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August 18, 2024 Principal Message

Good afternoon, this is Steve Mares, Interim Principal of Heritage Middle School, with a message for Sunday, August 18th. A copy of this message will be posted on our school website (https://www.wcpss.net/heritagems) and emailed and texted to our school families.

 

 

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:

 

WELCOME BACK TRACK 3! It will be wonderful to have Track 3 join us again in school beginning tomorrow, Monday, August 19th! We look forward to seeing our Track 3 students, staff, and families again!

 

ALL THREE TRACKS ARE BACK IN SCHOOL BEGINNING TOMORROW, MONDAY, AUGUST 19TH: Please remember that beginning tomorrow morning, Monday, August 19th, all three Tracks will be back in school at the same time. I ask that we all be understanding of the additional cars in both morning and afternoon carpool, additional students that will be riding our buses, that there will be more students on campus for the next three weeks, etc. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

 

THANK YOU TO OUR TRACK 4 FAMILIES FOR A GREAT OPEN HOUSE! I just wanted to thank our Track 4 staff, students, and school families for a great Open House last Wednesday night! Thank you for your understanding of our need to reschedule this event, and thank you for being here to help us build connections with each other as we all work to help our students reach their ultimate potential!

 

SUPPORT FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR WALKERS: Families of students who walk home at dismissal time, I am asking for your support in speaking to your student to ensure their safety as they cross the streets near our school. We have been fielding several reports that our students are playing in the crosswalks, not watching for traffic, crossing the street when the sign says, “Do Not Walk,” and essentially goofing around and not paying attention to traffic at intersections. I have made announcements this week to alert our students and remind them of these safety issues and I would appreciate you all reinforcing these points with your walker. Thank you for your help in ensuring that our students arrive at school and arrive at home safely every day!

 

CARPOOL REMINDERS: Now that all our Tracks will be coming to school together for the first time beginning Monday, I wanted to be sure to reiterate a few Carpool Procedures so that our students can remain safe, and we can expedite our Carpool process:

 

  • Please do not turn around in the middle of the road. In the afternoon, our carpool drivers should be turning around at the Front Entrance to the Elementary School. In the morning, our carpool drivers need to go through the Elementary School Bus Loop and then “zipper” in with the Heritage Elementary School carpool parents that are coming from behind the Elementary School.
  • In front of our school, please be sure to pull all the way up to the orange cone on the sidewalk to begin dropping off/picking up your student.
  • Students can exit/enter your car from the first cone all the way to the cones that block the first few parking spaces. This will allow us to unload and load more students during both morning and afternoon Carpool.
  • Please do NOT drop off students on the other side of the parking lot and have them cross the crosswalk to enter the school. Please just follow the Carpool Lane until you are in the drop-off/pick-up area.
  • Please remind your students to be mindful in the afternoon and watch for your vehicle for pick-up.

 

Our students and families have been doing an outstanding job so far this year and I appreciate it greatly! These are just a few reminders to ensure we are all on the same page for our students’ safety. Thank you for your support of our efforts to quickly and safely help with the arrival and dismissal of our students!

 

SIGNS OF SUICIDE (S.O.S.) LESSONS: Signs of Suicide is a depression awareness and suicide prevention program that is presented to all 7th Grade students in WCPSS each year. This year the information will be delivered through the Encore period beginning Friday, August 23rd. Our Student Services staff will present these lessons. The parent letter is included here for your information. It is only necessary for you to sign the bottom of the letter and return it if you do NOT want your child to participate in these lessons. If you would like to know the exact date your student will receive the presentation, please contact the 7th Grade Counselor, Ms. Peasley (jpeasley@wcpss.net). We are also including a copy of an optional self-scoring depression screening which is explained more in the parent letter. For additional resources, please visit www.mindwise.org/parents. Thank you for your support of our efforts!

 

PTA INFORMATION: Here are some updates from our PTA:

 

  • JOIN the PTA! It's not too late to join click here. 
  • DONATE to our No Fuss Fundraiser. Donate online by visiting the PTA website! Our goal this year is $10,000 to fund some beautification projects around campus and spoil our staff and students! 
  • Help us stock the Teacher's Lounge! Click here to view our Amazon Wish List!
  • Volunteer for concessions for Fall Sports. Click here to sign up. Remember, you must be a WCPSS approved volunteer. 
  • Spirit Wear and Spirit Rock information is available on the PTA website.

Thank you for your incredible support of our school!

 

YEARBOOK INTEREST MEETING: A Yearbook Interest Meeting will be held on Thursday, August 22nd from 3:05p.m. until 4:00 p.m. in the Media Center. Students who enjoy taking pictures or designing pages are encouraged to attend!

 

AIR CONDITIONING UPDATE: Our second new Chiller was installed this week and is running smoothly! We finally should be good-to-go with regards to air conditioning for quite a while! Thank you for your patience and understanding as WCPSS completed this work!

 

TECHNOLOGY STUDENT ASSOCIATION: Heritage Middle School’s Technology Student Association (TSA) is gearing up for the new school year. TSA is a national, non-profit career & technical student organization (CTSO) of middle and high school students engaged in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Over 300,000 students in 2300 schools across 48 states compete at the regional, state, and national levels. Last year Heritage Middle won several trophies at the state level, with 10 students advancing to the national level. If your student would like to learn more about this club and the events we compete in, there will be an interest meeting on Friday, August 23rd during the Encore/Homeroom class period. You can also find more information about TSA on Mr. Walker's website. Please contact Mr. Walker (jwalker2@wcpss.net) with any questions.

 

WE ARE CREATING A NEW ARTS BOOSTER CLUB: Please know that we are working to create a new Arts Booster Club! This group is dedicated to supporting our Arts programs at Heritage Middle School. From the art class to funding instruments and specialists to work with our students, your support means an enhanced experience for our Arts programs. Like the Athletic Booster Club we are also working to create, we are looking for founding Board members (at a minimum, a President, VP, Treasurer and Secretary) and an Attorney (possibly the same attorney to work with both our Arts and Athletics Booster paperwork) to create the 501(c)(3) paperwork to become a full non-profit organization. If you are interested, please email our Band Director, Mr. Stauffer (estauffer@wcpss.net). Thank you for supporting the Arts programs and students! 

 

WE ARE CREATING A NEW ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB: Please help us start the inaugural HMS Athletic Booster Club! We are excited to announce the first-ever HMS Athletic Booster Club, which will be dedicated to the spirit and financial support of HMS student-athletes. With its fundraising capabilities, the HMS Athletic Booster Club could help supplement additional coaching staff for every team, provide concessions at all events, improve equipment and facilities, purchase uniforms, and the list goes on! However, we need your help to get us started. We need founding Board Members (at a minimum, a President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary) and an Attorney to help with the initial 501(c)(3) paperwork. If you are interested in helping us get started, please email our Athletic Director, Coach Miles (lmiles2@wcpss.net). Thank you for your support of our Athletic Program and student-athletes!

 

SEVENTH GRADE REALITY OF MONEY SIMULATION—VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We need approximately 25 people to help out with our Seventh-Grade financial simulation event entitled, "Reality Series: The Reality of Money" on Tuesday, September 3rd, from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Heritage Middle School and Coastal Credit Union are partnering to implement "Reality Series: The Reality of Money" with our 7th grade students. This event is a financial literacy simulation that allows students to explore career areas while balancing their budget for one month by making decisions about everyday living expenses. This simulation requires several volunteers to assist students and help answer their questions. Virtual and/or in-person training will be provided. Please consider supporting Heritage Middle School by serving as a volunteer for this event. Interested participants may use the SignUpGenius website to sign up. Thank you for your support of our efforts to provide this financial literacy experience to our Seventh-Grade students.

 

WAKE FOREST LIONS CLUB POSTER CONTEST: The Wake Forest Lions Club is once again sponsoring a Peace Poster Contest that our students can participate in. The Peace Poster Contest uses Art to express a student’s concept of what Peace means with regards to the theme. This year’s Peace Poster contest’s theme is: Peace Without Limits. If any students are interested in participating in this contest, please reach out to our Art Teacher, Mr. Riedel (driedel@wpss.net) for contest rules, information, etc.

 

PICTURE DAY: We will be having Picture Day on Tuesday, August 27th for all Tracks. Students should have brought home a flyer with information if you are interested in purchasing pictures of your student. In addition, we have posted picture information on our website.

 

UPCOMING CALENDAR INFORMATION: Please see the following dates of events that are coming up soon at Heritage Middle School:

 

  • August 27th: Picture Day for all Tracks
  • September 2nd: Labor Day Holiday—No School for Students or Staff
  • September 6th: Last Day for Track 1 Prior to Track Out

 

 

HELPFUL INFORMATION LINK: Please see this Helpful Information/Reminders document for the 2024 – 2025 school year. I hope this quick reference guide will help with basic information regarding Heritage Middle School.

 

CLOSING THOUGHTS AND TAKE CARE: Thank you for your support of all we do to move your student forward to help them reach their ultimate potential! Thank you, especially, to our Track 4 families who came out last Wednesday for our Open House! It was great to be able to gather and build our partnerships! Please continue to check the Heritage Middle School website (https://www.wcpss.net/heritagems) for general information and to help you stay informed. As always, please continue to be safe, and take care of yourselves, your loved ones, and each other. GO PATRIOTS!

 

 

 

PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

NO MAKE-UP SCHOOL DAYS NEEDED DUE TO AIR CONDITIONING OUTAGE AND TROPICAL STORM DEBBY: Thank you, as well, for your understanding of our school cancellations over the past few weeks due to our HVAC issues and then for Tropical Storm Debby as it moved through our area. Here is information that we have regarding Make-Up Days for those days missed:

 

  • Missed Day for HVAC Outage: No Make-Up Day required. WCPSS is allowing us to use Banked Instructional Time for the missed instructional day.
  • Missed Day for Tropical Storm Debby: No Make-Up Day required. WCPSS is allowing us to use Banked Instructional Time for the missed instructional day.

 

NEW FORM IN DRAGONFLY—UPDATED INFORMATION: If you have previously completed your student athlete’s Dragonfly paperwork, a new form was added this past week. Please log back into your Dragonfly account and complete the NCHSAA Eligibility, Consent to Participate and Release Form (2024 – 2025). Even if you were already approved, you must fill out this form. If you have any questions, please contact our Athletic Director, Coach Miles (lmiles2@wcpss.net). Thank you for taking care of this important new requirement.

 

SIGN UP FOR FALL SPORTS TRYOUTS: Fall athletic team tryouts will begin Tuesday, September 3rd after school and end at 4:45 p.m. All rides home for students should be here by 4:45 p.m. After the first day of tryouts, coaches will communicate with players about remaining tryout days, times, selections, first practice, and parent meetings. Please know that tryouts are open to 7th and 8th Grade students. To be eligible to tryout, students and parents must complete the following requirements by August 28:

 

  1. Students must complete the Ticket-To-Play form: https://forms.gle/F8Ns3hBWMa96jZ5v8. Students will need to log into their WCPSS Google Account to complete this form.
  2. Parents must upload all the required paperwork (including an up-to-date physical) to Dragonfly: http://dragonflymax.com/forms/P3GSFT. You must have all green checks to be eligible. Our Assistant Athletic Director will be updating this regularly. If you are missing something, you will receive a notification from her via Dragonfly. Make sure to check your email and Dragonfly regularly account until you get all green checks.

 

Once you have completed both steps, you will receive a Ticket-To-Play (a strip of paper) via your Homeroom teacher on Thursday, August 29th, and Friday, August 30th. We recommend taking a picture of it in case you lose your Ticket-To-Play. If a student does not receive a Ticket-To-Play, it means the student did not complete one of the two items listed above. If you have any questions, please email our Athletic Director, Coach Miles (lmiles2@wcpss.net). For more information, check out the following resources:

 

 

DID YOU MISS THE HERITAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS INFORMATION NIGHT? If you were not able to attend our Athletics Information Night, please do not worry, we’ve got you covered! everything we discussed can be found in this post: https://wakecountyathleticzone.com/hms-athletics-night-presentation/. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Athletic Director, Coach Miles (lmiles2@wcpss.net). Also, be sure to check out the following links weekly:

 

 

JOIN THE HMS PTA: Please either return the Membership Form sent home with your student or join online by clicking here. The HMS PTA provides support to staff and students all year long, but to provide that support our PTA simply asks for donations at the beginning of the school year to fund their efforts with their No Fuss Fundraiser. Please consider donating by returning the No Fuss Fundraiser Donation Form sent home with your student, or donate online by visiting the PTA website! Our goal this year is $10,000 and the PTA has collected approximately $2,000 so far. Check out the PTA website  for more information regarding Spirit Wear, the Spirit Rock, and upcoming meetings. 

 

2024 FOOTBALL CAMP: Our 2024 Football Camp has already begun and takes place 3:15 p.m. until 4:45 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week. Our Football Camp will run until Thursday, August 29th and is open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade students. Please make sure all rides are here by 4:45 p.m. to pick up your student athlete. Pick-up will be at the back of the school near the football field. To participate, students must have ALL paperwork submitted and approved in Dragonfly (http://dragonflymax.com/forms/P3GSFT). When you log into Dragonfly, sign up under the 2024 – 2025 Football Middle School. Some parents are unable to see the 2024 – 2025 season. If that applies to you, scroll down and click on “I don’t see my sport” and choose the appropriate sport on the next screen. You will then be able to complete all the paperwork and we will move you over to the 2024 – 2025 season. If you have any questions, please contact Coach Wrighten (rwrighten@wcpss.net)) or our Athletic Director, Coach Miles (lmiles2@wcpss.net).

 

ATHLETIC INFORMATION: Please remember that as always, make sure you check out the HMS Parent Information Google Doc, our HMS Athletics website, and Twitter/X for the most up-to-date athletic information. 

 

PLEASE GET YOUR ATHLETIC PHYSICALS NOW: Please understand that you do not need to wait for your student’s annual check-up to get your Sports Physical. Many places will do a Sports Physical, and it will last your student athlete all year. Here is information for two options:

 

 

  • Emerge Ortho (https://orthonc.com/services/sports-physicals) are offering sports physicals for $10.00 per person - exact cash or check only (DEBIT/CREDIT CARDS NOT ACCEPTED ON THESE NIGHTS). Bring Forms with HEALTH HISTORY portion completed - If you have already completed them in DragonFly - PLEASE PRINT as they do not have access to DragonFly. You will be asked to complete it before the Sports Physical can be completed.
    • Raleigh Location (11221 Galleria Ave, Suite 101, Raleigh, 27614)
      • Monday, July 29th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. 
      • Wednesday, August 7th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
      • Wednesday, September 11th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. 
    • Knightdale Location (6602 Knightdale Blvd, Suite 310, Knightdale, 27545)
      • Tuesday, July 30th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
      • Tuesday, August 13th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
      • Tuesday, September 3rd, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. 

 

WCPSS YEAR-ROUND CALENDAR FOR THE 2024 – 2025 SCHOOL YEAR: Families can find the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Year-Round Calendar for the year.

 

ATTENDANCE: If your student will be absent, we ask that you please contact hms-attendance@wcpss.net with your student’s name, date of absence, and reason with your contact information. Alternatively, your student may take a note to his/her Homeroom teacher after being absent. Please remember that students must be present at least a half day of school to be considered present for the day. 

 

SEVENTH GRADE VACCINATION REQUIRED: Please know that North Carolina law now requires Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines for entry into 7th Grade. For more information regarding this requirement, please see our Vaccination information on our Heritage Middle School website. If you have additional questions regarding this information, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Clarke (919-562-6204 x22525 or smclarke@wcpss.net). Thank you for your understanding of this requirement.

 

BUS TRANSPORTATION: Families, if your student will require Bus Transportation, please make sure you review the information regarding Transportation/Bus Routes. I hope this information makes for a smooth transition to start the year with regards to Bus Transportation.

 

CELL PHONES: Please know that our students do not need a cellphone at school. If you require your student to carry a cellphone to school, please encourage your student to lock it in their locker during the school day. Please know that the Heritage Middle School and WCPSS is not responsible for lost/stolen personal items.

 

CHROMEBOOKS: Please remember that each student has been (or will be) assigned a Chromebook. All students should bring their Chromebook to school on a daily basis. In addition, please be sure that each student charges their Chromebook each night. Thank you for your assistance! 

 

DRESS CODE: We would ask that all students please help us comply with the WCPSS Dess Code. Thank you for your support!

 

COUNSELORS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS: Students are assigned to a Counselor and an Assistant Principal by Grade Level. Here are this year’s assignments and email addresses for these staff members:

 

                        6th Grade:       Ms. Swann (sswann@wcpss.net), Counselor

Ms. Mills (cmills5@wcpss.net), Assistant Principal

 

                        7th Grade:       Ms. Peasley (jpeasley@wcpss.net), Counselor

                                                Mr. Mason (rmason@wcpss.net), Assistant Principal

 

8th Grade:       Mr. Febres (pfebres@wcpss.net), Counselor

                        Mr. Cush (mcush@wcpss.net), Assistant Principal

           

 

APPLYING FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEALS FOR THE 2024 – 2025 SCHOOL YEAR: Please know that students who qualify for Free and Reduced Price Meals need to apply to obtain these benefits. Those students who had Free and Reduced Lunch approval last school year will continue to receive these services for the first 30 days of the new school year. Parents can complete a meal benefits application online at MySchoolApps. Paper applications will also be available at all schools. More information can be found at WCPSS Free & Reduced Meals. For students who have not completed a new application, Meal Benefits expire on August 16th for Track 1 and September 9th for Tracks 3 and 4. Thank you for taking care of this important responsibility so that we can ensure that our eligible students can take advantage of this benefit.

 

LUNCH/BREAKFAST MENUS: Families who are interested in finding out what’s for breakfast and lunch each day can visit the Heritage Middle School Menu or the menu for all WCPSS Schools.

 

MEDICATION: Students who require medications be taken during the school day must have the appropriate form (1702) on file: Student Health / Medication. If a parent/guardian needs to drop off medication to the school, please do so between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

 

PHYSICAL EDUATION (PE): Please know that PE is a requirement for our students and all students are expected to participate in PE. Our Coaches will review policies and procedures in the first few days of school to ensure our students understand what each day will look like. Please know that “dressing out” is optional; however, all students need to wear appropriate footwear.

 

SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS: Please know that our 2024 – 2025 School Supply Lists have been posted on our website.

 

TARDIES: Please remember that our school day begins at 8:20 a.m. All students are expected to be in school by 8:20 a.m. Students who enter the building after 8:20 a.m. will be marked Tardy.

 

WALKER/BIKER PASSES: If you live close to the school and would like your child to have a Walker/Biker Pass, there is a Walker/Biker Application available on our website. Students who already completed an application can pick up their Pass in Student Services before school or during lunch at the Concession stand. If you want to revoke a student pass, please contact Ms. Ledesma (pkledesma@wcpss.net) in Student Services.

 

INFORMATION ABOUT SCHOOL CASH ONLINE: Please know that we have a new online platform for payments to school called School Cash Online. Beginning now, you can pay for most of your student’s school fees online. To access this service, you will need to register online. I encourage you to register now as there will be many items that you can pay for online in the coming weeks. To get more information regarding this new platform, please visit the Heritage Middle School website and the information regarding School Cash Online is on the right-hand side under Reminders.

 

SAY SOMETHING ANONYMOUS REPORTING SYSTEM (SS-ARS): I wanted to let you know that we will begin training our students next week on our new Say Something Anonymous Reporting System. We had our staff trained in the beginning of July to help roll out this new system. Please know that the Sandy Hook Promise, the nation’s leading school violence prevention organization, launched the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System in 2018 to provide a way for students to submit secure and anonymous safety concerns. These tips allow WCPSS and Heritage Middle School personnel to identify and help at-risk individuals before they can hurt themselves or others. Concerned students simply submit a tip any time of day or night using the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System app, website, or by calling the dedicated 24/7/365 Crisis Center hot line. WCPSS District teams and, if the tip meets certain “life safety” criteria, the local 911 Dispatch, then immediately alerted so that they can make the appropriate intervention. For more information on this system, please review this Informational Brochure. Thank you for your support in helping our students remain safe!

 

FIRE WATCHES BEING CONDUCTED AT OUR SCHOOL: The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) shared information with staff and school families regarding issues that the Wake County Fire Marshall had with WCPSS’s fire alarm system. During a recent inspection, fire inspectors discovered alterations with fire alarm panels in more than two dozen of our schools. While there is no indication these alterations had an impact on the system’s ability to sound the fire alarm or activate sprinklers to suppress a fire, they did reduce the ways the panel can raise awareness of abnormalities with the fire protection system. Please know that our school was not one of those two dozen schools. However, as ordered by the Fire Marshall, all WCPSS schools are required to conduct a Fire Watch any time we have individuals in the building. Please know that since Wednesday morning, we have been performing Fire Watches all day. Please know that I met with the staff members that I have assigned to complete the Fire Watches and we have a schedule set up to ensure that as soon as there are ANY individuals in the building until there are NO individuals in the building, we are conducting Fire Watches. Our alarms and sprinklers do work, but if we see any indication of a fire or hazard during our Fire Watch, we also place a call to 911 to ensure they respond. Please know that there is nothing that we take more sacred than the trust you put in us to ensure the safety of your student.

 

PTA INFORMATION: We have a fantastic PTA at Heritage Middle School and I have already been very thankful for their service to our staff and school in preparation for the new school year! If you are interested in joining the PTA, there are still areas for new volunteers to serve for the coming year! Please consider serving our school family in these capacities. If you are interested in serving, please contact the PTA via their website at: https://heritagemiddlepta.weebly.com/ with any questions or to volunteer. Also, please be sure to join the PTA for this school year! You can find membership information on the PTA webpage of our Heritage Middle School website. Thank you for partnering with us to best serve our students!

 

PTA INFORMATION: Our PTA is an invaluable support for our students, staff, families, and school! We had our first meeting last Tuesday and it was great to see all the hard work done by our families to support teaching and learning at Heritage Middle School! As they welcome everyone back, here are a few items they have asked to share with everyone:

  • Join us! Forms were sent home with your student to join the PTA for the 2024-25 school year. The QR doesn't seem to be working so please either return the form, or you can join online by clicking here. 
  • The HMS PTA provides support to staff and students all year long, but to provide that support we simply ask for donations at the beginning of the school year to fund our efforts all year long with our No Fuss Fundraiser. Please consider donating by returning the form sent home with your student or online by visiting our website! 
  • Check out our website for more information regarding Spirit Wear, the Spirit Rock and upcoming meetings. We meet the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 in the Media Center and all our welcome!

SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS: Heritage Middle School has a variety of Social Media Accounts that students, staff, school families, and the community can follow to stay abreast of what is happening with the Patriots. Here is an updated list: