Welcome!

January 8, 2024 

Hello Wolf Pack Families!

Happy New Year to all of our Echo Trail families!

I hope everyone had a wonderful break. We are ExciTed to welcome our students back to school and have an even better 2nd half to our school year with them. Our Wolf Pack has plenty to reflect upon and celebrate from the 1st half of the school year. I am beyond proud of what we accomplished and how much our students have grown. Thank you to all of our families for your support to make this happen for our school. There is no doubt in my mind we will continue to have plenty of celebrations as we continue to build our school traditions.

I also wanted to make sure our families had the most recent JCPS calendar. Please click here for the most current up-to-date 23-24 school calendar. 

Save the Date(s):

1/12/24 End of Second Grading Term

1/15/24 NO SCHOOL

1/16 Recognize our Girl’s Basketball Team 

2/19-2/20/24 NO SCHOOL 

3/15/24 End of Third Grading Term

4/12/24 PTSA Spring Fling Festival 

5/24/24 End of Fourth Grading Term 

#ExpectgreaTness 

Dr. Ammerman, Principal

Twitter: @KaraJo_Ammerman 

Bullying Prevention Parent Night, January 18th 

Join us to discuss transition from Elementary to Middle School, Bullying vs Peer Conflict, and Social Media.

January 18th, 5pm | Echo Trail Media Center

Let us know if you'll be there: Please RSVP with this form!

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.

Counseling Request Form

If your student has an academic question or social-emotional need, you can reach our counselors (Mr. Rul-lan and/or Ms. Thomas) or our Mental Health Practioner (MHP) Mrs. Sanders by filling out the Counselor Google Form.

Dental Clinic Sign-ups Extended

Dental Clinic sign-ups extended: Click here to sign up!

By signing up, a state licensed dentist will regularly check your child's mouth & teeth, as well as provide a cleaning, x-rays as necessary, fluoride treatment and apply sealants, as needed. Additional care, such as fillings, may also be provided. A dental report card will be sent home with your child. By completing this, the dentist will be able to see your child for their initial visit as well as all follow-up visits. 

Yearbook Photo Submissions

Remember, you can submit photos from ETMS events! These photos will be considered for use in our first ever yearbook.

Please use the form linked here and contact kari.ward@jefferson.kyschools.us if you have any questions or feedback. The form will remain open throughout the school year (until the yearbook has to be finalized).

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!

Science Olympiad

Science Club members, please check Google classroom for an updated schedule and information on the science fair. 

STLP Meeting, Monday, Jan 8

STLP will meet after school on Monday, January 8, 2:30-3:30pm.
Questions? Email Mr. Etter, michael.etter@jefferson.kyschools.us

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

We will continue to meet every Wednesday in the Band Room (132) from 7:00-7:30am.  All students are welcome to attend!

If you have any questions, please email sponsors joseph.stivers@jefferson.kyschools.us or jordan.stout@jefferson.kyschools.us.

Sign Up for Spring Sports!

We're all geared up for our Spring Athletic schedule: Baseball, Softball, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse, Track & Field, and Flag Football.

If your athlete is interested in playing any of our upcoming sports, make sure to fill out the form

Athlete Interest Form

STUDENTS!  If you are interested in playing a spring sport, please fill out the form with your information and select the sport you are interested in participating in this spring.
→ Student Athlete Interest Form

Coaching Interest Form

PARENTS & ET COMMUNITY!  If you are interested in coaching a spring sport, please fill out the form with your information and select the sport you are interested in coaching. Give a brief description of your coaching background in "Experience" box below. Thank you!
→ Coaching Interest Form

Volunteers Needed - Calling All Wolf Pack Members...

We are looking for volunteers to help fill some of the game day responsibilities (ticket table, score book, concessions, cleanup, etc.) during our upcoming home basketball events. 

All game day volunteers will receive free admission the day of the event they are working. The link below will take you to the sign up sheet to help us ensure that we will host great events at Echo Trail.

Wolf Pack Basketball Game Day Volunteers - Sign Up!

If you have questions about game day help, contact Mr. Carden, kyle.carden@jefferson.kyschools.us, or Coach Fasoldt, peter.fasoldt@jefferson.kyschools.us, for more information.

Basketball

1/10 Echo Trail @ Stuart MS (Away)

  6th Boys - 5:00 PM

JV Girls - 6:00 PM

JV Boys - 7:00 PM

Archery

1/13 Archery 

  Annual CEC CougarGames 9:00 AM - 12:0 PM

@ E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park Gymnasium

*Flights TBA

Homework Reminder

As your child continues to settle into middle school, we wanted to take a moment to send out a reminder about the importance of completing homework assignments. 

Homework is used to reinforce the skills and concepts that your child is learning at home. It is important that you are checking in DAILY with your child about the homework that he/she may have to complete. 

We ask that you also check Infinite Campus regularly to stay up-to-date on your child’s progress and any missing assignments that he/she may have. Completing assignments in a timely manner and practicing outside of school will help your child be successful throughout the school year. 

As always, if you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher directly. We appreciate your continued support!

Agenda Use

Starting this week, we will be helping students consistently use their agendas in each class. All teachers will have their students write down the learning target and any homework they might have.

We want to assist our students with organization skills and also completing homework when assigned. We also want to increase communication with you as you support your student.

Quick Reference & Reminders

• NTI Communication - Families

• Technology Plan - NTI

• Bus App Directions

• Please reference this map for AM arrival and PM dismissal 

• Echo Trail MS School Number 502-485-8398

• Expectations Slide Deck 

• Technology Slide Deck 

• Gum/Candy/Food - we ask that students do not chew gum (it finds its way to new furniture or the floor, etc.) and that any candy/food remains put away unless in the cafeteria.  

• Please review the uniform guidance and slide deck linked below:

Uniform Written Guidance

Uniform Slide Deck (visuals)

Spirit Store Items and Uniform Approved Items

Common Items we are correcting:

• Full zip jackets will need to be removed (once we have assigned lockers students will store them there)

• Hoodies that are non-Echo Trail (Echo Trail hoodies with hoods down can be worn on Fridays) Nike women’s dry tempo short, AC women’s tempo luxe 5 in short, and general athletic shorts are not approved school items to be worn. 

• The only athletic shorts approved on Friday’s are BSN Sports Agility 2 pocket Short and Nike Flex Woven Short.

Wolfpack Weekly in Junk Mail

Teachers and parents both found the Weekly Newsletter in the Junk folder of their email recently.

If you missed a newsletter, you can always find previous weeks listed in the navigation window.

Here are things you can do to make sure you don't miss out next time:

• Periodically look in your Junk Folder to make sure you're not missing email from JCPS Teachers

• Whitelist our email addresses

  • For the Weekly, michael.etter@jefferson.kyschools.us and echotrailmiddle_reginfo@jefferson.kyschools.us

• Bookmark bit.ly/WolfPackWeekly and use the navigation bar for the latest week's newsletter

• Update Infinite Campus Parent Portal to include your phone number to receive SMS Notifications from us

We hope this helps. We never want you to miss out on important information. Please reach out to the school with any questions or assistance!

School Contacts

If you need to reach out to any of our administrators, front office staff, core content teachers or other staff, you can find their names, roles and emails on our school website: bit.ly/echotrailmiddle

Weekly Newsletter

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