Essex High School

• No School Reminder
• Remote Learning Days and UNV Absences
  
• Update Email Addresses
• Cohort Changes
• Essex Boosters Order Forms
• EHS Winter Warmth Fundraiser
• 11th Grade Meetings
• Winter Themed Virtual Coffee House
• Creating a Buzz Around Recycling
• Pictures for Yearbook Needed
• Speech and Debate Results
• Virtual Instant Decision Day for Seniors
• VSAC VT Applies
• Lost and Found Items
• Transgender Awareness Week
• Toys for Kids of VT

Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 are teacher in-service days. There will be no school in the building and no remote learning on these days.

Thanksgiving Break will be Wednesday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Nov. 27.

School will resume in person and remotely on Monday, Nov. 30.

Please refer to the District requirements for voluntary travel by clicking this link.

One of our biggest struggles during these unprecedented times is the monitoring of student attendance and participation in their learning.

We send emails to each student every day that they are remote with an invitation to fill out a short, two questions, Google form. This provides the school with evidence of your student's engagement in that day's learning. Unfortunately, almost a third of our students are not taking the time to fill out the form. This creates a mark of unverified for your student.

Please, help us keep more accurate records of our student's engagement. Remind your student to fill in their attendance form every day that they are remote. Thank you for your help and support during these challenging times.

Please contact our EHS Main Office to ensure your primary email address is up-to-date so you do not miss any important email communications. Many EHS parents are employed at UVM and use the UVM email addresses in PowerSchool. We understand that UVM Medical Center email addresses may have been compromised or are not accepting incoming emails at this time. You can update your information by calling 802-879-7121.

You may be discussing some challenging decisions and have questions about cohort changes. If your student would like to change to another cohort (Blue/Gold/Remote/Hybrid), we are currently making cohort changes at the end of each term (we are in Term 2 now). In certain situations that occur midterm, we may consider your request to change cohort on a case by case basis. If yours is a unique situation, please contact your school counselor first to discuss the request.

If you or someone you know would like EHS gear, fill out the below form and return it (with payment) to Arielle in the Main Office! (Hard copies are also available in the main office).

Click here for Form and Merchandise List

Would you like to share a little warmth to families in need this winter season?

Essex High School is holding its annual gift card fundraiser to help support some of our families through the holidays and cold winter months ahead. We understand that these are trying times for everyone. This unexpected COVID-19 year has impacted so many families on many levels. If it is within your means, we hope you consider purchasing a gift card to donate to this fundraising effort.

Because this fundraiser is intended to support families through the holidays and long Vermont winter months, please consider donating a gift card from a store that offers a variety of goods - from clothing to food. Stores like Walmart and Target are preferred, but a card from any store is welcome and deeply appreciated.

To limit traffic inside of the building due to Covid-19, gift cards can be dropped off at the Essex High Security Office (located just inside the first door of the main entrance) or can be mailed to Essex High School Main Office ATTN: Arielle Boutwell, 2 Educational Drive, Essex Junction, Vermont 05452 from now until the end of the school day on December 18, 2020. Our EHS student assistance staff will then confidentially coordinate assistance to EHS students and families in need.

Giving can make this winter brighter and more hopeful for all. We had an outpouring of support last year and donations totaled over $3,000 and helped over 50 families over the course of the holidays and winter months. We know we can surpass last year’s collection with your help and know there are even more families who could use extra support this year. Let’s work together to share the warmth this winter season.

We thank you so very much for considering your extended EHS families throughout the next few weeks!

During December and January, EHS School Counselors will meet individually with all 11th grade students. These meetings will be virtual meetings using Google Meet. These meetings will include:

• Future goals for career and/or college

• Graduation requirements progress

• The college search process, including admission exams, and dual enrollment options.

We will send appointment details to the student using their school email. If we have a

school closure we will send an e-mail to students who have appointments scheduled for that day with their new appointment date and time. Parents/guardians are welcome to attend if they and their student would like to meet together.

A Buzz mural was created using single use plastics to raise awareness, and spark thought and action to save the environment. This mural was designed by the Class of 2024 students Avery McCaffery, Nora Robertson, and Charlee Olio.

Do you have pictures of your student from this fall? Maybe you went apple picking, hiking, or just some nice seasonal photos with a beautiful foliage background! Please send them in the following survey for us to potentially use in the Yearbook!

https://forms.gle/741qoLzyuJycKa6J8

Also, Yearbooks are on sale now! We are just about 50% sold out at this point so don't put it off too long! The price right now is $65 and goes up to $70 after the new year. You can purchase from the following link on our school's website

https://www.ewsd.org/domain/1714

1st place Original Oratory - Fatima Khan

2nd Place Drama - Faith Awotho

2nd Place Impromptu - Faith Awotho

3rd Place Poetry - Catherine Colley

Essex High School place 2nd overall!

Alex Katsnelson (Extemp) Tanisha Gerg (Extemp) Jesse Roberts (Impromptu) , and Emmerson Stapleton (Original Oratory) helped to push Essex to 2nd Place Team for the second time this season!

12th grade students: Are you considering Northern Vermont University (www.northernvermont.edu, formerly Johnson and Lyndon State Colleges) for college next year? NVU offers a Virtual Instant Decision Day for EHS students on Wednesday, December 9 from 8:00 to 12:00. Interested students can register at https://connect.northernvermont.edu/register/?id=d5dce28f-f6f7-4d7d-95b6-b154e5327d2d for a half-hour virtual meeting.

Registered students must submit an application prior to their meeting through one of these three options:

• NVU Quick Application

• The Common Application

• NVU Application

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Participating students will receive an instant admissions decision as well as information about the next steps in the application process including financial aid information. NVU will waive the $50 application fee for students who participate in this opportunity. If you can't connect that day the NVU admissions folks will gladly schedule another date that's convenient for you. Questions? Email Lcunninghamfirkey@ewsd.org.

VSAC is leading a month-long initiative during December called Vermont Applies designed to help 10th-12th graders explore postsecondary options. Vermont Applies includes:

• A free Virtual Vermont College Fair on December 2nd – Register Today!
• Workshops in December related to postsecondary applications - see the list of workshops here: Vermont Applies
• Application fee waivers from Vermont colleges during December. See the list of schools participating here: Vermont Applies

Lost and Found will be virtual this year. Each week there will be a picture in the newsletter of any new lost and found items. If you see an item here that belongs to your student, please email aboutwell@ewsd.org to arrange a pick-up time. At the end of each term, our lost and found items will be donated.

This week is Transgender Awareness Week! "Transgender Awareness Week is a week when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community."

https://www.glaad.org/transweek

A Toys for Kids of VT donation barrel is located in the main lobby by the main office door from now until Dec. 18. Toys for Kids of Vermont is a volunteer program sponsored by the Vermont Marine Corps League which collects new, unwrapped toys during the Christmas season and oversees their distribution to needy children in Vermont. All money collected stays in Vermont and is used to purchase age appropriate toys to supplement donations, and for older children. Over twenty thousand Vermont kids live below the poverty level and at Christmas time. The Toys for Kids program provides those kids with toys.

Email: hornets@ewsd.org
Website: www.ewsd.org/ehs
Location: 2 Educational Drive, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: 802-879-7121
Facebook: facebook.com/ehsvt/