The Panther Post

Good afternoon,

It is hard to believe that we are already coming to our winter break! We encourage all students to participate in next week's Spirit Days! A reminder that on Tuesday December 23rd, there will be an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 12:35. Our winter recess will be December 24th - January 2nd. We will return on Monday January 5th.

We extend our warmest wishes to all of our families for a happy, healthy, and peaceful holiday season. We hope this time provides opportunities to rest, recharge, and enjoy meaningful moments with those you care about.

Best,

Christina & Emily

Just a reminder - Wednesday, January 21st at 6pm, EHHS Principal Mr. Eric Verner invites all 8th grade parents to the East Hampton High School Auditorium, to review the course selection process students completed, how to view selected courses on PowerSchool, and how to request a change to a recommended class.

Wed. Dec 17th - Student Council visits Senior Center

Mon. Dec 22nd - Holiday Sweater Day!

Tues. Dec 23rd - Festive Holiday Gear!

Tues. Dec 23rd - Early Release for Winter Recess - Students dismissed at 12:35

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. To maximize instructional time in ELA and Math courses, the math i-Ready assessment will begin on Tuesday, January 6th in all Science classes. The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that help our team identify your child’s strengths and determine the next steps for instruction. The reading diagnostic will begin the week of January 12th in Social Studies classes.

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. Once our winter assessments are completed, we will review student needs to determine changes to services or groupings of students. The reading and math departments communicate directly with families regarding any additional services.

To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:

• Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.

• Try their best on each question and try not to rush.

• Try not to worry about questions they do not know—remind them that it is expected they will only get about half of the questions correct.

• Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish

• Students should come to school with their earbuds and a fully charged Chromebook.

In 7th grade math class, students are connecting different ways to show the same math relationship by using tables, equations, tape diagrams, and words to represent situations that involve adding or subtracting a fraction of a starting amount. They are also exploring what it means to find “half as much again,” explaining their thinking, and learning why this idea can be represented with an expression like 3/2​x.

East Hampton High School Voice and Jazz Band led by Mr. Brown and Mr. Groves visited EHMS this week to perform for our 8th graders. Our students got to hear about all the offerings that EHHS music department has to offer. Once we return from break, there will be communication shared on the supports we will be providing to students as they learn more about East Hampton High School and our transition process. We look forward to supporting our students and families during this exciting time!

Our school proudly participated in the 15th anniversary of CCMC PJ Day this year. This event supports Connecticut Children’s Medical Center by helping fund pediatric care and services for children and families in need. We appreciate the generosity and spirit of our school community.

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

Melania Wiesner, Islay Danaher, Lillian Malattesta, Ashlyn McWade, Leigha Leue, Mabel Schunk & Jarek Barillaro

7th Graders

Brayden Valli, Aiden Heath, Kade Sheehan, Bronn Ewan & Kennedy Hall

8th Graders

Brayden Formiglio

The East Hampton Middle School Student Council, along with advisors Ms. McCabe and Mrs. Vickery, took a field trip this week to the East Hampton Senior Center to help host their annual holiday party. Our students assisted with running festive bingo games, handing out snacks, and leading a hands-on holiday craft activity with the seniors. This event was a great opportunity for students to give back to our community, build connections across generations, and spread some holiday cheer!

6th graders currently taking art this quarter have been hard at work exploring creativity and core art concepts through a variety of exciting projects. Students are designing and building pinatas, where they are studying shape, form and texture through hands-on construction. They are also creating a landscape watercolor painting understanding perspective to show depth and space. In addition, students are painting dream catchers while exploring color theory with a focus on monochromatic color schemes.

Our SAVE Promise Club, with our advisors Mrs. Mercaldi and Mrs. Vasquez, planned activities in remembrance of the Sandy Hook. These efforts helped our students honor the importance of kindness, connection, and looking out for one another. Through this work, we aimed to strengthen a culture of safety, empathy, and inclusion within our school community. Below is our SAVE Promised Club pictured.

Throughout the month of November, students explored empathy during advisory lessons by discussing perspectives, practicing active listening, and reflecting on how their actions impact others. To wrap up this learning, we ran a poster contest in the month of December. Students worked collaboratively within their homerooms to create empathy posters that highlighted key messages and examples of showing kindness and understanding. These posters reflect both their learning and their commitment to building a more supportive school community. During our townhall meetings, students voted on their favorite poster from each grade.

Reminder: dismissal forms (found under links in Parentsquare) should be submitted 24 hours in advance.

For all parents and spectators who plan on attending a game. If our bus lines are not dismissed, parents/spectators will be asked to wait outside until the gym is cleared. All games start at 3:30 pm, unless Beman at 4 pm.

No food, drinks or beverages allowed in our gym!

MONDAY, DEC 22

Cromwell boys basketball at East Hampton MS, 3:30 pm.

Note: No JV game

No Girls Basketball

No Cheer Leading

TUESDAY, DEC 23

No Athletics-See you next year!

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

• 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!

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.

Message from our Nutrition Office:

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).

Did you know?

Community Health Care, Inc. is a part of the East Hampton Middle School success team!

Enrollment is open NOW for mental health services through the School-Based Health Center. Our licensed clinical social worker can support youth by addressing issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, peer conflict, family conflict, grief and loss, emotional regulation, increasing school engagement and other childhood challenges.

Click here: https://www.sbhc1.com/enroll/

Why choose SBHC?

Convenient same day appointment

Removes barriers to care such as lack of transportation

Decreases time away from the classroom which improves academic success

Improves student's achievement by taking care of behavioral health needs that can make learning difficult

For more information, email DeFranL@ch1.com

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