#EagleNation Updates

• October 7-11: Outdoor Education
  
• October 18: No School (Staff Professional Day)
• November 4: No School (Grading and Planning Day)
  
• November 5: No School (Election Day)
• November 6: Picture make-up day (NEW DATE)
• November 19: Open House

EASTERN'S School Year Calendar/ MCPS School Calendar 24-25

;

Aligned with the 2024 Hispanic Heritage Month theme, "Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together," EagleNation students attended the Latina Legacy Conference last Tuesday. The conference was sponsored by the MCPS Office of Strategic Initiatives, in partnership with Montgomery College and the Latino Student Achievement Action Group (LSAAG). Out students ACTIVELY participated at the conference aimed to empower, inspire, and unite MCPS Latina students and MCPS Latina leaders to reach their highest potential through workshops, panels, performances, and more.

An additional SHOUT OUT to our EagleNation sponsors, Ms. Gonzalez and Ms. Summers for ensuring our students had guidance and encouragement to make the trip!

LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements.

It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. This year's theme is Medicine: #UnderTheScope, in which we celebrate and remember the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people in the fields of medicine and healthcare.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month was launched in 2004 by the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The aim of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is to help individuals and organizations protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace. Montgomery County Public Schools will launch a series of experiences for staff, students, and parents/guardians to build greater awareness for safe practices while engaging in online activities.

● MCPS Cybersecurity Awareness Flyer

● National Cybersecurity Alliance

● Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

● Maryland Department of Information Technology

If you missed getting your picture taken on picture day–or just hated your hair–you can try again on November 6. The photographers manufacture 2024-2025 IDs immediately so don’t be camera-shy!

Eastern’s lost and found is filling up fast! If your student is missing something, please tell them to look in the boxes on the stage in the cafeteria. On Friday, the boxes will be cleared out, so it is important that items be claimed this week.

*Going forward, we will clear out all unclaimed items on the last day of each month.

At Eastern, we have a practice of taking our students outside after they eat lunch. Although this is not an MPCS expectation, we find our students appreciate the opportunity to enjoy the air and left off steam during the brief time.

As the weather changes, are inevitably days when we will be stuck indoors and we have observed our students enjoy playing board games since we have removed the option for using Chromebooks in the cafeteria. If you have any gently used board games that are unused in your home, consider sending them in with your student and we will take them off your hands!

8th Grade Families:

We wanted to inform you about an exciting opportunity for our 8th-grade students. Representatives from Blair's CAP Magnet program will be visiting Eastern on Monday, October 7th, during periods 5 and 6 to host information sessions in room 303. Students are being encouraged to sign up in their advisory periods via this Google Form if they wish to attend the information session. Please note: this session is only for students.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our 8th grade team leaders, Gwen Rosero & Matt White, the 8th grade counselor, Cayla Cwerner, OR the 8th grade assistant principal Charles Feamster.

Join us for 8th Grade High School Choice Form Assistance Night on October 29, 2024! Get your questions answered and submit your High School choice form. The event will take place from 6-8 PM at Eastern Middle School in the Cafeteria. Don’t miss this opportunity to get all the help you need for your high school decision process!

• Flyer
• Folleto

Handbooks and guidelines developed for students of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have been revised for the 2024–2025 school year to address Board of Education policies and MCPS regulations amended and revised over the 2023–2024 school year, and to comply with updated guidance from the Maryland State Department of Education. Updated online versions of A Student’s Guide to Rights and Responsibilities, the Student Code of Conduct in MCPS, Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity, and Guidelines for Student Gender Identity are available on the MCPS website.

• Student Rights and Responsibilities,

• Student Code of Conduct,

• Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity in MCPS, and

• Guidelines for Student Gender Identity

• Sign up for the PTSA email group. It's FREE! Connect with other parents and receive important communications and reminders. https://groups.google.com/g/eastern-ptsa

• Become a member of the Eastern PTSA. Suggested donation: $10. Your contributions go to academic programs, teacher mini-grants, social events, staff appreciation meals and more. https://fspta-00016130.givebacks.com/store/items/709250

Eastern was mentioned several times in the report on Cluster Comments for the Superintendent's Recommended FY 2026 Capital Budget and Amendments to FY 2025-2030 Capital Improvements Program. Thank you to our parents who know we need support in this old building. We are grateful that you continue to advocate for improvements and a new building for the EagleNation!

We are aware from previous feedback from EagleNation families (this year and previous years) that a clean building is important and our staff agrees.

For this reason it is important to provide an update on the status of our building services team who supports the regular cleaning of our building. We have critical building services staff members who are on leave and MCPS continues to have a shortage of substitutes in this department. Our admin team works with our building services team to prioritize cleaning and responses to breakdown in systems in the building throughout the day. This week we are also meeting with a second group of central office maintenance staff who are working to support Eastern by providing MCPS maintenance staff to address larger building issues and temporary building services workers when available.

Last week's Thursday message included information on Mental Health Awareness Week, applications opening Oct. 7 for the high school regional/countywide programs, surveys for the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 school year calendars, the latest Hispanic Heritage Month profiles, registration for the Oct. 26 Game Changer Conference and applications due Oct. 4 for the inaugural chapter of the Youth Climate Institute. You can read the full message here.

Dear MCPS Families and Students,

Thank you for a great start to the school year!

Our community is entering a time that may bring challenging emotions and discussions into our schools and we want to ensure that our entire community—students, families, and staff—has the guidance and strategies to navigate these moments together. With the upcoming national election, the first anniversary of the October 7th attack, and the ongoing conflict, it’s important that we prepare for the range of conversations and emotions these topics may evoke.

For students to be their best in school, their learning environments must remain safe, welcoming, and inclusive. As educators, we strive to model thoughtful and positive expression and encourage students to make respectful, informed choices, especially during challenging times.

The new processes for responding to and communicating when faced with incidents of hate and bias, along with the information campaign addressing these issues, have been shaped by input from our community members. School staff and leaders have received these same resources to ensure we are all operating from the same guidance when managing student speech and expression in our schools.

Thank you for your continued partnership in making our schools a safe and inclusive space for everyone.

(Read the entire statement along with resources here)

Respectfully,
Thomas W. Taylor, Ed.D., M.B.A.
Superintendent

Emails and phone numbers for support in the school:

• Main Office: (240) 740-6280
• Admin Secretary: Ms. Perez: priscilla_b_smith@mcpsmd.org
• Attendance Secretary: Ms. Blanco: isaura_m_blanco-flores@mcpsmd.org
• Front Office Secretary: Ms. Alexander monica_s_alexander@mcpsmd.org
• Financial Assistant: Ms. Zhang: rui_zhang@mcpsmd.org

Counselors: (COUNSELING WEBSITE- RESOURCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH)

GRADE 6

• (Last Names A-Q): Ms. Meyer jessi_meyer@mcpsmd.org
  
• (Last Names S-Z): Ms. Birkett shondell_birkett@mcpsmd.org

GRADE 7

• (Last Names A-R): Ms. Greene- rachel_m_greene@mcpsmd.org
• (Last Names S-Z): Ms. Birkett- shondell_birkett@mcpsmd.org

GRADE 8

• Ms. Cwerner cayla_cwerner@mcpsmd.org

Administrators:

• Principal - Ms. Shorts: lisa_n_shorts@mcpsmd.org
• 6th Grade Assistant Principal- Deidre Levin: deirdre_m_mcshealevin@mcpsmd.org
• 7th Assistant Principal- Matthew Kerwin: matthew_f_kerwin@mcpsmd.org
• 8th Grade Assistant Principal- Charles Feamster: charles_s_feamster@mcpsmd.org

Family Supports:

• Parent Community Coordinator - Mirna Medrano-romero: mirna_a_medrano-romero@mcpsmd.org
• PTA President- Shripal Shah: eastern.ptsa.president@gmail.com

• Online Bullying Reporting
• Formulario para Reportar Acoso, Hostigamiento o Intimidación
  

Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/easternms

Location: Eastern Middle School, University Boulevard East, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone: (240) 740-6280
X : @EasternMS_Prin