CMIT South Elementary School

Dear CMIT South Elementary Families,

As we embrace the beautiful spring season and the promise it brings, I want to take a moment to encourage both our amazing students and their supportive parents. This time of year reminds us of growth, renewal, and the incredible potential within each of our scholars.

In honor of Autism Acceptance Month (April), I'm inspired by the words of Armani Williams, the first NASCAR driver with autism spectrum disorder, who once said: "Never let your challenges define your dreams. With determination and support, there are no limits to what you can achieve." Like Armani, our students show us daily that with passion and perseverance, extraordinary accomplishments are possible.#ActFearlessyForChange

Fearless Autistic NASCAR Driver, Armani Williams Raises Autism Awareness and Acceptance

I continue to be overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible welcome I've received as your new Principal at our PAWWW-Tastic CMIT South Elementary School. What an extraordinary privilege it is to be a part of this vibrant community! My commitment to each of you - students, parents, and staff is unwavering. I pledge to nurture, inspire, and champion our brilliant young scholars as they grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially throughout their educational journey. The enthusiasm and dedication I've witnessed already have been nothing short of inspiring. Together, we will reach new heights on our exciting STEM Journey to Success, creating an environment where innovation, curiosity, and excellence thrive!

To our families celebrating Eid al-Fitr, I extend warm wishes for a blessed celebration. May this special time bring you abundant joy, meaningful reflection, and cherished moments with loved ones.

Important Updates and Reminders for the Upcoming Week

• Monday, March 31st: School Closed in observance of Eid al-Fitr

• This is B-Week/Week 2. Please ensure your child follows their B-Week schedule for Creative Arts (CARTS) classes.

• NWEA MAP Assessments:

• April 1-4: Kindergarten through 2nd grade (Reading and Math)

• April 7-11: 3rd through 5th grade (Reading, Math, and Science)

• Please ensure your child gets adequate rest and eats a nutritious breakfast on testing days.

• April 1: Last day for Power Hour Tutoring

• April 2: National Paraprofessional Day Let's celebrate our Tiger-Tastic paraprofessionals: Ms. Day, Mrs. Gilbert, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Mamman, Ms. Price, and Mrs. Wright. Their dedication, flexibility, and tireless work with our students deserve our deepest appreciation. When you see them on April 2nd, please join me in giving them enthusiastic applause and our greatest Tiger Roar!

• April 3: Last day for clubs

• April 3: Drama and Chorus Club Presents "The Lion King" Assembly Mark your calendars for our talented students' performance of "The Lion King"! We will host two showings:

• Morning Show: 8:30 AM

• Mid-Morning Show: 9:45 AM A viewing link will be shared with all families the day before the performance. Don't miss this roaring showcase of our students' theatrical and musical talents!

• April 5: Last day for Saturday Academy

School Uniform Update

We are transitioning to our new school logo. Please note the following guidelines:

• All new incoming students must purchase uniforms with the new logo

• Current students may continue wearing uniforms with the old logo

• If purchasing new uniforms for the next school year, please select items with the new logo

Remarkable Parent Advocacy at PGCPS Board Meeting

I want to extend my deepest appreciation to our extraordinary CMIT parents and students who attended the Prince George's County Public Schools board meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Your presence, passion, and advocacy were nothing short of remarkable! The impact of our CMIT family was undeniable—our community dominated the proceedings with over 120 written testimonies, numerous public speakers, and an impressive turnout that filled the boardroom. Your collective voice resonated powerfully, demonstrating the strength and dedication of our school community.

This unified effort yielded tangible results: the Board passed a motion directing the Superintendent to collaborate with charter school leaders and present a comprehensive plan regarding Blueprint implementation and charter funding at their next meeting. This represents a significant step forward, and it would not have happened without your advocacy. This is what true community engagement looks like, and I, along with fellow CMIT administrators and the CEO of CLF Mr. Ak, could not be prouder of how our families came together to support our school and students. Your actions exemplify the values we hope to instill in our scholars: civic responsibility, passionate advocacy, and the power of collective action.

We Need Your Partnership!

Your support at home powerfully reinforces what we teach at school. Together, we can create the optimal environment for our scholars' success by:

1. Reviewing your expectations for your child's academic and social behavior

2. Praising our scholars for their excellent behavior at school

3. Reminding students to respect personal space and keep hands to themselves

4. Establishing consistent study time at home

5. Encouraging healthy outdoor activities after school

6. Maintaining open communication with teachers to identify solutions together

As we move forward this spring, remember that the STEM Journey Begins Here at CMIT South Elementary! Let's continue to fill this school year with exciting learning opportunities, personal growth, and impressive achievements for all our scholars. Every day brings new opportunities for growth, and your partnership in education makes a profound difference in our students' success. We thank you for making CMIT South Elementary a vibrant and supportive learning community. Together, we're creating meaningful experiences for our scholars! Remember, we can't continue this STEM journey without you!

Let's make this year a roaring success! 🦁📚

Wishing you all a 🐾 PawwRific 🐾 day, and see you all Tuesday, April 1, 2025!

With Tiger Pride,

Ms. Tauheedah N. Simmons-Lewis

Principal

Chesapeake Math & IT Academy Elementary South (CMIT)

This week I met with small groups to discuss the important concept of “walking in someone else’s shoes.” During these sessions, we explored what it means to consider the feelings and experiences of others, even when they may be different from our own.

Through thoughtful conversations, students shared examples of times when they showed empathy and reflected on moments when they wished others had understood their feelings. We discussed how practicing empathy—by listening, being patient, and trying to see things from another person’s perspective—helps strengthen friendships and creates a more caring school community.These group discussions gave students the opportunity to express their thoughts, ask questions, and consider how they can apply empathy in their daily interactions.

Grade Level Blurb:

Hello Kinder Families,

We have just completed the first full week of Spring. In Spring, many students have their allergies reawakened and sometimes it can be severe; if your scholar is one of those students and needs medication please remember to fill out a doctor’s form for medication to go to the nurse.

VOCABULARY PARADE: Friday, April 25, 2025.

Our third annual Vocabulary Parade is on its way! Soon, each student will pick a word, from the provided grade level vocabulary word list, to represent. Students are encouraged to make a costume, hat, or poster. Put your thinking caps on! How would you show the word ADRIFT? Or POROUS? or ZIGZAG? From A to Z, students will depict vocabulary words in a creative way. A “Costume Design Sheet” has been sent home to help your child plan his/her costume. Your child will be asked for their word, a definition, and a sketch of their costume. Thank you for helping us make vocabulary instruction into a Parade of Words!

We did send some lists home but if you are still looking for vocabulary terms they may be found at the links below. You can utilize one of these terms or be as creative as you would like.

MATH VOCAB K-12

ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS VOCAB K-12

Consider the opportunity to listen to a read aloud at the following link:

In-School Vocabulary Parades - Debra Frasier

As we are entering warmer weather please remember that Kindergarten's recess is early in the morning and students will still need coats. Also families, please have your scholar’s shoes tied when they come to school and continue to assist your scholar in their efforts of learning to tie their shoes independently. Students should have a school approved sweater or jacket to wear in the classroom, in case they get chilly.

Exciting news please save the date for our next planned out of school field trip. The next field trip should take place on May 23, 2025 and will have students learn and explore the National History Museum in DC.

Dates to Remember:

March 31: No School

April 3: End of 3rd Quarter

April 4: 3hr early dismissal

April 7-8: MAP Testing

April 11: LAst day before Spring Break

April 14-21: Spring Break

April 25: 4th Annual CMIT: Vocabulary Parade

April 25: Save the Date: In school Field trip- Science Show

May 23: Save the Date: Field Trip to the DC National History Museum

Reading Updates:

UNIT 3- Week 4: The Best Story

Essential Question: Why do we like certain kinds of stories?

• Phonological Awareness: Initial and Final Sounds; Segment and Blend Phonemes

Blend and Segment: Onset and Rime

• Phonics:Vowel sounds - short a (/a/) and long a (/a_e/)

• High-frequency words: away, give, little

• Story Vocabulary: castle, pretend, explorer, adventure

• Unit Vocabulary: choose, explain, meaning, character

Learning Goals:

• Learn about different types of stories

• Visualize details from a story

• Syllables and compound words

• Find details in a text

• Capitalization for the beginning of a sentence

• Possessive pronouns

• Prepositions, adjectives, and articles

• Organize the story element: character, setting, plot

Math Updates:

Topic 8: More Addition and Subtraction

Essential Understanding: What types of situations involve subtraction? What types of situations involve addition?

• Show numbers in many way

• Express smaller parts of a bigger number with actions

• Represent subtraction as taking away from numbers up to 10

• Represent addition as combining more up to 10

• Recognize the family numbers for addition and subtraction

• Practice using an addition and subtraction equation

• Show addition and subtraction using number lines, ten frames and pictures

• Vocabulary:

Vocabulary: minus, take away, equal sign, take apart, left over, patterns

Science Updates:

TOPIC 4 LESSON 2: Weather Patterns

Essential Question: How do different weathers affect Earth?

• Learn how the relationship between the temperature and the type weather that happens

• Discover different how weather can be different in different locations

• Describe how the weather affects what people weather

• Observe the relationship between the weather and the sky

Vocabulary: pattern

Social Studies Updates:

Chapter 4 Introduction and Quest introduction: Geography of the Neighborhood

Essential Question- What is the world like?

• Understand different places and areas that are around us

• Look into the into a map as a tool

• Analyze how we interact with jobs that help the community and the location of places

Vocabulary: street, community, neighbors, map, neighborhood

Health Updates:

April Topic: Getting Sick

• Describe what it means to be healthy, sick and why is it is important to stay well

• Encourage confidence in knowing how to show concern for others that might be sick

• Demonstrate respect for our bodies and encourage others to practice proper hygiene.

• Explain what is medicine what is not medicine, the explore the consequences of taking medicine not meant for you

Vocabulary: well, medicine, healthy, sick, ill, safety rules

Grade Level Blurb:

Testing season is here. Scholars will be taking their MAP Assessments this week starting on April 2, 2025. Friday April 4th will be a three hour early dismissal.

Reading Updates:

Scholars finished Unit 3 and have tested. Unit 4 will start on Tuesday.

Math Updates:

Students have taken their Topic Assessment and will prepare for the next unit which will be time and money.

Social Studies Updates:

Scholars will continue to learn the relationship between producers and consumers.

Science Updates:

Students will finish up their current units and prepare to test.

Greetings Fourth Grade Family,

I hope this message finds you warmly. We have made it to the last week of the 3rd Quarter. We have seen a lot of growth and changes in our scholars this past quarter. As we bring a close to this school year we have many testing days now between the end of the school year. Please replenish your scholar’s school supplies such as journals, pencils, coloring materials, scissors, and glue.

We ask that you continue to talk with your student nightly about glow and grows from their day at school. We are helping students to be more reflective about their days and ways they can make improvements. Students have been given their Vocabulary Parade packets. Please see messages on Classdojo regarding your scholar’s classes participation in the parade. As we bring a close to the third quarter, please ensure that you are viewing all updates from the school through Classdojo.

The character trait of the month of April is Ambition. Students will have lessons in class around having ambition and striving to reach their goals. Ways you can help is to share with your scholar times when you have shown ambition and drive to reach your goals. Please continue to read to get updates and important information from Fourth Grade.

Thank you for your continuing support and partnership.

Warm regards,

4th Grade Team

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday March 31, 2025- School Closed Eid al-Fitr

• Friday April 4, 2025- 3 Hour Early Dismissal

• MAP Reading Monday April 7, 2025

• MAP Math Tuesday April 8, 2025

• MAP Science Wednesday April 9, 2025

• Spring Break Monday April 14- Monday April 21, 2025

• Vocabulary Parade Friday April 25, 2025

Uniforms:

We are a uniform school. Students must be in the proper uniform each and every day. Students are expected to have mostly black shoes. They may wear a navy blue or school logo jacket or pullover during class. Students will be asked to remove any jacket or sweater that is not following the uniform policy.

Fourth Grade Reminders:

i-Ready:

i-Ready is a computer based math and reading program that is available for all of our scholars. Scholars have completed their diagnostics and are working on programs based on their areas of need. If scholars have access to a computer at home, we recommend that your scholar is getting at least 45 minutes of practice a week in both reading and math. Please encourage your child to complete lessons and ensure they complete the lessons independently to accurately improve their skills. i-Ready is accessed through clever.pgcps.org, and scholars will use their PGCPS logins to access the program.

Absences:

This is a friendly reminder that late work is only accepted if a student has an excused absence! If a scholar is absent and does not bring a note they will earn a 0 on the assignment that was missed. Please read the reminders to ensure that you are partnering with your scholars to make them successful for school. If a scholar leaves early or arrives late to school and it is not excused they will earn a 0 for all work that is not completed.

If your scholar is absent, please share a note with the homeroom teacher and attendance managers within 3 days of your scholar returning back to school. In order for students to receive make-up work you must provide a note stating; the student’s name, the date of absence, and reason for absence. Work is provided to students upon their return to school with an absence note.

Communications:

Students must bring their agenda book each day. Teachers will note the agenda book and it should be signed nightly by the adult at home.

Please allow up to 48 business hours for all responses to emails and Classdojo messages. Teachers are not actively monitoring their emails during the day because we are engaged in instruction. Emails are not monitored over the weekend or in the evening hours when teachers have gone home. If the message sent relates to dismissal changes please call the school directly to leave a message with the front office.

Grading:

Please check Synergy weekly to see scholar’s updated grades. Canvas is a Learning Management System in which scholars utilize to complete assignments and get access to materials.The grades provided in Synergy are those that will be used to calculate progress reports and report cards.

Parent Teacher Conferences:

Conferences with teachers are available with families as needed. Please reach out to the homeroom teacher about scheduling a parent teacher conference.

Reading Updates:

All texts that are being read in the classroom are also available for students to reread at home in their Vol. 2 textbooks. Please have students continue to read and discuss with you information that they find in the text. Students should always read a portion of the text and share any thoughts or questions they had while reading. Students should also note the text underlining, circling, and highlighting parts of the story that were important to know. Homework continues to be sent home on a weekly basis on the first day of the week.

This Week: This week we work on the skill of point of view by looking at two fiction stories “Weslandia” and “The Circuit.” In both stories we looked at how the narrator point of view reveals the character's feelings and thoughts. Students were able to compare and contrast the points of view given across both stories. Students also wrote about how the themes were similar across both stories and supported it with details from the text.

Next Week: Next week students will revisit poetry. April is Poetry month and students will practice writing different poetry styles. As we continue to explore, students will spend time working on figurative language. Figurative language is what helps writers create meaning and visuals in the mind of readers. Students will create their poems and be able to share out their poems with others.

Math Updates:

This week we will continue with “Topic 5: Using Strategies and Properties to Divide by 1-Digit Numbers”;(4.OA.A.3 and 4.NBT.B.6). Our essential questions for this topic are, How can mental math be used to divide? How can quotients be estimated? How can the steps for dividing be explained?

This topic focuses on solving multi-step word problems using division strategies. Some of the core vocabulary terms for this topic are: quotient, dividend, divisor and remainder. At home, please continue practicing with basic math facts focused on multiplication and division to support math fluency and the computation strategies for this topic.

Reminder: IXL Action Plan Challenge going on for the month of March! Please encourage your child to practice their IXL skill plans at home before the end of the month of March to receive their Scholarship reward. Nex Friday is the last day to turn in completed Action Plans for our challenge.

Please check Synergy ParentVue and Canvas with your scholar to ensure the completion of assignments.

Test Prep: Preparing for MCAP Testing

Parents and Guardians,

As we prepare for state testing and continue building strong math skills, we wanted to recommend two great resources that can support your child’s learning at home:

Math Tool Kit (Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/jlwZJbI)

4th Grade Common Core Math Quick Study Guide (Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/0Gy4Igw)

Both are fantastic tools that break down key math concepts, reinforce skills, and align with what we are learning in class. These resources can help students review and practice at home while also preparing for the MCAP.

If you’re looking for an easy way to boost your child’s confidence in math, these are great options! Let us know if you have any questions.

MCAP Practice Tests:

Math- https://support.mdassessments.com/practice-tests/math/

Reading- https://support.mdassessments.com/practice-tests/english/

Thank you for your continued support!

Science Updates:

This week we closed Topic 3: Waves and Information. Our focus for this topic was developing models and describing the patterns of waves, and to be able to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen. The core vocabulary terms for this topic are: wavelength, amplitude, crest, traverse, reflect, transfer and frequency. Next week, students will take a Topic Evaluation on identifying the properties and different types of waves.

Please check Synergy ParentVue and Canvas with your scholar to ensure completion of assignments

Social Studies Updates:

This week: Students read the text "What is the Economy?" and explain how economies exist to satisfy people's needs and wants, demonstrating an understanding of how resources are allocated to meet these demands.

Next week: Students will read the text “Trade and Markets” and explain how businesses supply goods and services to match demand and supply.

Fifth Grade Newsflash:

We hope everyone is enjoying the start of spring! Just a reminder—there is no school on Monday. We’ll see our amazing students back on Tuesday, ready to learn and grow! Here’s a look at what’s happening across our fifth grade classrooms:

Reading Update:

Students are diving into stories and identifying themes—the big ideas behind the text. We’re also sharpening our grammar skills, with a focus on verbs.

Math Updates:

• Ms. Jenkins’ Class: Wrapping up Topic 8: Multiplying Fractions. Students are applying their skills to real-world word problems—ask them to show you how!

• Ms. Lewis’ Class: Finishing Topic 7: Adding Fractions. Students are gaining confidence with fraction models.

Science Update:

• Ms. Jenkins’ Class: We’re exploring patterns in space. Students just completed an exciting investigation lab that demonstrated how Earth’s gravity pulls all objects toward it—no matter the size!

• Ms. Lewis’ Class: Students are learning about recycling and why it’s important for our planet. Ask them how they can help reduce waste at home!

Social Studies:

We’re learning about The U.S. Constitution—what it is, why it was created, and how it shapes our government today.

Health:

We’re finishing our unit on saying no to drugs. Students are learning strategies to make safe and healthy choices.

Looking Ahead:

Our students are getting ready for the MAP Growth assessments, and we’re so proud of their progress!

General CARTS Message:

Please remember to check your student's Canvas assignments and Synergy grades regularly. As they do complete work for grades in CARTS classes on Canvas.

2024-2025 School Calendar

School Meals

School Violence Resources and Support

PGCPS TV

CMIT South ES Enrichment Program

Vendor Managed Child Care

Parent Handbook

Students’ Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.

Synergy ParentVUE Support for Parents and Guardians