EMS Elk Trax (October)

October has arrived and we are off to a great start this year! Fall is beautiful season and one that offers a lot at Elkton Middle. Our teams have been working hard with activities for getting to know one another and cross curricular learning opportunities to see the importance of learning each subject and how it applies in other aspects of life.

Reminder that there is no school for students on October 9 as teachers have a professional learning day. The end of our first term is Thursday, October 26th. There will be no school on Friday, October 27 as teachers have a workday for closing out grades at the end of the nine weeks.

We will focus this month as a school supporting Bullying Prevention Month with activities during advisory. This is a great way for our ELKS to show their support for each other as individuals and for promoting kindness.

I want to give a few reminders that parents have asked about recently:

1. Visitors for lunch - if you want to come eat with your child, we welcome you. Please remember that our cafeteria is small and space does not allow for parents and guests to eat in the lunchroom. We do have a wonderful patio area for you to enjoy lunch with your child together or if the weather isn't cooperating, we will assist with a location inside. Please come to the main office and sign in.

2. Student pick up - please follow the traffic pattern at all times and allow for the time it may take to pick up your child. If you have an appointment, please come before dismissal so there are no safety issues.

3. Assistance with Powerschool or Schoology accounts - feel free to come by the main office or call and speak to Courtney Morris for assistance with your log-in credentials.

I want to remind you that Parent Conference Day is Tuesday, November 7 from 12-7pm. We will be reaching out to you via phone and email to schedule conferences with your child's teachers.

Lastly, I hope you have a wonderful month of October and are able to enjoy the changing colors of the leaves! As always, if you have any concerns, please call us at school!

Emily Holloway, Principal

Now that Fall has officially arrived, we are in full swing with a lot of school activities. You can stay up to date with all that's going on at EMS by checking out the school calendar which is linked on the school website. With athletics, Cross Country and Volleyball are nearing the end of their seasons. The end of season volleyball tournament will be on Saturday, October 7th at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School. The Cross Country Championship Meet will be on Thursday, October 10th at John E. Painter Park in Grottoes. Come cheer on your fellow Elks at these end of season events! I've also loved visiting classrooms and seeing engaging and fun learning activities. I look forward to all this year has to hold at EMS. As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Ms. Campbell works with students with last names A-L.

September has flown by and fall is officially here. There is a lot going on for after school activities in the months ahead. Basketball, cheerleading and wrestling will be happening soon so please be watching for that information. We also have several after school clubs that will be offered in the fall. I encourage everyone to participate in something, we love to have our students involved! Also, please note that the end of the nine weeks is approaching at the end of October. Parents, I encourage you to look at your students' grades, make sure they are turning work in, and reach out to teachers now with any concerns. If I can be of any help also, please let me know.

Ms. Muterspaugh works with students with last names M-Z.

Thank you to students for appropriate behavior in school safety drills thus far this year. We would also like to thank families for your continued cooperation with the student pick up line. This helps to ensure the safety of all students and we appreciate your support in this. At EMS, we value school safety and aim to promote a safe school environment for all. This month we will practice another fire drill. We will also practice an earthquake drill on October 19th at 10:19 (the Great Shakeout).

EMS recognizes October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and one of our own who is currently fighting.

Here we are in October already. Time is moving along!!

As a regular reminder as we head into our months where sickness seems to raise its ugly head. Please make sure to check your child before sending them to school if they are not feeling well. Check temperatures and keep them home if they truly are sick as we are already seeing 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.

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 alloted 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.

DATE TO REMEMBER

Thursday October 26th will be our 7th grade vision/hearing screening day this year.

Vision will be in the cafeteria and hearing will be in the main hall conference room.

Please remember to have your child wear or bring their glasses/contacts on this day if they have them and are supposed to be using them! Try your best to have your child not be absent for this day.

Thank you for hanging with me through all of that information. If you have any questions about any of the above please feel free to call the school and ask for Nurse Julie! I am at the school this year from 8-4pm (p) 540-298-1228.

I look forward to a healthy, happy 2023-24 school year @ EMS!

Our thanks to Lisa Hancock, Rebecca Meadows, Kellie Dearing, Peggy Ritchie & Donna Gooden. We appreciate all of their hard work in the cafeteria!!

The Virginia Farm to School program increases equitable access to fresh, healthy, Virginia grown food while providing hands-on learning opportunities in a variety of educational settings. Across Virginia, schools and community sponsors of federal child nutrition programs express a growing enthusiasm to provide nutritious food, support local farms, and educate students about healthy eating, agriculture, and the environment.

Our FFA is conducting their annual Citrus Fruit Sales October 1 - November 8. December 5 is the anticipated delivery date.

For the very first time, they are adding a wide variety of nuts to the sale.

Order from your favorite FFA member or order online using this link: FRUIT & NUT SALES

Principal: Emily Holloway

Assistant Principal: Michelle Campbell

Assistant Principal: Krystal Muterspaugh

Website: ems.rockingham.k12.va.us
Location: 21063 Blue and Gold Drive, Elkton, VA, USA
Phone: (540) 298-1228
Facebook: facebook.com/ElktonMiddle
Twitter: @ElktonMiddle