Burlington School District

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EMS Students Win the Vermont Bar Association MLK Poster and Essay Contest!

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EMS Faculty celebrate William and Elizabeth Cunningham’s accomplishments!

“William Cunningham and Elizabeth Cunningham from Edmunds Middle School won the contest with the first place traveling trophy for their school and plaques. William and Elizabeth (6th and 8th grade) described the poster in detail and explained how the eagle in the cage, while caged literally and figuratively by the words of hate, instead looks through the bars to the free eagle, flying away with the key to unlock the cage. The students described how the free but silent eagle with the key has more power to hurt the caged eagle than the cage itself. Although the judging was completely blind and anonymous, Justice Robinson noted that Elizabeth Cunningham once won this contest and once came in second in prior years, showing her creativity knows no bounds! This poster and essay will be featured in the Winter Vermont Bar Journal being published within the month.” — VBA Blawg

The Vermont Bar Association along with its Diversity Section and Young Lawyers Division, hosted the fourth annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School Poster-Essay Contest with a virtual awards ceremony that took place on January 19th, 2021.

The Importance of “The Arts”

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EMS artists learn about artist Louise Nevelson and created their own assemblage art! The EMS hallway display shares detail description of the process (critical thinking), biographical information (Language arts and History), recycling and reuse of materials (Science), perspective (Geometry), student work (motivation and emotional health)

Vocabulary: sculpture, relief, assemblage, unity, variety and repetition

NEW EVIDENCE OF THE BENEFITS OF ARTS EDUCATION 2019

EMS Newsletter January 15, 2021

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Dear EMS Families,

Welcome to 2021. 🙂 I would like to highlight some important dates:

Monday, January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. School will be released at 11:30am. Lunch will be provided. Buses will arrive between 11:30am and noon on that day.

Friday, January 22: The last day of 2nd quarter is January 22. Please check your child’s academic progress in Parent PowerSchool Portal. Also, families have asked about switching from “fully remote” status to “hybrid” status. The switch to hybrid is only available at quarter breaks; please contact us immediately if you have decided that you would like your child to be back in the hybrid program. We are finding that most students are more engaged when they are in the hybrid model than if they are fully remote.

Tuesday, January 26: EMS will be remote on January 26. Burlington High School will be using Edmunds Middle School to conduct PSAT tests on that one day.

I am grateful for the deeply committed, passionate staff that we have at EMS. This staff absolutely wants to work with your child. If you check your child’s academic progress, and you have any questions, please contact the teachers. The teachers want to engage with your child… the teachers want to facilitate the personal and academic growth of your child.

We continue to take the Covid mitigation strategies seriously. We have found that physical distancing, wearing masks, and frequent sanitation/hand washing has been extremely effective. We are thankful that families are not sending their children to school with any symptoms of illness. We feel that these measures are making it so that we can safely keep students in school.

We appreciate having the opportunity to work with your children. They bring joy, energy, and brilliance with them every day.

James Kiefer

Full Newsletter

Vermont’s Every Student Succeeds Act — Gap in Performance

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January 13, 2021

Dear EMS parents and families –

Edmunds Middle School was identified by the Vermont Agency of Education as eligible for equity support as stated in Vermont’s Every Student Succeeds Act.  Schools and districts eligible for equity support had a significant difference in student performance, on the 2018-19 State Assessment, between at least one historically marginalized student group and their historically privileged peers. Our school was identified due to the gap in performance for the following student subgroups:

  • Free and Reduced
  • Historically Marginalized
  • Individualized Education Program
  • African American

The district,  along with guidance from the VT AOE, will be providing us technical assistance as we develop our Continuous Improvement Plan to address improving the outcomes for all students including  the specific group(s).  We will continue to address student needs as determined by the analysis of the data we collect.  As part of that data, we look at parent survey results and other information from parents and the community.  We thank you all for your feedback.

Thank you.

James Kiefer

Principal – Edmunds Middle School

EMS Newsletter December 18, 2020

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Dear EMS Families,

It’s hard to believe that this is the last EMS Family Newsletter of 2020.

It has been quite a year. One year ago, none of this current reality was on our radar; so much has changed in a year. We have all been pulled and stretched in ways that we wouldn’t have imagined, and it has impacted everyone in very unique ways.

I am grateful. I am grateful to be a part of the EMS community. I am grateful for a community that believes in always advocating for kids, in always pulling kids closer. I am grateful for the amazing kids with whom we get to work each day. I am grateful for their energy, their enthusiasm, their talents, their thoughts, and their voice. I am grateful for a school and community that believes in equity and social justice and realizes that we have a lot of work to do to address inequities. I am grateful for the communication and thoughts from parents as we all try to bring forth the countless strengths of each individual. I am grateful for the flexibility, resilience and understanding that has been demonstrated by every individual in our community. It has been one of the most challenging years of my 30 years in public school education, yet I find so many reasons to be deeply grateful. Thank you.

I am hopeful for a 2021 in which we can have all students in the EMS building all week. I sincerely hope that you all can take time during break to reset, and to immerse yourselves in connections and relationships that bring you joy and energy. I truly hope for only the best for each of you and yours.

James Kiefer

Full Newsletter here

EMS Newsletter Dec. 4, 2020

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Dear EMS Families,

It’s hard to believe that it is already December and that we are well into the second quarter.

At the most recent EMS Engage meeting, the topic of “simplifying” arose. Since that time, we have been trying to identify ways in which we can make it easier for students and families to navigate the hybrid/remote systems.

One response is the creation of a central location for families to go in order to access learning plans. EMS Learning Plans are now live on the EMS Website. If you would like to access the lesson plans and resources for any class, please visit this site.

We are grateful for the opportunity to work with your amazing kids. We continue to search for effective ways to better serve.

Sincerely,

James Kiefer

Full Newsletter Here

Contact Info

Edmunds Middle School
275 Main Street
Burlington, VT 05401

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Tel: (802) 864-8486

Important Links

Important Contact Info

  • Main Office
    (802) 864-8486
  • School Fax
    (802) 864-2218
  • School Nurse
    (802) 864-8486 x 41006
  • Guidance Office
    (802) 864-8486 x 41003
  • Afterschool Program
    (802) 540-0285 x 71241
  • Tech Support
    (Leave detailed message and call back info)
    (802) 864-8437
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