Good afternoon,

On Friday May 24th, we will be having our annual Memorial Day Observance. We would like to open our invitation to any family members who may have a Veteran or Active Service member to be honored at this year's ceremony. Please fill the following google form if you would like to participate. We would love to have you!

We want to take the opportunity to give a big thank you to our EHMS PTO for helping us with a successful Panther Prowl. The fundraiser is continuing through Monday night. The winning class will be announced on Tuesday morning after the pledge site closes. More information was sent on Parentsquare by PTO.

Best,

Christina & Emily

Mon. May 20th - Board of Education Meeting 6:30 Town Hall

Tues May 21st - 8th Grade Capstone Convention 6:00

Fri. May 24th - Early Release for Students - Teacher Professional Development

Fri. May 24th - All CT Schools Get Out and Play Day!

Fri. May 24th - Memorial Day Observance 9:00 am

Team newsletters are linked below! Enjoy our latest editions from our teams including Unified Arts!

EAST HAMPTON MS ATHLETIC SCHEDULE MAY 20 - MAY 24 (subject to change)

MONDAY, MAY 20

Hale Ray baseball at East Hampton MS, 6:30 pm game.

East Hampton softball at Hale Ray (Hale Ray High School), 6:30 pm game.

Note: Bus at 5:15 pm from EHMS, no return bus! Pick up after the game.

TUESDAY, MAY 21

Baseball/Softball practice 2:35 until 5 pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22

Cromwell MS softball/baseball at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

THURSDAY, MAY 23

East Hampton baseball/softball at McGee MS (Berlin), 2:20 dismissal, 2:30 bus, 3:30 pm game.

Note: Uniforms to be collected after the game!

Note: ends the spring season!

FRIDAY, MAY 24

NO ATHLETICS!

It was a beautiful afternoon for Panther Prowl today. Students had a great time keeping their bodies and minds active by playing outdoor games, taking nature walks, solving escape room puzzles and enjoying the afternoon. Mr. Kiser's homeroom was the winning class to play kickball against our staff members!

Congratulations to our Chorus, Band and Jazz Band students. They did an amazing job at this year's spring concert. Thank you to all staff who made the evening possible!

We will be continuing our implementation of a valuable program. Over two decades of research has helped us understand the important role social and emotional skills play in each child’s success in school, in the community, and, eventually, in higher education and the workplace. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting at challenging tasks, making good decisions, and working well in groups are all necessary to being successful students and adults. To support our students in developing these skills that will help them become successful and responsible adults, we will be implementing a life skills program throughout the school district.

As part of this program, our teachers will be using a tool called the DESSA. This tool asks trained teachers to assess how often a student has demonstrated specific life skills in the past month. The DESSA is sponsored by the Connecticut State Department of Education and is completed three times a year by a teacher who works with your student on a regular basis. Teachers will be completing the third rating in May.

Sample DESSA questions include:

• How often did the child keep trying when unsuccessful?

• How often did the child offer to help somebody?

• How often did the child get things done in a timely fashion?

• How often did the child work well in groups?

Based on this rating students may be identified as in need of instruction, demonstrating typical competencies or having certain strengths by competency. This information would be used to design learning opportunities to support or further skill development. If a student is in need of instruction, the teacher would also be asked to complete a longer survey for additional detail. The purpose of the DESSA is to identify which life skills your child has already learned and what skills they might still need to develop. Once our teachers identify the skills their students still need to learn, they will teach those skills using the Second Step curriculum through our Advisory groups. Our goal is to ensure that your child is continuously developing the skills they need for lifelong success.

While the DESSA is just one component of our program this year, we want to make sure that you are informed of our use of this instructional tool. We believe that the information gathered from the DESSA will be beneficial to your child’s overall success both inside and outside of the classroom.

To view additional information about the DESSA, the privacy policy, or the parent portal, visit https://info.apertureed.com/parent-portal.

If you would like your child to OPT-OUT of this assessment, please contact Christina Amaral through the main office at 860-365-4060 or by email at camaral@easthamptonct.org to discuss your concerns.

We are coming into the last couple months of school which means big transitions for our 8th graders. We are looking forward to all the events that will be taking place for them. Below are some save the dates for these. As we get closer, more information will be shared out.

SAVE THE DATE!

8th Grade Capstone Convention - May 21st at 6:00 pm

Grade 8 Step Up Ceremony - June 6th at 1:00 pm

Grade 8 Semi-Formal Dance - June 6th at 6:30 pm

High Meadow Class Trip - Friday June 7th

Freshman Orientation at EHHS - August 21st 1:00 - 3:00

Looking for a way to give back? Want to help make the world a better place? Then please join the EarlyAct Club at any of our upcoming events and opportunities to spread compassion! ALL are welcome and no previous club experience is required. Check out our rolling monthly agenda to see where you can help us to make a difference!

East Hampton Middle School

YEARBOOKS ON SALE NOW!

Payment is cash or check ONLY.

Yearbook Cost: $30

Cash or checks accepted.

Please make checks payable to: EHMS

Return form to Mrs. Buchan in the office.

You can also email: cbuchan@easthamptonct.org with your students name, grade and homeroom.

Students can bring payment to the front office.

Today's Panther Prowl was a blast!

Students had a great time keeping their bodies and minds active by playing outdoor games, taking nature walks, solving escape room puzzles and enjoying the afternoon - all while raising funds for their school. EVERY student should feel very proud of their efforts!

Mr. Kiser's 8th grade class won the chance to play a game against staff at the Prowl!

We're more than halfway to our fundraising goal, with $5,920 in pledges so far.

We'd love to reach $10,000 and there's still time...WE ARE KEEPING THE FUNDRAISING SITE OPEN THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.

Which class will become the 2024 Prowl fundraising champ and be treated to breakfast next week? The winning class will be announced on Tuesday morning after the pledge site closes.

Last year, the top class raised almost $1,300...so we're offering a special incentive this year! Every class that reaches a total of $1,000 in pledges before the pledge website closes at midnight Monday night will be treated to an ice cream sundae bar at school! Cash or check pledges sent into school on Monday will also count toward the total.

Here are the homerooms leading the pledge pack right now:
FIRST PLACE: Mr. Kiser's class with $765
SECOND PLACE: Mrs. Gieras' class with $710
THIRD PLACE: Ms. McCabe's class with $625
FOURTH PLACE: Mrs. Carlone's class with $555
FIFTH PLACE: Ms. Cates' class with $500

**Raffle prizes will be announced and awarded next Thursday during lunch waves and the homeroom with the highest pledge total will enjoy breakfast that morning, courtesy of the EHMS PTO**

And speaking of prizes....
After the pledge period ends, students will be entered into raffles for great prizes at various total pledge levels, starting at just $25. The top fundraising student will be awarded a special free time activity with friends during a future school day! The top fundraising homeroom will also be rewarded with a class breakfast.

Students raising $300 or more in pledges will be entered into a raffle for a Meta Quest 2 VR Headset!

MANY other great prizes will be raffled at various pledge levels, including:
Stanley IceFlow tumblers, YETI rambler, EHMS hoodies, 4-pack Yard Goats tickets, LED flying disc frisbee, inflatable lounger, EHMS flannel PJ pants, Adidas sack packs, Carhartt cap, spirit wear gift certificates, waterproof Bluetooth clip speaker, color-changing Bluetooth party speaker, Bluetooth telescopic selfie stick, friendship bracelet making kits, Pinshack arcade gift cards and DQ, Dunkin’ and Starbucks gift cards. Some raffle winners will get to choose an activity from the PBIS activity menu!

Parents, please register your student at the website below and share with friends and family over the weekend - every pledge counts. We now have pledges in from as far away as California, Arizona, Tennessee, Illinois and Florida!

The funds our families and friends have so generously raised will help cover items that are not being funded in the regular budget, such as:
-- improvements to the Commons lighting and sound systems so that EHMS students can continue to hold performances and events at their own school
-- purchase of outdoor play/PE equipment
-- installation of new benches in front of EHMS
-- to continue awarding mini-grants to teachers and funding student activities like field trips and special events

If you or family and friends would prefer to donate via cash or check (to EHMS PTO), please send donations to school by Monday, May 20th in an envelope marked "Panther Prowl" and PLEASE include your student's name and homeroom teacher. This way we can ensure that the donation is credited to their individual and classroom totals for the raffles and prizes.

THANK YOU for helping to achieve our “reach for the stars” goal of $10,000!
If you have any questions, please let us know at ptoehms@gmail.com

Register your student by visiting https://www.getmovinfundhub.com/event-webpage/66167a411b2ee

1. The School Identifier is: 6435ab27ddfe7
2. If you do not already have a login at FundHub, you must register as a parent first. Click “login to parent dashboard here” under the parent registration instructions on the school event webpage to register as a parent and then follow the steps to add your student. Enter your student's name and choose their homeroom teacher from the dropdown box.
3. If you already have an account at FundHub from a past event, log in and go to the Parent Dashboard, scroll down to see your student's profile, click the blue button at the bottom of the page to "Add to New School." Enter the School Identifier 6435ab27ddfe7 then choose your child's homeroom teacher from the dropdown box. The other fields will populate automatically.
4. Use the student fundraising webpage to promote online donations through email and social media. If the donor chooses to cover the fee, the school will keep every dollar toward our goal!
5. If you prefer to send cash or a check in to school, please make checks out to EHMS PTO and include your student's name and homeroom teacher so that we can keep track of your student's total pledges.

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.

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

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.

Access to the East Hampton attendance policy is available HERE

A reminder to those students who have been excused from PE/sports due to injury: A note from the Doctor is required in order to resume activities. The note can be emailed, faxed or handed in at the school.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Melanie King
EHMS Nurse
860-365-4060 Ext 5
Fax 860-365-4064
mking@easthamptonct.org

Special shoutout to our school nurse, Mrs. King, who although with us for a short time, has been such a valuable member of our team. We celebrated her on Wednesday for School Nurse Day!

If your child is having any Chromebook or technology issues please click on the link below to do some troubleshooting: EHMS TroubleShooting Tips

If the troubleshooting doesn't work click on the link below to submit an IT work ticket:

Chromebook Trouble Ticket

Please encourage your child to take pride and care in their device. Below is a video to review the proper care of Chromebooks with your child.

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!

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