EAST PAULDING MIDDLE SCHOOL
August 31, 2018
PARENT NEWSLETTER
Important Upcoming Dates
August 31 - Progress Reports Issued
September 3 - Labor Day Holiday
September 11 - Bullying Awareness Night & PTSA Meeting - 6:45pm - Gym
September 12 - 2 Hour Early Release (1:35)
September 24-28 - Fall Break
October 2 - Fall Pictures
October 15-19 - Parent Teacher Conference Week
October 19 - 1st 9-Week Grade Reports Issued
Let's Be Real
Did you also know that unless our Band or Chorus is performing, attendance at our PTSA meetings is very low. Whether we are offering a fun family event, informative information to keep your kids safe from internet predators, free food, or a sneak-peek at curriculum, we struggle to bring parents to our meetings.
Well, I am issuing you a challenge because I believe in YOU! I believe that you are invested in your children, their safety, and their well-being. I also believe that you want to see every student grow to be successful adults. I am challenging you to attend a free event, with free information that will help you be an advocate for all children in our community.
I want to personally invite you to attend our PTSA Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 11th at 6:45pm. Our meeting will last no longer than an hour, and we plan to tackle the tough topics of bullying and the recent increase in teen suicide that has impacted our school and our district over the past few years. Yes, you read that correctly...OUR SCHOOL AND OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT.
For one night, I want to encourage you to step away from watching your kid's practice or sitting in a parking lot waiting for them to finish the night's activities and join us for 1 hour. We want to invite you to be a part of our team to tackle bullying and bring awareness to teen suicide and have some serious conversations about our kids.
Mr. Alverson and Mrs. Howey will share their message of Strength, Honor, and Courage and how we are empowering our students and our staff to end bullying and exclusion. Mrs. Mary Wade, Paulding County School District's recently added Prevention and Intervention Coordinator will provide a special presentation for parents on teen suicide.
Let's be real...when a news stations reports that a child has committed suicide because of bullying, we, as adults, experience sadness and anger. We want something to be done. We wish the schools would have done more. Well...let's do something. Let's talk. Join us...Tuesday, September 11, 6:45pm.
Strength ~ Honor ~ Courage
Our main focus with Strength, Honor, and Courage will connect to our mission to end bullying in our school. If you want to help us spread the message, you can purchase a stop bullying t-shirt by logging on to RevTrak and placing your order. All t-shirts are $12.
Literacy and NBI
The specific goal of this new NBI plan is to provide literacy support to students who are still working to read on grade level, perform math skills on grade level, and provide enrichment activities that challenge those on or above grade level within both contents. The goals of our School Improvement Plan are linked directly to our NBI plan. We are excited to implement our NBI plan, and we are looking forward to the success that it will bring!
Progress Reports
Progress Reports were sent home with students today. If you do not have a Parent Portal account, this will be your first glimpse at how your student is progressing in their classes. If a student has a score below 75, an individual grade report for that course should be attached to the progress report.
It is our goal to consistently communicate with you regarding your child's progress. If you have questions about your student's progress in any of their classes, please contact their individual teachers.
If you don't like waiting for Progress Reports to view your student's progress, there is a way that you can receive instant updates as grades are entered into Infinite Campus. I want to encourage you to sign up for Parent Portal and download the CampusPortal app. As a parent, I can view my own students' grades and attendance. I can also set up push notifications that inform me when grades have been entered, what those grades are, when class averages are updated, and attendance updates.
As a parent myself, I cannot stress how great this access is. Information for accessing Parent Portal is below.
Canvas Access for Parents
EPMS School Improvement Plan
Below are the key pieces of our School Improvement Plan. We have several areas of focus, and I will do my best to explain them in parent-friendly terms.
Goal #1 - We will increase the number of students who read at a proficient or advanced level. We will utilize lexile scores from the Reading inventory (RI) assessment to monitor this goal. The Reading Inventory will be given to students four times throughout the year. We will provide specific support to help students during our NBI period each day from 8:43-9:38 as well as during traditional instructional period through all contents on a weekly basis. This Needs Based Instruction plan will begin in September.
Goal #2 - We will increase the number of students who score a Level 3 (proficient) or Level 4 (distinguished) on the Language Arts EOG Assessment. We are hopeful that our focus on literacy will have a natural, positive impact on our overall ELA scores on the annual Milestones assessments.
Goal #3 - We will increase the number of students who score at a proficient or advanced level on the Math Inventory assessment. We will utilize quantile scores from the Math inventory (MI) assessment to monitor this goal. The Math Inventory will be given to students two times during the year. We will provide specific support to help students during our NBI period each day from 8:43-9:38 as well as during their traditional math class on a daily basis. This Needs Based Instruction plan will begin in September.
Goal #4 - We will increase the number of students who score a Level 3 (proficient) or Level 4 (distinguished) on the Math EOG Assessment. We are hopeful that the support we provide students during NBi and their traditional math course will have a natural, positive impact on our overall Math scores on the annual Milestones assessments.
Goal #5 - We will provide professional learning and training to our staff to help us reduce the amount of perceived bullying occurrences in our school. We will utilize PBIS, character education, bullying prevention, and diversity and inclusion strategies to grow a positive climate and culture at East Paulding Middle School.
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Contact Information for Tom Alverson
Email: talverson@paulding.k12.ga.us
Website: http://www.paulding.k12.ga.us/Domain/29
Phone: 770-443-7000
Facebook: facebook.com/eastpauldingmiddleschool
Twitter: @epmsraiders