EMS Newsletter

Dear EMS Families,

In this week's newsletter, I want to take a moment to address an issue that has been of concern to many in recent weeks, in light of some troubling conduct on city buses and destruction of property in the bathrooms and elsewhere. It is true that, while we have made much progress since September (when the TikTok challenge first emerged), concerning behaviors continue. Our staff and students are embarking on a series of steps to generate dialogue and solutions, and I want to inform you of some of those steps.

In terms of ongoing issues on the bus, we have been trying to tap into all available resources to ensure that our students can feel safe riding city buses to and from school. AP Ellis recently rode a bus to observe behaviors and fact-find. Next week, I will meet with GMT representatives to better understand conduct on the buses from their perspective, review communication protocols when negative events do occur, and update policy on the practice of revoking ridership privileges. We plan to create a lesson to review bus expectations, and consequences for unsafe or inappropriate behaviors; revoking ridership privileges will be among these consequences, though it will be reserved as a last resort. Both EMS and GMT are committed to ensuring all children are safe and comfortable on the buses.

Similarly, the EMS staff and leadership team will be engaged in coming weeks to develop and launch an action plan to promote a safe and responsible school community and climate -- one in which we respect people and property, advocate for the care of our learning space and peers, and address poor choices in a way that is both restorative and committed to our community vision. The recent launch of a Student Restorative Practices panel is one part of that larger effort; empowering young people to take care of their school, be peer advocates, and teach and practice restorative techniques is essential if we are to be a restorative culture.

I welcome your thoughts and questions about any of this. I am absolutely invested in being a steward of a vibrant learning community that is a safe and inclusive space for our young people, and I am fortunate to work with a staff of talented educators and a community who share this ideal.

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

It is time to sign-up for the November Parent Teacher Conferences! These are student led conferences, so please be sure to have your child there with you!

• ALL conferences will be done through Google Meet → Google Meet Instructions

• Google Meet Link will be included in PTCFast sign-up; reach out to team teachers for support.

• We are using PTCFast to sign up for conferences → https://ptcfast.com/schools/Edmunds_Middle

• When signing up for team conferences, please be sure to ONLY sign up for your child's team teacher or exploratory teacher.

• For ⅞ families ONLY, sign up for ONE team section/time slot, as we are trying to evenly distribute conferences to the team teachers; you will be meeting with two teachers from that team.

• Conferences will be student led and it is expected that your child is prepared and present for your conference!

Please reach out if you have any questions!

Deena Czernel Murphy, LTS EL Teacher (she/her)

Full-time start date: November 8

I came to Vermont to work at the Burlington Free Press newspaper as a designer in the Editorial Department, laying out pages, making charts and graphs for news stories and doing illustrations and some word and photo editing. It was a great job that helped me learn a lot about Vermont and meet many interesting people. As the newspaper industry declined, I worked to get teaching licenses in Language Arts and EL, doing my student teaching with Edmunds’ own Rich Boyers, Mark Nigolian and other members of the Edmunds staff. My son, Liam, graduated from Edmunds a while back, so I was an active parent volunteer and was also a paraeducator at EMS and at Champlain Elementary School.

For the past five years, I have been the Education Director at King Street Center so I know many of the students who attend Edmunds Middle and Elementary Schools. I am delighted to be back at Edmunds and to work in the EL department.

I love to read and garden and hope to start a mini vineyard at my community garden next year. I am involved in recreational sports and with Very Merry Theater in helping get all kids onto sports fields and the stage. At King Street I had many community partners including Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Vermont Youth Conservation Corps., MerryMac Farm and others and I hope there is some way of bringing those connections to Edmunds. Cool facts: I went to Bette Davis' house and met her while I was working at a Connecticut bookstore. While backpacking through Europe, I spent a night sleeping under a bridge in Paris.

Carla Wyatt-Cannaday, School Nurse (she/her)

Full-time start date: November 8

I am excited to join the community at EMS! I recently moved from Las Vegas, where I was a school nurse in the Clark County School District, the 5th largest school district in the nation. Previously I have worked in Public Health with childcare providers in Seattle, in residential psych with children and adolescents, and also in functional rehabilitation for chronic pain patients.

I have lived most of my life in the Seattle area. I enjoy spending time outdoors with my husband and 3 dogs. I love hiking, being in the woods, road trips, traveling, and baking sourdough.

I am looking forward to getting to know you all. Feel free to swing by the health office to say hi!

Simon Parlante, Restorative Practices Specialist

(he/him)

Full-time start date: November 15

Greetings! I am so excited to introduce myself, and become part of the Edmunds Middle School Community. I am currently the Employment Training Specialist at Burlington High School. This is a role I have been in since 2008. I am so very excited to make the transition to the Restorative Practices Specialist at Edmunds Middle School.

I was born in California, and moved to Virginia when I was 16 years old. In Virginia I found my passion for distance running, and the sports of Cross Country and Track and Field. Through these sports I saw a new potential in myself, and for the first time envisioned myself in college. I was awarded an athletic scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University, where I majored in Social Work. After completing my undergraduate degree in Social Work, I took my first position in the field of Human Services and Education, and became a residential counselor and Supervisor in a wilderness treatment program as an alternative to corrections for male adolescent youth. By implementing a group intervention called Positive Peer Culture I grew both personally and professionally.

After three years in this role, I moved to Vermont and worked in the South Burlington School District for five years as a behavior interventionist. At Orchard Elementary School, I met my now wife Catherine Parlante. We have one son named Briar who is about to turn 10. After five years in the South Burlington School District, I began my current role at Burlington High School. At Burlington High School one of my proudest accomplishments was developing, coordinating, and coaching the Burlington High School Unified Program. In addition, for the last 10 seasons I have been an assistant coach for our Seahorse Cross Country Team, and for the past 4 seasons the head Winooski Varsity Track Coach.

It brings me great sadness to bring closure to so many meaningful relationships, but at the same time great joy knowing I am going to build new ones. It is my ask and hope that we all embrace restorative work to build stronger communities, and bring repair and healing to harm that is happening. It is with great passion, joy, and care that I start this new chapter in my life.

Winter sports are approaching! The practices and team assignments will begin on Monday, November 15 and conclude on Friday, November 19. Like our fall season, there will be no cuts made. The first week schedule:

• 11/15 Monday- 6th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 6th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)
  
• 11/16 Tuesday- 7th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 7th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)
  
• 11/17 Wednesday -8th Grade Boys (3:00-4:15) 8th Grade Girls (4:20-5:35)
  
• 11/18 Thursday- 6th and 7th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 6th and 7th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)
  
• 11/19 Friday- 8th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 8th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)

If you still need to sign up, please fill out the Google Form emailed to you by Tara Willetts. If you have not had a physical in the past 2 years, you will need an updated physical wellness form, which can be found on our district website www.burlingtonathletics.com, under the "About" tab and then select "Forms & Resources".

Students will find out before or during Thanksgiving which team they will be on. First games start on 12/7 against Hunt!

The Burlington High School Nordic Ski Team is inviting any interested middle school students to come and train with the team. If you already have skied or raced, joining the team while still in middle school is a great bridge to the high school team. If you have never cross-country skied before, you can join us to learn the sport!

Middle schoolers who have trained with the team have enjoyed getting to know the high school athletes, and the team is very supportive of younger athletes. Practices will be at Burlington High School and local Nordic areas starting on Monday, November 29.

Please contact coach Kirsten Berggren at kberggre@bsdvt.org with any questions or to be added to the email list to receive notifications about organizational meetings, practices and other important details.

http://emsartstudio.weebly.com/emsartstudio/printed-weavings-pure-magic

We have been very busy in the art studio with scrap/inked/textured papers that the 8th graders created for one of their projects last quarter. This quarter, the 6th graders used the leftover paper to create a small weaving of bright, colorful, and textured paper strips. We then rolled these through the printing press using printmaking black paper, and pulled a print. The results were fabulous, mimicking the rich colors of the original weaving. They are stunning to say the least.

Judy Klima (she/her)

Art Teacher

A Girls Who Code club will be starting after school at EMS soon!

Girls Who Code Clubs are free programs for 6th-12th grade girls and non-binary students to join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models using computer science to change the world.

Girls Who Code welcomes into our community and programs anyone who identifies as female regardless of assignment at birth. Our programs also welcome people who identify as non-binary or gender nonconforming and want to be in a female-identified environment.

Sign Up Here!

See below for information about facilitator and mechanical engineer Emma Garvey!

Laura Wageman (she/her)

Afterschool Site Director, Edmunds Middle School

275 Main St. | Burlington, VT 05401 | 802.355.4062

The School Based Health Center has traditionally been at BHS, EES, EMS, SA, and IAA in years prior to COVID-19. This year we are excited to provide the School Based Health Center via Telehealth at ALL of our school locations that house a school nurse.

What is the School Based Health Center? It is a way for students to go to the doctor at school, so they do not miss a whole day of class and parents do not have to leave work to transport their children to the doctor’s office.

What is Telehealth?

Telehealth is when you have a medical appointment over a technological platform, like google meet or zoom. Students will come to the nurse’s office for their appointment where they will connect with the providers of the School Based Health Center at an appointment time. You as the parent will also be given the link to the meeting time so you can participate

Who are the providers?

We partner with UVMMC Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Libby McDonald and Dr. Heather Link to make appointments for students to be seen. You do not have to be a UVMMC Pediatric Primary Care patient to participate. Our partners will contact your primary care provider about any visit they may have with your child.

What Services are Included?

• Follow up visits for acute diagnoses (colds/flu, skin rashes, stomach illness, ear infections)

• Assessment and care for chronic illnesses such as asthma, allergies, ADHD etc.

• Behavioral, psychosocial, nutritional issues

• Family outreach and support.

Other Details:

• Participation is voluntary.

• There is a registration form which needs to be filled out before the first visit. SBHC Middle School registration form.docx

• The clinic providers will communicate with your child’s primary doctor by faxing visit notes whenever your child is seen in the clinic.

• Parents are always welcome to come to appointments, but it is not necessary. If you can’t make it, Libby will try to reach you by phone.

• If Medicaid is billed the visits are covered 100%, private insurances will be billed and subscribers are responsible for any co-payment or deductible.

Email your School Nurse with any questions!

BHS -Maureen Webb, RN and Jessica Valin, RN - mwebb@bsdvt.org and jvalin@bsdvt.org

Champlain - Brian Kelley, RN - bkelley@bsdvt.org

CP Smith - Christine Harris, RN - charris@bsdvt.org

Edmunds Elementary - Emily Dousevicz, RN - edousevi@bsdvt.org

Edmunds Middle - Becca McCray, RN - rmccray@bsdvt.org

IAA - Ali Wasko, RN - awasko@bsdvt.org

JJ Flynn - Mary Dunsmore, RN - mdunsmor@bsdvt.org

Lyman C. Hunt - Cathy Paradiso, RN - cparadis@bsdvt.org

SA - Justina Starr, RN - jstarr@bsdvt.org

Preschool, Early Education Program - Carol Neary, RN - cneary@bsdvt.org

Why is it important for my child to get a flu shot?

• Flu vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death.

• Knowing you have the Flu vaccine ensures when symptoms present that it is not the Flu. Many flu-like symptoms are also symptoms of COVID-19, so it helps determine your symptoms are not related to the Flu.

• Getting a flu vaccine also saves healthcare resources for the care of patients with COVID-19.

When should we get the flu shot?

• Typically in October

• Flu season typically lasts from October to April. One shot will cover you the whole flu season

Where can my child get a flu shot?

• Primary care provider office

• Call and make an appointment for your child to receive a flu shot at your primary care office.

• If you do not have a primary care provider or health insurance:

• Monthly immunization clinics at no charge for people who are under 65 years old and uninsured, are held the first Monday of the month from 1pm to 3pm at The Public Health Office at 108 Cherry St, Suite 102, Burlington, VT 05402. Please call to schedule an appointment – the number to call is 802-951-0076.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends well-child exams every year between ages 3 and 21. If your child has not gone to the doctor in the past year, please call your primary care provider to schedule a well-child visit.

What is a well-child visit?

An annual visit with your primary care provider to stay up to date in the Academy of Pediatrics’ schedule of assessments and screenings done at various ages from age 3 to age 21.

What are the benefits of a well-child visit?

• Get scheduled immunizations on time to prevent illness.

• Screen for vision and hearing changes due to growth or environmental factors.

• Discuss nutrition and safety at home and school.

• Measure growth and talk about your child’s physical and mental development.

• Raise concerns with your pediatrician based on your child’s development, behavior, sleep patterns, eating habits or social interactions.

When should I schedule a well-child visit?

• Once every year for children ages 3 to 21.

• If your child missed an appointment last year, please call now to make an appointment.

Dear EMS Families,

The winter months often increase financial strain due to higher utility bills, holidays, winter clothing for growing students, etc.; additional stressors in the past couple of years have certainly challenged each of us in ways we never imagined. Although we continue to experience the effects of COVID-19, pandemic-specific resources that were once available to families are no longer accessible. Our hope is that our EMS community members will be able to continue to come together and support one another. Our wish is for all members of our community to feel safe and valued, and we can't thank you all enough for doing your part to support this goal!

This year, we are continuing to organize our EMS winter/holiday support system, with a couple minor changes from last year. We are looking to gather names of families who are REQUESTING support as well as families who would like to OFFER support. This system will be anonymous (only guidance/counseling staff will have access to names). We will do our very best to fulfill all requests, but our ability to do so will depend on donations received. Below is a link to our Winter/Holiday Support survey. Please fill this out if your family could use some support during the winter months, or if you are able to donate. Every donation, no matter the size, will be much appreciated by a family in our EMS community!

2021 EMS Winter/Holiday Support Survey

If you would prefer to fill out a paper form, they are available in the main office in C building (between the Elementary and Middle schools).

In order to allow staff time to sort/distribute donations:

NOVEMBER donations and sign-ups will be due by Friday 11/12 - TODAY!
DECEMBER donations and sign-ups will be due by Friday 12/10.

We will continue to accept donations throughout the winter and distribute as needs arise.

Thank you!

Emily Pearl, LCMHC, ATR (she/her)

Howard Center School Services

Edmunds Middle School

(802) 343-4025

epearl@bsdvt.org

epearl@howardcenter.org