The Curtis Connection

In today's Connection:

• Mr. Mela's Message
• Mark This on Your Calendar
• February Break
• ECMS MCAS Schedule Spring 2023
• Spirit Week!
• Let's Go to Mooyah!
• Spring Sports at ECMS
• Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
• Curtis MathCounts
  

• ECMS 2023 Yearbook

• A Message from the ECMS Health Office: COVID Test Kit Updates
  
• Curtis Is Going to Washington in 81 Days!
• Recess
• Curtis Schedule
  
• Lunch Menu for the Week of 2/13/23 - 2/17/23
• Interested in Substituting as a School Nurse?
• Local Resources and Helpful Information
• CPO News
• Curtis Core Values/Contact Us
  

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Today our students enjoyed a newly constructed gaga pit. The gaga pit was assembled with the help of our custodian, Mr. Gilbert, and an expert student building crew. It was not an easy job and required a lot of teamwork and hard work. A special thanks to the Curtis Parent Organization for supporting and funding the gaga pit. The new pit has an ADA Gate and a mat on the floor.

Enjoy the weekend,

Jeff

Wednesday, February 15 - 12:45 Early Release

Monday, February 20 - No School: Presidents Day

February 21-24 - No School: February Break

Wednesday, March 1 - 12:45 Early Release: P/T Conferences

Wednesday, March 8 - 12:45 Early Release: P/T Conferences

Thursday, March 9 - LSRHS's 8th Grade Parent/Guardian Night @ LS, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

If your child will be absent from school before or after the February Break, please let the front office know in advance by calling the attendance line at 978-443-1071 and pressing "1" or email ecms_office@sudbury.k12.ma.us.

Let’s get into the spirit of February vacation with Spirit Week! All Curtis students and faculty are invited to participate. See the dates and schedule of themes below. This is not a fundraiser, just for fun!!

And while we’re all dressed up, let’s go to Mooyah! This IS a fundraiser for the D.C. Supply Fund

Online sign-up for spring sports at ECMS is now available! Tryouts start during the week of March 27th If your child is interested in playing a spring sport, registration is open to sign up! Registration will close on March 22, 2023. Sign up EARLY. All registrations need to be approved by the Health Office before your child can tryout/participate. Tryout schedules will be listed by March 22, 2023 on the ECMS Athletics website

We are offering: 7/8th grade girls volleyball, 7/8th grade baseball, 7/8 grade softball and 7/8 boys and girls track and field . These are all travel teams.

Registration is currently open and will stay open until March 22, 2023. Please click: https://www.familyid.com/ephraim-curtis-middle-school/spring-sports-2023-22 to access the online registration. All registrations need to be approved by our Health Office before a student can participate in a sport. Please make sure that your child has a current physical. This is mandated by the state and current physicals are valid for 13 months. There are no exceptions to this rule.

The ECMS Athletics website provides details on all of the sports that we offer, schedules, as well as tryout dates and practice times. If you have questions regarding the spring sports that are offered, please contact David Jurewicz.

As required by Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71, Section 97, all Massachusetts school districts are required to include a substance use preventive screening tool as part of their annual mandated universal health-screening program. The Sudbury Public Schools will use the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol with students in seventh grade on February 28th and March 2nd. The SBIRT protocol is focused on substance use prevention, early detection, risk assessment, brief intervention, and a referral process. It is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

We will use the CRAFFT+N screening interview, which is the most commonly used substance use screening tool for adolescents in Massachusetts. All screenings will be conducted in a private one-on-one session with a staff member who has been trained in using the SBIRT protocol.

• Students who are not using substances will have their healthy choices reinforced.

• Students who report using substances or are determined to be at risk for future substance use will receive education and encouragement to seek support for behavior change.

• What your child tells the screener is confidential and will not be shared with any other person without the prior written consent of the student or parent/guardian, except in cases of an immediate medical emergency or when disclosure is otherwise required by state law.

• No written record of the results of this verbal screening is kept with information that identifies any individual student.

• Screening results will not be included in your child’s school record.

Parents and guardians may opt their child out of the screening by written notification any time prior to the screening. Students may also opt-out at the time of the screening if they wish to do so.

If you do not want your child to participate in the SBIRT interview, please contact one of the Assistant Principals, either Angela Menke at or Brian Menna by Monday. February 27, 2023.

Together we can make a positive difference in the health of our youth. One way to prevent youth substance use is to talk with your child(ren) about the consequences of risk behaviors, and to share your thoughts and expectations regarding substance use. Interested individuals can view the CRAFFT+N tool and other SBIRT resources on the www.masbirt.org/schools website.

Feel free to contact Betsy Grams, Wellness Coordinator if you have any questions about the health screen.

Saturday, February 4, the Curtis MathCounts team participated in the 2023 MathCounts Metrowest Chapter Competition held at Meadowbrook School. More than 160 Mathletes from Metrowest middle schools were gathered together to compete in person. The Curtis team won the 2nd place in our chapter among all other 17 schools. Our team of four - Aryan Saha, Brianna Hou, Tahmin Uddin and Aaron Huang - will advance to the state competition. Aryan Saha (5th place) and Brianna Hou (11th place) advanced to the Countdown round (top 12 individual Mathletes). Aryan Saha won the 1st place in Countdown round! Our eight individual contestants also achieved outstanding performance and were in the high ranking. The team is looking forward to the state competition. Many thanks to the parent coaches for their work with the MathCounts team.

Hello, Curtis parents! Your children are creating memories this school year. In order to create the yearbooks in time, they need to be ordered soon. The yearbook is created and designed with student input. With pictures taken all throughout the school, they are creating a memorable book for you and your children to look back on their year.

When ordering, please be sure to use your child's formal name. Jostens uses a computer database to produce the emails that are sent to you. If you order using your child's nickname, your child's name will not be removed from the list and you will continue to receive emails. After placing your order, please be sure to save your email receipt, if needed for future reference. Please email our yearbook coordinator, Liz Kerrigan, if you have any questions.

Let's remember this year together! All yearbook orders are placed online. The price is $50. Please click here to order your yearbook today!

Once again, the FDA has extended the expiration date on many COVID antigen testing kits. Check before you toss! Information regarding testing kit expiration date extension can be found HERE.

Please remember that DESE requires testing for the following symptoms:

• One of the following: fever, chills, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell, muscle aches, cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)

• Two or more of the following: sore throat, nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies)

Final payments are due Feb. 16th.

For information and links, please visit the ECMS D.C. Website.

Please know that on days when the temperature is below 32 degrees, no student will be allowed out at recess without adequate winter clothing.

Please click here to view the SPS 2022-2023 School Calendar.

Please click here to see the complete Curtis schedule for this school year.

Do you have information you'd like posted on the SPS website Community Portal or included in this newsletter? Click here to submit for approval.

Dear Families,

Are you a nurse or do you know a nurse who may be interested in school nursing? Our dynamic SPS nursing team is looking to increase our nursing substitute pool and would love to have you join us. If you are interested, please apply here! Want more information or have some questions? Please contact Nurse Leader, Carol Bradford to find out more about this very rewarding position.

Thank you!

carol_bradford@sudbury.k12.ma.us

978-443-1085 ext 6005

SPS Social-Emotional Resource Site for Families

This site includes a variety of resources designed for caregivers to help you support children in their social, emotional, and self-regulation growth. Contact information for the school-based mental health professionals is located on this site.

Town of Sudbury Website

Bethany Hadvab, Town of Sudbury Social Worker, can be reached by phone at 978-440-5476 or by email at HadvabB@sudbury.ma.us

William James INTERFACE Referral Service

A mental health and wellness referral helpline. Each referral best meets the location, insurance, and specialty needs of the caller. Click here to watch a short video about the referral service. Call toll-free: (888) 244-6843 Monday - Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.

Framingham Family Resource Center

Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are a statewide network of community-based providers offering multicultural parenting programs, support groups, early childhood services, information and referral resources, and education for families whose children range in age from birth to 18 years old.

Behavioral Health Partners

A referral agency that helps find and connect you to services needed to improve your quality of life. Metrowest referral line: 1-844-528-6800.

Bus Driver and Crossing Guard Appreciation - 3/29

SPS Schools are partnering together for this Appreciation Event, and there are several ways you can get involved. From making cards to give on MARCH 29TH directly to your Bus Driver or Crossing Guards, or by contributing breakfast items or money for the Brunch to be hosted at Noyes - we can all do our part to show these wonderful members of our community how much we appreciate them and all they do! Click here to Contribute or for more information.

Curtis Directory

You can still purchase online access to the Curtis directory and make a donation to

Direct Appeal in one easy step. Online access for the directory is $10 and you will

have access right after you place your order. Visit this link to get Directory access

today !

Direct Appeal

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the CPO to help support Curtis’ cultural, creative, and educational programming. The CPO supports a variety of programs and initiatives that are all important additions to the Curtis community and they truly improve the students’ experience at Curtis Middle School. This is all possible because of the generosity of the Curtis parent community.

We suggest a $75 donation—but no donation is too small—and all are appreciated! Also, please check if your company offers a matching donation. Click here to donate.

Please note that donation acknowledgment letters will be provided by request only. If you require a letter for tax purposes, please email a request to cpotreasurer@gmail.com.

(You can also make a donation when you order your directory!)

Lost & Found

Please remind your student to check the Lost & Found in the cafeteria for missing items. There are a lot of clothes, shoes, bags and water bottles and other items that need to go back home. It is important to note that there are multiple sizes of several items, so please check before taking what is yours.

Curtis Gear

The Curtis online store is now open with lots of Curtis spirit wear and gear, including clothing, hats, bags, and more! Now is the time to make purchases for holiday gifts. Gear is available for purchase throughout the year.

8th Grade Events and Washington DC Trip: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are still looking for volunteers to form a team to help with various aspects of the DC trip. Additionally, we need a team of parent volunteers to start planning the 8th Grade events including the end of the year Social. Please reach out to the 8th Grade Co-Chair Nalini Luthra via email nluthra647@aol.com if you would like more information or sign up to help.

Learning ~ Respect ~ Responsibliity

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