Highland Park Middle School Parent Academic Night

Last night HPMS parents went through a mini version of their child’s schedule, spending 10 minutes in each class getting scoop for the year. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. One time I ended up in the wrong class and had to slip out and switch rooms. I hate it when that happens.

But I saw everthing from a cool, young teacher wingin’ it to a full slide show/power point presentation.

I learned that the cross country coach looks just like Tim Riggins and the history teacher was once in a tornado. 

What did you learn last night?

By Merritt Patterson Aug. 31, 2010 | 9:16 am | 21 Comments | Comments RSS
21 comments to "Highland Park Middle School Parent Academic Night"
  1. Charles @ August 31, 2010 at 9:56 am
    That the Hyer moms get diluted in the larger pool. Make of that what you will.

    And that “junior high,” as I insist on calling 7th and 8th grades, is pretty much the same as ever, just with different technology.

  2. Jk @ August 31, 2010 at 10:11 am
    Love Coach Miller. He’s so nice!

  3. James Tucker @ August 31, 2010 at 10:59 am
    “Check the website” was the common thread.

  4. Nicemom @ August 31, 2010 at 11:47 am
    I felt bad for Tornado Dude. He put that story out there and you could cut the silence with a knife, so I felt compelled to at least ask where the tiny town where this happened was located. More silence. Maybe some people were still focused on the fact that he was in a trailer when it happened.

    Not enough Hyer Mom dilution for me, and I’m one of them!

  5. mainzer @ August 31, 2010 at 12:43 pm
    I learned that all of the teachers have tutorials at 3:20 and that there isn’t a very good answer to the question of where does that leave kids who are doing off campus PE and get out at 2:23 and are not allowed to stay on campus until 3:20

  6. mk @ August 31, 2010 at 1:20 pm
    During a certain coach’s 7th grade science class presentation, he was talking about dissecting pig hearts and some dad hollered out, “There’ll be a lot of Democrats you can do that to come November! Those hearts will be showing LOTS of stress!” There was a moment of awkward silence while everyone kinda went “WTF???” to him/herself, and then the coach laughingly agreed with him. OMG!! So weird, so random…so Bubble-liscious.

  7. Charles @ August 31, 2010 at 2:16 pm
    See you at carpool, Nicemom.

  8. laurie @ August 31, 2010 at 2:55 pm
    That my child has some fantastic teachers!!

  9. Neal @ September 1, 2010 at 12:01 am
    Am I late to the party or have Hyer moms suddenly become a “thing”? A friend of mine and his wife are house hunting in PC and asked me about Hyer moms, and I’ve heard a few other rumblings since then. As the son of a Bradfield/UP mom, I’ve never had anything to say about it. But from what I’ve picked up lately it sounds like you could transplant the Real Housewives of New Jersey into UP anywhere north of Hanover and they would fit right in. Fair or no?

  10. mk @ September 1, 2010 at 9:38 am
    Neal, the Hyer moms “thing” has been around for awhile; I remember hearing it when my kid started in HPISD in 2003. The scuttlebutt I remember is that they were considered less friendly and more apt to display their $$$ than other area elementary school moms. My only personal experience with it was seeing them at YMCA soccer games, where the majority of them did show up dressed & accessorized to the nines (like they were headed to Al Biernat’s for a postgame date night).

  11. Dog lover @ September 1, 2010 at 12:18 pm
    Neal. On the head you have nailed it, son. Transplant Central in the northern reaches of the PC’s

  12. HYERMOM @ September 1, 2010 at 5:28 pm
    Hey NICEMOM,
    Do nice moms really make fun of coaches who once lived in a trailer??? Really? NICE…

  13. Nicemom @ September 1, 2010 at 7:23 pm
    HYERMOM–

    So where am I making fun of someone who lived in a trailer? I guess if you were there, you would understand that he didn’t live in a trailer. He happened to be at a dairy farm and took shelter in a trailer. There is always one who wasn’t there and doesn’t understand the context who feels the need to comment!

  14. girlmom @ September 1, 2010 at 7:44 pm
    Give me a break! I am a past Hyer Mom and this is ridiculous! There are dressed up/accessorized moms all over HP and UP regardless of what Elementary school their kids go to! I mean why do people even care how dressed up people are?? And to judge a wonderful elementary school by how the moms dress is just so shallow…

  15. Former UP Mom @ September 1, 2010 at 8:32 pm
    The Hyer Mom thing was well known in 2000 before we moved in. It’s the trophy wife, second marriage thing. I must admit, at UP, my son’s class only had two or three kids from second marriages out of 120. Once he got to MIS, there were many more. Supposedly, it’s the abundance of big lots in the Hyer area that makes the difference. Most of the UP and Bradfield areas have small lots. There are also apartments and duplexes in the UP and Bradfield areas. The lot sizes in the Armstrong area are highly variable. Hyer has more uniform, largish lot sizes and, thus, is well suited for McMansions. I never heard anything about being less friendly – just younger moms into displaying status.

  16. mr @ September 1, 2010 at 8:54 pm
    Part of the mystique stems from the famous Hyer auction a few years ago, where some liquored up Hyer moms did a little dance and showed a little more skin than anyone needs to see at a school sanctioned event. There might have been some confusion between the auction party and a night on Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras.

  17. girlmom @ September 1, 2010 at 10:54 pm
    I still don’t understand why some think that because a few women got drunk at an event in which it was innapropriate to, means that the whole Hyer community of Hyer Moms is a certain way! That is very narrow thinking. AND…I have several friends in Hyer area on big lots (mine included is 75X170 with an old one story home on it) who are not in second marraige situations or that are “trophy wives.” I think it is seriously ridiculous to judge a whole school area of UP and it’s Moms. All my Hyer mom friends are very down to earth, wholesome women. Stop judging others….lest you be judged.

  18. girlmom @ September 1, 2010 at 10:56 pm
    one more clarification. All of my friends from Hyer all all in long standing, first marraiges who are very careful with their money and some even…..WORK outside the home….!

  19. AD @ September 2, 2010 at 8:02 am
    @girlmom. “WORK outside the home…!”

    You had me until you added that statement. Now I know everything you said previously is made up. Any “work outside the home” mom would be painted with the scarlet “W” and ostracized from all “good christian” social circles.

    If you have to work then you need a divorce.

  20. Tk @ September 2, 2010 at 10:33 am
    I always thought that the Hyer parents got the bad rep from bragging about the great intelligence and athletic prowess of their boys–which went to primer and are a year older than what they should be in their respective grades.
    And the moms can seem kind of haughty. Sorry.
    But, I have noticed that seems to settle down after attending MIS/HPMS. Their kids blend in with all the other really great kids.

  21. grump @ September 2, 2010 at 11:38 am
    Um, yeah, where to begin?
    Wonderful generalizations for Hyer. Superficial moms, Brilliant, athletic and shaving elementary school boys, 2nd wife syndrome(actually know of 2 or 3 out of the entire school).
    It was a Hyer mom, not OJ.
    Hyer mom helped Lee Harvey Oswald.
    Hyer mom caused global warming.
    Hyer mom will end the world in 2012.

Leave a Reply