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Connections
#TeamHopkins Parent and Community Newsletter
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Responsible and Accountable
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Hopkins County Schools launched Future Ready Fridays last week! This initiative is designed to align with the Kentucky Department of Education's portrait of a learner. District-wide, students will participate in activities aimed at developing the six competencies outlined in our Future Ready Graduate model.
Future Ready Fridays are designed to empower students to embrace the characteristics of a Future Ready Graduate. Our first Future Ready Friday kicked off district-wide with students engaged in a variety of hands-on activities that challenged them to think critically about being responsible and accountable.
One of the highlights of the day was for students to create their first learning defense slide. Each student crafted a design showing key elements of what they have learned about being responsible and accountable. This slide is the first of six slides that will serve as the foundation for their ongoing learning defense, a reflective process where they showcase their growth and achievements as they progress through their educational path.
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Nominations Open for 'Remember Your Why' Award
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Hopkins County Schools wants to recognize employees and students for good deeds and kindness shown to others. Remember Your Why Award winners may be nominated by any district stakeholder, including staff, students, parents, and community members.
Through the theme "Remember Your Why," faculty and staff are encouraged to focus on what’s most important – the reason they went into education or chose to work in the schools. This initiative was initially designed to motivate staff. We always want to be there for our students! It has since been expanded to include students. Raising motivation levels will have positive impacts on students, parents, co-workers, and the community.
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America's Healthiest Schools
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Several of our schools are included on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s annual list of America’s Healthiest Schools for the 2023-2024 school year. A total of 879 schools across 30 states have been recognized for their achievements in advancing the physical, mental, and social-emotional health of students, staff, and families.
Here is the list of local schools that were recognized: Browning Springs Middle, Grapevine Elementary, Hanson Elementary, Hopkins County Central High, Jesse Stuart Elementary, Madisonville North Hopkins High, Pride Elementary, South Hopkins Middle, Southside Elementary, West Broadway Elementary, and West Hopkins..
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Members of the high school athletic teams greeted students arriving at our elementary schools the morning of Sept. 13 for “High Five Friday.” The goal of the event is to bring smiles and encouragement to students and staff at each school. Looks like that was accomplished! |
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HCS Implements Sources of Strength
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The Sources of Strength program will be utilized in each Hopkins County Schools middle school this school year. Sources of Strength is an evidence-based program aimed at promoting youth mental health and preventing suicide.
The goal of Sources of Strength is to enhance well-being, encourage help-seeking, build resilience, promote healthy coping strategies, and foster a sense of belonging, ultimately preventing negative outcomes like suicide, violence, bullying, and substance misuse. Rather than focusing solely on risk factors, Sources of Strength adopts an upstream approach to youth suicide prevention, strengthening various sources of support — protective factors — so young people have reliable strengths to draw upon during challenging times.
All middle school counselors, mental health counselors, and several students received training in partnership with the Hopkins County Health Department. We appreciate this continued partnership as it allows our district to provide beneficial services and programs for our students and families.
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Local Food for Schools Grant
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Our students enjoyed fresh produce acquired through the Local Food for Students grant! Each kitchen in Hopkins County Schools recently featured a variety of watermelons, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Student feedback was outstanding, with reports of students asking for more! We appreciate our partnership with Windy Hill Farms providing our students with local homegrown fruits and vegetables! |
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Tate Elected KASBO President
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Eydie Tate, chief financial officer for Hopkins County Schools, has been elected president of the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Association of School Business Officials for the 2024-2025 term.
She brings more than 14 years of dedicated experience in school finance to this role. As a Certified Public Accountant, Tate combines her passion for numbers with her commitment to enhancing educational outcomes. She takes pride in knowing that her daily work in accounting directly contributes to the well-being and success of students.
“I am excited for Eydie’s leadership and innovative vision which will undoubtedly steer us to new heights,” said Pam Goins, executive director of KASBO. ”Her optimism and guidance support KASBO’s mission to enhance the quality of education in Kentucky. I look forward to working closely with her to achieve our goals.” To learn more, see the news release.
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Down Home Cookin' Meal Gets Rave Reviews
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Hopkins County students enjoyed a wonderful “Down Home” meal on Thursday, September 5. Hopkins County Central High School FFA grew and provided their corn to seven of our schools for the meal. The remaining schools received fresh corn from our farmer in Henderson, Windy Hill Farm.
The “Down Home” meal consisted of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, our featured corn, rolls, and fresh fruit (also provided by Windy Hill).Participation rate that day was 68.9%, which is higher than average.
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Chalk the Walk Promotes Mental Wellness
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Fifth-graders in West Broadway Elementary’s WorkForce program got creative on Sept. 6 while taking part in “Chalk the Walk” in front of Hopkins County Board of Education! They wrote encouraging messages to promote suicide prevention and mental wellness. The project is sponsored by Baptist Health Deaconess Madisonville. |
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PressPoint Standouts Honored
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Students who received “Best In” category awards for the district’s PressPoint Journal of Creativity were honored at the Board of Education meeting on September 9. Students submitted 187 pieces for consideration in all areas. Out of that number, 90 pieces were selected for publication in the 2023-2024 edition. This includes works by 46 students. PressPoint was published with 68 art pieces and 22 writing pieces. PressPoint is produced by HCS Gifted & Talented Services.
Students recognized include the following:
- Best in Color Cover Art and Back Cover honors - Aden Price, Madisonville North Hopkins High School
- Best in Black and White Art - Macey Browning, MNHHS
- Best in Poetry - Ally Kong, James Madison Middle School
- Best in Short Stories - Zoe Long, Hopkins County Central High School
- Best in Black and White Photography - Westyn Miles, MNHHS
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World's Greatest Baby Shower
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HCS Family Resource Youth Services Centers collaborated with Baptist Health Deaconess-Madisonville, as well as several other community partners to throw the World's Greatest Baby Shower earlier this month! Seventy-five new and expecting mothers attended. |
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Schools Host Heroes Walks
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In remembrance of 9/11, our schools honored First Responders, veterans, and active-duty military during annual Heroes Walks. These walks are held as a way to commemorate 9/11 and honor those who have served our nation. It ties in with the 9/11 Heroes Run that is part of our community. These events mean so much to our students, staff, and community! |
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WKU HS Leadership Conference
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Students from Madisonville North Hopkins and Hopkins County Central High schools attended the WKU High School Leadership Conference on Sept. 13! These students are sophomores and juniors who participate in GT Leadership. |
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Hopkins County Schools had great representation at the Kentucky School Counselor Association Fall Conference earlier in September! |
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320 S. Seminary St.
Madisonville, KY 42431
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