Catonsville Middle Weekly Update

As students grow, math concepts become more challenging and require deeper thinking. Experiencing difficulty is a normal and important part of learning. While this productive struggle can sometimes lead to frustration, decreased confidence, or a loss of motivation, the support and encouragement students receive at home can greatly influence how they respond to these challenges.

To help your child succeed:

• Encourage them to attend Coach Class for additional support and practice.
• Help them prepare questions they can ask their teacher during the next class when they encounter difficulties.
• Review lessons together using Mr. Morgan's Math Help YouTube channel, where the exact classroom lessons are retaught: Mr. Morgan's Math Help.

Working through challenging math problems builds perseverance, confidence, and problem-solving skills that will benefit students both in and out of the classroom.

ACT Store

It is the exciting time of year when we once again open our ACT Store as a positive behavior incentive for students. Our store will now be open on Wednesdays during all lunch shifts and run by our fabulous NJHS students.

To keep the ACT Store up and running, we ask for a little help from our supportive community. If you would like to support our students' positive behavior, please see the ACT Store Wishlist!

Spirit Wear

Show school spirit by ordering from our school spirit store. See the flyer below for ordering information. The spirit wear store closes on 11/1. This is a fundraiser for CMS, all proceeds will go towards interactive story time and a deeper dive into writing, publishing, and creative career paths with a published author.

2026-2027 Yearbook

Purchasing a Yearbook

Catonsville Middle School yearbooks are now on sale. Yearbooks are $30 with options to add in extras (hard cover, autograph inserts, current events insert, etc.). All yearbooks will be distributed in June.

Link to Purchase Yearbook ID code: 5281927

Share Your Photos for the 2026-2027 Yearbook

CMS wants YOU to be represented in the 2026-2027 yearbook. Use the link below to share your school related photos for consideration in the yearbook. This link will be active throughout the year to add photos of any school related event. Submitting photos does not guarantee their use in the yearbook, but we will use as many as we can. Email sliberto@bcps.org with any questions.
Link to Share Your Photos

CMS Music Dept

The online music store is updated; you can access the store here to purchase books, supplies, and polos for your student's music class.

Make sure to purchase your students’ polo, as they are required for performance at all CMS concerts. Polos are adult sizes.

Teacher Rahim (band) – jrahim2@bcps.org

Mr. Dickerson (chorus) – tdickerson@bcps.org

Ms. Honeyman (orchestra) – ehoneyman@bcps.org

Applications for the Black Excellence Program are due no later than Tuesday, if your student plans to begin on Wednesday, October 21st. The program is after school, 3:15 - 4:15 PM. Transportation must be confirmed. We do not have an activity bus. If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to contact Ms. Woods, mwoods@bcps.org.

PE Uniform Orders

We opened a new online store to order PE uniforms. The store will be open through October 30, 2026.

Please see the attached flyer.

October Athletics - Winter Sports

Registration for Basketball and Cheerleading is now open. If your student is interested in trying out for one of these sports, they must be registered in the parent/guardian's FOCUS account no later than November 1st. Tryouts begin on Tuesday, November 17th. A current SPORTS physical must be uploaded along with their insurance card. Directions on how to register and sports physical forms are available on the CMS website under the Athletics tab.

New! Mark your calendars for Literacy Night-- a parent/guardian event featuring a book swap table, presentations/displays on social media, mindset, engaging reluctant readers, etc. and resources for supporting readers at home.

Fall Pictures

All students will have their picture taken for the 2026-2027 yearbook during PE classes. Students that do not have PE for Marking Period 2 will have their pictures taken during Health classes.

Students that have PE/Health on B days will have their picture taken on November 4th.

Students that have PE/Health on A days will have their picture taken on November 5th.

If you would like to purchase pictures, please see the links below for an order form or the code to order online. The order forms are for both dates despite only having November 4th printed on them. Students should give their order forms to the photographer at the time pictures are taken.

Don't miss the deadline!

Special Education Staffing Plan Focus Survey

The Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) Department of Special Education and Early Childhood Programs invites stakeholders to participate in a brief survey to help prioritize focus areas for the BCPS Special Education Staffing Plan for the 2027-2028 school year.

We appreciate your assistance and encourage you to complete the anonymous online survey prior to November 1, 2026. It will take approximately 5 minutes to complete and will provide us with valuable information.

You may access the survey through either the URL shown below.

URL: Special Education Staffing Plan Sur

• October 30 – First marking period ends – half day for students (CMS dismissal at noon)

• November 3 – Election Day – Schools Closed

• November 4 – Fall pictures Day 1 (B Day); Literacy Night 5-7 PM

• November 5 – Fall pictures Day 2 (A Day)