Bellringer Newsletter
March 13, 2023
Principal's Message
Good morning. Our Seniors are getting ready for their Washington D.C Trip next week. We are also excited for EHHS to participate in Say Something Week sponsored by Sandy Hook Promise. Please continue to check the Important Dates and Reminders section of the Bellringer Newsletter for a schedule of upcoming events. If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me directly at everner@easthamptonct.org.
Important Dates and Reminders
- March 13--Washington D.C. Trip--Parent Meeting-5:30
- March 14--Music Department Step-Up Concert
- March 20--23--Senior Class Trip to Washington D.C.
- March 22---SAT School Day Testing (11th Grade Students)
- March 24--Early Dismissal--Professional Development
- March 28--K-12 Art Show
- March 29 + 30---EHHS Parent-Teacher Conferences
- March 31--April 2--Spring Musical--"The Adams Family"
- April 4--NGSS Testing (11th Grade Students)
- April 5--EHHS Music Department Cabaret
- April 7--Good Friday--No School---EHHS
- April 10---April 14---April Vacation
- April 19--Music Department--Broadway Trip
- April 20--Senior Capstone Expo
- April 26--NHS Induction Ceremony
- May 20--Interact--Relay for Life
- May 25--EHHS Academic Awards Ceremony (6:30)
- May 26--Senior Class Picnic---Lake Compounce
- May 26--Sophomore Class Trip--Holiday Hill
- May 29--Memorial Day--No School EHHS
- June 1--EHHS Spring Concert--6:30
- June 2---EHHS Junior-Senior Prom
Class of 2023 Graduation--Update
World Down Syndrome Day
Profile of the Graduate Digital Portfolios
The Profile of the Graduate Portfolio process has begun for the classes of 2025 and 2026. Students are developing a Google Site that they will use over the course of their high school career to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate their growth and development of the five attributes in the East Hampton Public Schools: compassion, innovation, perseverance, collaboration, and active learning. This portfolio will display various achievements, projects, and activities over the course of the high school experience that will show attainment of skills, broadening of horizons, and pursuit of passions. Students will reflect on experiences, strengths, and abilities to confidently approach challenges. During XBlock students used a template developed by the Portfolio Committee, wrote a brief autobiography and are crafting their paragraphs explaining their understanding of the core values. By the end of the school year, students will have written about each of the values and uploaded examples of their work. Ultimately, this work will become part of their Senior Capstone beginning with the Class of 2025.
Athletic Department Updates
Boys Varsity Basketball was defeated by Wolcott 56-65 in the first round of the CIAC Division 5 State Tournament. Their final record is 10-12.
Boys Junior Varsity Basketball season has concluded. Their final season record is 11-7.
Girls Varsity Basketball defeated St. Paul Catholic 39-34 in the CIAC Class M State Tournament 1/4 Finals. Their current record is 24-1. They are scheduled to play at The Morgan School vs Coginchaug on Monday at 6:00 pm in the CIAC Class M Semi-Finals. All tickets must be purchased online at GOFAN.
Girls Junior Varsity Basketball season has concluded. Their final record is 6-8.
Boys Varsity Ice Hockey Co-Op defeated Guilford 7-3 in the CIAC Division 2 State Tournament 1st Round and was defeated by North Branford 1-3 in the 1/4 Finals. Their final season record is 10-9-2.
All athletic schedules and results may be found at CIACSPORTS.com.
The link for CIAC State Tournament tickets purchased on line through GOFAN may be found at CIACSPORTS.com
Spring Sports Registration is open on FamilyID.com.
Boys Basketball
Brady Lynch Sophomore 1st Team
Nate Ireland Senior Honorable Mention
Girls Basketball
Liana Salamone Sophomore 1st Team SLC Player of the Year
Jackie Russell Junior 1st Team
Olivia DeMartino Sophomore Honorable Mention
Cheerleading
Sydney Vicino Freshman 2nd Team
Bella Bafumi Senior 1st Team
Alexis Pettine Senior 1st Team
Madelyn Daniels Freshmen 1st Team
Samantha Yorker Sophomore 1st Team
Boys Indoor Track
Shane Proxee Junior 2nd Team Long Jump
Thomas Morton Senior 2nd Team 4 x 200
Rob Stanford Senior 2nd Team 4 x 200
Alex Rivard-Lentz Junior 2nd Team 4 x 200
Alex Urban Senior 2nd Team 4 x 200
Family and Consumer Science Fundraiser
The Bellringer's Guide to Good Food
This fundraiser is the East Hampton High School Culinary Arts digital cookbook. Included in this guide are secret family recipes provided by students and community members that cannot be found anywhere else but here. The idea of this fundraiser is to sell this digital cookbook as a yearly subscription, and every year you can renew your subscription and gain access to the new culinary arts class's secret family recipes.
Your generous contributions to this site help our program grow and provide unique culinary related learning experiences, specialized ingredients, and professional equipment for our students. You can purchase your access to the fundraiser with the link provided at the suggested donation price of $10 https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56523.
Thank you for your contributions.
World Language Department News
Students from the World Language Department participated in a zumba event during X-Block as part of a Carnaval celebration organized by the French Club. Everyone enjoyed dancing and having fun with Zumba Instructor Sherlie Jean-Louis, also known as the Konpa Queen. Thank you to everyone who participated.
School Counseling News
ATTENTION CLASS OF 2024!!!
SAT School Day - Wednesday, March 22nd
The state of Connecticut requires all juniors across the state of Connecticut to take the SATs during a testing window in March. East Hampton High School has chosen Wednesday, March 22nd as our testing day. Although this test is required by the state, and therefore paid for by the state, it is the actual SAT and can be used for college admissions purposes or college scholarship opportunities. Students will view a presentation on Tuesday, March 7th and will be given more information about how to prepare for the test, and what they should remember to bring on test day. This presentation will be available to parents in next week's Newsletter, but please feel free to reach out to your student's school counselor if you have any questions. The counselor contact information is below for your convenience.
- A-F: Mrs. Rodowicz - mrodowicz@easthamptonps.org
- G-M: Mrs. McCormack - jmccormack@easthamptonps.org
- N-Z: Ms. Malcolm - pmalcolm@easthamptonps.org
SAT School Day & Chromebook Use
Students are required to use a school issued Chromebook during the SAT School Day on Wednesday, March 22nd. If students do not regularly use their Chromebooks, they should verify it is functional and able to hold a charge. If students have technical issues they should see Mrs. Kuck in the Learning Commons to trouble shoot well before the SAT School Day on Wednesday, March 22nd.
SBHC----School Based Health Care at EHHS
The East Hampton Public Schools is proud to introduce School Based Health Centers in each of our schools. Soon, enrolled students will be able to receive behavioral health services during the school day. The School-Based Health Care (SBHC) staff are licensed health care providers, who are able to deliver behavioral health services to students during the school day. They work in conjunction with the student’s primary care providers to support their social, emotional, and behavioral health care needs. SBHC is proud to serve over 17,000 students throughout Connecticut.
EHHS Project Graduation News
We are looking for parents to help support our programming.
Next Meeting--April 5--6:30 in the EHHS LMC
Please e-mail our group if you are interested in the following:
- Secretary – take notes at meetings. Send them out. Attend every meeting
- Treasurer – count. Mange spreadsheet of finances
- Social Media/website - promote group/events on Facebook and website
- Find corporate donations (work) -matching donations (United way)
Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up
Attendance Updates
Please review the EHHS Attendance Policy and Student Handbook as they contain important information.
Per the East Hampton Board of Education’s Attendance Policy and Connecticut statute, parents and guardians may only approve the first 9 absences of the school year with a parent note. Absences 10 and above can only be excused with further documentation and under specific circumstances.
In addition, if a student has four unexcused absences in one month or 10 unexcused absences in a year they are classified as truant. If a child misses 18 or more days in a school year – excused or unexcused absences – the student is classified as chronically absent.
Access to the East Hampton attendance policy is available HERE
It is also necessary for a student to be present at least half of the school day for the student to be recorded as present. When a student arrives after the mid-day point or leaves before it, the day cannot be counted for that student. Building principals will share the specific times in their communications with families.
A student is considered to be “in attendance” if present at his/her assigned school, or an activity.
sponsored by the school (e.g., field trip), for at least half of the regular school day.
At East Hampton High School, half of the regular school day arrives at 10:55 a.m. This means that if a student arrives after 10:55, even with a note, the student will be marked Tardy Absent. If a student dismisses prior to 10:55 and does not return to school, the student will be marked Early Dismissal Absent. Please contact the school with any questions regarding our attendance policies.
To increase the ease of reporting an absence and documenting parent approval of the absence for a student’s first 9 absences, the East Hampton Public Schools has created email addresses that parents can use to contact their student’s school and report an absence. Effectively immediately, the following email addresses can be used by parents to report and document their approval of an absence:
EHHS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org
If you have successfully emailed the school, you will receive an autoreply that notifies you that the absence communication has been received and recorded. This process is effective for your student’s first 9 absences. After your student has more than 9 absences, additional documentation or communication will be required to excuse the absence. Please use the email to continue to notify the school that your child will not attend. You may call your child’s school at any time to report an absence, as well.
TIP LINE
EHHS Bellringer Spirit Wear
We are excited to launch our new Bellringer Sideline Store! The store is available 24/7 and ships directly to you!!!
Please see the link below to grab your Bellringer gear
https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/connecticut/easthampton/east-hampton-high-school
Student Attendance and Dismissal Reminders
Students who are being dismissed due to illness, MUST FIRST see the School Nurse. Additionally, we ask that parents familiarize themselves with our attendance policy which is in the EHHS Student Handbook. Some of the main policies/procedures that we are mut be followed are listed below:
- EARLY DISMISSALS: A written request (no phone calls) from a parent or guardian must be presented to the main office before school begins so student may obtain an early dismissal slip. Students will wait in the main office for their parent/guardian to call the office and we will send your child out to meet you after they sign-out.
- NURSE DISMISSALS: In case of illness during school, dismissal will be arranged through the school nurse, or in her absence, through the office. Students feeling ill should report directly to the nurse's office. Students should not be texting or calling home when not feeling well.
Please note that having a parent’s written request before the start of the day allows the students name to appear on the Daily Attendance sheet so their teachers will be aware that they may not be in class on that day. This also eliminates the office staff from calling in and disrupting a classroom to dismiss the student. We do realize that there may be occasions when you may need to unexpectedly pick your child up early. In those cases we will call the student down when the parent/guardian arrives to the school.
Students that are dismissed from school will not be allowed to return without appropriate documentation from their visit/provider. In the event that doucmentation is not available, a parent will be required to sign their student into the main office upon return.
Safety and Security Enhancements
- Dropping off on items--the table to drop off items for students has been moved inside the first set of doors. Parents will be able to drop items of for students, but will no longer be admitted to the main lobby.
- Appointments--for security reasons, parents and visitors who are requesting to meet with a teacher or administration should call in advance to ensure that the requested party is available to meet rather than show up unannounced.
- Effective immediately, there is an anonymous tip line to enhance a safe environment in our schools. Students, parents, and community members have access to the front page of the website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. https://www.easthamptonps.org/
Board of Education Statement on School Safety
The East Hampton Board of Education is committed to a safe and secure learning environment that honors and celebrates the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. The Board of Education in partnership with the school community will not tolerate any threat of violence in the schools or any hate speech that targets any race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Each student is held to the highest standards of responsible decision making within a culture that is expected to foster compassion, caring, and empathy.
Reminder of policy regarding the use of Police Dogs
As a reminder to members of our school community, Board Policy #5145.122 allows the schools to work with the East Hampton Police Department to protect the health and safety of students and staff by conducting sweeps of school property by trained sniffing dogs. Please review the policy and procedures below. Our goal is to ensure that the East Hampton Schools are free of illegal substances. Annually, we provide notice of this policy to our school community. Should a sweep be conducted, parents and the Board of Education will be notified upon completion.
Use of Dogs to Sweep School Property
The Board permits the administration to invite law enforcement agencies to sweep school property with dogs trained for the purpose of detecting the presence of illegal substances, when necessary to protect the health and safety of students, employees or property or to detect the presence of illegal substances or contraband, including alcohol and/or drugs. The use of trained canine sniffing dogs and their associated law enforcement personnel is for the purpose of “alerting” on property only, and is subject to the following:
1. Parents and students shall be notified of this policy through its inclusion in the student/ parent handbook and the Superintendent and Principal or their designees, shall explain the policies and procedures followed in sweeps and searches to students and staff on an annual basis. Once notification has been given to parents and students through the handbook and assembly respectively, the school district will have met its obligation to advertise the sweep and search policy and associated procedure. Additional notices need not be given and actual times or dates of planned sweeps need not be released in advance.
2. The Superintendent or designee shall authorize the sweep. Immediately prior to the sweep, an announcement will be made for students and staff to ‘stay put’ in their classrooms while the sweep is taking place. Representatives from school administration shall accompany dogs and handlers while on school premises.
3. The Board shall be informed by the Superintendent of Schools that a sweep has taken place.
4. Parents shall be informed through the school’s mass communication system by the Superintendent of Schools that a sweep has taken place.
5. All school property which students have access to during the day, such as lockers, classrooms, parking areas and storage areas may be swept.
6. Individuals shall not be subjected to a search by dogs.
a. Dogs shall not be used in rooms occupied by persons except for demonstration purposes. The handler and representative from school administration will always be present with the dogs
b. When used for demonstration purposes, the dog may not sniff any student and/or staff.
7. Only the dog’s official handler will determine what constitutes an alert by the dog. If the dog alerts on a particular item or place, that locker or vehicle will be identified for later search. Upon completion of the sweep, the school administration will then search the identified property in the presence of a witness.
8. Searches that disclose evidence of misconduct shall result in disciplinary consequences in accordance with Board policy and may also result in referral to law enforcement agencies.
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
Policy adopted: March 15, 2016
New Jersey v T.L.O., 53 U.S.L.W. 4083 (1985)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools
The school community of East Hampton is committed to the mission of honoring and celebrating the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. We strive to guide our students to conscious, deliberate, individual and collective actions that cultivate the respect of all races, religions, and social backgrounds. Our school community endeavors to produce graduates who are equipped with a greater understanding of the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Nondiscrimination Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools
The East Hampton Board of Education, in compliance with federal and state law, affirms its policy of equal educational opportunity for all students and equal employment opportunity for all persons. It is the policy of the District to promote nondiscrimination and an environment free of harassment regardless of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability (including but not limited to, intellectual disability, past or present history of mental disorder, physical disability, or learning disability), genetic information, marital status, or age or because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetic information, marital status, or age of any persons with whom the individual associates. The District shall provide to all students without discrimination, course offerings, counseling, assistance, employment, athletics, and extracurricular activities. The District shall provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The District shall make reasonable accommodations for identified physical and mental impairments that constitute disabilities, consistent with federal and state statutes and regulations.
East Hampton High School
Email: everner@easthamptonct.org
Website: www.easthamptonps.org
Location: 15 North Maple Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4030
Twitter: @EH_CTPrincipal
