EMS Newsletter

Dear EMS Families,

During a recent gratitude practice, I shared that the true highlight of my school day is student lunch. “Why?" you might ask. Because for 80 minutes each day, I get to laugh and connect with your children. Granted, they are often laughing at me as I make silly jokes or show off my dance moves but it supports us in creating a community where all feel connected: safe, seen, heard, respected and understood.

This year at EMS we are continuing our efforts to create a connected community. In addition to lunch and our daily Community Time, that all students start their day with, we are coming together as an entire EMS community each Wednesday afternoon to:

• celebrate and recognize the people in our community and their incredible work and accomplishments.

• increase our visible presence with each other and thus increase our knowing of each other.

• streamline and thus strengthen our communication.

All families are welcome to join our Community Meetings any Wednesday from 1:20 - 1:50.

Student voice is essential to creating a community where all feel connected - thus we have created two classes this year with the explicit purpose of increasing student voice.

1. The YPAR (Youth Participatory Action Research) group at Edmunds Middle School is committed to making a difference for our school community by addressing the marginalization experienced by students due to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination. The YPAR team consists of Greta Ketterling, Anyier Manyok, Miles Carr, Walter Hood, Adriel Mendez, Aoife Cranich, Petra Fanslow, Isaac Doggett, Henry Tornwini, Myriam Huener, and Amelia Dion. This team uses data to build advocacy and take actions to support the needs of marginalized groups at Edmunds Middle School. Please check the YPAR Web Page to find out more about who we are, what we do, our initial findings, and our current projects.

2. The 7/8th Grade Leadership class students have committed to working toward the following goals:

• Increasing the understanding and awareness of both students and faculty around discrimination and implicit bias in our community.

• Increasing the effective use of a restorative process to collaboratively repair harm.

• Increasing student voice in school-wide decisions that impact our culture and climate.

They have begun taking the following action steps to achieve these goals:

• Participating weekly with a larger group of 7/8 students in a peer training program called A World of Difference (AWOD).

• Learning about restorative practices and being trained in leading restorative circles.

• Scheduling attendance at teacher meetings to share student perspectives.

Our student leaders have already had a positive impact on our community; this week they kept their first circle by supporting two of their peers in repairing harm. I am grateful to work in a community where children and adults are willing to partner in such courageous and humbling work.

Thank you for sharing your children with us. What a gift they each are.

In partnership,

Meg

Friendly Reminders

• September 20th - 7/8th grade team field trips & first Endeavor/Quest walking field trip

• September 24th - Nia/Discovery Mt. Philo field trip

• September 27th - Vista/Voyager Mt. Philo field trip

• September 26th - 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. EMS community dinner and Open House.

• Community dinner in the EMS gym from 5-5:45

• Child Care provided during Open House

• Students invited to join their parents to support them in following their schedule.

• The PTO will be selling mums for $10 each. Proceeds will support PTO sponsored events throughout the year.

Please RSVP (864-8486) so we can have an accurate count for dinner.

Community Announcements

• Next Friday, September 20th, Burlington youth have organized a Climate Change rally at City Hall Park. If you choose to attend this event as a family please call the school to excuse your child’s absence from school. As is the case with all absences, students will be expected to make up work missed. While we appreciate and respect the importance of student activism and the lessons that can be learned from such an event, EMS will not be providing supervision for this event due to our previously scheduled start-of-the-year field trips.

• Apologies for the mistake on the BSD calendar - April 17th is a regular school day.

• There is already much excitement about the 2019-2020 dances - here are the scheduled dates:

• November 1st

• January 24th

• February 14th

• April 3rd

• May 29th

Dear Families,

It is time for you to complete the online Annual Student Information Update for your child. The form asks you to update critical information, such as emergency contact information, medical information, etc.

Please go to the following link to Powerschool to update their information; if you do not already have an account in Powerschool (most of you do), then please refer to the directions below in order to create the account.

NOTE: If student information is not updated by Thursday, September 26 that student may not be allowed to return to school until their update is complete. If a student without updated information comes to school on September 26, they may be sent home.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your child's school.

Thank You

If you are not certain if you have a powerschool account, follow these steps:

1. Go to bsdvt.org or to your school’s home page.

2. Click on the image in the upper right hand corner of the webpage (see image below).

3. Enter your username and password.

4. Follow the steps for “Forgot Username or Password?” if needed.

5. If you have never created a Powerschool account, instead call your school and ask for an access ID and Access Password; when given these, click on create account, and enter the ID and Password as directed.

Hello EMS Community,

This past Tuesday we met for our first ever Engage EMS Community Meeting. We had a tremendous turnout and great conversation surrounding our priorities and ideas for this upcoming school year. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the MakerSpace Library. Please email emspto@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to share any ideas you may have for the school. And don’t forget to check out the Engage EMS webpage!

Thank you,

Engage EMS

Dear Families,

Thank you for your continued efforts in our district’s use of Powerschool and Unified Classroom. Below are resources to reference while using Powerschool. Feel free to either scroll down to see references or to use provided links.

How do I sign up for PowerSchool?

How can I see my student’s grades?

Setting up email notifications

Using the PowerSchool App

This past week, we have started to learn about Digital Citizenship in our Community Time sessions. As a larger school community, we feel it is important to discuss our online tendencies and behavior in small groups throughout the year. Topics that we will be learning about include our digital footprints, copyright and plagiarism, information literacy, finding a digital balance, social media usage, cyberbullying and data collection. As we expand this curriculum, we will seek to increase student voice in the process as well, encouraging students to advocate for topics they would like to discuss. In our increasingly digital world, concepts rooted in digital citizenship will only become more prevalent. Our goal is to prepare students with the skills needed for the digital world that they interact with daily.

Thank you!

Margaret Talbot

mtalbot@bsdvt.org

Technology Integrationist

How do I sign up for PowerSchool to see my child's schedule, attendance, and grades?

You may have already logged on to PowerSchool to complete the Annual School Update.

If you don’t have an account, click on the light bulb from ANY District page.

“Create an Account” If you need help with this step, please contact the school office.

Click on the “Light Bulb”

Question: How can I see my child's grades?

Once you are logged into PowerSchool, click on “Grades and Attendance” then Click on the Quarterly grade (ex. Q1) for each class.

Once inside the class, you can click View to see more information about each assignment.

Note: Not all assignments will have more information.

Setting up email notifications:

1. Click on Email Notifications

2. Set up how often you want to receive notifications and what type you would like to receive.

3. You can add more than one email separated by a comma.

4. Hit Submit.

Using the PowerSchool App

The app can be downloaded from the Apple or Android App Store. It is a Blue app with a rainbow-colored P.

Log in with the same credentials as the website.

District Code is KKPC

Website help:

https://tinyurl.com/PSUChelp

App help: https://tinyurl.com/PSUCapphelp

Dear Parents & Guardians:

This letter is intended for all families with a student who may be riding a GMT bus to or from school during the upcoming school year. BSD continues to work cooperatively with GMT to provide bus transportation options for your child(ren) to travel to and from school.

Grades K-5 students who live more than ¾ of a mile away from their assigned school and grades 6-12 students who live more than 1 mile away from their assigned schools are eligible for fare-free boardings on GMT buses between 7 a.m. & 7 p.m. on school days when traveling to/from school. Students who are eligible for fare-free boarding will be issued a school I.D. with a GMT logo by October 7, 2019. Effective October 7, 2019 all students who wish to ride a GMT bus must present a school issued ID when boarding the bus or pay the $0.75 cash fare to ride the bus.

Students who are not eligible for fare-free boarding must pay the $0.75 cash fare to ride aboard GMT buses.

To ensure a safe and comfortable ride for all GMT passengers, the GMT Passenger Code of Conduct is expected to be followed by all passengers on all GMT buses. The complete Code of Conduct can be found at: http://ridegmt.com/passenger-code-of-conduct/

School Trippers route schedules can be found at: http://ridegmt.com/school-trippers/

If you have any questions about the above information, please contact our office at 802-864-8453 or GMT directly at 802-540-2468 or info@ridegmt.com.

Sincerely,

Kyle Toof

BSD Transportation Manager

864-8453

EMS STUDENTS (teachers and parents are welcome too)

Event 1:

Ann Braden will visit the EMS Library all day on Tuesday, September 24th, for presentations and writers' workshops!

For 7th and 8th graders only (for students who are reading or who have read her novel).

Please let Mrs. Renca know if you are interested.

PARENTS!

Event 2:

Ann Braden is also coming to the Fletcher Free Library the evening of September 23 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. "Together we will explore parent-child relationships and the role parents play in empowering their children." Check in with the Fletcher Free Children's Librarian.

• http://annbradenbooks.com/
• twitter.com/annbradenbooks

Hello, EMS Students!

The EMS Afterschool Registration forms are now available!

Pick one up today on the wall in the main lobby (just to the left of the Library doors) to sign up for programs like Ultimate Frisbee, Chess Club, Magic the Gathering, BE Above, GaGa Ball, and more!

Afterschool Homework Help began on Monday September 9th; all other programs begin next Monday, the 16th.

See you after school!

My name is Judy Klima and I am the new art teacher at EMS.

I've been an art educator for decades and I am thrilled to be a part of this community.

Previous to EMS, I've worked as the arts coach at IAA, and an art teacher at CVU High School and U32 Middle High School.

I've created a blog for posting the happenings in the art room. My first post is about the newly renovated art space.
Check it out at: http://emsartstudio.weebly.com/