Looking Back, Looking Forward

 Despite every hardship this past year, our East Prairie community has committed itself to transforming our school to fully serve the unique needs of every child.  With an open heart and open mind, we have taken significant steps to work together in new ways that more fully support kids, families, staff, and our entire school community!  We have developed and refined systems, structures, practices, and mindsets that are supportive of learning, relationships, and kids!  And while not easy, it has certainly been impactful!

We head into 2022, prepared for the unexpected and with a continued commitment to excellence.  With case levels again rising, a new variant upon us, and ongoing stress, strain, and mental health crises across our society we know how important our collective work is.  We remain dedicated to upholding healthy and safety procedures that ensure the wellbeing of our kids, staff, families, and community.  We will continue to prioritize relationships, connection, and explicit instruction of tools and strategies to support emotional health and wellbeing.  All of this while continuing to live our mission and “ensure the highest levels of learning” for all.

Again, thank you for your commitment, care, and above all trust each day to make this our reality.  We hope that Winter Break provides your family the opportunity to hit pause, rest, and recharge.  We hope each day is filled with much happiness and time with those closest to you.  Whatever 2022 has in store for us, we are confident that we will continue to rise to the challenge, and do our best to learn, grow, and have some fun along the way!

Superintendent's Day!

Student Council wanted to honor Dr. Goldberg, so they created our very own Superintendent's Day (there is no formal one like there is for principals and school boards!) to surprise him.  The kids were most excited to not only celebrate Dr. Goldberg, but to also see inside his office :)

Thank you Dr. Goldberg for your commitment to and care for the kids, families, teachers, staff, and community of East Prairie!

Ensemble Excellence!

 Congratulations to our middle school band students on some truly extraordinary ensemble performances!  Way to go Coda, Ethan, Ponlerniek, Eli, Jonathan, Daris, Tashi, Daniella, Samantha, Metodi, Abinanda, Sophia, Melissa, Isabella, Emma,Xavier, Ryllie, Isaiah, Joshua, Sam, Liam, Kyle, Joshua, Frachesca, Emily, Braden, Emma, Andres, Rizwan, Lucah, Lilia, Joanna, Joelle, Bettina, Kara, Vivian, Vanessa, Annie, and Yoni!!!

Kudos to our kids, families, and Mr. Berlinghof for nurturing the East Prairie Band program to thrive during this challenging time!

Family Reading Night!

Thank you to the many families that came out for Family Reading Night!  It was wonderful to see our community come together to share stories! 

Thank you to Mrs. Mehr, Mrs. Byron, Ms. Hernandez, Ms. LaPata, Mrs. Maloof, Mrs. Khan, Mrs. Rice, Ms. Sharkey, Mrs. Mansour, Ms. Wydmanski, and Officer Wilken for reading and leading! 

Thank you to the PTA and our parent volunteers for providing the Book Fair last night and all week.  And finally, thank YOU for your ongoing support of this and everything we do!

Panther Community Pantry

 The Panther Community Pantry continues to be open and accessible to ALL families.  Don’t forget we also offer a pick-up and delivery option as well.  Simply reach out to your child’s teacher, any member of our team, or to info@eps73.net with what you would like and we’ll coordinate pick-up/delivery when convenient.  Our Community Pantry includes:

- Non-perishable food items (canned fruits & vegetables, dried goods, beans, pastas, sauces, and lots of other tasty items)

- School supplies (markers, pens, crayons, pencils, glue, folders, paper, etc.)

- Clothing (men’s, women’s, boy’s, and girl’s - all sizes and styles)

- Winter gear (coats - all sizes, hats, gloves, snow pants, and more)

Our goal remains to support EVERY child and EVERY family to the absolute fullest extent possible.  The Panther Community Pantry is just one more way the EPS community stands out and above!

Book Fair & Family Reading Night

 The Book Fair is upon us!  Thank you to the PTA and many parent volunteers for helping to bring this opportunity to our kids, family, and school.  Check out all of the amazing titles in the boardroom beginning today through this Friday.  Proceeds from the Book Fair go towards supporting the PTA and filling the shelves of our library with high-quality titles for kids.  Please see the attached flyer for more information.

 To help foster a love of reading and support the Book Fair, we will be hosting a Community & Family Reading Night this Thursday from 6:30-7:30PM.  This event is open to all families at all grade levels and will feature socially distanced read alouds of outstanding children’s books by some very famous guest readers.  The Book Fair will be open to families from 6:00-8:00PM this evening as well.

On the Prairie

Here is the link to this school year’s first edition of our On The Prairie publication.  We are proud of our students, and excited to share their voices and ideas. 

We hope you find OTP to be a fitting compliment to our regular communications in highlighting the special accomplishments and activities happening in our classrooms and throughout the school.  This communication is one more way we seek to open the doors of our classrooms and make learning visible to all.