News from Elkins Pointe Middle School Edition 2013-2014 Issue 20

February 28, 2014

Hello, Titans!

As always, a great week here at EPMS. This was one of those lovely weeks where we have lots of events and I get to hear that so many of you are pleased with the work that we do every day for your children. We have lots to celebrate, and lots to share, so let's get to it.

This week at EPMS

Let's Celebrate!

Do you know an excellent teacher, assistant principal or principal who deserves recognition? Nominate at... http://fb.me/2Ws8776Mm
On February 22nd, 30 of our students performed quite well at Linguapalooza, the World Language Spoken Language Contest. We are still waiting on results, but expect great things!
Congrats to our Chorus groups who received STRAIGHT SUPERIOR ratings in both performance and sight-reading at their Large Group Performance Evaluation this week. We are so proud of them.
We are also proud of Robyn Smyth, Abby Nitzken, and our other students in the Off Broadway Dance Troup who did quite well at the National Performing Arts Festival in Orlando last weekend. They received superior ratings and won the highest award, the Showcase Award!
Congratulations also to our Math Counts team, who placed 6th out of 22 teams at the competition last week. A special Kudos to Liam Frank who placed 8th out of all of the students in the competition.
On February 20th, twenty six 6th, 7th and 8th Spanish students were inducted into the prestigious Hispanic Society of Friendship (SHH), sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). The purpose of the Society is to promote cross-cultural acceptance and understanding in students learning the language and its culture and to encourage service to school and community. In order to qualify, students have to maintain all A's in Spanish classes for two years, as well as A's and B's in other subjects, maintain a strong motivation for the Spanish language and culture. Pictured here are the students during the candle-lit portion of the ceremony.
Also our very own Ida Klausen swam 7 events and 3 relay events 2014 GA 14 and under Short Course Championship recently! She qualified in one more event (200 Breast) for Sectional Championship in March. Way to go, Ida!
And finally, over the last two weeks, we have honored nearly 100 Shining Star Students, nominated by their teachers for strong character, a positive presence, and brightening the teachers' day, every day. Thank you to all of the staff for hosting such an amazing event!

Information to Know:

Please find the revised flyer attached here for the 7th grade Social THIS THURSDAY. Make sure your child gets to join in the fun!
We have updated our restrooms by installing hand sanitizer dispensers for the students. Several schools have moved to this option in an effort to encourage cleanliness as well as students taking care of the restroom. We will do this on a trial basis to determine its effectiveness and evaluate whether we want to return to soap.
Would you like to learn more about the Career Technology Pathways at RHS? Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocHTsXqj9Lw&feature=youtu.be
Did you know that eating a school breakfast helps prepare the brain for a day of learning and activity? Every day before school the cafeteria works hard to provide students with nutritious and delicious breakfast entrees with the choice of fresh fruit or 100% fruit juice and choice of milk. The of week, March 3rd - 7th is National School Breakfast Week, and students can Make Time for School Breakfast! Eat a delicious and nutritious school breakfast during the week of March 3rd - 7th and students not only get powered up for an awesome day, but also enter to win prizes! That's right, just by simply eating school breakfast next week students can get automatically entered to win up to 2 prizes including a grand prize package of 2 movie tickets with snack voucher and an iTunes gift card!
This week we hosted Roswell Rotary's teacher of the year for a day, all the way from Pilar, Argentina. He had a great visit, and we would like to thank Spanish Teacher "Profe'" Saltos for all of her hard work!
Please note that The City of Roswell DOT will begin a resurfacing project of Hembree Road from Elkins Road to Crabapple Road and the project should last 10 days. Keep this in mind when considering traffic times for carpool!
Also, remember that Georgia's immunization requirements have changed for children entering 7th grade and for students who are considered "new entrants" in grades 8-12. Click here for more details.

A Community Meeting will be held on March 3, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Roswell North Elementary School (10525 Woodstock Road, Roswell) to discuss the new West Roswell Area Elementary School. The West Roswell Area Elementary School (official name to be determined)will be located at the intersection of Alpharetta Street and Thomas Drive in Roswell. The shopping center and residences currently at the site will be demolished to make room for the new school, which will initially open in August 2015 as the temporary home of Esther Jackson Elementary School. Esther Jackson Elementary is scheduled for replacement, and once it is demolished and rebuilt on its site, the West Roswell school will permanently open to students in August 2016.

PTSA Update:

for more information regarding PTSA events, please visit our website http://elkinspointe.my-pta.org/

7th graders, on March 6th will go Vegas with our 7th Grade Goes Vegas Social! Click here to view the details and permission slip. We hope to have a great turn out for this fun event.
As the school year nears its end, it's time to fill officer positions on the PTSA. If you are interested in a leadership role next year, please email the PTSA President, Tunieka Brown to have your name submitted to the Nominating Committee.
On March 12, 2014, the PTSA will be holding our general membership meeting. This meeting will be our Election of officers for the 2014-2015 school year. PTSA members will have 2 opportunities to vote. Our first meeting will be at 8:30 am and the second at 6:00 pm.
Attention parents of rising 9th graders attending Milton High School: Anyone interested in serving on the board or volunteering at Milton, during the next school year, contact Karen Mueller via email: muellerkarenm@gmail.com. Milton welcomes all interested people to volunteer, and to help to make Milton an even better place for students.

Community News:

Milton Junior Eagles Cheerleading will be holding a Parent Meeting on Wednesday, March 5th, 2014 for information pertaining to tryouts for the 2014 Football and Competition Season. The meeting will be held at 6:30pm in the Milton High School Auxiliary Gym. Tryouts are March 25th - 27th at GA Allstars. Pre-registration is required. Details are on our website at www.miltonjunioreagles.com.
Would your child be interested in the 2nd Annual Latino College and STEM Fair? Hosted at Georgia Tech on March 15th, click here for more details.
8th Annual "It's Just Hair" Cut-A'Thon - Do you have long hair? Please consider donating your locks for the 8th Annual "It's Just Hair" Cut-a-thon to benefit Locks of Love and children with long-term medical hair loss. Click here for details.
Are you interested in learning about the Jr Hornet Football Program and upcoming season? We are holding two sessions just for you! Click here for the details.
What about Junior Hornet Cheer Try-Out Information? Click here for details.

Upcoming Dates:

March 5 - 8th grade BBall Game, Home
March 6 - 7th grade Social after school
March 12 - PTSA Meeting
March 12, 13 - Drama Club Performances, more details forthcoming
March 18 - Report Cards come home
March 19 - Schultz Community Meeting @ Mimosa ES 9:30am
CHANGE: March 25th - Community Cares Event, delayed until April 29
CORRECTION: March 27 - Rising 6th grade Parent Night
CORRECTION: March 27 - International Night

Something to Think About:

After my notice last week about the app "Yik Yak" and the dangers of social media in the hands of teenagers, several parents requested that I share more information about digital citizenship. Take the time to review these links that our Media Specialist Mrs. Grigsby pulled together for you. Most importantly, please have discussions with your children about the importance of being safe online. Not just today, but every day.

Have a lovely weekend, Titans!

Your partner in education,