Fall 2020

August 25 we welcomed 354 new and returning students, K-12. We reviewed home health screening procedures, pumped hand sanitizer, sprayed desks, followed arrows on the floor, limited bathroom use with a new pass and hook system, wore face coverings, and kept physical distance as much as possible. We also practiced online learning tools for if and when those…

D. Keith and Ellen (Slabaugh) Helmuth, both class of ’55, of Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada, are being honored with the EMS Lifetime Service Award for 60 years of creation care in personal and professional settings. “They were environmentalists before it was popular,” wrote former roommate and lifelong friend, James Lapp, in his nomination, describing them as…

Andrew Jenner ’00 is EMS’s 2020 Community Engagement Award recipient. Jenner has connected with local and international readers for more than 15 years on everything from city council to obscure science-y things, always committed to truth telling. As co-founder of the free, online independent news source, The Citizen (hburgcitizen.com), Jenner’s journalistic endeavors currently serve Shenandoah Valley…

All faculty and staff took part in a half day Zoom seminar on building community in times of division before school started. David Brubaker, organizational consultant and dean of the school of social sciences and professions at Eastern Mennonite University, facilitated. The input gave context for how communities, churches, families, and organizations experience division when the broader…

Andrea Wenger, director of advancement, has been appointed as the school’s Title IX coordinator. EMS must be in compliance with Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 because the school receives federal financial assistance through its school lunch program. “Compliance is also the right thing to do,” says Paul Leaman, head of school. “Following the guidelines…

We said farewell to the following faculty this summer: Brian Buchanan – 17 years, band, and digital recording teacher, auditorium and general technical expert Claudia Fencer – one year, anatomy & physiology and AP biology teacher Lee Good – 11 years, middle and high school science teacher Laurie Loucks – one year, English for International…

A new group made up of any interested faculty and staff met weekly this summer to begin the long-term work of looking at all aspects of school life through a racial equity lens. Participants reported on what they were learning about anti-racism and drafted proposed additions to the school’s strategic plan for review by the…