January Elk Trax
2022-2023 National School to Watch
From The Principal:
Happy New Year and welcome back to school after our Winter Break! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends. As we ring in the new year at EMS, we have a lot to be thinking about!
We will finish out the first semester on Friday, January 13th! Students will be out of school on Monday, January 16th and Tuesday, January 17th. We will begin the second semester on Wednesday, January 18th. I ask that parents please check in on your child's progress on powerschool so you are up to date with grades, assignments, etc. If you have any concerns, please reach out to their teachers.
We will be planning and preparing for after school tutoring to begin in February. Students will be invited to attend by their math and reading teachers. If you feel your child could benefit, please contact their reading or math teacher to discuss this.
I want to share some exciting news with all of you. Some of you may have heard that all middle schools were receiving a School Resource Officer to be stationed at the middle school, primarily. Elkton Middle is excited that Bruce Hornick will be joining the EMS team in January as our Resource Officer. Please welcome him to our EMS family!
This month, on January 12th, we will host the Rockingham County Spelling Bee at EMS. I am excited to see our top finalists, Andrew Genkins, Trenton Blosser, and Lillian Boatner as they compete for the winning title! I wish all of them the best of luck and hope to see you there, supporting our students!
Lastly, I know it seems impossible that we are almost halfway through the school year! If you have any questions or concerns, Elkton Middle is here for YOU! Please reach out to meet with teachers, counselors, or administrators if you have questions, concerns, or want to discuss your child's progress!
I wish you all a Happy 2023 and a great second half of the school year!
Emily Holloway, Principal
A Message From Michelle Campbell, Assistant Principal
It is hard to believe we are already in 2023! I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable break. I am excited to continue this school year with the many great things planned at EMS this Spring. This month we have winter basketball, cheer, and wrestling coming to a close. Come cheer on our Elks at the winter basketball tournaments on January 28th. The boys' tournament will be held at Thomas Harrison MS and the girls' tournament will be held at J. Frank Hillyard MS. We would also love to see you at the end of season wrestling tournament that EMS will host at ERHS on February 4th. I am also looking forward to visiting classrooms to see the fun and engaging that is happening. We have some special teams of teachers here at EMS!
Ms. Campbell will work with students whose Last Name begins with A-L
A Note From Krystal Muterspaugh, Assistant Principal
I hope everyone enjoyed a great holiday season and is ready for the new year ahead! A reminder that the end of the semester is just a few days away, please have your child check their grades and turn in any missing assignments. Also, be on the lookout for after school tutoring starting in February. If you are interested please let your child's math or English teachers know. I hope you have a great 2023. As always if you need anything please don't hesitate to contact me.
Ms. Muterspaugh will work with students whose Last Name begins with M-Z
ATTENTION 8th GRADE parents
Due to the cancellation from the Black Friar's on December 22, 2022, we are refunding money to all who paid to attend. Attached is a reimbursement permission form for the trip (those who paid for the field trip). Please sign and return the form to Ms. Orebaugh, bookkeeper, by January 9, 2023.
Nurse Clinic News
Welcome back!!! Here we are Elks, it’s 2023, can you believe it!?
I hope you each enjoyed time with family and friends as well as much needed rest over the break.
Winter is upon us although the weather seems to constantly fluctuate and never want to make its mind up. Let’s hope some cold streams will kill out the germs and decrease some of the virus spread that has been swarming around over the last month or so.
Please continue to check your child daily before sending them to school for temperatures or any symptoms of being sick. Especially if you know they have been sick at home. Once getting to school sometimes students are stuck when the nurse cannot reach parents and it makes for a miserable day when a student truly feels horrible.
If you ever have a concern regarding your child’s health always reach out to their pediatrician or family physician, that is what they are there for. If you have any questions for the school nurse please feel free to reach out to me as well. If I don’t know the answer I will certainly try to direct you to someone who does.
Please remember to talk with your child about any issues they may be experiencing while at school. Remind them if they are having any anxiety or stress to see our wonderful counselors. While this sometimes can give you symptoms of feeling sick the root issues can stem from some anxiousness they may be dealing with from other things. We want to be able to help our students in every way possible to make their school day successful and positive so being able to figure out what is truly going on helps us so much to work together on where the need lies.
As always I look forward to making the remainder of this school year wonderful with your student, our school family here at EMS, you all as parents and our community. The year is flying by, let’s work together to continue to make it a great start to 2023!
Next up, maybe building a snowman?? We’ll see…
If you have any questions or concerns for the nurse feel free to call the school 8:30-4 @ 540-298-1228.
Nurse Julie
Family Life Information
All students are Opt'ed IN the class until an Opt-Out form is returned. Therefore, if you would like your child to participate in the course then you do not need to return a form. You have the option of Opting them out of the course entirely or just out of the Pre and Post Surveys.
EMS SRO
Inspire Award
Counseling Corner
- All students continue to participate in Career Thursdays, exploring potential careers using Major Clarity.
- 8th Graders will be going on an Exploring College field trip to Blue Ridge Community College on January 13. More details to come!
- During the month of January, our 6th and 7th grade students will have the opportunity to choose their electives for next year (hard to believe that time has come already!) Stay tuned for more information about this. You'll receive an email specific to the grade level of your student with all the details. 8th grade families will also receive information about scheduling for next year in the weeks to come. We'll keep you posted!
We're also taking January as an opportunity to reflect on our growth over the first half of the school year and our goals for the semester to come. It's a true privilege to be a part of your student's journey. Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to be of support! You can reach me at (540) 298-1228 or logden@rockingham.k12.va.us.
Principal Spotlight:
These students at EMS are amazing! I enjoyed getting to know these eight students a little more as I recognized them for the Principal Spotlight...
Eli Gomez Ibarra
Eli is a 6th grader on the Brainiacs Team. His teachers share, "Eli is a hard-working student. He is funny and is always making people laugh. He is kind-hearted and always wants to include everyone. We are so lucky to have him on our team!"
Ainsley Millard
Sutton Swecker
Sutton is a 6th grade student on the Achievers Team. She is an outstanding young lady that is always willing to help others out. Not only does she do an outstanding job in the classroom, but she is busy as an officer for the EMS FCCLA. Her smile and positive attitude is inspiring to those around her.
Eli Gomez Ibarra: Eli is a 6th grader on the Brainiacs Team. His teachers share, "Eli is a hard-working student. He is funny and is always making people laugh. He is kind-hearted and always wants to include everyone. We are so lucky to have him on our team!"
Kinley Miller
Aaron Kutz
Jomar Nieves-Arbaiza
Caroline Eppard
Kevin O'Neil
Kevin, an 8th grader on the Eaglets Team is a positive influence in all of his classroom communities. He helps his peers without being prompted and helps stack and unstack chairs without being told to do so. Kevin takes initiative when another student is being left out, he makes them feel included. His teachers share he is one to say hello in the mornings and always greets us with a smile.
Math & Reading Growth Assessments
Please make certain your student brings their charged ChromeBook to school on those days.
As with any other testing situation, please see that they have good night's sleep and healthy breakfast to prepare for their assessments.
School Climate Survey
January
03: Return to School - ODD Day
09: School Board meeting - Rockingham Co Administration Ce;:nter
09: Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
10: PTA Meeting
12: RCPS Spelling Bee at EMS
13: End of 2nd Grading Period
13: City/County Honor Band @ Spotswood High School
16 & 17: NO School for Students
18: 2nd Semester Begins!
19: Music Dept trip to "Wicked" at Kennedy Center
20: Elkton Creamery PTA Fundraiser Day
21: Musical Theatre Weekend Rehearsal @ EM 9 am - 1 pm
23-2/10: FCCLA Strawberry Sales
25 & 26: January Growth Assessment
27: Report Cards Issued
27: Moxie 33 Coffee PTA Fundraiser Day
28: Winter Boys'/Girls' Basketball Tournament
Boys play at Thomas Harrison Middle School
Girls play at J Frank Hillyard Middle School
February
01: First Day of Black History Month
01: CTE Month
01: FCCLA Strawberry Sales Begin
01: Teachers schedule parent conferences
03, 04: All-District Band @ Harrisonburg High School
04: Wrestling Tournament @ EMS
10: NO SCHOOL for Students
13-18: FCCLA Week
13: City/County Honor Band
13: School Board meeting - Rockingham Co Administration Building
14: PTA Meeting: Conference Room
15: School Resource Officer Day
16: FCCLA - Valley Jump Park
17: Elkton Creamery PTA Fundraiser Day
17: 7th grade to Richmond
20: Presidents' Day
20-24: National FFA Week
20: FFA America Monday
20: Interim reports issued
21: FFA Blue and Gold Day
21: All District Chorus
22: Digital Learning Day
22: FFA Wilderness Wednesday – Camo Day
23: FFA Tie Dye Thursday
24: NO SCHOOL for Students
24: Moxie Coffee PTA Fundraiser Day
27: Track Begins
After School Tutoring
Bridgewater College/Thin Blue Line Spirit Day
Elkton Middle School
Assistant Principal: Michelle Campbell
Assistant Principal: Krystal Muterspaugh
Website: ems.rockingham.k12.va.us
Location: 21063 Blue and Gold Drive, Elkton, VA, USA
Phone: (540) 298-1228
Facebook: facebook.com/ElktonMiddle
Twitter: @ElktonMiddle