Harrison County Middle School

🛹 7th Grade Robotics in Action! 🤖

Our 7th graders took hands-on learning to the next level! Thanks to an awesome collaboration between our GEAR UP team and Mrs. Skinner, students built and programmed their own LEGO "Skateboard Stunts" robots.

More than just building cool robots, our students became real scientists—planning investigations to test how mass and forces impact the skateboarder's motion and using evidence from their experiments to explain their findings.

We love seeing our students apply science and technology in such creative, engaging ways! Huge thanks to Mrs. Skinner and GEAR UP for making this hands-on learning opportunity possible. 🛠️✨

💬 Everyday Excellence: Last Week’s Student Leaders! 💬

Great leadership doesn't require a stage—it happens in the quiet, everyday choices our students make in the classroom and in the hallways. Last week, we saw incredible examples of our school mission statement in action through the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Leadership is contagious, and these students are inspiring everyone around them to bring their best selves to school every day. Keep making us proud! 🌟

🎉 Exciting News for Our School Community! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that our STLP (Student Technology Leadership Program) has achieved Gold Status for the 2026–2027 school year! 🏆✨

Gold Status recognizes schools that create meaningful opportunities for students to explore, lead, create, and grow through technology. Earning this distinction is a direct reflection of the incredible dedication, creativity, and hard work our students and staff put into building an extraordinary STLP experience every day.

We couldn’t be prouder of our student leaders for stepping up, innovating, and representing our school so well! 👏💻🚀

Hands-on history in action! 🏺🔍

Our 8th-grade U.S. History students stepped into the shoes of archaeologists for a hands-on excavation activity. Working in teams, students dug into the past—literally getting their hands dirty to uncover artifacts left behind by an unknown culture.

To crack the mystery, students had to:
✨ Carefully excavate and identify each artifact
🎨 Sketch and write detailed physical descriptions
💡 Make inferences about the group’s lifestyle, beliefs, and location
🤝 Collaborate using prior knowledge, experience, and clues to reveal who these historical people were

Engaging multiple senses made this lesson a huge hit and brought history to life in a fun, memorable way. Great job to our student archaeologists for their incredible teamwork and critical thinking! 👏

🧹 HAPPY NATIONAL CUSTODIAN APPRECIATION DAY! 🧹

Today we’re giving a HUGE shoutout to the unsung heroes of HCMS—our incredible custodial team! 🌟

From keeping our classrooms sparkling and our hallways safe to moving heavy equipment, unjamming stuck lockers, and helping our school run smoothly behind the scenes, we literally couldn't do it without you! 🛠️

Middle school moves fast, but our custodians work tirelessly every day to keep our students and staff in a clean, welcoming environment where they can learn and grow.

Our custodial team is the best! Thank you for all you do for HCMS!

🌟 Big things are happening at our school! 🌟

Last week, our amazing student lighthouse team met for a planning session. These student leaders came together to brainstorm, share incredible ideas, and set the stage for a fantastic school year.

We are so proud of their dedication and enthusiasm—we can’t wait to see all the wonderful things they accomplish this year! Stay tuned for updates on their upcoming projects. 🚀

🌟 Leading with Purpose: Last Week’s Student Leaders! 🌟

Leadership isn't just something we learn from a textbook—it’s something we see in action every single day at HCMS. Last week, our campus was full of heart and initiative as our students actively lived out our school mission statement through the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Small acts of character make a massive difference in our school culture. Thank you to these incredible students for inspiring us all!

🚀 STLP is officially back for the school year! 🚀

Is your student interested in technology, coding, digital art, film production, or problem-solving? The Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) is kicking off, and we want YOU to join the team!

What is STLP? STLP empowers students to use technology to learn, create, and solve real-world problems. Members get hands-on experience with exciting tech projects, collaborate with peers, and can even create showcase projects to compete at the local and state levels!

Meeting Details:
📅 When: Thursdays after school
⏰ Time: Until 4:30 PM
📍 Where: The careers classroom

No prior advanced tech skills are required—just creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to learn.

Have your student stop by this Thursday to check it out. Let's make this an incredible year of innovation! 💻🎨🎥

🌟 What an incredible National GEAR UP Week at HCMS! 🌟

Our students and staff brought the energy all week long as we celebrated planning for the future, exploring college and career paths, and showing our school spirit!

Here’s a look back at our fun spirit days:
☀️ Monday: "Your Future Is Bright" — Blinding us with all those awesome neon colors!
🎓 Tuesday: "What’s Your Future?" — Repping our favorite college gear.
🌙 Wednesday: "Dream Big" — Staying cozy in our favorite pajamas.
🌺 Thursday: "Your Future Is A Vacation" — Aloha vibes and vibrant Hawaiian shirts.
💚 Friday: "GEAR UP Spirit Day" — Showing out in our official GEAR UP shirts and navy & green!

📸 Check out some of our favorite moments from the week in the photo gallery below!

A HUGE shout-out and thank you to our amazing GEAR UP team — Mrs. Brown, Ms. Moore, and Mrs. Fryman — for putting together such a wonderful, inspiring week for our middle schoolers! 👏✨

🌟 Spotlight on Student Leadership! 🌟

At HCMS, leadership doesn’t just happen in the classroom—it happens all across our campus! Our student school jobs give students the chance to take pride in their community, build responsibility, and make a huge difference every single day.

Here are a few of the amazing student crews hard at work around our school:
Mr. May’s Crew: Working hard to keep our school sparkling clean and welcoming.
Flag Detail: Faithfully raising and lowering our flag every morning and afternoon.
Cafeteria Monitors: Keeping our lunch lines moving smoothly so everyone gets time to eat and relax.
The Welcoming Committee: Brightening mornings by greeting students with warm smiles as they arrive.
Sign Change Crew: Keeping our main school sign updated with all the latest events and news.
Announcement Team: Reading the morning and afternoon announcements to keep our entire school community informed.
Cafeteria Clean-Up Crew: Doing their part to tidy up the cafeteria at the end of each lunch period.

We are so proud of these hardworking students for taking initiative and serving as role models for their peers. Thank you for making our school a better place every day! 👏💙

📚 After-School Tutoring Starts Next Week! 📚

We are excited to launch our after-school tutoring program starting Monday, September 28th!

Whether your student needs extra help with homework, wants to boost their skills, or just needs a quiet, structured space to get caught up, our teachers are here to support them.

📌 Important Details:
Start Date: Monday, September 28th
Schedule & Subjects: See the attached image for more details on daily subject offerings.

🎉 Huge congratulations to our School Resource Officer, Officer Michael Coppage, on receiving the prestigious Golden Horseshoe Award! 🏆

Officer Coppage goes above and beyond every single day to keep our students, staff, and campus safe while building positive, meaningful relationships throughout our school community. This honor is a well-deserved recognition of his dedication, hard work, and unwavering support for our school.

Thank you for everything you do for our middle school family! 👏👏

📢 Reminder for Families: Early Release This Friday! 📢

Hey middle school families! Just a quick heads-up that this Friday, September 25th, is an Early Release Day.

🗓️ Dismissal Time: 1:00 PM 🚌

Please make sure your student knows their end-of-day dismissal plans ahead of time. Thank you for your support!

🎉 Happy National GEAR UP Week! 🎉

At HCMS, we are proud to celebrate the incredible impact the GEAR UP program has on our students every single day. From expanding horizons to building pathways for post-secondary success, GEAR UP helps ensure our students are empowered, supported, and ready for whatever comes next!

Swipe through the photos below to see how the GEAR UP program positively impacts our school community.

💙 Join us in celebrating Neation GEAR UP Week this week!

#KEDC #GearUpWorks #KEDCGRANTS

✨ Stepping Up: Last Week’s Student Leaders! ✨

True leadership isn't just about big moments—it’s about the quiet, everyday choices our students make to lift up those around them. Last week at HCMS, our students continued to bring our school mission statement to life by practicing the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens all across campus.

Thank you to these amazing students for stepping up and making our school a warmer, more encouraging place for everyone. Keep shining bright! 🌟

🏆 Huge Shoutout to Our First Triple Crown Club Members! 🏆

We are so proud of the students who earned a spot in our first Triple Crown Club celebration of the school year!

To achieve Triple Crown status, these hardworking middle schoolers had to hit three major milestones:
📚 Academic Excellence: Zero D’s or F’s on their midterm report card
🌟 Positive Behavior: Zero discipline referrals (including lunch detentions)
⏰ Great Attendance: Zero unexcused absences

To celebrate their hard work and positive leadership, our qualifiers got to enjoy a well-deserved free period in the gym where they played games and hung out with friends! 🏀🎮

Thank you to our students for setting such a great example, and to our parents and guardians for supporting them every day. Keep up the amazing momentum—we can’t wait to see even more faces in the gym for our next Triple Crown event!

🇺🇸 Celebrating Constitution Day in 8th Grade U.S. History! 📜

Mrs. Callahan and Mr. Lucky's 8th grade U.S. History students observed Constitution Day with an exciting breakout room challenge! 🔐✨

Students worked together in groups to answer questions, solve codes, and explore America’s oldest living document, the U.S. Constitution. To cap off the activity, every 8th grader received their very own copy of the Constitution to take home and share with their families.

Memories were made, and learning was brought to life! 💡🧠

🚀 Next week is National GEAR UP Week, and we’re celebrating in a big way! 🚀

Our amazing GEAR UP team has put together an exciting week to help our middle schoolers explore future paths, celebrate their potential, and have a blast while doing it.

Here is what our students can look forward to all week long:
Daily Theme Days: Show your spirit and dress the part! Check out the attached flyer for each day's specific theme.

Lunchtime Fun: Games, trivia, and interactive challenges during lunch periods.

Prizes & Giveaways: Students who participate in the theme days and lunch activities will have chances to win awesome prizes at the end of the week!

Encourage your student to join in on the fun, dress up, and start thinking big about their future.

📸 Say Cheese! Picture Day is This Friday! 📸

Don't forget to mark your calendars! Picture Day is this Friday, September 18th.