East Hills Connection #32

What a beautiful weekend! It was a pleasure to walk into school and see the beautiful tulips our garden club planted in the front! We will devote a couple of hours each morning for the next 5-7 days for PSSA testing. The students are ready, thank you so much for making sure they have restful nights, good breakfasts and a positive attitude!

We are celebrating students and classrooms that use good test taking strategies(something they will need regardless of their path in life). We are looking for stamina during the whole test and using their scrap paper to work out math problems and prewriting. We made a video you can see below for the students. Lots of fun rewards for their hard work!!

Mr. Horvath, Mr. Podhyski and Mrs. Braun

4/22, 4/23, 4/24: ELA PSSA Testing Dates

4/24: EH Talent Show, 7 PM

4/28, 4/29: Math PSSA Testing Dates

4/30, 5/1: Science PSSA Testing Dates (GR 8 only)

5/5: Incoming SY25-26 Gr 6 students Parent Information meeting, 6 PM

5/13, 5/14: Keystone Testing Dates (Algebra students only)

5/16-5/18: EH Band Trip

5/20: School Closed: Teacher Inservice (Primary Election Day)

5/26: School Closed (Memorial Day)

5/28: Theater Meeting, 7-9 PM

5/29: GR 8 Track Meet

5/30: Farewell Dance, 6-8:30 PM (GR 8 only)

6/3: GR 8 Field Trip: Dorney Park

6/9: Last Day of School: 11:30 AM Student Dismissal

A great writing skill the students will practice is creating a special "prewrite" to answer their Text Dependent Analysis questions. Ask them about it!

The skills in this process will be needed in high school, college, and all jobs! Reading to understand and writing about it! Great high level work! We are really proud of the efforts the students and teachers have put into practicing this skill they will need for now and the future.

We also want to encourage your children to use scrap paper for the math calculations on the PSSAs and to stick with it as they engage with the assessment for these mornings. We know they will show us how hard they worked all year round to learn concepts, skills and strategies!

The amazing teachers have prepared a few celebrations to encourage it these great practices during the PSSAs!

**Silly String a teacher

**Tape a teacher to the wall during a lunch period

**Pie in the face

In addition, we will reward many students with a lunchtime ice pop during lunches each day for using great stamina and using the scrap paper for calculations and prewriting! Teachers will be giving the charger dollars each morning during testing!

Lastly, if we average 90% scrap paper use for the school for all PSSA days, Mrs. Braun will sleep on the roof!!

We love to BRAG about out students. As teachers and parents nominate the students, we are able to celebrate their awesomeness here!!

How to Navigate all of these Apps!

When our children are glued to their screens, what apps are they using? What are these companies doing with your child's PII (personally identifiable information)? How can you tell if your child is chatting with a stranger posing as a kid? If you are overwhelmed with just one of these three questions, here is a time-proven resource by the non-profit organization, Common Sense Media. Its goal is to help families make smart and age-appropriate choices about media sources. It provides reviews, age-based ratings and Ultimate Guides for parents, educators and kids. Click on the image below to access the Ultimate Guides list to multiple apps that your kids are using now. Educating yourself on the array of new social media apps is necessary to protect our kids and prepare them to navigate this increasingly evolving online world.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Explore a variety of FREE events and activities happening within the #BASDcommunity in the event section of the BASD website.

To check out upcoming events, FOLLOW THIS LINK.

East Hills Parents and Guardians,

Be in the know this school year by signing up for the EHMS Parent Association emails! Click the link to provide your name and email address.

This is an opt-in only list, so you MUST register your email to get the info from the Parent Association.

Sign Up Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_6FOsHtCB7M4phyyOkHwJBFEHZ2pxOwEmICxlp5XdWEXhEA/viewform

Mrs. Constanzo shares some great ways to be healthy this school year!

New for 2024-25

Summer is coming to a close and often we neglect to realize many of the changes the students will need to become accustomed to when school starts. Waking up early, preparing to catch the bus or travel to school, schoolwork, homework, and the list goes on.

One major area to consider is that your children will not have the same access to their cell phones when they become students again.

Parents, please prepare your child(ren) for the adjustment. Most parents have limitations they set for their children throughout the summer days to limit screen time. However, all of the students and you as parents need to know that we are adjusting our standards for the upcoming school year. We looked back on the level of distraction vs. usefulness cell phones have provided over the past few years and we realize the need to set a tone for the school day to be largely void of the distractions of cell phones. Here is what you should prepare your child(ren) for when they return to school:

Students may not CARRY phones in hands, pockets, etc. Cell phones must not be out at all. They must remain in bags during the school day. This means:

1. Students can never use cell phones in class, hallway or office without teacher/staff permission.

2. Students can never carry cell phones in hand in the hallway.

3. Students can never take cellphones to/in the lavatory.

4. Students can never take cell phones to the cafeteria (not in purses/lunch bags if those items are brought to the cafe).

***Smart watches have similar restricted use in all the same ways as cell phones. Smart watches can and will be collected if used inappropriately.