Hoopeston Area Middle School

HAMS staff members participated in their annual Alma Mater day today. Purdue University, University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University, Mississippi State University, Oklahoma State University, Stetson University, Lincoln Christian College, and Missouri Valley College were represented.

Congratulations to the HAMS newspaper class for producing their first issue of Cornjerker Times for the year. They’ve worked to learn the structure of a newspaper; editing skills; layout; and photography. And now, they are putting these skills to work. Keep up the great work!

This week in Mrs. Mac's Life Skills and Math class we got to put our fractions knowledge to the test by using measuring utensils! This pumpkin cloud dough turned out fantastic thanks to our awesome math skills!

Mrs. Mac's Life Skills Class carved a pumpkin and has been working on some fun fall activities! We are excited to watch our pumpkin seeds grow and enjoy some pumpkin flavored recipes soon!

The HAMS 8th Grade Honors ELA class wrapped up their suspense unit by writing suspenseful narrative stories. Students shared their stories around the “campfire” while eating s’mores. And classmates voted for the first 2025-26 winners of the “Lee-sie Award of Literary Excellence.” Congratulations to: 1st: Avery S. 2nd: Armani C. 3rd: Bentlie B.

HAMS 7th grade students just completed reading the novel, “The Outsiders.” We began the unit with teachers and staff transforming into Greasers and Socs. We are ending the unit by enjoying bologna sandwiches, “chocolate cake,” and Pepsi, which the novel characters loved. It’s been “tuff!”

Ms. Kennedy's science classes are learning about density. Today students got a chance to go to the lab and practice water displacement and using scales to help calculate density.

Today, Mr. Wells' Middle School Drama Class met (via Google Meet) and interviewed professional actor and Vermilion County native, Tyler Jacob Moore. 7th and 8th graders in the class developed their own questions and he talked about what it takes to succeed in show business. Spoiler Alert: It involves reading, continuing to grow and learn, and hard work! Today's interview was a great experience for the kids. #tylerjacobmoore #cornjerkerpride

The HAMS Piano Lab class has doubled in size this school year. We are excited to continue to offer this opportunity to our students!

Some students complain about reviewing grammar, but not when we set it up as a game show. Mr. Wells' 8th Grade ELA students had a chance to "come on down" and be contestants on "Noun or...Nah"! #cornjerkerpride

Today our 8th grade math students talked about how to face our storms of life. Students first depicted how they currently handle tough situations, usually by running away from them or hiding out until it passes. We watched an inspirational clip about how cows and bison handle storms differently. Bison are the only animals that instinctively turn to run into a storm instead of running away or hiding from the storm. They made a plan for how to handle the storms of life this year like the bison by facing it head on. These 8th graders are ready for a great and challenging year. #HAMS #CornjerkerPride

The students in Mrs. Lee's HAMS 8th grade honors ELA class have spent this week creating art with an ELA twist -- all to learn more about themselves and prepare for their year. Students chose three colors to paint on their canvases, then learned the symbolism of those colors. Then, they reflected on a word to guide them through the year, and added that word to their canvases. Students wrote about the experience and how it will shape them as they move through their 8th grade year. We are looking forward to an incredible year with purpose! 

We know our students are going to grow academically & physically this school year. HAMS 8th graders gathered their baseline data to prove how much they will grow physically over the next nine months. We will find out in May how much they have literally grown.

We were thrilled to kick off our school year with an inspiring session from Mr. Brian Mendler this morning! His powerful message left us energized and ready to make this the best year yet.

A few of our staff members even had the chance to grab a photo with Mr. Mendler and Jerky!

We can’t wait to welcome our HAMS Cornjerkers back tomorrow—let’s make it a fantastic year! 💙🌽

The HAMS staff says 'Aloha' to a brand new school year! 🌴🌺 🌴 We loved welcoming our students at tonight’s Luau Open House and can’t wait to see all our students back this Friday! Our doors will open at 7:50 AM for students, and it is a 2:01 PM early dismissal. Make waves that matter this year, Cornjerkers 🌊🌽🌊.

📢Final Registration Day is Tomorrow! 📢

Hoopeston Area Middle School families — if you haven’t registered yet, our final 25/26 registration day is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 6.

🏫 Stop by the HAMS Office or call for assistance during the times below:
🕗 8:30 – 11:00 AM
🕧 12:30 – 3:30 PM

📞 HAMS Office: 217-283-6664

We are ready for a great school year — see you soon, Cornjerkers! 🎒✏️📚

🌺Join us for our HAMS Luau Open House🌺
🗓️Wednesday, August 13
🕥5:00-6:30 pm
🚪Enter through west front entrance doors
🌴Plan to receive your student’s schedule, put supplies in lockers, and learn more about the upcoming school year at HAMS.
📋 Physicals and other medical forms may be turned in this evening.

📣 PLEASE NOTE THE DATE & TIME CHANGE FOR THE 5TH AND 6TH GRADE GIRLS BASKETBALL INFORMATIONAL MEETING 📣

🏀 JOIN US ON MONDAY, JULY 28TH AT JOHN GREER GYM AT 6PM FOLLOWING THE VOLLEYBALL CAMP 🏀