The Panther Post

Good afternoon,

A reminder that the first quarter is approaching its end on October 31st. If you have any concerns about your child's grades, please don't hesitate to contact their teacher. Should you wish to meet with your child's teachers, feel free to reach out to the Team Leader to schedule a meeting.

Fall Parent Conferences will be held on Wednesday, November 12, from 1:00-5:00 and Thursday, November 13, from 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 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. Each teacher will send out their sign ups for a five minute conference. Sign ups will be sent out towards the end of October. You will sign up for which teachers you would like to meet with. If you are looking to set up a team meeting, please reach out to your child's Team Leader.

Team 6: Mrs. McCabe - tmccabe@easthamptonct.org

Team 7: Mrs. Luukko- kcates@easthamptonct.org

Team 8: Mrs. Berube - mberube@easthamptonct.org

Best,

Christina & Emily

Mon. Oct 27th - Board of Education Meeting, Town Hall, 6:30pm

Thurs. Oct 30th - Retake Picture Day!

Tues. Nov 4th - Staff Professional Development - No school

Wed. Nov 12th - Early Release for students due to parent conferences

Thurs. Nov 13th - Early Release for students due to parent conferences

Wed. Nov 26th - Early Release for students

Thurs Nov 27th - 28th - Thanksgiving Recess

Our sixth graders have just kicked off Unit 2 in Illustrative Math, where they’ll be exploring ratios and rates. Students will learn how to compare quantities in real-world situations, create ratio tables, and use double number lines to solve problems. This unit is all about building a strong foundation for proportional reasoning, which will be essential throughout middle school math. We’re excited to see students making connections between math and everyday life!

Both sixth and seventh graders have been building a strong sense of classroom community while growing their reading and discussion skills through whole-class novels. Sixth graders have been reading House Arrest by K.A. Holt and meeting in groups to talk about the story’s themes of family, perseverance, and personal growth. Seventh graders have been reading Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, learning how authors develop characters and how stories help us understand others’ experiences. These shared reading experiences are helping students think deeply about what they read, share ideas with classmates, and enjoy great books together. Eighth grade students will be participating in a whole class novel experience in the spring.

Below are students who received Positive Office Referrals for their behaviors that have exemplified our PBIS pillars of Empathy, Honesty, Mindfulness and Safety. Students were able to choose a reward from our menu of options like eating outside with friends! Great job to our Panthers!

6th Graders

Suleka Salad, Irus Ames, Lorenzo Secondo, Cash McGlynn

7th Graders

Blake Rau & Aiden Heath

EHMS celebrated National Safe School Week this week where all activities were planned by our Panther Ambassador student group.

The Sandy Hook Promise and the Students Against Violence Everywhere(SAVE) programs are promoting all schools to Embrace Diversity and Be Inclusive and Promote Peace…putting an end to all violence. One of the important elements is creating a culture of safety. This includes having a sense of trust, respect among all students and staff and honest communication and collaboration. The activities highlighted those goals. Below are some pictures from the week!

Oct 20 - Oct 24 (subject to change)

MONDAY, OCT 20

Bemam cross country at East Hampton MS.

Note: Boys run first!

Portland soccer at East Hampton, 3:30 pm game.

Note: Boys soccer at East Hampton High School-shuttle at 2:45/2:50 pm

Note: Girls soccer at East Hampton Middle School

TUESDAY, OCT 21

East Hampton soccer at RHAM, 2:20 dismissal, 2:30 bus, 3:30 pm game.

Note: Girls soccer at RHAM Middle School

Note: Boys soccer at Veterans Park

Cross Country 2:35 until 4 pm

WEDNESDAY, OCT 22

No Boys soccer

No Girls soccer

Cross Country 2:35 until 4 pm

THURSDAY, OCT 23

East Hampton cross country at Griswold MS (Rocky Hill), 1:55 pm dismissal. 2:10 pm bus.

Note: Boys at 3:45 pm/Girls at 4:15 pm

Site: Elm Ridge Park

Note: this will conclude our cross-country season!

Boys soccer 2:35 until 4:00 pm

Girls soccer 2:35 until 4:00 pm

FRIDAY, OCT 24

Hale Ray soccer at East Hampton Middle School

Note: Boys soccer at 5:30 pm-No JV (arrive at 4:45 pm)

Note: Girls soccer at 7 pm-No JV (arrive at 6 pm)

Note: Both games 2-35 minutes. Please dress warmly, sweatpants, sweatshirts!!

Note: this will conclude our soccer season! Uniforms will be collected after the game, please bring a change of clothes!

No Cross Country

Note: players are to turn in their uniforms-washed, dried and folded in a bag (with your name on the bag) to Mrs. Mercaldi's office in the Guidance Suite.

📅 Mark Your Calendars!
All EHMS PTO meetings are held in the Middle School Library at 5:30 PM.

🗓️ Upcoming Meeting Dates:

• November 6
• December 11
• January 15
• February 3
• March 3
• April 7
• April 29
• May 14
• June 2

✨ All parents and guardians are welcome — join us to stay involved and help make a difference at EHMS!

🎉 FAMILY BINGO NIGHT! 🎉

📅 Wednesday December 3rd
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 EHMS Commons

The EHMS PTO is hosting a fun-filled Family Bingo Night — open to all! ​We’re currently seeking Bingo prize donations to make the night extra exciting.
🎁 Suggested prizes include:

• Gift cards (any amount!)
• Family-friendly items like board games, puzzles, movie night bundles, theme baskets or small treats

💡 Bonus: Each donation earns you an extra Bingo card at the event!

Donations can be mailed or dropped off at:
East Hampton Middle School
19 Childs Rd, East Hampton, CT
📦 Please mark items for “PTO.”

Let’s make this a super fun, family-friendly community event!
Thank you for supporting EHMS PTO 💙🐾

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.

Just a reminder that when we do not hear from a parent, then our attendance line will send out a call that your child is absent. Even if your child is sent home by the nurse the day before, we still need a call or notice each day your child is out.

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.

A phone call is appreciated, but only an email to our attendance inbox or written note can officially excuse absence 1 through 9. Below is our attendance email:

Note: Between the school name and the word Attendance is a underscore ( _ )

EHMS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

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.

As we are now half-way through September, I would like to send a friendly reminder for parents to check their student's lunch account balances. Weekly, emails are sent through Meal Magic with negative account balances. Please check your junk folder to ensure you are not missing crucial information!

The Cafeteria Staff and I love to see smiling faces daily and we are grateful to have your students dine with us!

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

East Hampton High School hosts veterans for a breakfast and assembly. The Veterans Day Committee would like to spread news of our fundraiser and assembly to local veterans . Most of all proceeds will go to the VFW. Below is the flyer!

RSVP form for breakfast and assembly: https://forms.gle/vp2wCbtRhE2U8Due8

Field of Flags Purchase: https://forms.gle/DyzDASNUYtedQQZT8

Bellringers in Service Photo Gallery Submission: https://forms.gle/hJogbWUQK1hjqEDHA

The East Hampton Public Library is participating in the first annual Spooky CT writing contest! Submissions can be made to the Library via our website any time from Oct 1 through Oct 31. All entries will be published in the first edition of Spooky East Hampton, which will be made available on our website and in print at the Library. More information can be found in the flyer attached below.

Hello East Hampton Middle School!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. My name is Lindsay DeFrancisco and I am very excited to join you this year to provide behavioral health services through the School Based Health Center. I am a licensed clinical social worker and will be providing crisis intervention, individual, group and family therapy to those students in need. There is a referral process and I’d be happy to chat with anyone who has questions about our program. The easiest way for a parent to enroll their child is through this link:

https://www.sbhc1.com/

I can be reached at DeFranL@chc1.com if anyone was questions.

Lindsay DeFrancisco, LCSW

Behavioral Health Clinician

Community Health Center, Inc. - School Based Health Center

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