Wolf Pack Weekly
Echo Trail Middle School Weekly Newsletter
Welcome!
September 4, 2023
Hello Wolf Pack Families!
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend. We had a great first school-wide field trip last week to the Parklands. The entire Wolf Pack seemed to really enjoy themselves and we are thrilled to provide hands-on learning experiences for our students. Thank you for your support.
Last Friday, we kicked off our Nature Walk Fundraiser with our students. We sent home packets of information. Thank you to our PTSA for spearheading our next school-wide event for our students!
We are excited to welcome you to our building this Thursday for our Open House from 5-7. Each day, we continue to have new updates to our building that are exciting. I do have updates that I want to communicate: our bathroom permanent partitions have been delayed because of incorrect parts being sent. We continue to have the temporary partitions up in the meantime. Our Library is coming along -- our books were delivered Friday and Ms. Ward, our librarian, has been hard at work getting things ready for our students. Speaking of Ms. Ward, she was the recipient of our “GREAT Award” for the month of August! We certainly appreciate all she has done to help our school start successfully.
Please do not forget to turn in your child’s “OPT OUT Media/Picture Form” if we do NOT have permission to use your child/pictures in Echo Trail or JCPS communication. Please return this by Friday, September 8th. We have an exciting Parklands video recap we would like to share and want to make sure we have everyone's permission before we release it.
Reminders:
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:
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.
Week at a Glance:
Monday
NO SCHOOL - Happy Labor Day!
Tuesday
Clubs are being introduced this week to our students!
Wednesday
Volleyball at JCTMS 5:30, 6:30, 7:30
Thursday
Open House 5-7 - We will have a food truck as well!
Saturday
Middletown Parade- we would love for students to participate in their Echo Trail Gear, more details to come!
XC Rumble Through the Jungle Open
Save the Date(s):
9/14/23 J-town Parade - Echo Trail will be participating
9/22/23 PTSA Nature Walk Fundraiser
#ExpectgreaTness
Dr. Ammerman, Principal
Twitter: @KaraJo_Ammerman
Important Information & Upcoming Events
Open House - Sept 7!
Mark your calendars! Open House Thursday, September 7th, 5-7PM
We're excited to invite you to see the school first hand!
Echo Trail Uniform Store Open!
Our online Echo Trail Middle School Uniform Store is currently open again. Uniforms, spirits shirts, pull overs, sweat pants and more are all available!
Get your orders in soon -- the store closes on Sun, Sep 10, 2023!
PTSA Nature Walk Fundraiser
Our first school wide PTSA fundraiser kicked off this past Friday morning. GrEaTie the Wolf is excited about our Inaugural Nature Walk!
Thanks to our fabulous PTSA for supporting our students and offering such amazing prizes! Look for your students packet to come home!
Explore Family Update
Explore Student Ambassador Applications have begun! Applications are found in student’s Counseling Google Classrooms. Applications are due Friday, SEPTEMBER 8th. First Ambassador Training is SEPTEMBER 20th at UofL Shelby Campus.
What is an Ambassador?
The program is a leadership program where you have the opportunity to talk about the Explore program, your pathway, and your school. It allows you to sharpen your public speaking and leadership, and event planning skills.
What do Ambassadors do?
Greeting guests and speaking to visitors in a professional manner
Sharing Explore with the community and being a positive communicator
Dressing professionally for events to represent their specific pathway
Training each year for incoming ambassadors
Participating in Showcase of Schools yearly and Open House or school events
Work with Feeder Elementary Schools & High Schools
MAP Testing
MAP Testing at Echo Trail will occur after Labor Day. Students will take the MAP Reading and MAP Math tests during their ELA and Math class periods.
The MAP Math test will be administered the week of September 5.
The MAP Reading test will be administered the week of September 11.
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.
Yearbook Photo Submissions
Hello Echo Trail community!
As our school year gets underway, I'd like to offer the opportunity for our community to submit photos from various ETMS events taking place. 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), so feel free to bookmark it for future reference.
I can't wait to see all the amazing activities that are shared!
Mathnasium Back to School Bash
On September 9th, 2023, all 3 Louisville Mathnasium centers will be open to all families, teachers, and school administrators as part of our Back-to-School Bash. Our centers will have free food, math games, fun activities, and tons of giveaways! Everyone to attend will leave with something - whether it’s a goodie bag of Mathnasium swag, Starbucks gift cards for all attending teachers, or even one of our Grand Prize Scholarships or Donations!
We’ll be having a competition for schools and classes, in which the school with the top attendance will receive a $1,000 donation! The teacher with the highest attendance from their math students will receive a $500 donation, as well as a pizza party for their class!
View the image above or click here for more details!
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.
Echo Trail Clubs Kick-Off
Echo Trail Clubs Kick-Off
We are so excited for the start of our first ever Echo Trail clubs! We hope that all students can find something to get involved in at Echo Trail. All information for our Echo Trail Clubs is available via our Club Page.
On the page, we have an introduction video giving your the details of each club. After watching the video, hop down the page to sign up for clubs you're interested in. The form is open only through Sunday, September 10!
Club Sponsors will be notified of students who are interested and then reach out to you with how to join and other next steps. Look out for new club-related Google Classrooms in your GC Home screen.
Wolf Pack Athletics
Echo Trail Athletics Page
We are excited to put all our Echo Trail athletic offerings in an easy to find place: bit.ly/etathletics
Not only will you find the necessary forms (Sports Physicals and JCPS Sports Parent Forms), you'll find our Fall, Winter, Spring and Spirit (year-round) sports offerings with Head Coach contact information. Also, we are always looking for active involvement from our parents and community, so if you have a passion for an athletic event, please reach out to me so we can get your connected.
Make sure to follow us on X (Twitter) to see all the action that's happening every week!
Kyle Carden, Athletic Director | kyle.carden@jefferson.kyschools.us
Twitter: @ETMS_WolfPack
Congrats on the GREAT Week!
What a great week! Field Hockey is starting up, 2nd place finish for Cross Country, and Volleyball's 6th Grade Team claimed their first win!
#ExpectgreaTness
Repeat Information
School Fees
We will begin collecting School Fees - what you can expect:
9-week Courses:
Modern Music $15
Art $15
Semester (18-week) Courses:
Choir $30
Year Long Courses:
Band $65
One-Time Fee for Explore Classes: $30
Business Communication, Consumer Science, Engineering and Design
All Students Instructional Fee (all core content) $20
Cash, Check or payment on My School Bucks will be accepted.
Need assistance setting up MSB? This My School Bucks Welcome Letter will walk you through the process.
School Lunch Questions
If you have any questions regarding your child's lunch account, please call Ms. Sims, the cafe manager, at 502-546-7570 or you may email her at julie.sims@jefferson.kyschools.us
Edulog - JCPS Bus Ride Information App
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) now provides the Edulog Parent Portal Lite smartphone app to help you receive information about your student’s school bus ride. The app allows you to see real-time information about the location of your student’s school bus and receive notifications when the bus is getting close.
We are currently using the lite version of the app, but we may upgrade to the more robust version in the future.
To get started, download the Edulog Parent Portal Lite app from the Apple or Android store. You can download the app using the QR code found on the JCPS Edulog Parent Portal Lite website.
Students' Rights - KRS 158.183
Click here to review your student's rights granted by Kentucky state law.
Phone Number
The Echo Trail Middle School phone number is 502-485-8398. You can also text or fax to this number. If you need to send in a sick note, you can text it to us now!
JCPS Parent Portal
JCPS has a quick link for back-to-school forms and information: jcps.me/parents
Under Parent Place you will need to complete the following forms: nurse consent to treat at school, student information enrollment form, student residency, student support handbook, and more.
These forms need to be completed as soon as possible for a smooth start of the school year.
Click here for a visual walkthrough of the Parent Portal site.
Another very informative link for parents is the main JCPS Parent website, jefferson.kyschools.us/parents.
You can set up a parent portal account by clicking Parent Portal tab if you don't already have one. FYI, Parent Portal is locked down by the district until the first day of school, August 9th.
Finally, we'd love to have you participate in field trips and other volunteer opportunities. Click on the blue box Get Involved: to complete the Volunteer Talent Center for background check. Background checks are kept on file and good for 5 years.
YMCA CEP Before or After Care
If you need CEP for before or after school care, please contact your local YMCA to register and sign up:
www.ymcalouisvillechildcare.org
Once you are registered, please complete this form to request bus service for AM/ PM or both.
* Select NONE, since there isn't a stop for CEP yet.
* On the last question, list the location of the CEP site that you need.
Sites that serve Echo Trail Middle School are:
AM & PM
Farmer
J-town Elementary
Stopher
Coleridge-Taylor downtown
Middletown Elementary
Bowen ( currently full-wait list)
PM only
Tully ( currently full-wait list)
Hite
Lowe
Weekly Newsletter
Errors? Omissions? If something is missing or needs to be corrected, please email Michael Etter, michael.etter@jefferson.kyschools.us.