Category: PTSA

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PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Wapiti Medallion, 7th Grade PCCR’s, Memory Books

One of the best parts about the end of the school year is recognizing our outstanding students. We do this in many ways, but one is the Wapiti Medallion. This is for all grade levels, and we’ve been talking with students about it on the daily announcements since last week. Please encourage your students to apply, as we recognize a wide variety of things in this award that make our school great.

Also, thank you to our parent volunteers for their help with our 9th grade field trip this past Monday to tour the CTE programs available at Bingham High School (and all high schools in the district). It was exceptional, and it’s always exciting to see kids shocked at how much you can do in high school.

WAPITI MEDALLION

Every year at ERMS, students have the opportunity to be recognized for their contributions to our school and community by earning a Wapiti Medallion. Points are assigned for different activities that show students have gone “above and beyond” what is expected of them. Students must earn a minimum of 40 points to earn their medallion this year. 

In order to apply, students must send an email to kristine.weldon@jordandistrict.org with their name, grade, and a list of points they believe to have earned to be verified NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, MAY 13th! 

Please see the application information spreadsheet HERE (select the appropriate tab for your student). This information is also available on our website and in the main office. Questions should be directed to Camille Francis at camille.francis@jordandistrict.org or Kristy Weldon at kristine.weldon@jordandistrict.org. Thank you!

ONLINE SUMMER COURSE ENROLLMENT

Summer enrollment has begun for Utah Students Connect as well as other credit recovery and original credit options. Please email or speak with your counselor for more information.

MEMORY BOOKS

Memory books will be given out to 9th grade students on Jun 1, 2022 during 1st period and extras will be sold to those 9th graders who did not purchase one during the year during 2nd period on June 1st. On Jun 2, 2022 Memory books will be given to 7th and 8th graders who have already purchased a memory book during 1st period, and extras will be sold to those 7th and 8th graders who did not purchase one during the year during 2nd period on June 2nd.

There will only be a limited number of memory books to sell on these days. The PTSA will be accepting Cash, Check, and Card for memory books on June 1st and 2nd. Memory books will be $30. 

REMINDER:  Plan for College and Career Readiness (PCCR) meetings for all 7th graders

Parents are invited and encouraged to attend.

We will be holding our Group PCCR meetings for our 7th graders in their 4th quarter CCA classes during periods 4, 5, and 6.  Parents are invited and encouraged to attend the PCCR with their student(s).  Please check with your student for the appropriate date, period, teacher, and time to attend.  Please see the schedule below:

If your student currently has CCA with Mr. Mineer or Ms. Taylor, please come at the appropriate period and time listed below on Friday, May 20, 2022:

  • Period 4 – 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm
  • Period 5 – 12:50 pm – 1:20 pm
  • Period 6 – 1:25 pm – 1:55 pm

If your student currently has CCA with Ms. Rees or Ms. Hardy, please come at the appropriate period and time on Friday, May 27, 2022:

  • Period 4 – 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm
  • Period 5 – 12:50 pm – 1:20 pm
  • Period 6 – 1:25 pm – 1:55 pm
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PTSA Skylert

Spring PTSA Newsletter

Be sure to check out the Spring PTSA Newsletter for information on a visit to the capitol, next year’s nominations for the PTSA Board, and how PTSA funds have been used so far this year.

As always, we have the best PTSA in the world, and we can’t say thank you enough for the parents that work so hard to add so much to our school community!

PTSA Newsletter

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PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Set Building, Memory Books, & 9th Grade PCCR

Have Building Skills? Our Musical Could Use Your Help!

This year’s musical is Music Man, and we’re looking for someone to lead us in the actual construction side of the set on 2/12 and 2/26 from 12:45 – 4:00 pm. We have lots of labor, and the design work is done, so we really just need someone to guide the construction process.

We are also looking for a lead painter for the sets – nothing elaborate, but someone with artistic ability that can direct us in where to paint what.

If you can help, email jacqueline.vuki@jordandistrict.org

Last Day to Purchase Memory Books is March 1st

If you haven’t already purchased a Memory Book, your last day to do so is March 1st. If you’re not sure if you purchased one at the start of the year, go to fee management to verify – don’t guess, because if you guess wrong, you won’t have a Memory Book. The cost is $25.

COUNSELING CENTER

9th Grade PCCR Appointments

9th grade PCCR appointments are available February 14th-March 4th. This is a chance to meet with your counselor and talk about high school class options and career plans. Go to Skyward to schedule an appointment. 

Free Digital Parenting Resources

Digital Respons-Ability has a list of free resources on their website for parents looking for help: https://respons-ability.net/free-resources/ They also share resources and a parenting gaming review site at https://digital-parenting.com. Join them for free monthly webinars aimed at parents and educators by signing up for their newsletter. You can also see past archived trainings on their SchoolTube channel: https://www.schooltube.com/channel/Digital+Respons-Ability.net/190101523.

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PTSA Skylert

Open PTSA Board Positions

Elk Ridge PTSA needs your help for the 2022-2023 school year! We have lots of open board positions. If you are looking for a chance to get involved and make a difference in our school community, look no further. There is a required once a month board meeting the first Friday of the month at 10 a.m., usually less than an hour. If interested please email contact info to ptsaelkridge@gmail.com. We really need the first 3 positions filled in order to even have a PTSA next year.

  • President Elect – will be President of PTSA during the 2023-2024 school year. Will shadow the president during the 2022-2023 school year.
  • Treasurer – will keep track of the PTSA budget and checkbook. Past treasures report about about 2 hours a month doing the books.
  • Secretary – making an agenda for board meetings and typing up the minutes after the meeting is done. Usually takes 30-45 minutes once a month to type up agenda and meeting minutes.
  • Legislative VP (2 members needed) – you will be working with our PTSA Ambassadors, which is a twice a month after school leadership training class. You will have a teacher from Elk Meadows to help you also. This is a great opportunity if you are interested in helping kids learn about service and what makes a good leader.
  • Membership VP – you keep track of the number of PTSA members during the school year. You get a printout of members from the school office and you just have to separate the student memberships from the parent memberships and keep a total of each.
  • Health & Safety (Ribbon Week) (2 members needed) – help plan and implement activities for the students during ribbon week which covers cyber safety, mental health and other issues. Usually involves going into the school during lunch hours to pass out treats.
  • Reflections – you would advertise about reflections and pass out prizes to those who enter the contest. Entries are all online and we usually only have about 15-20 students enter. It is a million times easier than elementary reflections.
  • Newsletter – you would design a quarterly (or less) newsletter about happenings with PTSA activities and other activities going on in school.
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PTSA Wally the Wapiti

Flex Friday, Surveys, School Store

Believe it or not, we are edging up on Thanksgiving Break already with only a week and a half to go. Thank you again to all of our performing arts students, teachers and parents for the outstanding Veterans Day assembly and evening performances. It was a new format, but one that we plan to keep going forward. Be sure to check out our social media pages for a glimpse of the performance.

In this Skylert, you’ll find:

  • Flex Friday (This Week)
  • School Merchandise
  • Parent & Student Stakeholder Surveys
  • PTSA November Newsletter
  • Volunteers for Job Interviews in January
  • MESA Activities

Flex Friday This Week

This coming Friday, November 19th, will be our second Flex Friday as a district. Each school will be handling it slightly differently, but all within the structure outlined here.

For all Elk Ridge students, they should expect roughly 3 hours total of engagement in schoolwork. This will vary from class to class, but students will be able to complete this work from home. If students have questions about work, they should contact their teacher.

In addition, any student needing extra support will be able to attend in-person between 10 am and 12:15 pm, as long as they have arranged with their teacher beforehand to do so. We love to have you – we just need to know you’re coming. Busing will be provided following the normal Friday bus schedule. Lunch will be served from 12:15 – 1:15 pm, and students who are bused will work in either the cafeteria or the media center until buses come at 2:30 pm.

School Store

Want to show that Wapiti pride? If you want Elk Ridge merchandise, you can visit this link any time from now until December 6th. The store is run by Marchant Design and Elk Ridge does not benefit from your purchase in any way.

Parent and Student Stakeholder Surveys

All parents should have received a survey at the email address listed in Skyward. Please know we take the results of the survey very seriously in our ongoing efforts to improve the quality of every aspect of our school from communication to instruction.

The survey can be taken once for each teacher your student has, so thank you in advance for taking the time to give us feedback and potentially taking the survey seven times so that all teachers get that feedback. Students will also get the chance this Wednesday to take the survey during Wally Time.

PTSA November Newsletter

Our wonderful PTSA puts out a regular newsletter, which can be found here. Check it out for upcoming events, highlights from past events, and more!

9th Grade Job Interviews – Thursday, January 13th

Adult volunteers are still needed to help with our 9th grade Job Interview experience. We need 15 volunteers from 7:50am -11:15am , and 15 volunteers from 11:00am-3:00pm. The PTSA will provide lunch for both sessions. Volunteers will be doing short mock job interviews for our 9th grade students. The interview questions will be emailed to volunteers. For more information, please contact the counseling center. If you can help with this fun activity, please fill out this form.

MESA-STEM After School Activity – WED, NOV 17 @ 3 pm in Media Center

We will be holding our November MESA-STEM after school activity in the Media Center right after school (3:00 – 4:00 pm).  This month’s activity will be the “Engineering and Construction Competition”.  All Elk Ridge students are welcome and invited to participate. For further information, please contact Ms. Hardy or Mr. Bennett.

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PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

8th Grade PCCR’s, Job Shadow, Brandon Mull

We hope the sugar has mostly left the system after a great Halloween! We had a great time with the Goblin Chase and Halloween Carnival, and a huge thanks goes out to our wonderful PTSA for all of their hard work and help managing those events. The new dress code is also now in full swing, and we appreciate how many students have made the shift without causing a disruption to the business of school. That is definitely the intent of the change, and it’s been great so far!

ATTENTION ALL PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF 8TH GRADE STUDENTS!

8th Grade PCCR Appointments are now available on Skyward – Please sign up ASAP!

We highly encourage all parents/guardians of 8th grade students to meet with their assigned school counselor for a PCCR meeting. Plan for College and Career Readiness (PCCR) appointments are available by logging into the parent’s Skyward account and clicking on the “Conferences” button. (The Skyward conference scheduler will be open until Nov 12th to make appointments.)  PCCR appointments are available Nov 1 – Nov 23 during school hours. Evening hours are available on Wed, Nov 17 and Thurs, Nov 18 (4:00-6:00 pm). If none of the available times work for you, you may email your counselor to schedule a different time. Your 8th grade PCCR meeting will briefly discuss your student’s high school graduation requirements and future college and career interests. 

8th Grade Job Shadow – Applications are due Tuesday, Nov 2nd.  However, we will still accept the applications through the end of this week.

8th grade students need to be working on their job shadow so that they can submit their application to their history teacher by Tuesday, November 2nd. If you miss this deadline, we still encourage you to complete the Job Shadow application as we will still accept it through the end of this week. They may reference the career exploration activity they did in their science class to get ideas. As an alternative activity, 8th graders may also attend one of the following programs at the JATC: Biotechnology, Engineering, Veterinary Science, Garden & Greenhouse,  Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Computer  Programming, Web Development, Welding, Nail Technology, Hair Design & Barbering, Fire Science, EMT, and Aviation Science. Please contact your student’s counselor if you want to sign-up for this option. Last names A-C: alishia.huefner@jordandistrict.org, last names D-J: camille.francis@jordandistrict.org, last names K-Q: richard.lambert@jordandistrict.org, last names R-Z: paul.bennett@jordandistrict.org. 

Brandon Mull Visit – November 3rd

New York Times Bestselling Author Brandon Mull will be visiting Elk Ridge on Wednesday, and we have been selling tickets with Wally Coins all week last week. The goal of selling tickets was primarily to ensure that students who really wanted to hear him speak were able to do so. Today, we gave away tickets for free in all three lunches to any students still wanting to attend. We have a few left, so if your student doesn’t have a ticket and wants to attend, have them find an administrator to get one. The assembly will be during 2nd period. Again, we are grateful to Brandon Mull and his team for making this possible at no cost to the school!

9th Grade Job Interviews – Thursday, January 13th

Adult volunteers are still needed to help with our 9th grade Job Interview experience. We need 15 volunteers from 7:50am -11:15am , and 15 volunteers from 11:00am-3:00pm. The PTSA will provide lunch for both sessions. Volunteers will be doing short mock job interviews for our 9th grade students. The interview questions will be emailed to volunteers. For more information, please contact the counseling center. If you can help with this fun activity, please fill out this form.

Wally Time – Improving School Culture

Our last Wally Time lesson was on what adults can do to make students feel welcome. This time around, the focus is on what students can do to improve school culture. Check out the slides here, and we look forward to seeing what the students come up with!

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PTSA Skylert Student Body Officers Wally the Wapiti

Halloween Guidelines, 8th Grade PCCR Appointments, Dress Code Update

Halloween Costume Guidelines

In a sentence, your costume needs to be such that 1) we can easily tell who you are, and 2) we can still have you in class and get productive things done. 

Everything from there falls under those two things. If you wear a mask that covers your entire face, we can’t tell who you are. If you put so much face paint on that we can’t tell who you are, no dice. If you’re in the bathroom adjusting your costume makeup when you shouldn’t be, it’s a problem. If you wear something so grotesque that people are disturbed by it, we’ll be chatting. If your inflatable horse legs make navigating the hallway impossible, we’ll have you deflate it. Hopefully that gives you the tone rather than a specific set of rules. If it causes a stir in a negative way, it won’t fly. Beyond that, we want you to have fun.

Obviously there are still absolutes. You can’t bring a weapon or fake weapon to school, you can’t make gang references or wear sexually suggestive clothing, and you can’t do anything that promotes, represents, or advocates for racism or illegal activity.

Halloween costumes are one of the most enjoyable parts of the holiday and we love seeing your creativity. Help us use common sense and it can be something we continue to look forward to each year! 

Halloween Events

We hold three main things on School Halloween (October 29th):

  • Goblin Chase – a 1 mile race to catch two of our fastest students. Parent permission is required to participate, and forms can be found in the main office.
  • Halloween Carnival – a one-hour celebration at the end of the day with games, food, music and fun. This will take place during 6th and 7th hour.
  • Costume Contest – we’ll pull out and photograph the best costumes and hold a vote at the end of the day.

Dress Code

Visit this page for recent changes to the school board policy regarding dress code. The main takeaway is that we are looking more at the effect of what you wear than the thing itself. There are still some absolutes (bare back or abdomen, gang or drug references, etc.), but other things (hats being the most requested) are allowed as long as it doesn’t cause a disruption and we can still tell who you are.

National Junior Honor Society Induction

NJHS Induction Ceremony is tonight. Students should be in the auditorium BY 5:40 pm.

Calling All Careers!

Our 7th grade CCA students want to know what it’s like to do what you do!  We are looking for a variety of presenters to help students learn about the world of work.  We love to hear from parents, aunts, uncles, and family friends that have interesting careers. Use this form if you can help us out!

8th Grade PCCR Appointments 

We encourage all parents/guardians of 8th grade students to meet with their assigned school counselor for a PCCR meeting. Plan for College and Career Readiness (PCCR) appointments are available by logging into the parent’s Skyward account and clicking on the “Conferences” button. (The Skyward conference scheduler will be open until Nov 12th to make appointments.)  PCCR appointments are available Nov 1 – Nov 23 during school hours. Evening hours from 4:00-6:00 pm are available on Wed, Nov 17 and Thurs, Nov 18. If none of the available times work for you, you may email your counselor to schedule a different time. Your 8th grade PCCR meeting will briefly discuss your student’s high school graduation requirements and future college and career interests. 

8th Grade Job Shadow – Applications are due Tuesday, Nov 2nd

8th grade students need to be working on their job shadow so that they can turn in their application to their history teacher by Tuesday, November 2nd. They may reference the career exploration activity they did in their science class to get ideas. As an alternate activity, 8th graders may also attend one of the following programs at the JATC: Biotechnology, Engineering,  Veterinary Science, Garden & Greenhouse,  Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Computer  Programming, Web Development, Welding, Nail Technology, Hair Design & Barbering, Fire Science, EMT, and Aviation Science. Please contact your student’s counselor if you want to sign-up for this option. Last names A-C: alishia.huefner@jordandistrict.org, last names D-J: camille.francis@jordandistrict.org, last names K-Q: richard.lambert@jordandistrict.org, last names R-Z: paul.bennett@jordandistrict.org. 

MESA-STEM After-School Activity this Wed, Oct 27

We will be holding our October MESA-STEM after school activity on Wed, Oct. 27.  Each month we do a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) related activity. All Elk Ridge Students are invited and encouraged to attend.  Each month’s activity will begin immediately after school and will probably last about an hour (approx, 3:00 – 4:00 pm). Flyers are available in the counseling center.   

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PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

PTSA Reflections Contest, Brandon Mull Visit

PTSA Reflections Submissions Due October 25th

The National PTA’s Reflections program provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts which boost student confidence and success in the arts and in life.

Each year, over 300,000 students in Pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-selected theme. This 50+ year-old program helps them explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.

The theme for the 2021-2022 program year is I Will Change the World By…. Students submit their completed works of art in one or all of the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, Visual Arts.

Submissions are due October 25th by midnight and are submitted online at utahpta.org/ref. Submissions at the school are not accepted.

If you have any questions, please contact Diana Baun at diana.baun@gmail.com.

Author Brandon Mull Visit on November 3rd

New York Times Bestselling Author Brandon Mull will be visiting Elk Ridge on November 3rd. Brandon’s work includes the world-famous Fablehaven and Dragonwatch series, the Candy Shop War, Beyonders, and the Five Kingdoms. He will be speaking about the value of reading, the joy of writing, and the importance of developing the imagination.

Because his schedule is limited, he will only be available for one assembly. In order to ensure that the students attending want to be there, we are using our school coins (Wally Coins) to purchase tickets to the event. The price will be low enough that any student who genuinely wants to attend should be able to do so. More on that as we determine how many students are interested. It’s an exciting opportunity, and a huge shoutout goes to Brandon and his team for making the opportunity available to the school free of charge.

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PTSA Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Picture Retakes, Job Shadow, PCCR’s

Picture Retakes

If you would like a retake of your school picture, Bell Photography will be here on Wednesday, October 13th. You can check out this flyer for information on ordering. Because of the small number of students that typically participate in retakes, proofs will be virtual and not printed. If you would like a virtual proof, email cs@bellphoto.com with the subject, “Virtual Proof”. Bell Photo will email the proof directly to you once the picture has been taken.

Stay Connected with the PTSA

Want to know what’s happening with the Elk Ridge PTSA? Check out the PTSA Instagram and Facebook pages:

8th Grade Job Shadow – Tuesday, November 9th, 2021

Students will receive their job shadow packet in their history class last week or this week. Also, a career inventory will be given on Thursday to prepare them for their job shadow and upcoming PCCR appointments. Please ask your 8th grader about these items. 

MESA-STEM Next activity – Wed, October 27, 2021

Our monthly  MESA-STEM activity for October will be on Wed, Oct. 27, 2021 right after school (3:00 – 4:00 pm).  All Elk Ridge Middle School students are invited and welcome to participate.  For more information see Mr. Bennett (Counselor) or Ms. Hardy (Teacher, Room #209).

Wally Time

We had a lesson planned for this Wednesday taking the work of making students feel welcome and expanding it to what students can do to change or influence the school culture. However, with it being the last week of the quarter, we had many requests from teachers and students to use that time to help students shore up their grades before the quarter officially ends on Friday. The planned lesson will take place next week instead.

8th Grade PCCR Appointments Coming Soon 

We encourage all parents/guardians of their 8th grade students to meet together with their assigned school counselor for a PCCR meeting. Plan for College and Career (PCCR) appointments will become available soon on Skyward this week. We encourage all parents/guardians of 8th grade students to sign up for a conference appointment with your student’s counselor.  PCCR appointments will be available for sign up Nov. 1 – Nov. 23 during school hours.  If evening hours are needed, we will have the evenings (4:00 pm – 6:00 pm) of Nov, 17 and Nov. 18 available. If you are needing a PCCR appointment scheduled before sign ups become available, please send an email to your student’s assigned counselor with the specific date and time needed.  

Your 8th grade PCCR meeting will briefly discuss your student’s high school graduation requirements. The majority of the PCCR will be used to discuss your student’s future college and career interests.  The PCCR is also a good opportunity for parents and students to discuss any questions or concerns that they might have regarding the student’s college and career interests and other educational endeavors.

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PTSA Registration Skylert Wally the Wapiti

Back-to-School Night & More

Back-to-School Night & Videos

We will be holding the in-person half of Back-to-School Night from 6 – 7:30 pm at the school. We will have a brief introduction, allow the PTSA to conduct some business, and then give you the rest of the time to visit teachers, work on locker combinations, etc. Many of you did this last Friday unofficially, and we will hold next year’s night before school starts to capitalize on such high interest.

We also have brief videos from teachers explaining things you might want to know as parents for your child’s classes. Those videos can be found here. They will be available at any time for the next few weeks – like when your kids come home and tell you about their favorite teacher and you want to know who they are talking about.

Immunizations at Back-to-School Night

The required 7th grade immunizations (not COVID-19 vaccinations or flu shots) will be offered through Certified Nursing Services during Back-to-School Night. They will arrive before Back-to-School Night begins if you’d like to come a bit early.

Chromebooks & Registration

We can’t give your student a Chromebook until you have completed registration, as it contains an acceptable use agreement for electronic devices in the district. 

More Information Always Online

We always post every Skylert and as much important information as possible on the school website (elkridgemiddle.org). Please check out our last Skylert/post regarding much of the start-of-school information we get asked about most frequently.

We also do our level best to avoid overloading your inbox/phone/texts with information so that when we do send it out, it’s something you actually read. Plan on a message from us once a week (usually Monday evening), and always check the website if you’re wondering if you’ve missed something.

Lego Robotics

Like Legos? Like Robots? Join Lego Robotics at Elk Ridge Middle School. It meets after school Tuesday and Thursday from 3:05-4:00. We build and program Lego robots. We also solve engineering problems. To join: https://forms.gle/8bM5icRJquV54sCc9