Good afternoon everyone,

We had a busy week of performances! Our band and chorus students did a great job at the step up concert. We are also preparing for our production of Guys and Dolls that will take place throughout this weekend!

It is hard to believe that Monday starts the spring season. Please be on the lookout for further communications in Parentsquare regarding end of year events and dates. Also, a reminder that parent conferences will be held on Wednesday March 29th and Thursday March 30th. Staff will be reaching out if they have not yet heard whether you are requesting a conference or not. We appreciate your time, support and collaboration!

We hope to see you this weekend!

Best,

Christina & Emily

• March 20th - Jazz Band
• March 21st - Homework Club
• March 21st - Rock Your Socks Day! (more information below)
• March 22nd - Robotics Club
• March 23rd - Panther Ambassadors, Yearbook Club
• March 24th - Paraprofessional Appreciation Day
• March 29th & 30th - Parent Conferences - Early Release Days for Students Dismissal at 12:35
• March 31st - End of 3rd Quarter

Each month Team Leaders will share an update on current happenings throughout the team. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your child's Team Leader. Contact information is within each newsletter.

Below is access to team's March newsletters. Don't forget to check out Team Amethyst's newsletter. This is our specials and P.E. team. March newsletters should be sent soon by Team Leaders.

Enjoy!

We are asking our students to participate in Rock Your Socks Day! Wear your craziest, colorful, missed matched socks to school on Tuesday March 21st!

EHMS students have been diligently rehearsing under the direction of Mrs. Werme and Ms. Rahusen to prepare for their upcoming performance of Guys and Dolls since January!

We are so excited for our productions this weekend!

We hope to see you there!!

Break a Leg EHMS!!

Production Dates

• Friday, March 17th at 7pm
• Saturday, March 18th at 2pm & 7pm
• Sunday, March 19th at 2pm

(Run time is 1hr and 20minutes)

While we are well into the second half of the year, the spring provides an opportunity for feedback and reflection, we are always looking to improve as we establish and implement best practices to meet the needs of every child in the East Hampton Public Schools. Please use this link to provide feedback about your child's educational experience: 2022-2023 EHMS Parent Feedback Survey

We are so proud when our students exemplify our PBIS pillars.

Today eighth graders designed, built, and tested "leprechaun" traps using the engineering design process. They identified a problem and came up with a creative solution. Students collaborated and did a phenomenal job with their designs. They made improvements to their design at every step and many groups were successful!

March 14th is National Pi Day and is a day to celebrate all things math. Students in Mr. Kiser’s classes celebrated Pi by discovering the approximation 3.14. In this activity, students used flexible rulers to measure the circumference and diameter of cookies. Once they found both measurements, they divided them to see how close they came.

Throughout the week, EHMS celebrated “Say Something” Week. The Panther Ambassadors club completed all the activities that were implemented. The theme for March was SAY SOMETHING, which was to create a culture to prevent school violence. Each year, thousands of schools and youth organizations nationwide participate in Say Something Week, a week of celebrating the importance of trusted adults and upstanders in our community! Our Panther Ambassadors implemented this program at EHMS. We are very proud of our EHMS PANTHER AMBASSADORS!!!!!

Here are the specifics of the program implemented:

Monday - Homerooms began a poster contest. They are to decorate it with phrases/symbols that promote positive self-talk and kind language with Unity.

Tuesday - Students were taking pictures with special Speech Bubbles of positive statements.

Wednesday - Students watched a video by Amanda Gorman entitled “Be the Light” poem and completed an activity on how each student can be a “light” or “heart” to share unity within our community.

Thursday - Students took a pledge to be an UPSTANDER, meaning when they see/hear a concern, they will share it with a trusted adult.

Friday - Students found Kindness cards in their locker and wore Green in support of the Sandy Hook Promises Program, “See Something/Say Something”.

Below are just a few of the pictures from this week - we will continue to share more in the upcoming Panther Posts.

The Nutmeg Game Show is coming! From now until the end of May, we will be running a fun reading initiative that will culminate with grade-level “Nutmeg Game Show” assemblies on June 6!

What Students Will Do:

• Read as many of the 3 Nutmeg titles selected for their grade level as they can. All books can be checked out in the LMC.
• Submit questions about the book(s) via Google Form linked on the library website here (These questions maybe used during the game show!)
• Form teams of 3-4 students to participate in a preliminary round within their ELA classroom in mid-May
• Winning teams from each ELA class will go on to complete at grade-level assemblies the end of May/June
• The winning team from each grade level will get to pick 1 friend to join them to watch a movie in the LMC during the last week of June…movie snacks will be provided!

Mrs. Aiken’s seventh grade students presented their research through a TED talk presentation this week. Students have spent the past several weeks reading, writing, and researching a topic that they feel passionate about. Some topics selected by students included immigration, racism, and climate change.

Attention Students and Parents: Bike Club season is right around the corner! If you’re interested in learning more, please be sure to join the EHMS Bike Club group in ParentSquare so you can receive all the latest info regarding the upcoming season. Here’s how:

• From your phone app, click on the “More” button in the bottom right corner and then click the “Groups” button, scroll down until you see EHMS Bike Club and then click “Join”.
• From your computer browser, click the “Participate” button in the bottom left corner, then click “Groups”, scroll down until you see EHMS Bike Club and then click “Join”.

Despite the early dismissal this Past Tuesday, our EHMS students were still able to join other East Hampton students to perform at the High School in the Band & Chorus step up program! It was amazing to see all our students across district come together to support one another. Mr. Doherty was also able to help and jump on the drum!

The EHMS Spring Spiritwear Sale is LIVE!! The sale will feature 25% savings throughout the online store as well as the addition of new product lines including Nike 1/4 zips, ultra-soft crewneck sweatshirts, bucket hats and yoga pants. Details with online ordering link will be sent via Parent Square on Monday. Show your Panther Pride with some fresh new gear!

Below is the presentation that was shown to all 8th grade students. All students should be set in their course selection. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's guidance counselor.

Below is my communication sent through Parentsquare that outlines all the opportunities we have this month to help support our 8th graders as we begin planning for their transition to high school.

Our Scholastic Spring Book Fair is coming soon! The fair will be here March 27th - March 31st. Be on the lookout for a Parentsquare next week!

We are excited to announce that last week the Governor signed a bill renewing funding to allow us to serve school breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge for the rest of the school year. Starting March 1st, 2023, school meals will again be free for all students. Each student may receive one school breakfast and one school lunch each school day at no cost.

A reminder that the following email addresses can be used by parents to report and document their approval of an absence:

Memorial_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

Center_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

EHMS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

EHHS_Attendance@easthamptonct.org

If you have successfully emailed the school, you will receive an autoreply that notifies you that the absence communication has been received and recorded. This process is effective for your child for the first 9 absences. After your student has more than 9 absences, additional documentation or communication is required to excuse the absence. However, please continue to use the email designated for your child's school to continue to notify the school that your child will be absent. You may call your child’s school at any time to report an absence but please make sure to follow up a phone call with a note or email to the attendance email.

The Health Office is still looking for students to bring in pictures of their pets! Unfortunately, the bulletin board that we were hoping to fill with cute pictures of animals from home, is looking quite empty. We would love to see all pets and I am especially excited about those reptiles! So, please, if you remember have your student bring in pictures to add to our space. All animals welcome!

Also, just a friendly reminder to have your child bring lip balm with them to school, if needed. This year has been tough for those lips!

Nutrition is so important for growth and development. Please be sure that your student is bringing enough snacks for themselves and remind them to eat breakfast and lunch. As a reminder, the school offers breakfast and lunch, free of charge for all families.

Is anyone else having Spring Fever?! If we aren’t going to be getting snow, then bring on Spring!

If at any point you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at khafele@easthamptonct.org or call the school office at 860-365-4060.

Thank you!

Mrs. Hafele

EAST HAMPTON MS ATHLETICS SCHEDULE

MARCH 20 - MARCH 24 (subject to change)

MONDAY, MARCH 20

Softball tryouts from 2:35 until 5 pm (grades 7 and 8)

No baseball tryouts.

TUESDAY, MARCH 21

Baseball tryouts from 2:35 until 4:30 pm. (grades 7 and 8)

Softball tryouts from 4:30 until 6 pm. (grade 6 only!)

WEDNESAY, MARCH 22

Baseball tryouts from 2:35 until 4:30 pm. (grade 6 only!)

Softball tryouts from 4:30 until 6 pm. (grades 6, 7 and 8 invite only)

THURSDAY, MARCH 23

Baseball tryouts from 2:35 until 4:30 pm. (grades 6, 7 and 8 invite only)

Softball tryouts from 4:30 until 6 pm. (grades 6, 7 and 8)

Note: Teams to be announced via parentsquare-softball only.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

Baseball tryouts from 2:35 until 4:30 pm. (grades 6, 7 and 8)

Note: Teams to be announced via parentsquare-baseball only.

No Softball tryouts

Coach Mercaldi
mmercaldi@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.

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