Bellringer Newsletter

Good morning. EHHS continues to be a very busy place for all of our students. Fall sports are in full swing as they prepare for conference and state tournament competition. Our music students will be performing in a few weeks and clubs and activities are meeting regularly. Please continue to check the Important Dates and Reminders section of the Bellringer Newsletter for a schedule of upcoming events. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at everner@easthamptonct.org.

• October 16--Breast Cancer Awareness-Manis for a Cure and Dig Pink Game
• October 31--End of 1st Quarter
• November 4--Turkey Plunge at Sears Park
• November 7---No School---Election Day/Professional Development
• November 9---Veterans Day Ceremony
• November 9--EHHS Fall Concert
• November 10--No School--Veterans Day
• November 15 + 16--Early Dismissal--Parent Teacher Conferences
• November 22--Early Dismissal
• November 23--26--Thanksgiving Recess
• December 7--8th Grade Parent Evening
• December 22--Early Dismissal
• December 23--January 1--Holiday Vacation
• January 15--No School--MLK Day
• January 18, 19, 22, and 23---Mid-Year Exams

We are eager to continue to honor our veterans and have a day of remembrance and gratitude at East Hampton High School. We would like to welcome any former Bellringers and those in the community that are veterans or actively enlisted in the armed forces to EHHS’s 8th Annual Veterans Day Breakfast and Assembly. The breakfast and assembly will be held on Thursday, November 9th, and will begin at 8:30AM. Please complete the form below to RSVP. This will assist us in creating an ongoing contact list of Bellringers and East Hampton community members we can honor during Veterans Day.

Please contact Mrs. LaBonte with any questions at slabonte@easthamptonct.org.

RSVP form: https://forms.gle/Tye2nLiuSMAFpDbP6

Varsity Boys Soccer defeated New Britain 6-0 and North Branford 10-1 and was defeated by Old Saybrook 0-1. They are scheduled to play HK at home on Monday, at home vs Portland on Wednesday on Senior Night, at home on Friday vs Cromwell and at Granby on Saturday. Their current record is 9-1.

Junior Varsity Boys Soccer was defeated by Old Saybrook 0-2. They are scheduled to play at Valley Regional on Wednesday and at Granby on Saturday. Their current record is 3-1-1.

Varsity Girls Soccer tied East Catholic 0-0 and was defeated by Old Saybrook 0-1. They are scheduled to play at HK on Tuesday, at home vs Bolton on Wednesday and at Lyman Memorial on Saturday. Their current record is 3-5-2.

Varsity Boys Cross Country ran at home at the Bellringer Invitational. They are scheduled to run in the Shoreline Conference Championship meet on Thursday at Hammonasset State Park.

Varsity Girls Cross Country ran at home at the Bellringer Invitational. They are scheduled to run in the Shoreline Conference Championship meet on Thursday at Hammonasset State Park.

Varsity Volleyball defeated The Morgan School 3-0, Valley Regional 3-1 and Portland 3-0. They are scheduled to play at home vs Cromwell on Monday in the Dig Pink game, at HK on Wednesday and at Lyme-Old Lyme on Friday. Their current record is 13-1.

Junior Varsity Volleyball defeated The Morgan School 2-0 and Portland 2-0. They are scheduled to play at home vs Cromwell on Monday, at H-K on Wednesday and at Lyme-Old Lyme on Friday. Their current season record is 9-3.

Varsity Football was defeated by Old Saybrook/Westbrook/The Morgan School co-op 0-40. They are scheduled to play at home vs Valley Regional/Lyme-Old Lyme on Friday. Their current season record is 3-1.

Junior Varsity Football . They are scheduled to play at Valley Regional/Lyme-Old Lyme on Saturday.

Winter Athletics Registration is open on FamilyID.com

All athletic schedules, directions and results may be found at CIACSPORTS.com.

Financial Aid Night:

On Thursday, October 19th at 6:30pm the School Counseling Department is hosting its annual Financial Aid Night featuring guest speaker Craig Breitsprecher, BFA from Thrivepoint Financial. There are significant changes to FAFSA for the 2023/24 year, so it is very important for families of seniors to attend, whether they've filled out the FAFSA in previous years or not. We also encourage families from all grade levels to attend to get an earlier understanding of financial aid. This presentation will last approximately one hour, and will be held in the high school auditorium.

AP Exam Registration:

All students in AP classes were given a registration form that must be completed and handed in with payment by November 1st. The student portion of the AP exam is $49. Payment may be made via check to EHHS or online through www.easthamptonps.org. Please reach out to Mrs. Rodowicz, Director of Guidance, at mrodowicz@easthamptonps.org with any questions.

Workshop Wednesday:

The School Counseling Department is offering the following Workshop Wednesday's. Students are encouraged to attend these sessions to learn more about the various topics, or as a time to work on their college applications with guided support. Students can sign up for Workshop Wednesday via the Class of 2024 School Counseling Google Classroom. Seniors who are not currently enrolled in the Class of 2024 School Counseling Google Classroom can join by using the code wl5u4ve

• October 18th: Common App & Adding Colleges
• October 25th: The College Essay
• November 1st: Requesting Transcripts and Letters of Recommendation

Upcoming College Visits

Students who are interested in visiting with one of the colleges listed below must sign up at least 24 hours in advance by logging into their Naviance account. They should look under the "What's New" section on the right side of the page. There they will find a "register" button. Students who need assistance signing up should go to the guidance office and speak with Mrs. Bullett.

• Western New England University: Monday, October 16th @ 12:47pm
• Eastern Connecticut State University: Wednesday, October 18th @ 10:02am
• University of New England: Monday, October 23rd @ 9:56am
• Binghamton University: Tuesday, October 24th @ 7:45am
• Quinnipiac University: Tuesday, October 24th @ 10:02am
• Sacred Heart University: Tuesday, October 24th @ 12:27pm
• Keene State College: Tuesday, October 24th @ 1:24pm

Available Scholarships:

The school counseling department advertises a number of scholarships through Naviance. There are currently two scholarships available. Students interested in applying for scholarships should log into their Naviance account, click "Colleges" then click "Scholarship Search" which is located towards the right side of the page. By clicking on the name of the scholarship, students can get more information and a link if the scholarship is internet based or they can download the application if it is a paper-based application. All paper-based applications should be completed and brought to the guidance department where a transcript and letter of recommendation will be added as needed. Please see Mrs. Bullett, in the guidance office, if you have any questions.

• Most Valuable Student (MVS) Contest: Deadline 11/13/23

UConn Regional Campus Open House Opportunities:

Students at East Hampton High School are invited to attend a Fall Campus Visit Day at any of UConn's four regional campuses. These open house opportunities vary by campus, but typically include a combination of academic sessions, admissions and financial aid presentations, student panels, and campus tours.

• Avery Point: Saturday, October 28th @ 10:00am
• Hartford: Saturday, November 4th @ 9:00am
• Stamford: Saturday, September 23rd @ 10:00am & 1:00pm; Saturday, October 21st @ 10:00am or 1:00pm; Saturday, November 18th @ 10:00am or 1:00pm

Welcome to a new school year at EHHS! Please join us at the first EHHS PTO / Principal’s Advisory Meeting of the year to say hello and learn more about how you can help.

Wednesday, October 25th at 5:30pm in the EHHS library

We will discuss plans for the Election Day Bake Sale, November teacher conference dinner, graduation lawn signs and ideas for fundraisers. We are seeking committee co-chairs to work with a PTO Board member on both the Election Day Bake Sale and graduation lawn sign projects. Come learn the ropes as we plan these annual events!

The funds we raise as a PTO support senior scholarships, advisory activities, teacher / staff appreciation meals, field trips and teacher mini grants.

We look forward to seeing you!

EHHS PTO

ptoehhs@gmail.com

EHHS Project Graduation, what we do and who we are.

Thanks

Cyndi Buchan

Chair, EHHS Project Graduation

@EHHSProjectGraduation

www.EHHSprojectgraduation.com

Yearbooks are now available for purchase at www.jostens.com. Ordering your yearbook now ensures a copy is reserved for your child. Please visit the website to preorder!

Senior portraits are still happening through September and October. If you haven't been photographed yet, please call the company to make an appointment; we're running out of time!

Please don't hesitate to reach out to either company or to Mrs. Flannery cflannery@easthamptonct.org if you have any questions.

Harvest of the Month

Our Harvest of the month is apples and all our apples at the High School are local. Beckett Farms in Glastonbury is our main apple supplier, there is just nothing better than a farm fresh apple picked ripe from the tree!

Lunch They’ll Love to Munch:

Next week we are highlighting a favorite recipe from one of our favorite kitchen staff! Ms. Luisa is making Tostadas (kind of like a flat crispy taco) on Tuesday for the students based on a recipe from her home country of Guatemala! It will be served with Guatemalan Street corn, which is similar to Mexican street corn, but with a twist!! We hope your kids will try an authentic Guatemalan recipe cooked with love by Ms. Luisa!

The EHHS LMC will be open after school until 4:00, Monday--Thursday beginning on Tuesday, September 5th. The LMC will be open for quiet study, reading time, or research opportunities. Please note, on early dissmisal days, the LMC will not be available.

The Profile of the Graduate Portfolio process has begun for the classes of 2025, 2026, and, 2027. Students are developing a Google Site that they will use over the course of their high school career to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate their growth and development of the five attributes in the East Hampton Public Schools: compassion, innovation, perseverance, collaboration, and active learning. This portfolio will display various achievements, projects, and activities over the course of the high school experience that will show attainment of skills, broadening of horizons, and pursuit of passions. Students will reflect on experiences, strengths, and abilities to confidently approach challenges. During XBlock students used a template developed by the Portfolio Committee, wrote a brief autobiography and are crafting their paragraphs explaining their understanding of the core values. By the end of the school year, students will have written about each of the values and uploaded examples of their work. Ultimately, this work will become part of their Senior Capstone beginning with the Class of 2025.

The East Hampton Public Schools is proud to introduce School Based Health Centers in each of our schools. Soon, enrolled students will be able to receive behavioral health services during the school day. The School-Based Health Care (SBHC) staff are licensed health care providers, who are able to deliver behavioral health services to students during the school day. They work in conjunction with the student’s primary care providers to support their social, emotional, and behavioral health care needs. SBHC is proud to serve over 17,000 students throughout Connecticut.

During student drop-off in the moring and pick-up in the afternoon, please refrain from using the Bus Lane. At these times (7:00--7:25 and 2:00--2:25) cars are not allowed in the Bus Lane as vehicles block the busses and present a safety hazard to students. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Please review the EHHS Attendance Policy and Student Handbook as they contain important information.

Per the East Hampton Board of Education’s Attendance Policy and Connecticut statute, parents and guardians may only approve the first 9 absences of the school year with a parent note. Absences 10 and above can only be excused with further documentation and under specific circumstances.

In addition, if a student has four unexcused absences in one month or 10 unexcused absences in a year they are classified as truant. If a child misses 18 or more days in a school year – excused or unexcused absences – the student is classified as chronically absent.

Access to the East Hampton attendance policy is available HERE

It is also necessary for a student to be present at least half of the school day for the student to be recorded as present. When a student arrives after the mid-day point or leaves before it, the day cannot be counted for that student. Building principals will share the specific times in their communications with families.

A student is considered to be “in attendance” if present at his/her assigned school, or an activity.

sponsored by the school (e.g., field trip), for at least half of the regular school day.

At East Hampton High School, half of the regular school day arrives at 10:55 a.m. This means that if a student arrives after 10:55, even with a note, the student will be marked Tardy Absent. If a student dismisses prior to 10:55 and does not return to school, the student will be marked Early Dismissal Absent. Please contact the school with any questions regarding our attendance policies.

To increase the ease of reporting an absence and documenting parent approval of the absence for a student’s first 9 absences, the East Hampton Public Schools has created email addresses that parents can use to contact their student’s school and report an absence. Effectively immediately, the following email addresses can be used by parents to report and document their approval of an absence:

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 student’s first 9 absences. After your student has more than 9 absences, additional documentation or communication will be required to excuse the absence. Please use the email to continue to notify the school that your child will not attend. You may call your child’s school at any time to report an absence, as well.

Students, parents, and community members will have access to an anonymous tip line on the front page of the school district website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. Please view the front page of the website at https://www.easthamptonps.org

We are excited to launch our new Bellringer Sideline Store! The store is available 24/7 and ships directly to you!!!

Please see the link below to grab your Bellringer gear

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/connecticut/easthampton/east-hampton-high-school

Students who are being dismissed due to illness, MUST FIRST see the School Nurse. Additionally, we ask that parents familiarize themselves with our attendance policy which is in the EHHS Student Handbook. Some of the main policies/procedures that we are mut be followed are listed below:

• EARLY DISMISSALS: A written request (no phone calls) from a parent or guardian must be presented to the main office before school begins so student may obtain an early dismissal slip. Students will wait in the main office for their parent/guardian to call the office and we will send your child out to meet you after they sign-out.
• NURSE DISMISSALS: In case of illness during school, dismissal will be arranged through the school nurse, or in her absence, through the office. Students feeling ill should report directly to the nurse's office. Students should not be texting or calling home when not feeling well.

Please note that having a parent’s written request before the start of the day allows the students name to appear on the Daily Attendance sheet so their teachers will be aware that they may not be in class on that day. This also eliminates the office staff from calling in and disrupting a classroom to dismiss the student. We do realize that there may be occasions when you may need to unexpectedly pick your child up early. In those cases we will call the student down when the parent/guardian arrives to the school.

Students that are dismissed from school will not be allowed to return without appropriate documentation from their visit/provider. In the event that doucmentation is not available, a parent will be required to sign their student into the main office upon return.

1. Dropping off on items--the table to drop off items for students has been moved inside the first set of doors. Parents will be able to drop items of for students, but will no longer be admitted to the main lobby.
2. Appointments--for security reasons, parents and visitors who are requesting to meet with a teacher or administration should call in advance to ensure that the requested party is available to meet rather than show up unannounced.
3. Effective immediately, there is an anonymous tip line to enhance a safe environment in our schools. Students, parents, and community members have access to the front page of the website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. https://www.easthamptonps.org/

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.

As a reminder to members of our school community, Board Policy #5145.122 allows the schools to work with the East Hampton Police Department to protect the health and safety of students and staff by conducting sweeps of school property by trained sniffing dogs. Please review the policy and procedures below. Our goal is to ensure that the East Hampton Schools are free of illegal substances. Annually, we provide notice of this policy to our school community. Should a sweep be conducted, parents and the Board of Education will be notified upon completion.

Use of Dogs to Sweep School Property

The Board permits the administration to invite law enforcement agencies to sweep school property with dogs trained for the purpose of detecting the presence of illegal substances, when necessary to protect the health and safety of students, employees or property or to detect the presence of illegal substances or contraband, including alcohol and/or drugs. The use of trained canine sniffing dogs and their associated law enforcement personnel is for the purpose of “alerting” on property only, and is subject to the following:

1. Parents and students shall be notified of this policy through its inclusion in the student/ parent handbook and the Superintendent and Principal or their designees, shall explain the policies and procedures followed in sweeps and searches to students and staff on an annual basis. Once notification has been given to parents and students through the handbook and assembly respectively, the school district will have met its obligation to advertise the sweep and search policy and associated procedure. Additional notices need not be given and actual times or dates of planned sweeps need not be released in advance.

2. The Superintendent or designee shall authorize the sweep. Immediately prior to the sweep, an announcement will be made for students and staff to ‘stay put’ in their classrooms while the sweep is taking place. Representatives from school administration shall accompany dogs and handlers while on school premises.

3. The Board shall be informed by the Superintendent of Schools that a sweep has taken place.

4. Parents shall be informed through the school’s mass communication system by the Superintendent of Schools that a sweep has taken place.

5. All school property which students have access to during the day, such as lockers, classrooms, parking areas and storage areas may be swept.

6. Individuals shall not be subjected to a search by dogs.

a. Dogs shall not be used in rooms occupied by persons except for demonstration purposes. The handler and representative from school administration will always be present with the dogs

b. When used for demonstration purposes, the dog may not sniff any student and/or staff.

7. Only the dog’s official handler will determine what constitutes an alert by the dog. If the dog alerts on a particular item or place, that locker or vehicle will be identified for later search. Upon completion of the sweep, the school administration will then search the identified property in the presence of a witness.

8. Searches that disclose evidence of misconduct shall result in disciplinary consequences in accordance with Board policy and may also result in referral to law enforcement agencies.

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

Policy adopted: March 15, 2016

10-221 Boards of education to prescribe rules.

New Jersey v T.L.O., 53 U.S.L.W. 4083 (1985)

54-33n Search of school lockers and property

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.

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: everner@easthamptonct.org
Website: www.easthamptonps.org
Location: 15 North Maple Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4030
Twitter: @EH_CTPrincipal