A huge thank you to our PTA for orchestrating a festive, high-energy, and incredibly colorful Panther Dash! From the upbeat music and games to the personalized tie-dying, this year’s event was a true celebration of community.
We are so grateful to our students, families, and staff for coming together to prioritize wellness, have fun, and support a great cause.
Today was a vibrant reminder of the "East Prairie Heart" that makes our community so uniquely special!
We want to take a moment to thank our East Prairie families, educators, and students for creating a culture that defies the unkind rhetoric we often see in the world today. We are committed to ensuring our school remains a welcoming space for every member of our community.
Supporting our students means supporting the whole child. Through caring relationships and explicit social-emotional skill building and support, we are here for your children every day. We are also here for you. Whether it is help with daily meals, navigating utility assistance, or connections with community and mental health resources please lean on us. We believe that building deep trust and connection is how we ensure East Prairie remains a powerful force for good. Thank you for your continued kindness and partnership!
Here are a few additional resources to support this conversation with your children at home:
Conversation starters to promote social and emotional skills at home
Tips we can all practice to help families feel better and build stronger relationships
Anti-Defamation League strategies for beginning discussions with children
And a list of more in-depth additional readings:
Creating Compassionate Kids, by Shauna Tominey, Ph.D
Raising Emotionally Intelligent Teenagers, by Maurice Elias, Steven Tobias, Brian Friedlander
Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers, by Mike Riera
Check out the latest addition to our East Prairie video collection! Dive into the incredible creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration happening in our STEAM program every day. These one-of-a-kind opportunities are doing more than just teaching, they are preparing our students to lead in an ever-evolving future.
At East Prairie, building community and developing trusting relationships is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that teaching emotional intelligence is just as vital as teaching academics; it’s how we live our mission to “value the uniqueness of all AND ensure the highest levels of learning.” We call this the “Power of AND,” the unwavering belief that our students can and will excel both academically AND social-emotionally.
To support this, our students participate in daily Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons. While these skills are explicitly taught in the classroom, our true goal is for students to carry these tools into their everyday lives. So far this year, we have introduced and reinforced four core anchor tools (detailed below). As we head into spring, we are excited to begin our fifth and final SEL unit of the school year!
As always, we are continually reflecting on our work to ensure it has the deepest possible impact on our students. We are committed to helping every child take these skills out of the classroom and into their daily lives and relationships!
Congratulations to the incredible team behind The Little Mermaid Jr.! It was a joy to see over 100 middle schoolers bring this story to life through acting, singing, and a massive behind-the-scenes technical effort.
The attention to detail in every prop and lighting cue was truly spectacular. This production was made possible by the dedicated guidance of Mr. Oliveira, Ms. Wade, Ms. Witt, and Tony Lawry, as well as the generous support of the East Prairie Education Foundation. Thank you to our families for your involvement throughout this journey.
Most importantly, thank you to our students, your talent and hard work are the heart of East Prairie. To quote Shakespeare, “all the world’s a stage,” and our students are certainly making it a great show!
EPS’s own Rep. Kevin Olickal recently hosted an art contest inviting students to explore "Autumn in Illinois" or "What Inspires You?" We are so proud to announce our middle school winners: Huda Layeeq, Geela Baptist, Thao Do, and Kelsey Odisho. Their incredible work is officially Springfield-bound and will be displayed in the Representative’s office!
