CMHS Times

Macs of the Month is the high school's initiative to recognize our outstanding students and staff! Each month, a staff member will be recognized, voted on by their colleagues and students. Students will be recognized by their peers and staff in the categories of creative arts, kindness, academic achievement, school pride, athletic achievement, and leadership.

We proudly announce our March Macs of the Month below! Congratulations to everyone on the well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations to Rachel Tomley and Jayla Domske, our 2024 and 2023 Carson Scholars, respectively, who were redesignated this year!

CMHS put on an amazing show this spring! Sister Act: The Musical was fantastic! Our students in the cast, crew, and pit did a tremendous job! Check out the photo gallery below!

Dear Canon-McMillan Families, Staff, & Community,

Canon-McMillan High School Best Buddies is excited to host the Special Olympics Polar Plunge on Saturday, April 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Canon-McMillan High School. All schools within the Canon-McMillan School District are invited and encouraged to attend and participate.

Participants may register as a plunger and select a team during registration. Schools, clubs, and groups are welcome to create their own teams (for example, Canon-McMillan Drama Club or Canon-McMillan Middle School AS/LSS). Those who prefer not to create a team may simply register under their school’s name.

The registration fee is $25, and all plungers who raise $50 or more will receive a Cool Schools T-Shirt.

We encourage schools and staff to get creative with fundraising challenges. The winning fundraising team will be announced at the event.

Our district goal is $10,000, and with your support, we hope to surpass it so this meaningful community event can continue each year.

The event will also feature Food Trucks (P's Bird Wagon and NLTorious BLT, Toms Travelin' Coffee, Summer Sips, and Millie’s Icecream), a live DJ, yard games, face painting, friendship bracelets, raffle baskets, and more, making it a fun morning for the whole family. We invite families and staff to attend, cheer on our plungers, and even take the plunge alongside students.

Please see the registration link below to sign up. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

https://give.specialolympicspa.org/event/2026-canon-mcmillan-high-school-cool-schools-mobile-plunge/e761070

Let’s come together, support the Special Olympics, and take the plunge!

Mr. Gibson's CDE class used a software called Blender to create 3D models completely from scratch. These 3D models are used for things like video games and CGI models that you see in movies and TV. The software itself can do a lot more. Blender is a full professional 3D creation suite that allows students to design, sculpt, animate, and render three-dimensional objects and characters. Many of the projects the students created began as simple shapes and were gradually sculpted using digital tools that allow them to push, pull, smooth, and reshape the model much like working with clay. This process helps students develop spatial thinking, creativity, and an understanding of how complex objects are built from simple forms.

Once a model is completed, it can be taken even further by adding a digital skeleton through a process called rigging. Rigging places “bones” inside the model so that it can bend, move, and be posed. After rigging is applied, the model can be animated to perform actions such as walking, jumping, or interacting with other objects in a scene. These same workflows are used in industries such as video game development, animated films, special effects, architecture visualization, and product design. Introducing students to Blender gives them exposure to modern 3D design tools while allowing them to explore both the artistic and technical sides of digital creation. The sculptures you see in these projects are the first step in a much larger pipeline that can eventually lead to fully animated characters and environments, and were made and colored completely from scratch and by themselves.

This is an example of a project made start to finish using entirely Blender. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhWc3b3KhnY&t=49s

Check out some student creations below!

Mrs. Bellino held up her yearly tradition of celebrating Pi Day in all of her math classes. In her words, "people often think it is just about eating pie…but it is so much more than that." Her students get a chance to be creative and showcase their various talents. Some students made drawings about something they love like ‘pi'neapple, “Pi”ttsburgh, or ‘pi'geons. Others craft wooden or ceramic pieces or make pi out of clay or cross stitch, and still others bake cakes, pies and pizzas. Throughout the class, the students also get the chance to discover how pi is derived through an activity with M&Ms minis. Mrs. Bellino said, "As a teacher of math, I love having the opportunity to see my students showcase other talents and skills."

To wrap up our short unit on Marketing, students in Ms. Moeller's class completed the Tell Me the Brand (without telling me the brand) BEARS. Students in Business Math voted on the bears and the top selections went out to the teachers to vote on Most Creative, Most Artistic and One That Most Stumped You. The winners are included below!

10th grade English students had the opportunity to hear from a representative from the Department of Energy's Office of Legacy Management regarding the Canonsburg Uranium disposal site. Students first learned about the dangers of radium and our community's connection through our study of the play, Radium Girls by D.W. Gregory. Students learned about the history of the site, how the disposal cell was constructed, and the various measures the Department of Energy takes to protect our community. Students had the opportunity to ask questions regarding the site and the Department of Energy.

Members of the Big Mac Banking Credit Union Club traveled to our middle school on Thursday, March 12th to promote our student run credit union sponsored by Washington Area Federal Credit Union and discuss the importance of saving early and taking control of their financial futures. Club members presented on the benefits of the credit union and future opportunities they provide such as internships and scholarships. The crew wrapped up each session with a fun Jeopardy style game with prizes.

Members include: Luka Grkman, Abigail Juarez-Mendoza, Brady Dowd, Lucas Johnson, Glory Adesanya, Aziz Bakhtiyarov, Allen Zhang

On Saturday, March 21, the Canon-McMillan Esports team was invited to participate in the second annual Point Park University Invitational Tournament at the Rezanine in Bridgeville. The best teams from across the state were in attendance to compete in Rocket League and CM took 2nd!

All players who were present received a $1,000 scholarship to PPU and for coming in second the players on CM's esports team won $2,000 in prize money. Congrats, CM Esports!

The National Honor Society held a spring food drive for the Washington City Mission's Samaritan Care Food Pantry from March 23rd to March 27th. Non-perishable food items and toiletries were collected in the mornings and during lunch periods. The CMHS NHS chapter was able to fill up 2 huge bins of items for the Mission. NHS Sponsor, Mrs. Christina Hartmann, would like to thank the NHS officers and members who worked the tables as well as all staff and students who donated so generously.

Picture Below: Ava DeVuono, Katie Adreon (Secretary), Bailey Robbins-O'Connell (President), Mrs. Christina Hartmann (NHS Sponsor)

Thumbnail picture: Dylan Junkins, Katie Adreon, Bailey-Robbins-O'Connell, Mrs. Hartmann

CMHS's new Academic Ambassador Program provides peer tutoring daily to all students in the library! Please see the flyer below and scan the QR code for the schedule.

If you want tutoring and the schedule does not accommodate your availability, please use this PEER TUTORING REQUEST FORM. Then, check your school email for information once you have been assigned a tutor based on your needs.

If you have any questions in regards to Peer Tutoring, please email Ms. Humbertson, humbertsons@cmsd.k12.pa.us.

Dear Parent(s) & Guardian(s),

The 2026 Graduation is quickly approaching! Don’t forget to recognize your senior’s hard work and accomplishments by creating a Senior Recognition Ad. All Recognition Ad's can be made online by using the link below. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. White.

The CMHS yearbook staff is working hard to make this the best yearbook yet! This yearbook will include over 200 pages to truly capture all the memories that were made this school year. Don't forget to place your order to ensure your copy of the yearbook!

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. White at whitem@cmsd.k12.pa.us.

May 4: Progress Reports

May 4-15: AP Testing

May 11-22: Keystone Testing

May 19: No School; In-Service Day

May 25: No School (Memorial Day)

June 4: Graduation

June 5: End of 4th Marking Period; Last day of School

Follow our School Counseling Office on Instagram @CMHS_COUNSELING

Every high school student is encouraged to join the School Counseling Resources group in Schoology! Resources including academic development, career development, employment, community service opportunities, scholarships and more can be found there! Students can join the group by using the following access code: DB7QW-K4WWP

Each month, the Chill Project will provide the community an evidence-based coping skill that is being reinforced at school.

We look forward to a strong partnership, and if you have any questions about the Chill room or the Chill Project, please reach out to the Chill room Facilitator, Mr. Dan Harshman, harshmand@cmsd.k12.pa.us, or Mrs. Kelsey Oberly, Special Education Coordinator, oberlyk@cmsd.k12.pa.us.

Kristen Speer, School Nurse

Email: speerk@cmsd.k12.pa.us

Phone: 724-745-1400 ext. 5013

We will be giving away 1 free parking pass for the 2026-2027 school year. The drawing will be held on May 1, 2026. To enter, all you need to do is turn in your completed 11th grade physical and immunizations turned into the nurse's office before May 1st, 2026."

All 11th graders are required to turn in a physical assessment completed by a physician. To fulfill this requirement please turn in a completed Physical Exam Form to the nurse's office by May 1st.

If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Speer at speerk@cmsd.k12.pa.us or by phone at (724)-745-1400 x 5013.

To start the 12th grade, a second dose of the Meningitis A,C, W, Y vaccine is required.

Please provide the nurse with a copy of your immunization records either in person or via email at: speerk@cmsd.k12.pa.us

If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Speer at speerk@cmsd.k12.pa.us or by phone at (724)-745-1400 x 5013.

If your student needs to take a daily medication or needs to have an as needed medication available at school please use the following form . It must be completed by a doctor and signed by the parent/guardian. The medication must be brought in the original pharmacy container or unopened over the counter container that matches the paperwork.

The medication authorization form must be completed each school year by the physician and turned in to the school nurse for the new school year.

If you have any questions you can contact the nurse.

Marijke Lucia

Secretary of Student Affairs

mailto:luciam@cmsd.k12.pa.us

Phone: 724-745-1400 ext. 5009

Fax: 724-745-4490

All forms are linked below. You can also access the forms on the high school's website under School Forms, linked here for your reference.

Attendance:

If a student is not seated in their first period class by 7:45, they will be considered absent (shown as IUn in PowerSchool). Prior to the end of 2nd period, an attendance rollover will take place and those students still marked as absent will be marked absent for all 9 class periods. That evening you will receive both a phone call and an email from our BlackBoard messaging system alerting you of your student's absence.

Please send your student in with an excuse within three (3) days of their last absence. You can either provide us with a parent note, an email, or complete the form, linked below. Parent notes can be placed in the absence excuse bin in the Student Affairs Office.

Each student is allocated 15 absences (for any reason), per school year, before a doctor’s excuse is required. Any absence over 15, that is not accompanied by a medical excuse, will remain unexcused.

Tardies:

If your child is going to be entering the building late, they must first go through the Student Affairs Office to receive a late pass. Please provide your student with an excuse. Acceptable forms are a parent note, doctor's excuse, email or an online form submission found here: Tardiness Form. If they enter with an excuse, their absence will be changed to an excused tardy (TEx.) If they do not have an excuse, they will be entered as tardy unexcused (TUn.) If your child is marked as tardy unexcused, that evening you will receive both a phone call and email from our BlackBoard messaging system alerting you of their tardy. Each student is allocated 4 tardies, per semester (parent note or online submission) before a doctor's excuse is required. Disciplinary action will be taken for excessive tardies. There are no half days at the High School. Students must be present a minimum of 3½ consecutive hours in order to participate in an after school activity or a game or practice for a sport that is in season.

Early Dismissals:

If your student will need to leave the building prior to the end of the school day (2:40pm), you must provide them with an early dismissal note. This can be a parent note, email or online submission found here: Early Dismissal Form. A student is allocated 13 early dismissals per semester. All early dismissals require BOTH written and verbal confirmation. Please call Mrs. Lucia in the Office of Student Affairs (724-745-1400, ext. 5009) to confirm your child’s early dismissal. All early dismissal requests must be made by 9am. If you are requesting an early dismissal after 9am, please allow 20-30 minutes for your request to be processed. Once both forms are received, a pass will be sent to your child and they may leave at the time of their dismissal. If you are picking your student up, they will meet you outside, if they are a driver, they are free to leave and drive themselves. If you choose, you can come into the main office to sign your student out. No student’s will be permitted to leave until both forms of confirmation are received. All early dismissals will be entered as ER in PowerSchool. If your child has medical documentation for their early release, please provide us with this information and we will change their ER to a medical early release (MER.) Medical early releases are not counted in attendance reports. There are no half days at the High School. Students must be present a minimum of 3½ consecutive hours in order to participate in an after school activity or a game or practice for a sport that is in season.

The Student Affairs Office is closed daily from 12:30-1:00. Students may leave during the closure IF their early dismissal request was submitted and confirmed prior to the closure. If you did not submit a request and you need your child to be released during the office closure, please come to the main office to sign them out.

CTC (Western Area & Parkway):

Please note that if your child attends WACTC or Parkway and is absent from school, you must provide 2 excuses (parent note or medical excuse). One will need to be given to Mrs. Lucia in the Student Affairs Office and one will need to be given to WACTC/Parkway. No copies will be made of a student's excuse and forwarded to another location.

Pre-Planned Trips:

The pre-planned trip form, linked below, must be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the start of your trip. Please note that students will only be given one day, for each day they are absent, to make up their work, and they are highly encouraged to make arrangements for their work prior to their trip.

Standing Medical Notes:

If your student has a standing medical note, please note that we will need an updated copy for this school year. Medical notes are only good for one school year and must be updated annually.

Ms. Brittany Taylor - High School Principal

Ms. Jenna Handra - Academic Principal

Mr. Thomas Orr - Assistant Principal

Ms. Jamie Hopkins - Assistant Principal

Follow CMHS on Instagram @canon_mcmillan_high_school