Emerson Middle School Newsletter

Emerson Families,

Although we only have 2 weeks left in the school year, there is a lot going on! Please read below for the latest updates, reminders, and information from Emerson Middle School and District 64. Have a great weekend!

Best,

Samantha Alaimo
Principal

If your child has been taking medication at school, please plan to pick up any remaining in the school health office on the last day of school, June 9, 2023. Medication not claimed by the last day of school will be discarded. Please do not pick up emergency medication prior to the last day of school.

Medication prescribed for use during the upcoming school year (2023-24) requires submission of a new Medication Authorization Form (and Allergy Action Plan and Asthma Action Plan, if applicable). Forms are available on the Health Services page of the District 64 website.

If your child is attending Worlds of Wonder or Extended School Year (ESY) you are responsible for transporting medication to the summer school location, and for picking it up at the end of the session(s).

Please call the Building Nurse in your child’s school health office if you have questions.

In observance of Memorial Day, all District 64 schools and offices will be closed on Monday, May 29.

The last day of school for all D64 students is Friday, June 9th. Teacher records day is Monday, June 12th.

If your student is going to a school OTHER THAN Maine South after they promote from Emerson, please email our registration/residency secretary, Melissa Arnos, at marnos@d64.org. This will help ensure that your students folder is forwarded to the correct place once it leaves Emerson. Thank you!

There is still a limited supply of Yearbooks available to pre-purchase available through the Emerson Office. Yearbooks are $25 via cash or check made out to District 64. Yearbooks are distributed at the end of the year. If you have any questions reach out to Ms. Apuli (mapuli@d64.org) or Ms. Dobrydnio (edobrydnio@d64.org).

Pickwick Movie Night

Thursday, June 1st @ 7pm Join us for an end of year movie night at the Pickwick. Advance showing of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. $20 / per person - includes movie ticket, small drink and small popcorn. Purchase tickets at: https://emersonmspto.membershiptoolkit.com

8th Grade Party

LIGHTS, CAMERA, LET'S PARTY!!!

Friday, June 2nd from 7-9p

Last chance to join us on the red carpet for a Hollywood style night of glitz and glam! We will celebrate the star-studded class of 2023! Get your VIP all-access pass and enjoy snacks and refreshments, dancing and hanging out with your classmates and friends. Dress to impress. Purchase your $25 ticket now: https://emersonmspto.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/2546

Volunteers Needed

6th, 7th & 8th grade parents!!! We are in need of volunteers to make the night a success. It is tradition at Emerson for parents of the younger students to chaperone the 8th grade dance. Then you are off the hook when it's your turn (the kids don't really want their parents there). Please see below on how to sign up to volunteer. Sign up here: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/409044ba8a829a3f94-8thgrade

Gift card Donations

Lastly, we are looking for donations of $5 or $10 gift cards for prizes (ex: Yogli Mogli, Starbucks, Dunkin, Chipotle, etc). You can place in an envelope addressed to Emerson PTO/April Gibas and drop in school office or in mailbox at Gibas home: 8034 N Oriole Ave, Niles. Please donate by Thursday 6/1.

If you would be interested in joining PTO for upcoming year please email: ems.pto.64@gmail.com

Promotion

Promotion: Tuesday, June 6th at 6:30pm on the Maine South Football Field

Rain Date: Thursday, June 8th at 6:30pm on the Maine South Football Field

Promotion Practice: Tuesday, June 6th (AM)

Each student will be allowed 6 guests at the promotion ceremony. If you need to request extra guests, please email em-office@d64.org.

Great America

Monday, June 5th

Here you can find the MS recommended summer reading and listening. Please reach out to jcucci@maine207.org, the MS English Department Chair, with any questions!

As we experience warmer weather, we want to make sure families are mindful of appropriate school attire. To view our policy, please click here for our D64 handbook (page 17).

General guidelines include:

• Decent and appropriate coverage of the body, including the midriff, is expected. Clothing must cover undergarments and must be opaque (i.e., not see-through).
• Hats or hoods should not be worn in the school building. Students may wear a hat or hood at recess.
• Student clothing and/or accessories may include numerals, logos, slogans, and drawings that are not offensive, obscene, or profane.
• Health and safety standards require that clothing and shoes not have ornamentation that will damage furniture or floors, or create a safety hazard to the child or others.
• Flip-flops are strongly discouraged, as they are unsafe for use on playground equipment and difficult for stairs. Roller shoes should not be worn on school grounds.
• A sweatshirt or sweater should be kept at school for days when the weather changes unexpectedly.

Each Friday Emerson airs WEMS, our local news broadcast, to all students in homeroom. Check out last week's edition HERE.

Please see the Vocal Music Notes Newsletter #33 from Mrs. Broeker.

Check out the TLC Website for more information on how to start a TLC, descriptions of available clubs, and the calendar of when you can join in the fun!

Email Mrs. Contreras or the TLC sponsor(s) with any questions.

Early Entry into Emerson begins at 7:35am. ONLY students who have a signed pass from a teacher or parent may enter the building early. Students may enter through the main entrance by the office and will be let in once the door supervisor opens the door to check passes. Entry BEFORE 7:35 will not be allowed unless there is extreme weather or a situation approved by the school. Please use this link to find extra passes for home use.

EARLY ENTRY PASS LINK

District 64 continues to utilize many different platforms to ensure you have important information delivered to you in the most convenient way. One of those ways is through our SMS Text Messaging Service.

Getting messages delivered to your mobile device is a helpful tool, and District 64 is reenergizing our efforts to bring this to you.

These alerts will be info about events, school closings, safety, and more. That said, our SMS Text Messaging Service will be used supplementally in our communication efforts and does not replace any school emails or calls you are receiving.

How to receive text messages:

• You must opt-in to receive text messages. To do so, you will need to text “Y” or “Yes” to 67587.

• If you’d like to no longer receive District 64 text messages, you have to send “Stop” to 67587.
  
  

If you have any questions regarding the use of text messages to communicate District/School messages, please email Christopher Lilly at clilly@d64.org.

The cafeteria will not be accepting cash to purchase lunch items. Students must use their MySchoolBucks account to purchase any food. Please see this flyer for more information from Quest, our food service company. You can also get a food service overview by clicking HERE.

Unlike elementary school, you do not need to pre-order meals or beverages. Students may select from daily offerings in the Emerson cafeteria. More information about our school lunch offerings and payment can be found here on the D64 Middle School Lunch webpage.

Though we have many food choices in our cafeteria, most Emerson students bring their lunch to school. We strongly encourage this during the first weeks of school while we get our cafeteria systems and procedures up and running.

We highly encourage waste-free lunches. To help reduce waste, please consider using reusable containers for your child’s food and drink, rather than disposable bags and bottles. Emerson is committed to green efforts in the lunchroom. The cafeteria also has a lunch waste sort station for students to empty their lunch waste into recycling, compost and trash. We encourage all students to do so every lunch period.

FORGOTTEN LUNCHES

If students forget something at home or are being brought a lunch, items may be dropped off at the Emerson Office. We instruct students to check in with the office during passing periods to pick up these items. We will not interrupt class to notify students of items/lunches delivered to the office. As noted in our district student/parent handbook, parents are discouraged from delivering lunch to the office from local restaurants; lunches brought to the office should be reserved for emergency situations, such as a forgotten lunch.

There will be three 4:00pm activity buses that will go to the Franklin, Carpenter, and Field areas. The buses will run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. These buses leave the school around 4:15, giving students time to get from their activity to the bus. Please note: there is no 4pm bus on Wednesday or Fridays before long weekends/holidays. The last day the activity buses run this school year will be Friday, June 2. This will also be the last day after school clubs run.

Tardiness

All students are expected to be seated in homeroom at 8:05 a.m. Students who arrive at school after the homeroom period (8:05 to 8:10 a.m.) must report directly to the office before proceeding to class. A doctor’s appointment or a bus problem are acceptable excused tardies. All other reasons will be considered unexcused. Exceptions must be approved by the principal. To assist students and parents in correcting this problem, a sequence of escalating interventions is followed after three unexcused tardies. These range from calls home, parent letters and conferences at school, detentions, tardy contract, and possible legal action against the parents.

Early Check-Out

If a student needs to leave the school before the end of the day, a parent note giving the reason, date and time of departure, and person picking up the student should be given to the teacher whose class the student is leaving. If you email this message to the teacher, please be sure to include the school secretary (em-office@d64.org) as a recipient. The student should report to the office at the time of departure. The parent or guardian must come into the office to sign out the student for the length of time the student will be away from school. If your child returns to school before the end of the day, please enter the school building and sign your child back in before he/she returns to class. Please note that students must arrive by 9:20 a.m. or be dismissed after 1:45 p.m. for their attendance to be counted as a full day.

Absences

For safety reasons and in compliance with state law, a parent is requested to notify the school office in writing or by phone within the first hour of school. If notice is not received, the school secretary will call parents at home or work to confirm the absence. To report an absence, please call the school office anytime, day or night, to access the voice mail system at 847-318-8110. When calling, please provide: student’s name; classroom/ homeroom; date of absence; and reason for absence. For illness, please share symptoms or diagnosis.

• EXCUSED: A valid cause for absence includes illness, observance of a religious holiday or religious instruction, death in the immediate family, family emergency, other situations beyond the control of the student, other circumstances that cause reasonable concern to the parent/guardian for the student’s safety or health, or other reason as approved by the Superintendent or designee. For a student to be released from school as an excused absence to observe a religious holiday or for religious instruction, parents should give written notice to the Building Principal at least five calendar days before the student's anticipated absence.

• UNEXCUSED: Absences due to vacations, travel, attendance at a cultural or sporting event, or participation in a team sport, acting or fine arts performance are considered unexcused. This also includes tiredness (unless your child is ill), oversleeping. If your child is NOT called in by 10am, they will be marked unexcused for the day, and parents will be contacted by the office to verify the absence.

Vacations

Every school day is important, and the District strongly discourages scheduling family vacations on school days as these are considered unexcused absences. If your child will be absent from school for an extended period of time for a family trip, please inform the school office and your child’s teacher. Work will be given upon return for students leaving the country or immediate District area when your children RETURN to school. It must be completed at home under a parent’s supervision. Teachers are not expected to provide homework or assignments in advance for students who will be absent for an extended period of time for family vacation and other activities.

School hours for student classes are from 8:05 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Please note that each Wednesday, students are dismissed at 2:10 p.m. for staff professional development activities.

Doors to the school open for students each morning at 7:58 a.m. Homeroom begins at 8:05 a.m. Students with an early entry pass will be permitted to enter the school between 7:35-7:45, but not before. There will be a teacher opening the door to permit entry at that time. We WILL allow students to enter before this if there is inclimate or cold weather.

School office hours are from 7:20 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Remember that our student absence line (847) 318-8110 is available 24 hours a day. Please let the Emerson Office know as soon as possible if your child will not be in attendance. Please do not rely on e-mail notification for reporting absences as it may not be seen until later in the day.

All Emerson students and parents are provided access to schedules via the PowerSchool parent and student portals. The PowerSchool Parent Portal allows you access to your student’s academic information, including student schedules and grades. If you have any questions on how to login, please contact the Emerson Main Office for assistance at (847) 318-8110.

Emerson Middle School, along with all District 64 schools, operates in accordance with policies and practices that have been reviewed and implemented by the District 64 Board of Education. Please review the D64 Student-Parent Handbook prior to the start of the school year to familiarize yourself with the information contained in it. We want to work in partnership with you to ensure a positive school year, and having an understanding of this information will help to promote a successful school year. This handbook is intended as a convenience for District 64 families and staff by summarizing selected information about procedures, services and programs. It also provides a quick reference for contact information and District timelines.

The Emerson website and Emerson school calendar are valuable resources to keep informed of important updates and events throughout the year. The calendar is kept up to date throughout the school year, and new information is posted regularly. We hope that these tools are helpful resources for keeping you and your student organized and informed as we progress through the year.