Monday, August 1, 2022

                          August 2022

From the Desk of the Principal...

It brings me great joy to share my first message with the Harter family.  I'm excited to be back and continue my journey at KHMS.  It is truly a privilege to serve as the principal of Kaneland Harter Middle School and to work in Kaneland C.U.S.D. 302.  I hope your family was able to spend time together this summer and enjoy the many offerings summer brings.  It's hard to believe the 2022-2023 school year is right around the corner.  

This is an important time for your child as he/she continues to take steps in his/her educational journey.  The success of this journey is directly correlated to the partnership that is developed between your home and our school.  Please help us develop that partnership by communicating with us whenever necessary.  We are fortunate to have families that put education at the top of the priority list and we value the relationships that have been formed and will be formed over the course of the school year.  We are truly strong when we work together.  

The Harter staff is eager to welcome your child to the school year.  We look forward to building upon and continuing our tradition of excellence.  

If I can ever be of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me.  

Sincerely,

Brian Faulkner  


Important Start of the Year Dates

Please note that schedules and locker/locker combination information will be available via Tyler on August 5th.  Bus routes will be available August 8th.     


Jump Start to Middle School for 6th Graders (August 8th - 12th - 8:00-10:00 a.m.)

  • Due to the requirements for staffing Jump Start, we are not taking walk-ins and a 6th grade student must be registered to attend.    
  • Jump Start is a full week program that prepares 6th grade students for their middle school transition.  Our students will get to know the building, learn their daily schedule, practice opening their locker, make new friends, and better understand a typical day as an KHMS student.  
   

Open House (Thursday, August 11th - 10:00-11:30 a.m. & 4:00-7:00 p.m.)

  • Open House provides our students an opportunity to self-tour the building, locate their classes, find and practice opening their locker, and put away school materials in their locker.  
  • Please have Tyler available on your phone or print your child's schedule and locker information before coming in.  We will not have a table with schedules or locker information.    
  • There are no formal presentations as this is simply an opportunity for students/parents to come into the building before the school year starts in order to be prepared for the first day of school.   
  • Our Health Office staff will be here for Open House.  Please feel free to use this time to drop off physicals, immunization paperwork, medications, and other health related items.  
   

First Day of School 

  • Our first day of school is Wednesday, August 17th.  Our school day is 7:25 a.m. - 2:40 p.m.  You can view our daily schedule here.  


Picture Day (Friday, August 19th)
  • More information regarding pictures will be emailed soon.   


Schedules
Schedules will be available through Tyler beginning August 5th.  We often receive requests for certain teams or teachers.  While we would love to honor requests, we simply can't.  Scheduling is a complicated process with numerous variables.  Changing one schedule will create other changes to other schedules and there is a large trickle effect with any changes.  We carefully plan and create schedules and a lot of work goes into the scheduling process.  Students can sometimes feel anxiety over their schedule (not knowing anyone, not having a certain friend on their team, etc.), but the beauty of middle school is making new friends and learning how to navigate the ups and downs of adolescence.  We also have times for students to be together when they are not on the same team (i.e., lunch, PE, exploratory classes, music).  Our staff does a fabulous job of helping students get to know one-another through team building activities.   


New Team Structures at KHMS

Harter has taken the 3-team structure and created 2 teams per grade.  Your child will either be on the Crimson or Silver team at his/her prospective grade level.  Your child will still receive his/her core classes (ELA, Science, Math, Social Studies) along with PE and Exploratory just like previous years.  The only difference is we now have two teams per grade level.  This change allows us to maximize our support of all students. 

This new structure will also incorporate MTSS (Multi Tiered System of Supports) teachers at each grade level.  Our new model allows us to provide additional instructional services for all students.  We are excited to continue blazing the path forward with how a school and district can evolve to meet the needs of students.    



School Supply Lists


6th Grade Health Requirements

In order to begin their middle school career, all 6th grade students will need to have their health requirements submitted to our Nurse's office, which requires a physical and dental examination.  Below are links to the forms.  

Physical 

Dental


Chromebooks

All students will receive a new chromebook this school year.  New chromebooks will be distributed by your child's team on the first day of school.  

 

New Staff

Please help us welcome our new staff to Harter Middle School. We are excited for our new staff to contribute to and enhance our tradition of excellence.   

  • Rachel Metcalf - 6 Crimson ELA/Science
  • Ethan Liljehorn - 6 Crimson ELA/Math
  • Margaret Pacana - 7 Crimson ELA/Science
  • Megan Foley - 8 Silver Social Studies 
  • Jay Bodine - Assistant Principal
  • Brian Faulkner - Principal 


PE Uniforms 
PE uniforms can be bought online through our webstore.  Students/parents will need to purchase a shirt and a lock (school issued lock).  Uniforms and locks will be distributed the first few days of school in your child's PE class.  If your child already has both items, there is no need to purchase new ones.   



Lunch Account
Students can purchase a lunch or bring in their own lunch each day.  Lunch will not be free for all students this year unlike the previous two years.  If your child plans on purchasing lunch, please see the below information.
  • Hot lunch is $3.20 or students can purchase ala carte items.  Ala carte items range in price depending on what is being purchased.   
  • Money can be put on your child's lunch account.  Money or checks can be taken at the register, but no change will be given back.  Change will be applied to your child's account.  Credit cards/debit cards will not be taken at the register.  
  • Deposits are credited to a student's account immediately, which means no student should have a negative balance.  If a student has a negative balance, they will be provided the hot lunch of the day.  No child will be denied a lunch, but please note that their account will be charged for the meal.   
  • Student accounts may have a spending threshold that parents can apply.  This can be done both daily and weekly.  Each transaction of purchased food will show up almost immediately on your account.  We will deny a student ala carte items if funds are not available or if they have hit their daily/weekly limit.  Once these limits are set, no one can change them except for a parent.  
  • Contact Gigi Statler (10629@kaneland.org) with any questions.   



Athletics & Activities 

We offer a variety of after-school extracurricular activities for our students.  

Click here for important information regarding fall sports.

Athletics
Fall Season - Cross Country, Girls Volleyball, Golf
Winter Season - Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Wrestling, Bowling
Spring Season - Track and Field 

For all athletic teams, please know that students are required to have a current physical on file to tryout or be a part of a team.  Physicals are considered valid for 13 months.  Physician's offices fill up quick and it is encouraged to get your child's physical done well before the first day of tryouts or practice.  

Activities
Some of the activities we offer at KHMS are: Jazz Band, Jazz Lab Band, Knightshift (choir) Fall Play, Spring Musical, Student Council, Knight Writers (newspaper), Art Club, IMSA Fusion, Snowflake, and Yearbook.  

With any afterschool athletic team or activity, announcements will be made during the school day and we will also post the information online.  



School Expectations 
Attendance - Start and End of the School Day
We are currently working on new pick up procedures for the afternoon.  Drop off in the morning will be the same.  More information will be sent in a separate communication as the school year draws closer.  Please note that we are going back to marking students as tardy to school if they arrive after 7:25 a.m.  We want all students to start school on time.      

Behavior Expectations
Our staff and students will extensively review our school expectations in all areas of Harter at the beginning of the year and throughout the year.  As we transition back to a more normal learning environment, we want to prepare our students for success and teaching our expectations explicitly will help our students.  We know the more structure we provide, the more our students will thrive.     

Cell Phone Expectations 
While we've always advocated for students to learn how to utilize technology appropriately, including cellphones, we have experienced numerous distractions and disruptions that last couple of years.  Due to this, we are reinforcing our expectations regarding students' use of cellphones during the school day.  All phones must be put away during the school day (not seen, used, or heard) unless a teacher gives permission.  Students will still be allowed to use their phones at lunch.    

We realize that cellphones make it easy to communicate with your child and this is why we will continue to allow them at lunch. This will be the time when students can check in with you in case you message them.  If there is an emergency or you need to get a hold of your child, please call the main office (630-466-8400) and we will relay the message or call them to the office to reach out to you.  

Our expectations will reduce the amount of distractions phones have caused and allow our students to experience success at higher rates.  Thank you for your understanding in this matter.  

 

Lunchroom Supervisors Needed
Harter is looking for lunchroom supervisors (paid position).  If you are interested, please fill out an application and contact Kris Weiss (10535@kaneland.org).  



August 2022 Important Dates
  • August 8-12 - Jump Start for 6th Graders
  • August 11 - Open House (10:00-11:30 a.m. & 4:00-7:00 p.m.)
  • August 17 - First Day of School 
  • August 19 - Picture Day (more information coming soon)
  • August 29 - September 2 - iReady Testing 

Enjoy the Rest of Your Summer!
Proud to be a Knight!!!
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