Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here. From now until the end of the year, life seems to move very rapidly. Remember, through all the chaos, that you are only one person. You can't do it all! It also helps to remind our students of this. Students today seem to be getting busier and busier. Help them to enjoy the holidays and stop to enjoy, and give thanks, for what they have.

Students will be journaling about what they are thankful for that can not be purchased. This might be a good topic for discussion at the dinner table, and is one that we should all be thinking about at this time of year.

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to our EBMS Mock Trial Team! They placed second at the regional conpetition and advanced to the state competition! They were only 1/8 of a point behind the first place team. Great job!!

Also, congratulations to the EBMS Band. I have heard many complimentary comments on the band's performance at the Veteran's Day Celebration in Blakesburg. Keep up the good work!

November already!!

Well, it's the middle of November already. I'm really not sure where the school year has gone, but here we are in the middle of the second quarter. If you have not received one, ask your student for a copy of the school calendar - they are available to one and all in the office. It seems from now until Christmas there is a lot going on. This week on Wednesday (11/18) we will have an early dismissal for staff in-service. Next week we will dismiss early on Wednesday (11/25) and there will be no school on Thursday (11/26) or Friday (11/27). Basketball games and wrestling will also begin. Keep a close eye on your calendar and also on the weather!



In class we are working on finding direct objects and indirect objects and on using them correctly in our own writing. This is a new concept for students, but they are doing well. We are also continuing to read our novels. The students seem to enjoy them. I will be offering extra credit this quarter. Students may bring in up to 5 newspaper/magazine articles or a synopsis of a news story that deals with prejudice/discrimination today. For each article they bring in they will receive 3 points. I have found in the past that students like this type of extra credit, and it gets them reading the newspaper and watching the news!

Community Clean Up Day

Just a quick note - Community Clean Up Day will be Tuesday, November 10. Please remind students to dress appropriately. We will be outside all afternoon and will be cleaning up around the community. Students may want to wear gloves. We will be raking leaves, picking up trash, etc. Student groups will be assigned tomorrow. We will group them according the the permission slips you signed previously.

Middle School Happenings

Parent Teacher Conferences were very successful this year. I visited with forty parents. I think that is a new record. I would be very interested in hearing about your conference experience. Did you like attending the student led conferences? Do you have any suggestions for improvement? If you would like to comment you can either post to my blog (only I will see it) or you can e-mail me here at school.

I was also impressed with how many parents are already users of our Infinite Campus system. I feel that this is a very beneficial tool for parents and students. I hope that those of you who received passwords tonight will find it beneficial. I know that as a parent I do!

Next week we are going to try to make up our Community Clean Up Day. We had to cancel it earlier this year due to inclement weather and a large number of student who were ill. We will try to make that up on Tuesday, November 10. Remind your student to dress for the weather. We will be making the final decision about this on Monday. Your student will be informed before they leave. Also, the EBMS band will be out of the building on Wednesday morning. They have been asked to play at a Veteran's Day celebration at the park in Blakesburg. I think it's great that the community will get to see, and hear, our wonderful band. These students work very hard, and you should be very proud of them.

It's That Time of Year Again!

Well, it's that time of year again - Parent Teacher Conference time! Here at EBMS, we will be conducting PTC a little bit differently than you are used to. We use student led conferences. Your son or daughter will be doing most of the "talking". They will show you their work, explain their grades and discuss their goals. We feel that this gives the student more ownership of their learning and behavior. We hope that you enjoy these conferences, but if you feel the need to speak one-on-one with a teacher, please feel free to contact that teacher by e-mail (last name, first initial @ebcsd.com) at any time or phone (641-938-2202) before or after school.