To read the full newsletter, please go here.

Letter from the Principal

Dear EMS Families & Community,

I hope that the decisive arrival of spring finds you well and in good health. The weather warms and the snow recedes a bit too slowly every year for my taste, but many of our teachers are taking advantage of the slightly better weather to get their classes out for body breaks, and PE classes (currently engaged in EMS Olympics) will soon venture back outside. Time outdoors is proven to have health benefits, so I encourage all families to consider ways to get young people outside at home, too! Whether it’s planting veggies to harvest this summer, walking the dog, or hiking up a mountain, getting fresh air and sunshine is good for mind and body.

Friday, 4/7 marks the close of the third quarter, so please check in with your student around their grades, any missing work, and plans for completing any overdue tasks that may be negatively impacting their grade. Quarterly grade reports will come out late next week via the mail, but you can check where your learner is at by accessing Schoology at any time (see directions here).

If you have questions or concerns about your child’s grades or progress as we move into the final stretch of the year, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher(s). We had excellent turnout at Parent Conferences this year, but that’s not the only time you can touch base with teachers about concerns. We’re here for you all school year!

Please read below for info about the upcoming PTO meeting, the opportunity to help support this year’s Spring Dances at EMS, a link to complete BSD’s important annual Restorative Culture survey, and registration info for summer programs & camp opportunities in Burlington!

As always, thank you for your support of our learning community. We truly could not do it without you.

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

To read to full newsletter, please go here.

Letter from the Principal

Greetings, EMS Families & Community.

This week’s newsletter is absolutely packed with information, ranging from an update on the upcoming 8th grade Information Night at BHS and a range of opportunities for your students, to an important update regarding vaping among middle schoolers. And of course, there are updates on what students are doing in exploratory programs, valuable resources related to accessing Schoology to keep up with your student, and more. Please take a moment to review the information, and do not hesitate to reach out with questions.

As you know, we are concluding the second quarter today, and now embark on the second half of the year. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress at the halfway point, or would like to partner to establish new goals for best supporting your child during second semester, your child’s teachers are available to meet with you. Every team meets together daily, providing a great opportunity for families to meet with multiple teachers at once (in-person or remotely). We are all committed to doing what it takes to help your child be successful at EMS!

Finally, you’ll find an update in this week’s issue about a BSD Job Fair happening on 1/21 and 1/24. Like many districts in Vermont and around the country, we continue to have open positions we are eager to fill with qualified individuals. If you know anyone who is seeking work and interested in joining the Burlington team, please consider passing along this information. Edmunds Middle School continues to seek skilled paraeducators.

Thank you, and I wish you and your family a nice, snowy weekend!

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

To read the full newsletter, please go here.

Letter from the Principal

Dear EMS Families & Community,

I truly hope that the recent break gave you and your family time to connect and relax, and that you were able to ring in the new year in good spirits. We were excited to welcome students back this week, and are looking forward to helping all learners end the first semester strong on January 20th.

Just two weeks from today, we will cross the halfway point of the school year. Prior to that, I strongly encourage you to review your child’s current grades, looking particularly for missing or late assignments that can still be completed. It’s also a good time to review attendance records. This is a great activity to do together, and provides an opportunity to celebrate what went well, discuss what was challenging, and set goals for the second half of the year. If you have any questions about grades, assignments, or how to best support your child’s success in a specific class, please reach out to that teacher directly; they are here for students and families, and are eager to partner with you!

One of EMS’s goals for the new year is to support students in improving timely attendance of classes and general kindness toward one another. As you may know, EMS has noticed a concerning trend this year, involving frequent or long tardies, class skipping, and rudeness to peers and staff in the hallways. While many of our students come to class on time, stay in class, and are courteous to all, we have been thinking hard about how to best address these issues in our community. Students wandering the halls and being rude to staff and peers cause our school to feel less safe, and it also means that classes are sometimes disrupted and that some students are missing important teaching and learning. We are creating a new program to help address this, which you can read more about below.

In addition to this, we are committed to continuing to identify root causes and unmet needs driving these challenging behaviors in order to consider how to best meet these needs and support learners more proactively. I am grateful to our student and parent advisory group members for being thought partners in that work. We also welcome families checking in routinely with their children to talk about how they feel about school, their sense of the school culture, and how we can best meet their needs. If you or your student have ideas you’d like to share for how we can keep motivation and pride in our school strong, we’d love to hear from you! We all play an important role in keeping our learning community healthy, and will work hard to make sure all members of our community are seen, heard, and valued.

Take care, and I hope that 2023 is a fulfilling, healthy and happy year for you and your family.

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

To read the full newsletter, please go here.

Letter from the Principal

Dear EMS Families & Community,

I hope that your family and loved ones enjoyed a fun and healthy week away and returned to school rejuvenated last week. It was a well-deserved break for students and staff alike. Only two and a half weeks remain until the next break, but they are busy ones! Please check out the announcements below for information about the December PTO meeting and our annual Title I Information Session this coming week, and our winter concert series that starts next week.

There is also important information in this letter regarding signing up to receive or provide support over the Winter Break. Schools are in a unique position to provide assistance to families as colder weather and higher energy and food costs set in, but we rely on our community to provide donations of winter clothing, gift cards and monetary gifts. Thank you in advance for your support of this mission.

As we count down to the winter break, our music programs will be busy rehearsing for their upcoming concerts, and most classrooms will be working to wrap up units, projects and assessments. It can be a stressful time, so please check in with your student and their grades in Schoology to check that they end 2022 strong. Conferences are behind us, but teachers are always available should you have questions about your child’s assignments, grades, or how you can best support their learning at home.

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

Read the full newsletter here.

Letter from the Principal

Dear EMS Families & Community,

On the eve of the first substantial break of the year, I’d like to wish you all a fun, healthy, and relaxing vacation. I hope that all our students and families alike are able to take this time to get some rest, connect with friends, and enjoy the outdoors.

Please check out the announcements below for some upcoming events (winter concert season is just around the corner) as well as important information about our upcoming annual Title I Information Session and conferences.

Finally, ​​in report cards last week, many of you received your student’s SBAC scores from last year. Usually, when we send the scores, they are accompanied by a letter that explains what you are looking at and how the scores are used. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen this year, which I know has caused some confusion. In hopes of clearing up that confusion, you’ll find more information on SBAC scores in today’s weekly newsletter. Please accept my apologies for us missing the letter this year.

In partnership,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal

To read the full newsletter, please go here.

Letter from the Principal

Dear EMS Families & Community,

As we conclude the first quarter of the school year, you have likely been hearing from your student about project due dates, quizzes, makeup work, and upcoming schedule changes. Teachers across all teams have been working hard to support students in ending the quarter successfully, as we appreciate your support in helping learners complete and turn in any missing assignments, review for assessments, and completing homework.

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up on 11/21 and 11/22, but as you will see below, sign-up begins NOW. Please be sure to check out the section on conferences, instructions for how to sign up, and links to other valuable resources. You’ll see that a feedback form is also linked in the conferences section below. Please consider filling this out after you’ve completed your conference; your feedback is invaluable, and we make changes from year to year based on students’ and families’ input.

Finally, I want to make sure you are aware of the work being done in BSD to promote antiracist teaching and leadership. During last week’s Early Release Day, all secondary faculty and staff participated in training aligned to antiracist educational practices – there will be several other sessions of these trainings over the course of the year. In addition, building and district leaders are also engaged in antiracist leadership training. I also want to remind you of the Equity Ticket system created and monitored by the Office of Equity; this is a simple system that students and parents can use to report inequities and unfair issues that students may be experiencing in our buildings. The Office of Equity is committed to responding quickly, and partners with building leaders to ensure that all schools are abiding by our responsibility to create inclusive, safe and welcoming learning environments.

Thank you for your partnership and support. And please don’t forget to get out and VOTE!

With gratitude,

Sabrina Westdijk

EMS Principal