Posted October 29, 2021
Hamilton MS Families,
First, let me thank you for all the support you provide the students and staff here at Hamilton Middle School. The past few weeks have been challenging with the number of student illnesses and quarantines of both our students and staff. We have a shortage of substitutes and our teachers have stepped up to cover class as best they can. This shortage of subs is going to be an ongoing challenge for not only Hamilton but all schools in Denver Public Schools, Colorado, and the nation.
Please support our subs (guest teachers) by reminding your children that when we have guest teachers in the building they are there to help and continue the education for all of our students. Without subs, there is always the possibility of not having enough teachers to cover all classrooms and some classes may need to be combined to keep all of our students supervised. It is important to have our students displaying their best behavior so that our subs will continue to support us here at Hamiton and the rest of the district. If you receive a phone call regarding your child’s behavior with a guest teacher, please support us by reinforcing expectations to treat our substitute teachers as very important guests in our building who are doing a very important job.
As you know, the sixth grade is scheduled to return to school on Monday, November 1st. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome them back and ask that all families of any student at Hamilton (6th, 7th, and 8th) please give your children some reminders about their return to school so that we can avoid any more ‘temporary remote’ days, for a grade level or an entire school, to help stop the spread of the COVID virus.
Masks:
The best way to help stop the spread of the COVID virus at this time is to make sure that everyone wears their mask properly. This means having your mask on snug and covering both the mouth and the nose while inside the building. If a student needs a drink of water it should be a quick drink and the mask goes back on.
Food:
Food is not permitted in the classroom with the exception of the designated snack time. This is to minimize our students from removing their masks throughout the school day. Please do NOT allow your child to bring Halloween candy to school with them. This often leads to unsanitary sharing, littering, and masks being off during mask-on times.
Attendance and Tardiness:
One of the biggest disruptions to any classroom and student learning is having students come to class late. Students need to arrive on time in order to have as much learning as possible. With the events of the past two years, many students did not receive the same quality education as they would have if they were in school and not learning online. Face-to-face learning allows for better support and student engagement. Being on time also helps clear the hallways where supervision is limited due to staffing (teachers are in classrooms and everyone is doing what is required of their jobs) and helps to keep all of our students safe. School supervision starts at 8:50 am and students are tardy at 9:05 am if they are not in their classes. Students are dismissed at 4:05 pm and supervision ends at 4:15 pm.
Illness:
If you do not send your children to school due to an illness or because they are showing COVID symptoms please let our nurse know. If your children were in contact or close proximity to others we would need to make sure that the appropriate steps are taken to stop the spread of the virus. Nurse Regan’s number is 720-423-9509.
Rewards and Consequences:
We are beginning to give rewards and consequences for behaviors. Hamilton will soon open our school store where students can redeem points and coupons they earn by being caught exhibiting positive behaviors (ie. being in class on time, completing their work without disruptions, picking up a piece of trash without being asked, etc.), for rewards.
Excessive tardies and other behaviors that are not appropriate, ie., disruptive behaviors, not complying with mask-wearing, etc. will result in students serving detentions. We are starting lunch Additional Learning Time(ALT)(detentions) and after school ALT (detentions) will begin at a later date. Parents will be notified when students have an ALT. ALT can be used by any student wanting additional time to work on class assignments, not just for behavior consequences.
We are doing all we can to keep our school moving forward. If you want to help we can always find tasks for you as well. If you have a Bachelor of Arts degree and would be interested in becoming a substitute teacher we can help you get your substitute license and you can work here at Hamilton. We can always use additional help during lunch for inside and outside supervision. If you want to volunteer or be paid as a crossing guard we can help you with that as well. Volunteers and employees need to be vaccinated and fingerprinted and we can cover costs to get you cleared for working with us.
As a community, we can make Hamilton the best it can be. As the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It also takes a village to have the best environment for students to be educated. If you can help, reach out to any one of us here at Hamilton.
Again thank you for the support and for giving your students the reminders listed above. We look forward to working with you and your children for the betterment of our community. Thank you from our admin team,
With much gratitude,
Dr. Wes Montoya
Interim Principal