EMS Newsletter

Hello EMS Families,

Just like that, September has come to an end and October has begun. I hope you are all finding ways to get as involved as you'd like to be in the life of this school, whether that looks like following a sports team, supporting instrument practice, chaperoning field trips (yes, we can do that again!), attending remote EngageEMS Meetings (our PTO meets next on October 13th), or some other way of getting involved.

Open House is coming up next week on Thursday. Please read the rest of this newsletter for more details on that remotely hosted event. Of course, Open House is not the only time to meet or check in with teachers; if you ever have any questions or concerns about how your child is doing socially or academically, please do not hesitate to reach out to their teachers to schedule a call, plan a meeting, or just have an email exchange. We are here to support the success of all learners, and believe in the importance of strong school-family partnerships.

As you likely saw in Superintendent Flanagan's recent Community Update, we are again permitted to welcome family volunteers as chaperones on field trips, though to be mindful of our community's health, adults must show proof of full COVID vaccination in order to drive students or accompany classes on walking trips. We continue to limit guests in the building, but I hope you will consider chaperoning a field trip as a way to get involved. These trips are always highlights of our students' year, and we are so glad that we have been able to bring these opportunities back to our school this year!

Thank you for all you do, and best wishes for a fun and restful weekend!

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

This event, held remotely this year for the health of the community, is a wonderful opportunity to meet your child's teachers, hear more about what they will be learning this year, and get a sense of classroom expectations. We encourage everyone to attend, but sessions will also be recorded and posted for later viewing.

Each student's parent/guardian will receive a team-specific schedule with Google Meet links next week. In addition to spending time with your child's core academic team, you will also be able to visit with three exploratory teachers. In addition, we will provide links to video messages from our administrative team, student support team, librarian, and others. These messages, along with recorded sessions, can then be supported by our Multilingual Liaisons.

Interested in seeing your child’s assignments, teacher feedback and grades? As a reminder, your child can show you their assignments, grades and feedback in Schoology using their device. Ask them to show you their courses or recent assignments!

In addition, grades and comments can be accessed by families in the Family PowerSchool portal. If you are encountering challenges logging in, please contact Julia Stein (jstein@bsdvt.org).

Click here for directions on how to log in and additional supports: BSD Family Powerschool Supports

Additional information on how to access the family portal in Schoology will be shared during the month of October.

Remember that you can always find information about upcoming athletics events on the Burlington Athletics home page. You can find a tab specific to EMS sports at the top of this page for all upcoming game information.

This year's first lockdown drill will occur on Monday, 10/4. This drill will be instructional only, meaning that teachers will instruct students on the lockdown drill process and field their questions and concerns, but students will not actually perform a lockdown drill this first time. We are still using the previous approach to this drill; we have not yet transitioned to the "Run, Hide, Fight" protocol, and we do not yet have a planned date to do so. When and if this transition occurs, families will again be notified in advance. All teachers and student support staff have also been notified of Monday's drill in advance.

We recognize that these drills can create anxiety, fear and sadness for both young people and adults, which is one reason we are taking an instructional approach to this first drill of the year. Lockdown drills will then occur every other month for the remainder of the school year.

If you have any questions or concerns about the lockdown drill, please contact Principal Sabrina Westdijk.

Every Wednesday, students come together in small groups at the start of the day for Extended Community Time; this is an advisory hour focused on building relationships in smaller groups. Some have inquired about the purposes and goals of Community Time. The purpose of this time with our learners is to provide time to:

• Meet the basic needs of all students

• Provide a space for dedicated social-emotional learning, interpersonal skills, and restorative work

• Ensure a trusting relationship with at least one adult in the building

• Ensure advocacy and support for every EMS student

• Connect with no academic ties or pressure

• Connect with the whole child

• Communicate messages across the school consistently and with clarity

This is a valuable part of our week, and an important part of establishing an inclusive and supportive community and advancing our broader work toward Restorative Practices.

This week in art we wrapped up quite a few things and are headed toward our Clay Unit.

Sixth graders finished their 1 Point Perspective Drawings - which I like to call Building Bouquets. They are bright, colorful and lovely to look at, and emphasize the vanishing point.

Seventh graders finished their Leaf Print Paintings. This is a seasonal project where students create leaf prints and then add washes of watercolor washes to create a satisfying Autumnal painting.

Eighth graders finished their "Vision Sticks." Students first wrote personal vision statements capturing who they are, what they offer the world, and what they hope for in their future. These visions were then written on rice paper, and wrapped around their vision sticks. The visions were covered with a patterned yarn wrap and topped off with assorted feather and bead details. (See samples above.)

All of our classes are moving on to clay, which is a ton of fun, to say the least. Students will explore basic clay hand building techniques like slipping and scoring, creating pinch pots, and building with slabs. These are just a few early snapshots as they begin to experiment with the many different ways to create texture.

Updates from the EMS YPAR Collective (webpage linked):

John Dewey Memorial Conference Presentation (linked conference brochure)

Students from the YPAR collective will be presenting their work at the John Dewey Memorial Conference next Friday, October 8th, from 3:10-4:00 in the University of Vermont’s Old Mill Building 94 University Place.

The presentation is themed around Education and Social Change and will focus on the YPAR collective’s innovative community-based initiatives happening at Edmunds Middle School, as well as the community impact of two other innovative programs within the Burlington School District (BSD). The session will center around the intersection of community-based education and the pursuit of social justice. Panelists include elementary, middle, and secondary teachers and students as well as the BSD superintendent. Pre Registration is required. For more information about how to RSVP to attend: go.uvm.edu/deweyconference