Message from the Principal
Hello, EMS families and community. While we had a few unexpected challenges at the start of the year, I am happy to report that students and staff are settling into classroom routines, community building, and teaching and learning! With cooler temperatures now here, we are also far more comfortable in our learning spaces! Fall has arrived.
I was fortunate to be able to get into many classrooms this week, and was amazed by the positive energy, laughter, and curiosity on display. Everyone seems so happy to be back among their peers, and heartened by a return to togetherness. While we are ensuring that we are following health guidance and other community safety practices, of course, the current guidelines have allowed for more movement and rhythm to the day, and the positive impact on our school culture is evident. Learning is a social, dynamic venture and we are so happy to have our whole school community together again.
Please look to these future biweekly newsletters for updates on fun learning experiences, interesting happenings on campus, and useful information. In addition, we will try to add highlights and timely updates to the EMS website. And if you ever have a question, concern or suggestion, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly. I look forward to getting to know our families and community partners!
Thank you, always, for your trust and partnership. Here's to a healthy and engaging year together!
Best wishes,
Sabrina Westdijk
EMS Principal
Protecting Student Privacy and GoGuardian
In choosing digital services for our students, specifically for those under the age of 13, we can only use services that are COPPA compliant. Additionally, as a school district, we need to be CIPA compliant and restrict student access to inappropriate websites. While middle level students have district issued chromebooks at home, they will be associated with a tool called GoGuardian Admin. Burlington School District uses GoGuardian Admin for its filtering and monitoring capacity. School districts are required to filter and monitor content that children access over the internet on their school devices and while using their Google accounts.
Filtering tools restrict access to categories of sites and the monitoring of activity allows specific school staff to receive alerts to online behavior (search terms, docs terms, site viewing) related to violence, self harm and explicit content. GoGuardian will also apply restrictions to limit student activity on school devices late at night. Burlington School District does not use the additional GoGuardian Teacher service.
Linked here is additional information about how the GoGuardian system uses data, and how it applies to students. Further questions about GoGuardian privacy practices can be sent to privacy@goguardian.com.
The following excerpts from the Student/Family Device Agreement in the Annual Student Update also relate to the use of filtering and monitoring software in the Burlington School District. All families have been asked to complete this electronic agreement as part of the BSD Annual Student Update.
District Google accounts should not be used for personal purposes. District Google accounts should only be used for school-related purposes.
I understand that my child's browsing history, downloads, and email (if applicable) are all subject to review by authorized school personnel as well as filtering/monitoring software (such as GoGuardian Admin for grades 3-8 and Cisco Umbrella for grades K-2). GoGuardian Admin is an extension that is installed in the Chrome browser on a student’s chromebook and will also install in the Chrome browser on personal devices when students log in to Chrome on personal or family owned devices.
Information about the privacy practices of GoGuardian Admin and Cisco Umbrella can be found at these links: https://www.goguardian.com/privacy-information/ and https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/legal/privacy-full.html
While GoGuardian and Cisco Umbrella will continue to filter some content while a student is logged onto their school device at home, it is impossible to restrict access to all controversial materials. I will not hold the school/teachers responsible for materials acquired over the Internet.
Hello from the Health Office!
My name is Becca McCray and for those of you who don’t know, I am the school nurse! The 2021-22 school year is off to a good start despite the new learning curve we are all experiencing with the new variants of COVID!
For those of you who haven’t completed your Annual Student Update through the parent portal, please do so. This form gives us valuable information about whom to contact in case your child is sick or has an accident here at school. It also allows you to select whether or not you’d like us to administer Tylenol or Advil to your child in case of a bad headache or an unexpected injury. Please complete all these documents and electronically sign them as soon as possible. If you are having difficulty doing so, please contact our main office.
Secondly, if you have a child with a prescribed asthma inhaler or EPI Pen, please be sure that it comes to school. These emergency inhalers and EPI Pens are necessary for keeping your child safe in school and especially on field trips! Keep in mind that asthma action plans are reviewed and updated by primary care providers and you may need to make an appointment before an action plan is presented to the school.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call or email me at 802-864-8486 x3 or rmccray@bsdvt.org.
Thank you! Happy Health to you all!
Becca McCray, MSN MA RN NCSN
Edmunds Middle School Nurse
Phone: 864-8486 x3
Schoology Update
For the 21-22 school year, BSD students and staff in grades 6-12 will use Schoology as their learning management system. Schoology will hold all content, assignments, grades and other feedback for students, replacing Unified Classroom. Schoology provides additional opportunities for collaboration and personalized learning for BSD students.
Families will be able to access Schoology starting in the late fall. Back-to-school nights in grades 6-12 will include additional information about Schoology and hands-on support for logging in and accessing materials. Families will continue to have access to the PowerSchool Family portal throughout the year to access forms, grades, comments, and schedules.
To view a road map of the Schoology roll-out in BSD, click here: Family, student and Staff Schoology Road Map: Year 1
Dig the DIRT!
This week at EMS, all students began a program called DIRT, Daily Independent Reading Time. Right before or right after lunch students take twenty minutes to quietly read something of their choice. There are no book reports, no reading logs, and no judgment about content or level. It's a break during a busy day to have some me time.
We want students to get lost in fictional worlds or travel to real places they can't usually access. We want them to see themselves in stories and fall in love with characters who are different from them, becoming more empathetic toward others. We want them to wrestle with hard themes that expand their worldview and push their thinking. More than anything, we want students to develop a habit of reading and become passionate, life-long readers.
According to a new study published in Reading and Writing: “Even light reading provides a host of benefits, increasing verbal and creative skills, nourishing our capacity for empathy, and even reducing prejudice against stigmatized groups—all skills that are developed as readers become accustomed to inhabiting unfamiliar worlds, seeing things from new perspectives, and contemplating how a chain of events can lead to unforeseen outcomes.”
Students are supported by their English Language Arts teacher, the librarian, and each other in finding reading they will enjoy. Staff participate too!
We would like to build classroom libraries that have high interest reading materials for all kinds of readers. If you have items in good condition you no longer need that would be appealing to a middle school reader, please consider donating them to the school.
- Novels for all ages (yes, even little kids)
- Graphic novels and comics
- Magazines appropriate for middle school
- Picture books
- Coffee table books
- Browsing books like Guinness Book of World Records or Eyewitness Books
- Fun cookbooks for kids
- How-to books
Librarian and Makerspace Specialist
