The Mustang Minute
August 29, 2019 - Issue 1
Welcome Back!
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to a new year at Coakley Middle School! I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer with time to relax, time with family, and rejuvenate for the fall. I know the staff here at the Coakley is ready to jump into a new year!
NEW FACULTY AT CMS
We have several new staff members here at CMS this year and I know they are excited to get started working with all of our students.
Mr. Eric Oulette will be teaching French to grade 6-8 and Mr. William Wright is our new 6-8 Spanish Teacher. We are excited to have Ms. Heidi Weber join us as the new grade 7 math teacher for the Gold team (Ms. Norris has moved to grade 6 Gold). Joining our guidance staff we have two new school adjustment counselors, Ms. Deanna Norton and Ms. Raina Keenan. We have a whole new program at CMS called Bridges that will be lead by Ms. Sandra Grobe with paraprofessional help from Ms. Kezia Dasari. We also have Mr. Dimitri Evangelatos providing paraprofessional support in the PLC program and Mr. Andrew Nemes has moved from the Oldham to work with the PACS program at CMS.
As we enter these final few days of summer, we have a few additional roles to fill, so keep a look out for new faces!
GUIDANCE COUNSELORS
Each grade is assigned a guidance counselor to support students and help facilitate communication. Guidance counselors follow their students to the next grade every year in order to build strong relationships and maintain continuity during a student’s three years at CMS. The guidance counselor assignments this year are as follows:
Grade 8: Ms. Ashley McCaffrey amccaffrey@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 7: Ms. Meghan Mba mmba@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 8: Ms. Allyson King aculgin@norwood.k12.ma.us
Please note that both Ms. Mba and Ms. King are out on maternity leave and have the following long term substitutes for the fall:
Grade 7: Mr. Josh Brooks-Ramsdell jbrooksramsdell@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 8: Maria Laham mlaham@norwood.k12.ma.us
Please do not hesitate to contact our guidance staff or a member of our administrative team with questions or concerns as we help your child transition to his or her next step in their middle school education.
HOME - SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
As we look ahead to a new year together, please know that here at Coakley Middle School, our partnership with parents/guardians and the community is a priority and an integral part of meeting the needs of our students. Communication is a key component of that partnership. Toward that end, we encourage you to update your email in Aspen so that you receive the CMS Weekly Newsletter, “The Mustang Minute”. We encourage you to get involved with the CMS PTO. The PTO meets the first Thursday of every month in the CMS Library at 6:30 p.m. The Parent Open House this year is scheduled for Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
In addition to formal events like the Open House, there are other ways to stay connected with the school. Many of our CMS teachers actively use websites to communicate about assignments and curriculum. Parents are also encouraged to use the Parent Portal in Aspen in order to view student grades online. Finally, in addition to my weekly parent emails, we post information about upcoming events on our school website, which is updated weekly and I frequently post to twitter (@mfraczek) and to the Coakley Middle School facebook page.
I look forward to meeting all of the parents and students over the coming year and working with our staff to engage our students in a dynamic learning experience. Middle School is one of the most exciting, challenging, and amazing times and I am excited to be a part of your child’s life for the many experiences they will have here at CMS.
Welcome back and we hope to see you soon!
Margo Fraczek
Principal
Student Schedules
Over the next few days you may notice some slight class changes as we balance schedules and student class sizes in order to optimize teaching and learning.
Drop Off and Pick-up for School
DAILY SCHOOL ARRIVAL PROCEDURES
Students Arriving to School by Bus
Students arriving to school on the bus will be greeted at the gym door on the right (tennis court) side of the building and directed to either the gym or the cafeteria depending on their grade. Teachers and administrators will supervise students in the gym and cafeteria prior to their dismissal to homerooms beginning at 7:15 a.m. All students should enter the building through the gym door prior to 7:15 a.m. unless they have a medical need. After 7:15 a.m., students may enter the school through the front door.
Students Arriving to School by Car or Walking
Parents dropping off their student must use the parking loop on the left side of the school (when facing the school). We ask parents to pull up as far as they can adjacent to the sidewalk to allow more than one car at a time to drop off students. After dropping off students, cars should follow the signs to loop back out through the parking lot on the left of the school. Students dropped off by parents must still enter the school via the gym door on the far right of the school along with all students prior to 7:15 a.m. Parents may not pull into the lot on the pool side of the school or use the front bus lane.
Students who walk to school must cross only at the crosswalk, follow the directions of the crossing guards assigned at each entrance to the school, and also proceed to the gym door prior to 7:15 a.m.
DAILY DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
Students Walking and Taking the Bus
Students will be dismissed from school at the ringing of the final bell at 2:05 p.m. They should gather their belongings at their lockers and exit the building through one of the doors leading to the front of the building. Buses will be lined up in the same order every day, and teachers will assist students in finding their buses. Buses are authorized to leave by an administrator once all students are on the buses, typically around 2:11 p.m.
Walkers will exit the school property via the crosswalk on the far left of the school at the end of the bus line and proceed down past the pool.
Car Pick-up
Parents/Guardians picking up their students from school at the end of the day should park in a legal parking spot in the parking lot on the left side of the building (when you are facing the building). Staff have been asked to make these spots available for parents. PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON THE GRASS OR AGAINST THE CURB AND DO NOT PULL INTO THE MORNING DROP OFF LOOP. Teachers will be at the parent pick-up lot to safely cross students so that they can locate their parent/guardian’s car safely. Please do not park in this lot prior to 1:40 pm as the buses will now be parked in this area.
A new furry and friendly student!
A service dog should not be petted or treated like a pet by other students at school. This animal is highly trained and will stay with the student to which it is assigned. Trainers work with the family and the animal in order to ensure safety for everyone. We will have assemblies within the first few days of school so that all students are aware of the service dog and be informed as to proper procedures around the animal . If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email.
Looking for some Extra Supplies
School Supply Kits
If anyone is in need of school supplies and unable to afford all items, please reach out to the guidance office. We have received several generous donations of backpacks filled with supplies for students in need.
Chromebook Distribution
Friday, September 6th - Grade 7 & 8
Monday, September 9th - grade 6
Student must have turned in their completed 1:1 Chromebook agreement form and insurance check in order to receive their Chromebook. I will send these out via connectEd as well as hard copies on the first day of school.
PTO Corner
The PTO meets the second Thursday of each month to hear an update from the principal and discuss planning related to enrichment, fundraising, activities and other topics of interest. You can also stay up to date with the CMS PTO by following us on Facebook. You can contact the PTO at coakleypto@gmail.com.
Welcome New PTO Leaders!
Thank you to Arati Paranjpe and Favor Anoke-Sameul for volunteering to serve as next year's PTO president and vice president, respectively. For all those who reached out to offer to help, they will be in touch in coming weeks to coordinate. The PTO still needs a secretary and treasurer and many other helping hands. If you are interested to volunteer, please email coakleypto@gmail.com.
Important Dates
September 5th - FIrst Day of School
September 24th from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Open House
September 23rd - 27th: Start with Hello!
Dr. Margo Fraczek
Email: mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/norwood.k12.ma.us/cms-principal/home
Phone: 781-762-7880
Twitter: @mfraczek