February 2022 Newsletter

A Message from Principal Thompson

Hello, Oak Creek East Middle School Families,

As we enter the second semester of the school year, we continue to fill our time at East with ski trips, volleyball tryouts, forensics practice, a trip to an Admirals game, chocolate tasting in German club, a FIRST LEGO League State Competition, and making bookmarks for elementary schools in IMPACT Club. Our students continue to get more and more involved at East! We are especially proud of our students who created a month-long learning experience, through music, images and words celebrating Black History month.

Congratulations to the 525 in-person and OC Virtual students for achieving the second quarter honor roll and to the 118 in-person and OC Virtual students who increased their grade point average by .2 points. In addition, 571 in-person and OC Virtual students earned Middle School Outstanding Knights for their behavior, attendance and academic accomplishments. Click here to view recognition criteria. We are very proud of our students' academic, athletic and activity accomplishments! #EMSPROUD!

Our PBIS area of focus for the third quarter is all about using respectful language and being kind to one another. In addition, our students will be learning and practicing strategies to use when they are feeling frustrated. We are also implementing new ways to celebrate students who are consistently showing respect, responsibility, safety and who are ready to learn. We appreciate your support in reinforcing these skills with your students in all areas of their lives.

Again, thank you. The success of our students is directly linked to the support they receive from us working together to engage, challenge and inspire them each and every day!

Sincerely,

Sue Thompson, Principal

Jodi Newell Associate Principal (A-L)

Casey Milroy, Associate Principal (M-Z)

Upcoming Events

Click HERE to see a full list of upcoming events!

February

Feb 25 (Friday) - No School (Possible Snow Make-Up Day)

March

March 3 (Thursday) - Parent Conferences 4:30-8:00PM

March 9 (Wednesday) - Student Council Spring Blood Drive

March 21 (Monday) - Start of Spring Break

March 28 (Monday) - Return from Spring Break

EMS Celebrates & Honors Black History Month

We are excited to celebrate Black History Month here at East Middle School and thank our students, families, and staff for their support. The students on our learning committee have been working especially hard, spending lots of time outside of school, to make this a meaningful celebration and we are excited to present their hard work.

Over the course of February, students will enjoy hearing a morning playlist with songs carefully chosen by our student committee members to represent Black joy, struggle, empowerment, and hope in America. After each song plays at the start of the day, students from the committee will be sharing some information about the song and artist each day.

In addition, our students have put together a slideshow with the theme "Black History Month 2022 - People You Should Know!" They have chosen over 20 important figures in American Black History to explore with fellow students and staff.

Students are also invited to stop by the EMS library and check out Ms. Koenig's great display of books written by an author of color or books with a main character of color.

Outstanding Knights, Honor Roll, & Increased GPA

Announcing our Quarter 2 Outstanding Knights, Honor Roll, and Increased GPA students! - We are thrilled to recognize the following students for their outstanding academic achievements and growth during our second quarter.

Visit the following link to view the list of honored students for both East Middle School and OC Virtual:

Click Here for Q2 Student Achievement List

Student Council Spring Blood Drive

Spelling Bee Update

Congratulations to EMS students Parmida Kumar and Dominik White for their TIE in the preliminary building round for the National Spelling Bee! Both students received a 29/30.

The students went head to head with another spelling test to determine the advancing winner. Dominik White won 24/25 to Parmida Kumar’s 23/25! It was a close one! Well done!

Dominik will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee Qualifying Round held February 16th and 17th. Good luck!!

All-State Honors Choir Students

Four EMS students were chosen to participate in the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association's All-State Honors Choir on January 15. 7th graders Isabela Garcia and Mya Rutkowski and 8th graders Ella Peets and Keli Danek spent two days with students from around the state, rehearsing music and then performing a final concert. These students also spent weeks before the all-state weekend practicing music on their own and with Mrs. Baker! Kudos to these four students for their hard work and effort.

Lego League Team Going to State!

Congratulations to our Lego League team Lego My Eggo for advancing to the State Finals on February 6th in Madison!

More details coming soon!

Social-Emotional Learning Lessons

In the month of February students will be fishing up

Unit 3: Thoughts, Emotions & Decisions

In this unit, students have been learning how to recognize strong emotions and unhelpful thoughts.

They are also learning to apply strategies for managing their emotions and reducing stress. This unit’s content helps students understand that all emotions are valuable because they provide us with information about our environment. Students will learn to respond to their emotions in ways that help meet their wants and needs.

The EMS Change for Life Fundraiser/Penny Wars

In January, Oak Creek East Middle School, led by the East Middle School Ambassadors, raised $875.00 in the Change for Life Fundraiser.

This fundraiser raises the awareness of individuals, including middle school students, knowing how to administer CPR, and helps fund this cause. The fundraiser took place in the form of Penny Wars, where grade level houses competed against one another while collecting pennies and paper money for their own houses and putting silver money in other houses' jars to bring down their totals.

Winning houses include: House 6-3, 7-4, and 8-2. All of the money will go to the American Heart Association’s Leaders for Life Campaign with Dibbs17!

Thank you to students and staff members who donated to such a great cause.

Click HERE to learn more about Dibbs17

EMS Read In - Save the Date

Save the date for our first East Middle School Read In of the year!

EAST MIDDLE SCHOOL READ IN!

February 18 from 3:45-6:45 in the LMC

Join us for a night of reading and pizza!

More details to come via our Daily Announcement Document and Facebook!

EMS Yearbook Sale

Haven't ordered a yearbook for this school year? Don't sweat it, we have you covered! Online sales can be made by visiting the Jostens website. We would love for each student to purchase a yearbook to see all the amazing memories that have been made this year.

Click HERE to order your yearbook today!

Coffee with the Principal

Save the date and join Ms. Thompson on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 for Coffee with the Principal from 8:45 am to 9:45 am in the East Middle School Office Conference Room. See you there!

National School Counseling Week: Feb 7th - 11th

February 7th through the 11th, we celebrate our OCFSD counselors! Our school counselors are actively engaged in helping students realize their abilities, strengths, interests and talents. We couldn't be more proud of the work they do today and every day. Thank you to our fantastic counselors Mrs. Kacsur, Mrs. Kollmorgen and Ms. Splan! #ThankYourSchoolCounselor #NSCW2022

Gold Slips (Parent Permission Consent Form)

Students who will be staying before or after school for clubs, extracurricular activities, tutoring sessions, etc... will need to have a signed Gold Slip until the activity coach or club advisor has the student fill out a code of conduct that is signed by both the student and parent/guardian (if applicable).

Gold Slips can be found in the office or on the Forms section of the EMS website under the Parents tab.

Click HERE to print and fill out a slip to return to the front office.

Reminder - Masks Required for the Bus

This is a reminder for students who take the bus to and from school. Remember, masks are mandated on the school bus and MUST be worn. Please be prepared and have your mask out before arriving to the bus at dismissal. You may not get on your bus without a mask. It is also expected that you wear your mask the entire time you are on the bus. This includes to and from school and any athletic or extracurricular event. This is required by a January 2021 federal order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. Thank you!

Artist of the Month

Artist: Lindsay Opala

Grade: 8

Lindsay Opala from our EMPOWER academy submitted a piece of her amazing digital artwork. Our assignment focused on portraiture drawings, and when she asked to do a pet portrait, Ms. MacLeod couldn’t say no! Lindsay has a clear understanding of her digital tools and did a wonderful job using various textures in her brush strokes. Amazing job, Lindsay!

Aurora Student & Family Assistance Program

The Aurora Student and Family Assistance Program offers a variety of free supportive resources for the families of students in our district. SFAP provides up to 6 sessions of short-term counseling at no charge along with legal, financial, child care and elder care consultation and resources. Services are available to individual adults, couples, and families.

To learn more about these services, visit www.aurora.org/eap or call 1-800-236-3231.

Please mention that you are a parent of a student that attends Oak Creek East Middle School to gain access to the free services.

Cell Phone Free School

Click HERE to view our cell phone and headphones procedure

If you allow your student to bring a phone to school, it will need to be locked in the locker from 8:30 am until 3:45 pm.

As in the “olden days,” you can contact the office if you need to speak to or get a message to your child.

Absence Reporting

Please call the attendance line at (414) 768-6260 option “1” to report student absences and tardies. When leaving a message, please include the date, first and last name of your student, the spelling and grade.

Additionally you may email attendance information to our general office email address at [email protected].

Virtual Backpack

Don’t forget to check your student’s Virtual Backpack! The Virtual Backpack is our "eco-friendly" approach to distributing information supporting our district's educational goals and mission.

Virtual Backpack Link: ocfsd.org/parents/virtual-backpack

Background Checks

The District Volunteer Background Check Application is now online! We will no longer be accepting paper applications. Every volunteer must complete an online volunteer application form even if you were previously approved and are on the Volunteer Database. You will still need to submit an online volunteer application every five years after the initial online application. This new process will have results within 1-2 days!

The link can be found under the Parents tab on the district website.