The Panther Post

Good afternoon Panther Families,

We hope everyone had a great week! On Monday I will be sharing out a Parentsquare with details pertaining to our fall parent conferences. Team Leaders will follow with a Parentsquare containing the process for signing up for a timeslot on Wednesday. Our conferences will be held on Wednesday November 17th (1:00 - 5:00) and Thursday November 18th (1:00 - 7:30).

We have planned our conferences to provide meaningful feedback on your child's progress both socially and academically. You will have the opportunity to meet with your child's team of teachers who will provide an overview on your child's progress on both their Achievement, how a student is progressing on skills and standards within their content classes, and on their Habits of Success, skills we value as essential to student engagement and learning. However, at any time you may reach out to your child's Team Leader to request a team meeting. As grades are coming to a close in a couple of weeks, please reach out to our main office if you have any questions or need assistance in signing onto the PowerSchool Parent Portal to access your child's most current grades.

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Best,

Christina & Emily

• October 21st - Bus Driver Appreciation Day!
• October 24th - Board of Education Meeting 6:30 PM
• October 31st - Fall Festive Wear Day!
• November 8th & 11th - No School
• November 16th & 17th - Early Release Days for Parent Conferences
• November 23rd - Early Release
• November 24th & 25th - No School

The EarlyAct Club is raising funds for UNICEF: an organization that helps improve the health and wellness of children in over 150 countries and territories.

On Monday, October 31st, students are invited to wear Halloween attire. Students are encouraged to bring in donations of $1 or more that day to help support this fundraiser.

Here are the parameters for appropriate Halloween attire:

• The costume must be school appropriate
• Costume masks or hand-held props are not allowed
• Hats that interfere with the line of sight in a classroom should not be worn
• Students can choose instead to wear Black and Orange
  
• Students can still choose to donate if they do not want to wear Halloween attire

World Language Club is up and running by both Mrs. Abrantes & Mrs. Michalak. All students are welcome to attend and there is no sign up needed. World Language Club met yesterday and held the theme of Día de Los Muertos. The club is excited to take their next travel and will hold their meetings on the third Thursday of every month!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Each month Team Leaders will share an update on current happenings throughout the team. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your child's Team Leader. Contact information is within each newsletter.

Below is access to team's October newsletters. Don't forget to check out Team Amethyst's newsletter. This is our specials and P.E. team.

Enjoy!

8th grade students in Ms. Seeley’s class met for the first time with their dystopian book clubs. Students have been reading their dystopian novels and jotting important details or questions to bring to discussion with their book clubs. Students were given a choice in which novel series they wished to read and study. Some novel choices included “The Giver,” “The Hunger Games,” “Life as We Knew It,” and “City of Ember.”

We are so proud of all the students who were celebrated this week for exemplifying our PBIS pillars. Below are the students from this week!

Students in Mr. Quinn’s 6th grade Math class are currently in the Fractions Unit. Students are learning how to convert whole numbers and mixed numbers into improper fractions which they will use to multiply fractions. Students are strongly encouraged to use their Divisibility Rules to cross simply before multiplying across.

Some of our 7th graders had their first boat trip aboard the Enviro-Lab in Old Lyme. The weather was a bit breezy but the sun was shining bright!

Our SAVE Promise club, the Panther Ambassadors, along with our SAVE Promise advisors Mrs. Mercaldi and Mrs. Vasquez, celebrated National Safe School Week from Monday October 17th through Friday October 21st. This is a nationally recognized week where thousands of schools and youth organizations from across the United States participate to show their commitment in holding safety a priority. Here at EHMS, our commitment as a school community is to make sure that all our students feel connected to peers and adults in a positive way.

Our Fall session of Panther Chefs has started. East Hampton's Director of Food & Nutrition Services Jen Bove along with Ms. Fielding were eager to get our students into the kitchen! Panther Chefs met for the first time and went over the guidelines to keep us all safe and on track in the kitchen. We learned the proper ways to care for and handle knives. Ms. Bove gave a demonstration on cutting vegetables in different ways and then we cut them ourselves to make four different delicious salads/salsas served with corn and cinnamon tortilla chips.

Lots of activities have been running in the morning as well! Wake Up Panthers continues to be available for students to get dropped off early in the morning. We also have Intramurals that gets students up and moving before school. Today was basketball! Student Council held their first meeting today! If your child is ever interested in joining, please reach out to our main office to connect to an advisor.

It is hard to believe that we are already talking about your child's transition to East Hampton High School, however, please save the following date - Tuesday, December 6th at 6:30pm, all current 8th grade families are invited to East Hampton High School for an Incoming 9th Grade Curriculum Night.

On Tuesday we held an 8th Grade Town Hall meeting to have our Capstone Kickoff! 8th grade teachers reviewed what students can expect throughout the year as they each begin to develop their Capstones. Similar to the High School Capstone Project, students will create their own project, or may explore an academic interest, social service, or a creative endeavor. Basic program requirements include research in the area of study, a progress journal log, a press release infographic, a position paper with works cited, an online portfolio of their research, and a final presentation. During the first phase of the project, students will create a proposal of their capstone work in a presentation that will be shared with you by their ELA teacher.

Each year we are blown away by the projects presented at our Capstone Convention which will be held this year on Wednesday May 24th at 6:30. Linked you will find the Capstone Family Presentation which is similar to the Kick-off Presentation showed to students on Tuesday. Additionally, linked is the Capstone Handbook that was sent out on Parentsquare.

We will continue to communicate specifics regarding Capstone and answer any of your questions that come up regarding the project.

All students are required to have proper footwear for physical education classes. Acceptable footwear are sneakers/tennis shoes/gym shoes that have closed toes and heels, covering the entire foot, which will allow your child to safely participate in all activities. Shoes unsuitable for physical education include but are not limited to are, boots, sandals, shoes with very thick soles, dress shoes, hiking boots, cleats, snow boots, flip-flops, crocs, and wedges. Please help us in providing the best physical education experience possible by sending your child/children to school with their gym shoes. If there are any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mr. Landry, Mrs. Terribile or Mr. Doherty.

Thank you for your cooperation!

The EHMS Physical Education Department

Just a reminder that teams have been sending out posts pertaining to Team Spirit T-Shirts! There are several times throughout the school year, where students are encouraged to wear their team color. This fundraiser is a great opportunity to show our team spirit. Starting now through October 21st, we are selling Team T-shirts! Shirts are only $15 and will be delivered during homeroom the second week of November.

Once you click on the link, find the team T Shirt and order through there. If you have multiple children in school, you will need to complete separate orders per team. Please reach out to your child's team leader if you have any questions!

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/eas

Effectively immediately, the following email addresses can be used by parents to report and document their approval of an absence:

Memorial_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

Center_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

EHMS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

EHHS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

If you have successfully emailed the school, you will receive an autoreply that notifies you that the absence communication has been received and recorded. This process is effective for your child for the first 9 absences. After your student has more than 9 absences, additional documentation or communication is required to excuse the absence. However, please continue to use the email designated for your child's school to continue to notify the school that your child will be absent. You may call your child’s school at any time to report an absence, as well.

Message from Mrs. Hafele:

Just a reminder, gym excusals will only be accepted if there is a physician or parent note. Physical Education is an important part of growth and development, and students should participate when able.

We are in need of Clothing donations for our students. We would happily except sizes Youth 12/14 to Adult sizes.

It is cold and flu season! Just a reminder that we do not carry any cold medications in the health office, so please ensure that students have taken what they need at home before coming to school. Any student with a fever will be sent home and must be fever free for 24 hours prior to their return to school. Students may bring cough drops (for themselves only) to school, if needed. Let’s work together to stay well!

Some reminders:

• Water Bottles: remember to send in water bottles with your child!
• Medications: Even if your child is planning on carrying their inhaler or EpiPen, please remember that they are required to submit a medication authorization form filled out by their doctor. Also, please be sure to drop off any medications that we need to have on hand if we have the medication authorization form allowing us to administer.
• OTC Permission: Each year we need a new form giving the school nurse permission to administer over-the-counter medications such as; acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or antacid throughout the year, please obtain a copy and return it as soon as possible.

If at any point you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at khafele@easthamptonct.org or call the school office at 860-365-4060.

Thank you!

Mrs. Hafele

The East Hampton Board of Education and the school community as a whole promote a secure and productive school climate, conducive to teaching and learning that is free from threat, harassment, any type of bullying behavior, and teen dating violence. Therefore it shall be the policy of the Board that bullying and/or teen dating violence committed against a student by another student is prohibited. The Board believes that a school environment in which students feel safe, supported, engaged and helpfully challenged is optimal for learning and healthy development. The Board seeks an environment in which students and adults feel socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically safe; an environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, teen dating violence and bullying. Our website provides links to various policies and reporting forms including our Safe School Climate Plan. Hard copies are also available in our main office. If at any point you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to building administration for further assistance.

Our Fall season has concluded.

We thank all our coaches, students and families for a great season!

Winter sports (Girls & Boys Basketball and Cheerleading) will be starting in a couple of weeks.

To sign up please visit https://account.familyid.com/.

Registration closes on November 7th.

If your child is having any Chromebook or technology issues please click on the link below to do some troubleshooting: EHMS TroubleShooting Tips

If the troubleshooting doesn't work click on the link below to submit an IT work ticket:

Chromebook Trouble Ticket

Please encourage your child to take pride and care in their device. Below is a video to review the proper care of Chromebooks with your child.

Board of Education Statement on School Safety:

The East Hampton Board of Education is committed to a safe and secure learning environment that honors and celebrates the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. The Board of Education in partnership with the school community will not tolerate any threat of violence in the schools or any hate speech that targets any race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Each student is held to the highest standards of responsible decision making within a culture that is expected to foster compassion, caring, and empathy.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools:

The school community of East Hampton is committed to the mission of honoring and celebrating the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. We strive to guide our students to conscious, deliberate, individual and collective actions that cultivate the respect of all races, religions, and social backgrounds. Our school community endeavors to produce graduates who are equipped with a greater understanding of the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Nondiscrimination Statement of the East Hampton Public Schools:

The East Hampton Board of Education, in compliance with federal and state law, affirms its policy of equal educational opportunity for all students and equal employment opportunity for all persons. It is the policy of the District to promote nondiscrimination and an environment free of harassment regardless of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability (including but not limited to, intellectual disability, past or present history of mental disorder, physical disability, or learning disability), genetic information, marital status, or age or because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetic information, marital status, or age of any persons with whom the individual associates. The District shall provide to all students without discrimination, course offerings, counseling, assistance, employment, athletics, and extracurricular activities. The District shall provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The District shall make reasonable accommodations for identified physical and mental impairments that constitute disabilities, consistent with federal and state statutes and regulations.

Email: camaral@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/ehms
Location: 19 Childs Road, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: (860) 365 4060