Principal P's Friday Message
December 16, 2022
A Message from Principal P
Dear CMS Families,
It is the final countdown before the holiday break and we can definitely sense the extra excitement and energy in the air. We hope that students will continue to channel that energy in positive ways toward others.
Be sure to check Twitter next week for pictures of fun happenings around the building.
Have a safe weekend!
Better Together,
Ms. P
Phone: 315-672-3159
Email: jprzybylski@westgenesee.org
Twitter @CamillusMiddle
West Genesee Strategic Planning Climate Survey
Our District values your feedback! We are currently surveying West Genesee Central School District families in order to gain insight into your perception of our schools and district effectiveness. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.
To administer these surveys, we have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our 2022-2023 Family Survey. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses confidential. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete, and will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and District as good as they can be.
You may complete the survey online starting today through December 16 using a computer, tablet, or smartphone by visiting the following building-specific websites. For example, if you have a child that attends Camillus Middle School, please be sure to open the CMS link. If your children attend different schools within the District, you are welcome to complete a survey for each building.
School Family-School Relationships Survey Links
We thank you in advance for your thoughtful, anonymous responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact our Strategic Planning Co-Coordinators:
Rober Leo, Director of Professional Learning: rleo@westgenesee.org
Deb Ratcliff, Assistant Principal, Stonehedge Elementary: dratcliff@westgenesee.org
Are you Receiving All of our Communications?
Helpful Tips about the SchoolMessenger Communication System:
- To be sure that you are receiving all emails sent from the District/schools/teachers please periodically check your spam/junk/promotions folder for emails with @westgenesee.org, then mark that they are not spam/junk/promotions.
- To be sure that you are receiving text messages this year from WGCSD or your school(s) Text a "Y" or "Yes" to 67587
If you still have questions about receiving emails and/or text from WGCSD please email them to publications@westgenesee.org.
Positivity Project November Students of the Month
November P2 Students of the Month
CMS Snapshots
Students lending a hand in PE
WGHS Dance Team leading students in PE class
Let's Dance
Stay Tuned for Our December Students Of The Month
CMS Building Norms and Expectations
Be Safe:
Walk in the hallways and when entering and exiting the building
Practice safe use of technology
Maintain personal space and boundaries
Make sure adults know where you are
Be Responsible:
Take ownership and pride in your work.
Be on time, prepared, organized, and productive.
Attend school regularly
Seek help if you need support.
Be Respectful:
Respect others’ belongings
Follow school and classroom expectations
Speak appropriately to peers and staff
Be open-minded to individual differences
Follow directions
Take care of school property.
Be Kind:
Include everyone - no one gets left out
Encourage and help others
Treat others the way they want to be treated.
Do a good deed
CMS Updates and Reminders
Lockdown Drill
We will have a lockdown drill next week. It is the last required emergency drill of the fall semester.
Attending Games at CMS
Students are not allowed to stay after school waiting for evening activities to start. All students are expected to leave the building when Interaction Time ends at 2:45. Students attending games should be accompanied by an adult.
Message from the Health Office regarding Winter II Sports
Winter II sports is almost here. This includes girls' basketball and boys' swimming and wrestling. Please sign your child up on Family ID now. Students must have a current physical to play. Send a copy to sshanahan@westgenesee.org for clearance to play.
Lost and Found
We have a number of water bottles, bags, and clothes that are in our lost and found. Please remind your child to check the lost and found for any items they may have left behind.
CHROMEBOOKS
Please remind students to charge their Chromebooks every night and over the weekend. We are seeing an uptick in students either forgetting their Chromebooks at home or bringing them in uncharged. Once the library runs out of extra Chromebooks to loan out for the day, students will be unprepared for classes and may not be able to access the materials needed to complete their classwork during class.
How to obtain student work due to absence
If a student is out 2 days or more, please email teachers prior to 10:30 and work will be emailed. If anything needs to be picked up, teachers will let you know and the work can be picked up in the front foyer between the doors anytime between 3:00 PM- 5:30 PM.
Yearbooks
The online store is now open. Order your 2022-2023 yearbook here.
The cost for a yearbook is $25 until January, 31.
After January, 31 the price will be $30.
Yearbooks can be ordered until March, 24
If you have questions please reach out to our yearbook advisors Mrs. Tanchak or Ms. Levea at:
New SEPTSA Members Welcome
CMS PTO
If you have not already, please join our PTO online at https://camillus-middle-pto.cheddarup.com
Membership is only 10$. Anyone in the family and CMS staff can join.
Additional donations to support our students are always welcomed and greatly appreciated via Cheddar Up.
For more information please follow the CMS PTO on Facebook: Camillus Middle School PTO
Contact us with questions: wgcmspto@westgenesee.org
CMS Clubs & Advisors for the 2022-23 School Year
Here is a list of clubs offered at CMS. Please reach out to the club advisors for additional information.
We now are offering French Club. If you have questions please contact Mrs. Molina hmolina@westgenesee.org
At CMS We Embrace Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
This month we are celebrating Universal Human Rights
Universal Human Rights Day is December 10th
2022 Theme: Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10th. The UHDR proclaims the protection of, “the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” We now celebrate this every December. Our rights as humans to be protected are very important to our overall health. Health isn’t just tending to acute and chronic illness, it’s your ability to live your life to the fullest. In order to do that, your basic human rights must be protected.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all containing references to it in their preambles).
2022 is the 75th anniversary of the UHDR. This year’s theme is dignity, freedom, and justice for all. This theme has been chosen to remind everyone of the initial mission of the UHDR, as human rights have been under attack in the past few years. Recent challenges in the world, including pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, uncertainty in the global financial system, racism, climate change, and more have put this all in the spotlight even more.
That’s why it’s more important to fight for human rights than ever. The values in the UHDR provide guideposts for the UN’s vision of a united world, and how we can make it a reality. Their goal is that no one is left behind.
The above information is from the following websites:
https://www.chcw.org/december-is-universal-human-rights-month/
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
What does a safe, welcoming, and affirming environment for all students mean?
We believe:
- It is our collective responsibility to learn about student cultures and communities.
- We will foster close relationships with students and families.
- We will offer social and emotional learning programs.
- We will present materials that represent and affirm student identities.
Why are these beliefs important to us at CMS?
It is our collective responsibility to learn about student cultures and communities.
CMS staff is committed to learning about our students' experiences. When we develop meaningful relationships with our students and they know their experiences are valued, respected, and understood they are more likely to ask questions in class and in engage in classroom discussions. This has a direct impact on learning and personal growth.
We will foster close relationships with students and families.
CMS staff is dedicated to being a part of the West Genesee community. By building strong relationships with both students and families we are able to work collaboratively to problem solve when faced with challenges along with celebrating each other and our successes. We build close relationships through regular communication, expressing our expectations for how we treat one another, and creating opportunities to gather as a community in order to foster these close relationships with students and families.
We will offer social and emotional learning programs
CMS staff recognizes the importance of social and emotional health. This is a time when our students are developing and changing physically, psychologically, socially, and cognitively. Every individual student navigates these changes in their own unique way. CMS school counselors will provide learning opportunities for our students on strategies such as mindfulness, acceptance, and emotion regulation. Learning these strategies will assist students during a time in their lives that can often feel overwhelming.
We will present materials that represent and affirm student identities.
CMS staff recognizes the importance for students to see themselves reflected in the content taught as well as throughout the school. Identity is a combination of our physical and behavioral traits that define who we are. Our social identity indicates a group to which we belong. Our individual and social identities shape our experiences when we provide mirrors for our students to see themselves as part of a collective group it builds self-confidence and affirms that their experiences are not isolated. These mirrors for individual students benefit all students by offering windows into other people's experiences. When we build a culture representative of all, we foster empathy and kindness towards others.
We adhere to New York State's guidelines outlined in the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework. Please see the attached link for more information on CR-S Education.
Mark your Calendars...
December 19-23 Holiday Spirit Week
Monday, 12/19: Holiday Jammies
Tuesday, 12/20: Holiday Hats
Wednesday, 12/21: Ugly Sweater Day
Thursday, 12/22: Dress to Impress
Friday, 12/23: Winter Wonderland Whiteout
December 26-30, 2022 No School-Holiday RecessJanuary 2, 2023 No School-Holiday Recess