August 2024 Newsletter

We hope all of our students and families are having wonderful summer experiences! This newsletter is being sent to provide DHEMS updates, and share important dates for the coming school year.

Additional dates of note:

• Wednesday, August 28: School picture day
• Monday, September 2: No school - Labor Day holiday

Please note the arrival and dismissal times at DHEMS for the 2024-2025 school year:

7:20 AM - doors open; breakfast begins

7:40 AM - first bell; students to lockers and homeroom

7:45 AM - homeroom late bell

2:40 PM - dismissal bell

A second and final offering of free sports physicals for the 2024-2025 school year will occur on Monday, August 5th at the Lewisburg Area High School. Starting at 1:00 PM - Fall Sport athletes that need a physical may come to the high school. At 1:30 PM athletes that will participate in a Winter Sport or Spring Sport may come to get a physical at the high school. Each student-athlete must have a completed sports physical before they start practices. Students MUST have a physical completed by an Authorized Medical Examiner and must be dated no earlier than May 1, 2024, prior to starting practice.

As a reminder, Fall Sport practices start for Golf and Varsity Football on August 5th. The first practice date for other fall sports is August 12, 2024.

Please note: There will not be any school sponsored sport physicals offered during the school year. This means that if your child is anticipating participating in a winter or spring sport, you must either provide a completed physical prior to those seasons or have one completed by the school physician at the date mentioned above.

You may click this attachment to download a physical form. This packet must be completed prior and brought to physicals. 2024-2025 Physical Packet (1).pdf

If you have questions or need clarification, please contact the Lewisburg Athletics Office.

Per state requirements, incoming 7th grade students must have Tdap and meningococcal (MCV) immunizations prior to the start of the school year. Please reach out to our school nurse, Mrs. Heather Smouse, at smouse_h@dragon.k12.pa.us with any questions. Immunization records can be mailed to or dropped off at the DHEMS office, emailed directly to Mrs. Smouse, or faxed to the middle school at 570-522-3331.

Orientation for incoming 7th and 8th graders who are new to the district will be held on Thursday, August 15 at 10:00 AM in the DHEMS library. Students and their parents are invited to meet our school counselors and principal. Our counselors will have a short presentation and provide a tour of our school. If you are the parent of a new 7th or 8th grader and are interested in attending, please email Mr. Kevin Mowrey, school counselor, at mowrey_k@dragon.k12.pa.us.

Please note: incoming 6th graders, whether new to the district or just new to DHEMS, should attend 6th grade orientation on Monday, August 19 only. August 15 is reserved for 7th and 8th graders who are new to the district. Thank you!

The dates for 6th grade Orientation and 7th/8th grade Back to School Night have been set! Please mark your calendars for the following dates:

• 6th grade Orientation: Monday, August 19 @ 6:30 PM
• 7th/8th grade Back to School Night: Thursday, August 29 @ 6:30 PM

Families will have the opportunity to meet and greet their children's teachers and see the building. Members of our student services team will also be available to meet students and families, and answer questions. We are excited to have representatives from our DHEMS PSA prepared to share information about their important mission!

PowerSchool parent letters will be mailed home at the beginning of August. After completing the required online parent updates, Mrs. Gemberling will review the information and approve each update (this can take up to three days after you submit the parent update). After the updates are approved, you will be able to access the PowerSchool Parent Portal to review your child's schedule and transportation information.

Please note: all information in the PowerSchool parent portal, including schedules and transportation information, is tentative and subject to change. Please expect tweaks to schedules throughout August and into the first week of school as we make adjustments due to new enrollments and balancing of sections. We will provide your child's official schedule at Orientation and/or the first day of school. A special thanks to our school counselors, Mr. Mowrey and Mrs. Ulrich, who have worked hard to schedule students for the upcoming school year!

We have many projects occurring at DHEMS! Currently, work is underway to upgrade the roof at the middle school, and we are also getting all new wiring. This should improve the reliability of our network. Smaller projects, such as cleaning all of the brick in the hallways, will be starting soon.

As always, our custodial and maintenance staff have been working hard to ensure the building is ready to go for our students. Their task has been challenging with multiple projects to work around, but they have done a fabulous job and classrooms are looking great!

Grade level teams have created supply lists for the upcoming school year. It is helpful if students come to school with these items ready to go. Please contact the school principal, school counselors, or a classroom teacher if you have trouble obtaining these materials for any reason, including lack of availability or financial hardship.

Additionally, students in FACS classes are encouraged to bring a two-pocket folder and earbuds.

Please consider supporting our DHEMS PSA during the upcoming school year through chaperoning, donations, or supporting important fundraisers! Our PSA is involved with school dances/fun nights (including hosting a dance in February), Fun Day/Field Day, the 8th grade Knoebels trip, book fairs, teacher appreciation, and much more! This would not be possible without hard-working parent volunteers and the financial support of our community. PSA representatives will be at 6th grade Orientation and 7th/8th grade Back to School night providing information on how you can get involved and also asking for small donations to support the group in their efforts to enhance opportunities for our students and staff. They will also be hosting fundraisers during the school year, so keep an eye out for those! You can reach our DHEMS PSA through email (dhemslewisburg@gmail.com) or through Facebook (Lewisburg Middle School PSA). Thank you to our PSA members for all of your hard work!

Our students will once again be given school-issued Chromebooks for educational use. Technology protection plans will be offered to all families for the current school year. These plans cover the cost of accidental damages beyond typical wear and tear. Please click here to purchase or waive the technology protection plan for the coming school year. More information on one-to-one computing, including the district acceptable use policy, can be found here.

DHEMS will not be holding early laptop distribution this year. All Chromebooks will be given to students on the first day of school. All required forms, such as the user agreement, will be included in the PowerSchool annual updates this year.

DHEMS is participating in the Weis4School program, where you can earn money for DHEMS simply by linking your club card to the middle school. Please click here and follow the steps to link your club card to DHEMS. Please note: we are listed as D H Eichhorn Middle School (we will not show up if you search Donald...). You can also type 87592 and DHEMS will show up as an option. Thank you for your support!

Website: dhems.lasd.us
Location: 2057 Washington Ave., Lewisburg, PA 17837
Phone: 570-522-3213
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonaldEichhornMS/