Welcome a new school year with this in-person event! We hope to see you there!
EMS Open House is on 9/22
EMS Newsletter – September 9, 2022
To read the full newsletter, please go here.
Letter from the Principal
Dear Families,
It’s been wonderful to have all students back. The first few days are always focused on building community, helping students connect to one another, setting clear expectations and classroom norms, and helping students learn their way around. With that strong foundation, we are looking forward to a great year of learning together!
There are plenty of announcements and events to share, so please check out the information below.
In partnership,
Sabrina
P.S. Due to some technical issues with our newsletter program, this message is only going out to each student’s first contact in Power School. We expect to resolve this issue by our second newsletter. In the meantime, please forward this message to anyone else who might want/need this information. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Back-to-School Information!
Wednesday, August 31: The first day for 6th graders only
School begins at 8:00. Sixth graders should meet their teachers on the Union Street lawn. Teachers will be holding up signs with their Team Name so you know where to go. If it rains, we will meet in the gym. Sixth graders will embark on a day of community building, sharing their stories and getting to know teachers, new classmates, and the building. The school day will end at 2pm on 8/31, as it does on all Wednesdays.
Thursday, September 1: All students at EMS will meet their teachers on the front lawn (6th grade on the Union St. lawn, 7th & 8th graders on the Main St. lawn). Teachers will be holding up signs with their Team Name so students know where to go. If it rains, we will meet in the gym. School begins at 8:00, and will end at 2:55.
We are all looking forward to welcoming students to EMS for a year of learning, growth, and community!
EMS New 6th Grade Family Night
Welcome to EMS 2022! On Thursday, 5/26 we hosted an informational evening for families of incoming 6th graders, where families had the opportunity to meet our current 6th grade team, learn about exploratory options, and get a sense of a typical day for 6th graders. If you weren’t able to attend, or would like another chance to look at the slides, please check them out here!
EMS Newsletter – May 6, 2022
To read the full newsletter, please go here.
Letter from the Principal
Dear EMS Families & Community,
It’s hard to believe that we only have 5 weeks of school left! As we near the summer, there are many upcoming events to be aware of. As you’ll see below, our performance music program’s spring concert series begins next week. The EMS production of Big Fish opens tonight, with a second performance tomorrow. The play will be in the EMS Gym, starting at 6:30pm both nights. Our students have worked hard to prepare for these performances, and we are looking forward to a big turnout. Hope to see you there!
Please also be reminded that there are three (3) Early Release days between now and the end of school, to support both staff professional development and special events for students. School will release at 11:30am on each of these three dates:
- Wednesday, May 11th (for districtwide staff PD)
- Friday, May 27th (for Step Up Day for next year’s 6th graders)
- Friday, June 10th (for the 8th grade promotion ceremony)
We are excited to open EMS back up to families, and look forward to a month of celebrating students’ growth, learning, and talents.
In partnership,
Sabrina Westdijk
EMS Principal
EMS Newsletter – April 15, 2022
To read the full newsletter, please go here.
Letter from the Principal
Dear EMS Families & Community,
This newsletter includes information that I know you’ve been eager to receive: important dates and events from now through the end of the year (June 10th)! Please take a moment to review this info and get dates on your calendar. There are also details below about SBAC testing, which happens in May. More details about the school dance, award ceremony, the Celebration of Learning, and more will be shared as we get closer to these events. The final weeks of school always fly by, especially as they fill up with fun and special events.
I sincerely hope that all our families are able to enjoy a restful, healthy and (relatively) warm vacation break. Whether you are staying in town or traveling, I wish you a fun, rejuvenating and safe week! We look forward to seeing you when we return.
Be well,
Sabrina Westdijk
EMS Principal
Important Upcoming Events & Dates
| Date(s) | Event |
| April 18-22 | Spring Break – NO SCHOOL |
| April 27 | Day of Silence (participation optional) |
| May 11 | Early Release @ 11:30am – District Inservice |
| May 12 | Spring Orchestra Concert – 7-8pm (EMS Gym) |
| May 17 | Spring Chorus Concert – 7-8pm (EMS Gym) |
| May 19 | Spring Band Concert – 7-8pm (EMS Gym) |
| May 27 | Early Release @ 11:30am (HMS & EMS only) – Step Up Day! |
| June 3 | School Dance 6-8pm (EMS Gym) |
| June 8 | School Awards (details TBA) |
| June 9 | 8th grade: rehearsal for Celebration of Learning (AM); EMS Team Trips (PM/full day) |
| June 10 | Early Release @11:30am; 1:30-2:30 Celebration of Learning (EMS Gym) |
Registration is Open for the Burlington / Winooski Middle School Summer Program
The Burlington School District, Sara Holbrook Community Center, and Winooski School District are excited to offer the 2022 Burlington / Winooski Middle School Summer Program, free of charge, to all incoming 6th – 9th graders of the Burlington & Winooski School Districts.
Academic classes and enrichment programs will run Monday – Friday, June 27th – July 29th, from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at Hunt Middle School. There will be no program on Monday, July 4th, and no program for Winooski students on Friday, July 1st. Breakfast, lunch and transportation are provided at no cost.
Registration is open now until May 31st. More details and instructions can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17ouylQVPKmaHwkT5SuxyIW-SMa25yn76exV3ejOLHDs/edit?usp=sharing
EMS Students Sweep the Annual Hildene Essay Contest
For the fifteenth year, the Hildene, the Lincoln Family home in Manchester, Vermont, sponsored its statewide writing competition for 8th graders. This year’s prompt was: “What gives YOU hope? Identify a challenging issue facing humanity today, whether at the local, state, national, and/or global level.”
There were 186 entries statewide. For the Chittenden region, Esther Lokossou won first place and a prize of $500 for her essay “The Light Will Always Conquer the Darkness” which shared the challenges of mental health within the BIPOC community. Siena DeMink won second place and $400 for her essay “Women Leaders Light the Way” which captured how critical it is to have women in positions of power. Scarlett Contreras-Montesano won third place and $300 for her essay “Dignity, Not Degradation” which conveyed resilience within the migrant justice struggle. Please join us in congratulating these students on their big achievement!
These three students will be honored at an awards luncheon at Hildene in May, where they will also read their essays. Special thanks to Mr. Rich Boyers and Mr. Jeremy DeMink for their time and energy as co-advisors to all of our essay writers!
EMS Newsletter – April 1, 2022
To read the full EMS Newsletter, go here.
Letter from the Principal
Dear EMS Families & Community,
Spring has sprung, despite being off to a slow start, and we certainly have that energy in the air! Our students are engaged in a variety of learning, ranging from fraction work and constructing essays using evidence and reasoning in the 6th grade, to a unit on weather in the 7th and 8th grades. And of course, our students are continuing to create amazing artwork with Ms. Klima, apply the equipment certifications they’ve earned with Mr. Schoembs, expand their French and Spanish vocabularies, and so much more.
As you know, this week was the first week for our new approach to cell phones, and it went quite well. Very few phones needed to be collected, phones very rarely made any appearance during class time, and students understood the expectations and process. We also noted a marked decline in lateness to class, prolonged absences from classrooms, and interpersonal conflict stemming from phone use. The supportive response to this new policy from families was overwhelming, and much appreciated. Thank you for your ongoing support, not only of our school, but also by reviewing phone safety and etiquette with your child at home!
In the coming weeks, you can look forward to more information about the kinds of exciting events that mark the closing of another school year: a school dance in May (the first dance in over two years!), end-of-year awards, and EMS’s Celebration of Learning in June. We are all looking forward to the return of these gatherings as a way to celebrate our students, connect with families, and build community.
I wish you a wonderful, restful, healthy weekend.
In partnership,
Sabrina Westdijk
EMS Principal
