Cheetah Pride Press!

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! We were so happy to welcome our cheetahs back to school this week. Students and staff returned with enthusiasm and optimism about all that a new year promises. After taking a few moments to share holiday and vacation adventures, we got right back to teaching and learning. Grade three had a visit from the CT Science Center, and grade level teams dove into new units of study in ELA and math. And who doesn’t enjoy the first big snowstorm of the season? All of our students left yesterday dreaming about the possibility of a SNOW DAY. And boy did Mother Nature deliver! We hope everyone had a chance to get out and enjoy this beautiful, snowy day. If you haven’t read the classic The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, I encourage you to enjoy this read aloud: https://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/read-aloud/the-snowy-day/

Next week we will begin our mid-year universal assessments. This assessment data is used to measure student growth, and to plan for instruction. Please encourage your students to get plenty of rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and to put forth their best effort.

Classroom Tidbits:

Preschool- Students worked on the letter "K." They worked on forming the letter "K" and making its sound.

Kindergarten- Now that they have learned all letter sounds, students are now working on building CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant).

Grade 1- In Fundations, students explored the ​glued sounds of -ang, -ing, -ong, and -ung to make words such as, sang, sing, song, and sung.

Grade 2- Students worked with long vowel sounds and the “magic /e/." To turn words like slid to slide.

Grade 3- In Fundations, students worked on reviewing syllable types as well as soft "C" soft and "G" rules.

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Joey & Andrea

This month we are working on our Profile of Graduate Principle, Confidence.

During morning announcements we are educating students that confidence is feeling sure about yourself and your abilities! Staff will assist students in building confidence through their daily learning, self reflection, and risk taking.

Linked is 12 tips to assist at home with building confident children.

Lets work together to help our children, "believe in themselves!"

I-Ready

Each year the East Hampton Public Schools administers the i-Ready Diagnostic in Reading and Math in the fall, winter, and spring to monitor student growth and performance. The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning. These results are reviewed as one data point amongst other assessments, observations and data regarding student performance. The assessment is integrated into your child’s day as part of their academic learning and is paced to ensure that they work on the assessment in small chunks of time. The implementation of this assessment is completed in accordance with Connecticut State Department of Education guidelines. I-Ready will begin the week of January 10th.

The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that help our team identify your child’s strengths and determine next steps for instruction. All students in grades 1-5 will continue to have access to i-Ready Instruction after completion of the winter diagnostic. i-Ready Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual strengths and areas for growth. These lessons are interactive and provide strategic supports to keep your child engaged as they learn. Your child’s classroom teacher can provide you additional information on your child’s experience on i-Ready Instruction.

Math and Literacy Intervention Services

The East Hampton Public Schools uses assessment data to measure student growth and skill development in both math and literacy. Through these universal assessments, the reading and math department identifies students who may need additional tiers of support to demonstrate grade level skill attainment. Our reading and math specialists will review progress made on the winter diagnostic, consult with classroom teachers, and review performance on curriculum-based assessments to determine whether or not students may receive additional instructional supports. The reading and math department communicates directly with families regarding any additional services.

Dear parents/guardians,

COVID Information

As I am sure most of you are aware, the quarantine and isolation guidelines have changed once again. Please see the East Hampton updates below. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

Fever or chills

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

IF SYMPTOMS ARE PRESENT:

Those students and staff who are fully vaccinated or not vaccinated and have any symptoms should isolate at

home and get tested with a self-test or at a testing site.

• If test is negative, return to school when fever-free for a least 24 hours and symptoms have improved.
• If test is positive, isolate for 5 days after start of symptoms, and return to school on day 6 as long as fever-free for a least 24 hours and symptoms have improved. (5 days is indicated in the new CDC guidelines.)

NO SYMPTOMS PRESENT:

Those students and staff who are fully vaccinated or not vaccinated who are asymptomatic (NO symptoms)

and have positive test results should isolate at home.

• Isolate for 5 days after test results and return to school on day 6 as long there continue to be no symptoms.

CLOSE CONTACT outside of SCHOOL:

Those students and staff who are fully vaccinated and DO NOT have symptoms:

• Continue with in person learning.
• Recommended: Test for COVID-19 with a self-test or at a testing site 5 days after the exposure.

Those students and staff who are not vaccinated and DO NOT have symptoms:

• Quarantine at home from school and all activities for 5 days from the last exposure.
• Test for COVID-19 with a self-test or at a testing site.
• If the positive individual is a parent, the unvaccinated student must wait for their parent to complete their 5 day isolation before their 5 day quarantine begins. Testing on day 5 after last exposure to the positive individual.

Continued Reminders

*Please bring in an extra set of seasonally appropriate clothing for your child to keep at school. The occasional accident happens and if your child has their own clothing we know that it will fit them and that they will be comfortable.

*With the colder weather here, please make sure your child also has a coat, gloves and a hat labeled with their names. The nurse's office has very limited clothing to spare in case a change or spare is needed.

*We also ask that you bring a labeled water bottle for your child and they can fill it up throughout the day in the water filling stations as needed.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Thank you,

Nurse Katie and Miss Michelle

School Nurse

Memorial Elementary School

20 Smith Street

East Hampton, CT 06424

Phone 860-365-4020 / Fax 860-365-4024

kwilliams@easthamptonct.org / https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/memorial-school

Winter may have just begun, but it is never to early to register for Little League!

East Hampton Little League will be moving to a new website as of January 1, 2022. You can follow the link below or find the link in the attached instructions. Although registration will not open until Jan 1st, we would love for you to create an account so that we can contact you via email with registration reminders and what not.

If you or somebody you know can't afford registration fees or equipment please reach out to me at ehllpres@gmail.com, we have resources to help. If a child is not playing baseball or softball this year it won't be because they couldn't afford it.

Happy Holidays from your friends at the EHLL!

https://clubs.bluesombrero.com/default.aspx?portalid=53644

1/2 -Welcome back to School

1/17- Martin Luther King Day ( No School)

• Please reference the most recent guidance document from Paul Smith.
• The Connecticut General Assembly gave the Governor authority to extend Executive Orders through February 15, 2022. Executive Order No. 9, Section 1, and Executive Order No. 13A, provides the authority to require masks in schools, childcare facilities, and certain higher-risk settings, as well as providing municipal authority to require universal masking in certain settings.
• If a student is quarantined, asynchronous assignments will be provided and communicated by your student's teacher.
• Volunteers and guest speakers are welcomed in the building. All volunteers and guest speakers who enter classrooms, hallways, or other areas where children are located will be required to be vaccinated or submit testing results upon entering the school.

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: jbauer@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/memorial-school
Location: 20 Smith Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ehmemorialschool