Eagle Girls Basketball is open to all 7th and 8th-grade girls interested in playing basketball. The first practice is Tuesday, December 10 at 3:30 PM (See below). Refer to this announcement for changes and updates as they become available. The game schedule is attached below.

Athletes need to come with the completed physical form (see below), athletic clothing, and clean athletic shoes.

Eagle Girls Basketball starts Tuesday, December 10

Week 1 Schedule:
Tuesday, 12/10: 330 - 6:00 PM
Wednesday, 12/11: 330 - 6:00 PM
Thursday, 12/12: 330 - 6:00 PM
Friday, 12/13: 330 - 5:00 PM

Please contact Coach Duce with any questions or concerns. educe@durangoschools.org or call 247-9490 Ext. 2822

Coach Fitzpatrick at DHS has generously given us access to discounts for athletic wear in the high school team store. (See the link below).
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The School District has also been purchasing its own, locally sourced cows to bring in the best and freshest options to students. These cows, sourced from a local -area ranch, are all 100% grass-fed and finished cows who were humanely raised. And now you can have some for yourself or as a gift for a loved one during the holidays, all the while continuing to support the innovative offerings by our food services team.
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Eagles Basketball Update December 10th, 2019

Our End of Season Celebration will occur Thursday, December 12th, 3:30-5:00 pm @ Serious Texas BBQ. Please send 7-10$ for food and drink. (Parent/Guardians responsible for 5:00 pm pick up @ South Serious Texas; by the Mall)

Thanks for all your support this season!
Coach Bastin
dbastin@durangoschools.org

Escalante Middle School is excited for the 2019 Boys Basketball Season to begin! The first practice is October 10th from 3:30 - 5:30 PM. Eagle Basketball is open to all 7th and 8th-grade male athletes currently enrolled at EMS. All students must complete and turn in the Athletic & Activity Form (see below), have a sports physical, and pay the $30 (or $25 if this is the athlete's second sport) activity fee prior to participating in any sports or activity at Escalante Middle School. Parent permission is included in the form.

For more information contact Athletic Director Eva Duce at 247-94910 Ext 2822
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Parents/guardians who drop students off or pick them up at Escalante Middle School are asked to NOT use the driveway to the parking lot, but instead, enter the PURPLE CURB PARENT CIRCLE. In an effort to keep children safe at all times, please do not use the parking lot or bus lanes for pick-up or drop-off purposes. We have seen many near misses when our bus drivers are attempting to navigate around additional vehicles obstructing the bus lanes as they continue through and exit our parking lot. It is extremely dangerous for students to cross the parking lot. More so, other cars dropping students off along the curb in the parking lot are obstructing bus lanes. For the safety of all and efficient transportation protocols, please use the purple parent circle to drop students off or pick them up at Escalante. Thank you for your help in this matter.
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Notice is hereby given that a proposed charter renewal application for The Juniper School has been submitted to the membership of the Durango School District 9-R Board of Education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, and is on file in the superintendent’s office of Durango School District 9-R, where it is available for public inspection during regular business hours. There will be a public hearing regarding the application at the December 10, 2019 board meeting, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Board Room of the District Administration Building, 201 E. 12th Street.
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Help shape the future of 9-R! Join us for our community meeting on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 from 6-7pm at Durango High School to share ideas and provide feedback to the district as it continues its process for facilities long-range planning.
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All student bus riders must wear a lanyard and school ID around their neck and on the outside of their clothing to board the bus. Please support our bus drivers’ efforts in checking IDs and scanning students into the bus student information system.
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Durango 9-R recently received a grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to sample for lead in drinking water at Escalante and Miller Middle Schools. These schools receive water from The City of Durango, a public water system.
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Dear Escalante Middle School Community,

Over the past week, I have held community meetings with each grade level to talk to students about a topic that poses a significant health risk for kids: illegal substances.

At EMS we take several steps to prevent students from bringing illegal substances onto campus. I’ve found that clear communication with students about both the health and disciplinary consequences of illegal substances is the most proactive and best possible deterrent, and it is a place that parents really can support us. I encourage you to do some reading online about the health risks of alcohol, vaping and marijuana use on the adolescent brain, and to have follow-up conversations with your kids about those negative impacts. In addition, I also share with our students that distribution of any illegal substance on campus may result in expulsion from school. Because an adolescent’s brain is undergoing significant development, kids are more likely to take risks and not consider the consequences of their actions. Therefore, it is extremely important that students are reminded of these consequences in an effort to protect them from making a costly mistake.

In addition to communication and education, our school district also utilizes a drug-detecting dog to conduct random searches of the school. Just recently, the La Plata County Sheriff’s department has added a non-bite drug dog onto their force so that we no longer need to contract with a handler outside of our community. This will both save our school district money and provide a local resource that can be a more frequent deterrent as we strive to keep our schools drug free.

In the past, the dog searched lockers and backpacks in the hallway and did not enter classrooms. I’ve learned recently it is a common procedure in area schools to also randomly empty one to two classrooms and search those rooms. Because we have not historically done this practice at Escalante, it did surprise me, a few students, parents and staff when students were asked to leave the classroom to allow for a search of the room. The dog does not conduct body searches of students. I apologize that we did not communicate this change in practice beforehand, and please feel free to contact me if you have concerns as I am currently catching up on how our district’s procedures are shifting with the new dog and handler. If there are additional changes, I will communicate that information throughout our school community.

On a much lighter and brighter note, I have been honored to collect compliments about our student body frequently over the past few weeks from community partners who seek me out to praise our students for their use of manners, genuine interest in learning, kindness, and enthusiasm. This is a wonderful school to lead, and I am extremely thankful for each of the 516 students who walk through our doors each day.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Voss
EMS, Principal
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