CMIT South Elementary School
Dear CMIT South Elementary Families,
As we embrace the autumn season, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering dedication to our school community. Your commitment to supporting your children's education continues to inspire us every day, and the results speak for themselves!
Celebrating Our READ-A-THON Success! 📚
I'm overjoyed to announce an extraordinary achievement! Through our collective efforts, we've dramatically exceeded our READ-A-THON fundraiser goal, raising an impressive $25,881 – well beyond our $20,000 target! This remarkable success reflects our community's passionate commitment to fostering literacy and educational excellence.
Outstanding Performances
Congratulations to our top-performing classes:
1st Place: Ms. Valera's 1st Grade Class - $4,331
2nd Place: Ms. Windsor's Kindergarten Class - $4,265
3rd Place: Ms. Crusoe's 4th Grade Class - $3,178
Special rewards await our champions:
Top 10 students will enjoy a VIP lunch with the Principal
The winning class will receive an exclusive Tiger Surprise!
Upcoming Events
We are excited to announce that our After-School Clubs will begin on Thursday, October 31, 2024, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Club acceptance letters should have been received by Monday, October 28. If you have any questions about the clubs' program, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Pinkard at mawerdi.pinkard@pgcps.org.
We warmly invite you to join our Parent University: Data Night, taking place virtually on Monday, October 28, 2024, from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. This informative session will focus on understanding your child's academic progress through a comprehensive review of various assessments. We will examine MCAP assessments, MISA results, MAP Growth data, Dibels evaluations, iReady progress, and CMIT South ES trend data. Additionally, we will provide valuable resources to support your child's learning journey at home. To join the session, please use the following Zoom details - Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89236907205?pwd=TnLFvbprKFO6QIxjZwakSTAaWoVwEm.1, Meeting ID: 892 3690 7205, Passcode: Uh1L9a.
We are thrilled to announce our upcoming Character Book Parade on Friday, November 1, 2024. To participate, students should choose and dress as their favorite book character, bring the corresponding book, and prepare a short book report to share with their class. This parade promises to be a delightful celebration of literature and creativity! As we continue through this academic year, your partnership in your child's educational journey remains invaluable. Together, we're creating an environment where every student can thrive and develop a lifelong love for learning.
"Reading is not just learning, it's traveling through words to transform minds." 📚✨
As always, remember that the STEM Journey Begins Here at CMIT South Elementary! We're looking forward to a year filled with exciting learning opportunities, personal growth, and impressive achievements for all our scholars. Your support and partnership in this journey are invaluable. Remember, we can't continue this STEM journey without you!
Let's make this year a roaring success! 🦁📚
Wishing you all a 🐾 PawwRific 🐾 day and see you all Monday, October 28, 2024!
With Tiger Pride,
Ms. Tauheedah N. Simmons-Lewis
Acting Principal
Chesapeake Math & IT Academy Elementary South (CMIT)
Mrs. Flores' third graders are showcasing their mathematical mastery amid a harvest of learning! Their vibrant autumn bulletin board displays student work demonstrating their ability to interpret products of whole numbers, with colorful fall leaves and pumpkins framing their achievements. As the seasons change, these young mathematicians are multiplying their knowledge, bringing new meaning to 'Falling into Learning.'"
Please take a look at these October - November calendar reminders:
- October 1-31 - Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- October 1- 31 - National Bullying Prevention Month
- October 1 -31- National Principal Month
- October 1 -31- National ADHD Awareness Month
- October 28 - Parent University - Data Night 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- October 31 End of First Quarter
- November 1 - Character Book Parade
November 1- 3hr early dismissal (11:25 a.m.) - Grading and Reporting Day for Teachers
November 2 - PTO Fall Festival 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
November 5 - School Closed - General Election
- November 18 - 1st Quarter Report Cards Released Online
- November 27-29 - Thanksgiving Break – Schools and Offices Closed
Birthdays are so much fun to celebrate with classmates. However, during the school day, the health and safety of each student are important, especially students with food allergies. Students are ONLY permitted to bring in NON-FOOD items to distribute to classmates at the end of the school day. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping all of our students safe at CMIT South ES.
Additionally, please note that teachers and staff are unable to participate in distributing communications/invitations or email addresses related to birthday celebrations. All planning for birthdays needs to happen outside of school so that it does not take away from the purpose of instruction.
As we get into testing season, here are some excellent resources to help you understand the data coming home and also how to best support your scholar with the resources we have available!
KVS is our school's dismissal tool for car riders. All parents MUST fill out their KVS number when picking up their scholar. It is imperative that numbers are entered once you reach the car line. If your scholar is a car rider, please take time to help him or her practice memorizing his or her number as this will make the dismissal process much quicker!
In November 2020, PGCPS launched an online volunteer application and approval process. Click here for more information on becoming a volunteer and to access the application.
Attendance in school each day is important. Let’s stay in school.
In order for an absence to be considered excused, a written note must accompany the student no later than three (3) days after return to school. The note should include:
- date(s) of absence
- scholar’s name
- Reason for absence
Late or make-up work will not be accepted unless the absence is an excused absence. Please review Administrative Procedure 5113 AP 5113 - Student Attendance, Absence and Truancy for further information.
Students who are absent for ten consecutive days will be withdrawn on the 11th day and will need to re-enroll.
Lawful Absences
Students enrolled in public schools are considered lawfully absent from school for any portion of the day, only under the following conditions:
- Death of a family member
- Illness of the student
- Court appearance
- Work approved or sponsored by a school
- Observance of a religious holiday
- State of emergency
- Suspension from school
- Mental Health (Students may receive as an excused absence one (1) day of absence
- in each semester of each school year for a student’s mental health needs.
- Other emergencies
- Deployment-related absences
Unlawful Absences
Unlawful absence – any time a student does not attend school that does not qualify as the above-listed reasons for a lawful absence.
Tardy
Scholars will be officially tardy if they are not in the building at 8:05 a.m.
If your scholar enters the building after the 8:05 a.m. bell, a parent must escort them into the building and electronically sign them in the late arrival portal. Scholars will be given an orange tardy slip to be permitted to class.
Parents of students who have 10 or more tardies in a semester will be required to meet with the principal/designee to discuss the reasons for the tardies and to develop a plan for improvement.
School Meals
2024-25 School Year Meal Prices
Elementary (Pre-K through Grade 5)
Breakfast: $1.60/day
Lunch: $2.75/day
How to Pay
MySchoolBucks, owned and operated by Heartland Payment Systems, is an online payment service that provides parents the ability to securely pay for meals, monitor student cafeteria purchases, make tuition payments for Before and After School Extended Learning programs, and receive email notifications for low-account balances. With MySchoolBucks, payments can be made 24/7 using a Visa, MasterCard, Discover, credit or debit card, and mobile app.
Principal Lunch Account
ALL breakfast,lunch, and Principal lunch payments should be made via www.myschoolbucks.com.
All money comes/goes to 1 account (child's). All that is needed to set up account (if not done) is
students lunch pin or student id.
Free and Reduced-Price Meals
We encourage all families to consider applying for free and reduced-price meals! Visit www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict to apply online today!
To apply, you will need:
- The name, school, and grade of your school-age children
- The name of all adults living in the home
- Income information for all adults living in the home
- Student ID Numbers for your school-age children
Applications will also be sent home with students the first week of school. Applications are available at all PGCPS schools and can be submitted at any time.
Classroom Guidance Lesson
This week, I visited the Kindergarten classrooms to teach a lesson on bullying. The goal was to help students identify bullying behavior, understand how to respond, and become aware of the consequences. We watched and discussed the read-aloud story "Bully" and then created unity links as a symbol of standing up against bullying.
This week we would also like to remind families to please update your scholar’s emergency contact and pick up list, if you have not already done so. As we begin to enter the colder months, please keep in mind that recess is at 9:40 am so please remember to send jackets/coats with your scholars as it is still chilly in the morning. Also, please continue to work with your scholar on covering their mouths when coughing or sneezing.
Please continue practicing logging into Clever with your students. Friendly reminder that CLEVER can be found on the PGCPS website. Within CLEVER, you can search for both Lexia and iXL to access the sites.
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!!!! Please visit Volunteer with PGCPS in order to register. Please follow all of the required steps and contact your scholar’s teacher with any questions. Inform the teacher when you are approved and ready to support. Thank you for your assistance!
IMPORTANT KINDERGARTEN DATES-
OCTOBER 28-31 Principal Appreciation Spirit Week
OCTOBER 28- PARENT UNIVERSITY : DATA NIGHT 6:30-7:30PM (Virtual)
OCTOBER 31- End of 1st Quarter
NOVEMBER 1- 3 Hour Early Dismissal, the school day ends at 11:25, and Book Character Parade Day
NOVEMBER 2- Fall Festival
November 5- No school
NOVEMBER 21- Family Tree Project Due
Reading:
UNIT 2: Living Together
Week 1: Animals on the Move
Essential Question: Why do some animals move from place to place?
UNIT 1 ASSESSMENT
Phonological Awareness: Initial and Final Sounds; Segment and Blend Phonemes
Blend and Segment: Onset and Rime
Phonics: Consonants Dd and Kk
High-Frequency Words: of, are, that
Spelling words found in weekly readings: butterflies, geese, whales
Unit Vocabulary: grow, need, share, depend
Learning Goals:
Identify the main idea to understand informational text
Find the Main Idea and Supporting Details
Make Inferences About Main Ideas
Words that Name Different Animals
Adjectives and Articles
Rhyming Sort
Math:
TOPIC 3- Numbers 6 to 10
Essential Understanding: Counting tells how many are in a set, or group, no matter which order the objects are counted. The number said when counting a group is the total. Counting is cumulative.
Ways to make ten, which groups of numbers can be counted together to make ten
Which number is one less or one greater than any given number
Counting tells how many are in a set or a group, no matter which order the objects are counted
The last number said when counting a group is the total number
Use objects, drawings, and numbers to represent numbers in different ways
Vocabulary: six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ten frame, make ten
Science:
TOPIC 2 LESSON 1- Senses
Essential Question: How can you classify different objects?
Name the five senses
What can our senses tell us about structure and function
We observe using the senses
Vocabulary: senses, structure, function, sorting
Social Studies:
CHAPTER 2 LESSON 1- Our Country and State
Essential Question- What does it mean to be American?
I will know about America
There are 50 states in our nation
Discuss the people who live in our country
Vocabulary: nation, state, country
Health:
NOVEMBER TOPIC: Healthy Foods
Lesson 1:Food Needs for Life
Identify food as a need for all living things.
Explain how choosing healthful food promotes a positive self-image.
Identify routines for healthy eating.
Compare and contrast the needs of living things.
Grade Level Blurb:
This month, we will begin learning about a new character trait--Gratitude. Students will practice showing gratitude to others. Please be sure to reinforce this trait at home!
Updates:
1. Spelling, this week, is a continuation from last week. Students will take their spelling test on Thursday, October 31st. They will have (7) spelling assignments by this date. Please be sure to continue to monitor your scholar's digital agenda for updates regarding homework and tests.
Ms. Brown-Taylor's Digital Agenda
Reminders:
1. STEM Career topic was DUE for all 1st grade teachers on Friday, October 25th. If you have not submitted this to your teacher, please be sure to do so by Monday, October 28th.
2. As the weather begins to change, please ensure your scholar is dressed appropriately for the weather. All classes have outdoor recess 2-3 times per week and will be outdoors unless the temperature drops below 32 degrees. If your scholar is not dressed for the weather, they will be asked to play indoors.
3. Please be sure to check Synergy regularly for up-to-date grades. To access your parent portal account, please click here! For assistance with logging in, please find additional support and information here!
4. Please check green folders nightly and sign behavior calendars to acknowledge daily behavior. Please also be sure to empty and review all papers on the "Keep at Home" side.
5. Please send a healthful, DRY snack for your scholar to enjoy at the end of the day.
6. As we head into cold and flu season, please be sure to listen to your scholar when they say they do not feel well. Students should be symptom and fever free for 24 hours, without medication, before returning to school. We are doing our best to keep our classroom safe and healthy, but we need your help! Please refer to the PGCPS sick policy for additional information:
https://www.pgcps.org/globalassets/offices/school-health/docs---school-health/When-to-Stay-Home-From-School-or-Work.pdf
Reading:
Continuation...
Unit 1 Week 5
This week in reading, we will focus on the question, "What kind of neighborhood do you live in?" Students will read their first procedural text, "Making a Map." In this text, students will learn more about how to make a map. They will also learn how to identify and locate graphics, as well as how to make and confirm predictions.
Phonics:
Letters/Sounds:
/Uu/
Heart Words
as, he, three, to, with
Math:
Topic 2
Students are wrapping up, or have wrapped up, Topic 2. Please stay tuned for an update for homework due dates and testing dates.
Topic 3
Students will use addition strategies from topic 2 to practicing adding within 20.
Science:
Continued...
Topic 1
Students are wrapping up their unit on sound. Please stay tuned for updates from your scholar's teacher regarding testing!
Social Studies:
Continued...
Topic 1
Students are wrapping up their unit on citizens. Please stay tuned for updates from your scholar's teacher regarding testing!
Health:
Students will finish up their article on different body parts and test this week! Our next article will be more on why we eat!
Grade Level Blurb:
Hello Hello Tiger Families, Thank you for another great week of partnership. Students come to school prepared and ready to learn. Remember Monday October 28,2024 is Data Night. Please join us via zoom.
Reading:
In reading students are finishing up Unit 1. This upcoming week will be a Project based writing week.
Math:
Topic 3 of Math is to add within 100 using different strategies.
Science:
Scholars will take a break from the curriculum and complete in class experiments. THe experiments will incorporate the scientific method.
Social Studies:
Health: Students will learn about the brain and how messages travel through their bodies to their muscles.
Grade Level Blurb:
We are looking forward to seeing how students participate in Character Day! Please remember that there is also a 3-hr early dismissal that day.
Reading:
We have started reading about myths! Additionally, we have worked on parts of speech and vowel diphthongs (ou, ow, oi, oy).
Math:
Students are on Topic 3 - distributive property, as well as multiplication facts for 3,4, 6 and 7!
Science:
We are still learning about electricity, and students completed a lab investigation on conductors and insulators by using a simple circuit and various materials!
Social Studies:
We are finishing up Chapter 1!
Health:
We are still learning about the functions of the eye!
Grade Level Blurb:
Greetings Tiger Family,
We are now entering our last week of the first quarter. The last day of the quarter is Thursday October 31,2024. At this time it is not possible to make up any work due to it being five days before the end of the quarter. Our students have continued to strive for mastery in school wide expectations. It is important that now as the weather changes throughout the day that scholars have proper outer garments for recess and P.E.
As we move into the second quarter we will increase the level of interventions to support student needs. We will continue to have Winning Wednesdays with the focus being on reaching students where they may be. Please be on the lookout for specialized letters and emails sent to you regarding tutoring and other programs we have at the school.
Parent Teacher Conferences:
Although Monday October 7, 2024 was an official day given for conferences teachers are available to conference with families as needed. Please reach out to the homeroom teacher about scheduling a parent teacher conference.
Important Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday October 23- Thursday 31, 2024: Red Ribbon Week
Thursday October 31, 2024- End of 1st Quarter
Friday November 01, 2024- Book Character Parade
Friday November 01, 2024- 3 Hour Early Dismissal
Uniforms:
We are a uniform school. Students must be in the proper uniform each and every day. Students are expected to have mostly black shoes. They may wear a navy blue or school logo jacket or pullover during class. Students will be asked to remove any jacket or sweater that is not following the uniform policy.
Fourth Grade Reminders:
This is a friendly reminder that late work is only accepted if a student has an excused absence! If a scholar is absent and does not bring a note they will earn a 0 on the assignment that was missed. Please read the reminders to ensure that you are partnering with your scholars to make them successful for school.
Students must bring their agenda book each day. Teachers will note the agenda book and it should be signed nightly by the adult at home.
Please allow up to 48 business hours for all responses to emails and Classdojo messages. Teachers are not actively monitoring their emails during the day because we are engaged in instruction. Emails are not monitored over the weekend or in the evening hours when teachers have gone home. If the message sent relates to dismissal changes please call the school directly to leave a message with the front office.
Please check Synergy weekly to see scholar’s updated grades. Canvas is a Learning Management System in which scholars utilize to complete assignments and get access to materials.The grades provided in Synergy are those that will be used to calculate progress reports and report cards.
If your scholar is absent, please share a note with the homeroom teacher within 3 days of your scholar returning back to school. In order for students to receive make-up work you must provide a note stating; the student’s name, the date of absence, and reason for absence. Work is provided to students upon their return to school with an absence note.
Reading:
All texts that are being read in the classroom are also available for students to reread at home in their Vol. 1 textbooks. Please have students continue to read and discuss with you information that they find in the text. Students should always read a portion of the text and share any thoughts or questions they had while reading. Students should also note the text underlining, circling, and highlighting parts of the story that were important to know. Homework continues to be sent home on a weekly basis on the first day of the week.
This Week: Students began reading a biography called “Barbed Wire Baseball” the story of Zeni, a man who created a baseball field while he was in a Japanese internment camp.This story can be found in the Vol.1 textbook pages 156-181. Students read the text closely this week by monitoring their inner conversations. Students also were able to identify the text structure of the text. Using the text structure of chronological order students were able to create a summary of the story.
Next Week: Students will continue to read the text “Barbed Wire Baseball.” week. The Students will write an opinion essay about the author’s purpose. Students will have to give their opinion and support their opinion with details given in the text. Students will also continue to work with words that have prefixes and be able to determine the meaning of the prefixes in order to be able to decode the meaning of a word. Students will also have a spelling quiz in Ms. Crusoe’s reading class.
Math:
This week we are diving further into Topic 2:Fluently Add and Subtract Whole Numbers. exploring the four focus strategies for our topic, partial sums and differences, standard algorithm, estimation and rounding and using the number line to count up and down when solving equations.
Please check Synergy ParentVue and Canvas with your scholar to ensure the completion of assignments.
Science:
This week we continued our exploration of Topic 1 Lesson 2 “Collisions”, this section focuses on the changes in energy that occur when objects of differing mass collide and the different ways energy can be transferreD between objects.
*STEM FAIR REMINDER* Materials, Procedures, and Variables DUE 11/6
Please check Synergy ParentVue and Canvas with your scholar to ensure completion of assignments
Social Studies:
This week: Students took Unit 1 quiz to assess their understanding of key concepts. Following the quiz, they will begin their "Quest Findings" activity, where they will create an advertisement highlighting a specific region in the United States. This project will require them to research and incorporate information about local resources, adaptations to the environment, and the region's weather and climate. The goal is to effectively showcase the unique characteristics of their chosen region while demonstrating their understanding of the material.
Next week: Students will continue to work on their "Quest Findings" activity, where they will create an advertisement highlighting a specific region in the United States. This project will require them to research and incorporate information about local resources, adaptations to the environment, and the region's weather and climate. The goal is to effectively showcase the unique characteristics of their chosen region while demonstrating their understanding of the material.
Health:
In health we are learning about our Mouths and keeping our Teeth Healthy and clean.
Grade Level Blurb
We are excited to share what’s happening in our class and what’s coming up next!
Reading:
Students are honing their skills by identifying the speaker’s point of view (POV) in narratives. This practice helps them better understand stories from different perspectives.
Math:
We are wrapping up Topic 3 with an assessment next week focused on multiplication. Students are making great progress on their Pick a Project assignment, which involves adding decimals. Their work looks amazing so far!
Science:
In Ms. Jenkins’ class, we’ve begun exploring The Four Spheres, learning how Earth’s systems interact. Meanwhile, Ms. Lewis’ class is wrapping up their unit on Changes in Matter.
Social Studies:
We have just assigned a new Sailor Project, where students will explore what life was like for sailors traveling to the colonies. We look forward to seeing their creativity and research skills in action!
Health:
We connected health with our Pick a Project assignment! Students researched how many calories we should consume daily and explored how amusement park activities can support a healthy lifestyle.
Lego:
This week in Legos and Robotics, the students continued creating their machines or programs that help solve a problem.
PE-
This week in PE we continued learning about the benefits of Physical activity and sports. Students learned about physical health, mental health, and social benefits that participating in physical activity gives us. At home, ask them to name a few!
CHESAPEAKE MATH AND IT SOUTH ELEMENTARY
• Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.
• Grades: K-5
• Uniform: Yes
• Before After School Enrichment: Yes
http://clfmd.org/enrichment-2/
• School Colors: Hunter Green, Navy Blue
• School Mascot: "Roary" the Tiger
• School Website: http://www.cmitsouthes.org
For more information