The Tiger Times

Dear CMIT South Families, Community Partners, and Scholars,

We hope this message finds you well! To our families, thank you for your flexibility this week. To our community partners, thank you for continuing to support our Tiger family. And to our scholars, you've had a great start to the year, and we're excited for all that's ahead. Let's keep pushing forward together!

Our Character Word of the Month for September is Respectfulness, and it's a great one to keep close as we move through the year:

"Speak and act in ways that show others they are being heard." — Roy T. Bennett

Let's continue modeling respect for one another, in our words, our actions, and how we listen; both at school and at home.

⛈️ A Quick Update as We Start Week Three

We're now in our third week of school, having completed 8 school days together. We did have a surprise day off on Friday, September 4th due to the severe storm that moved through our area, bringing power outages and fallen trees across the community. We hope every one of our families made it through safely, and our thoughts are with anyone still dealing with the aftermath. Please don't hesitate to reach out if your family needs support.

🚗 Heading Into Week Three: A Quick Reminder

As we move into our third week, please continue to follow all arrival and dismissal guidelines and protocols to help keep our scholars safe and our mornings and afternoons running smoothly.

👵👴 Grandparents Day & Special Friends Celebration — Date Change

Please note: our Grandparents Day & Special Friends Celebration, originally scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2026, has been rescheduled to Monday, September 14, 2026, from 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM. We're looking forward to honoring our grandparents with light refreshments and a photo opportunity with their grandchild(ren).

Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 3:00 PM using the link below: RSVP Here

📅 Coming Up: Back to School Night

Mark your calendars — we can't wait to see you!

• September 9 — Kindergarten through 2nd Grade, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

• September 10 — 3rd through 5th Grade, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

• Location: Student classrooms

• This event offers a valuable opportunity for you to connect with your child's teacher and gain insights into the curriculum for the year. Upon arrival, you'll be directed to your child's classroom, with staff and our girl scouts available to guide you if needed. Each teacher will give a 40-minute presentation about the exciting learning journey ahead for your child and ways you can actively participate in their education. If you have multiple children at our school, you'll have the opportunity to rotate to another classroom for a second presentation. For those with only one child attending, you're welcome to leave after the first presentation or visit the gym to see tutoring companies, PTO’s Gently used uniform sale, sign-up for transportation, and Patriot’s STEM program.

• Parking: Given the popularity of this event, we kindly ask for your patience and cooperation with parking. Please use available spaces first. Once full, cars should park in the 1st and 2nd lanes, keeping the 3rd lane clear for exiting vehicles.

📋 Action Required: Essential Digital Forms

If you haven't already, please complete the following forms as soon as possible so we have everything we need to support and protect your scholar this year:

• ✅ Emergency Contact and Pick-Up List

• ✅ SY26-27 Student Publicity Release Form

• ✅ Parent Compact Form

• ✅ Free and Reduced Lunch Application

Wishing everyone a safe and STEMTastic week three, Tigers!

Warmly,

Dr. Tauheedah N. Simmons-Lewis

Your PAWW-rific Principal

CMIT South Elementary School

Home of the STEMTastic Tigers 🐯

💙 Counseling Referral Information

We’re Here to Support Our Students!

As part of our commitment to supporting the academic, social, emotional, and personal growth of every student, our school counseling team is available to help students navigate challenges they may experience at school or at home.

Families and staff may submit a counseling referral when they believe a student could benefit from additional support. Once a referral is submitted, the Counseling Department will review the information and determine the most appropriate next steps and level of support for the student.

Please use the Counseling Referral Form below to share your concerns with the school counseling team.

COUNSELING REFERRAL

Thank you for partnering with us to help every student feel supported, connected, and ready to learn!

Grade Level Blurb:

Welcome to the CMIT Family! We are so happy to have met you all at our orientation and we have enjoyed working with your scholars during our first week of school. We have a few friendly reminders to help make the transition to Kindergarten much easier for your family and the teachers.

• Please make sure you have sent in an extra pair of clothing (bottoms, shirt, socks, and underwear

• Always communicate with teachers when your child will be absent and be sure to fill out the absence form

• Send in a refillable water bottle to school daily

• Label all lunchboxes, water bottles, jackets, and Navy blue CMIT sweaters/fleeces. This is a MUST in order to properly find lost items.

• Communication is key! Thank you for messaging with important questions and updates.

• We will continue practicing routines and procedures for the next few weeks as students are becoming more acclimated with the classroom environment.

Reading:

UNIT 1 WEEK 1- Going Places

Essential Question- What makes a place special?

WEEK 1- How does imagination make a place seem different?

• Phonological awareness: Initial and Final

• Sounds; Recognize Alliteration

• Phonics: Consonants Mm and Tt

• High-Frequency Words: I , am , the

• Spelling words found in weekly readings: cube, circle, triangle square

• Unit Vocabulary: map, move, land, special

Learning Goals:

• Talk with others about what makes a place special.

• Read realistic fiction and understand its elements

• Demonstrate phonological awareness.

• Listen actively and ask questions to understand information.

• Use text evidence to discuss characters in literary text.

Math:

TOPIC 1 LESSON 1- Numbers 0 to 5

• Count 1, 2, and 3 objects.

• Counting tells how many are in a group, regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.

• Understand that counting is cumulative.

• There is a unique symbol that goes with each number word.

• Vocabulary: count, one, two, three, four, five, number

Science:

TOPIC 1 LESSON 1- Pushes and Pulls

Essential Question: What happens if you push or pull an object?

• I can observe how objects move

• Thinking of ways to make an object move

• Tell how a push and pull make something move

Vocabulary: push, pull

Social Studies:

CHAPTER 1 LESSON 1- Where we learn

• Identify ways children act at school

• Recognize why people share and make good choices

• Analyze what it means to take turns

Vocabulary: school, learn, choices

Health:

SEPTEMBER TOPIC: How to Stay Safe

• Understanding safety rules at home and school

• Acknowledging safety helpers at home, school, and community

Vocabulary: stay, safe, helpers, danger, emergency

📝Grade Level Blurb:

Dear First Grade Families,

We are excited to welcome you to another wonderful week of learning! This week marks the beginning of our first grade curriculum, and we are looking forward to diving into new skills, exciting lessons, and meaningful learning experiences with our scholars.

📌 Important Reminders:

• 🎒 All About Me Bag: Now DUE Tuesday, September 8th. We can’t wait for our scholars to share a little more about themselves with the class!

• 🔤 Spelling Bingo: This will now be DUE Thursday, September 10th.

• ➕ Math Homework: Students should be working, nightly, on their math homework packet. Be sure to check your teacher’s weekly digital agenda regularly for important assignments, due dates, reminders, and upcoming events.

• 💻 Charged Chromebooks: Students should bring their Chromebook to school every day. It is imperative that Chromebooks are fully charged at home each night so students are prepared to participate in learning activities throughout the school day. Even if your scholar’s Chromebook has not yet been completely set up, please begin sending it to school daily tomorrow. We encourage families to make charging the Chromebook each night part of your scholar’s regular bedtime routine.

• 📝 iReady assessments will begin on Wednesday, September 9th. All students will need a fully charged chromebook, WIRED headphones, and a good night's sleep! This will be the first of several baseline assessments yielding important information related to your scholar's current academic ability. Please support their success by providing the above mentioned items and ensuring they are at school on time and ready.

Mrs. Valera's Weekly Digital Agenda

Mrs. Matthew's Weekly Digital Agenda

Ms. Torrence's Weekly Digital Agenda

Ms. Garrett's Weekly Digital Agenda

Thank you for your continued support as we begin this exciting academic journey together. We are looking forward to a fantastic week of learning, growing, and achieving in first grade!

With appreciation,

The First Grade Team

Reading Updates:

Unit 1 Week 1

This week, students are working through Unit 1 of MyView Literacy by exploring the elements of realistic fiction through engaging stories such as “Trash on the Trail” and “The Blackout.” Students are working to identify characters, setting, and key events, while practicing retelling, identifying important details, and making connections.

🏠 How Can Families Help at Home?

Families can support learning by reading stories together and talking about the elements of realistic fiction. Ask your child to identify the characters, setting, problem, and important events in the story. Encourage them to think about whether the events could really happen in real life. You can also ask questions like, “What makes this story realistic?” or “How do you know?” 📖✨

Phonics & Spelling

This week in Phonics, students will continue to review words with the short /a/ sound as well as words with the /m/, /s/, and /t/ sounds. Our spelling words, this week, are the following: am, at, mat, sat, and Sam.

We will also review the following high-frequency words: see, a, is, his, and I. High-frequency words are words that appear often in books and everyday reading. Sometimes, these words follow regular spelling patterns and can be sounded out. Other times, they have irregular spelling patterns that must be memorized. We call these spelling patterns “heart parts” because students must know them by heart. Learning these words helps students recognize them quickly and read more smoothly and confidently.

We will have a spelling test on Thursday!

Math Updates:

Topic 1

This week, students will continue to build on their Kindergarten learning about addition and subtraction. We’ll strengthen our understanding by exploring different types of problems, including adding to, putting together, taking away, taking apart, and comparing.

We sent home a home-school connection letter, giving more information on what your scholar can expect to learn. Additional information on this topic can also be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Cts1PLevdwpcSPVkIgdxjE7oIjN0uzPh/view?usp=sharing

🏠 How Can Families Help at Home?

Families can support learning by practicing addition and subtraction in everyday situations. Ask your child simple questions such as, “If we have 5 apples and add 2 more, how many do we have?” or “We have 8 crayons and take away 3. How many are left?” Encourage your child to draw pictures, use objects, or explain their thinking to solve problems. You can also practice comparing groups by asking, “Which group has more? Which has fewer?”

Science Updates:

Our first graders are working through Topic 1 in Science, where we are observing and investigating light and sound! Students are exploring where light and sound come from, making observations, asking questions, and investigating how they interact with the world around us.

🏠 How Can Families Help at Home?
Encourage your child to be a scientist at home! Look for different sources of light and sound, discuss what they notice, and ask questions such as, “What do you see?” “What do you hear?” and “What do you think will happen?” You can even explore how sounds change when objects are tapped, shaken, or plucked. 🔎✨

Social Studies Updates:

This week, students will begin Chapter 1 in Social Studies, where they will learn what it means to be a good citizen and explore how our community and government work together. Students will learn about rights and responsibilities, rules and laws, community leaders, and the role of government. They will also practice important skills such as distinguishing fact from fiction, solving problems, and making thoughtful choices.

🏠 How Families Can Help at Home?

Talk with your child about ways your family members can be good citizens. Discuss rules, responsibilities, and why we have laws, and encourage your child to share examples of how they can help make their classroom, school, and community a better place.

Health Updates:

Students began our monthly issue, “Keeping Our Great Body Safe.” Students are learning simple, age-appropriate ways to make safe choices, protect themselves, and take care of their bodies at school, at home, and in their community.

🏠 How Families Can Help at Home?

Families can help by talking with their child about making safe choices at home and in the community. Discuss important safety habits such as knowing trusted adults, following rules, using objects safely, and knowing what to do in an emergency. Encourage your child to explain why safety rules are important and practice safe choices together during everyday activities.

Grade Level Blurb:

We have officially completed 8 out of our 180 days of school, and we are moving right along! 🚀 Our scholars are doing a fantastic job adjusting to our daily routines.

Here are a few quick and important updates to keep us moving toward a successful school year:

📁 Daily Communication Folders Scholars are now using their green daily communication folders, which include their behavior chart/calendar. Please be sure to check and review this folder with your child every single day!

📚 Homework Update Due to some unforeseen resource shifts, we are revamping our homework system! Instead of sending home weekly reading, spelling, and math paper packets, homework will now be available online. Keep an eye out for more details soon as we finalize an organized system that works best for our second-grade community.

💻 Chromebooks & Daily Preparation ⚡ Now that we have dived deep into our curriculum, it is crucial that your child brings a fully charged Chromebook to school every day.

• Limited Loaners: The school has a very limited supply of backup Chromebooks to borrow. They are handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, so scholars without their devices may be left unprepared for learning.

• IT Programming Required: To set all of our scholars up for success, their devices must be programmed by our school's IT Department. We are unable to access necessary lessons or assignments on unprogrammed Chromebooks, which will directly impact grades—and we definitely want to avoid that!

🎃 First Field Trip Planning: Pumpkin Patch! 🚜 We are currently in the works of planning our very first field trip of the year to the pumpkin patch! If you are interested in joining us as a parent chaperone, please make sure you complete all required background check steps according to the PGCPS volunteer requirements. Once you have completed all the necessary steps, please follow up directly with Ms. Reese in the main office so we can get you on our list!

Thank you so much for your partnership, flexibility, and support as we set our scholars up for an amazing year! 🌟

Reading Updates:

We have officially dived into our second-grade reading curriculum! Scholars have been introduced to our first genre, Realistic Fiction, as we explore and answer our big essential question: "How does our community affect us?"

You can help reinforce this learning at home! As you go about your daily routines and travel through your neighborhood, take a moment to talk with your scholar about the different places in your community and why each one is important. Connecting these real-world conversations to what we are reading in class makes a bi

Math Updates:

In math, scholars are hard at work solving addition and subtraction equations within 20! We are focusing on using multiple strategies to build strong mental math and problem-solving skills.

How to help at home:

As you go about your daily routines, challenge your scholar to solve simple addition and subtraction problems! Ask them to explain how they found their answer and encourage them to show off different strategies, such as:

• ➕ Doubles Plus One (e.g., for $6 + 7$, think $6 + 6 = 12$, then add $1$ more to get $13$)

• 🔟 Making a Ten (e.g., for $8 + 5$, take $2$ from the $5$ to make $10$, then add the remaining $3$ to get $13$)

Talking through these strategies together helps build confidence and deepens their math understanding! 🔢 Dynamic math games or quick mental math warm-ups are great ways to keep it fun!

Science Updates:

We are kicking off an exciting new science unit where scholars are discovering the three main states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases! They are learning how everything around us is made of matter and how objects can change from one state to another.

No-Prep Activities to Try at Home:

• 🧊 Ice Melt Race (Solid to Liquid): Put an ice cube on a plate or in a bowl and watch it melt into water! Talk about how heating a solid (ice) turns it into a liquid (water). Bonus challenge: Put it back in the freezer to show how cooling turns a liquid back into a solid!

• 🔍 State of Matter Scavenger Hunt: Give your scholar 60 seconds to find 1 solid (like a book or a toy), 1 liquid (like juice or milk), and point out 1 gas (like the air in a balloon or steam coming off a warm bath/cooking pot).

• 🫧 Bubble Blower Fun (Gases in Action): If you have bubbles or even just dish soap and water, blow a few bubbles together! Ask your scholar what state of matter is trapped inside the bubble (air/gas).

Connecting science to everyday household items makes learning stick! Have fun exploring together! 🌟

Social Studies Updates:

While we are currently waiting on a few of our official social studies curriculum resources to arrive, we aren't letting that stop our learning! We are jumping right into our first topic: Family: Past and Present. Scholars will be exploring how families live today compared to how families lived long ago, including traditions, technology, and daily life.

Fun Ways to Jumpstart Learning at Home:

• 📸 Look at Old Family Photos: Pull out a photo album or scroll through old pictures on your phone! Show your scholar photos of parents, grandparents, or relatives when they were younger. Talk about what was different—from clothing and hairstyles to the cars and houses.

• 🗣️ Share a Family Story or Tradition: Tell your scholar a story about your favorite childhood memory, a game you loved playing at their age, or a tradition that has been passed down through generations in your family.

• 📜 Compare Then and Now: Pick an everyday object (like a phone, TV, or stove) and ask your scholar how they think families used or did that same task long ago without modern technology (e.g., writing letters instead of texting!).

Connecting history to your own family stories makes social studies come alive! Thank you for helping us launch this unit at home! 🌟

Health Updates:

This month, our class is learning all about important ways to keep ourselves safe both inside and outside of the home! From practicing basic household safety rules to staying alert while playing outside, we are building habits that help scholars stay happy, healthy, and safe.

Quick & Easy Activities to Support This at Home:

• 🚪 Practice Your Home Emergency Plan: Walk through your home together and identify two safe exit routes from each room. Make sure your scholar knows your family's designated meeting spot outside (like a specific tree or neighbor's porch) in case of an emergency.

• 📞 Review Important Contact Info: Practice memorizing phone numbers! Quiz your scholar on your phone number or full home address. Remind them when and how to call 911 in an emergency.

• 🚲 Outdoor Safety Gear Check: Before heading out to play, do a "safety sweep" together! Practice adjusting bicycle/scooter helmets for a snug fit, review looking both ways twice before crossing the street, and discuss stranger safety rules.

• 🛑 Spot the Safe Choice Game: Take a walk around your home or neighborhood and ask your scholar to point out safe vs. unsafe situations (e.g., “Is a hot stove safe to touch?” or “What should we do before crossing the driveway?”).

Taking a few minutes to talk through these scenarios at home gives scholars the confidence they need to make safe choices every day! Thank you for your partnership! 🌟

Grade Level Blurb:

Our second week of third grade in the 3GA (check out the last newsletter) was another great step toward building strong routines, positive relationships, and a classroom community ready to learn! Students continued practicing classroom expectations and procedures while beginning to dive deeper into our academic work. Across the grade level, students shared ideas, and showed growing independence as they settled into their new routines. We are proud of the progress they are already making and look forward to another exciting week of learning and growing together!

Parents, you have a little homework too! Please make sure all required school forms are completed, especially the emergency contact form. We are also in need of parent volunteers for upcoming field trips, and third grade currently has only a handful of approved chaperones. Be sure to check the school newsletter for links, requirements, and additional information. Thank you for helping us get everything in place for a great year!

Reading Updates:

This week in ELA, students explored the writing process by using a graphic organizer, creating a rough draft, proofreading and editing, and completing a final draft. Students also took their curriculum diagnostic assessment.

Math Updates:

This week, both classes officially began working in their math workbooks! Students are exploring Topic 1: Understand Multiplication and Division of Whole Numbers. So far, scholars have worked through Lesson 1-1: Relate Multiplication and Addition, Lesson 1-2: Multiplication on the Number Line, and Lesson 1-3: Arrays and Properties. Through these lessons, students are building an understanding of multiplication by connecting it to repeated addition, representing multiplication on number lines, and using arrays to model equal groups. These foundational skills will prepare scholars for more complex multiplication and division concepts throughout the year.

Science Updates:

In Science, both classes began investigating forces and motion through hands-on, collaborative learning. Students worked together to plan and conduct an investigation exploring how balanced and unbalanced forces affect the motion of a rope. They then applied their observations to a real-world example by making inferences about how a horse can pull a wagon and cause it to move. Scholars connected this idea to how people use unbalanced forces, such as pushes and pulls, to move objects on a farm. This investigation allowed students to practice thinking and working like scientists while connecting forces and motion to the world around them.

Social Studies Updates:

In Social Studies, we discussed the difference between cities, states, countries, and continents and began learning the names, capitals, and abbreviations of the 50 states. Overall, we had a great second week filled with learning!

Grade Level Blurb:

Greetings Team 4Ward,

☀️We hope that message finds you well. We have finished our second week of school. This week our scholars got a chance to jump into their textbook and begin activities in the curriculum. Next week we will have our fall i-Ready diagnostics in reading and math. Once diagnostic testing is complete scholars will have lessons preassigned through i-Ready to support them. Please ensure that your scholar is present, with a charge computer, and headphones for each day. We do not have headphones at the school to give to students for testing.

🎮Indoor Recess:

All classes could use donations of indoor activities for recess such as board games, blocks, coloring materials, and card games. If your family is able please donate any gently used or new items to your scholar’s homeroom class. This will help our scholars work on their cooperative and social skills.

🏫Parent Volunteers:

Team 4Ward loves going on field trips and in the past have taken a number of trips during the year. In order for field trips to occur we need approved volunteers that are able to chaperone. Some trips are at risk of being canceled if we do not have enough parent volunteers. Only Prince George’s County Public School cleared volunteers will be able to go on trips and support in the building. If you have already completed your background check in previous years, all you must do now is complete the SafeSchool Videos. Once these are complete please share your completion with Ms. Reese at lreese@cmitsouthes.org.

📋Please click this link to get more information about supporting the classroom by becoming an approved volunteer: https://www.pgcps.org/offices/ograc/volunteer#volunteer-process

💻Many class activities use online tools. A charged computer ensures your child can fully participate in lessons and complete assignments. Our students also need a pair of wired headphones to complete activities and for testing. Students who arrive on time are better prepared for learning and reduce classroom disruptions. Please plan to have your child at school a few minutes early each day. A healthy breakfast helps students focus and have energy for learning. School breakfast is available daily until 8:00 when students arrive in the morning.

We are grateful for your ongoing support in helping students feel safe, prepared, and excited about learning. Thank you for partnering with us to make this a positive school year. Let’s grow together!!

Warmly,

Team 4Ward

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Labor Day Monday September 7, 2026- No School

• i-Ready Reading Diagnostic Wednesday September 9, 2026

• Back to School Night Grades 3-5, Thursday September 10, 2026, 6-8pm

• i-Ready Math Diagnostic Friday September 11, 2026

• Professional Development No School Wednesday September 16, 2026- No School

Reading Updates:

This Week:

We opened up our textbook and read the first story “Reaching for the Moon.” In this narrative nonfiction students learned about how Buzz Aldrin showed determination to become an astronaut. Students worked with the reading skills of the author’s purpose and referring to details in the text while making inferences. We finally begin working with subjects and predicates and suffixes.

Next Week:

In the next two weeks we will read our next story, “Rare Treasures.” In this biography we will learn about Mary Anning who is considered “the mother of paleontology." In this story students will determine the main idea while they monitor their inner conversations to understand the text. The next group of words we will study are also contain suffixes (ty “state of” or “quality” (noun) -ity “state of” or “quality” (noun) -ic “relating to” (adjective) -ment “action or process of” (noun).

Math Updates:

🧮 Welcome to 4th Grade Math!

📚 4th Grade Learning Update

We’re off to a great start in 4th grade! This week, scholars began Math Topic 1: Place Value, Comparing, and Rounding Numbers. We are building a strong foundation for understanding how numbers work and how the value of a digit changes depending on its place.

🔢 In Math, we are learning to:

• Understand the 10-to-1 relationship between place-value positions.

• Read and write numbers in standard, expanded, and word form.

• Compare whole numbers and decimals using >, <, and =.

• Round numbers to different place-value positions, including the nearest 10, 100, 1,000, and decimal place.

• Explain our mathematical thinking using place-value strategies.

📝 i-Ready Diagnostic Testing

Next week, scholars will complete their i-Ready Diagnostic assessments. These assessments help us understand each scholar’s current skills and identify areas where they are ready to grow.

📖 Wednesday: Reading Diagnostic

➗ Friday: Math Diagnostic

Testing Reminders:

• Get a good night's sleep before testing.

• Eat breakfast and come to school ready to learn.

• Bring a fully charged computer each day.

• Take your time and read each question carefully.

• Do your best! The goal is to show what you know and what you are ready to learn next.

We will also continue practicing our testing procedures and expectations so that scholars feel confident, prepared, and ready to show their best work. 💪🏽📚

Thank you, families, for helping our scholars develop strong learning habits and a positive attitude toward assessment. We are excited to see their growth!

Science Updates:

As we continue through the first quarter, scholars will keep exploring the different forms of energy and how energy is transferred from one place or object to another.

This week, scholars also began learning how to write Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) responses. In a CER response, scholars make a claim that answers a question, provide evidence from an investigation, text, observation, or data, and explain their reasoning by showing how the evidence supports their claim.

Families can support this skill during everyday conversations by asking questions such as, “What do you think?” “What makes you say that?” and “What evidence do you have?” Whether discussing why an ice cube melted, which route to school is faster, or why a favorite team won a game, encouraging scholars to explain their thinking helps strengthen the same reasoning skills we use in science.

Social Studies Updates:

This week, we learned how to read and use maps! Scholars learned about important map features, including the title, compass rose, map key/legend, symbols, and scale. They practiced using these features to locate places, identify directions, and interpret information shown on different types of maps.

Next week, scholars will continue building on these map skills by applying what they learned about map features—such as titles, compass roses, map keys, symbols, and scales—to explore specific geographic regions and create their own custom maps.

Grade Level Blurb:

Welcome to September!

We are excited to welcome a new month! Students are settling into their classroom routines, expectations, and daily learning schedules. As we continue building strong habits, please encourage your child to come to school ready to learn each day.

Testing Update

Testing will begin this upcoming week, starting with the i-Ready assessment. Please help students arrive on time, get a good night’s rest, and come prepared to do their best.

Important Parent Reminder

Please make sure you have completed the Student Emergency Contact & Pick-Up Information Form. It is very important that we have current emergency contact and approved pick-up information for every student. https://forms.gle/AvQ9s1kgS2Zr8uas6

Reading Updates:

Unit 1, Week 1 – Journeys

Students are working with informational text. They are practicing identifying important information, understanding key details, and using information from the text to support their responses.

Math Updates:

Topic 1 – Understanding Place Value

Students are continuing Topic 1: Understanding Place Value. In Lesson 1-3, students are practicing writing decimals as fractions and fractions as decimals. Students are also working on Lesson 1-5: Comparing Decimals.

All students received a Pick a Project assignment. Students should choose one project to complete and return it by Friday, September 18.

Our Topic 1 Assessment is approaching and will likely take place next week or the following week. Students should continue reviewing the skills and vocabulary from Topic 1 to prepare.

Science Updates:

Topic 1 – Properties of Matter

Students are learning about properties of matter and how matter can be observed, measured, described, and classified. Students completed a hands-on investigation where they explored physical properties of matter, including conductivity, color, and magnetism. They made observations and used their findings to describe and classify different materials.

Social Studies Updates:

Lesson 1, Week 1 – Ancient American Civilizations

Students are beginning their study of Ancient American Civilizations. They are learning about early civilizations and practicing comparing information presented in their texts.

Health Updates:

Students are learning about First Aid and how to respond safely and responsibly when someone is hurt or needs assistance.

We are looking forward to a great September as our fifth graders continue getting comfortable with their routines and growing academically. Thank you, families, for your continued support and partnership!

General CARTS Updates:

Please remember to check your student's Canvas assignments and Synergy grades regularly.

Music:

Highlights -

• School is closed Monday, 9/7/26 for Labor Day.

• Back to school Nights are the Wednesday, 9/9/26 for K-2, and Thursday, 9/10/26 for grades 3-5.

• Grades 3 - 5 ONLY! If your child is interested in singing in Honors Chorus, please email me immediately so that I can get the information to you. Auditions are on September 22, at Drew Freeman Middle School in Suitland. Auditions begin at 6pm. (mduncan@cmitsouthes.org)

Last week in Music we discovered beat, steady beat, and rhythm. We discussed how they are all different and how they work together. 3rd - 5th grade students have a homework assignment in Canvas. All assignments are due by next Friday. Students need to post their answers by their class day. Monday students have to post by Monday so on and so forth.

LEGO:

Students are building, creating, and problem-solving through hands-on LEGO challenges! Stay tuned for exciting projects and STEM learning happening in our LEGO classroom.

Maker’s Lab:

K-1st: Learning about different STEM careers

2nd-5th: Learning about the steps of the scientific method by doing an experiment involving paper plane design.

Technology:

Dear Families,

Next week students will have an opportunity to work on the new desk top computers. KG will become familiar with the keyboard. 1-5 will take an assessment to see what their words per minute count is at this time. I will continue to test them throughout the year to track their progress. They will compete with the other classes on their grade level.

Art:

Hello CMIT families!

Everyone is starting with a project that is related to either line or color. Please refer to Canvas for more details.

PE:

Hello Families!

We are practicing identifying personal space and general space within the contents of Spatial awareness.

2026-2027 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

Student Absence Form