11/1 From the Principal's Desk

I hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable Halloween weekend.  My three daughters: one dressed up as Snow White, one as Princess Tiana and one as Minnie Mouse had a great time.  Of course I am helping them consume the extra candy.  We hosted our middle school Halloween dance last Friday night and we had 180 middle school students in attendance.  Our first quarter honor roll lists were rather impressive.  The "A" honor roll had 12 sixth graders, 23 seventh graders and 23 eighth graders on the list.  The "B" honor roll had 37 sixth graders, 33 seventh graders and 35 eighth graders on the list.  That means we had a total of 163 students on our first quarter honor roll.  GREAT JOB students and faculty.  The start of the second quarter also means that our ZAP offenses start over.  Continue to encourage your child to get their work completed and turned in on time.  It is very important to start the quarter off correctly to help ensure finishing the quarter with good grades.  Have a great week. 

10/19 From the Principal's Desk

Can it be true that we have reached the end of the first quarter of our "new" school year?  Wow, that is hard to believe.  It seems to be going by so fast.  I would like to invite each and everyone of you to come and join us during parent-teacher conferences on Oct. 21.  Conferences begin at 1:00 p.m. and conclude at 8:00 p.m.  This gives you the opportunity to meet your child's teachers and to discuss how your child is doing in class.  We will have our first quarter AR reward party on Oct. 20.  During their communication arts class, the students that met their AR goal will be allowed to go to our atrium and enjoy cotton candy.  Congratulations to the seventh grade volleyball team for finishing their season undefeated.  That is an outstanding accomplishment.  Congratulations also to the eighth grade volleyball team and to the seventh and eighth grade football teams for their strong performances during the year.  The middle school cheerleaders did an outstanding job this fall as well.  Each and everyone of these teams should be proud of what they accomplished and how they represented our school and community.  We will dismiss school at 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 21 for parent-teacher conferences and there is no school on Friday, Oct. 22.  Have a great week and I hope to see you at parent-teacher conferences.

9/27 From the Principal's Desk

It is hard to believe that we have completed six weeks of school.  We are giving our first predicitve tests in Acuity this week.  Students will be given a MAP style test in 6-8 communication arts and math and in 8th grade science.  Bulldog time (targeted tutoring) has been in place for the last three weeks.  This year we are providing additional opportunities for the students that are not targeted.  Students with C's and above in all of their classes will be allowed to do one of the following:

• go to the gym for physical activity
• go to the cafeteria to do homework, talk and/or listen to music
• go to any core teachers room and work on homework or read and they may be asked to help tutor other students
• 7th & and 8th grade students may go to Mrs. Alumbaugh's room for computer usage
• 6th grade students may go to Mrs. Steward's room to read or work quietly
• go to Mrs. Barnes's room for games
• on Thursday's Ms. Walsh will host a chess club and will eventually teach Spanish and quiz bowl

We are continuing to work on improving our options for our non-targeted students.  Congratulations to the middle school volleyball and football teams for their start on the new season.  Congratulations also to the 7th and 8th grade band for taking first place in the Black Walnut Festival on Saturday.  Have a great week.

8/4 From the Principal's Desk

The start of the 2010-11 school year is just around the corner.  I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer and time with family and friends.  Students may begin picking up their schedules on Wednesday the 11th at 8:30 a.m.  The $10 technology usage fee and any outstanding debts will be collected at that time.  We will host our sixth grade/new student orientation on Thursday the 12th at 7:00 p.m. in the small gymnasium.  I would like to encourage all sixth grade students and their parents and any students that are new to our district to attend this orientation.  School starts on Tuesday the 17th.  Middle school football and volleyball practices will start after school on the 17th.  Remember that all students participating in an extra-curricular activity must have a current physical examination.  You must have your shots up to date in order to begin school on the 17th.  Our school nurse, Mrs. Loree, will host a Tdap clinic for students needing that immunization on: August 9, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on August 12, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the nurses office.  I look forward to seeing everyone in the coming days.  Enjoy the remaining days of your summer break.   

5/10 From the Principal's Desk

We were greeted with cold and rainy weather to start our week.  I am sure warmer weather will be here to stay soon enough.  We are in our final two weeks of the 2009-2010 school year.  There will be several things happening in our final days.  On the 17th, students that met their AR goal all four quarters are going to lunch at Sonic.  Lunch is at the students expense.  We will hold our 8th grade recoginition on the 18th at 7:30 p.m. in the high school gym.  The fourth quarter AR reward, "fun in the sun" will be on the 20th.  Continue to work hard at finishing the school year on a positive note.  Have a great week. 

5/3 From the Principal's Desk

I greatly enjoyed the middle school band and vocal music concert last night.  We have so many gifted students and it is great to see those talents showcased.  We have set our last two AR reward dates.  If you met your AR goal all four quarters of the school year, we will take you to lunch at Sonic on May 17.  Lunch is at the students expense.  Our fourth quarter reward, "fun in the sun" will be on May 20.  Remember that 8th grade recoginition is on May 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the high school gym.  Get out and enjoy this beautiful weather we are having.  I love this time of year.  Have a great week.

4/26 From the Principal's Desk

                Thanks for setting a great example for EMS!!

I want to start by thanking Darion Hammond for displaying such a great example of citizenship.  Darion found and turned in a substantial amount of money and the rightful owner was located.  It is situations like this that reinforce what great students we have at El Dorado Springs.  We are extremely proud of Darion.  We are on the down hill side of our school year.  It is hard to believe that we only have four weeks remaining.  I enjoyed watching our middle school track students compete last night in our track meet.  Great job to all of those students.  Remember that 8th grade recognition is on May 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the high school gym.  Continue to work hard in the classroom so we can finish the school year strong.  Have a great week. 

4/21 From the Principal's Desk

MAP testing is complete!!!  I have received positive feedback from the teachers regarding the effort that the students put into testing.  Congratulations to our middle school choir program for earning two 1+ ratings at Fort Scott last weekend.  That is outstanding!!!  Congratulations to the sixth grade band program for earning a 2 rating at Nevada last weekend.  Great Job!!!  The El Dorado Springs middle school track meet is on Monday, April 26th.  Our track teams have been performing well, keep it up.  What great weather we are having.  This is a great time of year to get outside and enjoy your surroundings.  My wife, daughters and I have been planting flowers and shrubs around our house and have enjoyed our time outdoors.  We have less than five weeks remaining in the 2009-2010 school year.  Continue to work diligently at keeping your grades up.  Have a great week. 

4/12 From the Principal's Desk

One week down and one week to go with MAP testing.  I want to encourage all students to make sure they are getting plenty of sleep at night and eating a good breakfast.  Remember, on MAP testing days breakfast is provided free of charge to all students.  Our track teams will travel to Nevada on Thursday for their only meet of the week.  Middle school choir students will be competing in a choral competition at Fort Scott on Saturday and our sixth grade band will participate in the Nevada Band Festival on Saturday.  Good luck to those students.  Have a great week.

4/6 From the Principal's Desk

2010 M.A.P.  Survivor  Assembly Winners - 8th Grade

Congratulations to the 8th grade for their victory in our 3rd annual MAP Survivor Assembly.  With their win they become the first two time winner, because they also won as sixth graders.  MAP testing is up and going.  We will be testing for two weeks.  The following middle school student's placed at the Missouri Southern Regional Science Fair: Rachel Cross- 1st place, Kylie Goodwin- 2nd place, Emily Ford- 3rd place and Ben Vickers- 3rd place.  Congratulations to those students and to all of the students that represented our school and community at this competition.  Have a great week.

3/29 From the Principal's Desk

I hope that the 200 students and the 17 faculty members that attended and helped at this year's lock-in got some rest over the weekend.  That was the largest group of students we have had in attendance at our lock-in and I want to commend you on your behavior.  It is hard to believe that this is our last week of school before MAP testing starts.  Remember breakfast is provided free of charge to the students during MAP testing.  I would encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and start your day off with a healthy meal.  Good luck to the track team this week.  A special thank you to Ms. Walsh and her students for working so diligently at developing our middle school website and creating a place for me to write this blog.  Have a wonderful week.

3/22 From the Principal's Desk

Welcome back!!  I hope everyone enjoyed Spring break.  My wife, kids and I traveled to Lake Delton, Wisconsin and spent the week at their indoor water parks.  We had a great time.  Today is the start of fourth quarter, so make sure you get off to a good start.  The first middle school track meet is tomorrow at Nevada.  Our middle school lock-in is this Friday.  Middle school track teams are at Stockton on Monday, March 29th.  Our MAP "Survivor" assembly will be on April 5 and we will start testing on April 6.  We have some new and exciting things in store for the assembly.  Have a wonderful week.

3/8 From the Principal's Desk

It is hard to believe that spring break is just a week away.  Our third quarter AR reward, which is a trip to the movies, will occur on the 11th.  Congrats to the following science fair winners: Human/Animal Science- Kristen Lackey and Ashten Alexander, Food Science- Katie Bruggeman and McKensi Marshall, Botany- Riley Taylor, Physical Science- Emily Ford, Engineering- Rachel Cross, Chemistry and Best of Show- Ben Vickers.  Great job to all of the seventh and eighth grade students for the hard work and creativity you displayed in doing your projects.  This is the final week of third quarter so stay focused and finish the quarter strong.  Have a great week.

3/5 From the Principal's Desk

This is my first attempt at blogging.  I will strive for weekly updates regarding events, activities and accomplishments that are occuring in the middle school.  Last Saturday the EMS show-choir took second place at Nevada and the EMS quiz bowl team took seventh place at Pleasant Hope.  Great job to those groups.  Our 7th and 8th grade science fair is currently on display.  I am thrilled to see the hard work and creativity that the students have put into their projects.  We will have our second GR8 race on Friday, March 12th.  School will be dismissed at 12:40 on that Friday.  MAP testing starts on April 6th.