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Letter from the Principal
Dear EMS Families & Community,
The last few weeks have been eventful, and in this issue I want to share some resources, including what we’ve been working on during our Community Time. This is in response to feedback from our Parent Advisory Group, requesting that we more frequently share resources, illuminate the social-emotional learning we are focusing on, and staying on the same page with families regarding timely issues arising in our learning community. In the spirit of collaboration and transparency, I’m passing on two recent Community Time lessons.
The first, from last week, is titled “Trying, Talent, & What Makes Things Worth Doing”. It was inspired by observations about resilience and motivation in an achievement-oriented culture, and complemented a recent staff professional development activity about the drawbacks of using the word “easy” in the classroom. The next time your child says they don’t want to do something because they feel “bad at it” or they worry that they aren’t as “good at” something as they should be, this resource may offer strategies for responding.
The second, presented this week, is titled “Gossip: Rumors at School & How (and Why) to Stop Them”. It stems from recent events at EMS, involving peer-to-peer conflict driven primarily by mean gossip, and instances when altercations have led to an unhelpful outbreak of rumor both in the school and the community. Inevitably, gossip and rumor are part of our lives, but this resource might provide tools to help your child understand the impacts of taking part in the rumor mill.
My hope is that sharing these resources creates greater awareness of how these topics are being addressed at EMS, and empowers parents and guardians to help reinforce these messages at home. And if there are other topics or issues you would love to see addressed during future EMS Community Time meetings, please do not hesitate to let me know! We appreciate and rely on a strong partnership between families and the school.
Finally, in recent weeks many families have requested resources to support conversations with their young people following incidents of violence, at school, locally, or in national news. Our counseling team has assembled a variety of “Resources for Troubling Times” that you can review, if interested. If you ever feel your child needs more support, please do not hesitate to contact Pat Hulbert (grades 7-8) or Brady Lozier (grade 6). They are here for you!
In grateful partnership,
Sabrina Westdijk
EMS Principal
