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Raider communications!

STAAR Testing Dates

Please join us for our April PTO Meeting Featuring our Raider Student Panel

Tuesday, April 16

12:00 - 1:00 pm

Lunch service begins at 11:45 am

7/8 Assembly Room

Guest Speakers: MIS/HPMS Student Panel 

Learn about our school from the students' perspectives 

during a Q&A led by the principals.

Many thanks to our Hospitality Chairs, Beth Beakley, Sara Egan, Lacy Lange and Lisa Palmer, for treating us to fantastic PTO lunches at each meeting.

Special thanks to the wonderful Brenda Vardell for providing such delicious lunches this year for our PTO meetings. 

Don't miss our final PTO Meeting of the year! 

Dear Raider Families,

This week our students will begin their first round of state assessments. Our goal is to have prepared our students in a variety of ways throughout the school year so that they will be able to show what they know on testing day. You can help us support your student's success by encouraging them to do their best work, helping them be well rested and focused on testing days, and providing a healthy breakfast in the morning.

Student test performance gives us important information about individual student progress and about our school-level goals, resources, and programs. However, we also take a broader view of student academic progress than can be seen from any single measure. Please help us communicate to your student the long-term view of their academic progress, becoming accomplished readers and problem-solvers, which takes place at different rates and in different ways for all learners.

Please help us remind your student of the following on testing days:

We will begin testing immediately after morning announcements. We do not take scheduled breaks during testing, but students are able to take individual water and bathroom breaks as they need to during testing.  

• Students will need to bring a snack for the classroom during testing, following our classroom guidelines for safe snacks for students who may have food allergies, as communicated by the classroom teacher.  
• Students may also bring a water bottle.  
• Students will need to bring a lunch to eat in the classroom at the end of testing.
• Students should bring a book to read if they finish testing early, as this is the only allowable activity.



All testing will be completed online.

Thank you for working with us to support your student's growth and success. We are confident that all of our students will continue to achieve at high levels because of our community's high expectations, high quality instruction, and strong parental support.

Go Raiders!

Dr. Skip Moran, Principal

Mcculloch Intermediate School

morans@hpisd.org  214-780-3600

Sixth Graders Inspired by Parent Speaker

Alexandria McCombs, mother of 5th grader, Hunter McCombs, presented to our 6th Grade World Cultures classes on the importance of service and her personal experience of leaving Saigon, Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. Her presentation and family history was a historical inspiration for all students to experience.

Health Education Opt-In

In 2022, Texas adopted learning standards for Health instruction in Kindergarten-High School Health. If you would like to review these learning standards, you may find them here:

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Health Education

In accordance with state law and Board policy EHAA(LOCAL), the Highland Park Independent School District provides instruction relating to reproduction, sexual health, and the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and human trafficking. As the law requires, the district must obtain written consent before we can provide a student with instruction on these topics. Instruction is scheduled to occur on all campuses between April 22 and May 10.

Parents are welcome to view the lessons for their child by clicking on the appropriate link below:

We encourage parents to review the content of these lessons and discuss with your child. The links listed above may not be reproduced, shared, or posted on a public domain. Click the link below to complete the opt-in form for your child. A separate form must be completed for each child.

6th Grade Health Lesson Opt-in Form

5th Grade Health Lesson Opt-in Form

If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's campus.

4th to 5th Grade Transition Meetings

Current families of 4th graders transitioning to 5th grade for the 2024-25 school year are invited to MIS for upcoming transition information sessions.

• Tuesday, April 23, 9:30am OR 6pm, at MIS auditorium.
• Information will be provided on the academic program for students as well as family involvement opportunities.
• To preview information about MIS, please visit our MIS Round-Up webpage here.

4th grade students will have the opportunity to visit MIS for a campus tour on Thursday or Friday, April 18-19, with their 4th grade classes. 

MIS/HPMS & Raider Drama Presents The Spongebob Musical: Youth Edition

Plunge into this show-stopping musical with SpongeBob and friends as they journey together to save the fate of their colorful undersea world, Bikini Bottom. You'll fall in love with the irresistible characters and iconic music of this family-friendly, Tony Award winning show. It's the story of an unexpected hero and the power of friendship that's sure to make a splash with audiences of all ages!

Performances will be held THIS Friday April 19 at 4:00pm, Saturday April 20 at 2:00pm and 6:30pm, and Sunday April 21 at 2:00pm in the HPMS Auditorium. Tickets are available for $8 at the door before all shows or for purchase in the cafeteria THIS Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Thank you Raider Drama and HP Arts for making this production possible!

But wait... there's more...

Purchase "Pineapple Tart" yogurt at Yumilicious to support SpongeBob!

For the month of April, Yumilicious in Snider Plaza will serve a special "Pineapple Tart" flavor to support MIS/HPMS & Raider Drama's SpongeBob musical! Purchase "Pineapple Tart" yogurt and mention SpongeBob at checkout - 20% of the sales will support our show! 

Sno-Cones for SpongeBob "Meet the Cast" Event

A Kona Ice Truck will park outside MIS/HPMS (near the tennis courts) THIS Tuesday, April 16 from 3:15pm - 4:15pm. Students can purchase sno-cones and mix and mingle with the MIS/HPMS SpongeBob cast. Sno-Cones will be $5 (cash or credit card) and 20% of the proceeds will go to Raider Drama. 

Please congratulate your HPMS Raider Tennis Doubles District Champions, who took first place in all eight divisions last week! Please also congratulate your HPMS Raider Tennis Team on an excellent performance at the District Singles Tournament. The Raiders brought home five more district championships and two second place finishes, which secured a fourth consecutive Overall District Championship. Congratulations on a great season!

Please congratulate the 7th and 8th grade girls track & field teams on their great performances in the highly competitive District Championship track meet. 

The 8th grade girls won the team District Championship, defending the team championship that they won as 7th graders! Individual event District Champions include:

• 4x200m relay : 1:49.75 - Emma Conger, Margaret Lee, Lauren Dyer, Brooke Meaney
• 1600m : 5:39.85 - Finley Heckler
• 2400m : 8:54.00 - Finley Heckler

The 7th grade girls took 4th place in the team standings in a very closely- fought team competition in which only 24 points separated the top 4 teams!

Individual event District Champions include:

• 2400m : 8:30.00 - Adelaide Wortman
• Long Jump : 15'4" - Londy Hutchinson
• Triple Jump : 32'9" - Londy Hutchinson
• Shot Put : 29'2" - Maggie Birdwell  

Team results below. Individual results can be found HERE.

Please congratulate your 7th and 8th grade track teams on winning the district championship in Prosper on April 4 and 5. All of our athletes worked very hard this year in practice, and were able to win all three of the meets in which they participated. Please congratulate the 7th grade 4x100m team (Logan Jones, Bear Anderson, Luke Johnson, and Slade Stapp), the 7th grade 4x400m team (Hadden Crouch, Luke Johnson, Charlie Petet, and Logan Jones), and 7th grader Hamilton O'Brien (Pole Vault) for winning 1st place at the meet. 

Please also congratulate the following athletes for breaking HPMS records in the following events

• 8th grade 4x200m relay : 1:36.35 - William Ledford, Evan Snelleman, Owen Isom, and James Axley
• 1600m run : 4:53.15 - Beau Stewart

Team results below. Individual results can be found HERE.

We appreciate BSSU Chairs-Elect, Laura Hornbach and Laura Terry, for working hard to get BSSU ready for our next school year. 

Thank you, ladies! We are so excited for MIS PTO President-Elect, Kitsy Smith, and HPMS PTO President-Elect, Amy Barker, to lead the MIS/HPMS PTO next year. They have been busy planning, scheduling, and attending every single job turnover meeting this spring!

A big thank you to our Cafeteria Day Captains, Cathy Amos, Brook Armstrong,  Margarita Coale, Bavita Dooblah, Barbie Kohl, Regan Pace, and Alexa Snelleman, for making sure our cafeteria is filled and with our fabulous Raider parent volunteers next year. Along with Cafeteria Volunteer Chairs Katherine Issel and Tracy Port Melech and VSP Chair Kara Smith, these ladies have been tirelessly committed to making sure our kids are fed, happy and ready for the day. Thank you ladies! Grab a cafeteria shift for next year if you haven't already! It is a ton of fun and an easy way to support our schools.

Lady Scots Open Gym

The Lady Scots Basketball Team will host a MIS/HPMS Open Gym for any girls in 5th-8th grade who are interested in developing skills, shooting on their own, or even playing games. All levels will be there, and this will be a great introduction to the Lady Scots program for current 5th and 6th graders. Each week, high school coaches and athletes will be present, and students are invited to attend one open gym or all. We look forward to seeing you in the gym.

HP Crew

Register Now for Summer Rowing Camps!

Space is Limited!

Now in its 22nd year and boasting 44 USRowing Central Region Titles and 84 Collegiate Division 1 recruits, HP Crew welcomes Scots to explore the sport of Rowing! Adolescence is the perfect time to start. No experience is necessary. Try something new and develop the athlete within yourself!

HP Crew rows with Dallas United Crew (DUC), on the waters of White Rock Lake. Camps introduce rowers to the equipment and the fundamentals of rowing over four consecutive mornings. All equipment and coaching are provided. Athletic attire and a bottle of water are all you need.

For more information on HP Crew's Learn-to-Row Summer Camp, please click HERE.

Raiders Reaching Out

Raiders Reaching Out is ready to serve our Raider students, families, and staff in need of support and to honor those who go above and beyond to serve our school and children. Please let us know if you know someone in our Raider community who needs some sunshine sent their way! You can email us confidentially raidersreachingout@mishpmspto.org.

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McCulloch Intermediate & Highland Park Middle School