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As COVID-restrictions began to ease this spring, students enjoyed versions of some long-held EMS traditions. Fourth and fifth graders put on a play outdoors for the elementary school’s annual dessert theater. Community Service Day in outdoor nearby settings with small groups revived the tradition which took a hiatus last spring. Juniors and seniors enjoyed a banquet…
“Slavery in Rockingham County,” singing together for the first time, and learning from area streams were among the experiences offered to students in mid-April. The days were a COVID-adjusted and safe alternative to the usual week-long spring experiential learning offered for grades 6-12 known as E-term and Explore Week. The group experiences included: Advocacy and…
Varsity athletics teams had a chance at competitive play this winter and spring with masking and distance learning while in season. Spring highlights included: At the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) state-wide meet, Gabriel Albers ’21 was named Athlete of the Meet and Most Valuable Runner for DII. He broke two school records in both…
Most of Eastern Mennonite School’s 357 students, K to 12, came to school daily throughout the 2020-21 school year. Our students wore masks, kept distance, wiped desks, ate lunch outside (a good change!), adjusted to new schedules, and limited interactions to smaller groups. Some did classwork from home for the safety of compromised family members,…
We were fortunate to complete fall classes in person – with extended holiday breaks – with no incidents of COVID among students, staff or teachers. We welcome prayers for: ongoing discernment and decision making. support of students and families who have had direct experience with the realities of COVID-19. faculty who carry heavy loads teaching…
With the country’s awakening to racial inequities, alumni have asked how they can help increase student diversity at EMS. Thanks to seed money planted nearly 30 years ago, a new Students of Color Scholarship is a way to help. The original endowment was established in the early 1990s to enable Laotian immigrant students at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church…
A global pandemic – paired with societal awakening about equity and division – forces a once- in-a-generation opportunity to evaluate what matters. For EMS, that has meant a chance to review everything from daily schedules to sacred traditions. A lot of the work we’ve done since March of 2020 has been painful. But as we move…
One of the sacred traditions that has evolved in the last 10 years, regardless of a global pandemic, is choral singing. Since 1917, singing together has been a key part of community building, worship, and academic excellence at EMS. Changing demographics and changing church practices bring a new era. “It’s no longer appropriate for me…
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…