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#EagleNation Updates

Week of 11/26/23/ Semana del 26/11/23

#EagleNation Updates Week of 11/26/23/ Semana del 26/11/23

Welcome to the week of February 17th

D A T E S * T O * R E M E M B E R

  • Feb. 19: Round 1 (Pilot Day of Morning Cellphone Storage)

  • Feb. 24: Official Start of Cellphone Collections

  • Feb. 28: Early Release

  • March 4: Community Work Session for A NEW EASTERN

  • March 7 & 8: Musical



MCPS School Calendar 24-25

Eastern's 25-26 School Calendar

MCPS 2025-2026 School Calendar

2/27 Eastern's SGA Hosts the Winter Dance

Calling all Eastern Eagles! The Student Government Association is hosting a dance!


Join us on February 27th from 5-7pm for a “Starry Night” themed dance featuring a DJ, a professional Photo Booth, and concessions for purchase. Tickets will be sold for $7 at all lunches from February 20th-27th. All students MUST have a signed permission slip to attend the dance. Printed permission slips can be picked up in the cafeteria or in Room 606. See Ms. Kenney in Room 606 or email megan.e.kenney@mcpsmd.net with any questions.

6/11 SAVE THE DATE FOR 8TH GRADE PROMOTION

CELLPHONES & PERSONAL MOBILE DEVICES (AWAY ALL DAY)

REPOST FROM FALL NEWSLETTERS:


Eastern will continue with it's cell phone policy from the past two school years. As a reminder phones & all personal mobile devices (PMDs) should be turned OFF as we turn the learning ON during the school day!


  • Technology that is necessary for learning is provided by the school.
  • Parents/guardians are always welcome to contact the main office to communicate an emergency message to students.
  • Cellphones and other Personal Mobile Devices (PMDs) are only allowed for use before and after school.
  • Cellphones are not allowed during the school day.
  • NEW: No electronics will be allowed for use in the cafeteria during lunch.


We are confident this will help students to focus on the valuable instructional time in-class and further develop other social skills throughout the day. If you have any questions, feel free to follow up with your student’s grade-level administrator: 6th Grade- Ms. Levin, 7th Grade-Ms. Estes (edited) and 8th Grade- Mr. Feamster.

2/19: Run-Through Date Cellphone Collection

On February 19th, we plan conduct a runthrough of our practice of storing the phones away in the morning so they can enjoy a distraction free day of learning. Our leadership team has been working with staff, sharing information with parents and gathering input from other MCPS middle schools who are already successful in their implementation of cellphone collections, such as our neighborhood friends at Takoma Park MS.


  • Students will start at 8th period to turn in phones so the phones are already with the 8th period teachers at the end of the day.
  • After cellphones are filed bins, the bins will be picked up by security on large carts which will be locked away in the main office.
  • The main office will be able to retrieve a student's cellphone for early dismissal, just ask when you come to the office.
  • The carts will allow us to move the phones out of the building so that in a real emergency we can redistribute the phones and children will be able to have them for emergency usage.



*"While every effort has been made to secure cell phones during this process and ensure they are safely stored by security, we are unable to provide replacements or assume financial responsibility for accidental occurrences."

Timeline of Events (Cellphone collection)

2/4: Townhalls were held with students. We appreciate parents' support messaging the importance of having time without the cellphones (including).

2/19: We will hold our first school-wide cellphone collection.

Week of 2/17 (except 2/19 Pilot Make-Up Day): We will not collect cellphones to allow for reviewing the processes to update areas that need support.

2/24: Official start of school-wide cellphone collections.

3/5: Eastern Middle School Meets With The Architect

We held a kick-off meeting with the architect last week. Eastern has secured an architect to begin the deigns for a NEW Eastern Middle School. The next step is to engage in stakeholder meetings to gather feedback from the community, staff, and teachers. Here are the timeframes for each meeting and the topic for each. Meetings will be held in the cafeteria around 7:00.


  1. Stakeholder Meeting #1 – Week of March 3, 2025 (Tentative 3/3/25)
    Review of preliminary analysis of existing conditions
  2. Stakeholder Meeting #2 – Week of March 24, 2025
    Presentation of diagrammatic concepts
  3. Stakeholder Meeting #3 – Week of April 28, 2025
    Presentation of refined concepts
  4. Stakeholder Meeting #4 – Week of May 26, 2025
    Presentation of final concepts

STEMpowHER - Girls Rising in Science, Technology and Science

FREE for girls in 5th to 10th grade,

Parents and STEM educators: This event is sponsored by Every Girl Can Learning Institute and will be held at Montgomery College, Silver Spring/Takoma Park campus, Health Sciences Ctr. on Sat. 3.22.25. http://www.everygirlcanlearn.org/programs

REGISTRATION -https://bit.ly/40A6xH3

2/13//25: MCPS Things to Know

F A M I L Y * R E S O U R C E S

THANK YOU EAGLE STRUT SPONSORS

* H E R E * T O * H E L P !

Emails and phone numbers for support in the school:


Counselors: (COUNSELING WEBSITE- RESOURCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH)

GRADE 6

GRADE 7

GRADE 8


Administrators:


Family Supports:


#EagleNation: Matching to students, staff & community needs for a 5-Star Experience!

Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/easternms

Location: Eastern Middle School, University Boulevard East, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone: (240) 740-6280
X : @EasternMS_Prin

Lisa Shorts
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