Hello, Titans.

What a great week here at Elkins! Our teachers wrapped up our diagnostic assessments with Checkpoints, 6th grade parents enjoyed their day at school, and our Titan Soccer Team is undefeated. The classrooms I made it into this week were full of eager students engaged in learning, and I enjoyed seeing many of our teachers using the new technology, including Mobi boards and Wii Interactive technology.

Things to Celebrate:

• Our very own Sandra Kennedy made it into the Roswell Patch this week: http://roswell.patch.com/articles/local-student-wins-archery-competition. We are so proud of her accomplishments!
• We are looking forward to Red Ribbon Week October 8-12. We want students to be excited about this week and engage in our fight to educate students about the dangers of drugs. We hope students will join in the fun with our spirit week themes: 10/8 Wear Red; 10/9 Dress in your best 1960's; 10/10 Show Your Patriotism; 10/11 Super Hero , and 10/12 EPMS Spirit Day (no masks, face-paint, wigs, or toy swords/weapons).

Things to Know:

• Did you turn in your application for TITAN UP, our After School Program for Academic Support? Please remember that 6th and 7th graders should contact Ms. Resnick, and 8th graders should contact Mr. Walker. The program starts THIS WEEK, so please complete your applications.
• Remember that our first Saturday School for TITAN UP starts on October 20th as well. Your students should have come home with yellow forms about the program recently.
• Don't forget to check out our ANNOUNCEMENTS portion on the website every week (http://school.fultonschools.org/ms/elkinspointe/Pages/Announcements.aspx). This is where we post announcements about try-outs and various events, the same items that are on the morning announcements for students. I recommend bookmarking this page and checking it regularly.
• Please, as soon as possible, go into your child's Home Access Center and verify your FERPA settings, where you check off whether or not it is okay to use your child's picture and information in the directory. PTA uses this to create directories, and we are counting on you to make sure that we keep information secure.
• Are you interested in the Dad's Club? Please review our Dad's Club Interest Flyer to see the opportunities to be involved. We would love to see all of our parents plugged in.

Something to Think About:

• This week we will take part in a School Quality Review, a joint effort between Fulton County Schools and the Cambridge Institute of Education. Several reviewers will be in the building observing classes, interviewing students, parents, and teachers, and reviewing historical information. We look forward to receiving the results of the review. Though we believe that we know what the work is and what it should be, an objective point of view is always welcome and insightful. When the report is finalized in early November, the results will be made available to the parents and community.

We hope to see you next Friday at the final EPMS Soccer Game of the season or maybe this Tuesday for the Roswell Cluster Concert at 6:30pm.

Have a great weekend, Titans!

 Your partner in education,

Principal

Elkins Pointe Middle School

Empowering Students for Tomorrow's Global Society