A Message from Ms. Baumgardner Hello from EMS! The beginning of the new school year is just around the corner. This will be an exciting year for everyone. We are excited to welcome the 6th grade students and their families to our school community. We are also anxious to welcome back the 7th and 8th grade students and their families as we begin our school year. Many exciting events are planned to welcome students and families back to Emporia Middle School. Please mark your calendars with the following dates and make plans to attend! We hope that you have enjoyed the last few weeks of the summer vacation! We have big plans for a successful school year and look forward to seeing everyone at EMS: A place to learn, a place to grow, a place to EXCEL! Enrollment The Emporia Public Schools has launched a paperless enrollment system, eliminating most paper forms. A new secure online enrollment website opened July 18 for parents of current students in the district. Parents should have received a letter from the district offices at Mary Herbert Education Center with a unique log-in code for each child in the family. The code is required to access a student’s information and make needed updates and corrections. The website is available in English and Spanish. The USD 253 School Board approved a plan that eliminated most student fees and all pay to play fees at the middle school and high school. The only fees that are required are the $21 technology fee and the $10 activity fee. Yearbooks are available for purchase for $15, but are an optional item. Parents will have the option to pay fees online using a credit card, debit card with no additional transaction charges. The district will also accept checks by mail. On-line enrollment for parents will close on August 3. New Student Enrollment New students to the district will also use the online system after pre-registering. Pre-registration can be done at Mary Herbert Education Center, 1700 W. Seventh Ave., from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday Friday. Parents of new students should bring a birth certificate, immunization records, and record of a physical exam taken any time during the child’s school career. EZSchool Pay Online meal payment has just become a little easier! The school district has made arrangements with EZSchoolPay to eliminate the convenience fee to parents when they pay for school meals online using this system. More information about this service is on the district website at www.usd253.org. Back to School Night EMS will hold a Back to School Night for parents and students before school starts this year. We encourage parents and students to attend this event to meet teachers, tour the campus, and learn more about what EMS can offer your child. Seventh and eighth grade students who are planning to participate in athletics will meet with coaches during this event to learn more about our athletic programs, requirements and schedules. We hope to see you there!

August 2016

 6th grade: August 11 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 p.m.  7th grade & 8th grade: August 15 from 6:00-8:00p.m.  Athletic meetings: all groups meet in gym at 7:00 p.m. First Day of School The first day of school for sixth grade and new students will be Wednesday, August 17. This is a required day of school for these groups of students. Buses will run their regular routes. School will be in session from 8:00 a.m. – 12:33 p.m. The first day of school for all other students will be Thursday, August 18. Again, buses will run their regular routes on this day. Please consult your transportation schedule. Building Hours School will be in session from 8:00 a.m. – 3:22 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We will have a late start of 9:00 a.m. every Wednesday. Students will be allowed to enter the building beginning at 7:30 a.m. and should plan to be off school grounds by 3:40 p.m. each afternoon unless they are involved in after school activities. Fall Athletics Information Meetings A parent meeting will be held on August 17 at 7:00 p.m. for all fall athletic teams. Students and parents should plan to attend. Athletic practices will begin for all sports on Thursday, August 18 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. There will be no activity bus transportation available for students participating in athletics. Parents must provide transportation home after practices. Reminder: All students who are participating in athletics must have a physical examination dated after May 1 in order to participate in any practices or competitions. Forms are available in the school office. Completed forms can be turned into the office or at the informational meeting. Jr. Spartan Extra We will offer after school programming for students at EMS. Jr. Spartan Extra offers students academic and recreational opportunities Monday-Thursday from 3:25-4:30 pm. Students must show their $10 activity card each day in order to participate in this program. An activity bus will be provided each day at 4:30 pm for students who have stayed for this activity. Transportation Principals and bus drivers are working together to increase safety during pick-up times after school, and at the same time, strengthen relationships between students and their drivers. At EMS and EHS, adjustments have been made that will allow students to ride home on the same bus that takes them to school in the morning. In the morning, buses will drop students off at the west entrance at EMS and at the north entrance at EHS. At EMS, parents will continue to drop their children off using the West 24th Avenue entrance on the east side of the building. At EHS, parents will continue to drop their children off at the south entrance off of West 18th Avenue. After school, EMS and EHS students will board their buses at a common location to reduce the amount of bus traffic between the two schools. EMS students will be accompanied by adults as they walk from the school to the bus loading area near the tennis courts in the EHS north parking lot. EMS parents will continue to pick their students up in the east lot off of West 24th Avenue.

EMS: A place to learn, a place to grow, a place to EXCEL

Finally, students will be greeted by their drivers at the end of the day before boarding the bus and seating charts will be used to help drivers get to know their riders. If you have questions related to transportation, please contact the Transportation Department at 341-2219. Site Council The site council provides advice and counsel to the school on specific areas of the school’s programs and operations. The council reviews many aspects of our school and makes recommendations to help in facilitating educational improvement. The membership of this council includes the principal, school staff, parents of pupils attending EMS, representatives of the business community and other community groups. Members of the council act as the communication link between the council, staff, students, parents, and community. Attending council meetings is a great way to learn about EMS and its operations. All parents are invited and encouraged to attend these meetings throughout the school year. There are open positions on our council for the upcoming school year. If you are interested in participating, please email Ms. Baumgardner at [email protected]. The first meeting will be held on Monday, September 26th at 12:00 in the EMS library. Home/School Communication Communication and collaboration between home and school are important to the EMS staff. We would encourage you to be in contact with your child’s teachers often. This communication helps the EMS staff to better serve your child and helps families’ better support students at home. All staff is available via email or by telephone. Our standard email address is first name.last [email protected]. Daily announcements are another excellent source of information about EMS. These announcements are posted on our school website each day. http://www.usd253.org/home/ems EMS also has a Twitter account. We use this primarily to share news about after school activities and special events. Please follow us on Twitter… @EMSJrSpartans We will publish a newsletter throughout the school year. This newsletter will be published on our school website. Our goal is to become “paperless” at EMS, so if you would like to receive this type of communication via email, please let us know. Email Sandy Barajas at [email protected]

EMS Staff for 2016-2017

August 2016

Administrators Sixth grade: Allyson Lyman, Assistant Principal Seventh grade: Wendy Baumgardner, Principal Eighth grade: John Martin, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Office Secretaries Head Secretary/Bookkeeper: Sandy Barajas Attendance Secretary: Sandra Navarro Receptionist: Megan McLemore Sixth Grade Teams Aqua: LeAnn Mason, Amanda Neff (team leader), Russell Swanson, Jason Williams Silver: Christy Dragonas (team leader), Melanie Cates, Jordan Young, Lori Grimmett Lime: Alissa Miller, Julie Voelz (team leader), Misty Lawson, Marcus Cornelius Seventh Grade Teams Orange: Shelley Wise, Kelsey Henson, Nicole Blakemore, Robert Ovsak (team leader) Green: Alizon Roth (team leader), Andy Hawley, Sarah Bean, Chris Skiles Purple: Christopher Lyman (team leader), Josh Tuttle, Cathryn Bair, Mark Rathbone Eighth Grade Teams Yellow: Anton Sandoval (team leader), Sean Neal, Morgan Pearson, Joanna Kessinger Blue: Amanda Schild (team Leader), Rick Jones, Jacqueline Cerv, Hannah Stair Red: Connie Keiss (team leader), Shanan Allemang, Jeni Barnett, Melissa Hoyle Elective Teachers PE: Sandra Martinez, Matt Baumwart, Kody Thexton, Health: Joe Reed Art: Kristin Oberle, Jamie Eisenbarth Communications: Betty Weatherholt Theater: Jeremy Bernhardt-Purdy Technology: Phil Metz FACS: Shely Perez Vocal music: Kelly Barrett Band: Bob Haselhuhn Orchestra: Riley Day Spanish: Chris Eitzen AVID: Robert Ovsak Computers: Laurinda Raney, Cheyenne Moree Instructional Support Staff Strategists: Stacy Wells Math Strategists: Nancy Lawson, Kyla Kuss (Advanced 6), Nick Martinez (Advanced 7th and Algebra) Special Education: Rachel Smith, Michael Atchison, Signe Truelove, Jacinda Vinduska, Angie Cowen, Janine Dorr, Laura Albertson, Kayla Taliaferro Instructional Coaches: Joann McRell, Tammy Torrens Counselors: Karen Briggs (6th), Whitney Thuma (7th), Jana Phillips (8th)

EMS: A place to learn, a place to grow, a place to EXCEL