EMS

March has arrived and although many things are celebrated in March, in middle school we start to see students more for behavioral concerns. Please remind your child of the importance in school behavior and respect for adults. We have seen an increase lately in discipline referrals and I would like to be proactive with parents sharing the expectation of school at home.

Our students are busy with after-school tutoring, track beginning, and continuing to prepare for the Annie, Jr musical. We have so many great things happening at EMS with our students- please make sure you come out to see these great events. Lastly, we had our PTO bingo fundraiser and appreciate all who came out to support this.

Spring Break is coming this month - we will be out of school March 25-29, 2024. I hope the weather is nice and everyone is able to enjoy spring break!

As we finish the last three weeks of this grading term, please communicate with your child's teacher about missing work and assignments that you have questions about. The last day of the grading term will be Friday, March 22.

Have a great month and as always, please call me if you have any questions or if you would like to set up a time to meet!

Emily Holloway, Principal

We'd like to congratulate our students who worked diligently to earn the distinction of the Honor Roll for the second marking period. At EMS, students are considered for the Honor Roll based on their total GPA (the average of their end-of-term grades for each class). Students who are on the A Honor Roll have a GPA of 4.0. Students on the A/B Honor Roll have a GPA between 3.0 and 3.9. We're excited to acknowledge our Elks who are demonstrating that they are Leaders in Learning!

T2 A Honor Roll

T2 A/B Honor Roll

Attention all 7th Grade Parents!

Applications for the Valley Scholars Program are due March 22, 2024.

Please reach out to Ms. Ogden with any questions.

Click here to access the above flyer.

We're in the month of Easter and Spring!! I don't know about you all but this brings me so much joy! I love to think about all the new life that springs forth in growth and the beautiful blooms that will be coming for us to see starting in this season. The winter months can be hard in many ways but for me I like to use it as a time to rest more and reflect over the whole year of many things that we go through in our lives. Then as we prepare to head into the Spring we are hopefully rested and ready for new growth to come and bloom because we have learned from the previous seasons we have walked through. So that is a little bit of why this season brings me some joy and I hope in looking at it that way it will for you as well.

As we move on into March please keep doing all the things that I’ve continued to share with you each month as a reminder to help your family stay well. Make sure to continue checking your child before sending them to school if they are not feeling well. Check temperatures and keep them home if they truly are sick due to some illnesses. If it’s your normal seasonal issues please be sure to treat them at home so they can be ready for their day once at school and ready for class. If they need to see their doctor please make an appointment and take them in to be seen. Hopefully with getting out in the fresh air a little more now with some pretty days coming, outdoor sports and activities happening it will rid us of some of these viruses that have been rearing their ugly heads.

MEDICATION

OTC medication is the same policy as last year. All parents have to bring in what they want their child to take and fill the “permission to give medication” form out. The bottles have to be brand new, sealed unopened and brought in by the parent/guardian. I do not have many who have done this yet. Per policy we are not allowed to keep what was brought in last year so that has been discarded. I still have many students coming wanting to take things and I don't have anything unless a parent/guardian has supplied it for them.

LUNCH TIME

I have a lot of medical needs this school year. We have numerous students with health needs that need to be in the clinic at certain times for assistance, numerous daily medications and other health emergencies that can arise. So they do take priority. Lunch time is super busy with these daily medical needs, so I do ask that unless a student is actually physically sick or has an emergency during the time of 11-1pm that they’re not sent during those lunch shifts. Please understand why that time is allotted for this and know that emergencies will still be addressed as needed for ALL students.

CARE PLANS

Care Plans and knowing things about our students. I am still continuing to work on putting all care plans into the system as I get information from you, making teachers/admin aware of needs. As a reminder if you do not make us aware of your child’s medical needs, we are not aware of them! If they have asthma, allergic reactions, are diabetic, take daily medication and so on we will need paperwork from their physician with orders regarding this and how they are to be treated at school. The parent/guardian is to bring this information from the doctor along with the emergency medication and talk with me so we can get things updated for your child. PLEASE DO NOT EVEN ASSUME WE KNOW FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR! Things MUST be updated each year as information can change over the summer. **Please continue to do this as things change and need to be updated throughout the school year as well!**

PHYSICALS AND IMMUNIZATIONS

This is your reminder to start thinking about any physicals you will need for sports. For all rising 7th graders you need to have those immunizations done or if you choose not to vaccinate to have the paperwork filled out for your other options. **We must either have the vaccination record for your child or the proper paperwork for your child if your choice is not to vaccinate.** NOW is the time to be scheduling those appointments. Please do not wait or you will not get an appointment in time and be at the last minute trying to get things done before registration for next year.

We are planning a vaccination clinic at ERHS in May for our rising 7th graders. More information will be coming on that and transportation will be provided for those who would like to participate in that. Please be on the lookout for that information to be coming in the coming months' newsletters.

As always thank you for hanging with me through all of the information.

If you have any questions about any of the above please feel free to call the school and ask for me, Nurse Julie between the hours of 8-4. If I am unavailable please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. If you need to drop off medication for your child and would like to work a time out with me to do so around schedules just give me a call and we will work together to figure something out. (p) 540-298-1228.

You may also email me @jshifflett@rockingham.k12.va.us

Blessings,

Julie A. Shifflett
Nurse (Elkton Middle School)

"Hello EMS families! I am SO pleased to announce an Elkton Middle School art show to honor our incredible artists here. This showcase will be happening the same nights as the musical so feel free to stop into the main gym during our open hours! Each student that has taken art 6-8th will have at least one piece in the art show. The beauty and talent these students have is unmatched. There is no cost to the art show so make sure you bring your families and get a picture of your student next to their art. I hope to see you all there!"

March is also Youth Art Month. This month celebrates the young artists and the fantastic work they are doing with art. Just this year, students have created art that incorporates loved ones, their heroes, their favorite places, and the 7th grade 3D class is creating clay sculptures that are based off of South River Elementary students' animal creatures! The diversity of art in our school allows our students to be more creative and have better problem-solving skills. The following link is an awesome article by the Whitby School in Connecticut that explains just 6 life skills that art teaches our students. As our child's art teacher, I focus first on helping your students observe, problem solve, and teach them creative thinking skills before we begin projects. Then, the students dive right into their art and I assist them with any questions they may have.

During this art month, the Valley Smith House in Harrisonburg is having an RCPS artVISION showcase that features four of our Elkton Middle School students. These students are: Trinity Wheeler (8), Elizabeth Comer (8), Miranda Guzman (8), and Everly Good (6). These students' artworks are on display at the Valley Smith House from March 1-29th. The opening reception of this event is on Friday, March 1 from 5-7. I will be attending this grand opening from 5-6 so please drop by and see four examples of the incredible work our students have created this year.

As an art teacher I cannot thank you enough for the support the arts program receives at EMS. From the incredible parents who view, comment, and share their student's artwork on our online art portfolio, Artsonia, to the comments I get when work is in the front showcase from staff. Each and every one of you is appreciated. Have a wonderful Youth Art Month (YAM) and add the upcoming shows to your calendars for a sneak peek into the creative minds at EMS.