EMS Newsletter

Dear EMS Families,

Congratulations to our students (and staff! and families!) on completing the first quarter of the school year. I hope you all have a lovely autumn weekend -- may baskets of candy be full, and everyone be safe!

As you will find below, there are many upcoming opportunities for students to make connections, pursue their interests, and connect with school. I always encourage families to check out our ever-expanding after school programs, and winter sports are just around the corner. Also, keep an eye out next week for quarterly grade reports, information on fall conference sign-ups, and more.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not send out another reminder about the upcoming budget planning process. Each school is forming an advisory group (SAG) consisting of teachers, parents and students, and this is a unique way for our community members to shape how we use school funds. The SAG will become our local experts on the budgeting process and will use that expertise to provide me with substantial, ongoing input.

The SAG will meet at least two times, once in November and once in December to:

• Receive a brief training on the BSD budget development process and model;

• Share what they believe is going well and areas where investment could be helpful;

• Review our school’s budget allocation including its RISE Allocation; and

• Make very specific recommendations for how our school’s RISE Allocation could be budgeted to implement focus initiatives to support the priority student groups.

For more information on the budget process, please review the informational presentation slides here. I hope you will consider joining and taking advantage of this opportunity! Please contact me directly, ASAP, if you are interested.

Thank you, as always, for all you do to support our school, staff and students. Be well!

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

It's hard to believe, but we are officially 25% of the way through the school year. Teachers will be working on finalizing quarterly grade reports early next week, and grades will be sent home at the end of next week. If you have questions or concerns about your child's grades in a particular class, please reach out to their teacher directly.

Each of the schools in the district maintain supplies of masks, but these are designed for the handful of students who forget to bring them on any given day. Supplies are limited.

What we are seeing is that students misplace masks, get food on them, or sweat in them and then ask for a replacement during the school day. The desire for replacement is totally understandable, but the demand is more than the schools can sustain or fund.

Please plan to pack 2-3 masks daily in backpacks so that students have their own replacement masks to get comfortably through the day. Just packing one or two extra masks will be an enormous help for kids and schools!

Next week, you will receive information about how to use PTCFast to sign up for conferences with your child's core team and exploratory teachers; sign-up will work very similarly to last year.

Conferences this year will be student-led; our 6th-8th graders have been working hard to create slides they will use to lead those conversations. Their presentations will focus on their interests, strengths, goals for learning, and work in core and exploratory classes that they wish to share with you. There will also of course be time for parent and teacher input and reflections!

Once you've had your conference, we look forward to hearing your feedback about both the sign-up process and this student-led approach.

Winter sports are approaching! The practices and team assignments will begin on Monday, November 15 and conclude on Friday, November 19. Like our fall season, there will be no cuts made. The first week schedule:

• 11/15 Monday- 6th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 6th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)
  
• 11/16 Tuesday- 7th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 7th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)
  
• 11/17 Wednesday -8th Grade Boys (3:00-4:15) 8th Grade Girls (4:20-5:35)
  
• 11/18 Thursday- 6th and 7th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 6th and 7th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)
  
• 11/19 Friday- 8th Grade Boys (4:00-5:15) 8th Grade Girls (5:20-6:35)

Students will find out before or during Thanksgiving which team they will be on. First games start on 12/7 against Hunt!

The Burlington High School Nordic Ski Team is inviting any interested middle school students to come and train with the team. If you already have skied or raced, joining the team while still in middle school is a great bridge to the high school team. If you have never cross-country skied before, you can join us to learn the sport!

Middle schoolers who have trained with the team have enjoyed getting to know the high school athletes, and the team is very supportive of younger athletes. Practices will be at Burlington High School and local Nordic areas starting on Monday, November 29.

Please contact coach Kirsten Berggren at kberggre@bsdvt.org with any questions or to be added to the email list to receive notifications about organizational meetings, practices and other important details.

The School Based Health Center has traditionally been at BHS, EES, EMS, SA, and IAA in years prior to COVID-19. This year we are excited to provide the School Based Health Center via Telehealth at ALL of our school locations that house a school nurse.

What is the School Based Health Center? It is a way for students to go to the doctor at school, so they do not miss a whole day of class and parents do not have to leave work to transport their children to the doctor’s office.

What is Telehealth?

Telehealth is when you have a medical appointment over a technological platform, like google meet or zoom. Students will come to the nurse’s office for their appointment where they will connect with the providers of the School Based Health Center at an appointment time. You as the parent will also be given the link to the meeting time so you can participate

Who are the providers?

We partner with UVMMC Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Libby McDonald and Dr. Heather Link to make appointments for students to be seen. You do not have to be a UVMMC Pediatric Primary Care patient to participate. Our partners will contact your primary care provider about any visit they may have with your child.

What Services are Included?

• Follow up visits for acute diagnoses (colds/flu, skin rashes, stomach illness, ear infections)

• Assessment and care for chronic illnesses such as asthma, allergies, ADHD etc.

• Behavioral, psychosocial, nutritional issues

• Family outreach and support.

Other Details:

• Participation is voluntary.

• There is a registration form which needs to be filled out before the first visit. SBHC Middle School registration form.docx

• The clinic providers will communicate with your child’s primary doctor by faxing visit notes whenever your child is seen in the clinic.

• Parents are always welcome to come to appointments, but it is not necessary. If you can’t make it, Libby will try to reach you by phone.

• If Medicaid is billed the visits are covered 100%, private insurances will be billed and subscribers are responsible for any co-payment or deductible.

Email your School Nurse with any questions!

BHS -Maureen Webb, RN and Jessica Valin, RN - mwebb@bsdvt.org and jvalin@bsdvt.org

Champlain - Brian Kelley, RN - bkelley@bsdvt.org

CP Smith - Christine Harris, RN - charris@bsdvt.org

Edmunds Elementary - Emily Dousevicz, RN - edousevi@bsdvt.org

Edmunds Middle - Becca McCray, RN - rmccray@bsdvt.org

IAA - Ali Wasko, RN - awasko@bsdvt.org

JJ Flynn - Mary Dunsmore, RN - mdunsmor@bsdvt.org

Lyman C. Hunt - Cathy Paradiso, RN - cparadis@bsdvt.org

SA - Justina Starr, RN - jstarr@bsdvt.org

Preschool, Early Education Program - Carol Neary, RN - cneary@bsdvt.org

Why is it important for my child to get a flu shot?

• Flu vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death.

• Knowing you have the Flu vaccine ensures when symptoms present that it is not the Flu. Many flu-like symptoms are also symptoms of COVID-19, so it helps determine your symptoms are not related to the Flu.

• Getting a flu vaccine also saves healthcare resources for the care of patients with COVID-19.

When should we get the flu shot?

• Typically in October

• Flu season typically lasts from October to April. One shot will cover you the whole flu season

Where can my child get a flu shot?

• Primary care provider office

• Call and make an appointment for your child to receive a flu shot at your primary care office.

• If you do not have a primary care provider or health insurance:

• Monthly immunization clinics at no charge for people who are under 65 years old and uninsured, are held the first Monday of the month from 1pm to 3pm at The Public Health Office at 108 Cherry St, Suite 102, Burlington, VT 05402. Please call to schedule an appointment – the number to call is 802-951-0076.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends well-child exams every year between ages 3 and 21. If your child has not gone to the doctor in the past year, please call your primary care provider to schedule a well-child visit.

What is a well-child visit?

An annual visit with your primary care provider to stay up to date in the Academy of Pediatrics’ schedule of assessments and screenings done at various ages from age 3 to age 21.

What are the benefits of a well-child visit?

• Get scheduled immunizations on time to prevent illness.

• Screen for vision and hearing changes due to growth or environmental factors.

• Discuss nutrition and safety at home and school.

• Measure growth and talk about your child’s physical and mental development.

• Raise concerns with your pediatrician based on your child’s development, behavior, sleep patterns, eating habits or social interactions.

When should I schedule a well-child visit?

• Once every year for children ages 3 to 21.

• If your child missed an appointment last year, please call now to make an appointment.

Dear EMS Families,

The winter months often increase financial strain due to higher utility bills, holidays, winter clothing for growing students, etc.; additional stressors in the past couple of years have certainly challenged each of us in ways we never imagined. Although we continue to experience the effects of COVID-19, pandemic-specific resources that were once available to families are no longer accessible. Our hope is that our EMS community members will be able to continue to come together and support one another. Our wish is for all members of our community to feel safe and valued, and we can't thank you all enough for doing your part to support this goal!

This year, we are continuing to organize our EMS winter/holiday support system, with a couple minor changes from last year. We are looking to gather names of families who are REQUESTING support as well as families who would like to OFFER support. This system will be anonymous (only guidance/counseling staff will have access to names). We will do our very best to fulfill all requests, but our ability to do so will depend on donations received. Below is a link to our Winter/Holiday Support survey. Please fill this out if your family could use some support during the winter months, or if you are able to donate. Every donation, no matter the size, will be much appreciated by a family in our EMS community!

2021 EMS Winter/Holiday Support Survey

If you would prefer to fill out a paper form, they are available in the main office in C building (between the Elementary and Middle schools).

In order to allow staff time to sort/distribute donations:

NOVEMBER donations and sign-ups will be due by Friday 11/12.
DECEMBER donations and sign-ups will be due by Friday 12/10.

We will continue to accept donations throughout the winter and distribute as needs arise.

Thank you!

Emily Pearl, LCMHC, ATR (she/her)

Howard Center School Services

Edmunds Middle School

(802) 343-4025

epearl@bsdvt.org

epearl@howardcenter.org

Seventh graders finished off the quarter with these spooky portraits in the style of Tim Burton. Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, writer and artist, known for his gothic fantasy and horror films. These portraits attempt to mimic his style - a bit creepy and also a bit fun. Happy Halloween!

Judy Klima

Art Teacher