May 28, 2024

Dear Indian Hills Middle School Community:

As the 2024 school year comes to a close, it gives me pause for reflection. I was able to share that reflection at the Canyons District School Board meeting last week when they invited me to share some celebrations about our school.

I began with an anecdote about a positive interaction I had with one of our students who recently moved from Columbia. I noticed that she was a very good basketball player when I saw her on the court outside during lunch, impressing her classmates with her athletic prowess. I couldn’t help but join her on the court for a few shots at the hoop. It was clear that she has the potential to become a great athlete.

While the potential in our students in sometimes very visible, like this student’s basketball skill, other times it may not be as clear. During my twenty years as an educator, I have learned that there is amazing potential in every child. While some of that potential can be subtle, it often comes out in the most extraordinary ways.

During this school year, I have seen students becoming good citizens as they reached out to others, learned how to perspective-take and built empathy. I have seen extraordinary academic achievement with students earning high marks and making positive growth in their math and reading assessments. I have seen extraordinary performers in our concerts and talent show the past two weeks, and so much more.

I am ever-optimistic about our future when I see what our young people are in the process of becoming. We have so much to learn from them as they are likewise learning from us. I look forward to our partnership as a community and as a school as we look ahead to the 2024-25 school year.

Until then, enjoy your summer. Be safe. And stay tuned for updates on next school

year in a few months!

✔ Lagoon Day Reminders for 8th Graders on Tuesday, May 28th. Students will need to arrive at school on time to ride the bus to Lagoon. More reminders below:

• We will leave during 1st period and will arrive back at the school around 6:00

p.m. Please plan to pick up your student around this time, although return

time can vary, depending on traffic.

• Students must be in dress code to ride the bus.

• Please contact Mr. Olson at 801-826-7113 with any questions or concerns.

Buses will leave Lagoon at 5:15. If students are not on the bus, transportation becomes the responsibility of the parents.

✔ Memory Books: The PTSA is putting in another order of Memory Books. The order link is live now and will close on May 31st. It will take 3-4 weeks for the books to be printed and shipped. You will be contacted for pickup once they arrive at the school. The order link is open now and will close on May 31st.

https://indianhills.givebacks.com/store?limit=21&live=true

✔ Save the Dates for the 2024-25 school year: While it may be a little early to start thinking about next school year, we wanted to publish some important dates:

• Back to School Night will be held on Thursday, August 15th at 6:00 p.m.

• 6th Grade Orientation will be on Friday, August 16th at 8:00 a.m.

• The first day of school will be on Monday, August 19th.

✔ PTSA Survey: The IHMS PTSA has requested your participation in their needs assessment for the upcoming school year. This will help them better understand the needs of our school community. The needs assessment can be found using this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHzxW4d74PjbdlFk1LrlNYjqwFZEQVd

Thank you in advance for your participation! Anne Lavigne, IHMS PTSA

✔ May Library Updates: A huge thank you to all of you for supporting reading this year! Our school continues to lead the district (by A LOT) in books checked out on Sora, our digital reading platform. Check out our book checkouts this year:

• Ebooks: 111,044

• Audiobooks: 26,444

• Magazines: 3,359

• Physical books: 9,322

• TOTAL: 150,366!

✔ Summer Reading: The library will be sponsoring a Sora Summer Reading Competition. The student who reads (or listens to audiobooks) for the most minutes this summer will receive a $50 Amazon “Back to School” shopping spree in the fall. Sora is an app that can be added to iPads, iPhones, or can be used online with any computer at home. Students simply need to login with their Canyons District username and password. It’s that easy to have access to amazing summer reads. Happy reading!

✔ Digital Literacy for Summer: “Summer usually equals a little extra downtime, travels, and an opportunity to indulge. But in the age of the Internet, it’s easy to confuse the definition of indulgence with binge watching TV Netflix series, scrolling endlessly on social media, or browsing the hundreds of product pages of your favorite online stores.

“A better definition of holiday indulgence? Time spent away from screens to give your eyes and brain a break, reconnecting with yourself or loved ones, being present, and appreciating every moment.

“A summer digital detox can prime you to achieve all of the above—and engrain some powerful habits that will help you better control your screen time long after the summer ends.” (From “Start a Digital Detox this Summer” by Natalie Theodosi)

YEAR-END CALENDAR 2024

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
5/27         MEMORIAL DAY NO SCHOOL	5/28 Lagoon Day for 8th grade!   6th grade locker cleanout   7th grade locker cleanout	5/29   Last day for 6th graders!   (Alta Graduation)	5/30   Last day of school for 7th & 8th grade.   12:05 PM Release (no lunch provided)	5/31     Summer!

We are better together at Indian Hills Middle School!

Indian Hills Middle School Administration

Dear 8th Grade Families,

We are excited to announce our Lagoon Day this year! A few reminders:

• Lagoon Day will be on Tuesday, May 28th.
  • Students will need to arrive at school on time to ride the bus to Lagoon.
  • We will leave during 1st period and will arrive back at the school around 6:00 p.m.
  • If students are not riding the bus home, you will need to mark that on the digital permission slip
  • Students will need to purchase their tickets online:

Online Student Tickets: A parent or guardian must complete a digital permission slip for the student to ride the bus to Lagoon.

• Tickets, permission slips, and bus choice can be made at this link: https: // canyons.revtrak.net/ihms-lagoon-day-np# /list
  • Student tickets will be available to purchase online, in advance of your School Day. Students can get onto Lagoon’s Website and purchase tickets using the promo code Canyons2024 for the student rate of $54, including tax.
  • The tickets purchased for the School Day discount will ONLY be valid for May 28th.
  • Students will be able to go directly to the gate, since they purchased their tickets online.
  • Students do not have to purchase a ticket if they are a season pass holder.
  • Students must be in dress code to ride the bus.
  • There will not be any cost to the students to ride the school bus. Students must abide by school rules in order to ride the bus and IHMS Administration reserves the right to revoke bus privileges.
  • Once a bus is chosen. no changes may be made.

Transportation for students not on the buses by departure time (5:15 P.M.) becomes the responsibility of the parents.

Sincerely,

Indian Hills Middle School Administration