Harding Middle School Des Moines

After hosting a successful summer school program last year, we are gearing up for another fun filled summer here at Harding. This year, you have two options for summer programming thanks to CFUM.

Harding teachers will host summer school from 9am-12pm June 15th-June 26th. This will consist of the following activities:
*Fun literacy and math activities that will help prevent summer slide and loss of skills.
*STEM experiments
*Art activities lead by local Artist Lisa Christensen
*Creative writing fun with a local author
*Physically active games (like capture the flag, kick ball, flag football, and walks to Union Park)
*Making t-shirts using screen printing and tie dying
*cooking lessons
*field trips
*photography projects

Students can stay and hang out with CFUM until 3pm. CFUM programming will continue throughout the summer until Aug 7th from 9am-3pm.

We need to know who is wanting to take part in summer program so that we can make sure we have enough teachers to provide a fun and educational environment. Please fill the link out below.

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Harding Middle School is proud to celebrate our Girls Flag Football teams for an incredible showing at the City Championships!
✅ Gold Bracket Champions – 6–0
✅ Silver Bracket Finishers – 4–2
What makes this moment even more special? Harding was the FIRST school in the district to offer girls flag football, and bringing home both the Gold and Silver Brackets is truly a full circle moment.
Huge shoutout to our student‑athletes, whose hard work, teamwork, and dedication paid off, and to our coaches, whose leadership and commitment helped build this program from the ground up.
Way to represent Harding with pride! 👏🐾
The future is bright!

The Harding staff would like to wish a Happy Principal's Day to Dr. Christopher Schmit, our fearless leader! Dr. Schmit leads with a rare blend of warmth and steadiness that makes people feel supported and important. His thoughtful approach to every decision shows how deeply he cares about doing things well so that students have the highest potential to grow and thrive. We are all so thankful for the time, energy, and intentionality that Dr. Schmit invests in our school, staff, and students!

We are excited to celebrate our amazing teachers at Harding Middle School with a Sandwich Day! 🥪❤️We invite all parents and families to contribute by bringing in sandwich ingredients for a make-your-own sandwich lunch for our staff. Your generosity will help us show our appreciation for their hard work! Sign up to contribute here: Sign Up Here! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4FABAC2BA0F9C52-63716723-teacher #/
✨ Event Details:
📅 Date: drop-off items 5/6 and 5/7 until 10:30am
🏫 Location: Harding Middle School

Thank you for helping us make this Teacher Appreciation Week special for our dedicated educators! Let’s show them how much we care! 💙

Teacher Appreciation- Make your own Sandwich Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!

We wanted to say a big THANK YOU to Soroptimist International Des Moines for donating some hand-made packs of feminine supplies to support the girls in our building!

Do you have a pair of lightly used soccer cleats sitting around? We'd love to have them! Our soccer players' feet keep growing and we could use your support to keep them in cleats that fit. Men's and women's sizes 7-9.5 are in highest demand. Donations can be dropped off to our main office between 8am and 3:45pm on any school day.

Join us in celebrating Ms. Mercer-Smith as our March Leader of the Pack! Ms. Mercer-Smith consistently goes above and beyond to support both staff and students, willingly stepping in to meet needs and offering help wherever it is needed. She has an especially big heart for students, always showing care, empathy, and a genuine commitment to their success and well-being. Her positive attitude, reliability, fun-loving spirit, and dedication to our school community exemplify true teamwork and leadership, making a meaningful impact every day. We are truly grateful for the authentic and meaningful contribution that Ms. Mercer-Smith brings to our team—she makes our pack stronger.

Help us celebrate Mr. Stevenson as our March Leader of the Pack! Mr. Stevenson is the true definition of a team player—always ready to step in and help wherever he is needed. His genuine personality and warm, approachable demeanor make students and staff feel valued and supported from the moment they interact with him. His dedication to supporting others and creating meaningful opportunities for students shines through in all that he does. From introducing students to positive, engaging experiences like Unified Sports to serving as a consistent and encouraging role model, Dak makes a lasting impact on our school community every day. We are truly grateful for his leadership, positivity, and unwavering commitment to both students and staff.

We wanted to give a big SHOUT OUT to our Harding Performing Arts department! Harding sent a total of 36 students to All City last Thursday: 8 band, 18 choir, 10 orchestra! Harding students were featured in the concert: Alex Nelson introduced one of the four band songs, Wislain Mutsinzi played the featured percussion part for the choir on Sylvie, and Kiara Merlos sang the ONLY solo on the concert on Resilience! We had several other students put themselves out there and audition for solos/small groups, as well. We are so proud of each of our students that participated as well as Mr. Castellano, Ms. Giltner, Ms. Lovejoy, and Ms. Prior!