EMS Newsletter

Hello EMS Families!

As the weather turns cooler and fall colors start to pop, we are finding ourselves well and truly into the swing of this school year. I cannot emphasize strongly enough what a wonderful time I am having getting to know your children more as individuals, as students, and as citizens of our school. You have amazing kids!

A few highlights:

A week or so ago, there was a chipmunk loose in the school building. It mostly hid during the day given all the noise and traffic, but after school it was roaming the halls, frantically trying to find a way out. Five 7th and 8th grade girls coming in after practice found it, and together we executed a classic pincer maneuver ushering it toward an exterior door while one incredibly brave young woman held that door open. The chipmunk ran out by scrambling right over her foot! Thus were victory achieved, our bond solidified, and “The Chipmunk Rangers” born. We have an email thread now.

Walking through a 6th grade classroom two weeks ago, I saw all the students standing around the edges of the room, whiteboard markers in hand, working out a logic problem in groups of twos and threes. There were zombies coming and only one thin bridge that each member of their party could cross at different speeds. Each team had their own standing whiteboard to diagram their thoughts. It was like a scene out of a movie where the hip, cool scientists are figuring out how to save the world while writing on the glass walls with those special pencils science people have. What struck me was not just the fun, engaging math instruction. It was the integrated nature of the students’ approach to the problem. They were having math conversations. But they were also having moral conversations. And ethical conversations. They were dividing things and working on different parts of the problem simultaneously. I saw leadership and collaboration and communication and interpersonal challenges that had to be worked through. I saw humans learning to work together.

Given the nature of my role in the building, I have also seen a fair amount of rupture and repair. When a student does something that harms another, it is incumbent upon us as adults to name it, stop it, and provide the opportunity both for learning and for the offending young person to try and make things as right as possible. This is important for both parties, though in some cases it is arguably even more important for the person who caused the harm. This may seem paradoxical. But for young people at this age, the unresolved shame of having harmed another can seed additional harms until it multiplies over time and a person can lose themselves in it. Accepting what you have done to another, owning it while looking them in the face, and committing to trying to fix it and do better is something that many (most?) adults would find incredibly challenging. And yet I see your children do this very thing every day, with our support, as they work through the messy, beautiful, chaotic, elegant process of growing up together.

You have amazing kids. Every single one of them.

It remains our honor and privilege to educate them.

• John

Our Edmunds Middle School Store is LIVE!

Changes Beginning in the 23/24 School Year

Starting this school year, BSD changed what counts as an excused absence. While this was communicated to families last Spring and in August, and is in our student handbook, now that we are a month into the school year, this reminder may be useful to families and students.

We ended the practice of accepting parental communication as the primary determinant of excusing absences and are using the guidance from the AOE regarding when an absence is considered excusable.

Excused Absences

From the AOE Website: An absence is considered excusable when it is the result of:

• Personal illness;

• Appointments with health professionals that cannot be made outside of the regular school day;

• Observance of recognized religious holidays when the observance is required during a regular school day;

• Emergency family situations such as a death in the family;

• Planned absences for personal or educational purposes which have been approved.

• Absences due to suspension or expulsion

All other absences will be marked as Absence Unexcused. This includes absences such as those that occur when a student needs more sleep, family is in town for a visit, the student is attending a non-AOE approved alternative programming, there is an event that the family wishes to attend with the student, participating in programs such as Crow's Path, Teresa Davis Art Studios, etc.

Planned Absences

In cases of planned absences, families must submit a Planned Absence Request Form alerting us to planned absences of three to nine days. If a planned absence will extend beyond nine consecutive days, a 10+ Days Planned Absence Request Form must be filled out by the family and signed by the principal and teachers. Unless a planned absence of three to nine days falls under one of the six types of excusable absences listed above or is otherwise approved by the Superintendent, it will be considered an unexcused absence.

To read our entire attendance procedure, including a list of all of the attendance codes, please go here on the BSD website.

The 7th/8th grade science classes visited Redstone Quarry as part of our geology unit. Redstone quarry has preserved sand ripples from about 500 million years ago, tilted layers from tectonic plates crashing together, and an intrusion from the breakup of Pangaea!

6th grade students made their way to the waterfront this week to reflect, play, connect, and to make a memory. See pictures above.

Tuesday, October 10th- EMS Library, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm OR join us virtually using the link below:

Meeting Virtual link:

Meeting ID meet.google.com/hfp-jftm-fae Phone Numbers (‪US‬)‪+1 347-380-6595‬ PIN: ‪112 892 401#

Agenda Items:

• School Dance
• School News
• District News
• Other Items

Pizza and drinks will be provided. Please join us if you can.

Come on down to the Fletcher Free Library for an EMS Fall Art Show.

Our 6th, 7th and 8th graders have been busy creating collages and monoprints of sunflowers and they will be hanging in the Fletcher Room at the library for the month of October. A big shout out to American Meadows, a locally (and EMS parent) owned seed company for their generous donation - all of our art students received a packet of sunflower seeds to plant next Spring!

EMS Fall Art Show Celebration at the Fletcher Free Library: Tuesday, October 10th from 6-7 PM- Refreshments will be served.

How will conferences work this year?

The Fall and Spring conferences in BSD middle schools will be led by students. Many middle schools in Vermont and around the country are moving to this model. Conferences will be in-person, unless a virtual conference is requested by the family. All conferences will also have the option for an “adults only” conversation, in addition to the student-led portion, at the request of the family.

How is a student-led conference different from a parent-teacher conference?

In a student-led conference, the student presents their work and their perspective on their learning, strengths, challenges, and goals. Our students have started preparing to present their strengths, challenges, and goals for this school year, and to show some examples of their work. There will also be a chance for families to share their thoughts and ask questions.

Why is the Burlington School District holding student-led conferences instead of teacher-led conferences?

One of the top priorities for our district is deeper learning for every student. We want students to feel empowered and engaged, and we want our practices to meet the individual needs of each student. We commit to providing students agency in education. A student-led conference is a way to put the student’s learning and their voice about their experience at the center of the conversation, and to ensure that they are partners in their education.

The student-led conferences are also part of the Burlington middle schools Personalized Learning Plans, or PLP, process. Through the PLP, students consider their own strengths and challenges, set goals, identify steps toward progress, gather evidence of progress, and reflect. These are the same habits and skills that students learn by participating in a student-led conference.

When are conferences?

• Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22.

• There is no regularly scheduled school on those days.

Where can I learn more about student-led conferences?

The UVM Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education has some excellent resources.

• A video showing what a student-led conference looks like

• The Parent Role in Student-Led Conferences

• Edutopia video about student-led conferences

• Resources for educators about student-led conferences

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