Dear EGRMS Families,

Please click on the East logo for this week's personal video message from Mr. Dykhouse.

Sincerely,
Jeff Dykhouse
Principal

COVID-19- Update 

To keep you informed and be as transparent as possible, the district developed two EGRPS COVID-19 summary tables that list weekly and cumulative positive cases.  The summaries can be found here.  These tables are updated weekly.  Please reach out to Jeff Dykhouse if you have any additional questions.

AER

As of February 15, 2021, the East Grand Rapids Public Schools' 2020-2021 District and School Annual Education Reports (AERs) are available on the EGRPS website.

• You may view the Middle School AER Cover Letter here and Combined Report here. 
• You may view the District AER Cover Letter here and Combined Report here.

For those who desire paper copies of the AER Cover Letter and Combined Reports, these will be available to parents and members of the community in the Middle School office.

If your family travels outside of the State of Michigan, please consider the following guidelines from the Kent County Health Department: 
 

There are no current restrictions for students who travel domestically or internationally. However, it would be advisable that anyone travelling to areas of the United States or the world that have high rates of COVID-19 consider a 10-day quarantine upon return. Please use the link below for a map which is updated regularly to show COVID hotspots around the world. 
        • COVID Risk Levels Dashboard, Brown School of Public Health

A few things to remember for lunch:

• To limit the traffic in and out of the main office, we kindly ask families NOT to arrange delivery of Jimmy John's or similar fast food meals.  Lunch may be dropped off by a parent/guardian if a student forgets to bring a lunch.
• Previously ordered sack lunches are available while traditional hot lunch service is NOT available.  Please use this link to order both food & milk: online form 
• Students may request a lunch available for pick up on days not present for in-person learning.  Please use the online order form included above and make arrangements for pick up with Erin Nausieda via email: enausieda@egrps.org.
• Microwaves are currently NOT available for student use.
• Please view the announcement from the Department of Agriculture concerning EGRPS food service here.

Students are encouraged to bring water bottles as the office is not able to provide cups to students.   Drinking fountains are NOT accessible due to COVID protocol, however, the water bottle filling station is available for student use as it is a touch free system.  

Mask Update

Please encourage your student to be mindful of bringing a mask to school each day.  As we get further into the year, more and more students are forgetting and stopping by the office to request a new mask.  While we understand masks break, it is the expectation that each family will regularly provide masks for their children. 

Parents/guardians must conduct a daily health screener on each of their children prior to them attending school or a school-related event. The student screener is a simple checklist helping parents screen their child for COVID-19 symptoms and close contact. The form (which may be found here) also provides direction for next steps if symptoms or close contact concerns exist.

Thank you for keeping our school a safe place!

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 are: 

Joey Kattula, 6th Grade
Michael Flores, 7th Grade
Josie Timmermans, 8th Grade

March Teacher and Staff Appreciation Luncheon

Recognizing that this school year has been challenging, especially during these cold winter months, the PTO would like to give our teachers and staff some much needed appreciation, caring and support.  Any donation amount toward this luncheon is very much appreciated. Thank you!

Donations accepted via Venmo: @Layla-Kuhl-1
Luncheon Date: March 10th
Donations Due: March 3rd

~~~~~~~~~
EGRMS PTO is seeking nominations and submissions of interest for PTO Board 2021 - 2022 positions. There are seven board positions, four of which need to be filled annually:
 

Past President- advisory member
President- filled by VP
Vice President- Open (3 year commitment)
Treasurer- filled by Assistant Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer- Open (2 year commitment)
Recording Secretary- Open 
Corresponding Secretary- Open

Generally speaking, the time commitment required for EGRMS PTO is far less than what is required in Elementary.  EGRMS Executive Board meets once per month in August-May.  There are five General PTO Meetings each school year.  EGRMS supports one fundraiser and oversees just a few events in a normal year. Job descriptions are available to anyone interested in exploring the opportunity to become involved.  

Layla Kuhl, President: Laylakuhl@gmail.com
Beth Chappus, Vice President: bchappus@yahoo.com
Kim Bardeggia, Past President: kbardeggia@icloud.com

Our most recent general meeting minutes can be found here. 

2021-2022 Intent-to-Enroll Information
If you intend to enroll a kindergartener for the Fall 2021/2022 school year, as of January 29, 2021, you can click here for more information. Please complete the required documentation outlined on the website on or before March 2, 2021. Thank you!

Need to keep up with what’s happening in town? Check the Cheat Sheet.

Every week, the Cheat Sheet on the East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation website provides a quick update on what’s happening in East Grand Rapids. There are sections for each school, a schedule of high school varsity sports competitions, performance times for plays and concerts, and listings of city meetings and events. 

The Cheat Sheet is updated every Sunday evening at 7pm throughout the school year. If you’re not getting the weekly email and would like to receive it, let us know by emailing EGRSF Communications Director Jay Forstner at jforstne@egrps.org.

• For more upcoming events, please be sure to check with your child and reference the MS Calendar which may be found here.
• EGRMS Daily Announcements may be found here.