Elkhorn Middle School Newsletter
September 2024
I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend of Labor Day! It has been a terrific, high energy, big learning few weeks of school and I am grateful for the extra time this weekend allows. We are so grateful for the teamwork and support of our EMS families. Your positivity, communication, and collaboration are all key as we work together to support EMS students and our community.
Please take a few minutes this weekend to check in with your student regarding their organization systems. Ask to see their school agenda! It should be filled in entirely. Now that students are familiar with their schedules and teachers, they may need to reorganize their backpacks, trappers, folders, etc.
As always, please make sure that students have an identified and routine place to charge their Chromebooks overnight every night. Students who arrive at school with a low or no battery Chromebook face an immediate hurdle that can be easily removed. Thank you for your help!
Last - but not least - is a reminder that we’ve spent lots of time in the opening weeks of school teaching students The Antler Way: behavior that is SAFE, RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, TRUSTWORTHY and PROUD. Instead of asking, “How was school,” I encourage you to ask your student what they did at school that was The Antler Way!
- THANK YOU for your Apparel orders!!
- September meeting: Monday, September 16th at 7 pm in EMS Conference Room
- Sign up to be on the Booster Club email list so you don't miss anything: https://forms.gle/jHdb2CCEsCsYQc69A
- Keep TAGGing (https://tagg.today/) to help raise funds (our goal is $400!) - upload receipts from local businesses you visit & they will donate to our school! You can find a list of participating businesses on their website.
- Follow us on Facebook @elkhornmiddleboosterclub
- Coming up in September: Sign-up for Conferences Staff Meal & more information on a RAFFLE coming soon.
Concession Stands:
- Sign up HERE: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4EABA722AAFD0-50440367-2024
- We need volunteers to help with concession stands for this Fall! Football, volleyball, boys basketball, & girls wrestling
- Easy to follow instructions & fun for kids of all ages to help!
- Time commitment is generally 3:45 pm - 6 pm (if you can only do part of the time and want to volunteer, please reach out to us!)
- Help us provide a meal for the teachers on Tuesday, September 24th. Our teachers work long days during Parent-Teacher Conferences, so let's take care of dinner!
- Sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F4EABA722AAFD0-50933532-ems2024
- Sponsorship Opportunity: Last call for sponsors - email us at emsboosterclubelkhorn@gmail.com for more information!
Ally Morrill, President
Shawna Michener, Vice President
April Nerz, Treasurer
Angie Ballard, Secretary
(Google Classroom directions for Guardians)
As a guardian, you can get email summaries about your student’s activity in Classroom. Email summaries do not include grades. For grades, ask your student or contact the teacher.
In email summaries, you can review:
Missing work—Work not turned in when the summary was sent
Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails)
Class activities—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers
If there’s no activity to report or if a teacher turns off email notifications, you might not get an email summary.
Get email summaries
To get weekly email summaries of your student’s work, you must accept an email invitation. You can unsubscribe from summaries or remove yourself as a guardian at any time. NOTE: You can choose to receive daily email notifications if you sign in with an existing Google Account.
You’ll receive an invitation email if at least one of your students' teachers has enabled the Guardian Summary feature.
NOTE: Guardian email addresses come from PowerSchool. If you would like to change where these emails are sent you must contact the building to have your email address changed in PowerSchool. A guardian email change in PowerSchool will also change the email in School Messenger.
Click ACCEPT from within the email.
You will be directed to a webpage with a message to ACCEPT that looks like the following.
Take special notice of the email address displayed before clicking ACCEPT. The address may not match the original email you used in step 2 above. This is because you are logged into a Google Chrome browser with the account displaying in the above message.
TO FIX THIS: Open a new Chrome browser in guest mode or use a different browser (Edge, Safari, Firefox) and start the process over. You can NOT use a student Chromebook as it will add the students email address to receive summaries. If you did the above steps and it prompts you to log in, to a Google account or get a message that says “Invitation Invalid” complete this form and we will send you a new invite.
Click ACCEPT to confirm.
When you accept an invitation, your student will get an email confirmation (6-12 Grade only).
Click here for additional resources.
⁓Physical and Immunization Requirements⁓
Nebraska law requires that all school children have a physical examination upon entry into school, at seventh grade, and when transferring from an out-of-state school.
Students must also provide proof of a visual evaluation to include testing for amblyopia, strabismus, internal and external eye health and visual acuity upon entry into school and when transferring from an out-of-state school.
The law also requires your child be immunized and provide proof of immunization before attending classes. All 7th grade students are required to have a Tdap vaccine.
Please visit this link: Summary of the School Immunization Rules and Regulations to view specific vaccine requirements for the age of your child. If you have not yet turned in your 7th grade or new out-of-state student’s paperwork, please do so ASAP.
⁓Medication Policy⁓
If your student requires any medication (over-the-counter and/or prescription) while at school, each medication must have a Medication Authorization Form signed by the parent and a physician before we can administer.
All medications must be unexpired and provided in the original packaging and/or pharmacy container. For prescription medications, please only provide a maximum of 30 day supply at a time. All medication must be dropped off in the office by a parent or guardian.
Please do not send any medications with your student.
Also, if you believe your student is capable of managing their own inhaler or epi pen while at school, here is the link for the Self-management Of Asthma and Severe Allergy (Anaphylaxis) at School Consent/release form.
⁓Students with Asthma, Severe Allergies, Diabetes, and/or Seizures⁓
If your child has asthma, severe allergies, diabetes, and/or seizures, and you have not yet done so, please submit an Action Plan signed by your physician. Plans must be updated annually.
⁓Sick Child Policy⁓
Just a reminder to monitor your child for symptoms of illness and to keep them home if they have any of the following: fever >100.0, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, head lice, eye infection. Students must be free of these conditions for 24 hours before returning to school.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Thank You!
Andrea Daniels, RN, BSN
Golden Sower Competition: There are TWENTY amazing Golden Sower nominees this year. Encourage your students to try one of them out! Lots of great prizes, too! Candy, bagel breakfast, pizza party, gift cards, and more!
SORA: Students can now read ebooks or listen to audiobooks with the new app SORA on their Classlinks. Need more info? Ask students to check my Llibrary Google Classroom or stop by the library.
Technology Tips:
Charge your device every day!
Restart your device AT LEAST every week!
Use your case!
Carry your Chromebook CLOSED
Welcome to another exciting school year! I am looking forward to working with the students and staff of Elkhorn Middle School again this year. Mr. Sexton is returning as our Band TA, and Mr. Dreessen, the EHS Band Director, will again be working with the students. We have more than 200 students enrolled in band and are excited to get started.
Jazz Bands – The Jazz Bands are open to 7th and 8th grade band students. Any interested students must prepare the audition music for a live audition on the morning of Thursday, September 19th 7-8 a.m. Audition materials are posted on Google Classroom and are available from Mr. Norris. Jazz 1 will meet Tuesday and Thursday mornings 7:00-8:00 a.m. starting Tuesday, October 8th. Jazz 2 will meet Monday after school 3:30-4:15 p.m. and Wednesday morning 7-8 a.m. starting Monday, November 18th. Students may enter the building after 6:45 a.m. through Door 2 on the west side of the building.
November 12th Concert – On Tuesday, November 12th, all the band students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will be performing their first concert of the year. It will take place in the EMS gym and starts at 6:30 p.m. The building will open at 6:00 p.m. for performers and audience members.
Please come to support your students and enjoy the concert. Concert attire will be expected for all students and will include: black pants, black socks, black shoes, and the EMS Music polo.
EMS Music Polo Ordering
All 6th grade band students need the music polo for concerts throughout the school year. Polos are $15 and may be ordered online at: https://emsmusic24.itemorder.com/shop/home/.
The online store is open through September 26th. The first band concert will be November 12th.
Home Practice and Practice Records
One of the most important aspects of learning an instrument is regular home practice. With the limited amounts of contact time we have with each student, it is vitally important that every student reserve some time at home to practice their instruments and improve their skills. 6th grade students are expected to practice 100 minutes/week and have a weekly grade for their practice. 7th and 8th grade students are expected to practice 60 minutes/week to help them master their concert/jazz band music and to be prepared for their regular playing evaluations. Each student has received a practice log to record their minutes. Please sign off on the time your student practices at home to ensure they receive credit for it. Students that meet or exceed the practice expectations will also have weekly and quarterly awards.
Athletic Schedules can be found here: https://www.easternmidconference.org/public/genie/428/school/902/
Admission to Games:
Admission will vary from site to site, but all games in Elkhorn Public Schools will be $2 for students and $3 for adults. Some schools will charge a different amount. All schools will accept cash only. Please be prepared to pay an admission fee to athletic events. Activity Passes will be accepted for Elkhorn Public Schools only.
Girls Wrestling
We are excited to offer girls wrestling this year. This will start in October and end in December. There will be a sign up form offered very soon to any girl interested in wrestling.
Jennifer Wragge
EMS Physical Education / Athletic Director
Elkhorn Girls Basketball
All 8th graders and their parents will be invited to Elkhorn High School Registration/Parent night on Wednesday, February 26th at 6:00 pm in the Elkhorn High School auditorium. Musical entertainment will start at 5:40.
High School counselors will come to the middle schools on Wednesday morning, February 19th to give registration materials to 8th graders.
More information to come as we get closer.
Join DI for a fantastic year of fun and creativity!!!
DI is an exciting and creative problem-solving competition in which students work together in small teams of 4-7. Over the next several months, students choose one of six DI challenges, interpret that challenge, and then solve it using critical thinking skills and creativity.
Some of the challenges include the construction of technical devices. Other challenges are more fine arts and theater based. Each team will have the opportunity to solve their problem in the way that they interpret it.
Regionals, the first competition will held at Columbus Middle School in Columbus, NE, on
February 22, 2025. The State competition will be held in Kearney at UNK in on April 5, 2025.
Globals is in Kansas City and will be held in late May of 2025.
Each team needs a parent Team Manager to help the students manage their time and find their
solutions. Being a DI team manager is a great way to get involved and watch how kids can
solve multi-level challenges using their talents and creativity.
All EPS district DI teams are required to meet in our school buildings. Meetings can be after school, in the evenings, or on the weekends. A “Facility Use” form is required to reserve your space and times. Team Manager training will be provided by NCAPS (Nebraska’s Creative Association for Problem Solvers) for the parent volunteers in October via Zoom. Team Managers will need to complete an EPS Volunteer Background Check.
To form a team, students should get their friends together (4-7 students total per team), recruit a parent Team Manager, and turn in the team roster to the front office by Friday, September 20th, 2024.
All students are required to pay a $20 participation fee (cash or checks made payable to the school). Please include student’s full first and last name, grade, and parent phone numbers for all of the student team members on the team roster. Please turn in the Team Manager’s name, phone numbers, and email address. Students who do not have a team put together can email Mrs. Ghannam at mghannam@epsne.org for assistance in finding a team to join. The Team Manager will be contacted by Mrs. Ghannam to get things going once the team has been submitted.
Check out the DI website (www.destinationimagination.org) for more information on how DI works, or email Mrs. Ghannam with specific questions.
When kids are faced with a challenging situation, they are often a source of inspiration to those around them- their families, their friends, our entire Elkhorn community. We want to help share that inspiration by recognizing kids through our "Antler Kid Captain" program, in partnership with the Antler Football Booster Club and the Elkhorn Antler Football team.
During the 2024 Elkhorn football season, the Antler FB Boosters will partner once again with the Antlers to feature stories of courage, strength and grit. The Kid Captains will take the field at Antler Stadium prior to the Gretna East home football game on Thursday, September 12th at 7:00 PM.
If your child has been an inspiration to others by showing grit or overcoming an obstacle and is an Elkhorn student, nominate him or her for Kid Captain by clicking the nomination link below.
Per EPS Board Policy 1006.07, District residents aged 65+ are eligible for a free activity pass which admits the holder to District-sponsored events and activities. Passes can be picked up at the EPS Central Office at 20650 Glenn St. during normal business hours. Individuals must provide a valid driver's license showing a current address of residence with EPS boundaries to receive a pass.
As was shared with all families in an email from Elkhorn Public Schools in early August, information regarding the resources utilized by Elkhorn Public Schools in the event of severe weather can be found at the link below.
EPS Severe Weather Protocols - August 2024 Letter to Staff and Families
Let's flip the script - creating a sense of "JOMO (that's Joy of Missing Out) encourages students to be fully present and embrace being in the here and now! Check out Screen Sanity for more helpful tips and remember the importance of modeling being where your feet are!
TeamMates of Elkhorn is currently seeking additional mentors to fulfill our waitlist! Mentors spend 30 minutes a week building a lasting relationship and creating a positive impact that lasts a lifetime. Please consider volunteering your time to meet the growing need for mentors across our District. Apply now by clicking here!
Additionally, visit Runza on Tuesday, September 17, and support your local chapter of TeamMates! 10% of all Runza sales at the 204th and Maple location will be donated back to our Elkhorn chapter.
Safe2Help
Contact Information Updates
Send changes to contact information to ems@epsne.org
2024-2025 Academic Calendar
The approved 2024-2025 academic calendar can be viewed here.