February 2024

A Message from EMS Administration

Hello, Oak Creek East Middle School Families,

As we enter the second semester of the school year, we continue to fill our time at East with choir concerts, ski trips, volleyball, forensics practice/competitions, a choir performance at an Admirals game, and basketball tournaments during recess. Our students continue to get more and more involved at East! We are especially proud of our students and staff who continue our EMS tradition of month-long learning experiences through music, images and words celebrating Black History month.

Congratulations to the 477 students for achieving the second quarter honor roll

(3.25 grade point average or higher) and to the 93 who increased their grade point average by .2 points! In addition, 526 students earned Middle School Outstanding Knights for their behavior, attendance and academic accomplishments. Click here to view recognition criteria. We are very proud of our students' academic, athletic and activity accomplishments! #EMSPROUD!

East Middle School’s Cougar Way goal for the second quarter was “I can get to class on-time.”

After reviewing the tardy data, we are thrilled to share that most of the students at EMS made huge improvements to getting to class on time! Our 6th grade celebrated with donuts for winning the school wide competition of the least amount of tardies.

6th Grade / # of Tardies Quarter 1 - 331 / Quarter 2 - 273.

7th Grade / # of Tardies Quarter 1 - 249 / Quarter 2 - 327

8th Grade / # of Tardies Quarter 1 - 513 / Quarter 2 - 437

In addition to our tardy data, our overall office behavior referrals are down 36% overall from this time last year! This is a huge celebration, and is due to all the consistent efforts from staff and students! #EMSPROUD!

Thank you EMS families for your continued support and partnership. The success of our students is directly linked to the support they receive from us working together to engage, challenge and inspire them each and every day!

Sincerely,

Sue Thompson, Principal

Sarah Leatherman, Associate Principal (A-L)

Casey Milroy, Associate Principal (M-Z)

Paul Bastian, Dean of Students/Athletics Director

UPCOMING EVENTS

Click HERE to see a full list of upcoming events!

FEBRUARY

Feb. 9 - Student Council Snow Ball Dance

Feb. 15 - Virtual Parent / Teacher Conferences 4:30 - 8pm

MARCH

Mar. 2 - OCFSD Solo & Ensemble

Mar. 5 - Spring Blood Drive

Mar. 8 - No School (Snow Make-up Day)

Mar. 25 - 29 - Spring Break - No School

CULVERS FUNDRAISER WAS A SUCCESS!

Thank you to everyone that supported the Culver's Fundraiser! Our school earned $500 which will be used for incentives for students, including lunch for Cougar Way Leaders of the Month and quarterly grade-level incentives. Ambassador students and EMS staff helped serve food and greet guests!

EMS will also be having a Tropical Smoothie Fundraiser in March!

There’s no other school like your school! And there’s never going to be another yearbook like this one. Get your copy and keep the stories of this year alive forever. Purchase today! Please order before February 28^th to guarantee you get a book.

Click HERE to order your yearbook!

BAND & CHOIR

STATE HONORS CHOIR

On January 12 and 13, EMS students were chosen to participate along with students from around the state. They all had to learn their music on their own ahead of time and then performed in the beautiful Lawrence University Memorial Chapel!

Sebastian Martin, Isabella Jarmuz & Leah Bergmann sang in the WCDA Middle Level All-State Choir on Jan. 12 & 13 in Appleton.

Elizabeth Heller, Charlette Frischmann and Madelyn Schoen sang in the WCDA Children's All-State Choir on January 13 in Appleton.

East & West 8th Grade Choirs sing at Admiral's Game

The EMS and WMS 8th grade choirs combined forces on January 24 to sing the Canadian and American national anthems at the Milwaukee Admirals game! The choir sounded wonderful and lots of fun was had by students and their families who attended.

LIBRARY NEWS

Valentine Theme in the Library

East Spelling Bee

Congratulations to the following students for competing in the 23-24 Oak Creek East Middle School Spelling Bee: Leah Bergmann, JJ Chapman, Nick Dillon, Aria Edwards, Jackson Eeten, Nathan Hacker, Ehsan Maneshi, Jack McKenzie, Deni Oga, Carter Schlieve, Sam Ward, Jude Wilde, and Aidan Wilsens.

Jackson Eeten won the Spelling Bee, correctly spelling the championship word “hypocaust”. Nick Dillon earned second place honors, and third place was awarded to Leah Bergmann. Jackson advances to the Regional Spelling Bee to be held in Pewaukee in February. Congratulations to Jackson and best of luck to him at the Regional Competition!

Spelling Bee Participants

Nick Dillon, Jackson Eeten & Leah Bergmann

Nora Elliott, 6th Grade, Patriot's Pen Finalist

Nora Elliott entered the VFW's Patriot's Pen writing competition back in October. The local VFW post chose Nora's submission as their winner. Nora was awarded $50 and was promoted to the regional level competition!

A few weeks later, Nora's submission was chosen as the Regional VFW winner! Nora and her family were invited to attend a recognition lunch and she was informed that her submission advanced to the State level & has now moved on for National Consideration!

Congratulations Nora! Thank you for representing East so well and best of luck in the National Competition!

GUIDANCE CORNER

Feb. 5-9 is sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and highlights the essential contribution school counselors have within U.S. school systems and the tremendous impact they have in helping students achieve school success. School counselors help students in more ways than you may know. Learn more about the role of this essential profession:

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/role

Why Middle School Counselors?

School Counselors Matter

School counselors are #StandardsBasedStudentFocused

EMS CLUB NEWS

Forensics season is back!

What is forensics? It’s a public speaking competition where participants travel to other schools to compete. And our Forensics season is off to a wonderful start! Team Members worked hard developing and practicing their presentations in preparation for the first tournament of the season - ours!

On Saturday, January 27th, OCEMS held its annual forensics tournament hosting 35 schools from around Southeastern Wisconsin. Approximately 650 contestants, judges, coaches, and volunteers were in attendance, and fun was had by all!

Oak Creek East was well represented. Not only did the forensics team help set up the tournament, participate, and aid in clean up, but the EMS Ambassadors and Student Council were there to welcome our guests. It was a wonderful and successful day!

ATHLETICS

Boy's Basketball

Congratulations to the 8th Grade Gold Basketball Team on their 2nd place finish at the Conference Tournament!

EMS Dance Team headline

The EMS Dance Team competed at the 2024 WACPC JEM State Dance Championship. They placed 3rd in Middle School Jazz and 3rd in D2 Middle School Pom! Congratulations to the entire team! Way to go!

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Artist: Kendall Estrada, Grade 7

Butterfly Bunny - Surreal Value Drawing

PARENT REMINDERS

Parent Meetings with Admin

Please note that our Admin team is always happy to discuss concerns with your child. The best way to do this is by appointment. Please note that from 8 - 8:30am administration at East is focused on welcoming students and staff as they arrive to school.

If you wish to meet with administration please know they are available before 8:00 and after 8:30 am by appointment.

Thank you.

GOLD SLIPS are required for all after school activities. Tutorials, athletic events, clubs & all school sponsored after school events. Please send this with your student the morning of the event as students will not be allowed to call home for a gold slip.

Thank you.

Gold Slip Link

NO CELL PHONES IN SCHOOL

Click HERE to view our cell phone and headphones procedure.

If you allow your student to bring a phone to school, it will need to be locked in the locker from 8:30 am until 3:45 pm.

As in the “olden days,” you can contact the office if you need to speak to or get a message to your child.

District & Community News

Absence Reporting

Please call the attendance line at (414) 768-6260 option “1” to report student absences and tardies. When leaving a message, please include the date, first and last name of your student, the spelling and grade.

Additionally you may email attendance information to our general office email address at office.eastmiddle@ocfsd.org.

Virtual Backpack

Don’t forget to check your student’s Virtual Backpack! The Virtual Backpack is our "eco-friendly" approach to distributing information supporting our district's educational goals and mission.

Virtual Backpack Link: ocfsd.org/parents/virtual-backpack

Background Checks

The District Volunteer Background Check Application is online. We will no longer be accepting paper applications. Every volunteer must complete an online volunteer application form even if you were previously approved and are on the Volunteer Database. You will still need to submit an online volunteer application every five years after the initial online application. This new process will have results within 1-2 days!

The link can be found under the Parents tab on the district website.