Echo Trail Middle School Weekly Newsletter

Welcome!

October 6 , 2025

Hello Wolf Pack Families!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fall Break! We have ExciTing news from our Nature Walk PTSA Fundraiser. Our amazing ETMS Community raised $48,000! Top Earners: Caden M (7th), Emmett Monroe (7th), and Reina Gibson (6th). Incentive prizes have been ordered and will be delivered to students at school as soon as they are available. PTSA is so grEaTful for our amazing community! Also, please share with your student another opportunity from our PTSA: PTSA T-Shirt Contest

Starting Wednesday, October 7th during lunch, students will be allowed to use their HERO points to purchase items and the HERO Store. Students must have their ID in order to make purchases. A friendly reminder, students must wear their ID badges around their neck each day to receive points based on our GREAT Pillars of Success.

I am so proud of our students and their attendance to start the school year. It is our goal as a school to have 95% attendance or better every week. We had 6 strong weeks at 95% school wide attendance or better!

8/11- 98%

8/18- 95%

8/25- 95%

9/2- 95%

9/8- 96%

9/15- 95%

We took a dip the last week before break with 94%. I know we are going to get back on track with reaching 95% or better this week. Thank you for your support!

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.
Uniform Written Policy 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
- Dressdown Guidelines

#ExpectgreaTness

Dr. Ammerman, Principal

Twitter: @KaraJo_Ammerman

Important Information
& Upcoming Events

Nurse Form for Students

Students requesting to see the nurse at school will now have access to this form. This does not include students already scheduled to see Nurse Rincon.

Nurse Form

Veteran's Day Program

Echo Trail Middle School will host our Veteran’s Day Program on Friday, November 7th, from 1:10–1:50 p.m.

We are excited to announce that our 8th Grade Choir, Band, and Modern Music Students, along with Echo Trail Staff Veterans, will be hosting a special program to honor those in our community who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. To help us prepare, we kindly ask that our families and community members complete the linked Google Form below by Thursday, October 31st.

If you are a Veteran, or you have a Veteran in your family whom you would like to see honored at our program, please respond below by listing the names of all who will be attending. This will allow us to reserve Guest of Honor seating for your group.

CLICK HERE to complete the Veteran's Form

Thank you in advance for your support. We look forward to celebrating and honoring our veterans together on this very special day!

Holiday Assistance Sponsors Needed!

If you would like to contribute to our Holiday Assistance program for Echo Trail families in need, please click HERE to complete this Google Form by Friday, October 10th! We do not currently have a Family Youth Service Coordinator and appreciate your willingness to support. Thanks in advance for your generosity and caring for our Wolf Pack!

Holiday Assistance Program

If you would like to receive Holiday Assistance for your student, please click HERE to complete a Google Form by Friday, October 20th. Be sure to complete a separate form for each child in your household who attends Echo Trail.

Before filling out the form, please read the information below so you understand how our Holiday Assistance Program works:

We will provide Holiday Gift Assistance for the first 30 families who complete the form.
If additional sponsorships become available, we may be able to support more families.
Families who are not among the first 30 will be placed on a wait list.
Our sponsors will focus on providing clothing items or other gift items that you list as priorities.

8th Grade Trip - Save the Date!

Our 8th Grade Trip to Cincinnati will be Thursday & Friday, April 23-24. Make sure to save the date! You won't want to miss this one.

More details to come. Stay tuned!

Counselor Corner

Echo Trail MAP Data

We want to recognize the hard work of our students and teachers as we wrap up our Fall MAP testing season! Take a look at Echo Trail's most recent Math and Reading Scores. Be sure to congratulate your child on their effort, their growth from last year, and their achievement score!

Your child will receive their MAP Family report during school on Tuesday, 10/7 to bring home and share with you. Please take a few minutes to talk with your child about their Math and Reading scores including what they are proud of and strategies they want to use in order to continue to improve.

8th Grade Transition Night - Oct. 7th @ 5PM

Who: 8th grade students attending Echo Trail and Guardians/Family

What: Receive information from JCPS transition office about high school choice

When: October 7th, 2025 at 5:00

Where: Echo Trail Middle School Cafeteria

Why: To receive information to help make an informed decision for high school choice prior to Showcase of Schools

Click HERE to RSVP

HERO Student and Teacher Leaders

Check out our HERO point leaders for last week!

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 October 6:
6th Grade - S3: Middle School Mythbusting (Worries & Wonders) - This is the 1st of 2 sessions called "middle school mythbusting" that bring student voices forward with the goal of helping quell worries our students might have at the beginning of middle school. This session is about fitting in and belonging at school.

7th Grade - S3: Developing Community Agreements - This session is dedicated to developing Community Agreements. These Agreements are meant to help the class become a safe place where people can be genuine without fear of mistreatment, where we listen to one another and speak about our needs allowing us to create anti-bullying environments proactively. The Agreements will serve as guidelines we can refer to throughout the year.

8th Grade - S3: Developing Community Agreements - This session is dedicated to developing Community Agreements. These Agreements are meant to help the class become a safe place where people can be genuine without fear of mistreatment, where we listen to one another and speak about our needs allowing us to create anti-bullying environments proactively. The Agreements will serve as guidelines we can refer to throughout the year.

Standards Based Grading

All teachers at Echo Trail use Standards Based Grading. This means that grades will be communicated as a 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0 and focus on what students know and can do in relation to specific state standards. Click this link to learn more and reach out to your child's teacher or counselor if you have questions.

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
7th Grade - Mr. Rul-lan
8th Grade - Ms. Wales
Mental Health Practitioner (MHP) - Mrs. Sanders

Student Spotlight

Clubs

Welcome to Echo Trail Clubs!

Needing information on club meet times, sponsor contact info, or new to clubs in general?

Visit our Club page here for all the information you need!

The SpongeBob Musical

We are excited to announce our Spring ETMS production - The SpongeBob Musical (youth edition)!!

Required audition workshops are Tuesday, October 7th and 9th from 2:30-3:30 (location TBD)

Auditions are Monday, October 13th, 2:30-4:00 (location TBD) and depending on interest, Wednesday, October 15th, 2:30-4:00

Echoes of the Arts

Band Students of the Week for September

Band Newsletter

Click here to read our October Newsletter.

Vision/Mission/Motto
8th Grade Performs National Anthem @ YUM Center!
September Students of the Week!
Sound Connection Highlights
10/9 8th Grade Howlapalooza Concert
10/23 7th/8th Grade JCPS All-County Auditions
10/28 InstaRaise Fundraising Info
10/29 Mark's Feed Store Proceeds Day
2026 Solo & Ensemble Sign Ups!
11/7 Veteran's Day Info

Modern Music Newsletter

Click here to read our September Newsletter.

EXPLORE

👀 Check out what's Happening in Explore this week...

#chasEThecuriosity

Explore Ambassadors received emails on Friday.

Business &Communications using Games to understand Opportunity Costs.

Athletics

This Week in Wolfpack Athletics...

Monday 10/6

5:00pm JV Golf Woodhaven

Tuesday 10/7

5:00pm Varsity Golf vs Crosby/Westport @ Long Run GC

5:30pm ET Tennis - Echo Trail vs Brown @ Charlie Vettiner Park

6:00pm JV Baseball vs Noe MS @ Ballard HS - Playoffs

7:45pm V Softball vs tba @ PRP HS - Playoffs

Wednesday 10/8

6:00pm Varsity FB vs Barret @ Jtown HS - Playoffs

7:45pm V Baseball vs tba @ Male HS - Playoffs

Thursday 10/9

5:30pm ET Tennis - Echo Trail vs Kammerer @ Charlie Vettiner Park

Saturday 10/11

XC - Haunted Woods Classic @ Oldham County HS - La Grange KY

Echo Trail Athletic Department

Fall and Winter Sports Transition

Dear Echo Trail Parents and Student-Athletes,

As our fall sports season draws to a close, I want to extend my gratitude to all of our athletes, coaches, and families for their hard work and dedication. The fall season was a great success, and we're incredibly proud of what our teams accomplished.

Now, as we look ahead to the winter sports season, we want to address the upcoming transition. We recognize that there may be a brief period of overlap between the end of the fall season and the start of winter tryouts and practices.

We want to make our policy on this transition very clear. Our number one expectation is for every student-athlete to remain committed to their current fall team until the season is officially over. A fall athlete may attend winter tryouts and workouts only if there are no conflicts with their fall team's schedule, including practices and games. If there is no conflict on the afternoon/night of the tryout and/or workout, the student athlete will be permitted to participate in tryouts and workouts while still fulfilling their fall sport obligations.

To be direct, if a student-athlete shows up to a winter tryout on the same day their fall team has a scheduled practice or event, that student will be removed from the tryout process entirely and will not be allowed to try out for a winter team this season.

We believe that being a part of a team requires full commitment and respect for your teammates and coaches. This policy ensures that our athletes are fully focused on the team they are currently a part of, while also allowing for the opportunity to explore future athletic endeavors when the time is right.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we finish out the fall season and prepare for the winter.

Good luck to all of our student-athletes!

Sincerely,

Kyle Carden

Echo Trail Athletic Director

Dates and Times for the first round of the 25-26 Basketball Tryouts

Please make note of your student’s date and time.

All students wishing to tryout will be given two first round tryout days.

If your son or daughter is participating in a fall sport and a practice or game conflicts with this time they will attend one of the later tryouts scheduled on 10/20/25 and/or 10/21/25 for their two days of first round tryouts(Times to Be Announced).

If your athlete does not have a sports physical and the JCPS Athletics packet completed the day of their tryout, they will not be permitted to participate until that has been completed.

(If you skip a fall sport practice or game you will be disqualified from trying out for Basketball)!

Winter Sports Updates

No longer taking signups due to tryouts and evaluation period being complete:

Basketball
Swimming

Winter opportunities still to come:

Archery
Indoor Track
Step team

PTSA

THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS!

PTSA would like to thank all the volunteers who helped make Nature Walk such a success! We could not have done it without you.

Reminders

We would love for you to sign up for a PTSA Membership.

--> You can join the Echo Trail PTSA here!

Does your student have spirit wear or school uniforms that no longer fit? Or maybe apparel from a previous grade-level team that your student is no longer on? PTSA is partnering with the FRC to replenish clothing for students and families in need. You can bring donations to the front office or email PTSA to make other arrangements.

Any questions about PTSA, feel free to email echotrailptsa@gmail.com

Volunteers Needed

We will need volunteers throughout the school year. Please fill out this form so we can have you on our volunteer email list.

Bookstore needs help during lunches!
Your Echo Trail Bookstore will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during lunches! Hours are 10am-noon.

Students may ask to stop by and purchase spirit wear items during these times. We accept card, check (made out to Echo Trail PTSA) and cash. Parents may sign in to the office for a visitors pass to shop as well during these hours.

If you'd like to volunteer during these times, the bookstore chair will walk you through how it works.

--> https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0548ADA82EA5FDC34-58162520-etms

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!

Repeat Information

Volunteer This School Year!

We'd love to have you participate in field trips and other volunteer opportunities!

The Jefferson County Board of Education (JCBE) requires volunteers to submit a background check form every five years. However, if it is brought to the attention of district officials that a volunteer has plead guilty to or is convicted of drug offenses; sexual offenses; offenses against minors; deadly weapons offenses; violent, abusive, threatening, or harassment offenses; or any felony offense, he or she will be required to submit a new criminal records check and his or her volunteer status may be terminated. In keeping with JCBE policy, the School Volunteer Records Check process is as follows:

All JCPS parent and community members whose School Volunteer Records Check was cleared prior to July 1, 2020, are required to submit a new background check.
Volunteers who submitted a School Volunteer Records Check after July 1, 2020, and were cleared will not need to resubmit a records check until July 1, 2025, unless there has been a qualifying incident similar to those listed above.

Get the Latest from our ET Teachers on the JCPS App

Many of our Echo Trail teachers are using the JCPS Rooms feature in the JCPS app to keep our parents updated. We don’t want to overwhelm parents by doubling up info in multiple places. We encourage you to download the app for communication.

Whether you're on Apple or Android, the links to download the JCPS App can be found here:
https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/o/jcps/page/mobile-application

School Fees

If you still need to pay your school fees, please do so now online at My School Bucks! Click the link below to review the School Fee Sheet. Price does include a 3.95% credit card processing fee.

25-26 School Fees

You may also send fees by cash and checks with your student.

If we can offer any assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to us 485-8398.

Weekly Newsletter

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

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