Middle School October Newsletter (23–24)
Important Dates
10/2: Middle School Picture Day
10/2: Enrollment for the 24–25 School Year Opens
10/03: 6th Grade Kon-O-Kwee
10/4: PCO Meeting at 6 p.m. at the Middle School
10/6: ECS Spirit Day
10/9 - No School–Staff Planning Day
10/10: 7th Grade Camp Kon-O-Kwee
10/11: Curriculum Night from 5:30–7 p.m.
10/13: No School–Staff Planning Day
10/17: 8th Grade Camp Kon-O-Kwee
10/18: Board of Trustees Meeting at Middle at 6 p.m.
10/20: PCO Fall Festival
10/26: ECMS & ECHS Instrumental Showcase
10/27: Student Half Day, End of Quarter 1
11/1: PCO Meeting at Intermediate at 6 p.m.
11/3: ECS Spirit Day
Dear ECMS Families,
The school year is now off and running as we are past the halfway point in the first quarter. At ECMS, we believe that it is so important to build strong connections between home and school. It is important that we are all talking to our students about school. In order for families to better understand the happenings of school, we are very excited to put a new twist on our annual curriculum night. On October 11th from 5:30–7 p.m., we invite you to take part in the ECMS Curriculum Night. The night is an opportunity to choose from a variety of different workshops.
When you arrive, you can choose what is relevant to you and attend those sessions. Some of the sessions that we have planned are: Social Media and Cell Phones, Alma 101, A Guide to CREW, Identifying and Preventing Bullying, and Curricular Overview. Opportunities for you to chat with your student’s teachers are also available. This is an educational experience for families and helps guide you in conversations with your student about school events, classes, and more. We look forward to seeing you there!
Best,
Nick Tutolo
ECMS Principal
What's new at Middle School?
PASS Student Survey
This fall, our middle and high school students will take the PASS Student Survey which assists us in uncovering and addressing the social and emotional well-being of our students. Developed by a team of educational psychologists from multiple universities, PASS provides teachers with highly reliable and valid information into how they feel about themselves as a learner and how they feel about school. PASS allows schools to detect possible barriers to student learning, including confidence, resilience, motivation, and concentration. During the coming year, PASS will be administered in the fall, winter, and spring and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Please be assured that student confidentiality will be strictly protected. If you have questions or wish to discuss this further, please reach out to our Director of Psychological and Student Services, Maryssa Stavros.
3C Signs
We continue to work with 3C Signs to beautify the building with awesome decals. Our latest addition is a photo of the Pittsburgh skyline.
Late Sign-In
We are noticing that many students are coming late without families to sign them in. While not new, we need all students to come in with family representatives to sign them in. All students who do not have a family representative will be marked unexcused. We are preparing to implement a digital sign-in system to streamline the process. Stay tuned for more information about our new system.
This Month’s Cultural Celebrations
Hispanic Heritage Month continues through October 15th. Students will continue to dive into Hispanic Culture and the diversity of experiences across the culture.
Pittsburgh Promise Information
Reminder: Class of 2028 is the final to receive The Promise scholarship:
We sent a reminder to all families in PPS last week that The Promise is committed to funding scholarships through the class of 2028 (currently in the 8th grade). I am also enclosing an FAQ sheet with additional information as well as the letter we sent to families. The Promise’s scholarship will continue to operate without change until 2028. No action is required of students and families. We are sending these reminders to students and partners now to ensure that as 2028 approaches, students and families clearly understand our eligibility requirements and timeline.
Our Board of Directors and staff will continue to craft The Promise’s post-2028 role and work through our current fundraising campaign. We know we will deepen our direct outreach work through Promise Coaches (currently serving in Carrick, Perry, and UPrep). We also know that we must continue to work towards post-secondary educational access. We will continue to advocate for the public sector to commit to a sustainable policy solution for funding post-secondary education in Pennsylvania. We are pursuing public policy solutions and will continue to keep you in the loop as those projects take shape.
Attendance Waiver: Class of 2023 AND 2024:
Cumulative attendance for the Class of 2023 and Class of 2024 were both impacted by the 2020-21 remote school year, when attendance was difficult to equitably assess.
Therefore, we have waived the attendance criteria for The Pittsburgh Promise scholarship for both the Class of 2023 and Class of 2024.
Pittsburgh Promise Scholarship Requirements (attendance is waived for Class of 2023 and 2024):
Live in the city of Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, or Mt. Oliver from 9th grade through graduation
Attend a PPS high school (or city charter school) from 9th grade through graduation
Graduate with a 2.5 unweighted cumulative GPA* (Promise Extension Program GPA = 2.0-2.49. More on that below)
Graduate with a 90% cumulative attendance rate (again, this is waived for the class of 2023 and 2024)
Must graduate in, or before, 2028
Promise Extension Program Reminder:
Students whose GPA is between 2.0-2.49 unweighted when they graduate are welcome to participate in The Promise Extension Program. These students may use the scholarship at CCAC, a non-CCAC offered program (ex: cosmetology schools), or if they are accepted to any of our Preferred College Partner schools.
More information about the Extension Program is attached (“For HS Staff – Pittsburgh Promise Extension Program Update”).
Promise Portals, Signups, and 2023-24 Signup Competition:
The Promise portal (the application for The Promise scholarship) is now active at www.pittsburghpromise.org/portal for the class of 2024.
I will send each school’s counselors their students’ login information later today. Students should receive a Promise packet in the mail with their login info and portal completion instructions in the coming weeks.
All students have the same password when they first log in: Welcome (capital W).
I will also be reaching out to each school’s counselors to set up Promise presentations to ensure your seniors have all questions about the scholarship answered and to help them register for the scholarship.
As a reminder: we hold an annual signup “competition” among the high schools. Whichever senior class in each group signs up the highest percentage of seniors for The Promise scholarship (by logging into their Promise Portal AND adding schools to complete The Promise application) wins $1,000 toward senior activities/prom. The competition ends on April 1st, but students can continue to add schools to their portal beyond April 1st. The groups are:
Large Schools: Allderdice vs. Brashear
Magnet Schools: CAPA vs. SciTech vs. Obama
Medium Schools: Westinghouse vs. City Charter High vs. Carrick
Small Schools: Perry vs. UPrep vs. vs. Environmental Charter vs. Urban Pathways Charter
Scholarship Payment Details:
The Promise scholarship dollar amount remains the same: up to $5,000 annually for four years of post-secondary education (may be used over a five-year period) for a total maximum of $20,000.
The scholarship may be used at any accredited, Pell-eligible, brick-and-mortar institution in the state of Pennsylvania. This includes colleges, trade schools, and technical schools (including cosmetology schools, barber schools, and nursing programs through hospitals).
Students must attend full-time to receive Promise and a completed FAFSA is required each year (undocumented students must submit a paper form FAFSA to The Promise office).
Out-of-state students may use Promise funds for summer courses, as long as the school is in-state.
Dual Enrollment:
Students can use their potential Promise scholarship funding to pay for courses at CCAC, beginning the fall term of their junior year. This is an advance on their Promise scholarship funding.
Students can take one course in the fall and spring terms and take up to two courses in the summer.
Students must meet Promise residency and enrollment requirements, only (we do not look at GPA or attendance for this opportunity!)
Full Dual Enrollment info (including steps for registration) can be found here: The Pittsburgh Promise: Dual Enrollment
Preferred College Partners Fair: October 19th at the August Wilson Center:
Just a reminder that our annual Preferred College Partners Fair will be held at the August Wilson Center on October 19th. The flyer is attached.
The Promise can pay for transportation. Counselors: please order the bus and send us the invoice.
36 schools will be in attendance, and 19 of those will be offering “instant decisions”.
In Case You Missed It
Cell Phone/ Electronic Device Notification
If you weren’t at orientation or maybe missed the sign-in while you were there, please take a moment to fill out the Cell Phone/ Electronic Device Notification form along with your preferred mode of communication.
Tardiness and Lateness
Please continue to remind your students that it is important to be in class on time and ready to go. We continue to work on this with our students and conversations at home can go a long way.
Half-Day Dismissal Time
Middle School students are dismissed at 11:50 a.m. on Half Days.
View the Middle Food Allergy Flier_2022.2023
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Sibling Preference for the 24–25 School Year
Have a sibling who would like to attend ECS for the 2024–25 school year? Please complete an application in your SchoolMint account by pressing the add new student application after Oct. 2. The application deadline for sibling preference is January 31. Current students do not need to apply. Re-enrollment will occur in March.“A sibling is defined as one of two or more individuals having at least one common legal parent/guardian. Sibling preference does not guarantee enrollment.”
Enrollment for the 24–25 School Year Opens Oct. 2!
Let your friends and neighbors know about our open enrollment! The application deadline to be considered for the lottery is Jan. 31, 2024. Learn more…Family Portal on the ECS Website
Based on feedback from last year’s communication survey, ECS has identified areas of improvement on the website. ECS is pleased to launch its Family Portal, a designated space for current families to view and learn information. Browse the Family Portal.Volunteering & Clearances
ECS values volunteers in our district. To learn how to volunteer and what clearances are needed visit the Family Portal Volunteer page.Receive Board Meeting Reminders Did you know that ECS has monthly Board of Trustees meetings? Opt-In to receive Board Meeting Reminders that will include the date, time, and location of the meeting as well as links to the agenda draft, sign up to speak form, and YouTube Live feed.
Last Month’s Hawk Highlights
6th-grade students received P.E. and Health Awards and started their Bike ECS unit.
