Congratulations Seahawks for earning a 4 star climate rating - Wow! More information below.

We have a fun week ahead of us filled with school spirit. Please remind your child not to simply dress down. Students that do will need to change into a school uniform. Have fun!

January 30 - Spirit Week - Famer vs. Animal Day

January 31 - Deadline for Junior University Applications

January 31 - Basketball vs. Myers at Myers
January 31 - Spirit Week - Favorite Charity - Wear a shirt the color of your favorite charity with a pair of blue jeans. Bring $1 to donate to Kiss a Pig or Relay for Life

Feb 1 - Spirit Week - Aloha Tacky Tourist (no flip-flops)

Feb 2 - Spirit Week - DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics

Feb 2 - District Honor Band at ASU

Feb 2 - Basketball vs. Garrison at CMS

Feb 3 - Spirit Week - Extreme Spirit Wear - Navy vs. Neon Yellow $1

Feb 3 - District Honor Band at ASU

Feb 3 - Progress Reports Issued

Feb 7 - CMS vs. Oglethorpe at CMS

Feb 8 - State Tornado Drill

Feb 9 - Papa John's Spirit Night

Feb 9 - Basketball vs. Charles Ellis at CMS

Feb 13 - FCCLA Week

Feb 14 - Basketball vs. Hubert at Hubert

Feb 14 - Wear a red shirt with jeans and bring a $1 donation for FCCLA

Feb 15 - Spirit Night at Wendy's

Feb 15 - FCCLA Day at the Capital

Feb 15 - Spirit Wear - donations benefit our PTSA

Feb 16 - Basketball vs. Bartlett at CMS

Feb 21 - Basketball vs. Isle of Hope at IOH

Feb 22 - Family Homework Pass Night - Write a letter to a relative or friend

Feb 23 - Students who have already made a $30 donation or more for the Seahawk Strut may dress down.

Feb 23 - Basketball Playoffs Round 1

Feb 24 - Seahawk Strut!

Feb 24 - Students who donated at least $15 for the strut may dress down in athletic attire.

Feb 28 - Basketball Playoffs Round 2

March 2 - Basketball Championships

March 6 - Students who donated $50 or more to the Seahawk Strut may dress down.

March 14 - 8th Grade HS Registration night - 5:30 - Mandatory

Progress Reports will be sent home this Friday.

Congratulations and thank you for helping CMS be recognized as having one of the very best school cultures in the state! We earned 4 stars on the state's rating - quite an achievement. Thank you for your partnership in making our school climate one that is longed for by every student, teacher, and parent. Thank you for helping us maintain such a magnificent, safe, and joyful learning environment for our students.

Middle school is a time when we begin teaching our students how to self-monitor their progress, advocate for their learning, and communicate with parents and teachers about their academics. Middle school is the place where teachers teach 125 students a day instead of 25 that the typical elementary teacher instructs. It is very important that you and your child sit down regularly to talk about assignments, review grades in Parent Access, and discuss tutorial opportunities that are available each week. Please know that with being responsible for 125 students our teachers are not able to call as quickly or write as many detailed emails as they would like. Please understand it is more important than ever for you to monitor your child’s grades carefully and frequently using Parent Access. As much as we wish we could, we simply can’t reach out to every parent whose child does not turn in an assignment or who makes a lower grade than expected. Fortunately you don’t have to wait for the midterm to know how your child is doing. Our teachers strive to keep grades entered into Parent Access every five days so that you have the information you need to keep your child on the right path. When you notice that your child is not reaching his or her potential, please reach out to the teacher right away so that you can partner together to help your child soar.

Our 8th Grade High School Transition Night is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14th. All 8th grade parents and students need to attend from 5:30 - 7:00.

Our 2nd semester spirit week will be this week. Students may dress based upon the guidelines for each theme. Students must not simply come dressed-down. If they do they will be required to change into a uniform.

· Monday- Farmer vs. Animal (dress like an animal or a farmer)

· Tuesday- Charity Day (wear a color that represents a specific charity- solid color shirt and jeans or uniform pants)- Bring $1 to donate to Relay for Life and Kiss a Pig

· Wednesday- Aloha Tacky Tourist Day (Dress as a tacky tourist- Hawaiian shirt, socks and sandals, fanny packs, etc. No flip flops or sunglasses.)

· Thursday- DC Comics vs. Marvel Comics (dress as either a marvel comic character or DC comic character)

· Friday- Navy vs. Neon Day (extreme Spirit wear in one or the other color) $1

Have you returned your child’s application and essay? You don’t want to miss this awesome summer opportunity at the Savannah Arts Academy. The deadline is January 31st.

How much time does your child spend away from his or her technology and truly engaged in healthy activities - sports, recreation, boy scouts, church functions, volunteering, etc.? Unplugging from technology and plugging into life will help your child soar.

Congratulations to Mrs. Alison Groeper, who was honored by WTOC for being this week's TOP Teacher. Mrs. Groeper greets all of us as we enter the building everyday and helps us to begin our day knowing that we are a caring school where kindness is demonstrated to all and growing and learning are fun! We are blessed to have great faculty, staff, students and parents. If you get a chance to see Mrs. Groeper in the lobby this week, give her a "shout out," and let her know how special she is to all of us!

The IB Global Contexts are a set of "lenses" through which students explore ideas, investigate connections between subject areas, and apply their knowledge to real world issues. The focus question for the sixth Global Context, Fairness and Development, is, “What are the consequences of our common humanity?” Through this lens, students will consider rights and responsibilities; the relationships between communities; sharing finite resources with other people and other living things; access to equal opportunities; and peace and conflict resolution.

After talking with the CMS staff and administration, I felt like my son was in the hands of people who are almost like his family. I have felt that way about all of his teachers at Coastal. I want to say especially his 8th grade teachers have made him more comfortable than I have ever seen him be in a school setting. A lot of his progress has really been by his own will but since he has started at Coastal, I have seen a huge difference in him and the way he relates to school and his peers. It was something that I was really afraid would never happen for him. It is typical for children with Asperger’s to not be able to connect with peers. He is doing better beyond anything that I hoped for, and I believe much of that is because of the environment he is in at Coastal. The kids are supportive of him; they are open with him when he is saying or doing things that maybe aren’t socially acceptable and helping him understand more how to be a normal teenager. I have also always been very thankful for the correspondences from the administrative team when there are issues such as threats at the school, even if they are bogus threats. During the few expected bumps my son hit in his middle school journey, I was reminded again what a wonderful school he is privileged to attend.

My experience in the past with my son’s educators was not positive. So, coming in to a new school and a new city last year I noticed that I felt defensive every time I met with his teachers, and every time I realized that there was no need for that here. I quickly learned that his needs were always supported in the best way possible. He still struggles with so much anxiety at school but manages everything pretty well with the support of the CMS staff. The main reason I wanted to write to you today is just to say THANK YOU for the environment that the CMS staff has created for these students. It certainly has been remarkable for us.

We will soon welcome the following student teachers to the Seahawk Family. Thank you to their supervising teachers who will host them this semester.

• Kelvin Nguyen - Science - Donna Delmonte
• Charlotte Suozzo - Art - Lauren Greene
• Sigbert All - SS - Ben Parker
• Allison Snyder - Science - Kerry Sanders

Do you want to have your child excel in school? Be sure to make him or her read, read, read, read, read, read and then read some more.

Jepson Center, Savannah features Nick Cave: Opens Fri. Jan. 27 runs until April 23, 2017. Explore your identity with the art of internationally-renowned artist Nick Cave! Cave is most famous for his soundsuits, works that are part costume and part sculpture, designed to obscure the wearer’s body during live performances. This exhibition, the largest presentation of Cave’s work ever displayed in Georgia, features a selection of his soundsuits, as well as two massive textile tondos and two videos showcasing Cave’s soundsuit performances. Kids 12 & younger are free.

Free Family Day @ JEPSON CENTER Sunday, February 5, 1–4pm
207 W. York St. Savannah, 31401 Explore the joys of mixed media and nontraditional approaches to making fine art in this special Free Family Day event! Meet and discover local artists and art groups making and promoting contemporary art in an array of media, and take part in this exciting, blossoming scene by making some art of your own! Sponsored by the City of Savannah’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Georgia Power Foundation, Inc. Jepson Center for the Arts, 912-790-8800 or visit www.telfair.org.

Colonial Faire & Muster @ Wormsloe State Historic Site, Savannah Experience life in Colonial Georgia during the 18th century with a military encampment, Sutler’s Row, craft demonstrations, military demonstrations, and period music and dance. Food concessions will be available for purchase. Sat. Feb 4, 2017 9AM-4 PM FREE, and Sun. Feb 5, 2017 9 AM-4 PM FREE For more information, call 912-353-3023.

Super Museum Sunday, Feb. 5 2017: FREE admission to many museums and historic sites. Georgia History Festival’s Super Museum Sunday 2017 is Sun. Feb. 5 when various museums and historical sites in the Savannah area are free and open to the public. Various sites will have free admission on Sunday, February 5th, 2017, from noon – 4PM, unless alternate hours are listed. All Coastal Heritage Society sites – Savannah Children’s Museum, Georgia State Railroad Museum, Fort Jackson, Savannah History Museum – will be open & free.

*Georgia State Railroad Museum, 655 Louisville Rd, Savannah, GA

*Old Fort Jackson, 1 Fort Jackson Rd, Savannah, GA

*Pin Point Heritage Museum, 9924 Pin Point Ave, Savannah, GA

*Savannah Children’s Museum, 655 Louisville Rd, Savannah, GA

*Savannah History Museum, 303 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Savannah, GA

Cost: FREE!

PTSA Carnation Sale

Tuesday, February 7 through Friday, February 10, students may purchase carnations for $1 each to send to their classmates and teachers. Carnations will be delivered on Tuesday, February 14. Volunteers are need to collect money and gift tags as well as sort, tag, and deliver the flowers. Please click on the link below to sign up to help. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0c4eafad2ba64-2017 If you have any questions about this sale, please contact Andrea Melton at andrea.melton11@gmail.com.

Yearbook

Order Online at website www.yearbookordercenter.com and use Order # 20020. Or, order in the front office on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday before homeroom. Order forms are available on line. ($35 CASH OR MONEY ORDER ONLY if ordered in the school's office.)

SRI and MAP

SRI

6th - 835

7th - 890

8th - 955

MAP

6th - 219

7th - 223

8th - 227

Free Digital Resources

Please be aware that you and your child can access free, interactive digital textbooks through the Georgia Department of Education's website. The textbooks can be accessed by visiting www.gavirtuallearning.org/Resources. Texts are currently available for middle and high school courses.