Dear Parents and Guardians:

Welcome and welcome back to Evangeline Middle School. Another school year has launched successfully and continues to rapidly climb to cruising altitude. The middle school years are a time of change and discovery and we here at EMS continue to work with students and families to provide positive and meaningful educational experiences and exciting opportunities for all. Please take the time to review the information on policies and procedures that the middle school student(s) in your household should have brought home in the form of the Evangeline Middle School Policies and Procedures Handbook. This information is also available on our website:

www.ems.ednet.ns.ca. Expressing an interest in the schoolwork and activities of your children sends a very positive message and highlights your role as a key partner and stakeholder in your students’ educational journey. I am very proud to be a part of the Evangeline Middle School team and I hope that you are too! I look forward to meeting and working with you in the days to come.

Best Regards,

Matt Butler

EMS Home and School:

All are welcome to attend our first Home and School meeting on Tuesday, October 04th at 7pm.

New Staff

This year we have three new staff members joining us. The following people are new to the Evangeline Middle School team:

Jan Routledge – Grade 7

David Simpson – Grade 8

Adam Popowich - Librarian

Morning Arrival

It is important for parents who are driving students to our school to know that we do not start morning supervision until 8:00 am. We do have some supervision for the students who arrive on the first bus prior to 8:00am but it is very limited. Therefore, students walking or being dropped off by parents in the morning (unless coming early to meet with a specific teacher or sport practice) should not arrive before 8:00 a.m. Your cooperation with this is greatly appreciated.

All students need to be at school no later than 8:20 am as the first class of the morning begins at 8:25 am. Students being dropped off in the morning at 8:25 am or later do not have time to go to their lockers, unpack their book bags and get materials for their first classes.

As well, at the end of the day, unless staying for an EMS activity or extra help, we ask that students be picked up by 3:05pm. Once again, beyond these times falls outside of our supervision of students. Your cooperation is appreciated.

AM Drop-Off and

PM Pick-Up Location

The top area (closest to the school) is reserved for busses only from 7:40 – 8:40 am and from 2:30 – 3:30 pm. During early dismissals, we are restricting access to the upper area from 11:20 am – 12:20 pm. There will be no parking or access for parents on either side of the building during each school day from 7:30am – 4:30pm. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Proper Driveway Use

Visitors to our school are reminded that our driveways are specifically designated as to entrance and exit. The east (Wolfville) end of the driveway is for entrance only. The driveway on the west (New Minas) end of the school is the exit driveway. There have been a few near misses involving students and cars that were using the wrong driveway.

Thanks to everyone for working together to ensure our students are safe.

Sign In / Sign Out & Office Check-In

When students must arrive late for classes or leave early in the day, parents/guardians are asked to come into the office to sign your student in or out. We ask that all visitors please check-in with the office before proceeding to any location within the school. This will help us to know who is in our building for everyone’s peace of mind.

Stand Up Against Bullying Day

Was held on Thursday, September 15th, we participated in the provincial initiative of Stand Up Against Bullying Day. It was very encouraging to see so many students and staff wearing pink on that day.

As a school, we have taken steps to help reduce bullying. Each classroom teacher was given information to pass along to the students. Part of this included a definition of bullying and how it differs from being mean. As well, we have created a pledge for students to sign that has at its core a personal and school stance against bullying. These signed pledges will be posted in the hallway outside of the office for all to see.

Back Packs and School Supplies Donated

On behalf of the staff, students and families of Evangeline Middle School community I would like to thank the Bell Aliant Pioneers and Staples Canada for their generous donation of backpacks and school supplies. Their ongoing commitment to supporting students and learning is sincerely appreciated. Every year Evangeline Middle School endeavours to provide students with a broad range of educational experiences and opportunities. This is in part made possible through the support and contributions of organizations such as the Bell Aliant Pioneers and Staples Canada. Working together in this manner we exemplify the primary vision statement of the AVRSB: Working Together For Students.
Fitting in with peers is very important to many middle school students so anything that “levels the playing field” is helpful. This is particularly true when it allows students to work and learn equally. This was a very generous donation. If your family is going through a tough financial period and your child is in need of some or all of these types of supplies, please contact Mrs. Hanneman, our Guidance Counsellor.

Food For Thought Fundraiser

EMS has, again, opted into an amazing partnership with New Minas Sunrise Rotary Club in the Food For Thought Campaign.

More Information to come home soon.

Phone Messages

We encourage families to discuss what the routine for the day will be before coming to school. We have a number of students asking to make calls on a daily basis to find out where they are supposed to go after school. This can create havoc for both the student and the office, especially when the parent/guardian cannot be reached. Please remember that we do our best to advise students, however, our office is a very busy place and messages for students do have a risk of not getting to them, especially when the calls are on short notice.

We try to make every effort to not pull students from class for personal calls. Therefore, we ask that you call with messages for your child only if it is an emergency. We thank you for your support with this request.

Band/Music and Visual Art

Over the past several years, the students in grade 6 have had the opportunity to receive instruction in both Music and Visual Art. We believe that students benefit from additional experience with the fine arts. Due to the additional course requirements in both grades 7 & 8, we have been unable to offer both subjects to the students at those levels. This year we are once again offering Visual Art to grades 7 & 8 students who do not enroll in Band.

It is important for parents to know that students have to make a choice of either Band or Visual Art in grade 7 & 8. Both courses will be taught according to Provincial Curriculum and be assessed upon provincial outcomes. Mr. Nelson will be looking for many students to continue with the band program.

Exploratory Activities

Exploratory Activities have always been an essential and popular part of E.M.S. life. In fact, exploratories are one of the important pieces of middle school philosophy. Divided into fall, winter and spring sessions, Exploratory allows students to participate in activities that are not necessarily part of the curriculum. The range and variety of activities is large, with students encouraged to participate in many different areas.

E.M.S. would be pleased to have volunteers from the community offer exploratory activities. The time commitment would be a minimum of three Wednesdays in sequence, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. If you have a hobby or interest that you would like to share with a group of 8 or 10 of our students, please contact Mr. Butler at the school for more information.

Medic Alert’s No Child Without Program is at Our School

The No Child Without program offers a free Medic Alert membership to students who attend our school and are between the ages of 4 up to their 14th birthday. If your child has a medical condition, allergy or is required to take medication on a regular basis then you should consider a Medic Alert membership through this program.

Your child’s voice in an emergency, Medic Alert membership;

·  Gives emergency first responders immediate access to your child’s medical information on their Medic Alert bracelet or necklet

·  Enables first responders to quickly obtain up to date medical information by means of the child’s Electronic Health Record through the 24 Hour Emergency Hotline.

·  Communicates with the parent or emergency contact upon activation of the Hotline

·  Allows free updates of the child’s medical record as needed

Medic Alert identification can alert school staff, friends, coaches and others about your child’s medical condition should an emergency occur.

For further information come to the school office for a brochure or visit www.nochildwithout.ca. To register your child you will need a No Child Without brochure from the office.

If your child is already part of the No Child Without program and there have been changes to their medical condition, medications or emergency contact information, call Medic Alert at 1-866-679-3217 Ext 1110, ask for Rob Gordon to update your child’s file.

Evangeline Middle School

Student Dress Expectations

At school, it is necessary to maintain a workplace atmosphere for students and staff. We feel we have developed reasonable expectations for appropriate dress.

•Clothing, jewelry, and visible tattoos cannot depict or imply messages, whether written or in picture form, which are profane, demeaning or promote illegal activity.

•Slippers and sock feet are not appropriate workplace clothing.

•All tops are to cover cleavage and the midriff; they must be able to be tucked in. Low cut tops, halter tops, backless tops, sideless tops, tube tops are not appropriate for the workplace.

Short shorts and skirts - a good indicator is that the hems should be lower than middle knuckle of the hand when arms are fully extended.

Clothing should be worn in such a way as to cover underwear.

•Outdoor wear, such as jackets and boots, are not to be worn to class.

•Wearing hats is not permitted inside the school except on designated hat days.

• It is expected that all school members will dress in an appropriate manner that is modest and conducive to creating a comfortable and safe working environment.

EMS Student Fee

It is regretful that the public school system looks to charge families student fees. At EMS we continue to charge a student fee rather than continually asking students and parents for money for a presentation, exploratory activity, an athletic fee, or the cost of materials used. We find that a one-time student fee is preferable to repeated collection of fees. Student fees are $35 or $60 for a family.

Bus Notes

When your child must travel on a different school bus or get off at a different stop, your child will need to bring a note from home that will be stamped by the office.

The note must include the student’s full name, the date and the bus route number. If this information is not on the note it will not be able to be stamped by the office.

Grade 7 Immunizations

The grade 7 immunizations will be held again this year. The first date for the grade 7 immunization will be October 17th &18th.

The permission slip will be coming home soon and should be filled out and returned to your child’s teacher ASAP.

EMS Communication Plan

At Evangeline Middle School we communicate student expectations and achievement with parents and guardians through school newsletters, student agenda books, report cards, parent-teacher interviews, student led conferences, and the September Open House. School newsletters are produced once a month and are sent home, in the format that you designated on the registration form, on the second Friday of the month. Report cards are issued in November, March and June. Another potential method of contact is via e-mail. You may have noticed that this year we have included a space for e-mail addresses on the registration forms. Also, the teacher’s e-mails are posted on our website. We have parent-teacher interviews and student led conferences scheduled for December, January and March. If at any time during the school year, you have a question and/or concern regarding your student’s performance, do not hesitate to contact the school or the teacher.

Provincial Code of Conduct

The provincial school code of conduct policy applies to all public schools and school boards in the Province of Nova Scotia. All students and school members in Nova Scotia are required to follow the new policy, which is governed by the Education Act. The policy in its entirety can be found on the DEECD website (https://www.ednet.ns.ca)

Allergy Alert

Evangeline Middle School is a nut aware and scent aware school. In terms of the first item, this means that we are asking students to not bring nuts or nut products to school. This may take a bit more time and effort on your part when selecting items for school. The second item, the scent means that we ask students and visitors to the school to avoid wearing products with a strong fragrance. We are hoping that by informing everyone, we can work together to address these serious allergies.

Throughout the year, there may be occasions when latex paint is used in the building. It may be paint touch ups throughout the building at the end of a school day or an Exploratory Activity where paint is used. Please contact your student’s homeroom teacher if your student would be affected in an adverse way. We definitely can prevent an allergic reaction if we are informed in advance.