EGMS Weekly Newsletter

March 24th

Upcoming Dates to Remember

3/24 - Spring Dance - 5:30 to 7pm
3/27 - 3/31 - No School- Spring Break

Letter from Principal Nicklous

Principal Thoughts

We are two weeks into the final trimester of the year with 10 important weeks of work in front of us before summer break begins. Spring Break should be a time of rest, relaxation and an opportunity to reflect with your child. Taking a moment to reflect with your child and discuss a goal or two for the remaining 10 weeks demonstrates the importance of school and will help your child find increased success. I encourage all parents and guardians to discuss your child’s grades and work habits, attendance and friend groups. This will give you some additional insight into their school experience and help them set goals.

Examples could be:

I will spend 30 minutes each night working on school work or preparing for an upcoming test/project.
I will miss two days or less for the remainder of the school year.

Whatever you decide, try to make it meaningful and attainable for your student.

We are very proud of our students and families work on our school wide attendance over the past few weeks. Elton Gregory MS has the highest attendance rate of all secondary schools (middle & high) in Redmond School District and ranks 6th out of 13 schools in the district. We are definitely proud of this work but want to continue to improve as a school. Former Superintendent McIntosh shared some powerful information regarding attendance many years ago. If students come to school regularly (90% or above), they graduate at a 95% rate vs. a 56% rate when compared to those who are chronically absent (Chronically absent is considered attending less than 90%). This data clearly shows the importance of students being at school. Thanks again for all your support in helping Elton Gregory MS continue to strive for strong attendance rates!

I hope you’ve had a chance to review the social media resources that have been in our newsletters. Some of our students struggle with the appropriate use of social media and post personal, rude, hurtful or inappropriate information. Spring Break is an important time to discuss social media use and expectations with your child. We are constantly working on building a culture of respect throughout EGMS. We have nearly 700 students who come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. I encourage you to have regular conversations with your middle schooler about treating others with respect and helping create a middle school culture where everyone feels safe, accepted and welcome. As adults, we know middle school was a challenging time for many of us as our bodies were changing, hormones were raging and we were trying to figure out how to be a young adult. Reassuring your child that all middle schoolers are going through this can help them navigate these challenges. In addition, you can remind them how they can play a critical role in creating a positive school culture that will help make EGMS an amazing place!

I hope you and your family have a fantastic Spring Break!

Sincerely,

Justin Nicklous

Principal, Elton Gregory MS

Spirit Week Fun!

Do you have some time to help?

Tech Corner

Parents!

There are so many great alternatives to phones that have the internet and social media. Here are some examples of phones that look like smart phones but only allows kids to make calls, text, take photos and use a calculator. We know that if students don't have access to social media, the level of drama they experience goes down dramatically. Check it out!

WisePhone

Gabb Wireless

Nurse Grubb's Corner

ATTENDANCE

zoom_out_map

Donuts anyone?

Students who have ZERO absences for an entire week will be entered into a drawing to win a donut the following Monday! There will be one winner per grade, per river team! A DOZEN winners each monday! Yummy! You can do this Huskies!

WINNERS FROM 3/13 to 3/17

Metolius:

6th: Soderstrom, Veda

7th: Shaffer, Raylee

8th:.Limbaugh, Landen

Columbia:

6th: Quero, Erick

7th:Earnest, Cashlynn

8th:Castillo Mendez, Emmanuel

McKenzie:

6th:Gomez, Eden

7th:Manchas, Ashley

8th:Keating, Shaelyn

Deschutes:

6th:Journagan, Korbin

7th:Stefanic, Sophia

8th:Meade, Malikye

STAFF MEMBER:Dutcher, Darren

zoom_out_map

Bullying & Harassment

EGMS has zero tolerance for bullying and harassment—regardless of where it occurs or how severe the offense. Everyone deserves to feel safe at school, and students are expected to treat each other respectfully and civilly. Students are expected to refrain from bringing online interpersonal conflicts (Instagram, Snapchat, etc.) to school; however, such events should be brought to the attention of school personnel in order to support prompt resolution. Incidents of harassment, bullying or threatening behavior will result in disciplinary action. Bullying that involves threats may result in a Risk Assessment Screener with potential referral to Deschutes County Mental Health.

What is being done at EGMS to address bullying?

1. Every single incident that is brought to an adult on our staff will be investigated. We take all reports seriously.

2. From our investigation we will determine if it is bullying or a conflict between students.

3. Bullying is not tolerated and will be consequenced accordingly.

4. Conflicts are common among middle school students. Students are learning how to navigate relationships as much as they are learning school subjects. We like to take a restorative approach to conflicts and have students sit together with an adult and work out the issue and move on from it when it's possible. There are consequences if conflicts get inappropriate or physical in nature.

5. Counselors are teaching "bully proofing" lessons to each grade level this month.

Click Here to Buy Yearbook!

Sports

zoom_out_map

Spring Sports (track & soccer) Registration is OPEN in FamilyID.

Golf Registration is OPEN in FamilyID and you MUST also register through the PGA LINK provided in the FamilyID registration. Golf requires the 2 registrations to be complete. Elton Gregory will NOT be taking payments for Golf, all golf payments will go through the PGA LINK or Eagle Crest. Info is on the PGA link.

All athletes will need a current sports physical on file. Sports physicals are good for 2 years from the original date they are done. Example: If a sports physical is done 2/23/23 it will be good until 2/23/25.

Practices for Track & Soccer will start April 3, after Spring Break. Your student MUST be registered in FamilyID and have a current sports physical on file in order to be approved to participate and start practice on April 3rd.

*Track: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 2:30-4:15 / NO WEDNESDAY PRACTICE

*Soccer: Days of practice to be determined, 2:30-4:00

Track & Soccer schedules can be found on the Elton Gregory website under the Calendar Tab, then click on "Activities Calendar". The schedules are subject to change, check frequently for updates. EGMS Activities Calendar Link

Practices for Golf will start in May. More details to come.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTING EVENTS

Parents and guardians of middle school students who wish to attend high school athletic contests:

Middle school students attending high school games must attend with an adult. Middle school students need to sit in the stands during games. High schools do not have the staffing to supervise middle school students. Just like all Bend/LaPine high schools, Redmond high schools believe that middle school students can successfully achieve this goal. However, in the event that middle school students cannot stay in the stands, they will be required to sit with the adult who brought them to the game or be required to leave. Please help your student enjoy the game by monitoring them while on high school property.

Thank you,

RHS & RVHS Staff