This week I framed a lot of my discussion with students from a quote from

Dr. Martin Luther King- "The time is always right, to do what is right."

We have 674 amazing students! In all the fun of a middle school, with students finding themselves, we are working hard on doing what is right. In the building we are all working to ensure everyone, students and adults, knows what is right and we will continue to push this message!

Middle school is meant for growing, finding who we are as people in the world, and I couldn't be prouder of our students and adults as we work to figure this out as a team!

We have had another uptick in wanting to go to the bathroom or go for walks during instructional time. We are working on a system with teams so we can be more aware and be on top of it. It is difficult to monitor if a student goes every period but think it is important as if that does happen they could miss up to 40 minutes of instruction every single day. Thank you for your support in this!

Our 8th grade field trip this year is going to be a repeat of last year's successful trip to Watkins Glen. This will be happening on June 2nd.

Background on how we as a team got to this trip:

In years past, we had an 8th grade field trip to Washington D.C., that field trip was 3 days long and in the years before COVID we had the following number of students participate:

2019- 85/223 = 38%

2018- 98/206 = 48%

2017-86/241 = 37%

These numbers included doing major fundraising for two years, scholarship opportunities, and financial support from multiple teachers and the Board. We as team looked at this and decided it truly wasn't a class field trip, a class field trip should be the entire class. We began to look for solutions that would allow us to do that. Last year, we were awarded a grant to send students to a state park. In that grant we received enough money to get nice buses and a personal tour of the state park. We applied again this year and received that grant again and are excited to do this with the 8th grade class.

I can tell you that when the majority of the class went last year the interest was low, but that changed immensely when they came back and shared pictures, laughs, and stories about the day. It was fun because they were all together and that is our WHY for the change.

We are seeing an uptick in the need to "text my mom" or "call my dad" from students this month. We wanted to remind all, that cell phones are not allowed in class for any reason. If there is an emergency, please call the school (339-1436) and we will do our best to help you communicate with your child. Remember, students do get a chance to have their cell phones in the halls during passing time and in the cafeteria.

Thank you for working with us on that!

With the winter season upon us, make sure you stay up to date with the latest alerts about school closings and delays. Program our contact information into your phone (585) 339-1200 and our one-way text message number 98900. Most importantly, check Infinite Campus Parent Portal to make sure your contact information is correct in the system. If your information is incorrect, call the main office of your child’s school to update your information.

We have seen an uptick in flu cases this early winter and we are reminding families that if their child does not feel well, they should stay home until symptoms subside. A reminder, we have plenty of PPS in our schools should anyone like a mask, sanitizer, hand washing, etc.

January 20th - Dance 6:30pm - 8pm

January 26th- End of 2nd Quarter

January 27th- SID- No School

January 30th- EIMS does GOOD - 5:30pm - 7:00pm

February 6th- PTSA Meeting - 6:30pm - 7:30pm

The district is looking to hire teacher aides, bus drivers, and cleaners. For more information, job descriptions and to apply, click the links below:

• Teacher aides
• Bus Drivers
• Cleaners