Echo Trail Middle School Weekly Newsletter

Welcome!

September 16, 2024

Hello Wolf Pack Families!

Thank you to all the students and families who joined us to walk in the Gaslight Parade. We had a grEaT time and enjoyed representing our school!

This week is going to be an awesome week ending it with our Nature Walk on Friday. Thank you in advance for all of your efforts to collect donations to support our school for the year. I know the students are excited.

September 15th kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month. We will be sharing about Hispanic figures and traditions during our morning meetings and on the announcements. It is always fun to provide a space for students to share and learn during these times and continue to build a strong sense of belonging.

Thank you to the following volunteers who assisted us during picture day: Dana Moore, Kelly Ditterline, Paul Ditterline, Kimberly Beard, Aidan Brown, DeeDee Robinson, and Courtney Buckner.

I have started to communicate with our students about the importance of completing their homework when assigned. We do not expect students to have their homework 100% correct but to try it on their own. The purpose of homework is to provide extra practice outside of class to identify what students may be struggling with or build confidence in their knowledge. Thank you for your support and encouragement with your student!

Save the Date(s) and Other Important Information:

Echo Trail Family Calendar : This is a living document that will be updated as needed. We wanted to give you a snapshot of what to expect each month.
September 12th- Gaslight Parade, more details will be sent out when we receive them.
Uniform Written Guidance and Uniform Slide Deck (visuals) :
- Please be mindful of skirt length
- Full-zip jackets are to be removed for the day
- Uniform Approved hoodies can only be worn on Friday
EDULOG Parent Information

#ExpectgreaTness

Dr. Ammerman, Principal

Twitter: @KaraJo_Ammerman

Counselor's Corner

We need your help! Cellphones and Peer Conflict

We are seeing an uptick in peer conflict that is stemming from social media and group chats (text messages) communication. We are working to educate our students at school on how to resolve conflict and how to form healthy peer relationships. This work cannot be done alone and we are asking parents and guardians to partner with us in order to navigate healthy friendships while living in a tech world. Remind your child to always “Treat yourself and others with kindness” no matter if they are speaking face to face or online. Below are a few suggestions on how you can speak to your child about their social media use:

Help them set boundaries and limits on tech. Make sure using social media doesn't get in the way of adequate sleep.
Have regular conversations with your child about their mental health and well-being. Talk about the platforms they're on, app features, and how they make your child feel.
Make sure they know to go to a trusted adult if they feel uncomfortable about something online.

Character Strong Weekly Update

Character Strong is our schoolwide curriculum used for social-emotional learning. Students complete lessons during Team Time on Monday's and Friday's of each week.

Below are highlights of lessons for each grade level:

Week of September 16th:
6th Grade and 7th Grade Lesson

Lesson Title/Description :
Building Connections - This session will help students to think about their own definition of community. We will build on what they know through activities that help students make the connection between community, safety, and respect.

Wolf Pack Family Series - Echo Trail Middle School 101 Night Thursday, September 26th 5 - 7 PM

Join us to discuss the following topics:

Standards Based Grading
Student Support
Sense of Belonging

Hosted by ETMS Administrators and PTSA. Please complete this form to RSVP. More information will be emailed the day of the event.

Family Feedback Survey

Families, we need to hear from you!

The staff at Echo Trail Middle School are thankful that you have chosen to partner with us in the care and education of your child. We value your partnership and invite you to provide your thoughts on this survey to help us provide the best services for your child and family. Thank you!

Click here to take the survey!

Operation Parent
Fall Webinars

Free Webinars! Use this link to sign up -www.operationparent.org/webinars

Standards Based Grading at Echo Trail

At Echo Trail MS, we believe students learning the content over simply memorizing material is important for the educational environment we want to provide. We want to begin to provide information to you in order to support your student and better understand what Standards Based Grading is and is not. Please know that SBG will not affect GPAs or transitioning to High School. The majority of Middle Schools in JCPS are shifting from traditional grading practices to SBG.

What does SBG do?

Student learning of grade level standards is measured and communicated.
Students know where they are at in their learning of grade level standards.
Clear learning goals are explained to students and students receive communication about their progress towards these learning goals.
Students receive feedback on assignments to further their understanding of content standards.
Students have the opportunity to use feedback and improve their “grade” and to show their mastery/learning of grade level standards.

SBG Visual Grading Chart

Infinite Campus Grading

When viewing your child’s grades on Infinite Campus, you will see two categories: Engagement and Mastery.

What does Engagement mean?

These are assignments given to help students “practice” the current standards/skills that are being taught within the classroom. These assignments could include, but are not limited to, the following: participation, group work, class discussion, journals/ logs/notebooks, homework, projects, teacher observation, student reflection, demonstrations of learning, defenses, and/or other evidence of student interaction.
These assignments will NOT impact your child’s overall Mastery grade. For example, your child may receive 4s on all of his/her Engagement assignments, but may have a score less than 4 under the Mastery category depending on how he/she performs on various mastery assignments including resubmissions.
These assignments help lead up to Mastery assignments. Descriptive feedback will be provided in order to help your child know how he/she is progressing towards mastery of various standards/skills.
Engagement assignments will need to be completed by the deadline given by the teacher in order to complete the Mastery assignments.
Resubmissions will NOT be permitted on Engagement assignments. Remember, these are practice assignments.

What does Mastery mean?

These are assignments in which students will “apply” their knowledge of the current standards/skills being taught within the classroom. These assignments could include, but are not limited to, the following: projects (e.g., project or problem-based), performance assessments, demonstrations of learning, authentic assessments, presentations/ defenses, other evidence of learning toward mastery, or tests/proficiency assessments.
Resubmissions WILL be permitted on Mastery assignments. Your child will need to complete additional “Engagement” assignments at the teacher’s discretion prior to resubmitting a Mastery assignment in order to demonstrate that he/she is ready.
The number of resubmissions will be at the teacher’s discretion. *Please note: If your child receives a 3 on a Mastery assignment, your child will need to initiate the resubmission. If he/she chooses not to resubmit the Mastery assignment, then the final grade on that assignment will be a B. Resubmissions on Mastery assignments in which your child receives less than a 3 will be teacher initiated and your child MUST resubmit. The highest score on the resubmissions will be entered into Infinite Campus.
Mastery assignments will be scored using the 4-point Standards Based Grading scale. (4=A, 3=B, 2=C, 1=D, 0=U)

The following conduct rubric will be used to administer your child’s final conduct grade:

It is important that you are checking your child’s grades regularly to ensure that he/she is completing assignments in a timely manner and demonstrating mastery towards the standards. The goal is not for students to always achieve a 4. The goal of Standards Based Grading is for your child to be able to apply what he/she is learning and demonstrate true mastery of standards. We appreciate your involvement in your child’s learning and we are committed to helping your child have a successful year!

Counseling Request Form

If your student has an academic question or social-emotional need, you can reach our counselors or Mental Health Practitioner by filling out the Counselor Google Form.

6th Grade - Ms. Thomas/Ms. Wales

7th Grade - Mr. Rul-lan/Ms. Wales

Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) - Mrs. Sanders

Important Information & Upcoming Events

LG&E UPDATE FOR EASTWOOD CUTOFF AND GILLILAND

LG&E UPDATE FOR EASTWOOD CUTOFF/ GILLILAND & RAMP CLOSURES ON I-71 & I-265

The road will not be closing September 16th. LG&E’s project is now scheduled to start in the beginning of October. There will not be a full road closure as previously planned. LG&E will give a one week notice if a road closure is necessary to complete our work. As of now, LG&E is planning on flagging traffic for this project to avoid any detours or road closures.

Metro Councilmembers Kramer, Benson and Piagentini appreciate LG&E’s willingness to adjust their gas line project to better accommodate the residents of this area.

We will continue to provide updates through the e-newsletters, social media and Nextdoor about this project and any others as they occur.

Breakfast & Lunch Menu

We've had a number of requests for our Breakfast and Lunch menus to be posted in the newsletter. Below is the snapshot of this week and you can find the full Echo Trail September Menu here.

You can always see the menu for any school and any day of the school year on the JCPS Nutrislice website. Below is the Echo Trail menu.
--> Echo Trail Menus | Nutrislice

Wolfpack Water Project

Click the image below to head to Echo Trail's Ugandan Water Project page to find out more and support the cause!

Bus Transportation Update

At this point in the school year, we know the consistent number of students on each bus. If a student needs to ride home with someone else, we will handle this on a case-by-case basis due to the availability of seats on each bus.

The process will be:

Both parents/guardians would send a note to school the morning of
School Administrators will check to see if there is room on the bus
If there is room, student will be able to ride
If there is NOT room, student will NOT be able to ride and will need to go home their normal way
A call will be made to let parents/guardians know if the transportation change is approved or not approved

Echo Trail Athletics: Main Event Night

Echo Trail Athletics invites all members of the Wolfpack to a fun filled night at Main Event on Thursday 9/19, from 5:00-8:00 PM. Proceeds will go to support all Echo Trail Athletic Teams. See the flyer for more information.

Echo Trail Middle School Athletics Spirit Night Flyer.pdf

Yearbook Cover Art Contest

Each year, we love making our yearbook unique to our Wolf Pack. We want your student artwork to grace the cover of the year book. Submit your original work by September 25th!

Submit in person or use this link!

The Dentist Is Coming To School!

Big Smiles Dental Clinic will be here on October 7, 2024. If you are interested in having your child seen by a dentist, please visit this page to sign your child up.

Deadline to sign up for the dentist is 9/30/24.

Celebrations

Weekly Student Spotlight

Each team of teachers will select only one student per week. These students have demonstrated what it means to be G.R.E.A.T. at Echo Trail based upon our school-wide expectations.

Click arrows to see selected students for this week!

Echo Trail on Facebook

Follow Echo Trail Middle on Facebook for updates and celebrations!

Echo Trail PTSA

Class Act Heroes of Education

Please vote for Echo Trail Middle School on the Class Act link! Last year we earned $3500 and this year we are already up to $2000!!

Visit heroesofeducation.org/schools/echo-trail-middle-school and make an impact on our school!

Link your Kroger Card to Help Echo Trail

Whenever you shop at Kroger and use your Kroger Card, you use can help Echo Trail!

Kroger Community Rewards

Link Echo Trail Middle School PTSA to your Kroger Card and every time you scan your card, Kroger will give back 1% of all your purchases ETMS!
Click here to get started and search for “Echo Trail” in the organization search!

Echo Trail Clubs

Club Update

The deadline to sing up for clubs has ended. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Club sponsor for your students club. You can visit our Club Page here to view current sponsors.

Sponsors will be communicating through Google Classrooms and/or announcements when their club will begin. We also will display our Club calendar weekly to students on our scrolling TV's.

We cannot wait to see what our Clubs do this 2024/25 school year!

-Mr. Stivers, Clubs Coordinator, joseph.stivers@jefferson.kyschools.us

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

We are thrilled to have started our Echo Trail FCA! Meetings occur every Wednesday from 7:00-7:20am outside the Library on the social stairs. Although this is a before school club, parents are to drop off their student as normal by the gym entrance. This means if your student is carpool, please drive through the single lane as normal and do not divide into two lanes. Please be mindful of our morning staff as they are making sure all students are dropped off safely.

Donuts are not provided this year for FCA due to the larger numbers and a shorter meeting time. Please have students eat breakfast before arriving to our morning meetings. Lastly, if a student arrives after 7:05am, they are still welcome to attend our huddle but we ask that they quietly find a seat while the speaker is presenting.

If you have questions, you can email Mr. Stivers at joseph.stivers@jefferson.kyschools.us

Future Problem Solvers

The first Future Problem Solver (FPS) club meeting AND Science Fair meeting will both be on September 16. If you are interested in one or both clubs, please plan on being at the first club meet so you can receive important information about this year's schedule. We will meet until 3:30. Please arrange for your student to be picked up at that time.

If you have questions, you can email Mrs. Jacoby at amanda.jacoby@jefferson.kyschools.us

Yearbook Club

Yearbook Club Applications are out and due by Sept. 23rd. Stay tuned for more information!

If you have questions, you can email Ms. Ward at kari.ward@jefferson.kyschools.us

Drama Club

Drama club will hold an interest meeting Wednesday, October 16th from 2:20-3:20 pm. Students will receive audition sides and songs for Wonka Kids auditions on October 23rd.

If you have questions, you can email Ms. Ward at lori.knapke@jefferson.kyschools.us

Wolf Pack Athletics

Athletic Practice Schedules

All athletic schedules are subject to change due to weather and other factors. Check with your coaches about any changes in practice and game schedules.

Athletic Forms

Your student athlete will not be able to participate in any activity (including practices) until they have completed the Echo Trail Athletics Physical Packet (ignore the school year -- it's still the same packet as last year). This includes the WHOLE packet. Use the cover sheet as a checklist to complete all required forms in order for your student athlete to be eligible to start their desired activity.

Thanks for your attention to this! We Expect greaT things from this Wolf Pack!
Kyle Carden, Athletic Director | kyle.carden@jefferson.kyschools.us
Twitter: @ETMS_WolfPack

Winter Sports Tryout Information Form

Winter sports are upon us. The Winter Sports Season includes the following:

Boys/Girls Basketball

Boys/Girls Swimming

Archery

If your child is interested, please complete the WINTER SPORTS TRYOUT FORM (click the link). Each team's coaches will reach out to you with further information.

The Following is general information about each of this year's winter sports teams. Please read for information about your choices:

Boys/Girls Basketball: These teams will hold very competitive tryouts with large turnouts expected. Because of limited roster spots, these teams will require cuts to make the final rosters.

Boys/Girls Swimming: Our swim team will hold evaluations for each athlete. It is advised that a swimmer has knowledge of all four strokes (freestyle, breast stroke, backstroke, butterfly) and is capable of swimming 50m without stopping (2 lengths of the pool).

Archery: Archery will hold evaluations of each archer. Spots could be limited based on availability of space and time.

Athletic Schedule: 9/16 - 9/21

Monday 9/16

VB vs Ramsey @ Ramsey

4:30 PM JV

5:30 PM V

V Golf @ Woodhaven CC - 4:30pm

Tuesday 9/17

XC @ Southeast Church - FCA Race of Champions

6th - 6:35pm (Boys & Girls)

7th - 6:55pm (Boys & Girls)

Wednesday 9/18

VB vs Kammerer @ ET

5:00pm JV

6:00pm 6th

7:00pm V

FH vs North Oldham @ Kammerer - 6:00pm

Thursday 9/19

FB vs Hudson @ Newburg (V) - 6:00pm

Saturday 9/21

JV Golf @ Woodhaven - 8:30am

Weekly Wrap Up

Volleyball has a successful week against Olmsted and Lassiter

JV and Varisty swept Olmsted 2-0 in both matches.

Against Lassiter, all three levels took their matches into a third set. 6th and Varsity teams came out victorious, JV came up just short.

Volleyball will travel to Ramsey Monday (9/16), and host Kammerer at home on Wednesday (9/18).

Cross Country continues to lead the pack at JCPS races, as well as setting the pace at the Capital City Classic in Frankfort.

Both the boys and girls teams continue to place in the front of the pack at the JCPS races with a plethera of runners finishing in the top 10.

Both teams traveled to Frankfort Saturday where the Girls finished 3rd and the boys finished 9th in the overall team standings, on a very difficult and hill filled course. Hadley M. was top finisher with a 2nd place finish in the middle school race.

Varsity and JV Golf both set the standard on the course among their JCPS competition.

Varsity Blue sits in first place in the JCPS league with another night of low rounds coming together.

Varsity Green is in contention to move up the standings, and putting both Echo Trail teams in the top 3.

JV Golf's groups golfed well setting the marks for the rest of the field to catch. Great teamwork coming from those groups.

Field Hockey goes head to head with Barret in a 1-1 defensive battle

Goal by Ellen W. with the assist from Kayla G.

Defense continues to work hard, with another great game in goal by Bailey R.

Football drops a heart breaker 8-6 to Noe

Aiden S. scrambles for a 75 yard touchdown, first to be scored for Echo Trail football in the regular season.

The Wolfpack will be back in action Thursday (9/19) against Hudson at Newburg MS.

Repeat Information

Car Rider Reminders

Thank you for your patience during our morning and afternoon car rider line. Our car rider line continues to improve. A few reminders to help us continue to be as efficient as possible:

Morning Drop Off:

- There is 1 lane for student drop off.
- Pull all the way forward to the orange cones located near exit 3.
- A staff member will direct students to exit the car. Please make sure your child has his/her belongings ready to exit safely and quickly.
- For student safety, please avoid letting your child exit the car before the sidewalk begins near the main entrance.

Afternoon Pick Up:

- There are 2 lanes for student pick up. Once students have safely loaded into their cars, one lane will be released at a time by the direction of a staff member. The next set of cars will pull forward and stop and the loading process will be repeated.
- Please follow the directives of the staff members outside in order to keep the line moving safely and efficiently.
- Please avoid pulling around cars unless told to do so by a staff member.

Thank you for doing your part in helping make our car rider line function as smoothly as possible.

Volunteer This School Year!

We'd love to have you participate in field trips and other volunteer opportunities. Head to the JCPS Volunteer page (Get Involved) and click Volunteer Talent Center to fill out a background check form. Background checks are kept on file with the district and are good for 5 years.

Educational Benefits Form

Parents, please complete the Education Benefits Form!

As you may know, all JCPS schools now participate in the Community Eligibility (CE) Provision, so all JCPS students are eligible to receive breakfast and lunch at no charge, regardless of income or completion of this form. However, to determine eligibility for various additional state and federal program benefits that your child may qualify for and to determine funding for your school, we need all families to complete this online EBF form.

Please make sure to fill out the Educational Benefits Form: jcps.me/EBF

Thanks for your attention in this manner!

Modern Music Website

Our Modern Music class has a new website! Students and families can check in for regular updates on our MM classes!

https://preparedandresilienteducator.my.canva.site/modern-music

Weekly Newsletter

Our newsletter is sent out every Monday morning. Previous newsletters can be found on the top left side menu bar.

Errors? Omissions? If something is missing or needs to be corrected, please email Michael Etter, michael.etter@jefferson.kyschools.us.

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