Welcome back to the 2011-2012 school year! I hope everyone had a relaxing summer and are ready to come back for another year at EPMS. The staff and I are excited for everyone to return and especially to meet our new 5th grade class. Please read below for important information. Please contact the middle school if you have any questions or concerns.

Once again, I am excited and look forward to begin the 2011-2012 school year! GO BULLDOGS!!!

1. 5th grade students will receive their schedules during orientation on Monday, August 15th at 6:00 in the high school auditorium. 6th, 7th and 8th grade students can pick up their schedules August 24-26 from 8:00am to 1:00pm in the middle school office. Students are only permitted to pick up their own schedule. They will not be permitted to take another students schedule. Student locks will also be available during this time for $6.00.

2. The first day of school is August 30, 2011. Homeroom begins at 7:35am. All students are to be in their seats by this time.

3. All students will receive their Ohio Achievement Assessment scores on the first day during homeroom. Students will also receive a packet of important documents. Please go over the forms and have them returned to your child’s homeroom teacher by September 2nd.

4. Please notify the school if there is a change in your address, telephone number or person to contact in an emergency. This information is very important in case your child becomes ill or injured.

5. A large number of students now have cell phones. In the event you need to contact your child, please call the office and not their cell phone. We will then contact your child to minimize disruptions to the student and their class. Also, please advise your child to utilize the office phone to contact home to again, minimize disruptions to the other students and staff.

6. All medications and the prescriptions must be registered with the principal’s office, and be secured properly. Staff members will not be permitted to dispense non-prescribed, over-the-counter medication to any student. For example, your child needs an over-the-counter pill for a headache, the parent and/or an individual on the emergency contact form will need to administer the pill.

7. Supply list: Your child will have multiple teachers while at the middle school. Different subjects and teachers request different supplies. All students are to come prepared with pencils and paper. Teachers will let your child know the first week of school what the necessary items are for the year. Once you receive your child’s schedule you can also email their teachers for the items. This system will allow you, as parents, to only purchase what is needed for the year.

8. CONGRATULATIONS to the class of 2015! The class accepted the challenge and passed the Ohio Assessment Achievement (OAA) in Math, Reading and Science! They will receive their reward the first week of school! Great job and good luck in high school!

FEBRUARY 2010 PARENT NEWSLETTER

A Message From the Principal...

I want to start off by saying, “I have had enough snow already!” I have heard this a lot throughout the halls of the middle school by students and staff. But March is almost here and spring will be here before we know it. If you are like me, you can’t wait.

There are a lot of things going on in the middle school. Especially as we gear up for the OAA’s in April. Encase you didn’t hear, the OAT (Ohio Achievement Test) has been changed to the OAA (Ohio Achievement Assessment). This year, students in grades 6, 7 and 8 will be tested in reading and math while our 8th graders will also take a science test. These tests are 2 ½ hours long and are used to collect data on what students have or have not learned. It is extremely important that all students are here during testing and are also well rested. There will be more information regarding testing as we get closer to testing.

The middle school students, staff and parents would like to congratulate our 8th grade boy’s basketball team and Coach Young for winning the ITCL tournament on Saturday, February 20th. The team finished the season 15-2! Go BULLDOGS!

This is our second group of ITCL champions. Our 8th grade girl’s volleyball team won their ITCL tournament earlier this year. We all look forward to continued success as our 8th graders move on to high school. Great job BULLDOGS!

The middle school science fair will be held March 2nd and 3rd. Every student in grades 6-8 are expected to present a project. Students will present their projects during school and will be judged utilizing a rubric which all students received earlier this month.

Parents and the community are welcome to observe the projects on Wednesday, March 3rd from 6:00pm -7:00pm. Projects may be removed during the evening showing or during the day on Thursday, March 4th from 8:00am – 2:00pm. Any project remaining after 2:00pm will be disposed of.

Good luck to all of our students!

Our spelling bee was postponed due to weather and was held on Wednesday, February 17th in the high school auditorium. Samantha’s teachers and the 6th grade class are very proud of her. Below are the remaining students that placed in our spelling bee who will travel to Lisbon for the Columbiana County Bee:

April 1, 2010 is Census Day. The census happens only once every 10 years. The data collected will help businesses, local groups and government make decisions that will affect East Palestine for the next ten years. Your child will be bringing home information that will assist and describe the importance of the census.

Please do your part to make sure that our community is completely counted in 2010. There will be about 10 questions and in takes about 10 minutes to answer. Remember, your responses will be 100% confidential.