EMS Raider Student and Family News

August 28 - September 1

All Together Now!

Hi there Raider commUNITY!

A question for you...how are you and your Raider feeling? How has the school year started? What great stories is your Raider sharing with you when they get home? It has been our goal to ensure that the Rise Up Experience, whether it is academic, social, emotional or tied to some fun or incredibly meaningful activity is positive for your child. We work extremely hard to make the climate and culture of this campus one that is dynamic and unique. Why? Because this commUNITY is also dynamic and unique. We know that your child will do better academically when they feel safe, when they feel seen, and when they feel that their school is exciting and welcoming.

In order to accomplish this level of safety and comfort and accomplishment, we need the work of every stakeholder. We count on the support of our Raider parents and guardians in making certain that their child comes to us ready to do their best, ready to share and show respect and ready and willing to receive a high quality education. We count on the great work that our faculty and staff does in preparing the opportunity for your Raider to excel day after day after day. We hold ourselves to a standard to lend a hand or an ear when a student, or parent, or staff member needs support or attention. We are in this together! And by "this," we mean the job of empowering our children -our hope, our dreams, and our future- to be their best. Thank you for joining us in this important task!

A couple of notes for the week ahead, with greater detail in this newsletter:

Parent/Teacher Conferences - Tuesday, August 29
Eastwood High School Homecoming Week - Dress Up Days/Spirit Week

Thank you for your support!

Mr. Gutierrez, Mrs. Imai and Mrs. Vega

Assistant Principals

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Parent/Teacher Night - TUESDAY AUGUST 29

Our Fall Parent /Teacher Conference Night is here! We will be welcoming our Raider Families on Tuesday, August 29. This is a great opportunity to touch base with your Raider's teachers and exchange important contact information with them. Please remember that many families are hoping to speak with many of the same teachers so, if there is an extended conference that is needed, you can always reach out to your Raider's teachers and schedule a conference at another time.

This is a long day for our teachers, so we need to provide an opportunity for our teachers to have dinner after school. We will open doors to parents at 4:45 that afternoon. We will be following the same format as we have in the past.

You will be able to pick up your Raider's printed progress report by grade level at a designated table in our rotunda.
6th Grade Teachers will be available in the AUXILIARY GYM
7th and 8th Grade Teachers will be available in the MAIN GYM
Electives and ESL Teachers will be available in the CAFETERIA
We will be hosting a BOOK FAIR in our library until 7:30 so please make plans to stop by and get a book (or 2) for your Raider!

We will make an announcement at 7:45 asking for parents and teachers to wind up their conversations so that we can end the evening at 8:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

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EASTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL HOMECOMING DRESS UP DAYS

We encourage your Raider to participate in our Homecoming Week Dress-Up days this week. This is a chance for your Raider to have some fun at school as they support our high school. Please note that we still require dress code standards for dress-up/spirit weeks.

No inappropriate or revealing clothing.
No slippers, slides, Crocs, or heels
No spaghetti straps or sleeveless shirts
Any Raider who isn't participating must continue to wear their school uniform

Our Dance Team, Cheerleaders and several other Raiders will be participating in Thursday's EHS Homecoming Parade. Keep an eye out for our entry...a throwback to a classic adventure movie!

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SOCIOECONOMIC INFORMATION FORMS

If you have not completed a Socioeconomic Information form for your Raider, you can click the image here ==>

and complete the form online. Your Raider will get free dress for next Friday if you complete this.

If you have submitted the form already, thank you!

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Eastwood Middle School Library Book Fair - AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 1

Raider Parents! Our EMS Library will be hosting a BOOK FAIR all week. Students will have multiple opportunities to purchase books and other items. Please support your Raider's love of reading and discovery by patronizing our book fair this week. We will also be open until 7:30 pm on Parent Night. We hope to se you there!

GRANDPARENTS DAY CELEBRATION - COMING UP!

Please make plans to purchase tickets for our TWO Grandparents Day Celebrations!

7th and 8th Grade - SEPTEMBER 7th
6th Grade - SEPTEMBER 8th

Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 30 at lunch. Please see flyer for more information!

We will be hosting a Volunteer Orientation on August 31. 9:30 - 10:30 am, in the school cafeteria.Please contact Mr.Lomeli, CIS Coordinator at rlomeli1@yisd or at 434-4313 if you are interested in becoming a volunteer.

DRESS CODE, TARDY VIOLATIONS AND ID BADGES

Safety and classroom instruction are our top priority for our Raider students. That being said, there are a couple of concerns that we will be addressing.

DRESS CODE VIOLATIONS

In order to make sure that your Raider is in class every day, maximizing their instructional opportunities, please review the dress code at the bottom of this newsletter and please make certain that your child comes to school dressed appropriately. We have had several students on a daily basis come to school with out the required shirt and/or pants.
Students who are out of dress code will have first period only to call home to have appropriate clothing brought to them. If they cannot get the appropriate clothing to them by the end of first period, we will place the student in ISS with a dress code violation discipline referral for the remainder of the day.
Our office staff, administration and security officers have many duties to attend to in order to assist in running an orderly school day. They are not available to accommodate students who arrive out of dress code.

TARDY VIOLATIONS

Again, in order to maximize your child's time in class receiving instruction, we have implemented a lunch detention program to address students tardy to class.
Students who are tardy to classes before their lunch period will have lunch detention THAT SAME DAY. Students who are tardy to class after their lunch period will have lunch detention THE FOLLOWING DAY. Students will be able to eat during lunch detention.
Students that fail to report to lunch detention will be given a discipline referral.

ID BADGES

IN THE INTEREST OF CAMPUS SAFETY AND TO COMPLY WITH DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, WE NEED YOUR CHILD TO ARRIVE TO SCHOOL WITH THEIR ID ON A LANYARD AROUND THEIR NECK. They need to wear their ID around their neck all day. If they lose their ID, they will need to purchase a new one in our library. The cost of the replacement ID is $10.

Please understand that we want your child here, on time, dressed appropriately with their ID on so that we can provide a safe environment for them to learn, grow and prosper. We thank you for your support with this.

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Campus Traffic Patterns and Drop Off Zones - UPDATED

WE HAVE ADDED ADDITIONAL AFTER SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS AT ALBUM (NEAR OLD BUS DROP OFF) AND ON BYWOOD NEAR ARCHIE STREET! We are always looking to make our campus and surrounding streets safer for your Raiders.

Due to the large campus population and heavy traffic in the area, it is essential that all Raider community members (students, parents, and staff) adhere to safety standards when traveling around the campus area. We ask that you support our efforts to ensure ALL of our Raiders remain safe and secure while traveling by foot or vehicle.

First and foremost, we ask that you adhere to the directions given by staff members who are serving as cross guards or helping traffic flow. Do not stop in the middle of crosswalks or refuse or ignore their stop signs or directions. Understand that we are all trying to keep our Raiders safe and need your cooperation to do so!

More helpful reminders for keeping our Raiders and community safe:

Refrain from speeding on the streets surrounding the campus, especially during student arrival and dismissal times - the hours of 7:30 -8:30 am and 3:50 - 4:50 pm.
Be on the lookout for students who may be crossing the streets, whether at the crosswalks or not.
Emphasize the importance of crossing the streets safely at crosswalks rather than the middle of the streets where cars are less likely to slow down.
Refrain from making u-turns on Album, Chaswood, Bywood, and Escarpa streets, especially when students are arriving or departing the campus.
When dropping off or picking up your Raider, please pull all the way up to the front of the drop off area rather than staying back. This helps traffic flow more easily around the surrounding streets.
Consider parking away from the campus and having your Raider walk to or from your car rather than using the drop-off areas to avoid getting stuck in traffic.

CAMPUS SAFETY PROCEDURES - UPDATED

As some of you may have noticed, the district is currently improving our front visitor's vestibule area. As the work progresses, we will need to make some adjustments to ensure we keep our campus safe. Please read the procedures outlined below so you are prepared in the event you need to enter our school building during the school day.

All visitors must have a valid picture ID.
Be prepared to show your ID outside of the campus after notifying the receptionist you have arrived, and to have it scanned in our Hall Pass system for a quick background check.
The doors on the right-hand side are to ENTER the campus only. Doors on the left-hand side are to EXIT the building.
Should you need to sign your child out for an appointment or the day, you will do so inside of the visitor's vestibule. You may wait inside the vestibule or just outside the front doors for your child.
The receptionist will check to make sure the person picking up your child is authorized to do so as listed in our student information system.
Your child will be called down to the visitor's center. As they pass through the area our receptionist will note they are ok to leave, at which time they will exit the building out of the exit only (left-hand side) doors. As you see them come through, you can meet them just outside the campus doors.
Should you need to come inside the campus at or shortly after dismissal, you will be stopped at the door by an adult who will ask you the reason for your visit. They will communicate with the front office to make sure you are approved entry and you will be permitted to make your way to the front office for further assistance.
In order to comply with state mandates to safely and effectively control a single entry point for our campus, we are unable to accept food deliveries for your student during lunch. Our visitor center receptionist must remain focused on the task of monitoring entry, check in and processing of identification, monitoring student sign-outs and so on. Again, this is to ensure the safety and security of our single campus entry point. Thank you for your understanding.

Thank you for your flexibility and understanding of our new visitor's area procedures. It is up to all of us to help keep our campus (students & adults) safe, and we appreciate your support and partnership in doing so.

If you have any questions or concerns, please make campus administration aware and we can assist you.

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING IN CORE CLASSES?

6th Grade:

Reading/Language Arts: Unit 2: Narrative Elements in Reading Focus: Narrative Writing (Aug. 16-Sept. 27)
Social Studies: Unit 2 United States and Canada (August 24 - September 22)
Science: Unit 2: Investigating Properties of Matter (14 days)
Math: Unit 2: Classifying Rational Numbers (14 days) Aug. 21-Sept. 8

7th Grade:

Reading/Language Arts: Unit 2: Narrative Elements in Reading Focus: Narrative Writing (Aug. 16-Sept. 27)
Social Studies: Unit 3: Exploration and Colonization of Texas
Science: Unit 2: IInvestigating Body Systems & Homeostasis (20 days)
Math: Unit 2: Proportional Reasoning: Ratios, Rates

ADV-Unit 2: One Variable Equations and Inequalities (August 11-30)

8th Grade:

Reading/Language Arts: Unit 2: Narrative Elements in Reading Focus: Narrative Writing (Aug. 16-Sept. 27)
Social Studies: ; Era 1 Colonial America (August 9 - August 29)
Science: Unit 2: Investigating Forces that Change the Earth (15 days)
Math: Unit 2: One Variable Equations and Inequalities (August 11-30)

ALG-Unit 2: Introduction to Functions (Aug. 22-Sept. 6)

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THIS WEEK'S CAMPUS EVENTS

THIS WEEK'S RAIDER VOLLEYBALL GAME DATE/TIME TBD

Monday, 8/28 - EMS Library BOOK FAIR begins through Friday, 9/1.

Tuesday, 8/29 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 4:45pm - 7:45pm

Wednesday, 8/30 - Cross Country @ SEISD Meet at San Elizario HS - 4:00 pm

Thursday, 8/31 - EHS Homecoming Parade, 6:00 PM and Burning of the E, Eastwood Stadium

Friday, 9/1 - On Fridays we celebrate ALL of our triumphs for the week!

Saturday, 9/2 - Raider 7/8 Football @ Hanks Middle @ HHS - 8:00am

Monday, 9/4 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL!

YISD ATHELETIC SCHEDULES - CLICK HERE

EMS 2023-2024 BELL SCHEDULE

EMS 2023-2024 DRESS CODE

EASTWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL WEBSITE LINK

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EMS OFFICE STAFF & NURSE CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach out to anyone by calling our main number 915-434-4300, or any of the direct numbers below, from 7:45 am - 4:15 pm to assist you.

Office Clerk & Nurse Contact Information:

6th Grade Students

Heather Borrego

(915) 434-4368

hborrego@yisd.net

7th Grade Students

Ana Cadena-Medina

(915) 434-4310

amedina79@yisd.net

8th Grade Students

Aida Marquez

(915) 434-4367