Emmett School District Newsletter
Empowering All to Become Life Long Learners
Emmett School District has been awarded a federal Grant in the amount of $218,000 to create a county-wide digital communication platform. This platform will connect all our schools, transportation, maintenance, and emergency services.
The first phase has been ordered. This will install a signal repeater station that will allow for consistent communication with Sweet and Ola. The timeline for full implementation is January 2025
This will be a huge improvement for our safety and communication systems, and we are really excited that this is possible!
Recognizing that the intersection of Mill Road and Highway 52 poses a safety risk for our schools, Emmett School District has been meeting with the Idaho Transportation Department.
Just this week, ESD admin met with ITD regarding our request for lowering the speed limit between Substation and Mill Road. We are happy to report that progress is being made in multiple aspects. While a stoplight at the intersection is still in the works, it will take working through a process before it becomes a reality.
In the meantime, the speed limit on the highway extending from the bottom of Freezeout (in between Cherry and Substation) to past Mill road is scheduled to be lowered to 40 mph during Christmas break. New signage will be posted to alert drivers of the change. We are grateful that this change is happening to better ensure the safety of our school community.
Such a special night at Emmett High School!
On Friday, October 4, Friday Night Lights included Emmett Youth Football night, senior night for golf and cross country, performances by EHS band and cheer, Jason's touchdown, and the Huskies for the win!
To see a video of highlights, please check out the Facebook video link below:
Just a few things worth noticing:
* Jason's "good offense right there."
* The reaction of all the other players and students as Jason entered the end zone. Even the opposing team joined in the celebration. (Thank you, Columbia High School!)
* Our amazing Huskies as their hard work and heart came out on the field.
* The excitement of the younger Huskies as they cheered for the older Huskies.
* The pride of the families as they joined their golf and cross-country seniors center stage one final time.
And...
* The smiles of everyone as we all experienced and shared the joy of Emmett's Friday Night Lights.
Thank you to everyone who had a part in this one. There was a whole lot of good right there.
Here is what you can expect for communications from our Schools:
Elementary:
Schools send out a newsletter via email monthly. Other reminders and alerts may come through email as needed. Individual teachers often utilize apps as needed for the classroom level. Schools may differ in their communication preferences. For instance, Butte View uses Class Dojo for communication.
Middle School:
Each week, all parents and guardians receive an announcement email with updates on school events and news. These weekly announcements are also posted on our school website—so if you miss the email, no worries! Just check the site for the latest info. If you lose track of this link, just click on the Announcements icon in the center of the Emmett Middle School home page. Students hear daily announcements over the intercom.
https://ems.emmettschools.org/calendar11
High School:
The high school sends out a monthly newsletter. Their goal is also to send announcements to parents and guardians via email once a week. Announcements are updated DAILY on the school website. So if you miss the email, no worries! Just check the site for the latest info. If you lose track of this link, just click on the Announcements icon in the center of the Emmett Middle School home page. Students hear daily announcements over the intercom.
https://ehs.emmettschools.org/calendar11
Emmett School District is currently investigating various platforms for two-way communication with the goal of consolidating different apps for classes, teams, and schools into a single platform for more streamlined and effective communication. If you would like to share your thoughts or be involved in this process, please reach out to our Public Information Officer, Amanda Weers, at aweers@isd221.net
It's the time of year when we start to think about weather conditions and their impact on our schools. When making the decision of whether to call a snow day, ESD follows procedures and coordinates with Gem County Road and Bridge.
If there is a question of the safety of road conditions, district admin follows set assignments. They are literally driving the roads in the early morning hours, assessing their conditions. Gem County Road and Bridge also weigh in on their capabilities for what they can accomplish to ensure the safety of bus routes for school transportation. If a decision is made to close school for the day, the information is immediately sent to parents via text and email, and the media is notified. If you have not received notification of a school cancelation by 6:00 am, please assume that school will be in session. Even on snow days, school secretaries and admin arrive at our buildings to answer calls and ensure that no students arrive at an empty school.
Though we do our best to send notifications as soon as we have information, we cannot communicate with parents unless we have their updated contact information. As we begin this season, please check your contact information in Infinite Campus. Make sure it is accurate and your preferences will allow us to contact you if needed. If you don't have a parent portal account or you have questions, please reach out to your school secretary.
We are hoping for a beautiful winter that includes no snow days! We appreciate your support and cooperation as we work to ensure the safety of our students and staff and communicate any necessary information to you.
We noticed from some of the Back-to-School surveys that there is still a bit of confusion regarding the district cell phone policy, especially as it relates to our school buses. We wanted to make sure that everyone saw this update:
At the Monday, September 16 Regular School Board Meeting, Policy 3265 was updated to remove the restriction on cell phones while on school buses.
The Transportation Department discussed the challenges of enforcing the previous rule and recommended a change that better suits the safety and preferences of students, parents, and bus drivers. We’re grateful for their efforts to reassess and the School Board’s willingness to adapt based on real-life feedback!
Effective as of September, students may use their cell phones on school buses, as long as they use them appropriately. All other parts of the policy remain unchanged.
Emmett Middle School Annex Building
We are currently soliciting bids to replace the roof on the EMS annex building. (The building that formerly housed Industrial Arts and is located behind the main building.) The current roof was leaking. All tests for mold were negative. We are looking forward to a new roof for this area that currently houses our tech department and several classrooms!
Summer Projects Finished
The Shadow Butte roof, Food Service and Maintenance Warehouse roof, and the new Huskies Stadium Athletic Field are completed!
As you know, a 2-year supplemental levy was passed by Gem County voters in May of 2023. Funds from this levy were allocated for both personnel and maintenance. Vital personnel were retained and projects were scheduled to be completed, such as the roofs for Carberry and Shadow Butte. However, funds from Idaho House Bill 292 were applied to the levy, lowering the amount local taxpayers had to pay. The original estimate for last year was $36.40 per 100K of assessed home value. However, the actual amount levied from local taxpayers last year was $3.64 per 100K - roughly a tenth of what was expected!
This year, funds from Idaho House Bill 292 were also applied to the levy, eliminating the need for the district to draw the expected funds.. The amount local taxpayers will pay to fund the supplemental levy this year is $0!
We encourage Gem County residents to take a close look at their tax assessments, which were recently sent out. The only local taxes going to our schools is a small tort levy (not determined by voters.) Righ now, more of your local taxes go to the Rec District and Mosquito Abatement than to Gem County schools!
We are thankful that we have been able to complete the projects we outlined in the levy, exactly as we told voters we would. But we are also very happy that everything has been completed without drawing the expected local taxes. Thank you to our Gem County Community for your support of our schools!
Idaho House Bill 521 provides a School Modernization Facility Fund for all qualifying school districts in Idaho. These funds must be used according to specific guidelines. For instance, they must be used on facilities and cannot be used for athletics.
Approximately 80% of the funds have been transferred to the ESD. The remaining funds will be available in spring of 2025. Emmett School Board will now begin allocating the completion of facilities projects. Considered into this decision is the feedback we received from parents, staff, and the community from the surveys regarding prioritization of projects.
This month, we have completed Request for Qualifications for Design Build Construction and Architecture Teams. The approved companies will then be available for the projects the board directs to be completed.
We want to give a shout-out to YOU! We so appreciate the support you give our students and schools. Specifically, we appreciate everyone who took the time to fill our the Back-to-School Survey. These surveys provide us with invaluable information that we use to make decisions and improve. The School Modernization Fund Survey from last year is helping direct our maintenance project priorities. The Back-to-School Survey is helping us make decisions related to next year's calendar and our beginning-of-the-year systems. It also factored into our current work in pursuing a grant for possible before, after school, and Friday programs. This week we sent out one more survey asking for specific feedback to assist in this project. If you haven't yet completed it, please watch this video explaining why we're asking for your input and take the survey at this link.
Thank you for your feedback and support as we work to continuously improve education in Gem County!
Get ready to trot! The Emmett High School Student Body Council invites everyone to join us for the Turkey Trot! Come run, walk, or trot for this noncompetitive 5K!
* Date: Saturday, November 23
* Time: 12:00-1:30 pm
* Entry: $15
* Location: Emmett High School
The first 50 participants get a shirt! Water will be provided, and donuts will be available for purchase. Come out, get moving, and kick off Thanksgiving week with some fun!
For decades, Christmas Cheer Baskets have been a cherished tradition in our community, thanks to the efforts of the Gem County Educators Association (GCEA). This annual initiative, organized by the local teachers' union, aims to make the holiday season special for families in need.
Nomination Process and Purpose: Families are nominated by district employees. The GCEA then selects families and works to create Christmas miracles on their behalf. After communicating with the families, the GCEA organizes efforts to collect food and gifts. Each family receives food, and is also “adopted” by individuals and organizations who buy gifts. Each child receives four wrapped Christmas presents catered to their Christmas wishes.
Community Collaboration: The work becomes a wonderful cooperative effort as GCEA partners with the Friendship Coalition, the schools host food drives, individuals and organizations adopt families to grant Christmas wishes, the EHS National Honor Society volunteers to collect and organize, and everyone joins together to organize and distribute. So many hearts work together to create something generous and beautiful.
This Year’s Efforts: This year, the GCEA has selected twenty families to receive cheer baskets. Our schools are now hosting food drives as everyone works together on this project. Please ask your child or their school what they need to participate in the cheer baskets food drive.
Organization and Distribution: All food and gifts will be organized and distributed to the designated families in time for Christmas. We will keep you updated on the efforts of this beautiful project.
November 21-29: Thanksgiving Break
December 5: 6:30: 6th, 7th, & 8th grade EMS Drama Performance (Emmett Middle School)
December 9: 6:00: Regular School Board Meeting
December 12: 1:30 Carberry 3rd & 4th grade Christmas Program
December 12: 6:30 EMS Band & High School Music Concert (Emmett Middle School)
December 13: 6-7:30 Shadow Butte Winter Dance (Shadow Butte Gym)
December 16: 1:45 Shadow Butte 2nd grade Christmas Program
December 19: 1:45 Butte View Christmas Program
December 19: Last day of school for students before Christmas break.
December 20: Teacher work day (No school) End of 1st Semester
December 23-January 3rd: No School--Christmas Break. (Students Return January 7)
January 6: Teachers Return from Christmas Break
January 7: Students return from Christmas Break
January 13: 6:00: Annual School Board Meeting
