Good afternoon,

A quick reminder that the second quarter wraps up on Friday, January 17th, with students beginning their next special rotation on Tuesday, January 21st. If you have any questions about your child's grades or progress in any course, please feel free to contact their teacher.

We look forward to our Winter Concert taking place next week. Our Band and Chorus students along with Mrs. LaBrec and Mr. Shilansky having been working hard in preparing.

Best,

Christina & Emily

Mon. Jan 13th - Board of Education Meeting, Town Hall at 6:30pm

Tues. Jan 14th - Band & Chorus Winter Concert, EHHS Auditorium at 6:30pm

Mon. Jan 20th - Martin Luther King Day - No School

Tues. Jan 21st - EHMS PTO Meeting, LMC at 5:30pm

Mon. Jan 27th - Board of Education Meeting, Town Hall at 6:30pm

The Winter Band and Chorus Concert will be held on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 6:30pm. The concert will be held in the East Hampton High School Auditorium. Students should plan to arrive between 6pm and 6:15pm. Concert attire is black and white with a splash of blue. In case of poor weather, the snow date is Thursday, January 16th at 6:30pm. Please reach out to Mrs. LaBrec and Mr. Shilansky in ParentSquare if you have any questions.

We look forward to sharing our music with you!

Each year the East Hampton Public Schools administers the i-Ready Diagnostic in Reading and Math in the fall, winter, and spring to monitor student growth and performance. The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning. These results are reviewed as one data point amongst other assessments, observations, and data regarding student performance. The assessment is integrated into your child’s day as part of their academic learning and is paced to ensure that they work on the assessment in small chunks of time. The implementation of this assessment is completed in accordance with Connecticut State Department of Education guidelines. To maximize instructional time Math courses, the math i-Ready assessment will begin on Monday, January 13th in all Science classes. The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that help our team identify your child’s strengths and determine the next steps for instruction.

Math and Literacy Intervention Services

The East Hampton Public Schools uses assessment data to measure student growth and skill development in both math and literacy. Through these universal assessments, the reading and math department identifies students who may need additional tiers of support to demonstrate grade-level skill attainment. Once our winter assessments are completed, we will review student needs to determine changes to services or groupings of students. The reading and math departments communicate directly with families regarding any additional services.

What can I do to help?

To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:

• Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.

• Try their best on each question and try not to rush.

• Try not to worry about questions they do not know—remind them that it is expected they will only get about half of the questions correct.

• Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish

• Students should come to school with their earbuds and a fully charged Chromebook.

Below are students who have received Positive Office Referrals for their behaviors that have exemplified our PBIS pillars of Respect, Responsibility, Compassion and Pride. Students were able to choose a reward from our menu of options like eating outside with friends or prizes that we have. Great job! Some of the students rewarded are pictured below and all names of those rewarded are listed below:

7th Grader

Kayla Engelhardt

8th Graders

Alex Beaulieu & Caleb Joseph

Students in French B classes spent time “looking for treasure” and practicing their ER Verbs. Students had to listen as students called different coordinates and try to locate the secret spots Madame Michalak was hiding goodies (lollipops and HW passes). Students were able to use speaking, listening and writing skills while also engaging in learning.

Eighth-grade students have begun a new reading unit focused on literary nonfiction. They selected books that explore topics and individuals of personal interest. Some popular choices include: Bomb by Steve Sheinkin and Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince. Over the next few weeks, they will analyze these texts from both narrative and informational perspectives, while studying the class mentor text, All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat.

Over the last several years, we have had an ongoing partnership with Sandy Hook Promise, which promotes school-wide efforts to create safe schools for all our learners. Through our partnership, we have held programs that help to teach middle and high school students to recognize the warning signs of someone at-risk of hurting themselves or others and helps develop skills for students to confidently seek out a trusted adult.

It can be hard for adults to know how the children in their lives are feeling. Today, many teens and adolescents turn to online channels to express themselves, their thoughts and hopes, and their anxieties and personal feelings. Some even go as far as hinting they want to hurt themselves or someone else. Their friends and peers are the eyes and ears of a school community and may observe these communications but not always understand or know what to do with that information. Wednesday's advisory was focused on the district’s Say Something Anonymous Reporting System. Wednesday’s training talked through the 3 steps- 1) Look for warning signs and threats, 2) Act immediately, take it seriously; 3) Say Something to a trusted adult or use its anonymous reporting system. We currently have the Sandy Hook Anonymously reporting system that is available 24/7/265 in conjunction with the Sandy Hook Crisis Center. The reporting system can be found on our website. We encourage you to talk to your child about how important it is to Say Something and encourage them to share what they learned.

Last week, the Arts & Cultural Commission came to present East Hampton Middle School with a framed digital photo, taken by Colchester resident and artist, Ursula Coccomo. We are looking to place the art in an area of the building that would allow those viewing to find a moment of calm in the view of the water. We will be talking to students to determine the best placement for the art piece.

Jan 13 - Jan 17 (subject to change)

MONDAY, JAN 13

East Hampton girls basketball at RHAM MS, 2:20 dismissal, 2:30 bus, 3:30 pm game.

RHAM boys basketball at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

No Cheer Leading

TUESDAY, JAN 14

No Girls Basketball practice

No Boys Basketball practice

Cheer Leading 2:35 until 4:30 pm

WEDNESDAY, JAN 15

Girls Basketball 2:35 until 4:30 pm

Boys Basketball study hall 2:35 until 4:15 pm in rm 29

Boys Basketball 4:30 until 6 pm

Cheer Leading 2:35 until 4:30 pm

THURSDAY, JAN 16

East Hampton girls basketball at Griswold MS (Rocky Hill), 2:20 dismissal, 2:30 bus, 3:30 pm game.

Griswold MS boys basketball at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

Note: this is the boys last home game! We will take time at 3:20 pm to stop and acknowledge our 8th graders before the game.

No Cheer Leading

FRIDAY, JAN 17

Hale Ray JV teams at EHMS. No Varsity games!

Girls at 3:15 pm

Boys at est. 4:15 pm (will start right after girls game finished)

Note: games are 4-7 minutes

Cheer Leading 2:35 until 4:30 pm

Please see the attached communication from our School Nurse, Melanie King, on helpful guidelines for families as we approach the cold and flu season.

SAVE THE DATE!

EHMS PTO will be hosting a Comedy Night on Saturday March 29th at Rule of 3! We hope to see everyone there.

The next PTO meeting will be Tuesday January 21st at 5:30 in the EHMS LMC - join us!

With the new year comes time to prepare our 8th graders for their milestone transition to high school. Please see the attached letter, also shared on Parentsquare, that speaks to specifics occurring during February as we begin to prepare our students for their transition to East Hampton High School. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Vinal Technical High School's admissions applications are due by January 15th, 2025. We want to make sure every interested candidate has an opportunity to be reviewed in a timely manner, so this deadline is very important to give students the best chance at admission.

Applications can be found on our website: https://vinal.cttech.org/apply/ . We will not be permitting any supplemental documents or requesting recommendations this year.

Families or students with questions are welcome to contact the Director of School Counseling and Admissions, Kaitlyn Demas, at kaitlyn.demas@cttech.org

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.

A phone call is appreciated, but only an email to our attendance inbox or written note can officially excuse absence 1 through 9. Below is our attendance email:

Note: Between the school name and the word Attendance is a underscore ( _ )

EHMS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

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.

The East Hampton Board of Education and the school community as a whole promote a secure and productive school climate, conducive to teaching and learning that is free from threat, harassment, any type of bullying behavior, and teen dating violence. Therefore it shall be the policy of the Board that bullying and/or teen dating violence committed against a student by another student is prohibited. The Board believes that a school environment in which students feel safe, supported, engaged and helpfully challenged is optimal for learning and healthy development. The Board seeks an environment in which students and adults feel socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically safe; an environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, teen dating violence and bullying. Our website provides links to various policies and reporting forms including our Safe School Climate Plan. Hard copies are also available in our main office. If at any point you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to building administration for further assistance.

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!

The attached bulletins below were developed through a collaborative effort among the Department of Children and Families, the Department Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Office of Child Advocate, the Department of Public Health, the State Department of Education, and the Governor's Office. The content includes information on suicide, helpful tips to support people of all ages, and where to go for additional support and resources.

Board of Education Statement on School Safety: 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.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools: 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.

Nondiscrimination Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools: 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: camaral@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/ehms
Location: 19 Childs Road, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: (860) 365 4060