DRESS UNIFORMS: Please remember that all Middle School students will begin wearing their dress uniforms tomorrow on each Day 4 until it gets too warm in the spring. The dress uniform includes the Hockaday blazer, an oxford shirt, our plaid skirt, and regulation shoes. If a child forgets her blazer on a Day 4, we have extras that she may borrow; she will not be allowed to call home for that item. In addition, after the first “forget,” students will receive a uniform violation form each time any part of the dress uniform is not worn on Day 4. 

COMMUNITY SERVICE: Our extended Coat Drive concludes tomorrow. Thank you so much for the donations you have made; many area agencies will now be prepared when that first cold snap hits and some of our area neighbors are in need of warmth. Our “Socktober” Drive will run through the end of October. Each Friday in October, Middle School girls are wearing different types of socks to support the Drive. Indeed, they are learning meaningful lessons from our community service program and will have another chance to make donations as we collect candy from November 1-4. Area groups will use those donations as treats during the upcoming holiday season, so please send Halloween leftover candy to school with your daughter beginning on Tuesday, November 1.

TENNIS TRYOUTS: As the number of participants in Middle School tennis continued to grow (over 40 last spring), our Middle School added a winter tennis program for our students, thus providing a productive learning environment, adequate practice time, and an opportunity for competition experience. Tennis is limited greatly by court space and match availability as other area programs limit their Middle School tennis teams to approximately 15 players. This option will allow Hockaday to accommodate all seventh and eighth grade athletes interested in tennis and offer a meaningful experience for all experience and skill levels.

The winter tennis program will be offered to students whose skills levels range from beginner to intermediate. Players will learn basic skills, rules, etiquette, and strategies, and match play will be intra-squad and open for spectators. Athletes with more experience will compete during the spring tennis season. Tina Maddux will coach during both seasons. Try-outs for winter and spring tennis placement will occur on October 31-November 3 from 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m., a week prior to regularly scheduled winter sport tryouts. There will be no tryouts for tennis later in the year as placement for both the winter and spring seasons is based on the November tryouts. 

Athletes participating in winter tennis may then try out for another spring sport. Those who play spring tennis may try out for another winter sport (basketball, soccer or swimming) during try-outs for those Middle School sports on Monday, November 7 through Wednesday, November 9. However, athletes participating in winter tennis are not eligible to also play spring tennis in the same school year, and spring tennis players will not be able to play winter tennis. Seventh grade winter tennis players would be eligible to try out in a similar manner next year when they are eighth graders.  

SAFETY EXERCISES: As mentioned previously, Hockaday engages the entire community in safety exercises throughout the year.  We will engage in an inclement weather drill on Friday, October 14. Our Lockdown drill was canceled at the end of September, so we will go through that exercise on Wednesday, October 19.After this initial round of drills, no further safety exercises will be announced before they occur.

SIXTH GRADE FIELD TRIP ON OCTOBER 21: Sixth graders have a field trip coming up on Friday, October 21, visiting art centers and the Sixth Floor Museum, in preparation for their Williamsburg trip.  The girls should bring lunches from home that day, but please do not include any food items that contain nuts or peanut butter.  The girls will wear their dress uniforms for the field trip. Click here for more information.

HALLOWEEN PARTIES: All Middle School students will come to school in costume on Monday, October 31 and will end their school day with grade level Halloween parties put on by our wonderful parent volunteers from 2:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Halloween costume guidelines are as follows:

TEDxKids @SMU: The TEDx and TED model of conferences are an ideal platform to present new, engaging ideas to the next generation of leaders, artists, creators, innovators, and inventors. Short, energetic presentations by astounding thinkers on a broad array of topics ranging from the science of yo-yo’s to space exploration take students out of the classrooms and into a setting where the teachers are the people actually thinking up and executing these big ideas.

Rachel Brandt, Dean of Student Life, recently offered an opportunity to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who want to attend TEDxKids@SMU on Friday, November 11. The theme this year is “Illuminate.” A committee of Hockaday teachers is reviewing the submissions and will select ten students to attend this event with Mrs. Brandt. Submissions are evaluated based on the creativity described through the following prompts which could be as a written answer (essay, poem, etc.), video file, YouTube or art project: If you could give a TEDxKids@SMU Talk, what would your idea worth spreading be? Why? How have you brightened someone else's day?

UPCOMING EVENTS: The next few weeks are incredibly busy and exciting; I sound like that is “new” around here! We have a Williamsburg parent meeting on Monday, October 17 and the sixth grade field trip on October 21. And then…here comes Halloween which was addressed above.  October ends with three, not-to-be-missed performances of the eighth grade musical, Seussical Jr. Students will see a performance Thursday afternoon, October 27. You are invited to enjoy the production on Wednesday evening, October 26 at 6:30 p.m. and on Friday evening, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free, there are no reserved seats (but ample seating), and the doors will open thirty minutes in advance of curtain time. If someone in your family requires special seating due to health issues, please contact me before the performances so that I can manage seating for them.Add in a spirit rally sponsored by One Hockaday and the Candy Drive, and the first term will close amidst a buzz of activity!

 

My best,

Linda Kramer
Head of Middle School