The CHMS Post
JANUARY 10, 2023
Challenger Middle School Mission
To provide an exemplary education that develops critical thinking and problem solving skills which inspire our students to challenge their minds and charge their spirits.
Principal's Corner
Hello Charger Families!
As we wrap up a successful first semester and prepare for semester two, we would like to take a moment to review some of our schoolโs expectations:
Supplies - It is very important that our students have their supplies for class every single day. Please take the time to have your student go through their backpack, clean out any unnecessary items, and replenish the needed supplies. Pencils, notebooks, charged Chromebooks, expo markers, and wired headphones are just a few of the necessary supplies' students need to ensure they are successful in their classes.
Dress Code - Please ensure that your child is adhering to the dress code. Appropriate school attire is an expectation each and every day in all classrooms. Leggings, pajamas, slippers, bodycon dresses, and transparent clothing are not acceptable school attire. Dresses, shorts and skirts should all be of appropriate length. Jeans/pants cannot have tears or rips in them. Please have a discussion with your student about what qualifies as appropriate school attire, and what outfits might be better suited for the weekend.
Water Bottles - Water bottles must be clear/translucent. Students are only allowed to have water in their water bottles. Anything other than this will be confiscated immediately.
Cell Phones, Wireless Earbuds, and Smart Watches- These devices are to be turned off and put away in your childโs backpack the moment they are on campus until the moment they are off campus. They should not be on their person for any reason. Students who violate this policy will have their device confiscated and a phone call home will be made.
Please visit https://chm.leeschools.net/ if you have any questions about the information above.
Thank you for your continued support. We are excited for the new semester!
Mrs. Winfree
Principal
Challenger Middle School
Connect with Lee
Free tutoring offered by the district with live educational experts.
Connect with Lee will be offered Monday - Thursday from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Both Teachers and Students can access this resource via the Connect with Lee app on their Launchpad!
Report Cards!
Q2 Report Cards were finalized on January 9, 2023, and will be available to parents through Focus starting January 13, 2023.
Yearbook
Yearbooks are still on sale! From now until March 1st, you can get a year full of amazing middle school memories now for $40.
After March 1st, they will no longer be available for sale online.
To purchase a yearbook please visit: ybpay.lifetouch.com and enter our school code: 14294623
UPCOMING TESTING DATES:
**testing dates have changed due to some teachers and students being off campus, our updated testing dates are below**
Wednesday, January 11th:
FAST PM2- Reading
Wednesday, January 18th:
FAST PM2- Math
STAR (Alg/ Geo)
Thursday, January 19th:
6th Science (school-based testing)
7th Civics- PM
8th Science- PM
WIDA Testing
WIDA testing begins January 23rd and runs through March 10th.
ALL LY students will be tested during this time. We currently have 92 students. There are many parts to the testing, so your LY students will be pulled several times during this testing window.
Upcoming Events...
School Choice Open House
On January 19th, 2023 Challenger will be hosting an open house from 5:30pm - 7:00pm.
Our teachers, staff, and admin will be available for questions. You can learn more about what electives, clubs, and sports Challenger offers. We are very excited to meet you, and tell you everything we love about our school.
Come check out everything Challenger has to offer!
School Spelling Bee ๐
Challengerโs annual school Spelling Bee will be held on February 13th, from 10:00-12:00 in the gymnasium. ELA classes hosted class Spelling Bees during the week of December 12th, to determine the finalists for our school Bee. Parents and families are welcome to root for their child in person this year! Students who have advanced to the school spelling bee will receive more information soon.
Soccer โฝ
Soccer sign-ups will be taking place on January 10, 2023!
Tryout will take place starting Wednesday, January 11th, and teams will be selected and posted by Friday, January 27th.
Please feel free to email either Coach Mac (boys) - johnmac@leeschools.net or
Coach Reeve (girls) - tylerr@leeschools.net for any questions or concerns.
Volleyball ๐
Our volleyball teams had an amazing year, even with it shortened. We are so very proud of the effort and dedication these students put forward during their shortened season. They performed so well, and did their absolute best every game. Congratulations to both the boys and girls team on their wonderful season!
BOTH OF THE FORMS LINKED BELOW NEED TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER FOR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY SPORT.
๐ 12 Days of Christmas ๐
From December 6th - December 21st we had lots of holiday cheer at Challenger Middle! We had many themed dress up days to celebrate the last 12 days leading up to the end of school. Both staff and students had fun participating in the holiday celebrations! ๐
๐ชฉ GLOW DANCE ๐ชฉ
On December 9th, our student council hosted our first dance of the year - the Glow Dance! This event was many months in the making, and was a great success thanks to Ms. Spero and her student council members.
Our students had so much fun eating snacks, hanging out, and dancing the night away! We canโt wait to see you at the next dance!!!
The Mummification Process!
Students in Ms. Sander's class presenting their mummification projects! They walked the class through the embalming process and included classmates from the audience to come up and be part of helping during each step. They even had resin (syrup). They used salt containers for their "natron" and made organs out of play dough which they placed into canopic (Mason) jars.
๐ต Winter Band Concert ๐บ
On December 15th our band performed in the gym for family and staff! The gym was packed and the students sounded amazing. Huge shoutout to both the students that performed, and both Mr. Devlin & Mr. Devitt for dedicating so much time and pouring into our band students.
๐๏ธ Winter Chorus Concert & Gift Giving ๐ถ
On December 16th Challenger Middle was able to bless 20 of our students and their siblings (47 children total) with Christmas gifts. We want to send the biggest thank you to Mrs. Brooks who organized, decorated, and sponsored this event. We also want to give a shout-out to our โChallenger elvesโ who wrapped gifts, sponsored an angel, donated items, helped decorate, and everything in between.
Ms. Batista and her chorus students also sang Christmas carols to all attendants, and truly brought the holiday spirit.
Advanced Theatre Class Field Trip
December 15th, Ms. Leonardโs advanced theatre class took a trip to North Fort Myers High School to see Beauty and the Beast Jr!
The students had a great time and enjoyed the wonderful performance.
All County Choir Results
Please congratulate the following students that have been accepted to be a part of the All-County Choir for the 2022-2023 season. These students showed much dedication and commitment to prepare for this audition and I am very proud of them. These students are up for their second year participating in the all-county choir ensemble.
- Marissa Darby (7th Grade)
- Ethan Mohring (8th Grade)
- Taleah Walters (7th Grade)
All-County Honor Choir Rehearsals
Tuesday, January 17th from 6:00-8:00pm - Fort Myers High School (2635 Cortez Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33901)
-
Monday, January 23rd from 6:00-8:00pm - Cypress Lake High School Center for the Arts (6750 Panther Ln, Fort Myers, FL 33919)
Choir MPA Rehearsal/Sightreading Prep
- Friday, January 20th from 4:30-6:00pm - Room 2-108
Class Pet of the Month
Sunny the Snake
Sunny is a Ball Python located in Mr. Brooks' class. She loves to chill around Mr. Brooks' neck for warmth. She's very passive as long as she doesn't feel threatened. She has had many rat friends although those friendships never seem to last. Mr. Brooks has had her for four years, but he's not sure of her age because he got her from someone else.
January Bus Driver of the Month!
Our January Bus Driver of the Month is Steve from bus 2799!
He is always in a good mood, and is always being polite to kids. Steve makes driving a bus seem like a breeze.
January Students of the Month!
We would like to congratulate the following students on their outstanding excellence in school! Each student listed below was specifically selected by one or more of their teachers to receive this award. We are very proud of our students and the hard work they continue to put in.
6th Grade
Madison Davila
Serenity Norat
Berlyn Perkins
Amy Puebla-Erazo
Sofia Rodriguez
Christopher Romero
Steven Terekhin
7th Grade
Andrea Acosta
Greyson Buller
Analise Burgos
Sofia Delgado
Amanda Fernandez
Angelo Maturell
Nola Rager
Jer'Nauriah Woodard
8th Grade
Paige Betterman
Geira Cameron
Elianna Castro
Lucas Hagins
Sanet Jimenez
Maxwell Leontes
O'mier Nalls
Mason Paul
Kealina Perry
Maikel Zamora
Parent Appreciation
We would like to give a shout out and a huge thank you to Ampi Elizondo for supporting not only our PTO, but also our Teacher's Christmas Potluck. We are so grateful for your generosity! Our teachers and staff enjoyed the delicious food very much!!!
PTO/SAC
PTO/SAC Meetings occur the first Thursday of every month. Our next meeting will take place on January 12, 2023.
PTO will start at 5:30pm and run until 6:00pm.
SAC will then begin at 6:00pm and go until 6:30pm.
All PTO/SAC Meetings will be held in person at Challenger Middle School in the Media Center.
Challenger PAWS-itive Drop Off
Have you heard the news???
Every Friday at Parent Drop Off there's a special treat just for your pups! Bring your furry friends with you to the Challenger Drop Off line on Friday mornings, and your pup will receive a yummy treat from Ms. Hinton at the end of the line.
We hope to see more cute pups soon!!!
Who am I?
Below you will find a riddle that hints at a staff member at Challenger Middle School. Reading the clues, take your best guess as to who the riddle is about, and submit your answer using the Google Form below!
Whoever guesses correctly will receive kudos from Mrs. Wilke!
The winners will be chosen and announced on January 27th, 2022!
Important Dates
Below are a list of dates for when both interims and report cards will be available to both students and parents. ๐
1st Quarter
Interim โ Sept. 12th
Report Card โ Nov. 1st
2nd Quarter
Interim โ Nov. 16th
Report Card โ Jan. 13th
3rd Quarter
Interim โ Feb. 9th
Report Card โ March 22nd
4th Quarter
Interim โ April 27th
Report Card โ June 12th
Out of Field Teachers
Anthony Barbier
Abbey Flecha
Mariel Orengo
Challenger Middle School
Email: staciaaw@leeschools.net
Website: https://chm.leeschools.net/
Location: 624 Trafalgar Pkwy, Cape Coral, FL, USA
Phone: (239) 242-4341
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChallengerMS
Twitter: @ChallengerLCSD
Lee County School Board
Armor Persons, District 5 (Chair)
Samuel Fisher, District 1 (Vice Chair)
Melisa W. Giovannelli, District 2
Chris N. Patricca, District 3
Debbie Jordan, District 4
Jada Langford-Fleming, District 6
Cathleen O'Daniel Morgan, District 7
Kathy Dupuy-Bruno, Esq., Board Attorney
Dr. Christopher Bernier
Superintendent