Just a reminder that the end of the second quarter will be Friday January 19th. If you have any questions regarding grades on Powerschool, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher who would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

We hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend.

Best,

Christina & Emily

Mon. Jan 15th - Martin Luther King Day - No School

Wed. Jan 17th - Band & Chorus Concert at EHHS 6:30pm

Thurs. Jan 18th - National Snowman Day

Mon. Jan 22nd - Board of Education Meeting Town Hall 6:30pm

Team newsletters are linked below! Enjoy our latest editions from our teams including Unified Arts!

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 reading i-Ready assessment will begin on Tuesday, January 23rd 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.

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 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.

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.

EAST HAMPTON MS ATHLETICS SCHEDULE JAN 15 - JAN 19 (subject to change)

MONDAY, JAN 15

No School!

TUESDAY, JAN 16

East Hampton boys basketball at Cromwell MS. 2:20 dismissal, 2:30 bus, 3:30 pm game. Note: Boys Varsity only!

Cromwell girls at EHMS. 3:30 pm

Note: Varsity and JV games

Cheer attending

WEDNESDAY, JAN 17

Girls Basketball 2:35 until 4:30 pm

Boys study 2:35 until 4:15 pm

Boys Basketball 4:30 until 6 pm

No Cheer

THURSDAY, JAN 18

Girls Basketball 2:35 until 4:30 pm

Boys study 2:35 until 4:15 pm

Boys Basketball 4:30 until 6 pm

Cheer practice 2:35 until 4:30 pm

FRIDAY, JAN 19

East Hampton girls basketball at William J MS (Colchester), 2:20 dismissal, 2:30 bus, 3:30 pm game.

William J MS at EHMS, 3:30 pm game.

Cheer practice 2:35 until 4:30 pm

Our Band & Chorus students will be performing at their first concert of the year! We hope you are able to join us to celebrate all their hard work. If parents have any questions regarding the concert, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Shilansky or Mrs. Rahusen.

Below are some 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!

Our students celebrated this week are:

6th & 7th graders

Aubree Dunnells, Garrett Heath, Grady Ottone, Jasmyn Skinner, Brooke Bellemare, Adelina Ducki, Landon Lord, Shannon Mahoney, Tamzin Lemire, Avery Cashin

8th graders

Gavin King, Sheik Salad, Thomas Haslam, Gavin Kloepfer, Xander Patton, Hunter LaRose

6th grade students have started their informational text reading unit and are working together in research clubs to learn more about their topic. Topics include Titanic, Outer Space, Viruses and Disease, Extreme Weather, Animals & Humans, and Environmentalism.

Students in Mrs. Donovan's 7th grade math class just started their unit on Rational Numbers. Students worked in groups to order positive and negative whole numbers first, then added in positive and negative decimals and fractions.

Last week 8th grade students completed an inquiry review lab that explored how changing the amount of water in a bottle affected the successfulness of the bottle landing when flipped. Students measured specific amounts of water in each bottle and gathered and analyzed data to determine which amount was the best.

A dozen of Mr. Kiser’s 8th graders put in extra time Monday to test out their egg catchers. The challenge given to students was to create a device to catch a freefalling egg from heights of half a meter, 1 meter, 2 meters and as high as 2.9 meters. However, the real task is that their resources were limited to 10 sheets of paper and a meter of tape! To promote the engineering mindset of design, test, and redesign students were required to test at least one design prior to our Monday competition. Many terrific solutions were created, one student, Ava Ploszay, created a design that caught the egg without damage from 2.9 meters!

In a remarkable display of resilience and creativity, East Hampton Middle School students embarked on a collaborative art project during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic in the academic year 2021-2022. The result is a collection of four vibrant murals that stand as a testament to the power of artistic expression in overcoming adversity. In response to this unique situation, the students, guided by their art teacher, Mr. Carl Pastor, embraced the opportunity to channel their individual creativity into a collective masterpiece. The project not only served as a learning experience for the young artists but also fostered a sense of community within the school. The murals are currently on display at the East Hampton Town Hall, captivating visitors with their vibrant colors and powerful symbolism. The exhibition will continue to inspire and uplift the community before embarking on a journey to other prominent locations, including the East Hampton Public Library and the Middle Haddam Library. Local businesses interested in hosting this uplifting exhibit are encouraged to reach out to Ms. Christine Fielding.

Looking for a way to give back? Want to help make the world a better place? Then please join the EarlyAct Club at any of our upcoming events and opportunities to spread compassion! ALL are welcome and no previous club experience is required. Check out our rolling monthly agenda to see where you can help us to make a difference!

East Hampton Public Library is running a teen winter reading challenge now through the end of February, for grades 6-12! Cards will be provided to each ELA teacher. If your child is interested, have them ask their ELA teacher!

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.

The PTO is busy planning upcoming events at EHMS. Please join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, February 14th at 5:30pm in the EHMS library. We will discuss:

- Munson’s Chocolates fundraiser

- School play bake/snack sale

- Restaurant events

- Panther Prowl planning (the largest fundraiser for our school)!

Come to listen and learn about the PTO or share ideas for future events and fundraisers. We’d love to meet you!

Please welcome our new Nutrition Director, Kate Caselli. Kate, a local resident with two students enrolled in our elementary schools, is excited to continue the progress in our school cafeterias. She brings experience from leading the nearby Regional Schools at RHAM and additional years in managing prestigious commercial restaurant operations. If you have any questions about meals in our cafeterias, please reach out to Kate at kcaselli@easthamptonct.org.

School breakfast is a great way for students to start their school day and its FREE to everyone!

Please review your student(s)’s available balance for any lunch purchases at our secure “e-Funds for Schools” portal: https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/56523 Funds should be added on an as needed basis to ensure the account balance covers all purchases.

Communications to families about your meal account come directly from the payment portal. Please be alert to these emails and remove from your “junk” status the following addresses:

easthampton@mealmagic.cloud

easthampton@Familyportal.cloud

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.

Access to the East Hampton attendance policy is available HERE

More recently, I have been seeing many students in the Health Office with complaints of fatigue and not getting a good night’s sleep. Generally, most teens need 8-10 hours of sleep, but it is common for much less. Sleep is important to maintaining mood, relationships, and the ability to pay attention. Because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to share a few things that can be done during the day to aid in a good night’s sleep. Below are some tips to help.

1) Be active during the day – physical activity can help improve mood and decrease stress.

2) Avoid caffeine near bedtime – Caffeine is a stimulant and teens should be avoiding it anyways, but it is a good reminder for adults!

3) Say goodnight to electronics – allow your brain to rest. Turn off all electronics about an hour before bedtime.

4) Keep a sleep routine – going to bed the same time every night or sticking with a routine of reading, meditation, or listening to music before bed helps to aid in relaxation before sleep.

5) Expect a good night’s sleep – stress can affect sleep. Instead of worrying that you won’t get enough sleep, tell yourself that you will!

These are great tips for those of all ages, but it is a good reminder that teens are working hard mentally and physically. Sleep is so important and sometimes your students need some help to remember that. A good night’s sleep will help your student be more focused, productive, and willing to participate in school activities. Sleep well!

Regards,

Nurse Krystle

Krystle Hafele, BSN,RN

School Nurse

East Hampton Middle School

Office: 860-365-4060

Fax: 860-365-4064

Khafele@easthamptonct.org

If your child is having any Chromebook or technology issues please click on the link below to do some troubleshooting: EHMS TroubleShooting Tips

If the troubleshooting doesn't work click on the link below to submit an IT work ticket:

Chromebook Trouble Ticket

Please encourage your child to take pride and care in their device. Below is a video to review the proper care of Chromebooks with your child.

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!

Tweens and Teens spend many hours per day online chatting and interacting with friends and people who they may not know well and who may put them at risk. To educate parents, teachers and others, the US Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut, in collaboration with the Department of Children and Families, is offering - FREE OF CHARGE - online Internet Safety Training. This training will introduce parents, teachers and others to Internet and cell phone applications and video game systems being used by the tweens/teens that could potentially put them at risk. Training will take place on Thursday, January 25th, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Please see the attached flyer below.

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