Evergreen Eagle Express
Week of November 29, 2015 - Issue 17

 

EVERGREEN MIDDLE SCHOOL 

6900 208th Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98053 | 425.936.2320 

 

 
IN THIS ISSUE
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
IMPORTANT DATES
SCHOOL NEWS
EVERGREEN ATHLETICS
PTSA
EXTRACURRICULAR
Join Our Mailing List!
QUICK LINKS

 

 

LWSD WEBSITE

 

EMS PTSA   

 


SCHOOL LUNCH 


TANDEM CALENDAR

 


REPORTING A SCHOOL ABSENCE
CONTACT INFORMATION
Principal          

Assistant Principal 

Assistant Principal
Katy Rudolph    

Office Manager     

Secretary to the Assistant Principal
  
Counselor (A-G)

Counselor (H-N)

Counselor (O-Z)  
 
Counseling Secretary/Registrar
 
Athletic Director    
 
Main Phone Line    
425.936.2320

Attendance Line     
425.936.2321

Counseling Office  
425.936.2326
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Hello Evergreen Families - 

We hope you had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving weekend with your friends and family.  It's a blessing to have a national holiday reminding us to be thankful and it's also a good reminder we don't need a national holiday to be thankful.  We can express our thanks and gratitude on April 26 as well as July 26 just as much as we can celebrate and give thanks on November 26.  It is evident you have instilled a spirit of generosity and thanksgiving in your children by their kindness and compassion, not only during this season but throughout the year.  I watched as the HopeLink van was stuffed floor to ceiling with boxes of food and the tires compressed under the weight.  You were so generous during our Food Drive, Hopelink had to come back and make multiple trips because their van could not hold all the food!  Thank you for your generosity!  This week, students in the ASB Leadership class made a poster for each staff member telling them how grateful they are to have them at EMS.  Teachers and staff members were ecstatic to receive these posters and you should have seen their faces when students delivered the heartfelt messages.  Smiles abounded and it warmed people's hearts.  Thank you for creating a sense of kindness and encouragement in your students. Students also write teachers and staff members individual notes.  These are proudly displayed behind desks and on poster boards and buoy staff when they might be feeling tired and low.  Thank you for instilling an attitude of compassion and encouragement in your student.  These intangible characteristics cannot be measured in weight or volume, height or depth yet the impression they create is far more impactful than any tangible figure.
 
Evergreen is truly a remarkable school and when I tell my administrative friends in other districts about our school, they are envious of what we have and what we've created.  More than stuff and accolades, we've created an atmosphere of love and kindness, compassion and respect, encouragement and hope, and a sense of belonging.  Thank you for walking alongside us and instilling these attributes in your student. 
 
So we say thank you this November 26 and we say thank you during the other 364 days as well.
 
Thank you for all you do to make EMS an outstanding place to learn and grow.
 
We hope you had a weekend full of thanksgiving and gratitude and we look forward to maintaining this spirit of thanksgiving throughout the year.
 
Wishing you all our best,

Robert Johnson

Principal
Evergreen Middle School
425.936.2320

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty."


IMPORTANT DATES
Mon., 11/30 - LWSD HIV/AIDS Curriculum Presentation for Parents; 6:30-7:30pm at LWSD Resource Center

Fri., 12/18 - Last Day to Order an EMS Yearbook

Fri., 12/18 - LWSD Survey Ends

Mon., 12/21/15 - Fri., 1/1/16 - NO SCHOOL: Winter Break

SCHOOL NEWS
WE VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK  *new*
One of the goals of Lake Washington School district is to engage our communities. We welcome and value parent and community feedback, and each year we administer two district-wide parent and community surveys:
1.     An annual climate survey
Each year we survey parents and community members to seek feedback about school learning environments, academic standards, communication, student support and more. This district and schools carefully reviews the feedback collected each year to help inform our continuous improvement processes. It helps us to understand what we are doing well and how we can continue to improve. This survey was last administered in spring of 2015. You can see the results from last spring's survey by clicking here.We are now moving this survey to the fall, as we have another survey in the spring that focuses on specific program efforts.
  
2.     An annual program survey
Each spring we survey parents to seek feedback about specific district programs and initiatives. The district carefully reviews the feedback collected each year and uses it to help inform our strategic planning processes. Look for this survey in spring 2016.
  
In addition for many years our district has had an ongoing telephone poll in place. Pacific Market Research places calls on behalf of the Lake Washington School District to seek feedback from parents and community members. We regularly review the feedback collected and analyze the data trends over time.
  
Fall climate survey launching now: Since we are moving the annual climate survey to the fall, your chance to weigh in is happening now. In order to participate, Click on this linkor past this link into a web browser: http://www.k12insight.com/k/SsWYVTsQRURsPsPsP
  
Please feel free to forward the link to friends and neighbors. We would also like to hear from community members who do not have students in our schools. It survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes. The survey will close on Friday, December 18.
  
We appreciate your time. District-wide results from the survey will be shared on the "Your Voice" page of the district website. School-wide results for selected questions will be published as part of each school's annual report, which will be distributed to all parents next fall.
 
LWSD HIV/AIDS CURRICULUM PRESENTATION FOR PARENTS
Information about HIV / AIDS curriculum for grades 5-12 will be shared. Materials will be available for parents to preview. 
When:  Mon., Nov. 30th, from 6:30-7:30pm.
Where: Lake Washington Resource Center (Located in the Redmond Town Center), 16250 NE 74th Street, Redmond, WA 98052

HIGH SCHOOL OPTIONS BOOKLET AVAILABLE
Parents of 8th grade students should watch their mailboxes for the High School Options booklet.  It outlines opportunities for incoming 9-12th graders, including information about neighborhood schools and choice schools.  This booklet is also available on the district website.

LOST & FOUND ITEMS
Please remind your student to check out the lost and found corner in the Commons. There are several clothing items as well as lunch boxes and water bottles. Any unclaimed items will be donated to the Hope Festival in mid-December.


  

YEARBOOK
Evergreen Eagles: We will have our last Yearbook sell date starting November 1st, 2015, running through December 18th, 2015.  The cost for Yearbooks are $30.00.  They can be purchased at the cashier window with cash or check made out to "EMS."  (The online option is currently not up and running.  EMS Staff is working to fix the problem.)  Don't miss out on the opportunity to purchase this great keepsake!

PRE-ARRANGED ABSENCES AND ATTENDANCE POLICIES
If you know in advance your student will be missing school, please call our Attendance Office at 425-936-2321 to pre-arrange the absence.  Then we can enter the event into Skyward as an excused absence and you will not receive a phone call indicating your student was absent. 
Also, please note we can only excuse absences for the following reasons:
         illness
         medical appointments
         family emergencies
         religious holidays
         school-related field trips
         suspensions and absences created by the school
         other planned absences
All other absences will be considered unexcused, and students who accumulate too many unexcused absences will be subject to the Becca Bill and the King County Juvenile Court System.
Please see the Attendance Policies on p. 20-21 in the EMS Student Handbook for further explanation.

EVERGREEN ATHLETICS

2ND SEASON SPORTS
2nd Season sports (Boys' basketball - 7th & 8th and Girls' basketball - 6th, 7th & 8th) started on November 12th and goes through January 15th. 
 

PLEASE NOTE:  On the days a team has late practice they will be in the library until their practice starts.


PTSA
PTSA MEMBER BENEFIT HIGHLIGHTS *new*
  
Wild Waves Holiday with Lights
In December, Wild Waves Theme Park transforms into a shimmering nighttime wonderland of rides, lights, and holiday fun! Your admission ticket into Holiday with Lights includes over ONE MILLION dazzling lights and astounding light displays. Purchase Holiday with Lights tickets here

Pacific Northwest Ballet
The Washington State PTA has collaborated with the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) to offer WSPTA members a 10% discount off all performances of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™! Purchase The Nutcracker tickets here.

MyForce
Never Walk Alone ™
WSPTA has joined with MyForce to offer special WSPTA member pricing. MyForce is a complete personal security system used through your smartphone. MyForce provides you the ability to instantly notify a live response team member by the touch of a button. Visit the WSPTA designated webpage for details.


HOLIDAY SHOPPING WITH AMAZON?  DON'T FORGET TO CHOOSE EMS PTSA!
Please use Amazon Smiles when doing ALL your online shopping!  Amazon gives 0.5% of your purchases to the charity of your choice... so choose the Evergreen PTSA!  Use
http://smile.amazon.com as the URL to get to Amazon.com.  When you "Select Charity", choose "Evergreen Middle School PTSA" (Tacoma, WA) and it will remember us as your selected charity for next time.  It's easy to earn money for Evergreen by shopping with Amazon Smiles!

REFLECTIONS ART PROGRAM UPDATE
The PTSA Reflections Arts Program is happy to share that the following categories/students have advanced to the district level:
Visual Arts: Deveshi Thakur, Layasri Ranjith, Navtej Kathuria, Gauri Srikumar and Vanshika Singh
Literature: Esther Wang and Megan Brunelle
Film Production: Abel Dagne
Music Composition: Parth Shriram, Sahana Deepak

Congratulations to the winners!  All are welcome to see the entries at the LWSD Resource Center Open House on January 8th, 6-8pm
16250 NE 74th Street, Redmond WA 98052

EVERGREEN PTSA WEBSITE
The Evergreen Middle School PTSA website is up and running!  For the latest news on EMS happenings, please visit http://evergreenptsa.org.
 
JOIN THE EMS PTSA FACEBOOK PAGE
EMS PTSA invites you to join our discussion on Facebook.  Click here for up-to-date notices about school activities and communicate with other Evergreen families.

EXTRACURRICULAR
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY FOR 7TH-8TH GRADER AT DICKINSON ELEMENTARY CAMPUS *new*         
Explorer Community School is a choice school within the Dickinson Elementary Campus and we are looking for help from a 7th-8th grader. The work would consist of 40min helping in the classroom and 20 min helping with student dismissal. Explorer students are released 15 min prior to Dickinson students, so there is no staff helping out. Parent volunteers help with dismissal. There is one parent volunteer assigned per day, but we'd like to have additional help.
On Mo, Tu, Th, and Fri the hours would be 2:30-3:10 helping in the classroom and 3:10-3:30 helping with safe departure. On Wednesday, the hours would be 1:00-1:40 in the classroom and 1:40-2:00 with safe departure. Each student can volunteer several days or one day only. Please contact Clara Fernandes if you are interested.

 

GOT ROOM FOR ONE MORE? *new*

You don't need to be a super hero or even save the world...but just maybe you could find room to make the difference in the life of one more child.

 

 Get licensed and ready to help when a child in our school district needs a foster family.  For more information, please call 1-888-KIDS-414 (1-888-543-7414) or click here to view the flyer.


 

REDMOND NORTH LITTLE LEAGUE REGISTRATION 2016
Registration open to all students ages 4-14 attending or living near these schools: Alcott Elementary, Dickinson Elementary, Rosa Parks Elementary, Wilder Elementary, Evergreen Middle School, Bear Creek School and The Overlake School
 
Registration Dates: November 22, 2015 - January 16, 2016 (AAA, Coast, Majors, Intermediate, Junior) November 22, 2015 - February 12, 2016 (T-Ball & Instructional Baseball - A, AA)  

REGISTER BY DECEMBER 16, 2015 TO RECEIVE EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT OF $25 PER PLAYER
Click here to view the flyer or visit www.RNLL.org for more information.
 
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
Sat., December 12th, 11am-2 pm, Bella Bottega Shopping Center
Bring a new unwrapped toy and have your picture taken with the Marines & Redmond Fire Department!
Drop off: Coldwell Banker Bain
Bella Bottega Shopping Center
8862 161st Ave NE, Suite 103 * Redmond
 

NON DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Lake Washington School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, gender, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran, military status, sexual orientation, including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability, in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.


 

The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies:
Director of Human Resources
16250 NE 74th Street
Redmond, Washington, 98052
(425) 936-1266


Eagle Express is published by parent volunteers of Evergreen Middle School.  Click here to contact us about the newsletter.  For more information about the PTSA you can visit the Evergreen Middle School PTSA website at http://evergreenptsa.org.