Message from Principal Collins
Greetings Evergreen Families,
This week our 8th graders had the opportunity to visit Thomas Jefferson High School. It saddens my heart to know soon we will be sending these 8th graders on their way to high school. Our 7th-grade math students are working on writing and solving multi-step equations.
We are starting another sports season. Evergreen is proud to have outstanding athletic and activity programs for our students. We welcome and encourage your attendance and appreciate your support of these programs. To ensure that everyone attending has an enjoyable and safe experience we would like to pass on a few reminders for students and families attending these events. Athletics and activities are part of the educational experience and students are expected to follow school expectations for acceptable behaviors. When students are at any school activity, whether at their school, or another school, they must behave in a manner that represents their school and themselves well.
FAN EXPECTATIONS:
- Be respectful of game officials, players, coaches, opposing fans, and facilities.
- Remember that they represent not only their school but their community and family as well.
- Be a role model of sportsmanship by supporting teams in every positive manner possible, including the content of cheers and signs.
- For safety reasons: Students are to leave campus right after school and then return when the games or matches start.
Evergreen Middle School has the greatest fans, always showing unwavering support for our teams at every game and event. We appreciate your positive support of our student-athletes and coaches. GO GRIZZLIES !
We are well into our second semester. We are busy with learning and activities every day here at Evergreen Middle School. Students are settled in routines and understand our school-wide expectations. Teachers have worked hard to create meaningful learning opportunities and teach school-wide behavior expectations. Consistency and predictability are key factors for student success, as well as a calm learning environment to better focus on learning.
Our focus remains to cultivate a positive climate and create the best learning environment possible. High-quality instruction and student learning are our highest priorities. Everything that we do at Evergreen is designed to help students learn in all areas and be successful well beyond their time in middle school. Once again, that partnership between school and home is a key ingredient for student success. With that said, we hope that your scholars are feeling safe and supported. This is an interesting time in their lives and development and can be challenging at times. I want to hear from you if you have questions or concerns.
Our teachers are working very hard to have our students ready for the next level. Just a gentle reminder that we need all students to be in attendance at school unless they are ill. We have many students who are coming to school late and checking out early. When students are absent from school, they miss out on consistent instruction, tend to make lower scores on standardized tests and develop negative social and emotional development. So please help us by making sure your child is at school and on time. We want each one of them to be successful learners.
Use of social media. As all school districts, we deal with student social media and the effects it has on our students. We work to keep our scholars updated and knowledgeable on how to use social media properly. I will give our students credit for the fact in the past couple of years the amount of time we have had to deal with social media issues has dropped drastically. We still get to see what other districts go through with student and parent use of social media and it can cause major problems for everyone involved. I always encourage parents to make sure they are monitoring their children’s social media platforms. Be aware of what apps they are using and do not be afraid to occasionally do some routine checks of their phone. Besides checking your child’s phone and social media, please make sure you are talking with your children about their lives and how they are doing. Social media is something that we all have to manage in our own lives unfortunately it is not always used in the correct form with teenagers.
Student-led Conferences are coming at the end of March. You will start getting information for scheduling conferences soon from your scholar’s advisory teacher. The month leading up to Student-Led Conferences is a busy one for students and staff from a preparation standpoint. Students prepare for their conferences by highlighting their first semester grades and their current grades for the start of the second semester. Students also explain how they earned their grades. They show work samples students have gathered from their classes throughout the year. Additional pieces include looking at their attendance and behavior for the school year and setting goals. The bulk of the work takes place in January and February. The amount of work that goes into the conferences on both the student and staff end is overwhelming at times. The culminating conferences at the end though are one of the best things I’ve seen in education. Scholars feel extremely proud of the work they’ve put into the conference and the parents enjoy seeing their child take responsibility for their learning. We look forward to seeing parents at Student-Led Conferences in March.
Thank you for being a part of the Grizzly family.
Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Collins
253 945 5100
