Middle School Division News
Important Dates & Action Items
| September 11 - Coffee & Conversations |
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| You are invited to attend Coffee and Conversations on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. in the North Dining Conference Room with Head of Middle School, Jonathan Chein. Please RSVP here to attend. For additional information, please see the email from Jonathan Chein that was sent last week. |
| September 13 - ESD+ Registration Closes |
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ESD+ Middle School Before and After School Programs and Extended Day Care registration closes for the fall semester. Details and registration here. |
| September 15 - "Go Gold" Order Deadline |
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ESD will recognize Childhood Cancer Awareness Week on September 23-27. We are encouraging our community to Go Gold! To support these efforts, Middle and Upper School will have spirit dress on Friday, September 27. We encourage students to wear a majority yellow shirt or the TeamIzzy Foundation "Go Gold" shirt with school appropriate free bottoms. Please reach out to Courtney Phelps, Director of Community Service Learning, with any questions. Shirt orders will be delievered to campus on Monday, September 23. |
| September 20 - Alumni Art Show |
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We are excited to announce ESD's commemorative 50th anniversary Alumni Art Show to celebrate and highlight our talented community of alumni artists!
RSVP for the opening and a special reception as we celebrate 50 years of art at ESD! The show will run through December. |
| September 21 - Battle at the Star |
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The Lewis Family Foundation will be hosting the third annual Battle at the Star on Saturday, September 21, 2024. The Battle at the Star includes three main events:
Reminder: The Star has a clear bag policy. |
| September 25 - Community Meeting (6:00 p.m.) |
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Please join us on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, for our first community meeting of the school year, "Cultivating Connections: Fostering a Balanced Approach to Cell Phone Use." Dave Baad, Hobson Family Head of School, and Matt Peal, Clark Family Head of Upper School, will begin the discussion around the impact cell phones have on building community and fostering belonging among our students. We are also pleased to hear from guest speaker Betsy Kennard, Psy. D., from the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center, as she discusses the importance of community and belonging among adolescents and the unique challenges we face in the digital age. |
| September 27 - Homecoming Spirit Deadline |
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ESD Homecoming Mums, Garters, and Buttons: Show Your Spirit! Get ready to show your Eagle spirit for Homecoming on October 4 and support the junior class fundraising efforts. There's something for every age! Order all your HOCO spirit items, today! All orders will be delivered to your student at school on Wednesday, October 2 and Thursday, October 3. |
| October 9 - Picture Day |
| Middle School Picture Day |
All School News & Updates
- Applications: Applications are now open for the 2025-26 school year. Do you know a family that would be a great community fit? We love referrals! If you have any questions, please reach out to our Admissions office!
- Uniform Updates (September 9, 2024): Click here for plaid skirt and skirt swap/exchange program updates. Please visit the Getting Ready for Upper School page and take a look at the 2024-25 Uniform & Visual Reference tab for more uniform information.
- Badges & Car Stickers: Parents badges and car stickers are now available for pickup! Head to the reception area of your youngest enrolled child to pick these up; your parent badges and car stickers will also be handed out during Back to School and Mini School nights!
50th Community Picnic & Homecoming
Save the date and RSVP for our 50th Anniversary Community Picnic and Homecoming Celebration on Friday, October 4!
- Community Picnic at Stoffel Commons and Lower School Play Area (5:30 - 6:45 p.m.)
- Alumni Homecoming Celebration at Nickell Dining Terrace (5:30 - 6:30 p.m.)
- Varsity Football Game (7:00 p.m.)
This event will feature music by Jake Kelton ‘23, ESD archive displays and a historical timeline, a time capsule reveal, games and activities for our younger students, an alumni social hour, favorite food by SAGE, Kona Ice Truck, and the Eagle Walk parade to the stadium for kickoff.
Please RSVP here.
The ESD Fund Kicks Off This Week
Kate and Ryan Kneipper '99 (Ellie P'31 and Max P'34) will be serving as this year's chairs of The ESD Fund. The ESD Fund annual campaign kicks off this week so you will be receiving some mail at home, and you will also hear from our grade volunteers about how you can participate. As a reminder, The ESD Fund is imperative to the stability of our school as it assures overhead costs are met while keeping tuition rates competitive. It is the school's number one annual fundraising priority that provides unrestricted support to the operating budget.
In conjunction with ESD's 50th Anniversary celebration, gifts of $50.00, $150.00, $250.00, and more can be made using the school's new giving platform, which accepts Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and Amex. You can also make a pledge now to be fulfilled by next summer. Our hope is to achieve 100% participation from every eagle family in our community - every dollar counts! Please consider committing today! Thank you in advance for your family's support in this important effort.
ESDPA News
AUCTION
Calling all talent - we need YOU!
We are having so much fun planning ESD's 50th Anniversary Auction: Studio '74. We have been hard at work creating a script for this year's show, which is put on entirely by the ESD community. If you love singing, dancing, acting, or if you just love the spotlight - we want you! This will be a fun experience for everyone involved. Please sign up for the Auction Show Casting Call if you would like to be in the live and/or filmed portions of the show. The Casting Call will be held on Sunday, October 20, at 3:30 p.m. at the RoCS in the Lower School building. Thank you so much!
Questions? Auction Donations? Contact one of the Auction Co-Chairs, Cassy Sands and Lauren Stewart.
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BECOME A PART OF THE BOOSTER CLUBWe are thankful for those who support the Booster Club with annual membership levels. No donation is too big or small when all the proceeds go directly to student athletic needs and the Athletic Department! If you would like further information, please contact the Booster Club President, David Walton. Titanium Eagle Booster $1000 and Up |
To volunteer, please visit esdallas.org/parents.
| Middle School Division Rep Welcome |
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** Divisional news important dates last updated September 9, 2024. Dear Middle School families, |
| Fifth Grade |
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Hello fifth-grade families! Hope you had a wonderful summer and are ready for a great first year of Middle School! We are your Fifth Grade Parent Communications Reps and have set up a separate GroupMe for boys and girls. At least one parent for each student has been included on their respective GroupMe, but if for some reason we have missed you, please reach out and we will get you added. We are so excited to welcome the new fifth graders! Below are a lot of dates! It looks overwhelming, but these are dates through December that you might want on your calendar now. More information can be found on the ESD Parent Portal/Veracross and in upcoming “News You Can Use” emails. Grade-level Dates:
Important Dates:
*Don’t forget that you can view your customized family calendar in your Veracross Parent Portal. And in case you missed it, there are many volunteer opportunities through the Parent’s Association. Each month of this school year, one of our middle or upper school grades will help celebrate the MS/US faculty and staff. Fifth grade is kicking things off on Friday, September 6th with a Back-to-School themed treat bar. There are opportunities to drop off items the day before the event as well as the morning of to accommodate a variety of schedules. We can’t do this without you! Please take a moment today to sign up to bring something for the faculty and staff to enjoy. Let's show them how much we appreciate them and look forward to an amazing year ahead! You will hear from us monthly with important dates and 5th Grade specific information. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out! Kate Britain (Wallace P'32) & Ashely Russell (Ridley P'32) |
| Sixth Grade |
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Dear sixth-grade parents, Welcome back, and welcome to ESD for a few new families! We hope everyone had a great summer with time to relax and recharge! We are looking forward to seeing everyone back on campus this week and at the Parent Coffee on Tuesday, August 27. There is a lot going on with the start of the new year, and below are some important dates to add to your calendars. Grade-level Dates:
Important Dates:
*Don’t forget that you can view your customized family calendar in your Veracross Parent Portal. Volunteers are needed for a variety of activities through the Parent’s Association. Each month of this school year, one of our middle or upper school grades will help celebrate the MS/US faculty and staff. Sixth grade will thank faculty and staff on Friday, April 4th for helping the students “bloom” (springtime theme) over the course of the year. There are opportunities to drop off items the day before the event as well as the morning of to accommodate a variety of schedules. We can’t do this without you! Please take a moment today to sign up to bring something for them to enjoy. As your 6th grade representatives, we are here to be a resource for you. Please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. We are looking forward to a wonderful sixth grade year!
Warm regards, Bethany Reese (Robert P'31) & Amy Lobner (Alexandra P'31) |
| Seventh Grade |
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Hi seventh-grade families, Grade-level Dates:
Important Dates:
*Don’t forget that you can view your customized family calendar in your Veracross Parent Portal. Volunteers are needed for a variety of activities through the Parent’s Association. Each month of this school year, one of our middle or upper school grades will help celebrate the MS/US faculty and staff. Seventh grade will show their love and admiration on Friday, February 7th by bringing treats for a Love & Valentines themed candy and cookie bar! There are opportunities to drop off items the day before the event as well as the morning of to accommodate a variety of schedules. We can’t do this without you! Please take a moment today to sign up to bring something for them to enjoy. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us for any questions, comments or suggestions! |
| Eighth Grade |
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Hello eighth-grade parents! We can’t believe that the new school year is almost here! We’re so excited to be your 8th Grade 2024-25 parent reps. We’re here to answer any questions or concerns you may have and to help channel communication between families and the school. Consider us the eyes and ears for the 8th grade parent community. Our goal is to listen, relay and help out however we can! We’ll try not to overwhelm you with too many emails, but look out for them on a monthly basis with important dates and correspondence.
Grade-level Dates:
Important Dates:
*Don’t forget that you can view your customized family calendar in your Veracross Parent Portal. Please join us in welcoming two new students and their families to the eigth grade: Harper Young and John David Steinmetz. Volunteers are needed for a variety of activities through the Parent’s Association. Each month of this school year, one of our middle or upper school grades will help celebrate the MS/US faculty and staff. On Friday, January 17, eigth grade is helping ring in the new year with a bright and sunny beach-themed treat bar. There are opportunities to drop off items the day before the event as well as the morning of to accommodate a variety of schedules. We can’t do this without you! Please take a moment today to sign up to bring something for them to enjoy. We're looking forward to an amazing year! Please let us know if you have any questions! Bonnie Merkt (Fred P’29 and Katie P'31) & Kristyn Ampofo (Taylor P'27, Devyn P'29, and Trey P'33) |
