October 9, 2023
Dear Indian Hills Middle School Community:
People often ask me how things are going so far as the principal of our school. It’s going quite well, I often say. And why is that you might wonder?
We have teachers who show up each day and do their best. We aren’t perfect, but we care about kids. We have students who, when one saw a lunch worker frustrated with a mess last week, stepped in to help her out. I have seen many students volunteer to help pick up pieces of trash outside during lunch to keep our campus looking nice. Last week I spoke with a student who wanted to add fun music to our hallway passing periods because it makes him and his friends happy, and another student asking about our schoolwide technology and how to make it better. I was also charmed to hear how many students participated in our Book Club last week and how excited they were to get a free book to read.
Those are just a few reasons why things are going well at our school and why I’m happy to be the principal of Indian Hills Middle School!
✔ Fall Break October 19th & 20th: Some of you have called to inquire whether the day before fall break, October 18th, will be a regular school day. The answer is “yes’ that day will be a regular school day starting at 8:05 a.m. and ending at 3:00 p.m.
✔ Instagram & Website: A reminder again to follow us on Instagram indianhillsmiddleschool & check out our updated website at: https://indianhills.canyonsdistrict.org/ . We post weekly events and highlights from our school. Last week featured some of our Warriors of the Day!
✔ Internet Safety: Canyons School District has updated information regarding internet safety and student devices in schools. The flyer below includes specific information, including FAQ’s. The district has also provided valuable up-to-date information about Technology for Families on their website: https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/familyconnections/ . White Ribbon Week is also coming next week, and we will focus on Digital Citizenship with our students during that time.
✔ Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Intent to Continue: A Parent Square alert was sent a few weeks ago about the intent-to-continue process that all dual immersion learners in the 5thand 8th grades need to complete in order to continue with the program in middle and high school. The window to complete this application is September 25 – November 3, 2023.
✔ Pick-up/Drop off: We thank you for your patience with picking up and dropping off your students in the morning. As the cooler winter months approach, we will likely need to make some adjustments to our plan in order to accommodate for the snow, slush and traffic. In the meantime, we appreciate your respectful compliance as we strive to keep our students safe by keeping traffic in areas where we have adult supervision.
✔ Warrior Support: Our after-school academic support program continues to run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays throughout the school year. Any student who wishes to get extra help in math—or any subject—can go to the library from 3:00-4:00 p.m. for help from teachers. Our Warrior Support expectations are outlined below to ensure that this time is respectfully utilized.
✔ Thrive Time & Digital Citizenship: Our district has worked with parents, staff members, and other stakeholders to develop a series of lessons that are designed to help your student develop important social skills that will benefit them, both in and out of the classroom. These lessons will continue in October during 2nd period on Fridays and will include some digital citizenship material as well, during the week of October 16th. Click below to access to the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade lessons on Resilience, the unit that we are focusing on at this time: https://www.canyonsdistrict.org/thrivetime/
Upcoming Events:
- October 13th:
o Citizen of the Month in the Warrior Room at 7:30a.m. - October 16th-18th
o Digital Citzenship Week/WhiteRibbonWeek - October 19th-22nd
o Fall Break:No School - October 23rd:
o PTSA Reflection sDue - October 25th
o Make-up Picture Day
- October 27th:
o End of 1st Quarter - October 31st
o Costume Contest sponsored b your PTSA
We are better together at Indian Hills Middle School! Indian Hills Middle School Administration:
Shelly Karren Karlie Aardema Joeseph Olson
Indian Hills Warrior Support: Tuesdays-Thursdays 3:00 P.M.- 4:00 P.M.
What it looks like for Students:
- ● Students MUST arrive between
3:00-3:15 in order to participate in
Warrior Support.
- ● Students sit at the front of the
library at the tables.
- ● Students scan a QR code that takes
them to a Google Form they fill out.
- ● Students ask the teachers questions
and work on homework quietly.
- ● If teachers are not immediately
available, students work on what they can while waiting patiently for help.
- ● Only students who need help stay for Warrior Support. Students who do not need the support will head home after 3:30.
- ● Students who are not following expectations for library behavior will be invited to return another day for help.
- ● Students should submit the Google Form at the END of the time they spend in the library to report what they accomplished with the time.
- ● Students must exit the library through the doors to the outside, not back into the building.
What it looks like for Teachers:
- ● Teachers come to the library
immediately after 7th period.
- ● Teachers help students with the QR
code to sign into the Google Form.
- ● Teachers circulate among students,
offering help.
- ● Teachers invite students who are
not following expectations to leave
and try again another day.
- ● Teachers ensure that every students
who is in the library after 3:30 is
here for Warrior Support.
- ● Library doors will be locked at 3:30
when Miss McGowan leaves. After this, teachers ensure that students in the library are here for Warrior Support only.
- ● Teachers have students submit the form to report what they accomplished during the Warrior Support time. Then students exit through the outside door (not into the hallways), tidy up the library, and turn off the lights before leaving.
Warrior Support Time is …
Homework time ⚫ Help Time ⚫ Study Time ⚫ Quiet time
Warrior Support Time is not …
Friend Time ⚫ Goof Off Time ⚫ Hang Out Time
Warrior Support
Tuesdays – Thursdays ⚫ 3:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Purpose: To give students extra support from a teacher to help with homework or concepts not understood during class time.
