Chippewa Falls Middle School
November 2023 Family Newsletter
From the Principal
Dear CFMS Families,
In this month of thankfulness, we are thankful for the opportunities to partner with all of you and enjoy celebrating the amazing things that our kids are doing on a daily basis! Thank you for your continued partnership and feedback during our start to the school year. We appreciate you.
November 6th marks the start of our first quarter. As you view your child’s progress report, please keep in mind that the gradebook will reflect the formative work your child has completed thus far and that formative work will have a zero (0) weight in the calculation of the overall grade. The summative scores that reflect your child’s level of mastery of the content standards that have been targeted up to this point will be reflected as a progress grade for each course. A more detailed explanation of formative vs summative assessments and CFMS grading practices can be found by clicking the "CFMS Grading for Learning Handbook" button at the bottom of this newsletter.
Our school district's mega result is: "All students will graduate prepared with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to achieve their personal goals and make a positive impact in the world." Our staff at CFMS are dedicated to ensure that this is happening for all of our students, and seeing this happen is what inspires me to come to work each day and work hard for all of our students, staff, and families.
As always, if you have questions or wish to discuss your child, please do not hesitate to contact any one of the great staff members with whom your child works.
In Partnership With You,
Derrick Kunsman
Principal
Cardinals in Action
Student Attendance
Because students move from classroom to classroom throughout the school day, attendance at the Middle School is taken and recorded each class period. Your child’s attendance information can be viewed on the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
REPORTING ABSENCES
Parents are required to notify the school when their child is absent. Notification should occur no later than the end of the day on the day of the absence and must include the reason for the absence.
If your child is absent and we have not received notification, you will receive an automated voice message and/or e-mail referencing the absence. If for some reason, parents are unable to call school, the student must bring a note of explanation upon returning.
Unexcused absences will be handled as truancy cases and may lead to a juvenile court referral. It is the school district’s responsibility, not that of the student’s parent/guardian, to determine whether a student’s absence is excused or unexcused under state law and/or board policy.
To report an absence / get a pass / change the after school plan for your child / or relay a message for your child::
Call 715 - 726 - 2400
Press 1 for attendance;
Follow the prompts for 6th grade and 7th grade (pressing 1) and 8th grade, (pressing 2).
If you have more than one Middle school student that you are calling for, you only need to leave one message.
It is great when you call ahead of time to let us know your student will be absent but please know that our policy is that we wait until the day of the absence to enter it into Infinite Campus to prevent any accidental deletions of the absence.
You can also email ms_attendance@chipfalls.org
This number is accessible 24 hours a day.
STUDENTS ARRIVING LATE
Students who arrive late need to report to the main office area (door 2 which is the flagpole door) to obtain an entry pass to class. Parents must notify the school whenever their child will arrive later than 8:26 a.m. Notification on the attendance line should include estimated arrival time and the reason for the late arrival.
STUDENTS LEAVING EARLY
Students who need to leave school during the school day need an Off - Campus Pass that they should obtain from the grade level office. Notification on the attendance line should include the time your child needs to leave school, the time that they will return, and the reason they will be gone.
*** Since we have a large school we write your student's pass for 5 minutes earlier than the time you tell us on the phone so your student has time to be at Door 2 at the time you requested.
Student Chromebooks
Each CFMS student will checkout a school Chromebook. These will be distributed on the first days of school.
Students are able to bring Chromebooks home with them at night. It is a student's responsibility to charge and care for the device at home. Students should bring charged Chromebooks to school daily.
CFMS Athletics
CFMS Athletic Director
Mr. Cory Hahn- ext. 2242
Administrative Assistant Ms. Mary Meyer - ext. 2241
Cardinal Market
Cardinal Market is here!
We are excited to announce that we are opening a Cardinal Market this fall! The Cardinal Market is a convenient spot in our building where students can grab food items that your family may need for the week. The items available will vary from week to week, but each Monday and Wednesday your student will receive an email with a form on which they can select what they would like to receive that Wednesday, Thursday or Friday depending on their grade. This is different from the Weekend Kids Meal program we offered in the past in that students will not automatically receive items each week (as a note we will no longer be doing weekend kids meals). They will only receive items on the weeks that they complete the order form. We hope this gives both students and families more flexibility.
All of this is free of charge.
We hope your student and your family can benefit from this convenient resource this year! If you have any questions or need any additional information, please email Amanda Ackmann at ackmanac@chipfalls.org or call 715-726-2400 x2250.
School Lunch Info
School Meals
Please add money to your student's lunch account or complete a free and reduced meal application prior to the start of the school year.
Money can be:
1. Deposited through the IC parent portal, under the food service tab (preferred method)
2. Dropped off or mailed to 1130 Miles St., Chippewa Falls, WI 54729.
3. Dropped off at each school.
You can also set up automatic payments under my accounts, recurring payments. This will automatically deposit money when the balance gets low or on a set basis (monthly, weekly).
Apply for meal benefits online through IC parent portal or complete a paper application. If you have already received a letter indicating you qualify for free or reduced price meals no further steps are needed.
Menus, meal prices, links to the application and other information about our food service program can be found here.
ARRIVING LATE AND EATING BREAKFAST
We want to make sure that all students that want to eat breakfast are given that opportunity. We understand that sometimes students are running late for various reasons. Please know that there will be a member of the kitchen staff in the cafeteria until 8:45 and that students coming late can grab a breakfast and head to their first period class.
Students of the Month
World Languages Student of the Month
Music Students of the Month
Physical Education
FFA- FIRE Conference Oct 13th
On Friday, October 13th 20 8th and 9th grade FFA members attended the FIRE (Foundations in Reaching Excellence) Conference at UW-Stevens Point in Marshfield. These excited students completed 6 different workshops to explore FFA opportunities and future SAE projects. The Chippewa Falls FFA Alumni covered a majority of the registration cost for each student. One student commented, "Thank you! My favorite part of the FIRE Conference was all the unique ways and activities used to help us learn about FFA and agriculture."
The Cardinal Feeder
The Cardinal Feeder is a place where parents and the community can seek information and resources for families in the Chippewa Falls School District.
At some point in our lives, we all need a little (or sometimes a lot) of support. The Cardinal Feeder is here to provide information about support services available through Chippewa Falls Schools, the Chippewa Falls Community, and the Chippewa Valley.
This resource will be updated monthly to keep information fresh and relevant.
Family Connections
SPEAK UP SPEAK OUT WISCONSIN
Created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Speak Up Speak Out Wisconsin is a one-stop place to turn with school safety concerns.
Students, parents, school staff, or community members can submit a school safety concern or threat via the Speak Up Speak Out WI website, mobile phone app, or toll-free number.
Resource Center staff work 24/7 to respond to tips and to deploy a response locally by communicating directly with school administrators, counselors, and law enforcement.
For more information or to submit a tip click here.
Voyagers After School Program Update
Student Connections Update
School Communication
SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
Please make sure that Infinite Campus information is up to date and includes a list of people to contact in case a child needs to be picked up during the school day.
The Chippewa Falls Middle School primarily communicates with parents and/or guardians electronically. All parents and guardians who receive school information electronically must have their parent portal in Infinite Campus set up in order to access report cards, schedules, homework assignments, grades, attendance, fee statements, etc. We are pleased to offer parents this opportunity to be more active in their child’s education.
If you do not have your parent portal account setup, please follow the guidelines below to setup your account. We discourage the use of your child’s account as you won’t have access to the necessary information you may need or want.
Please make sure that your e-mail address is kept current at all times on the parent portal. You may update your email address at any time by selecting Contact Preferences on the parent portal menu. If at any time during the school year you lose the ability to access the internet, please notify the appropriate grade level office immediately so that we can make the necessary adjustments to our database.
You can also make lunch account, registration and athletic fee payments in the Infinite Campus Portal. There will be no convenience fees added. If you need help, call our help desk at 715-726-2413 for assistance.
Bus Information
Chippewa Yellow Bus Company
All student rerouting requests will originate at Chippewa Yellow Bus Company. Student rerouting requests require a 24 hour notice and approval by the bus company. This includes one time and/ or occasional rerouting requests.
Click HERE for more information from the bus company 715-726-2454
Chippewa Falls Middle School
Website: https://cfsd.chipfalls.k12.wi.us/middle/
Location: 750 Tropicana Boulevard, Chippewa Falls, WI, USA
Phone: 715-726-2400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chippewafallsschool/
Twitter: @CFMSCardinals