas to consider as you plan for a successful and connected year ahead:  

 As we move into the second half of the 2024-2025 school year, I am excited about all the possibilities that lie ahead. Thank you for your continued partnership and support in making this a rewarding and joyful year for your students. 

Second term interims will be available online the week of January 20; you will receive an email when those are posted and open for your viewing. Students receive an interim from their teacher when there are areas for growth and improvement that need to be noted. If no interims are written for your child, no interims will show up when you are allowed access. Teachers are asked to call or email parents in advance of the actual written interims.