Hawk Talk

EMS Families,

What a wonderful ride it has been, not only this year but since I arrived at EMS in August of 2018. Your kids are amazing human beings, and we get to learn with them at one of the most interesting age spans in their lives.

Thank you for supporting not only students but our staff this year. The last two years have been more difficult for everyone, and the patience and grace you afford us makes all the difference. In 20 years I have still not met a teacher who comes to school in the morning desiring to be just mediocre. We are not perfect and certainly make mistakes, but the EMS staff is dedicated to every single student here and does their best each day.

Finally, a note of gratitude to everyone who has volunteered to help at school, or donated something for us to use, or reached out with a nice message to an individual or the whole team along the way; to those who stood up for us in the community when it may have been easier to stay silent; and to all who trusted us with their most precious items - their children. Our mantra these last four years has been to keep everyone safe and to keep everyone learning, and I cannot thank you enough for supporting that focus.

As I move on to a new position in a new district, please know that my wish for all of your children is continued academic and social success, and to find joy in each day.

Judy

jwalton@fhps.net

616.493.8850

Route(s) Restored: 92, 95

Route(s) Canceled: 72, 75

• Registration is now open for Forest Hills Youth Football League (FHYFL). FHYFL is the feeder youth flag and tackle football program for Forest Hills Central, Forest Hills Eastern, and Forest Hills Northern high schools. The league offers opportunities in flag football for players in grades K-4th and in tackle football for players grades 3rd-8th. The league will start practicing in early-to-mid August, depending on grade level. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.fhyfl.com/ and click on the “Available Programs” link under the “Registration Info” tab. You may also find the league on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FHYFootball/. Thank you and we look forward to seeing many junior Hawks, Huskies, and Rangers in the fall!

• Forest Hills Community and Aquatic Center is offering a Summer Water Polo Camp for girls entering Grades 6-12 this fall. Click on this link for more information or to register for this opportunity.
  

  https://bit.ly/3wRiXKJ
  
• Please see the flyer link below for summer athletic camps here at Eastern.

PTO General Meeting

When: Monday, June 6 at 7PM

Where: EMS Hall C-200 ( enter through MS doors off Knapp Street)

What: review the year; plan for next year; vote in new board members

Please contact the attendance line (616.493.8856) by 9:00 a.m. if your child will be absent. If prior contact is not possible, parents/guardians are requested to call or provide a written excuse as soon as possible. It is important to remember to provide the reason for the absence so that it can be coded for our attendance records (e.g., sick, etc.). Without a reason, the absence can only be coded as unexcused. Questions, please email jmoore@fhps.net.

Since the data we shared a week ago, we have been informed of two (2) students and zero (0) staff members at Eastern Middle testing positive for COVID-19. All positive cases are reported weekly to the Kent County Health Department.

We want to continue to emphasize the layered mitigation strategies that are within our control:

• wearing masks, even when vaccinated
• getting a booster vaccination when eligible
• frequent hand washing
• staying home when any COVID-19 symptom is present or otherwise feeling unwell

If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home from school until they are 24 hours symptom-free. If they are up to it, checking Canvas for missed work is a great idea.

Specifics on our dress standards can be found using the handbook buttons at the bottom of the newsletter (page 22 in K-6, page 4 in 7-8). Generally, these are the questions we ask students and families to process when deciding on attire:

Does my clothing expose too much? (no)

Does my clothing advertise something that is prohibited to minors? (no)

Are there obscene, profane, drug-related, gang-related, or inflammatory messages on my clothing? (no)

Am I dressed appropriately for the weather? (yes)

Do I feel comfortable with my appearance? (yes)

Late arrivals should come to the Knapp Street entrance, and use the videophone to be buzzed in. Students should come to the middle school office to sign in and receive a pass to go to class.

If you are coming to pick your child up for an early departure for an appointment, please come to the videophone with picture ID, and push the buzzer. We will ask you to hold your ID up to the videophone and then buzz you in. We will have you come to the middle school office to sign your child out.

MORNING DROP OFF: PETTIS STREET ENTRANCE ONLY

-Please pull as far around the circle drive as possible. The first car in line should stop at the bike rack near the far exit to the staff parking lot. This will allow us to fit as many vehicles as possible in the circle drive, allowing as many students as possible to be dropped off simultaneously (see diagram below).

-Please drop student(s) off once you have pulled as far forward as possible and stopped within the main circle drive. Once you have entered the circle drive, pull as far forward as possible until traffic ahead of you has stopped. Students should then exit their vehicles. Do not stop early at the crosswalk if there is no traffic stopped directly in front of you. Also, please do not wait to drop off student(s) until you reach the crosswalk. Both of these actions slow the process down and limit the number of vehicles we can fit within the circle drive at any given time. This will require students to walk a short distance (on school sidewalks) to the building after being dropped off.

-Please make sure students are dressed appropriately for the weather as they are dropped off for school.

-Please make sure student(s) are ready to exit the vehicle when you stop. If student(s) will need extended time to get out of the car during drop off due to bringing in a project, gathering athletic equipment/instruments, extra bags/books, etc. please consider parking in one of the visitor parking spaces in the student parking lot so we can keep the traffic within the circle drive flowing.

AFTERNOON PICK-UP: PETTIS STREET ENTRANCE ONLY

-Please pull as far around the circle drive as possible. The first car in line should stop at the bike rack near the far exit to the staff parking lot. This will allow us to fit as many vehicles as possible in the circle drive, allowing as many students as possible to be picked up simultaneously (see below diagram).

-Students should be picked up beyond the crosswalk in the main circle drive.

Students will not be allowed to congregate on the sidewalk that borders the student parking lot while waiting to be picked up. This will eliminate the amount of space students need to search for their ride while also preventing incoming traffic from being delayed by vehicles stopping early in the circle drive to pick up students.

-Do not park on the grass along the driveway in order to avoid the pick up line.

This adds yet another element that drivers need to be aware of while exiting our campus during this already chaotic time.