Dear EGRMS Families

What an amazing first day it has been for me at EGRMS. I am so thankful for the warm welcome I have received throughout the day from students, parents, and staff. 

For those of you who have not yet had a chance to read my welcome letter, please click here. 

I cannot wait to meet many more of you in the weeks to come! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at jdykhous@egrps.org if I can be of any assistance to you or your family. 

Sincerely,
Jeff Dykhouse
Principal

Dear EGR Middle School Parents:

I am writing to let you know that our students will be shown the film Angst during their BRIDGES class this Friday.  Angst explores anxiety, its causes and effects, and what we can do about it.  The goal of the film is to raise awareness around anxiety. Angst features candid interviews with kids and young adults who suffer, or have suffered, from anxiety and what they have learned about it.  Our BRIDGES planning committee developed thoughtful and appropriate lessons for our time together this Friday. We look forward to introducing this all important topic to our students.

In addition, this film will be offered to parents on October 7, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at the High School PAC.  A panel discussion of West Michigan experts will follow the viewing of the film.

Have a great week!

Shelly Schram
Assistant Principal

   

We aim to maximize instructional time each school day.  Ideally, students will come to school prepared with all the necessary materials, lunch money or sack lunches, and knowledge of plans for after school.  Each delivery to a student disrupts a class and often creates a late arrival to the next class period. 

We ask parents to keep such requests for a delivery to true family emergencies only.  Forgotten school work, technology, or musical instruments may be stressful to a student, but the small lessons of keeping these matters in perspective, namely that they do not require a special parent delivery, is what we strive for all students to understand.  As such, parent requests for deliveries will be handled consistent with the urgency of the situation and all non-emergency deliveries communicated to students at the end of the school day.

Please consider the following when dropping an item off in the main office:

• Label the item prior to arriving at the middle school.

• Place the item on the student Drop-Off table.

• Instruct your child to check the Drop-Off table throughout the day as students will not be called out of class.  Be in touch with your child using the same means of the original communication.

Video of Recent Vaping Presentation

If you were not able to attend recent Community Conversations Series on Vaping, the district has archived a video of it here. 

Presenters Dr. Shelly Schmidt and Dave Stults shared both the social and physiological reasons behind why vaping is so addicting for today’s teens. In addition, they also spoke about how to talk to your student about vaping and provided resources regarding where to get help.

This Is It! Last Week to Be Part of History!

More than 875 families, including more than 130 EGRPS staff members, have contributed to Now&Forever. If you’re not one of them, this week is your last opportunity to join this historic effort to create a sustainable source of funding for our schools. Together, our community has raised more than $6.3 million to build the Foundation’s endowment to fund programs and enhancements now and for generations to come. We’re only $70,000 from our goal. If you don’t know about Now&Forever, you can learn more on our website. If you’ve been meaning to contribute, now is the time. Make your pledge today at egrsf.org!

Students are issued “Way to Go” cards for demonstrating Respect, Responsibility or Personal Best by doing the right thing!  As students receive these cards, they are placed in the container located in the Main Office. Every Friday, names are drawn and announced during the afternoon announcements.  Each student selected, has the opportunity to pick a prize from the prize basket simply as a way to say “Thanks, we appreciate and recognize you!” 

This week's winners include:  

Jatese Sain, 6th
Mariyah Edwards, 7th
Tristan Barris, 8th

 

The Hearts of Gold committee is excited to announce the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan as our 2019 partner! The Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan leads the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures, and save lives. Awareness activities and fundraising will kick off in September. The Hearts of Gold events will culminate on Friday, October 18, 2019 at the East Grand Rapids High School home varsity football game against Grand Rapids Christian. Hearts of Gold is an annual EGR community-wide effort to raise funds and awareness for a non-profit organization, focusing on the physical and mental health of children while teaching our kids about philanthropy. Since 2009, Hearts of Gold has raised $663,000 for non-profit organizations throughout the state. 2019 will be extra special as it marks our tenth anniversary! For additional information about Hearts of Gold, go to the Hearts of Gold website or find Hearts of Gold on Facebook by searching @egrheartsofgold.

• T-shirts will be sold on October 1st, 3rd, 8th and 9th during all three lunch periods and again during Hearts of Gold week, October 14-18.
• Prepaid T-Shirts via SchoolPay may be picked up during lunch on October 1st, 3rd, 8th & 9th.
• Dippin’ Dots will be sold at lunch during the Hearts of Gold week to raise funds.

We need your help! The Hearts of Gold Committee is looking for volunteers to help sell t-shirts and Dippin Dots at all lunches during the week of the the Hearts of Gold Football Game on October 14th through 18th. This is one easy way to contribute to the success of the campaign and our community.  View the sign up here:  2019 Hearts of Gold T Shirt and ice cream sales - Middle School.

• EGRMS Daily Announcements may be found here.
• ALL SCHOOL DIRECTORY
  This is the last week to order the spiral bound All School Directory. Save time, paper and ink and support the EGR High School PTO. You may order through School Pay at https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/East-Grand-Rapids-All-School-District-Di/SyY71S.  Orders are due by October 1^st.  Print the advertising form here.
• For more upcoming events, please be sure to check with your child and reference the MS Calendar which may be found here.