Good afternoon,

Fall Parent Conferences will be held on Wednesday, November 13, from 1:00-5:00 and Thursday, November 14, from 1:00-7:30. We have planned our conferences to provide meaningful feedback on your child's progress both socially and academically. You will have the opportunity to meet with your child's teachers who will provide an overview on your child's progress on both their Achievement, how a student is progressing on skills and standards within their content classes, and on their Habits of Success, skills we value as essential to student engagement and learning. Each teacher will send out their sign ups for a five minute conference. Sign ups will be sent out in early November. You will sign up for which teachers you would like to meet with. If you are looking to set up a team meeting, please reach out to your child's Team Leader.

Team 6: Mrs. McCabe - tmccabe@easthamptonct.org

Team 7: Ms.Cates - kcates@easthamptonct.org

Team 8: Mrs. Berube - mberube@easthamptonct.org

Best,

Christina & Emily

Mon. Oct 28th - Board of Education Meeting Town Hall at 6:30

Tues. Nov 5th - No School - Professional Development

Wed. Nov. 6th - Rescheduled 8th Grade Parent Night

Mon. Nov. 11th - No School - Veteran's Day

Wed. Nov. 13th - Early Release for Students - Parent Conferences 1:00 - 5:00

Thurs. Nov. 14th - Early Release for Students- Parent Conferences 1:00 - 7:30

A calendar view of before and after school activities is linked below and included on the calendar on Parentsquare.

Please see the link below with a letter from Eric Verner, the Principal of East Hampton High School, inviting you to an orientation taking place for parents on November 19th at 6:00.

This week, Mrs. Kalisz’s sixth-grade class had a special visit from State Representative Irene Haines. Sixth grader, Joseph Salafia, had written to Ms. Haines as a part of the Patriot’s Pen essay contest. The theme of the contest is “My Voice in Democracy,” and Joseph wrote to Ms. Haines with his idea for using tax money to purchase special games or activities for children with illnesses staying at CCMC. Ms. Haines led the class in a brainstorming session on how they can be a part of the initiative to advocate for this cause. Sixth-grade students have decided to work together to get other EHMS to support their cause.

We are continuing this year with our Project Oceanology partnership. Project Oceanology’s Connecticut River Connections program is a grant program funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education. Middle school classes from school districts along the Connecticut River are partnered for a joint investigation of the watershed they share. Students collect, handle, and study a wide variety of marine and aquatic organisms, study the behavior of eagles and seals in their natural habitats, and measure water quality in the Connecticut River. The first trip took place this week.

Vinyl Technical High School came to present to our 8th graders regarding the programs they have available at their facilities. Linked isa flyer of their Open House events.

The East Hampton Middle School Cross Country Teams had a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness during the month of October. Led by the captains, Brooke Bellemare, Shannon Mahoney, Logan Matte and Nathan McCormick, they organized selling wrist sweatbands, with the breast cancer symbol on them, to their teammates. They made it a goal since the beginning of the season to do something for this cause. They even decided to have the color of their team shirts to be pink. The team raised over $100 and donated it to the Sandy Peszynski Breast Cancer Foundation. Some of the team members went to Paul’s and Sandy’s to give the check donation to Jill. Coaches, Athletic Director and Administrators are so proud of our student athletes, as they demonstrate compassion, one of the school’s PBIS pillars, to our community.

In Ms. McCabe's social studies class, students participated in a Silk Road simulation. After learning about the Silk Road, which was trade route created in China by the Han Dynasty, students had the opportunity to pretend they were a merchant traveling along the road! For each round, they had to make a big decision on which city they would travel to. As they went through the game, they tried to acquire all of the items that were available throughout the route. The best part of the simulation was when Ms. McCabe would roll dice. It would land on a number that gave the students a different condition they had to face. Would they run into thieves and lose all their items? Or perhaps they would defeat armies that tried interfering with the route! Each new condition either granted them new points or took away existing ones. The students had so much fun playing the simulation. Congratulations to our Silk Road winners: Calan Bengston, Savannah Russo, Isabella Northrop, Aleksa Niosi, Skyler LaFountain and Kayla Mitkiewicz!

Eighth-grade students have just completed their unit on dilations, covering both rigid transformations and dilations. Next week, we'll begin our unit on linear relationships. In this unit, students will deepen their understanding of proportional relationships and rates, exploring how linear relationships can be seen as proportional relationships that have been translated in the coordinate plane.

Last week's advisory was an activity planned by Panther Ambassadors. Students were given a square and created a design that represented peace, acceptance of diversity and inclusiveness. The Panther Ambassadors created a quilt with all the squares to be displayed in the hallway.

At EHMS, we are dedicated to fostering a collaborative, positive, and respectful school atmosphere that promotes learning, teamwork, and compassion. This week, we took time to remind students about our PBIS pillars and the behaviors expected in different areas of the school. We emphasized that every student has the right to feel emotionally and physically safe, and discussed the expectations in place to maintain a secure environment. Additionally, we reviewed the processes for students to report any concerns, whether by speaking to a trusted adult, visiting the office, or using our anonymous reporting system on our website. We also introduced exciting new elements to our PBIS program, such as our year-long grade-level competition. During this week's Town Halls, we kicked off the first challenge—the Chopstick Challenge! The top homerooms from each grade level will compete against each other to have an ultimate winner at the end! We will have a bulletin board displayed to showcase the progress of each grade-level. Linked below is the presentation provided to students and some pictures from the challenge.

The EarlyAct Club is raising funds for UNICEF: an organization that helps improve the health and wellness of children in over 150 countries and territories. On Thursday, October 31st, students are invited to wear costume attire. Students are encouraged to bring in donations of $1 or more to help support this fundraiser. The homeroom that raises the most money will win yummy, fall treats!

Here are the parameters for appropriate festive attire:

• The costume must be school appropriate
• Costume masks or hand-held props are not allowed
• Hats that interfere with the line of sight in the classroom should not be worn
• Students can choose instead to wear black and orange
• Students can still choose to donate if they do not want to wear festive attire
• Costumes that interfere with a student's ability to complete schoolwork are prohibited

We are pleased to let you know about a valuable program taking place in your child’s school this year. Over two decades of research has helped us understand the important role social and emotional skills play in each child’s success in school, in the community, and, eventually, in higher education and the workplace. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting at challenging tasks, making good decisions, and working well in groups are all necessary to being successful students and adults. To support our students in developing these skills that will help them become successful and responsible adults, we will be implementing a life skills program throughout the school district.

As part of this program, our teachers will be using a tool called the DESSA. This tool asks trained teachers to assess how often a student has demonstrated specific life skills in the past month. The DESSA is sponsored by the Connecticut State Department of Education and is completed three times a year by a teacher who works with your student on a regular basis.

Sample DESSA questions include:

• How often did the child keep trying when unsuccessful?

• How often did the child offer to help somebody?

• How often did the child get things done in a timely fashion?

• How often did the child work well in groups?

Based on this rating students may be identified as in need of instruction, demonstrating typical competencies or having certain strengths by competency. This information would be used to design learning opportunities to support or further skill development. If a student is in need of instruction, the teacher would also be asked to complete a longer survey for additional detail.

The purpose of the DESSA is to identify which life skills your child has already learned and what skills they might still need to develop. Once our teachers identify the skills their students still need to learn, they will teach those skills using the Second Step curriculum through our Advisory groups. Our goal is to ensure that your child is continuously developing the skills they need for lifelong success.

While the DESSA is just one component of our program this year, we want to make sure that you are informed of our use of this instructional tool. We believe that the information gathered from the DESSA will be beneficial to your child’s overall success both inside and outside of the classroom.

To view additional information about the DESSA, the privacy policy, or the parent portal, visit the website linked below.

If you would like your child to OPT-OUT of this assessment, please contact Christina Amaral through the main office at 860-365-4060 or by email at camaral@easthamptonct.org to discuss your concerns.

Art Club will hold its first meeting on Thursday, October 31st after school. Art Club at EHMS is a space for students to practice a variety of art skills, learn and develop new art techniques. Students will have the opportunity to try out new projects outside of the regular art class using a variety of materials.

Meeting times will be every other Thursdays from 2:35pm – 3:30pm in room 3.

To sign up, please use this Google Form link.

For any questions, reach out to Mr. Pastor.

Oct 28-Nov 1

MONDAY, OCT 28

Cross Country practice 2:35 until 4 pm

TUESDAY, OCT 29

East Hampton b/g cross country at Hebron Fair Grounds for league meet. 1:50 pm dismissal, 2 pm bus.

Site: Hebron Fair Grounds

Note: Girls race at 3:45 pm. Boys race at 4:15 pm

Note: bags go in the fitness room.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 30

Cross Country runners. Uniforms washed and dried, folded and put in a bag with their names on it. Drop off at Mrs. Mercaldi's office in guidance.

Note: Do not drop off at main office

Oct 31-Nov 1

NO ATHELTICS!

Friendly reminders from your school nurse:

*School field trips are starting to pop up! Please make sure I have your child's medication/s in the health office so that they may participate.

*There are lots of germs going around right now so please remember to keep your child home if they are not feeling well. Even if it's just for the morning so you can reevaluate and send them to school if they have improved. Reminder that you should be fever-free for 24 hours to return to school WITHOUT fever reducing medication. Students must be able to keep food and fluids down (without vomiting or diarrhea) in order to return.

Thank you for your continued support!

Per the East Hampton Board of Education’s Attendance Policy and Connecticut statute, parents and guardians may only approve the first 9 absences of the school year with a parent note. Absences 10 and above can only be excused with further documentation and under specific circumstances.

In addition, if a student has four unexcused absences in one month or 10 unexcused absences in a year they are classified as truant. If a child misses 18 or more days in a school year – excused or unexcused absences – the student is classified as chronically absent.

A phone call is appreciated, but only an email to our attendance inbox or written note can officially excuse absence 1 through 9. Below is our attendance email:

Note: Between the school name and the word Attendance is a underscore ( _ )

EHMS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

If a student has four unexcused absences in one month or 10 unexcused absences in a year they are classified as truant. If a child misses 18 or more days in a school year – excused or unexcused absences – the student is classified as chronically absent.

The East Hampton Board of Education and the school community as a whole promote a secure and productive school climate, conducive to teaching and learning that is free from threat, harassment, any type of bullying behavior, and teen dating violence. Therefore it shall be the policy of the Board that bullying and/or teen dating violence committed against a student by another student is prohibited. The Board believes that a school environment in which students feel safe, supported, engaged and helpfully challenged is optimal for learning and healthy development. The Board seeks an environment in which students and adults feel socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically safe; an environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, teen dating violence and bullying. Our website provides links to various policies and reporting forms including our Safe School Climate Plan. Hard copies are also available in our main office. If at any point you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to building administration for further assistance.

Happy New Year! Did you resolve to be more on top of your and your child’s health this year? Here’s an easy solution: Sign your child up for School-Based Health Care. Your child’s school works with Community Health Center, Inc.’s School-Based Health Care program to provide health services to your child during the school day. This means they won’t miss as much class and you don’t need to miss work to support their health care needs. Learn more about the services offered at your child’s school and enroll today at SBHC1.com!

The attached bulletins below were developed through a collaborative effort among the Department of Children and Families, the Department Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Office of Child Advocate, the Department of Public Health, the State Department of Education, and the Governor's Office. The content includes information on suicide, helpful tips to support people of all ages, and where to go for additional support and resources.

Board of Education Statement on School Safety: The East Hampton Board of Education is committed to a safe and secure learning environment that honors and celebrates the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. The Board of Education in partnership with the school community will not tolerate any threat of violence in the schools or any hate speech that targets any race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Each student is held to the highest standards of responsible decision making within a culture that is expected to foster compassion, caring, and empathy.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools: The school community of East Hampton is committed to the mission of honoring and celebrating the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. We strive to guide our students to conscious, deliberate, individual and collective actions that cultivate the respect of all races, religions, and social backgrounds. Our school community endeavors to produce graduates who are equipped with a greater understanding of the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Nondiscrimination Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools: The East Hampton Board of Education, in compliance with federal and state law, affirms its policy of equal educational opportunity for all students and equal employment opportunity for all persons. It is the policy of the District to promote nondiscrimination and an environment free of harassment regardless of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability (including but not limited to, intellectual disability, past or present history of mental disorder, physical disability, or learning disability), genetic information, marital status, or age or because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetic information, marital status, or age of any persons with whom the individual associates. The District shall provide to all students without discrimination, course offerings, counseling, assistance, employment, athletics, and extracurricular activities. The District shall provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The District shall make reasonable accommodations for identified physical and mental impairments that constitute disabilities, consistent with federal and state statutes and regulations.

Email: camaral@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/ehms
Location: 19 Childs Road, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: (860) 365 4060