The Seahawks Call
October 31st - November 13, 2022
A Message from Principal Taylor......................
2023-2024 School Calendar
Shelley Mackey, director of communications, presented to the Board two draft calendar options for the 2023-2024 school year. The Board approves the calendar one year in advance annually. Both draft options include a pre-Labor Day start date, a full week of both winter and spring break, and the inclusion of four possible inclement weather days.
One option builds the possible weather days into the earlier months in the school calendar, while the second option features a traditional model similar to the current 2022-2023 school calendar. The Board expressed an interest in community feedback on the options. Both options, as well as a calendar survey, are posted on the CCPS website at https://www.ccboe.com/parents/school-calendar-survey. The deadline to provide survey feedback on the draft calendars is noon, Friday, Nov. 11.
It may be Halloween, but don't let your student pull a "Trick On You" regarding their grades!
Unfortunately, some students are doing this at home to show their parents their grades in order to mislead them. To avoid being mislead by your student, always use ParentVUE to view grades!
Important Dates to Remember!
(Monday) - October 31st
- Students sign up for PBIS Event during homeroom
- NJHS Thanksgiving Food Drive
- NJHS Officer Meeting from 2-3 pm
- LPBK ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Tuesday) - November 1st
- NJHS Thanksgiving Food Drive
- Drama Auditions 2-3:30 pm
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Wednesday) - November 2nd
- 1st marking period ends
- Q1 referral period ends for PBIS Choose Your Own Adventure!
- NJHS Thanksgiving Food Drive
- Drama Auditions 2-3:30 pm
- Archery tryouts
- GSA until 3:15 pm
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Thursday) - November 3rd
- 2nd Quarter begins/2 hr ED Students are dismissed at noon. If you need to pick your child up early, please come no later than 11:30 a.m. No students will be released after this time.
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Friday) - November 4th
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Saturday) - November 5th
- LPBK football on football field from 8am - 8pm
(Sunday) - November 6th
- LPBK football on football field from 8am - 8pm
(Monday) - November 7th
- Thanksgiving Food Drive Continues
- Yearbook Club in room 218 until 3:30 pm
- Pizza Hotline Spirit Night from 2-9 pm
- Board of Elections in cafe' from 6-9 pm
- LPBK ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Tuesday) - November 8th (Schools Closed for Students)
- Board of Elections from 5:30 - 11 pm in the cafe'
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Wednesday) - November 9th
- Drama Club until 3:30 in cafe'
- NJHS until 3:30 in Room 111
- Archery Practice until 3:30
- VEX until 3:30 pm
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Thursday) - November 10th
- Drama club until 3:30 pm in cafe'
- SeaPerch until 3:30 pm
- DI until 3 pm
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Friday) - November 11th (Veterans' Day Observance)
- Schools and Offices are open
- LPBK Ball fields 1 & 2 and space behind soccer fields from 5-8 pm
- LPYSA Soccer fields 5, 6, 8, 9 from 5-8 pm
(Saturday) - November 12th
- LPBK football on football field from 8am - 8pm
(Sunday) - November 13th
- LPBK football on football field from 8am - 8pm
Exciting News - Somers is nominating Principal Taylor for Washington Post Principal of the Year Award!
The Seahawks are nominating Mrs. Taylor for the Washington Post Principal of the Year Award! Principal Taylor has 17 years of being an Instructional Leader in CCPS. She was principal at Diggs Elementary for 10 years; 2 years at Berry Elementary; and the remaining years at Milton Somers.
Not only is Principal Taylor very in tune with our entire student population, but highly visible throughout the school day. These actions are best demonstrated by her greeting students every morning as they enter the school building; monitoring hallways during every transition and assisting her administrative team during lunch duty.
She is involved in every aspect of ensuring a safe and orderly environment as well as supports all efforts that will provide the best instructional environment and resources for staff and students.
We think our principal is the best and we want her to win, so we need your help. Please consider writing a letter of support sharing why you feel that Principal Taylor should win this well-deserved award. Letters can include personal anecdotes and/or examples of how her leadership affects the school community as a whole.
All letters must include either a digital or physical signature and can be both printed and/or sent electronically. Please send all electronic letters to the Instructional Resource Teacher, Jen Branham, at jbranham@ccboe.com.
We would like to compile all the letters by Monday, November 7th, 2022, so please try to send in your letter before that date. Thanks for your support!
SY22-23 Teacher of the Year Nominee................................... Drum Roll Please................................!
Mrs. Valerie Amend was nominated by several departments. She has 20 years of teaching multiple grade and ability levels. Some qualities mentioned by her colleagues said that she is thoroughly knowledgeable of the curriculum. She is a highly-effective teacher who meets the needs of her students through interventions, scaffolding, and differentiation. Her students respect and trust her, and she truly believes all students can be successful.
Mrs. Amend is a "Jack of all trades". She has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities fulfilling her roles as ELA Department Chair, Synergy Coordinator, and Spelling Bee Co-Coordinator. She has also provided training at the school and county levels.
It is evident that Mrs. Amend is highly regarded among staff, students, and parents, which makes her a great nominee for Teacher of the Year.
Next steps will be working with Mrs. Amend to gather additional information to ensure her nomination packet is complete! A letter of support is required from a student and parent, so if you would like to write one to be included in her nomination packet, please make sure it has your physical signature and scan it Principal Taylor at staylor@ccboe.com no later than Monday, November 7th.
Congratulations MRS. VALERIE AMEND as Milton Somers' Teacher of the Year Nominee!
THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE
TESTING UPDATES
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students complete i-Ready assessments three times during the school year. The program features adaptive assessments that build on student responses to provide teachers with reading and math data to best support their students.
The Fall round of iReady assessments was completed between September 1st, and October 7th, 2022. The Fall iReady Family Reports are being sent home by October 31st.
The upcoming testing windows are as follows:
Winter Window: January 3 - 31, 2023
Spring Window: May 1- June 2, 2023For more information on how to interpret the i-Ready Family Reports, and for resources to support your child at home, please refer to the CCPS website & the links below:
iReady - Charles County Public Schools (ccboe.com)
iReady Family Reports Presentation for Parents
Family Guidance provided by iReady Central
GIFTED EDUCATION UPDATES:
If your child will be taking the CogAT Screener, you will receive an email with a CogAT letter attached via Synergy by close of business, October 31st.
The testing windows for CogAT are as follows:
CogAT Screener: October 31st - November 22nd
CogAT Post Screener: November 28th December 16th
The Parent nomination forms and other gifted education information can be found on the CCPS website and are linked below: https://www.ccboe.com/departments/gifted-education-services
From the Circulation Desk of Ms. HJ...................................
Library News
Reminders have begun to go out about overdue books. Students will be reminded to return books through their Synergy email or by their ELA teachers. Students can also check their Destiny library accounts at any time to see what titles they have checked out and when they are due. They will find this information under the My Stuff tab in Destiny.
2 Sentence Horror Story Challenge
The winners will be announced on Halloween. Over 60 stories were turned in, making this a tough decision. Students can win in 4 categories: Most imaginative, Next Stephen King, Story that left you wanting to hear more, and Creepiest. With so many great stories, the decision will be hard!
Laptop Reminders
Please remind your student to completely shut down their laptop weekly so that it can update. Also, students should not be downloading anything onto their laptops that is not school related. These are school devices and are for school use only. They do not have the privacy of a personal device.
Congratulations to our November Seahawk Stars!
Ways to STAY CONNECTED
Follow us on Twitter: Somersptso
SCHOOL SUPPORTS
Cynthia Panizzi - 6th Grade AP - cpanizzi@ccboe.com
Nancy Hines - 7th Grade AP - nhines@ccboe.com
Marlon Walker - 8th Grade AP -mwalker@ccboe.com
Zachary Ortolano - Administrative Intern - zortolano@ccboe.com
COUNSELING SUPPORTS
Ken Tojek - 6th Grade Counselor - ktojek@ccboe.com
John Craddock- 7th Grade Counselor - jcraddock@ccboe.com
Maureen Toler - 8th Grade Counselor - mtoler@ccboe.com
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM
Linda Forrest - Reading Resource Teacher (Reading) - lforrest@ccboe.com
Jennifer Branham - Instructional Resource Teacher (Math) - jbranham@ccboe.com
Jasmine Proctor - Learning Resource Teacher (Gifted Education and Testing Coordinator) - jnproctor@ccboe.com
Email: somersms@ccboe.com
Website: https://www.ccboe.com/schools/somers/
Location: 300 Willow Lane, La Plata, MD 20646
Phone: 301-934-4663
Twitter: @miltonsomersms