Term 1 Ends Make Up Pictures
Life After Middle School: Are you a parent of an 8th grade student? Don’t miss the “Life After Middle School” parent night on Wednesday, November 1, from 7-9 PM at the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater at Frederick Community College. Come learn about many opportunities that will be available to your child both in high school and beyond. Our goal is that all students leave High School College and career ready. Hear representatives speak about FCPS high school programs and graduation requirements, Career & Technology Center opportunities, community college and four-year college options, military opportunities, and college savings programs. Interested in investing an evening to gather information which will allow you to better support your child in the many decisions that lie ahead? Call 301-624-2716 to RSVP today. • Turkey Bowl: PBIS - Turkey Bowl is fast approaching!! The scheduled date is Friday, November 17. 6th graders will have their play-off and championship game during periods 6/7; 7th graders will play during periods 3/4; 8th graders will play during periods 1/2. In order to allow for 8th graders to play at the end of the day and have their championship game with staff, we are changing the day's schedule, which will run as follows: 6, 7, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2.
We would love to have parent volunteers!
We also need donations of small bags of chips/snacks. Please bring those to the front office anytime in the next 3 weeks, and let the front office know they are for the Turkey Bowl. We need 590 snack bags--THANK YOU in advance for bringing in snack bags!!
If you have any questions or want to help, please email Sharon Marconi at sharon.marconi@fcps.org.
• Yearbook Orders: The time is now to pre-order your CMS yearbook. Orders will only be taken online. Secure your copy at the lowest possible price by visiting the link and paying online - http://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1466632/Crestwood-Middle-School/?? • Term Ends: This is simply and early head-up regarding end of the term. The term ends on November 9th - report card will be issued on November 21st. • Spirit Week: CMS is participating in a Spirit Week below is what you can expect. o Monday: Wear Pink o Tuesday: Costume Day (absolutely no masks, blood, face paint, or weapons – keep it clean and have fun. o Wednesday: Wacky Tacky Day – dress your worst. o Thursday: Pajama Day (must wear shoes – no slippers) o Friday: Jersey Day – sports attire to support your favorite team(s).
Blended learning ~ Students in 6th and 7th grade math classes are regularly experiencing blended learning in their math classes. In blended learning teachers plan engaging lessons with the use of technology to help facilitate a personalized learning experience for students. At times this means that students will be in a whole-group lessons guided by the teacher. At other times this means students may be working independently on their Chromebooks exploring a skill through video and practice. There are still other times when students are working collaboratively to problem-solve and engage with skills in more advanced ways. Sometimes students will be flexibly grouped within and between classes based on their learning needs and strengths. Our teachers use formative assessments like pre-assessments, exit tickets, split tickets, classroom observation and student requests to determine these learning needs and strengths and use them to help match students with the most appropriate learning experience. As we continue with this journey, we encourage all students and parents to reach out with any questions and feedback they may have. Do not hesitate to contact your child's math teacher or our math specialist, Stacey Sisler (stacey.sisler@fcps.org) any time.
TenMarks ~ We are excited to once again be using the TenMarks resource with students. This program provides students with rigorous and well-aligned practice for our curricular standards. Within each assignment, students also have access to hints and videos if they need support with figuring out a problem. Many students are familiar with this program from last year, but we'd like to take a moment to remind students of some good habits when completing TenMarks: • ALWAYS have paper and pencil handy . . . some problems require multiple steps to solve and it can be difficult to keep all of that information in your head. • ACCESS hints and videos for support . . . it doesn't look bad if you have to use hints and videos. On the contrary, using the supports built into the program shows your teacher that you are able to advocate for yourself and that you are able to seek out appropriate resources when you are stuck - all good habits to have. • REDO the assignment if an amplifier is given . . . if you score below the threshold score (usually 80%) and amplifier will be given. Use that opportunity to review and redo the assignment. We learn a lot from our mistakes, so trying again is definitely a learning opportunity. • TURN IT IN . . . some students are missing TenMarks assignments because they are incomplete. Please work hard to meet the deadlines your teachers establish for your TenMarks assignments. TenMarks can always be completed at home if it is not finished at school. 6th grade ~ Currently students are finishing their study of decimal operations and will be moving into fraction division. This will complete their second unit for the year. As we move into term 2, students will begin to explore signed numbers (positive and negative numbers) and absolute value.
7th grade ~ Students in 7th grade math just finished unit 2 where the focus was on proportional relationships and its application with many types of percent problems. The next unit of study will take 7th graders into operations with positive and negative numbers, specifically adding and subtracting positive and negative whole numbers, decimals, and fractions.
7th Accelerated ~ These students are nearing the end of their second unit of the year. This unit focused on 8th grade skills related to squares, cubes, square roots, cube roots, rational and irrational numbers and the Pythagorean Theorem. The next unit of study will focus on properties of exponents and scientific notation.
8th grade ~ 8th grade students are in the middle of their study of functions and proportional relationships represented in a variety of ways. This unit is foundational for high school mathematics including Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. It is also foundational for upcoming units on linear equations and systems of equations.
Algebra ~ Algebra students have been working on recognizing linear and nonlinear functions in unit 2 of algebra. The last skill for this unit is transforming linear functions, which is a skill that will later be transferred to many different non-linear functions. The next unit will be an in-depth focus on linear equations.
6th grade scientists are studying the effects on genetics and environmental factors on how an organism grows. 7th grade scientists are using the Periodic Table to draw Bohr atom models to determine if the atoms will bond or not and to see shy they will or will not bond. 7th grade scientists are developing models of sound, electromagnetic, and light waves.
Life Skills classes are participating in Kids Helping Kids Food Drive. Donations can be dropped off in the front office or to Mrs. Ritz’s room. Prizes will be awarded to the student who donates the most items. Please do not send expired or dented cans.
Visual Arts; 6th grade: art students are working on Mandala's from India. They are using mixed media to paint and enhance their drawings. 7th grade: art students are working on Gauguin paintings using tempera paint. They drew one of his paintings onto a grid and then they made a color map for painting. 8th grade: is working on an extended optical illusion project using their own image and their own photos of hands. The students are using all of the optic art they have practiced over the term.
Music department; Students in the band, orchestra and choir are rehearsing for their upcoming concert on November 16, 2017 at 6:30pm in the CMS cafeteria. Musicians are working on various music ranging from classical, holiday, and modern. We are looking forward to another great Cavalier performance!
The CAVS (Cavaliers with Academic and Vocational Success) program is a grant funded program for first-generation higher education students. These are students whose parents did not attend and graduate from a 2 or 4 year college/university or a technical school. The program allows 15 students per grade to participate. Students must maintain exemplary school attendance and passing grades. There are several components of the program: 1. Campus visits-We will take one visit every other month to various university and technical school campuses. My goal is that the students can begin to see the options available to them. 2. Parent nights- Parent commitment to the program is crucial. I will hold 2 events this year to discuss the program and provide resources for ways to support your child at home. 3. Curriculum-students will participate in a College and Career Readiness curriculum during a bi-monthly TEE time lesson. We will focus on everything from test taking strategies to financial planning and career research. 4. Tutoring-Students will be offered afterschool tutoring on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 5. Business Partnerships- We will take visits to local businesses to expose the students to careers in the area.
If your child is a first generation higher education learner and you are interested in your child participating, please email Cathy Kazio, school counselor at Cathleen.kazio@fcps.org or call her at 240-566-9024.
6th/7th Grade: writing letters to American soldiers. They will send to an actual person serving overseas. Students are enjoying expressing themselves to these folks and are intrigued that the letters will reach the service people. This is an example of Service Learning for our 6th and 7th grade students.
o Parents of Frederick High School Bound Class of 2022!
o On October 10th, representatives from Frederick High LYNX (Linking Youth to New Experiences) came to meet with students who are zoned for FHS. They introduced the LYNX program and flexible school schedules and asked students to begin completing their “Personal Story”, which you can find in your child’s Google Classroom. This will help LYNX staff create experiences and programming to fit the needs of the Class of 2022. LYNX staff will return to CMS in January to continue talking with students about getting ready for high school!
o On Tuesday, October 31st, trained business volunteers will speak on behalf of the Maryland Scholars Speakers Bureau to all 8th grade social studies classes. This year our guests will be David Harbourt from USAMRIID Ft. Detrick and Christopher Carter from the Internal Revenue Service. They will be speaking to our students about the correlation between school achievement and success in the workplace. They will stress the importance of taking rigorous classes in high school, doing well in school, and preparing for their futures. Be sure to ask your student about this presentation after school on Tuesday!
The counseling department will be offering several groups this Fall. Upcoming group topics include: • Grief group-This is appropriate for students who have experienced a loss to a close family friend or relative. The group will meet for 6-8 weeks • Changing families-This is appropriate for students who have/are experiencing a change in the family due to separation/divorce/blended families • Stress Management-This is appropriate for students who feel overwhelmed by school
If you have a child who would benefit from one of these groups, please contact your child’s counselor. Grade 6-Debra.jefferson@fcps.org Grade 7- Cathleen.kazio@fcps.org Grade 8-Kelly.greenberg@fcps.org