We had an exciting year of curriculum enrichment programming for EMS!
See below for the fall 2025-2026 line up. Take a look back this winter for what additional programming we have in store for the spring!

FALL:

Grade 7
The Outsiders on Broadway
November 6, 2025 1pm show
We are excited to announce a special field trip to Broadway to see The Outsiders! This enrichment opportunity is made possible through a partnership between the PTA and the EMS GatorWalk. As part of their English curriculum, students will be reading The Outsiders in class, and this trip will deepen their understanding by bringing the novel to life on stage. Experiencing the themes, characters, and story in a live performance will enhance classroom discussions and learning. More details about dates, logistics, and permission slips will be shared soon—we can’t wait to offer this unique connection between literature and the arts!

Grade 6 & 7
Scott Driscoll, Internet Safety Concepts
November 12, 2025
After an over 30 year career in law enforcement, Mr. Driscoll founded Internet Safety Concepts and has been dedicated to helping families make safe online choices. His presentations teach students how to use technology safely while avoiding potential dangers of the internet, social media, and cyberbullying. Topics discussed include picture sharing, privacy settings, the concept of a “digital tattoo,” and popular apps including social networking.

Grade 7 & 8, and Parent Evening Presentation at 7pm

Dr. Mykee Fowlin
Date TBD

Through his creative, inspirational, and impactful performances, Dr. Mykee Fowlin takes audiences on an experiential journey, having them reexamine core precepts that were taught to us from as early on as 1st grade. He uses humor, performance art, poetry, storytelling, psychology, theatrical monologues, and his personal journey to create a moving experience for all who are open to this evolution.  Audiences leave his performances contemplating how they can be more accepting of their flaws and ultimately, embracing and/or forgiving the shortcomings of others. 

He encourages all age groups, from pre-teens to adults alike: “We are capable of transforming the world, for the good, but this work starts from within; it is the process of turning our hurt into self-reflection, healing, and then action. It is our simple, but intentional, behaviors where significant change takes place. The gesture of us smiling, acknowledging the existence of another, is as powerful as any other deed done in the world. Let us be like the oyster, turning our pain into something more valuable, but never forgetting the final piece in this transition. The value of the pearl takes place when someone else receives it, not if the oyster keeps it.”

This year, Mr. Fowlin returned in the evening to present to EMS parents.

WINTER:

Check back soon for new enrichment programming!

SPRING:

Grade 6

Outspoken Literacy Consultants in Residence
Date TBD

For over 20 years at EMS, the 6th grade has welcomed acclaimed authors and consultants, Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger. They enrich the English curriculum with their assembly and in class writing workshops for a whole week. They work with the students to develop complex thinking and the literacy skills they will need to succeed in the future and public speaking. 

Grade 6

3GNY We Educate Speaker Stacey Delikat & Hilary Daniels
Date TBD
Grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, Stacey and Hilary speak to the 6th graders to coordinate with their Social Studies unit on Europe and the Holocaust. They talk about how their grandparents survived Auschwitz and four other concentration camps. Holocaust education not only increases students’ historical knowledge but also develops students’ empathy, acceptance of diverse viewpoints and willingness to challenge intolerant behavior in others. With so few living survivors left, it's so important to keep these stories alive.

Grade 8

Holocaust Survivor Talk 
Date TBD
Jerry & Ellen Kaidanow along with their  daughter-in-law, also named Ellen, tell the story of "The Girl with Four Names" about Ellen Kaidanow's experience of being forced with her family into a Jewish ghetto in Ukraine when she was 5 years old and being rescued by a Christian woman who hid her for two years before sneaking her into Russia, followed by an orphanage in Poland before being sent to America.

Grade 6
Ballet Hispánico

Date TBD
Ballet Hispánico takes sixth graders on a guided journey through Latinx dance and culture. Music, cultural connections, choreography insights, and history will come together to deepen the audience's expreicen of dance, while learning about Latinx icons, such as Ceclia Cruz and Tito Puente.

Grade 7
Lost Boy and Educational Leader Gabriel Bol Deng

Date TBDBol Riiny, one of the Sudanese orphans known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, presents to 7th graders to coincide with their Social Studies unit on sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Riiny shares his story, providing students with a glimpse into his harrowing, thousand-mile journey from the frontlines of the brutal Second Sudanese Civil War to safety in the United States. Mr. Riiny recounted how, as an 8-year-old boy in 1990, he escaped after tanks and soldiers invaded his hometown. He traveled across harsh desert and jungle terrain from South Sudan to Ethiopia and Kenya. That journey led Mr. Riiny to be known as one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” a group of more than 20,000 Sudanese boys who were forced to escape or became orphans during the ongoing civil conflict, which lasted 22 years. 

Grade 6
SoundWaters Field Trip

Date TBD
SoundWaters Coastal Explorers program engages students in meaningful watershed science experiences. During this one-day field trip, students perform hands-on experiments that enhance critical thinking skills and offers STEM experiential learning opportunities in biology, geology and physical science. Coastal Explorers promotes a sense of connection and respect for the environment and the students’ community.

Grade 7
Alvin Ailey Percussion Lecture and Demonstration

Date TBD
Four members of Alvin Ailey demonstrate an introductory rhythm and movement presentation using percussion instruments.  Students learn about the basic rhythmic structure of indigenous music and the cultures that create it. This is an interactive presentation in which students are invited on stage to sample dance styles, and this coordinates with their Sub Saharan Africa unit in Social Studies.

For more information please contact Michelle O’Donnell or Heather Krauseneck.