Crabapple MS Staff-Update

November 4-Professional Development Day (see schedule below)

November 5- 6th Grade Field Trip to Gladiators

November 5-Home volleyball match vs. Holcomb Bridge (student observers must attend with an adult)

November 6-AdStaff @ SLC (Ms. Haga out)

November 7-Home volleyball match vs. Sandy Springs MS (student observers must attend with an adult)

November 11-Veterans Day Breakfast and Celebration

November 12-Picture Makeup Day (During AM Connections.Retakes available for those purchasing photos or did not have their photo taken on October 23)

November 14-Home volleyball match vs. Ridgeview (student observers must attend with an adult)

November 19-21 8th Grade Georgia Studies Trip

November 24-28 Thanksgiving Break

The school year is in full swing, and your educators continue to create classrooms, schools, and teams where learning and belonging thrive. As a proud partner in education, Western Governors University (WGU) would love to help make this their best year yet!

In honor of American Education Week (November 17–21), WGU is celebrating educators across Georgia and Florida through the Fund My Classroom Grant — awarding up to $300 in classroom supplies to empower innovation, creativity, and student success.

Would you please help us spread the word to your faculty and staff?

They can apply quickly and easily using the link below:

Apply Here: https://forms.office.com/r/YW4E7igsmG

Deadline to apply: November 21

Winners announced: December 5

Thank you for your continued leadership in supporting educators and their classrooms. Together, we can help your team access resources that make a real difference for students.

Meetings with the Bookkeeper

With planning periods being spread throughout the entire day – I’m trying to make myself available to you all with questions, etc. I’m finding that multiple teachers are popping in during the same planning period(s) and I have to turn someone away (eek!).

If you need to meet with me for something that may take longer than a few minutes – please consider scheduling time with me. You are not required to schedule time, but it will help to ensure my focus in on your needs without interruption.

To make this as easy as possible for everyone – you will now see a link in the signature line of my email that says: Book time with Zapata, Brenda.

The attached instructions will show you the easy steps to schedule a meeting.

From the Coaching Corner

• MEDIA CENTER CLOSED MONDAY, 11/3, 8th period: The Media Center will close at 3:30 on Monday, 11/3, for all students. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.
• Salvatore also out on Wednesday, 11/5, for 1st and 2nd period: We hope to have coverage but will update everyone that morning if not.
• November Media Programming:
• School AI Family Stories Contest: November Media Center Contest 2025.docx
• Stop by the Media Center to hang a leaf showcasing your favorite book or a book you’re thankful for.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! 🎉

PIRCH – 3rd

LEVEILLEE – 4th

STAFF BREAKFAST

Tomorrow @ 9AM in the cafeteria - Thank you, 6th grade teachers, Michael, Lavender, Lenich, Landreth, & McCollum, for hosting! 🙂

VETERANS DAY

A poppy pin will be placed in your mailbox later this week. Please wear it on Veterans Day (November 11) to honor and show appreciation for those who have served in the armed forces—especially Mrs. Pujals, Mr. David Lee, Coach Jonsson, Officer Boyd, and Officer Heard.

HOLIDAY 9th PERIOD

Join us for some holiday cheer immediately after school on Friday, December 5th at Taco Mac (685 W Crossville Rd). RSVP by 12/3

HOLIDAY 9TH PERIOD (Dec. 5th @ Taco Mac) – Fill out form

STAFF FAVORITES

They're located in our CMS Staff Team (!Documents > FILES > STAFF FAVORITES). Feel free to check them out anytime - they're perfect for adding a personal touch and building community.

Ms. Vargas exemplifies dedication and excellence in every role she undertakes at CMS. As our Extramural Tennis Coach, she inspires student-athletes with her unwavering support through the promotion of skill development and sportsmanship. Her commitment to honoring our nation's heroes as a key member of the Veterans Day Committee reflects her deep respect for service and community. Additionally, her contributions to the 7th grade Social Studies PLC demonstrate her instructional expertise while also helping to elevate the learning experience for all students. Ms. Vargas is a valued leader whose positive impact is felt within our school.

School Links

Homeroom teachers-Please login to Classlink and look for a new icon called School Links. If you don’t see it, try searching for it with the search tool. This is the replacement for You Science. Please click into the application and let Mrs. Haga know if you cannot sign in. Counselors will be using this in the future and we want to make sure your accounts are set up correctly before they are needed.

Leadership Notes

At our last Leadership meeting we discussed the following:

1. Possible district switch from student laptops to student Chromebooks- The district is strongly considering replacing the K-8 student laptops with Chromebooks. This is both a cost saving measure, but also it simplifies the IT support needed. Please see the presentation linked here for more information about why the county is considering this. There is also an optional feedback survey. If you have worked in a district that used Chromebooks and have info to share or you have thoughts about the change, please enter your feedback into the survey. Your voice is important.
2. PLC Meeting Agendas-PLC leads. Please know that your meeting agendas should be a list of the work your team will do/has done in your PLC meeting. If you are creating a CFA, or analyzing data, you do not have to include every piece of data or every conversation in the meeting minutes. The minutes should show that you were talking about it and what next steps the team or individuals will take based on your data discussion.
3. Weekly commitments-Thank you to the teams who are consistently inputting their weekly commitments. The purpose of these is a weekly pause to remind ourselves of our goals and to prioritize the most important work we can do this week to help move us toward our goals. It doesn’t have to be something extra, it can and should be the things we are going to prioritize. For example, one week it may be about making an effort to connect with a child to help motivate them to try, another week it might be about finding leveled texts to share with your PLC, another might be to plan for and use the 5-step notetaking process with fidelity in an upcoming week/unit of lessons. You could also make a commitment to explore a new resource and share it with the team the following week. There are so many options and there is no real right or wrong to them. The commitments are important to ensure that we don’t lose sight of our goals, and they are not getting swept aside because of all the other things that we have to do.
4. November 4 Schedule- We will have a staff meeting in the cafeteria starting at 9am. Breakfast will be hosted by our 6th grade team (Thank you 6th grade!). From 10am-noon you will have a combination of Department Meetings and AVID training. The rest of the time is yours to do with as you please. SEC teachers-as discussed in our meeting and via email-your training will last beyond 12. Please use the time given in Haga’s email earlier this week to compensate.

504 End of Nine Week Task

Please check your 504 Dashboard in Infinite Campus and sign off on all 504 plans. There were 35 meetings held during the first nine weeks! Several changes have been made to the plans so please review carefully and acknowledge. This task must be completed by Friday, October 31, 2025. Thank you!

• PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING THIS GRADING TIMELINE: Grading One Pager - CMS 2025-2026.docx

• Please make sure your percentages match in Infinite Campus and Canvas for Majors, Minors, and Practices.

• Need help posting grades? Click on the links below:
• FCS Posting Grades​​​​​​​ and Non-Academic Skills
• FCS Posting Non-Academic Skills Video
• NAS Auto Fill Steps with pics
• CC Post Grad​​​​​​​es
• CC Post Grades for Multiple Sections
• CC Post Grades using the Post Grades Tool

Student Travel Opportunity: Japan!

If you are excited about the idea of offering students the opportunity for educational travel and would like to help spread the word about the next student trip, please reach out to Maggie Nelms. The next trip is Japan 2027!

October 27-PBIS Halloween Celebration and 504 Need to Know

October 20-Parent and Student Payment Directions and School Pictures

October 6- PBIS Staff Assessment Survey and Canvas Support Update

September 29- Revised Morning Help Session Process and Q1 Grading Update

September 22- TKES Goals and COPPA Update

September 15- Extended Learning and RTI Update

September 8- TKES Reminder and Student Attendance Update

September 1-Clubs and Teacher Mini Grant Update

August 25- Grading and AM/PM Procedure Update

August 18- PBIS, Centegix Badge, and BOY Media Center Update

August 11- Vanguard, Yearbook, Handling Medical Emergencies Follow-up.

July 30 -Important Dates for the Year, PBIS resources, Staff Handbook, Duty Schedules, Master Schedule, and Substitute Information

July 25 - Summer Need to Know Information