Blue Jay Buzz

In this issue you will find:

New Info

• Upcoming Dates
• Community Corner
• Updates and Other Information
• Clubs and Activities
• PTO Upcoming Events

Old News

• Cellphones, Medication, Attendance, Tardiness to school

2/21/2025 Newsletter

2/14/2025 Newsletter

2/7/2025 Newsletter

1/31/2025 Newsletter

Mark T. Schwarz - Principal - mschwarz@dps109.org

Donnie Castans - Associate Principal - dcastans@dps109.org

Marcia Klita - Director for Student Services - mklita@dps109.org

Tuesday 3/5: PTO Meeting @ 9AM - Zoom Link

Thursday 3/13 - Coffee @ Caruso 2-2:40PM RSVP by calling the main office

Thursday 3/20 & Friday 3/21 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (Click here for more info)

Monday 3/24 - Friday, 3/28 - Spring Break

Tuesday 6/3 - 8th Grade Graduation @ DHS

Wednesday 8/13 - Locker Day

Due to an emergency day used in August of this school year, we are using Monday, March 3 as an emergency make-up day.

L-R Janette Brenner, Magdalena Statler, Monty Arnold(behind), Sheryl Drake, Iris Arresola, Susan Albert, Tony Spagnoli (CMS Alumn!) Casey Austin

Teaching assistants are the unsung heroes of Caruso Middle School, providing invaluable support to both students and teachers every day. Their patience, dedication, and adaptability allow them to meet the diverse needs of our students, ensuring that everyone receives the attention and guidance they need to succeed. With tough schedules and ever-changing responsibilities, they step up to every challenge with a positive attitude and a commitment to helping our school thrive. Whether they are assisting in classrooms, providing one-on-one support, or helping to manage daily routines, their contributions make a significant impact. We rely on them, and our school community would not be the same without their hard work and dedication.

Again this year, parents/guardians across Illinois have an opportunity to participate in the annual survey to provide feedback about the schools their children attend. District 109 is fortunate to be able to use the Panorama platform for this survey, which is the same used for students. Ultimately, the family survey is designed for you to share your thoughts on the home-school partnership and other important elements of school effectiveness. Your responses help guide our improvement.

To take the survey, please visit https://surveys.panoramaed.com/deerfieldil/1589963429/surveys and select your child’s school. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and will close March 21st.

If you have children in multiple schools, we encourage you to provide feedback on both schools. Please know that your identity and responses are confidential and will not be connected to you or your child. Thank you in advance for taking the time to give us this important feedback.

Tuesday, March 4th @ 9:00am

Zoom Meeting Link

Joining a meeting allows the chance to learn about what's happening in the school; and also provides an opportunity to give your input/ask questions of Mr. Schwarz, a Staff representative and the PTO Exec Board. All Caruso parents/guardians are invited to attend.

Caruso is presenting their musical of High School Musical Jr!

Shows are at:

Friday, March 14th @ 7:00pm

Saturday, March 15th @ 7:00pm

Sunday, March 16th @ 3:00pm

You can get $10 tickets using this link: https://cur8.com/14267/project/128275

We hope to see you there!

Please email sdolins@dps109.org if you have any questions.

A huge thank you to our PTO for purchasing microwaves for our students! They were beyond excited to be able to heat up their lunches.

A few reminders:

• Please send any necessary microwave-safe containers.
• We will not provide extra utensils, paper plates, bowls, etc.
• Remind your child to use the microwaves safely and clean up any messes.

In the past, microwaves were unfortunately misused and had to be removed. We’re excited to try again this year and appreciate everyone’s help in keeping them available for students!

It's wonderful to see our CMS Bluejay Community coming together to support Orphans of the Storm, a local animal shelter dedicated to providing care and finding loving homes for orphaned, abandoned, abused, or neglected dogs and cats. The CMS philanthropy club is hard at work helping to make a difference in the community.

How You Can Help:

• Feature Your Pet: Make the suggested $5 donation to have your pet's photo displayed on the Pet Wall of Fame, helping us achieve our goal of covering an entire hallway.

• Monetary Donations: Even if you don't have a pet, your financial support is invaluable. Donations provide crucial medical care, food, shelter, and a loving environment for animals awaiting their forever homes. You can donate online directly through the shelter's website. Be sure to put CMS in the dedication field.

• Donate here (suggested donation of $5 for a pet to be hung.)
  Donate Supplies: The shelter has an ongoing need for various items, including:

• Pet food (dry and canned for both dogs and cats)

• Twin-size blankets and comforters

• Bath-size towels

• Pet beds

• Dog and cat treats

• Cat litter

• Cleaning supplies (bleach, paper towels, laundry soap, etc.)

See Flyers for more information or email jgold@dps109.org for details

Parents/Guardians,

District 109 participates in a Consortium for Interdistrict Collaboration (CIC). The CIC is a group of educators from neighboring North Shore districts who discuss and explore instructional practices that make districts high-performing. As part of their work, they visit one another’s schools to observe, benchmark practices, celebrate successes, and offer recommendations for continuous improvement.

A visiting team will be in District 109 March 12-14, and we are looking for 15 parents/guardians to participate in a 40-minute focus group at Caruso Middle School on Wednesday, March 12th at 1:30PM. Any information provided in the focus group would not be associated with an individual name. It would simply help the team identify trends across our school settings.

If interested, please complete this 1 minute form no later than Wednesday, February 26th. If more than 15 parents/guardians express interest, we will select by lottery. A confirmation of your selection will be sent no later than Wednesday, March 5th. Thanks in advance for considering. We are really proud of our school and can’t wait to share it with other educators!

Caruso Bluejays Coed Softball

Love softball and having fun? Then join the Caruso Bluejays Coed Softball team! Our season kicks off in early April and runs through mid-May. Practices last one hour and take place either before or after school, with games scheduled 1-2 times per week. We play with a 14” ball, so no glove is needed. If you're interested, grab a packet from Mr. Fowler or Mrs. Spies and get ready to hit the field! All grades are welcome!

Join us for coffee @ Caruso; a way for the adults in our students' lives to build stronger connections with us at Caruso. Space is limited to 25 people per event. Please RSVP by calling the Caruso Main Office at 847-945-8430. Thanks to the PTO for Sponsoring Coffee.

If you have any cool pictures you would like to see in the yearbook, please email to ecadkin@dps109.org or hmatan@dps109.org, or you can upload them to this link.

Thank you,

Hayley Matan and Eliza Cadkin

Cell phones will be off and away in lockers from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm every day (8:00 am - 2:00 pm on early release Wednesdays). Here's the why: This will help our students focus on their learning, build relationships with those around them, and hopefully disconnect from the anxiety that comes from even just having a phone in the pocket, wondering what notifications they are missing.

If students are using their phones during the school day, they will be instructed to bring their phone to the main office. There will be a progressive response when this occurs that resets each semester:

First and Second Occurrence: Email home and student picks up phone at the end of the school day.

Third Occurrence: Parent/guardian must come pick the phone up from school. Student will serve a lunch reflection.

Fourth Occurrence +: Parent/guardian must come pick the phone up from school. Student will also drop phone off at office each morning. Student will serve an after-school reflection.

MUST be wired and are not used during passing periods.

A student who fails to meet the expectations will be asked to comply with them and may be subject to a verbal warning or behavior check in.

Backpacks must be kept in students’ lockers throughout the school day unless it is a documented accommodation. They will not be traveling from class to class. Here's the why: We do not have room in our classrooms to safely store backpacks without having a tripping/fire hazard, and—by keeping backpacks in lockers—we have a wonderful opportunity to teach and reinforce important executive functioning skills with material organization, case-its, and other organizational tools.

We ask that you try to limit student deliveries during the school day. We will not be allowing and/or accepting any DoorDash or similar delivery options for any student under any circumstances. All deliveries will be refused. Families are welcome to drop off lunches themselves. We have extra Chromebooks, chargers, and copies of books here at Caruso, so it is not necessary to drop what you're doing and run these items to school. If something is truly needed during the day, we ask that you bring it in to the front entrance, label it with your student's name and grade, and leave it on the Drop Off table in the vestibule. We will then bring it into the office for your student to pick it up. Please note, students are not permitted to order their own lunches during the school day. If you order/bring lunch for your student, please do not provide food for other students.

Please do not send any medication, over-the-counter pain pills (Tylenol/Advil/aspirin), or cough drops with your students. State law prohibits students from taking medication at school outside of the nurse's office with a doctors' note on file. We will confiscate any meds found outside of the nurse's office. Contact our school nurse Ms. Gwen Dowell gdowell@dps109.org

If your student will not be in school, please report the absence to the health office by phone (847) 945-8430 x6103) or email (carusoattendance@dps109.org) before 8:00 am. If you do not contact our school nurse by this time, she will contact you at home or at work to ascertain your child’s whereabouts. Children must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. Students will only be dismissed to a parent or legal guardian, or to emergency contacts designated in Family Access.

PTO Facebook Page

Email: cmsoffice@dps109.org
Website: https://www.dps109.org/Page/9
Location: 1801 Montgomery Road, Deerfield, IL, USA