The Principal's Office

Email: jhutchinson@nasd.k12.pa.us
Website: https://www.nasd.k12.pa.us/enms
Location: 330 Roland Drive, East Norriton, PA, USA
Phone: 610-275-6520
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Middle-School/East-Norriton-Middle-School-121770504834624/
Twitter: @EastNorritonMS

April

29-30th Math PSSA test 8-10:30

May

2-3 8th grade Science PSSA

6-10th Teacher appreciation week

8th 5th grade field trip to the Farm Park

14th Academic Excellence Ceremony 6:30pm

15th Music Concert 7pm

16th Music concert 7pm

16th 5th grade field trip to the Farm Park

17th 8th grade trip to Montco Technical School

20th 7th grade trip to Charles Blockson exhibit

21st 7th grade trip to Charles Blockson exhibit

23rd 8th grade field trip to NYC

24th Early Dismissal

27th No School

30th 8th grade trip to Plymouth Swim Club

June

3rd Field Day

5th 8th grade promotion 9am

6th last student day

The ELA test went very well this week. We did have a glitch with the software system on Monday where students were unable to login until almost 9-9:30am. We think the issue was in the large audio files associated with some accommodations for our English Language Learners and Special Education students. The files were causing issues throughout the state and multiple districts had this issue. I was so happy our IT department arrived and helped us work through the problem and we finished our testing on time.

We still have quite a few students arriving around 9am. Please do your best to be sure students catch the bus so they are not late. I do realize bussing was an issue earlier in the year, but most buses are here no later than 8:25 everyday (even with the construction on Markey Street).

Next week is math and science testing. These will happen on Monday and Tuesday (Math) and Thursday and Friday (8th grade science).

We expect test results to be available in June.

I wanted to share a shocking number with our families. As of today we have 23% of our student body missing 10% of school or more. That means we have only 77% of out students attending 90% of school or more.

We need to work on our attendance as a school, and we cannot educate students that are not here. I want to remind parents that attendance at school is mandatory. We often try to work with families of absences due to illness etc. However, we cannot continue to educate children that are missing 18 or more school days. I am not trying to be harsh in my language here, but I want to alert our school community about the seriousness of this trend. I have noticed that after Covid our attendance has dropped by more than 15% prior to Covid. Please do your best to have your students in attendance regularly. Our teachers cannot make up lessons that are delivered on days when children are absent. We can hand them assignments, show them what was taught, but the most important part of the lesson is the teacher teaching the content. It is critical we do a better job of this going down the stretch of the 23-24 SY, and more so really important to set up good habits for students heading into the 24-25 SY.

As we head into the spring I want to make sure all parents are aware that we will begin our scheduling for the 2024-2025 school year.

Placement in advanced math classes for grades 6,7 and 8 are determined based upon the following criteria.

• Winter and Spring STAR math assessments
• PSSA results from spring 2024
• Final grades in the 2024-2025 school year
• Successful completion of the required advanced course in the previous year
• PVAAS Math projections (data base for making projections to higher level courses)
• Teacher recommendation

Currently teachers are working on students they are recommending for placement into higher level math classes. I will create a data spreadsheet using all of the information above in the middle of May to make final determinations. All of our decisions are based upon student data and teacher recommendations. If you have questions or need additional information about this process please reach out to me. However, we will not have finalized lists for those classes until PSSA results are returned in June.

Advanced Math Courses offered

5th grade- 5th grade enrichment class

6th grade- Enrichment math 6/7. This class covers both 6th and 7th grade material and prepares students for taking Algebra I in 7th grade

7th grade- Algebra I

8th Grade- Geometry, and Algebra I

The graphic below shows the course progression for math at ENMS.

Our annual academic excellence ceremony will be held on Tuesday May 14th at 6:30 pm. All students who made the Honor Roll for all three marking periods received their email invitation today. A copy of the email I sent is below.

Congratulations on being invited to the 2023-2024 Academic Excellence ceremony on Tuesday May 14, 2024 at 6:30pm. The ceremony will take place in the big gym. We invite you to share this email with your family members to they are aware of your accomplishment.

Students should dress up for this event so that you will look great in all the pictures your parents will take. We want you all to look sharp for this event. Students will be called to the stage to receive a medal signifying that you earned the honor roll all three marking periods of the 2023-2024 school year. The ceremony will last about 45 minutes.

Students should arrive about 6:15 to find the seat on the floor with your name on it. Teachers will help you locate your seats. You may bring family members with you to this event, and all parents will be seated in the bleachers.

If you have any questions about this event please see us. Congratulations on your accomplishment and keep up the great work.

Sincerely,

Dr. Hutchinson and Dr. Harper

This ceremony usually lasts no more than one hour.

In the last few weeks we have mailed our letters for Chromebook fees owed by students. Here are some guidelines related to fees owed by students of different grades.

Any 8th grade student that owes Chromebook fees will be excluded from end of the year activities if these fees are not paid. This includes our NYC City Trip, 8th grade Formal, Promotion, and the Plymouth Swim Club. 8th grade teachers have been meeting with students and we have mailed letters to families to encourage payment. If you owe fees associated with damaged Chromebooks these fees must be paid in order to attend the end of year events. Currently, we have over $5,000 in damaged Chromebook fees associated with the 8th grade class. If the fees are not paid we will not allow students to participate in those activities.

Students in grades 5-7 are encouraged to pay your fees as soon as possible. We try not to eliminate students from participating in end of the year activites like field days etc. for these grades. However, these fees follow the student into 8th grade. To avoid a large bill due in 8th grade (due to unpaid fees from grades 5-7) we encourage you to pay your fees now. If they are unpaid, it will impact end of the year activities when they reach 8th grade.

If you have questions or disputes regarding fees please contact our main office at 610-275-6520.

If you have items that you would like posted on the district bulletin board please submit them using the following link. We will not be able to include community flyers in our weekly newsletter. Please consider using this for all of your community events.

https://www.nasd.k12.pa.us/page/community-bulletin-board

🏈🌟 Spring Football Program for ALL Middle School Students! 🌟🏈

Join us for our FREE Strength, Speed, Agility Training, and Football Fundamentals program, starting April 22nd, 2024!

Cost: Absolutely FREE for all NASD students!

Who can attend? Open to all students, boys and girls, from grades 5-8.

What do you need? Cleats are preferred, but sneakers work too. Wear comfy athletic clothes!

How to attend? Complete the Google Form to sign your child up for Spring workouts. Students can attend some or all workouts. Whatever fits your schedule! Bring your child to the designated practice location on scheduled days. Remember, pick-up is at 7:15 PM after each session.

📅 Schedule & Locations:

Strength, Speed, Agility Training and Football Fundamentals

Start Date: April 22nd, 2024

Mondays: East Norriton MS | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Wednesdays: Eisenhower MS | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Fridays: Blockson MS | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Details: Fun workouts + football basics. Attend any or all days!

Pickup Flag Football Sundays:

Start Date: April 28th, 2024

Days: Sundays

Time: 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Location: Norristown High Turf

Details: Exciting 7 on 7 flag football games.

Don’t miss out! Make sure to subscribe to our Google Calendar to stay updated on the schedule and get event notifications!

6th Grade Parents Please Read:

The nurse needs a copy of your child's physical exam. If you have not handed one in please send it in as soon as possible. Pennsylvania mandates that all 6th graders hand in a physical in the beginning of the school year. We have many 6th graders that have not turned one in. Exams should be complete with vaccination records including TDAP and Meningitis. Proof of these vaccines must be handed into the nurse prior to the start of 7th grade or your child will not be able to start on the first day of school.

School nurses will be contacting those who have not handed in a physical exam next week. If you have any questions please call or email Mrs Zangara at 610-275-6520 ext.3 or Lzangara@nasd.k12.pa.us

Check out the flyers below from our PFC, and become involved in the school.

You can reach us on our FB page or through gmail eastnorritonmspfc@gmail.com

Follow us on Facebook at East Norriton Middle School Parents Page. For more about the PFC find us on the NASD website

Amy Bligh Daniels PFC President

Nicole Echevarria Vice President

Shannon Mieski Vice President

Heather Garman Treasurer/School Store

Jenny Rosen Treasurer

Ronette Jones Administrator/Yearbook

Here are the sign up links to volunteer or donate for events.

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FAFAD2BA6FD0-41875545-teacher

8th Grade Dance volunteers (parents in grades 5,6,7 only)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4FAFAD2BA6FD0-48715602-anight

If possible, I would like to recommend that parents drive their students to school on the day of field trips. The main reason for this ask is that it will avoid the potential of First Student buses arriving late, after the field trip has already left. I know this may be a big inconvenience, but wanted to share in case it is an option for some families.

Unfortunately we cannot wait for all First Student buses to arrive at ENMS before we leave ENMS to go on our field trips. Our field trips have to leave ENMS by 8:45/9:00am in order to make it to their destination in time for students to enjoy the events. Our field trip buses are covered by Metz, which is a different bussing company. In many instances, we are taking students to Philadelphia and other places that are out of the Norristown area. For example, our 6th grade is going to the Franklin Institute. These trips require us to leave those locations by 1:00-1:30 in order to meet the deadline of all field trips returning to school by 2:15. In order to give our students enough time at the trip destination we need to leave before 9am so we can arrive with enough time to enjoy the experience.

I do understand this may be difficult. I wanted to pass along this information because we will need to leave probably before all of the buses arrive. There is no logistical way for us to wait for all buses to arrive before we leave.

If any student misses the trip due to a late First Student bus, we will refund the cost of the trip to those families.

We have two counselors at ENMS. These individuals should be one of your first points of contact if you need guidance related to any issue or problem your student may be facing during the school year. We can usually resolve issues quickly when parents contact their child's counselor. If you need to speak to your child's counselor their contact information is found below.

5th and 6th grade School Counselor: Ms. Gena Bussell gbussell@nasd.k12.pa.us

7th and 8th grade School Counselor: Ms. Sarah Raimondi sraimondi@nasd.k12.pa.us

All students must have their cellphones turned off and placed in their lockers. Below are the consequences for cellphone violations.

1st-3rd offenses: Teachers will ask the students to turn their phone off and place it in their locker, or ask the student to give it to the teacher. It will be returned to the student at the end of the school day.

4th offense: Students will give their cell phone to a teacher and the teachers will give it to the main office. The parent or guardian must report to the school to pick up the device. Cell phones are placed in a locked safe in the main office until parents arrive. A one-hour office detention will be assigned for each violation.

Chronic cellphone offenses: It is the policy of ENMS that students who chronically violate the cellphone policy despite warnings, parents picking up the phone etc. will not be permitted to bring their cell phone to school. This is not negotiable and even if a parent disagrees with this policy it is still our policy and it will be enforced regardless of parental agreement. I am asking parents to please discuss these rules with your student.

All classrooms and office have telephones inside them. If there is an emergency we have plenty of phones to handle any emergency situation.

ENMS does not have a dress code for our students. Many of our students choose to wear hooded sweatshirts. The only rule we have around hoodies is that students must have their hoods off. We need to see students faces and when students wear hoodies, combined with masks it makes it extremely difficult to recognize a student from a distance. Therefore, students who choose to wear hoodies must leave their hoods pulled down.

If we run into situations where students do not remove their hood they will receive consequences ranging from a simple discussion all the way to a suspension for chronic offenders. This is usually not an issue for us, but I like to remind parents at the start of the year of this policy.

Lastly, students also cannot wear "slides." All students must have shoes that have a back on them. Croc style shoes are fine as long as students wear the strap along the back of them. The biggest issue with slides is the tripping hazard they pose on stairs. Therefore, students cannot wear slides to school. Again, this is not a big issue here at school, but I like to remind parents of those two simple rules around our dress policy.

Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. The program teaches youth and adults how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” BEFORE it is too late. With Safe2Say Something, it’s easy and confidential to report safety concerns to help prevent violence and tragedies.

Here’s how it works:

• Submit an anonymous tip report through the Safe2SaySomething system
• Crisis center reviews, assesses and processes all submissions
• Crisis center sends all submissions to school administration and/or law enforcement for intervention
• If needed, crisis center may contact tipster anonymously through the app