Spartan News

Saturday, March 8

EMS/EHS Show Choir-Sing All About It @ East High

Tuesday, March 11

Orchestra-Music in Our Schools @ East High-7:00pm

Saturday, March 15

EMS Show Choir-Jubilation @ Westwood-TBD

Monday, March 17

PAC Meeting @ EMS-6:00pm

Thursday, March 20

EMS Show Choir-Extraveganza

Friday, March 21

End of 3rd Quarter

EMS Band-Jazz Day @ Morningside University

Tuesday, March 25

Parent/Teacher Conferences @ EMS-2:55-7:15pm

Thursday, March 27

No School-Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences @ EMS 8:00am-4:00pm

Friday, March 28

No School-Exchange Day

Tuesday March 11 at 7 pm is the EMS and EHS Orchestras' Music In Our Schools Month Concert in the East High Auditorium. EMS Orchestra members report at 6 pm for tuning and warmup.

• Please Keep Contact Information Updated:The District and our school are continuously updating families on important school information, closings and cancellations, and other announcements. Information is shared through email, phone calls, and text. Make sure we can connect with you by keeping your contact information updated in our records. If you need to change your contact information, please contact the school office.
• The main doors do not unlock before 7:10 am. Breakfast is 7:10-7:40 am. Please do not expect students to get into the building before this time. Students should not be in the halls or classrooms before 7:45am and after 2:45 pm unless they have a pass from a teacher or are involved in the current season’s activity. At the end of the day we expect students who are not involved in school activities to leave the school grounds by 3:00 pm or 1:00 pm on Fridays.
• Any students wanting a locker, please see Mrs. Modlin in the Student Center.
• Lost bus cards: Students will need to bring $5.00 in before a new card will be ordered from Transportation. See Mrs. Davis in the front office if a new one is needed.

Looking for some new EMS gear for the Spring? Need to freshen up that wardrobe? Well, I got you! Just click on the link below and do my favorite 3 little words…”Add to Cart”. 😊

https://eastmiddle-school.itemorder.com/shop/home/

• Parent/Teacher conferences are right around the corner. Tuesday, March 25, conferences will be from 2:55-7:15 pm. Thursday, March 27, conferences will be from 8:00 am-4:00 pm. Please go to https://www.myconferencetime.com/eastmiddle to sign up. When signing up, choose your child's advisory teacher only. Students will NOT have school on Thursday and Friday, March 27 and 28.

• Interested in providing a snack/treat for our ‘snack-cessful’ educators? Please sign up and bring items to the EMS Office by 3/25 by 2 p.m.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F49ACAB2DA6FEC07-55349369-spring

Appreciate your partnership!

EMS PAC

Due to the cold weather days, we will have a change in our schedule:

The last day of school will now be on Wednesday, June 4 instead of Thursday, May 29. Please note the following changes:

• Full day of school on Thursday, May 29 (no two-hour early out)
• Full day of school on Friday, May 30 (no two-hour early out)
• Full day of school on Monday, June 2
• Full day of school on Tuesday, June 3
• Two-hour early out on Wednesday, June 4, and the last day of school for students

If there are any additional changes to the school schedule this spring due to the weather, we will adjust the calendar accordingly and communicate those changes to you.

Thank you.

National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day was February 15. We would like to acknowledge our very own Officer Sean Mendlik for showing up every day to keep our school safe. He is a great role model and mentor to our students. They love seeing him in the halls and he has developed amazing relationships with our students and staff!

Thank you Officer Mendlik – we’re so glad you are at EMS! Keep being great!

We are not collecting Hy Vee receipts for the remainder of the year. We will update this if it changes for next year. Thank you

Communication between home and school is vital in helping your child and our students be the best that they can be. You should have received an email from your child’s advisory teacher about signing up for conferences which take place on Tuesday, March 25 from 3:05-7:15 and Thursday, March 27 from 8:00-4:00. Please sign up on the link with your child’s Advisory teacher. Students will not have school on Thursday, March 27, due to conferences, as well as, Friday, March 28 due to a conference exchange day. We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress for 2nd semester. Your involvement and support in your child’s education makes a huge difference for your child.

We recently honored our students who made 1st Semester Honor Roll, and we had many students who achieved at high levels. We had 66 students who made Gold Honor Roll which is 4.0, 284 students who made Silver Roll which is 3.99-3.5, and 220 students who made Bronze Honor Roll which is 3.49-3.0. We applaud the effort of these students and want to continue to push all of our students to do their best this second semester. We will continue to send home weekly grade reports. Please continue to ask your child/children about their grades and encourage them to earn the highest grade possible by turning in missing assignments and trying their best every day!

We hope that we have made it through the worst of the cold, flu, and illness season. Thank you for supporting your child in helping them get enough sleep, exercise, and eating healthy. Attendance at school is so important for our children to be successful.

We could use your help in reminding students to be kind in and out of school. Middle school students have conflict and disagreements at times and sometimes this conflict between students starts on social media and/or messages. Please visit with your children about types of conflict, resolutions, and boundaries. For example, it is ok to be friendly to students at school but that doesn’t mean you have to befriend them on social media.

We will have our next PAC meeting on March 18 at 6:00 p.m. in our conference room. We will be working on treats for ISASP testing, visiting about school updates, and looking for ways to support our students and staff. Our PAC is putting out a signup sheet for conferences. If interested in providing a snack/treat for our ‘snack-cessful’ educators? Please sign up and bring items to the EMS Office by 3/25 by 2 p.m.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F49ACAB2DA6FEC07-55349369-spring

Mrs. Somsky

Principal

Somskye@live.siouxcityschools.com

The following lessons are March’s focus for Character Strong. Character Strong has 3 main goals for students: Be Kind, Be Strong, and Be Well.

• Be Kind: Social skills like listening, friendship, solving conflicts, and leadership

• Be Strong: Skills that help students focus, stay organized, and set goals

• Be Well: Skills that help students handle their emotions and deal with stress

Lesson Focus 6th:

S22: What are the qualities we want in friends?

S23: Good listening and how to become a good listener

S24: Applying listening skills

Lesson Focus 7th:

S22: Improving mental health and wellbeing

S23: Generate and share strategies to promote wellbeing

S24: Developing wellbeing habits

Lesson Focus 8th:

S22: Regulating emotions at school/academic settings

S23: Using Values to increase our belonging

S24: Understanding the value of teamwork

Every day we are looking for students who exhibit strong character and learning habits in the classroom. Each month we will select students from each team from each grade who demonstrate these traits. We are looking for students who are reliable, hardworking, kind and respectful to staff and students. In the month of February we acknowledged the following students:

6th grade white selected- Jayleen Dubon and Ismael Cruz-Reynaga

6th grade black selected- Chelsea Herrera-Garcia and Connor Johnson

6th grade orange selected- Claire Ortmann and Bradyn Steensen

7th grade white selected - Syndal Sencenbaugh and Kade Gries

7th grade black selected- Daisy Suriano and Gabriel Ramirez-Mora

7th grade orange selected- Sophey Benz and Jacob Postello

8th grade white selected - Maycie Davis, Jesse Bates and Clark Hageman

8th grade black selected - Eden Steensen and Austen Lovelace

8th grade orange selected- Abigail Walker and Rosendo Hernandez-Alvarado

These students are leaders in the classroom and exemplify what East Middle School stands for! Congratulations .

Our February staff member of the month: Andrew Staiert

Students selected Mr. Staiert for Staff Member of the Month….saying: Mr. Staiert makes learning easy and fun. He allows us to move around and interact with other classmates if we can’t quite find the answer. It is nice to be able to work together and Mr. Staiert always makes sure that we are staying on task. He is a great teacher and always prepared and ready for each class. He sets a good example for us students by being caring and calm and making us feel safe and comfortable. He helps us succeed and supports us the whole way through.

7th Grade Immunization Requirements

All students entering 7th grade must show proof of having the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines prior to the first day of school.

Currently the state of Iowa does not offer any grace/extension period for the implementation of this requirement. Local physician offices along with the Siouxland Health Department (see criteria below) are accepting appointments for these vaccines.

Please contact your physician about receiving these vaccines during this school year. It becomes difficult to get an appointment during the summer, as the health department and doctors’ offices have full schedules.

Siouxland District Health Department

1014 Nebraska St. Sioux City IA 5105

712-279-6119

Vaccines are provided for children who meet one of the following criteria.

• Students with no health insurance
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Vaccines aren’t covered in students’ insurance plan

If your 6th grade students have already received the 7th grade vaccines, please disregard this notice.

Feel free to contact me with questions.

Thank you for your help,

Bonnie Ryan RN-BSN

Sioux City Community School District

School Nurse- East Middle Schools

Ph: (712) 274-4030

ryanb@live.siouxcityschools.com

Parent/teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 25 and Thursday, March 27. There will be no school for students on Friday, March 28.

Thank you for partnering with us in your child's education.

All Iowa public school districts are required to administer an annual school climate and culture survey to students in grades 3-12 called Conditions for Learning Survey. The survey is designed to measure their engagement in school, safety, and the overall learning environment. The survey will be administered to students in April.

Parents and families of students in preschool through grade 12 will also have the opportunity to participate in the Parent Conditions for Learning Survey. The survey contains similar items to those on the student survey, focusing on areas that range from student safety and positive adult and student relationships to school rules and how they are enforced. Participation in the survey is encouraged, but it is completely voluntary, and all questions are optional to answer.

Please watch your email for more information on the survey.