Bellringer Newsletter

Good morning. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend. It is hard to believe that the 2023-24 school year is almost over. Exams begin for all of our students in early June along with our awards ceremonies and Graduation on Friday, June 14. Please continue to check the Important Dates and Reminders section of the Bellringer Newsletter for a schedule of upcoming events. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at everner@easthamptonct.org.

• May 30--EHHS Spring Concert---6:30
  
• May 31--Senior Class Trip---Six Flags
• May 31--Sophomore Class Trip--Holiday Hill
• June 3--Senior Class Top 10 Scholars Ceremony---Town Hall---6:00
• June 4--Spring Sports Awards--6:00
• June 6---Senior Class Scholarship Evening---6:00
• June 10--East Hampton Community Band Performance--at EHHS--7:00
• June 14---Last Day of School---Early Dismissal
• June 14----EHHS Graduation---6:00

Fall Sports for the 2024-25 School Year begin on August 19, 2024.

Freshman Orientation will be held on August 21, 2024. More information will be sent out at a later date.

Maya Korczak has been an instrumental member of the EHHS community. As a member of the Bring Change 2 Mind Club, East Hampton Prevention Partnership intern, and member of the student advisory committee, she organized a full-day wellness event in April of 2024. This took a tremendous amount of drive and organization to execute, and Maya did that flawlessly. She helped bring many local organizations to provide resources about mental health awareness, employment opportunities, volunteer opportunities, and personal wellness to the students of the EHHS community. She and the other members of the student advisory committee carried out an end of the day pep rally to culminate the day’s events. The students had a lot of fun participating and Maya did a great job planning this event. Great work Maya!

These students went above and beyond during Teacher Appreciation Week to make the staff at EHHS feel appreciated. Their creative and compassionate idea of a coffee cart and baked goods made the day for many members of the staff. Teachers expressed joy and gratitude they felt as this act demonstrated that the students truly cared about their teachers. Many hope this is a new tradition that will continue in years to come.

Congratulations to Will Nafis who recently received the Shoreline Conference Social Studies Award for excellence.

Over 90 Connecticut high schools participate in the Halo Awards, which celebrates and rewards students for their work in all aspects of theatre: acting, technical theatre, directing and more. Congratulations to our students on their nomination,

• Best Performance By a Featured Actor - Aiden Sones as Zeke in The Wizard of Oz
• Best Performance By a Featured Actress - Marley Paris as Glinda in The Wizard of Oz
• Best Comic Male Performance - Brayden Kramer as Lion in The Wizard of Oz
• Best Lighting Design and/or Execution - Lucas Gagne for The Wizard of Oz
• Best Stage Management - Cadence Thibodeau (Stage Manager) for The Wizard of Oz
• Best Featured Dancer(s) - Will Faber as Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz
• Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Classical Musical - Enja Barry as Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz
• Best Performance By a Leading Actor in a Classical Musical - Aubrey Dallaire as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz

The awards will take place Tuesday, May 28th at the Palace Theater in Waterbury.

Congratulations to Baylee Olzacki as she was recently honored as the Voice of Democracy State Essay Contest Winner.

Bellringers Got Talent showcased East Hampton High School's talented students on Tuesday, May 21. Acts ranged from The Heathers croquet scene to an all-student-band "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" (Jack Johnson) musical performance. The talented acts were judged by a panel of teacher judges who provided inspiring and, often-times, humorous insights about the performances.

Equally as talented are the group of NHS students who organized and implemented the Talent Show. These students, led by senior Riley Flatley, put together raffle prizes and a bake sale so that all proceeds could go to Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Because of this, NHS and the EHHS community raised over $1400!

Varsity Baseball defeated Lyme-Old Lyme 7-6 in the Shoreline Conference Tournament ¼ finals and were defeated 5-6 by North Branford in the Shoreline Conference Tournament Semi-Finals. They are scheduled to play at home on Tuesday vs Stafford in the CIAC Class S State Tournament. Their current record is 13-9.

Junior Varsity Baseball defeated Morgan 11-3 and was defeated by Bacon Academy 4-11. Their season has concluded. Their final record is 7-1.

Varsity Softball season has concluded. Their final season record is 2-15.

Varsity Golf finished 5th in the Shoreline Conference Tournament. They are scheduled to play at home vs Middletown High School on Tuesday. Their current season record is 7-7.

Varsity Boys Tennis was defeated by Granby 2-5 in the CIAC Class S State Tournament . Their season has concluded. Their final season record is 5-8.

Varsity Girls Tennis season has concluded. Their final season record is 2-11.

Varsity Girls Lacrosse Co-op was defeated by NFA 5-16. Their season has concluded. Their final season record is 2-14.

Varsity Boys Track placed third in the Shoreline Conference Championships. They are scheduled to compete in the CIAC Class S State Championships on Wednesday in New Britain.

Varsity Girls Track won the Shoreline Conference Championship. They are scheduled to compete in the CIAC Class M State Championships on Tuesday in New Britain.

All athletic schedules, directions and results may be found at ciac.fpsports.org.

How will artificial intelligence affect K-12 teaching and learning

This question was central to the Neag School of Education’s annual “Teaching and Learning with Technology” conference that brought educators from the state together at UConn’s Storrs campus on May 8th. Library media specialist Katie Tietjen and English teachers Joseph Holloway and Delia Regan presented on how they incorporated AI tools in Canva and a new program called Sidekick (from School AI) into three different units in senior English classes. They shared information, students’ reactions, and their own reflections on the process, focusing on how they elicited critical thinking from students about the ethics around AI technology. Mrs. Tietjen also served on the opening panel for the conference.

NUTMEG NEWS

Teens across the state have spoken: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman is the 2024 Nutmeg Book Award winner!

Library media specialist Mrs. Tietjen and Keri Blanda from the public library hosted a “reveal party” to introduce students to the 2025 nominees. Students can choose to read any or the ten books on the 2025 list and vote for their favorite next April. Learn more about the Nutmeg Book Awards here!

SUMMER EMPLOYMENT/VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES

• Portland Golf West located at 105 Gospel Lane in Portland is looking for students interesting in general landscaping, weed whacking, picking up golf balls, raking sand traps, etc. Hours would be from 6:00am until 11:00am 5 days/week (to include one day on the weekend). Anyone interested can call Portland Golf West at (860) 342-6111.

• YMCA-Camp Ingersoll in Portland, CT is looking for young, motivated leaders to work at their camp this summer. They are an outdoor day camp serving over 650 campers every day. They run a high quality, value-driven program and are looking for creative staff members who live for adventure, love the outdoors, and enjoy serving kids as a counselor/lifeguard, or working with their hands in a maintenance position. Interested students should learn more and apply online HERE. Every applicant will be given the opportunity to interview for a position at camp.
• Mystic Aquarium is once again offering local teens the opportunity to volunteer this summer. The Blue Crew offers unique opportunities in the areas of guest relations, education & summer camps, and landscaping. For more information, check out their website at https://www.mysticaquarium.org/footer/volunteer/. Applications for this program are due on May 8th. If you have any questions, please contact volunteer@mysticaquarium.org.

Bellringer Sideline Store. The store is available 24/7 and ships directly to you.

Please see the link below to grab your Bellringer gear.

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/connecticut/easthampton/east-hampton-high-school

School Nutrition Announcements:

As we are coming to the end of the school year, please take a moment to check your child's MealMagic Account. We are asking that all all accounts be brought current by the end of the school year.

If you have any questions about meals in our cafeterias or MealMagic, please reach out to Kate at kcaselli@easthamptonct.org.

Important reminders:

School breakfast is a great way for students to start their school day and its FREE to everyone!

Please review your student(s)’s available balance for any lunch purchases at our secure “e-Funds for Schools” portal: https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56523 Funds should be added on an as needed basis to ensure the account balance covers all purchases.

Communications to families about your meal account come directly from the payment portal. Please be alert to these emails and remove from your “junk” status the following addresses:

easthampton@mealmagic.cloud

easthampton@Familyportal.cloud

EHHS Project Graduation, what we do and who we are.

Thanks

Cyndi Buchan

Chair, EHHS Project Graduation

@EHHSProjectGraduation

www.EHHSprojectgraduation.com

The EHHS LMC will be open after school until 4:00, Monday--Thursday beginning on Tuesday, September 5th. The LMC will be open for quiet study, reading time, or research opportunities. Please note, on early dissmisal days, the LMC will not be available.

The Profile of the Graduate Portfolio process has begun for the classes of 2025, 2026, and, 2027. Students are developing a Google Site that they will use over the course of their high school career to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate their growth and development of the five attributes in the East Hampton Public Schools: compassion, innovation, perseverance, collaboration, and active learning. This portfolio will display various achievements, projects, and activities over the course of the high school experience that will show attainment of skills, broadening of horizons, and pursuit of passions. Students will reflect on experiences, strengths, and abilities to confidently approach challenges. During XBlock students used a template developed by the Portfolio Committee, wrote a brief autobiography and are crafting their paragraphs explaining their understanding of the core values. By the end of the school year, students will have written about each of the values and uploaded examples of their work. Ultimately, this work will become part of their Senior Capstone beginning with the Class of 2025.

The East Hampton Public Schools is proud to introduce School Based Health Centers in each of our schools. Soon, enrolled students will be able to receive behavioral health services during the school day. The School-Based Health Care (SBHC) staff are licensed health care providers, who are able to deliver behavioral health services to students during the school day. They work in conjunction with the student’s primary care providers to support their social, emotional, and behavioral health care needs. SBHC is proud to serve over 17,000 students throughout Connecticut.

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!

During student drop-off in the moring and pick-up in the afternoon, please refrain from using the Bus Lane. At these times (7:00--7:25 and 2:00--2:25) cars are not allowed in the Bus Lane as vehicles block the busses and present a safety hazard to students. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Please review the EHHS Attendance Policy and Student Handbook as they contain important information.

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.

Access to the East Hampton attendance policy is available HERE

It is also necessary for a student to be present at least half of the school day for the student to be recorded as present. When a student arrives after the mid-day point or leaves before it, the day cannot be counted for that student. Building principals will share the specific times in their communications with families.

A student is considered to be “in attendance” if present at his/her assigned school, or an activity.

sponsored by the school (e.g., field trip), for at least half of the regular school day.

At East Hampton High School, half of the regular school day arrives at 10:55 a.m. This means that if a student arrives after 10:55, even with a note, the student will be marked Tardy Absent. If a student dismisses prior to 10:55 and does not return to school, the student will be marked Early Dismissal Absent. Please contact the school with any questions regarding our attendance policies.

To increase the ease of reporting an absence and documenting parent approval of the absence for a student’s first 9 absences, the East Hampton Public Schools has created email addresses that parents can use to contact their student’s school and report an absence. Effectively immediately, the following email addresses can be used by parents to report and document their approval of an absence:

EHHS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

If you have successfully emailed the school, you will receive an autoreply that notifies you that the absence communication has been received and recorded. This process is effective for your student’s first 9 absences. After your student has more than 9 absences, additional documentation or communication will be required to excuse the absence. Please use the email to continue to notify the school that your child will not attend. You may call your child’s school at any time to report an absence, as well.

Students, parents, and community members will have access to an anonymous tip line on the front page of the school district website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. Please view the front page of the website at https://www.easthamptonps.org

We are excited to launch our new Bellringer Sideline Store! The store is available 24/7 and ships directly to you!!!

Please see the link below to grab your Bellringer gear

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/connecticut/easthampton/east-hampton-high-school

Parents are asked to join our schools and speak to children about marijuana edibles. While legal for purchase by adults in CT, please note that the psychoactive ingredient, THC, is still considered a controlled substance in school.

We have had recent incidents at the High School of students consuming THC via Vape Pens - with and without knowing what they contain.

The school district treats consumption and distribution of a controlled substance very seriously. Students who ingest or bring gummies to school will face consequences up to and including 10-days of suspension. Those who distribute gummies on school grounds will face consequences up to and including expulsion from school.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/substance-abuse/Pages/Edible-Marijuana-Dangers.aspx

As a reminder to members of our school community, Board Policy #5145.122 allows the schools to work with the East Hampton Police Department to protect the health and safety of students and staff by conducting sweeps of school property by trained sniffing dogs. Please review the policy and procedures below. Our goal is to ensure that the East Hampton Schools are free of illegal substances. Annually, we provide notice of this policy to our school community. Should a sweep be conducted, parents and the Board of Education will be notified upon completion.

Use of Dogs to Sweep School Property

The Board permits the administration to invite law enforcement agencies to sweep school property with dogs trained for the purpose of detecting the presence of illegal substances, when necessary to protect the health and safety of students, employees or property or to detect the presence of illegal substances or contraband, including alcohol and/or drugs. The use of trained canine sniffing dogs and their associated law enforcement personnel is for the purpose of “alerting” on property only, and is subject to the following:

1. Parents and students shall be notified of this policy through its inclusion in the student/ parent handbook and the Superintendent and Principal or their designees, shall explain the policies and procedures followed in sweeps and searches to students and staff on an annual basis. Once notification has been given to parents and students through the handbook and assembly respectively, the school district will have met its obligation to advertise the sweep and search policy and associated procedure. Additional notices need not be given and actual times or dates of planned sweeps need not be released in advance.

2. The Superintendent or designee shall authorize the sweep. Immediately prior to the sweep, an announcement will be made for students and staff to ‘stay put’ in their classrooms while the sweep is taking place. Representatives from school administration shall accompany dogs and handlers while on school premises.

3. The Board shall be informed by the Superintendent of Schools that a sweep has taken place.

4. Parents shall be informed through the school’s mass communication system by the Superintendent of Schools that a sweep has taken place.

5. All school property which students have access to during the day, such as lockers, classrooms, parking areas and storage areas may be swept.

6. Individuals shall not be subjected to a search by dogs.

a. Dogs shall not be used in rooms occupied by persons except for demonstration purposes. The handler and representative from school administration will always be present with the dogs

b. When used for demonstration purposes, the dog may not sniff any student and/or staff.

7. Only the dog’s official handler will determine what constitutes an alert by the dog. If the dog alerts on a particular item or place, that locker or vehicle will be identified for later search. Upon completion of the sweep, the school administration will then search the identified property in the presence of a witness.

8. Searches that disclose evidence of misconduct shall result in disciplinary consequences in accordance with Board policy and may also result in referral to law enforcement agencies.

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

Policy adopted: March 15, 2016

10-221 Boards of education to prescribe rules.

New Jersey v T.L.O., 53 U.S.L.W. 4083 (1985)

54-33n Search of school lockers and property

Students who are being dismissed due to illness, MUST FIRST see the School Nurse. Additionally, we ask that parents familiarize themselves with our attendance policy which is in the EHHS Student Handbook. Some of the main policies/procedures that we are mut be followed are listed below:

• EARLY DISMISSALS: A written request (no phone calls) from a parent or guardian must be presented to the main office before school begins so student may obtain an early dismissal slip. Students will wait in the main office for their parent/guardian to call the office and we will send your child out to meet you after they sign-out.
• NURSE DISMISSALS: In case of illness during school, dismissal will be arranged through the school nurse, or in her absence, through the office. Students feeling ill should report directly to the nurse's office. Students should not be texting or calling home when not feeling well.

Please note that having a parent’s written request before the start of the day allows the students name to appear on the Daily Attendance sheet so their teachers will be aware that they may not be in class on that day. This also eliminates the office staff from calling in and disrupting a classroom to dismiss the student. We do realize that there may be occasions when you may need to unexpectedly pick your child up early. In those cases we will call the student down when the parent/guardian arrives to the school.

Students that are dismissed from school will not be allowed to return without appropriate documentation from their visit/provider. In the event that doucmentation is not available, a parent will be required to sign their student into the main office upon return.

1. Dropping off on items--the table to drop off items for students has been moved inside the first set of doors. Parents will be able to drop items of for students, but will no longer be admitted to the main lobby.
2. Appointments--for security reasons, parents and visitors who are requesting to meet with a teacher or administration should call in advance to ensure that the requested party is available to meet rather than show up unannounced.
3. Effective immediately, there is an anonymous tip line to enhance a safe environment in our schools. Students, parents, and community members have access to the front page of the website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. https://www.easthamptonps.org/

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.

Parents are asked to join our schools and speak to children about marijuana edibles. While legal for purchase by adults in CT, please note that the psychoactive ingredient, THC, is still considered a controlled substance in school.

We have had recent incidents at the High School of students consuming THC gummy candies - with and without knowing what they contain.

The school district treats consumption and distribution of a controlled substance very seriously. Students who ingest or bring gummies to school will face consequences up to and including 10-days of suspension. Those who distribute gummies on school grounds will face consequences up to and including expulsion from school.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/substance-abuse/Pages/Edible-Marijuana-Dangers.aspx

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.

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: everner@easthamptonct.org
Website: www.easthamptonps.org
Location: 15 North Maple Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4030
Twitter: @EH_CTPrincipal