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December 2022 Newsletter

A Message from Principal Thompson

During this holiday season, we want you to know how much we appreciate your support of our EMS learning community as we work together to engage, challenge and inspire every student every day with much needed unwavering support.  Please continue to reach out to your student’s teachers, counselors or administration with any questions or concerns you may have.  Your partnership in supporting all learning at EMS is a strength of our EMS community.


East students continue to thrive this school year in their academics, fine arts, clubs, athletics and other activities over the past month. During the month of November we recognized the academic achievement of 508 students earning the first quarter honor roll.  In addition, we recognized 618 students earning Middle School Outstanding Knights for their positive behavior, attendance and academic accomplishments. Click here to view recognition criteria. We are very proud of our students' academic, athletic and activity accomplishments!  


During the second quarter we continue to challenge ourselves and our students to set goals for continued improvement with a focus on academics, self-care and positive social interactions.  Our PBIS goal for the second quarter is to reduce our number of tardies as a school. We are working with students to build a positive habit of arriving to class on time. Students will engage in lessons during Advisory focused on responsibility. The lessons will provide students with strategies for getting to class on time. An adjustment we have made to support students getting to class on-time is adding a “one-minute warning” bell to our bell schedule at EMS. You can support this goal by monitoring your student’s weekly attendance record on Infinite Campus, and celebrating with them when their attendance does not reflect an unexcused tardy.


Again, thank you for working with us to make a positive impact on all students as they continue to develop their social and academic skills. We wish all of our EMS families a wonderful holiday season!


Happy Holidays! 


Sue Thompson, Principal

Jodi Newell Associate Principal (A-L)

Casey Milroy, Associate Principal (M-Z)

UPCOMING EVENTS

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Click HERE to see a full list of upcoming events!


December

Dec. 9 - Friday / Student Council Activity Night 4 – 5:30 pm

Dec. 5 - 9 - Spirit Week (See below for more info.)

Dec. 14 - Wednesday / Spelling Bee - 4:00pm


No School - Winter Break

Friday, December 23 - Monday, January 2 (Return Jan. 3)

1st Quarter EMS Honor Roll & Outstanding Knights

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Announcing our Quarter 1 Outstanding Knights and Honor Roll Students! - We are thrilled to recognize the following students for their outstanding academic achievements and growth during our first quarter.


Visit the following LINK to view the list of honored students for East Middle School.


9th GRADE - FRESHMEN ORIENTATION

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On Thursday, January 5, 2023, Oak Creek High School will host an Open House for incoming freshmen including all 8th graders from East Middle School, West Middle School, St Matthews, and other private schools in the area.  Families of all incoming freshmen are invited to tour the Ninth Grade Center (NGC), talk with content teachers, and sign up for sports, clubs, and extracurricular activities between 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

 

There will be an informational meeting regarding course selection held in the NGC gym at 5:30 p.m. and at 6:15 p.m. Families can choose which presentation to attend, yet it is recommended that last names beginning A-L attend the first presentation, and last names beginning M-Z attend the second presentation, if possible. There will also be a meeting for band students and their parents at 6:45 in Rm 321. 


Oak Creek High School is excited to welcome the class of 2027 and provide a preview of the opportunities available to freshmen.


Sincerely,


Keith Ruffalo

Principal, NGC

GIVING TREE TO BENEFIT FAMILIES IN NEED

TOY DRIVE

STUDENT COUNCIL - BLOOD DRIVE UPDATE

Thank you to our EMS community members for jumping on board to support our blood donation drive. Your support means so much and we could not do it without you!

Such a wonderful impact made by the Oak Creek East Middle School community, especially during these difficult times and leading into the holiday season!

Thank you for your support!

COUNSELOR CONNECTION

Dear Families,

Social Media has become an ever-present part of so many of our student's lives. A study by the nonprofit organization, Common Sense Media, found that screen time among teens and tweens has drastically increased from 2019-2021. For tweens (ages 8-12), daily screen time has increased from 4 hours 44 minutes to 5 hours and 33 minutes. For our teens (ages 13-180, they saw an increase from 7 hours and 22 minutes to 8 hours and 39 minutes per day. As adults, we have all seen and/or experienced the benefits of social media from helping us to stay connected to friends and family to allowing us to promote events in the community or even keeping us up to date on current events. Unfortunately, social media can be very difficult for our learners to manage.

Not only can our students experience a negative impact on their mental health and self-esteem, but they may encounter cyberbullying, struggles with time management, and even breaches of their personal information. Please feel free to re


Social Media: What parents should know

Teaching Kids to Be Smart About Social Media

Helpful Tips for Social Media Safety

The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens

AMBASSADORS HELPING IN THE COMMUNITY

Our EMS Ambassadors have been busy helping out in the Oak Creek Community. A food drive was sponsored at school. Donations were collected & shared with the Salvation Army to be shared with members of our Oak Creek Community. Approximately 250 items were collected and delivered before Thanksgiving. Thank you to all families who contributed!

On November 27, Ambassadors helped at the Santa & Tree Lighting event at the OCC. In December, students will be volunteering at various community events as well, including the following: Santa Paws! - Pet photos with Santa, Breakfast with Santa and Brunch with Santa.


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Artist: Julia Simon

Grade: 6


6th Grade artist Julia sculped this bumble bee in Ms. Furlough's 6th Grade Visual Arts Class. The project was combining together two separate animals/things in order to create a new one! She used clay, acrylic paint & wire to construct the wings.

Julia named her piece BeeBunny and said "I really love working with clay and had fun creating this creature from a dream I had."

PARENT REMINDERS

No Cell Phones

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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.

Early Dismissal Procedure

If you need to pick your child up early from school, please send a note with your child and have them bring it to the main office before school. We will write them a pass at that time for their early dismissal. You may also call the office, but we request that you do so by 9am whenever possible. This will help us ensure that your child is ready to go when you arrive.

Thank you for your support.

Gold Slips (Needed to stay after school.)


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). Students are not allowed to call home for a gold slip.

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.


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 office.eastmiddle@ocfsd.org.

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. 

Oak Creek-Franklin

East Middle School Contact Info



Website: ocfsd.org/east-middle-school

Main Office: (414) 768-6260

Attendance Line: (414) 768-6260; Option “1”

Attendance Email: office.eastmiddle@ocfsd.org

Food Service: (414) 768-6120

Lunch Menus: ocfsd.org/breakfastlunch


Sue Thompson, Principal

s.thompson@ocfsd.org

 

Jodi Newell, Associate Principal j.newell@ocfsd.org

(Last name A-L)


Casey Milroy, Associate Principal

c.milroy@ocfsd.org 

 (Last name M-Z)


Jill Hanel, Administrative Assistant

j.hanel@ocfsd.org

 

Jamie Davis, Administrative Assitant, Attendance

j.davis@ocfsd.org


Kathy Veit, Administrative Assistant

k.veit@ocfsd.org 


Emily Splan, School Counselor 

(Last name A-L)

e.splan@ocfsd.org 


Christine Ruz, School Counselor 

(Last name M-Z)

c.ruz@ocfsd.org


Wendy Wright-Kisting, Administrative Assistant 

w.wrightkisting@ocfsd.org

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