Bellringer Newsletter

Good afternoon. It's hard to believe that we are already into October and the Columbus Day Holiday is right around the corner. Please look for the Bellringer Newsletter every Friday afternoon for important updates throughout the school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at everner@easthamptonct.org.

• October 5--8---Senior Class Washington DC Trip
• October 9--Professional Development--No School
• October 12---No School--Columbus Day
• October 14---PSAT Testing--Grades 9, 10, and 11
• October 14--College/Career visitation day--No Classes--Grade 12--ONLY
• November 3--Election Day--Professional Development--No Classes
• November 10--EHHS Veterans Day Ceremony
• November 11---No School Veterans Day
• November 12--EHHS Fall Concert
• November 18+19--EHHS Parent Teacher Conferences/Early Dismissal
• November 19--DECA Bingo Night
• November 23--Fall Sports Awards
• November 24--Senior Dinner--Glastonbury Hills CC
• November 25--Early Dismissal
• November 26--29--Thanksgiving Recess
• December 23--Early Release--12:10 Dismissal
• December 24--January 3--Winter Recess
• January 4--Classes Resume
• January 18--MLK Day--No School
• January 21, 22, 25, and 26--EHHS Mid-Year Exams

🎖️ VETERANS BREAKFAST & ASSEMBLY

We welcome EHHS student family members who are veterans or active service members to join us for a special morning of gratitude and remembrance.

📅 Tuesday, November 10th
☕ Breakfast: 8:45 AM
Assembly: 9:30 AM

Veterans and active service members may attend with their son/daughter, niece/nephew, or grandchild who attends EHHS.

👉 RSVP for the Breakfast & Assembly

FIELD OF FLAGS

Honor a Hero with a Flag

Honor a veteran or active service member by purchasing a flag bearing their name. Flags will be proudly displayed on the EHHS front lawn during Veterans Day week.

Suggested donation: $5

Proceeds benefit VFW Post 5095 and support our Bellringers in Service Photo Gallery.

👉 Purchase a Flag

📸 BELLRINGERS IN SERVICE

Remembering Those Who Served

Our Bellringers in Service photo gallery will honor former EHHS students who are veterans or currently serving in the military.

The gallery will help us preserve their legacy, celebrate their service, and inspire future Bellringers.

Know a former Bellringer who served or is currently serving?

👉 Submit a Photo & Information

❤️ THANK YOU FOR HELPING US HONOR THOSE WHO SERVE!

Your support helps EHHS recognize the courage, sacrifice, and service of the veterans and active service members in our community.

Questions?
Please contact Mrs. LaBonte at slabonte@easthamptonct.org

EHHS completed the final two lessons for the No Place for Hate program through the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Last Thursday students explored intent vs. impact, learning about the reasons there may be disconnect between the intent of our words versus their impact. This past Thursday, students learned about the power of words, bias, and how to be an ally when situations of bias and stereotyping arise. In the culminating activity, students used their power of words for good to send positive messages to their peers that they will receive next week!

EHHS is now officially recognized as a No Place for Hate school through the ADL! Thank you to all students for your participation in the three activities and thank you very much for teachers and staff for delivering and facilitating these lessons.

EHHS Project Graduation Committee

EHHS Project Graduation

@EHHSProjectGraduation

www.EHHSprojectgraduation.com

East Hampton is excited to host over 50 college visits this school year. The admissions representatives who visit our school are often the same people who read our student's applications. Students can sign up for a college visit by logging into their Naviance account, click "Colleges" at the top, then "College Visits." A list of upcoming visits will appear and students can click "Register" located to the right of the college name. Students should be sure to take note of the visit in their Google Calendars to ensure they do not forget!

• CT State Community College: Monday, October 5th @ 9:10am
• Emmanuel College: Monday, October 5th @ 9:56am
• Eastern CT State University: Monday, October 5th @ 10:42am
• Rhode Island College: Tuesday, October 6th @ 10:02am
• Wheaton College: Tuesday, October 6th @ 12:28pm
• Bennington College: Wednesday, October 7th @ 12:28pm
• University of New England: Thursday, October 8th @ 8:31am
• University of Hartford: Thursday, October 8th @ 12:28pm
• Hofstra University: Tuesday, October 13th @ 12:28pm
• High Point University: Thursday, October 15th @ 7:45am
• University of Connecticut: Thursday, October 15th @ 8:31am
• University of New Hampshire: Thursday, October 15th @ 12:28pm
• University of Mass - Lowell: Friday, October 16th @ 7:45am
• Quinnipiac University: Friday, October 16th @ 8:31am
• Sacred Heart University: Friday, October 16th @ 10:02am
• Keene State College: Monday, October 19th @ 12:47pm
• Albertus Magnus College: Tuesday, October 20th @ 12:28pm
• University of Scranton: Wednesday, October 21st @ 7:45am
• Lincoln Tech - East Windsor: Wednesday, October 21st @ 10:02am
• Marist University: Wednesday, October 21st @ 12:28pm
• Springfield College: Friday, October 23rd @ 10:02am
• Merrimack College: Friday, October 23rd @ 12:28pm
• University of Maine: Monday, October 26th @ 9:10am
• Western New England University: Tuesday, October 27th @ 12:28pm
• University of Mass - Dartmouth: Wednesday, October 28th @ 12:28pm
• Salve Regina University: Thursday, October 29th @ 7:45am
• Seton Hall University: Friday, October 30th @ 7:45am
• University of Rhode Island: Friday, October 30th @ 12:28pm
• Saint Anselm College: Wednesday, November 4th @ 12:28pm
• Colby-Sawyer College: Thursday, November 12th @ 10:02am

Each year, the University of Connecticut awards full cost-of-attendance scholarships to some of their most talented applicants. If students are interested in applying for either the Day of Pride Scholarship, Nutmeg Scholarship, or Stamps Scholarship, they have until Sunday, November 1st to do so. As a reminder, applicants may only apply to, and be considered for, one of these three highly competitive awards. More information about each scholarship can be found in the links below.

• Day of Pride Scholarship
• Nutmeg Scholarship
• Stamps Scholarship

Students who are currently taking an ECE (UConn) course at EHHS will need to register through UConn to earn credit. This is inclusive of courses in the spring semester. Registration opened on September 16th and will close on October 16th. See the link below for additional ECE information

https://ece.uconn.edu/students-parents/

*Please note, if you previously enrolled in CE Personal Financial Literacy or any other ECE course, you should use the same Dual Enrollment account to register for your 2026/27 courses. DO NOT CREATE A DUPLICATE ACCOUNT.

Registration Information: https://ece.uconn.edu/students-parents/student-registration/

• Opened: September 16, 2026 (including courses in the spring semester)
• Closes: October 16, 2026 (the process is multistep, you must begin registration in advance to meet the deadlines)

Program Costs:
$50 per credit, paid directly to UConn through the enrollment portal. There may be an additional processing fee set by UConn.

Fee Waivers: Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch must indicate this during registration to have fees waived.

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

Click Here or Scan QR Code For Contact Info

cell (860) 338-3134

Walt Jedziniak Photography Website

Leave a Google Review!

Purchase an eGift Card

Follow Me on Instagram!

Set up a 15 minute phone consultation!

The Profile of the Graduate Portfolio process has begun for the class of 2030. Students develop 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. By the end of the school year, students will have written about each of the values and uploaded examples of their work. Ultimately, this ongoing work is a graduation requirement and part of their Senior Capstone.

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.

All East Hampton students are covered by a school district insurance policy covering injuries incurred during school sponsored and supervised athletic events or practices, extracurricular activities, intramural programs, field trips, and gym. Injuries must be promptly reported to supervising adults and claims are initiated through the school nurse’s office. Further information is found here: www.bollingerschools.com. Any other possible but unlikely injury to students occurring on school grounds or in our buildings would not be covered by the school’s accident policy. Parents who desire additional medical coverage may purchase a voluntary student accident policy directly at https://www.bollingerschools.com/site/parents/purchase-coverage.aspx. Please evaluate your family’s personal current medical coverage to determine if additional coverage may be needed.

School Meals are a great value to our students! Prepayment is expected for all cafeteria purchase.

School Breakfast Facts

A great breakfast program is offered at school every day!

Here are some fun facts about school breakfast:

· It’s easy! Instead of running around in the morning trying to make sure your children eat a healthy meal, let us do the work. They can get a great breakfast at school, and there will be no dishes for you to wash!

· It’s affordable! If qualified, your child may be able to get breakfast at a reduced price or for free. If your child already eats a free or lunch, they automatically qualify for a free or reduced price breakfast.

· It’s tasty! Schools now have more variety to choose from when deciding what to offer your children for breakfast. Request a menu so you can view what your child may be eating at school.

· It’s good for the brain! Research suggests that not having breakfast can affect children’s intellectual performance (CDC).

Please use the link below to set up an online meal account for your child or apply for free or reduced meals.

https://easthampton.familyportal.cloud/

For questions or concerns, contact Kate Caselli, Director of Nutrition Services at kcaselli@easthamptonct.org or 860.316.7324"

EHHS Lunch Menu

Families eligible for free and reduced meals may qualify by completing an application online on Easthampton.familyportal.cloud or by paper application here: Application for Free and Reduced School Meals(also available in the school’s Main Office). Families with children enrolled in HUSKY or Temporary Family Assistance programs will have their status transmitted directly by the State of Connecticut to the District.

To deposit funds on your child’s account, please visit Easthampton.familyportal.cloud . Our Cafeterias also accept checks made payable to “East Hampton Cafeteria Fund”.

If you have questions, please contact Director of Nutrition Services, Kate Caselli at kcaselli@easthamptonct.org or 860.316.7324.

It’s not too late to enroll your children in the healthcare services at [Insert School Name Here}’s School-Based Health Care (SBHC) Clinic!

We know how challenging it can be to navigate work, school, and extracurricular activities. Let Community Health Center, Inc.’s School-Based Health Care take one thing off your plate with high-quality healthcare services offered right in your student’s school.

Check some things off your to-do list, like:

✅ Sports Physicals

✅ Flu Shots

✅ Therapy Sessions

✅ Dental Cleanings

✅ And more!

Find out which services are offered at your school and enroll your child(ren) today at sbhc1.com!

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

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

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.

Parents are asked to join our schools and speak to children about marijuana edibles. While legal for purchase by adults in CT, please note that the psychoactive ingredient, THC, is still considered a controlled substance in school.

We have had recent incidents at the High School of students consuming THC gummy candies - with and without knowing what they contain.

The school district treats consumption and distribution of a controlled substance very seriously. Students who ingest or bring gummies to school will face consequences up to and including 10-days of suspension. Those who distribute gummies on school grounds will face consequences up to and including expulsion from school.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/substance-abuse/Pages/Edible-Marijuana-Dangers.aspx

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