CMS Thursday Notice
September 16, 2021
CMS K-8
A wonderful place where we all learn and grow . . .
Email: lakint@norwalkps.org
Website: cms.norwalkps.org
Location: 46 Concord Street, Norwalk, CT, 06854
Phone: (203)899-2840
Important Dates
Thursday, September 23: CMS Virtual Back-To-School Night, 5:45 pm
Monday, September 27: 2-Hour Early Dismissal
Friday, October 1: Virtual All School Mtg, 2:45 pm
Monday, October 4: Staff Professional Development - No School for Students
Wednesday, October 6: Picture Day
Monday, October 26: 2-Hour Early Dismissal
SAVE THE DATE!
All CMS parents are encouraged to join us on Thursday, September 23 for a virtual Back-to-School Night. Each grade level will conduct virtual sessions with parents that will describe the curriculum, protocols, and plans for the school year. Grade level presentations will be staggered to give parents the opportunity to attend more than one meeting. Complete details will be in next week's Thursday Notice
A MESSAGE FROM NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
As you may know, the Norwalk Board of Education held a special meeting on Tuesday, September 15 to review solutions to the arrival and dismissal delays that we have been experiencing since the start of school. The meeting included an update from NPS about the impact delays have on instructional time, results from surveys of parents and students, and scheduling options to relieve traffic congestion. Public comments from parents, students and staff were also shared.
To watch the recording of the special meeting, click here.
To view the PowerPoint presentation that discussed during the meeting, please click here.
Following this discussion, the Board made the decision to change school start times back to the schedule that was in place during the 2019-20 school year. Revised bell times will be available on our website shortly. This is the school bell time schedule that was in place prior to Covid, and before the implementation of new times recommended by the School Start Time Committee.
We know that a schedule change is not ideal. To give families time to adjust work schedules, pick up or drop off arrangements, child care, or to enroll in before or after school programs, the schedule change will take effective on Tuesday, October 5. (Monday, October 4 is a professional development day for staff and a day off for students.)
New bus schedules will be published on our website on Wednesday, September 22.
Over the next few weeks, we will continue to work with schools, our transportation provider, the Norwalk Department of Public Works and the Norwalk Police Department to reduce delays. We also encourage parents to have students take the bus, if they are eligible, rather than driving children to and from school.
In the coming months, the district will review overall transportation patterns and schedules across the district, and will conduct any traffic studies that may be needed. We will also revisit the implementation of the Healthy Start Time option, and if necessary, complete detailed operational planning originally anticipated for spring 2020, but interrupted by Covid.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work together to ensure that our students arrive and dismiss safely and on time.
EARLY RELEASE DATES AND STAFF TRAINING DAYS
The 2-Hour Early Release dates:
Monday, September 27
Monday, October 25
Wednesday, November 24 (Thanksgiving)
Thursday, December 23 (Holiday)
Monday, January 24
Monday, March 28
Monday, April 25
Monday, May 16
90-Minute Early Release dates (Due to Parent/Teacher Conferences):
Thursday, December 9
Thursday, December 16
Thursday, March 17
Thursday March 24
Special Notes:
- Please make sure your classroom teachers are aware of any changes to your child's dismissal plans on these dates.
- The after school program will operate as usual.
A MESSAGE FROM MR. NUNES:
Hello CMS K-8 Families! I am Mr. Nunes and I am so excited to get our instrumental music program going this year. At this time, I have visited and spoken with students from 3rd to 8th grade about the strings program and band program.
If your child is in 3rd to 8th grade, is interested in ORCHESTRA, and you haven't filled out a permission slip yet, please click on the following link:
https://forms.gle/hB8YmwTDP9fNddGN8
If your child is in 3rd to 8th grade, is interested in BAND, and you haven't filled out a permission slip yet, please click on the following link:
SCHOOL PICTURE DAY IS COMING!
CMS PTA NEWS AND EVENTS!
DO YOU SHOP AT AMAZON?
Select "PTSA Connecticut Congress Columbus Magnet PTA" as your charitable organization on Amazon Smile and you can support CMS at no extra cost when you shop at https://smile.amazon.com/
Upcoming Pie/Cookie Dough Fundraiser
The CMS PTA will sponsor a Lyman Orchard Pies and Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough fundraiser from October 1 through October 22. Look for more information coming home soon.