Ellsworth Middle School

📚✨ The Book Fair is Coming to EMS! ✨📚

Get ready, Panthers! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming soon to Ellsworth Middle School! 🎉

Students will have a chance to browse a great selection of books and find something new to add to their reading list. 📖💜

Want to learn more, preview the fair, or get ready to shop? Visit our Book Fair Homepage here:
https://www.scholastic.com/bf/ellsworthmiddleschool

We can’t wait to see what books our Panthers pick! 🐾📚

We knew that rescheduling the traditional Homecoming Parade on a moment’s notice would not work for our students or community partners, and many students would have been unable to participate.
However, we still want to celebrate together! We are excited to pivot to a Panther Spirit Parade on October 2, before our final home football game. This parade will celebrate our fall activities and give our students, families, and community another opportunity to come together and show their Panther pride. Community businesses and organizations are welcome to join the parade. All floats are to line up at Ellsworth Middle School by 4:45 p.m. The parade will start promptly at 5:00 pm and will follow the recently published (updated) parade route.

🏃💜 A First for EMS Cross Country! 💜🏃

EMS hosted its 1st Annual Tuscan 2 Miler Middle School XC Meet at Vino in the Valley, and what a fun night it was!

A very special thank you to Larry at Vino in the Valley for allowing us to host the meet on his beautiful property and for making our runners feel so special after their races.

Judging by all the smiles, we think it’s safe to say this was a night our runners will remember for a long time! 🐾🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Due to impending thunderstorms and rain forecasted from Friday to Saturday, we are moving the homecoming football game to tomorrow, Thursday, September 17th at 7 pm. The parade on Friday has been cancelled. The chili feed will now be on Thursday, September 17, 2026, from 5pm-7pm in the HS Cafeteria.

💜 HOMECOMING PARADE ROUTE UPDATE 💜

Heads up, Panther fans! We have a small change to this year’s Homecoming Parade route.

For safety reasons and to help ease traffic congestion while our buses are returning to the bus garage, we have made the decision to run the parade route in reverse this year.

📍 Same route, just a different starting and ending point!

Please take a look at the map for the updated direction of the parade and plan accordingly.

Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe, and we can’t wait to see our Panther community lining the route for Homecoming! 💜🤍🐾

🎉 WELCOME TO ECSD! 🎉

Please help us welcome Marissa Woletz, our new Middle School Choir Teacher! 🎶

Originally from Clear Lake, Wisconsin, Marissa earned her undergraduate degree from UW-River Falls and her master’s degree from UW-Madison. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew, shopping, reading, playing piano and, of course, singing!

Marissa lives in River Falls with her wife, Maggie, who is a 2019 Ellsworth graduate and special education teacher in Hudson, and their three pets, Simba, Nala and Koda.

Marissa says she is most looking forward to making new connections and making music with her students! 🎵

💜 Welcome to ECSD, Marissa! We can’t wait to hear the music you and your students create this year! 🐾

🎉 WELCOME TO ECSD! 🎉

Help us welcome Cade Hanson, one of our new staff members for the 2026-2027 school year! Cade will be joining ECSD as a School Counselor.

Originally from Elk Mound, Cade attended UW-Stout. He enjoys disc golf, just about any sport, and collecting vinyl records. He comes from a family of two brothers and two sisters and is also the proud uncle of a niece and nephew!

This year, Cade is looking forward to dedicating himself to one place and learning more about the Ellsworth area.

💜 Welcome to the Panther family, Cade! We’re happy to have you here! 🐾

📬 Check your mailboxes!

Our 2026-2027 ECSD District Foldout Calendars & Annual Newsletter headed to the post office yesterday, so they should be arriving in your mailbox soon!

Be sure to hang onto your foldout calendar for easy reference throughout the upcoming school year. 📅💜

⚠️ CALENDAR CORRECTION:
We noticed one date was misprinted on the foldout calendar. The Ellsworth Middle School Picture Day is THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, not September 4 as listed on the calendar.

We apologize for the error and appreciate your understanding!

Keep an eye on those mailboxes! 👀📬

📚✨ Registration is NOW OPEN for Jump Start 2026! ✨📚

Is your child entering 4K through 1st grade or 6th grade this fall? Jump Start is a great opportunity to help students get comfortable with their new school, meet staff, make friends, and start the school year feeling confident and excited!

✅ Incoming 4K-1st Grade
✅ Incoming 6th Grade
✅ Fun activities and a chance to get familiar with routines before the first day of school

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to kick off the 2026-2027 school year!

Sign up here: https://www.ellsworth.k12.wi.us/page/summer-school-2026

We can't wait to welcome our newest Panthers and help them get off to a great start! 💜🤍 #EllsworthPanthers #JumpStart2026 #BackToSchool

📢 Attention 6th Grade Parents!

Join us in the Ellsworth MS Cafeteria on Thurs., Mar. 19th - 6:30pm to learn all about the upcoming 2028 Washington, D.C. educational trip.

Discover how each traveler can qualify for a $500 Early Bird Scholarship—a great opportunity you won’t want to miss!

👉 Click here to RSVP: https://rsvp.worldclassrooms.com/inperson/47624648985?rsvp_id=47624648985

We look forward to seeing you there!

📣 Menu Change for This Week

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we’ve had to switch the lunch menu around for the rest of the week. Here’s the updated lineup:

Wednesday, February 18: Pizza Cruncher Menu
Thursday, February 19: Hot Beef with Mashed Potatoes
Friday, February 20: Taco Salad with Frito Chips

Thanks for your understanding!

📚 Book Fair is Coming to EMS! 📚

Ellsworth Middle School is hosting a Book Fair next week, and we’re excited to get books into students’ hands!

Families can make shopping easy by:

💻 Loading money onto an eWallet for a cash-free experience at school

🛒 Shopping online if you’d rather order from home

👉 Get started here:
https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/ellsworthmiddleschool

Thanks for supporting reading at EMS! 💜📖

🎭 EMS Musical Tickets Are On Sale! 🎶

Come support our talented students at Ellsworth Middle School and enjoy a great night of theater.

Show Dates & Times:
📅 Thursday, Feb 5 at 7:00pm
📅 Friday, Feb 6 at 7:00pm
📅 Saturday, Feb 7 at 7:00pm
📅 Sunday, Feb 8 at 2:00pm

🎟️ Tickets:
Grab yours here: https://gofan.co/app/school/WI19699?activity=Performing%20Arts

We’d love to see a full house cheering on our EMS performers! 💜👏

🎶 A Cappella at EMS! 🎶
We recently had the UW–Eau Claire Audacious A Cappella visit our middle school choir students for a fun and inspiring session. They shared what makes a cappella so unique and gave our students a great look at vocal music beyond the classroom.

It was extra special to welcome back Ellsworth grad Maci Gutting, who joined the group for the visit. 💜🐾

Thanks for spending time with our students and sharing your love of music. Panther Pride!

Our middle school Phy Ed teachers, Ms. Yaeger and Mr. Campbell, came up with a fun way to encourage participation in nontraditional sports and get students outside, especially during hunting season. 🦌🌲

Students were invited to share their hunting experiences, and it gave us a sneak peek at some pretty impressive bucks they were seeing this season. Even better, it was all about participation, not just the outcome.

They recognized four different winners:
• Biggest Buck – awarded to the student who harvested the largest buck
• Three Buck Board Winners – students chosen at random who harvested either a buck or a doe
• Unsuccessful Hunter – awarded to a student who went hunting but didn’t harvest anything

The goal was to celebrate time outdoors, effort, and participation, not just success. Students loved it, and it was a great way to highlight learning and experiences happening beyond the classroom. 💜🐾

Mrs. Matzek's Vocational Family & Consumer Science students have had some sweet days in the kitchen making sugar cookies🎄🍪✨
From measuring and mixing to baking and frosting, students worked together to make (and decorate!) delicious sugar cookies while building real-world skills like teamwork, following recipes, kitchen safety, and creativity.

Learning is even better when you can enjoy the results—great job, everyone!

⛷️❄️Enjoy your winter break!!❄️⛷️
Using an emoji what plans do you have? ☃️
We will see our students & staff back on January 5th, 2026. Have a safe and relaxing break.

Talk about being good sports! 😄✨

At EMS, we celebrated WinterFest today before kicking off our holiday break, and one group of 8th grade girls had a very creative way to spread some school spirit. They bedazzled Principal Morrison, band director Mr. Morley, and our new PE teacher Mr. Campbell.

Thanks to these three for being such great sports and helping make WinterFest a memorable way to wrap up the year! 💜❄️

Our 2026–2027 school calendar is now published for anyone who likes to plan ahead. 🗓️

A couple dates to note for next school year:
• Graduation for the Class of 2027 is set for Friday May 21, 2027
• The last day of school will be Friday May 28, 2027, which means we’ll be out before Memorial Day

You can view the full calendar on our website. 💜🐾
https://5il.co/3swdx

Our 7th graders had the opportunity to hear from EHS alumni Tasha Schuh during her annual visit to EMS. Her Power of PATH message is engaging, interactive, and something every young person should hear. PATH stands for Purpose, Attitude, Team, and Hope-the tools she has carried through her journey and now shares to help students build resilience, stay hopeful, and care for their mental and emotional well-being.

Thank you, Tasha, for coming to speak with our students once again. You inspire so many, and we’re grateful to have you back at Ellsworth Middle School each year. 💜🐾