Dear HMS Parents/Guardians and Students,
On behalf of the faculty & staff of Hillsborough Middle School, I’d like to welcome all of our students and families to the 2024-25 school year. School starts Wednesday, September 5th at 8:30 am.
Our schedule on the first day includes an extended 70 minute homeroom to provide for locker set-up and orientation to the school prior to the rotation of classes. (See opening day bell schedule at the bottom of this message.) Students will receive a print copy of their schedules and a map of the school in their homeroom. As long as a student knows his/her homeroom, we'll take it from there.
Chromebooks
Students should charge their Chromebooks, if they picked them up in advance, and have them Wednesday along with some basic supplies, but they don’t really need much on day one. Students who were not able to pick up Chromebooks in advance will receive them in homeroom.
Lunch Service
Lunch will be served on the first day of school. We strongly encourage students to use the Mealtime Online Point-Of-Service (POS) account to charge lunches using their ID cards and/or Student ID numbers. Please visit the Hillsborough Public Schools Website and click on the “Food Services” option, which is located under the SERVICES Tab, or by clicking HERE. Families can replenish their MealTime Online accounts via credit card online or by sending in a check. Checks should be made out to: Hillsborough BOE. Please ensure that your child’s name is also written on the check. Packing a lunch for the first day of school is not a bad idea until they become familiar with the lunch lines, etc.
Transportation
Students are reminded to check Genesis this weekend to confirm bus numbers and pick-up locations and times. Not all students in grades 7-12 receive transportation if they reside along safe walking corridors within 2 miles of the school. Keep in mind that there will be delays with transportation during the first few days of school as everyone settles into the new routines. Your patience and understanding in this regard is appreciated.
Early Morning Drop-Offs
Hillsborough Middle School’s day starts at 8:30 a.m., however, students should be dropped off PRIOR to 8:15 am to avoid bus traffic and overcrowding. We do provide a supervised study area in the cafeteria starting at 7:30 a.m. for all early arriving students. Our cafeteria also has light breakfast items for sale in the morning for those who arrive early. Please note that neither the school nor our offices are open prior to 7:30 a.m.
Parking Lot/Driveway
In the interest of safety for our staff and students, vehicular traffic is restricted in the driveway around the perimeter of the school when buses are loading and unloading students. Please note there is a designated drop-off/ pick-up zone in the main lot to be used when buses are present between the hours of 8:15 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 – 3:15 p.m., however, space is limited. If the drop off area is full, vehicles must move into the lot and park your car. DO NOT stop vehicles in the driveway, entryway or drive lanes blocking incoming traffic at ANY TIME.
During the restriction times (8:15-8:30 am and 3:00-3:15 pm), vehicles for drop-off or pick-up should follow the directions of HMS personnel directing traffic, move quickly through the drop-off zone and exit slowly out along Cardinal Lane to Farm Road. Left turns out of the lot onto Triangle Road are prohibited during morning and afternoon rush hours. The use of Cardinal Lane to Farm Road is a much safer route. Parents are encouraged to use the school transportation system on a regular basis. When necessary to drive your child to/from school, please make every effort to drop-off prior to 8:15 am or pick-up after 3:15 pm to avoid traffic congestion and school buses.
Attendance
Unless ill or out for religious reasons, students are expected to be in school every day. Parents/guardians have two options for reporting their child’s absence or tardiness. Please do not use both for the same absence!
Call the HMS attendance line at 908-431-6600, press 2 for HMS, and follow the prompts.
Submit via the Parent Portal in Genesis (Directions below).
Directions to Submit Online - When logged in to the Genesis Parent Portal, you will see links to “notify attendance office” on both the student summary page and under the attendance tab. Once you are on the Notify Attendance Office page in the portal, you can choose whether the student will be absent or tardy. You may choose one date or a date range and will have a comment box where an explanation can be provided regarding the tardy/absence. Once notification is submitted to the Attendance Office, the portal screen will maintain a historical record of this and any prior notifications submitted.
Lots more information will be shared with you over the next few days with regard to our school year ahead. Please refer to our website and the HMS Student/Parent Handbook online as they provide important links and guidance throughout the school year. We look forward to seeing the return of students bright and early Wednesday morning.
Sincerely,
Joseph Trybulski, Ed.D., HMS Principal
Wednesday, September 5, 2024 – HMS Opening Day Schedule
8:30 – 9:40 Extended Homeroom (1 hr 10 min)
9:43 – 10:13 Period 1 (30 min)
10:16 – 10:46 Period 2 (30 min)
10:49 – 11:19 Period 3 (30 min)
11:22 – 12:02 Period 4 (40 min) - lunch period
12:05 – 12:45 Period 5 (40 min) - lunch period
12:48 – 1:28 Period 6 (40 min) - lunch period
1:31 – 2:01 Period 7 (30 min)
2:04 – 2:34 Period 8 (30 min)
2:37 – 3:06 Period 9 (29 min)