Principal's Message
Hello EAMS Students and Families:
This was a week filled with talk about “transition” for our 8th grade students. Wednesday of this week, our 8th-grade students traveled to EAHS to experience a sample of what school will be like next year and to gain some background knowledge before making their course selections next week. The students were in small groups, led by high-school students, and traveled throughout the building. In these travels they were able to see the different elective areas and meet with student-organization leaders. They were enthusiastic and feel prepared to make informed decisions about next year.
Earlier in the week, AVID teachers from EAHS met with students and parents interested in continuing with or joining AVID. The most common question I field about AVID is: What is AVID? Let’s start with it being an acronym--A.V.I.D, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. Capturing all that AVID is in one newsletter is impossible; however, AVID is designed to target essential skills that students need to develop like time-management, study-habits, note-taking, organization, planning, and problem-solving. This shows up at EAMS in two ways: the AVID Elective in 8th grade and AVID Schoolwide. The elective students will have specific lessons in this area over the course of the year. From a schoolwide perspective, our teachers incorporate AVID strategies and philosophies into their everyday teaching. If you have any questions about AVID, please do not hesitate to ask.
I read an article this week regarding the rise in prescription drug use/abuse amongst teenagers. Several of the statistics were eye-opening--to the point that I began comparing different sources for their accuracy. After checking many sources out, it is estimated that somewhere between 10-15% of middle-school students have experimented with prescription drugs. Of those students that reported experimenting, over 50% of them reported gaining access to the medication because a parent or relative had a prescription. Attached
here
is a resource regarding the most commonly abused prescription medications and steps we can take to minimize access. It made me think twice about how to educate our students and how to talk to my own children, and I wanted to share.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
#GOPACKGO
Ryan McBurney
Principal
