Good afternoon,

As we continue with the final quarter of the year, we encourage you to take a moment to review your child's progress in PowerSchool. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out directly to your child’s teacher or Team Leader.

Our 8th Grade Capstone Convention is just around the corner! You’ll find more details in this newsletter. This exciting event is open to the community, and we especially welcome 7th grade families who are interested in getting a preview of the Capstone experience.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Best,

Christina & Emily

Mon. May 12th - BOE Meeting, Town Hall at 6:30

Wed. May 14th - EHMS Spring Concert at 6:30 EHHS Auditorium - look for information sent regarding student arrival times

Fri. May 16th - EHMS PTO Panther Prowl

Wed. May 21st - 8th Grade Capstone Convention 5:30 - 7:30

Fri. May 23rd - Early Release for Students - Teacher Professional Development

Fri. May 30th - Festival of Flight for 6th Grade

Thu. June 5th - 8th Grade Step Up Ceremony

Thu. June 5th - 8th Grade Formal

Fri. June 6th - 8th Grade End of Year Trip - Lake Compounce

Fri. June 6th - 5th Grade Visit to EHMS

Fri. June 6th - 7th Grade Field Day

Mon. June 9th - 6th Grade Field Day

Thu. June 12th - Last Day of School

7th grade students are diving into their final writing unit of year ---realistic fiction. With creativity in full swing, students are crafting rich characters, building vivid settings, and thoughtfully planning stories that convey meaningful themes and messages.

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

6th Graders

Emma Emery, Lucas Farias, Courtney Mahoney, MariAnna D'Amore, Bridget Adams, Elaina Matte, Lila Farias

7th Graders

Kayleigh Doll, Jenna Sandquist, Jaksin Sandquist

8th Graders

Patrick Adams, Gianna Doll, Logan Matte, Samuel D'Amore, Summer Smith, Cameron Jeffers, Brooke Bellemare, Gianna Jarzabek, Nathan Philbrick, Emma Kissane, Alex Jovel, Meadow Hart, Kayleigh Philbrick

Our EHMS Student Council did a great job with the 7th grade dance - thank you to our students and advisors for a great event!

Our 6th grade math students are currently exploring inequalities. They are learning how to write and graph inequalities on a number line. Soon, they will begin applying their understanding to real-life situations, seeing how inequalities are used in everyday decision-making.

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. The i-Ready assessment will begin on Monday, May 12th in all ELA 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 math diagnostic will begin the week of May 19th in Math classes.

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. Once our spring 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.

What can I do to help?

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.

8th grade students took part in a town hall meeting this Wednesday where the final steps of the Capstone process and presentation expectations were discussed. We wanted to share the highlights with you so that everyone is informed:

What should students be doing to finish their projects?

• Students should be uploading evidence of what they have done for their projects into their Capstone Portfolio Google slideshow which can be found on homeroom Google classrooms. Evidence can include photos, videos, screenshots, emails, graphs, charts, etc. of the hands-on work they have completed, and students should share their slideshow presentations with their families this week as they should have the evidence added no later than Friday, May 9th.

When is the Capstone Convention and when should students arrive?

• The convention will be held at EHMS on May 21st from 5:30-7:30pm and students should plan to arrive at 5pm to set up.
• Students will enter through the gym doors upon arrival and there will be staff to help let students know the location of where to set up.
• For reference, the convention will run similar to a Science Fair.

What should students be preparing for the Capstone Convention?

• Students should bring their charged chromebooks to display their Capstone Portfolio Google slideshow. They may choose to bring in additional items to display. In the past, students have brought in: trifold posters with photos of their work, pamphlets, samples, models/protypes, materials for demonstrations, etc.

What if a student cannot attend the convention?

• Students who cannot attend the convention should notify their homeroom advisors and make arrangements with administrators to present on another day and scheduled time.

Please see the attached presentation that was shared with students that also has some photos of examples.

If you have any questions please don't hestiate to reach out to me, your child's ELA teacher or your child's homeroom teacher. We look forward to seeing all the work our students have put into their projects.

May 12 - May 16 (subject to change)

MONDAY, MAY 12

Baseball practice 2:35 until 5 pm

Softball practice 2:35 until 5 pm

TUESDAY, MAY 13

Cromwell MS baseball/softball at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

McGee MS softball at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

Baseball practice 2:35 until 5 pm

THURSDAY, MAY 15

RHAM MS baseball/softball at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

FRIDAY, MAY 16

No Athletics!!

End of year information from the Health Office:

All medications in the nurse’s office must be picked up by the last day of school or they will be discarded. Students are not allowed to carry medication home themselves. All controlled medication must be picked up and signed off!

** All 6th grade students must have a current physical on file before entering 7th grade ** Physicals must be dated after the last day of school LAST year (June 13, 2024).

There are 2 required immunizations prior to entering 7th grade: Tdap and Meningococcal

Any clothing donations are welcome and appreciated! The health office is most in need of leggings and sweatpants currently.

Thank you!
Melanie King RN, BSN
East Hampton Middle School Nurse
mking@easthamptonct.org
860-365-4060 Ext 5

Skip the cooking and support our middle school!

📅 When: Thursday, May 15th

📍 Where: Po’s Rice & Spice

🍽️ Why cook? Treat yourself to delicious takeout or dine-in – and help our students at the same time!

Thank you for your support! 💙

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 12–16, and we need your help to make it amazing! We’re planning a fun camp-themed week with breakfast on Monday and a catered lunch Friday—plus daily surprises and goodies for our incredible staff.

We're collecting:

• Monetary donations (link below) to help cover a massage therapist, meals, decorations, and more
• Gift cards, plants, prizes, small gifts
• Food items for Monday's breakfast or Friday's lunch

Check out the donation/volunteer sign-up in the PTO parent square message

Donate here: https://square.link/u/JNbPw3Em
Cash/checks can go to the PTO mailbox in the office.

Thanks for your support!
– EHMS PTO

🎉 THE PANTHER PROWL is almost here! 🎉
📅 Friday, May 16 (Rain Date: May 23)

ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT
No selling. No buying. Just register, share, and collect pledges!
👉 Register here (School ID: 6435ab27ddfe7)

The EHMS PTO & PE Dept are teaming up for a day of fun, fitness, and fundraising — jog-a-thon meets mini field day!

🎁 PRIZES & INCENTIVES:
• Every fundraising participant gets a prize
• Top homeroom = class breakfast
• Top fundraiser = free-time activity
• Raffles & weekly homeroom competitions

Let’s hit our $10,000 goal — THANK YOU! 💙

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.

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.

Below is a helpful handout for families as you engage in discussions around attendance with your children.

The East Hampton Board of Education and the school community as a whole promote a secure and productive school climate, conducive to teaching and learning that is free from threat, harassment, any type of bullying behavior, and teen dating violence. Therefore it shall be the policy of the Board that bullying and/or teen dating violence committed against a student by another student is prohibited. The Board believes that a school environment in which students feel safe, supported, engaged and helpfully challenged is optimal for learning and healthy development. The Board seeks an environment in which students and adults feel socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically safe; an environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, teen dating violence and bullying. Our website provides links to various policies and reporting forms including our Safe School Climate Plan. Hard copies are also available in our main office. If at any point you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to building administration for further assistance.

Happy New Year! Did you resolve to be more on top of your and your child’s health this year? Here’s an easy solution: Sign your child up for School-Based Health Care. Your child’s school works with Community Health Center, Inc.’s School-Based Health Care program to provide health services to your child during the school day. This means they won’t miss as much class and you don’t need to miss work to support their health care needs. Learn more about the services offered at your child’s school and enroll today at SBHC1.com!

The attached bulletins below were developed through a collaborative effort among the Department of Children and Families, the Department Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Office of Child Advocate, the Department of Public Health, the State Department of Education, and the Governor's Office. The content includes information on suicide, helpful tips to support people of all ages, and where to go for additional support and resources.

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