Chase Middle School Newsletter
November/December 2021
From the Principal
We wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! When students return from Thanksgiving, Chase will begin the mid-year progress assessments in Reading and Math. Students will need to do their very best as we will be looking for growth from their August scores on Scantron and Fastbridge assessments. Results of these mid-year assessments will help guide 3rd and 4th quarter interventions in math and reading.
If you are needing coats for your students, please call our office and we can help with that. December is a very short month. Students' last day will be December 17th. We will return to our tradition of having a special activity on that afternoon, Winter Olympics, where Advisor Bases play games and have winter olympic themed activities. Students and staff, as always, will wear their masks and we will space activities throughout the building. We have been announcing requirements for participation weekly since November 15th. Since this special event is less structured, we are setting an incentive to meet Chase Way expectation criteria: One or fewer failing grades, 4 or fewer office discipline referrals and no out of school suspensions from November 15th-December 16th.
PTO will be helping at one of the stations in the commons and we are very thankful for their help this year. They are also donating 3 gift cards for students - $50, $25 and $25. Each grade level team also donates a gift card. Drawings will occur at the end of the event prior to dismissal. Instead of an all school assembly, this year we will do the drawings over Zoom and each classroom will watch the awards as we end our Semester!
We wish all of you a blessed and healthy Holiday season!
Kelley Norman, Principal
Upcoming Events
13: Girls' B-Ball Varsity Mid Season Tournament and Boys' Soccer @ TWest
15: Boys' Soccer @ TWest
16: Girls' B-Ball @ Chase
17: Boy's Soccer Classic @ Hummer
18: Girls' B-Ball @ French and Chase
24-26: No School
30: Girl's B-Ball @ Robinson and Chase
December
2: Girls' B-Ball @ Jardine and Chase
7: Girls' B-Ball @ Landon and Chase
8: Winter Band Concert
9: Girls' B-Ball Post-Season Game
13: Girls' B-Ball Varsity Post-Season Game
13: Orchestra/Choir Winter Concert
15: Girl's B-Ball Consolation and Championship Games
17: End of 2nd Quarter
20-Jan.4: Winter Break
Students return to school on January 5.
Reading at Home
Encouraging Reading at Home--Parent Tips
Read it again and again. Re-reading the same book helps build speed and accuracy.
Make reading real. Connect with your child about what they are reading and how it applies or relates to the real world.
Don’t leave home without something to read!
Dig deeper. Ask your child questions about the characters, their motivations, the setting, and what they think about the book in general.
Make reading a free time activity (instead of the TV or other screen time).
Take your time. If your child is reading out loud and struggling with an unfamiliar word, let them struggle with it for a little while! Praise the effort and treat mistakes as an opportunity for improvement.
Pick books at the right level. At Chase Middle School, Mrs. Schwanke or your child’s ELA teacher would be a great person to help with this!
Play word games. Scrabble, Bananagrams, Boggle, Pictionary, and Scattergories are all great word games to broaden your child’s vocabulary.
Take turns reading a story out loud to one another.
Point out relationships with words while you read.
Make books special. Give books as rewards or gifts.
Make reading creative. If your child likes to draw, create a short book or comic book together!
CHOICE! Let your child choose the types of books they are interested in reading.
Look for a series of books. Book series can help your child become familiar with the characters, tone, and themes more so the next books in the series make even more sense. This can help build confidence.
Source: https://www.understood.org/articles/en/14-ways-to-encourage-your-grade-schooler-to-read
21/22 Student Yearbooks
Chase Middle School 21/22 Yearbooks are currently on sale! Reserve a copy for your Chase student today by clicking the link below. Yearbooks will be delivered in May of 2022.
Students of the Month
November Students of the Month
Happy Holidays
October Students of the Month
Performing Arts Announcement
Chase Performing Arts is happy to announce the Spring musical, High School Musical! Ms. Miller and Ms. Schwanke will be directing this show of wild talents. There will be an audition workshop on Monday & Tuesday, December 13th & 14th after school. We are looking for people who not only can sing, but also for people who can flip, dribble, or even play instruments. Rehearsals will start January 5th and performances will be on February 24th. Be on the lookout for more information!
Guidance from 7th Grade Science
Physical Education Students of the Month
Boys
Brandon White
Dahmitri Carter
Girls
Alivia Henderson
Amy Henderson
From Mr. Holloman's 6th Grade Social Studies Class
Media Center - Mrs. Schwanke
Chip in to help us buy some shiny new library books! (And take care of library fines at the same time!)
We are still looking for donors to help us out with our nonfiction section in the library that needs some updating!
If you or your child donate to the cause, we can also use that to write off some library fines your students may have from lost books!
Donate directly online or bring cash to school and we can put it online for you!
https://www.donorschoose.org/project/non-fiction-library-updates/5909512
Notice of Non Discrimination
The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title VI and Title IX compliance coordinator is the Assistant Superintendent for Teaching/Learning/Administration. The Section 504/Title II compliance coordinator is the Coordinator of College and Career Ready Services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the General Director of Human Resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294.
Mission Statements
MISSION STATEMENTS
Topeka Public Schools
The mission of the Topeka Public School is ENGAGE students in the highest quality learning; PREPARE students for responsible, productive citizenship, and INSPIRE excellence for a lifetime.
Chase Middle School
Through the implementation of the Comprehensive, Integrated, 3-Tiered System of Supports (CI3T), all staff will guide students to succeed at their highest potential academically, socially, and emotionally.
Chase Middle School
Email: jstallbaumer@tps501.org
Website: https://chase.topekapublicschools.net/
Location: 2250 Northeast State Street, Topeka, KS, USA
Phone: 785-295-3840
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TPSChase