DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012.  Tuesday-Thursday-Friday week.  Trimester 2, Focus 3; 1/23/11 through 2/9/11.

New!  Spring Parent Athletics Information Meeting, Thursday, March 8th @ 7:00pm, Hudson High School Auditorium.  This meeting is mandatory for all parents and their 7th and 8th grade students who are interested in participating in Hudson Middle School Athletics this spring.  During this meeting we will discuss interscholastic athletics opportunities at HMS, OHSAA, league and school rules pertaining to athletics as well as academic eligibility, required paperwork, etc., and answer questions you may have concerning your child's participation on our school-sponsored teams.  Concluding breakout sessions:  7/8 boys & girls track - HS Media Center; 7/8 Girls' lacrosse - HS Auditorium Balcony.

New!  This announcement is for all boys with items remaining in the team room in the locker room.  You must remove your belongings today.  The space is needed for visiting teams.  Thank you!

New!  Attention all 4Kids members:  We are asking all interested 4Kids members to create an original design for their 4Kids t-shirt.  All submissions will be judged by a panel and the top 5-6 designs will be displayed for a 4Kids vote.  If you are interested in designing a shirt, please stop by the main office to pick up a contest guideline form.  Submissions must be received by next Wednesday, February 8, in time for our next 4Kids meeting, which is Thursday, February 9.

Do you love dogs and cats?  If you do, then bring in any old or new fabric, blankets, sheets, pillow cases, towels and comforters or any other "soft" materials to school.  There are two boxes located in the commons and teacher's lounge.  This will help many unfortunate dogs and cats that have been abused or neglected to obtain a home from Geauga Country Rescue Village.  For more details, see Ellie Adler, Alina Coy, Andrea Giaimo, and Lily Schie.  

The music librarian has been found dead!  Was it a heart attack...or murder?  Students, grades 6-12 who would like to help solve this case, are invited to a mystery dinner held on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 6:00-8:00 at the Hudson Library and Historical Society.  The evening includes a pizza dinner and the chance to win Regal Cinema Movie passes.  Pre-registration is required and can be made in person or by call the library at 330-653-6658 ext. 1032.

A reminder to all members of the Wrestling team.  Uniform turn-in will be this Friday, February 3rd after school in the wrestling room.  A celebration of the outstanding season will follow the uniform turn in.  We should be done by 4:30.

Lately, we have had a number of students receiving deliveries from their parents of large lunches to share with their friends.  In theory, this is a very generous gift.  In reality, however, as you can imagine, it causes issues in the lunch room.  We encourage parents to have their children either purchase a lunch from school or bring an individual lunch with them to school in the morning.  Thank you for your understanding.

Three pairs of glasses have been found.  Two pairs in red cases, and another wire-rimmed in a black case.  See Mrs. Tschantz in the SRC to claim!

Attention all 8th grade girls interested in playing soccer in 9th grade at HHS!  Please plan on attending a high school soccer meeting with a parent on February 15th at 7:00 pm at Hudson High School, room C212.  More information can be found on a flyer on the Commons bulletin board, the team website www.hudsonsoccer.net, or by clicking here.

Here is the link to the Physical Education Activity journal.

NEWS FOR PARENTS:

Hudson PTO Pancake Breakfast LIMITED Edition T-shirts Now Available. Show your pancake pride by wearing this light blue, short-sleeved shirt featuring a navy “got pancakes?” logo.  Youth, ladies’ and men’s sizes are just $7.00 each.  Order forms are available at www.HudsonPTO.org or in each school’s main office.  Sales proceeds will benefit the Hudson schools. Send orders to school with your child or drop off at any school’s main office by Wednesday, February 1st.  Please contact Darcy Mihalek with any questions.

The 55th Annual Hudson PTO Pancake Breakfast will be held Saturday, March 3^rd in the Hudson High School Commons from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  All proceeds from the Pancake Breakfast will be given back to the Hudson City Schools in grants and scholarships.  Advance tickets are available to order ($7/adult & $5/child) through any McDowell or East Woods student (orders due Feb. 8^th).  Throughout the month of February, advance tickets can be purchased at The Learned Owl and Hudson ACME.  Visit www.HudsonPTO.org and click on the Pancake Breakfast page for more information.

Hudson Athletic Booster Club Discount Cards are now on sale for $10.00. The card has unlimited usage at 20 areas merchants from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2013. The Hudson Athletic Booster Discount Card pays for itself very quickly and is a great way to support our student athletes and local merchants. Purchase your discount card from any Hudson High School Athlete, at the Hudson High School Athletic Office or call Chris Rightnour at 330-528-3377 or email crightnour@aol.com. For more information go to www.hudsonboosterclub.com.

 8th graders are preparing for the scheduling process for 9th grade at Hudson High School.  An event timeframe can be found here.

Parents, please take a moment to check out 21 Healthy New Year Resolutions for Kids, provided by Akron Children's Hospital and our nursing staff.

To view the three-week FOCUS unit schedules, click here:  6th grade - Updated 10-26-11, 7th grade - Updated 10-26-11, 8th grade (Updated 11-1-11).

Here is the link to view the Middle School Focus Unit Presentation to the Board of Education on September 26, 2011.

WEEKLY TIP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENTS:

(Like) visitors to a foreign land, young adolescents feel insecure and lack confidence in their abilities.  Spend time letting them know what their gifts are.  Assure them that although their world is in constant flux, you are steadfast--and be steadfast.  Make school and home those places where they truly belong, where they can be themselves, and where mistakes can be allowed as long as one learns from them.  Share with them the language and values of adulthood; the value of discipline, hard work, service, family, self.  "Exploring the 'Cusp Culture' Helps Adolescents Navigate the Way to Adulthood" (www.nmsa.org)

STEM ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Volunteers needed for STEM Project Fair, Saturday, February 11 at Kent State University Student Union. We need floor managers, score keepers, judges and super judges from 8:00am - 12:30 lunch and continental breakfast are included. Scorekeepers and super judges may need to stay longer to determine award winners. Award Ceremony is at 2:30. Please go to http://hudsonstemalliance.org/Mentor__Judge_Signup.html to register, or contact Sheila King with questions.

PTA ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Cooking Together, Cooking Forever:  The Hudson PTA is proud to offer Cooking Together, Cooking Forever, which is an initiative of the Ohio PTA & Programs for Sustainable Change. Recognizing the alarming rise in childhood obesity, this program is designed to give you a simple, step-by-step method to teach your children a very important life skill – cooking delicious, nutritious meals. Go to www.programsfsc.org, click on user sign-up and enter group invitation code F02J8C.

Hudson PTA sponsors Anti-bulling Presentation:  Hudson PTA will sponsor an Anti-bullying Presentation on February 2, 2012 at 7 PM in the Hudson Middle School Auditorium A Speaker from Sherry Bevin Walsh Summit County Prosecutor’s office will discuss cyber bullying, texting, and computer e-mailing/Facebook. It is open to parents and students and will include a question and answer period.