The Seahawks Call
Week of September 7, 2020 Volume 1
Message from Principal Taylor
#WinningAttitudes
Student Engagement - Virtual Locker
Our elementary Learning Support Center
INSTRUCTIONAL UPDATES
MATHEMATICS
6th Grade General Math - Introduction to Integers
6th Grade Compacting Math - Division of Whole Numbers, Decimals, and Fractions
6th Grade Accelerated/7th Grade General Math - Number systems and Decimals
7th Grade Compacting Math - Operations with Signed Numbers
7th Grade Accelerated/8th Grade General Math- Rational vs. Irrational Numbers
Algebra 1- One-Variable Equations
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
All grade levels are working on meta-cognitive strategies and learning how to access Common Lit.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Grade 6
Unit 1 – Introduce students to the 5 Fields of Social Studies (culture, geography, government, economics, and history (2 weeks)
Unit 2 – Examination of the pre-history of civilizations including the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages
(2 weeks)
Grade 7
Unit 1 – Examination of the 5 themes of geographic study and their impact on people and cultures (1 week)
Unit 2 – Focus on the skills and processes of historical investigations including the History Day program (2 weeks)
Grade 8
Unit 1 – Colonization including interactions in the New World and Colonial North America
(2 – 3 weeks)
SCIENCE
Grade 6
Unit 1 – Electricity/Magnetism (5 weeks)
Grade 7
Unit 1 – Cells (2 weeks)
Unit 2 – Cell Functions (3 weeks)
Grade 8
Unit 1 – Scientific Method and notebook construction (2 weeks)
Unit 2 – Atoms: Composition of Matter with Atoms and the Periodic Table (2 weeks)
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENTS
All middle school students will be required to complete two diagnostic assessments between September 14 and September 23, 2020. Each student will take a comprehensive assessment that includes ELA, Science and Social Studies and a Math assessment. The purpose of these assessments are to:
- Determine students’ learning gaps from the previous grade level
- Provide data to help teachers plan instruction that will address those gaps
Parents will receive an email from Milton Somers School on Tuesday, September 8th with more details regarding the diagnostic tests. Please share the information with your child(ren). If you have any questions, please contact Milton Somers' Learning Resource Teacher, Ms. Suzanne Johnson, at srjohnson@ccboe.com.
CCPS POLICY - STUDENT VIDEO CAMERA TURNED ON
If your child's camera is not working, it is imperative that you tell every teacher on your child's schedule so they have record of this.
To enforce this policy, administrators will be joining classes reminding and requesting students to turn video cameras on. Should a student fail to comply, an email will be sent to the parent.
Thank you in advance for speaking with your child(ren) about the importance of adhering to this policy.
STUDENT IMMUNIZATIONS
CODE OF CONDUCT
STUDENTVUE
Once a student logs in to StudentVue, any scheduled live lessons will appear in the center of the main page. Students will see the teacher’s name, live meeting time and a camera picture or icon that reads “Join Now.” Students will also receive a message in the Synergy Mail menu area with a teacher request to join a lesson. Students may see several live meetings each day based on their schedule for different subject areas and class periods. When a student clicks on the Join Now button, Zoom will launch and open a new window. Any lesson or meeting will not go live until a teacher starts the session. In Zoom, teachers can control audio and mute students but students must enable the Start Video option in order for their teacher to see them. Students who experience issues with Zoom should ask a parent to submit a help request on Ask CCPS under the Zoom Issues/Question menu option.
STEPS TO LOGGING INTO ZOOM
Students will need to follow the steps below to verify their Zoom account.
1. Click on the Sign In with SSO button.
2. Select ccboe as the domain.
3. Enter the student email user name. This is their student identification number followed by @ccboe.com. For example, 123456@ccboe.com.
4. Enter their StudentVue password.
5. The student will then enter the waiting room.
Students using CCPS-issued devices will not have to complete this additional sign in because they already use their user name and password to log on to the device. Students using personal devices will have to verify their Zoom account every 30 days. This is an additional security layer enabled by CCPS for Zoom accounts to ensure only students on a class roster enter a class.
UPDATING A ZOOM DISPLAY NAME
Parents and students should follow the steps below to check their child’s Zoom display name.
1. Go to ccboe.zoom.us and click on the blue Sign In button.
2. Sign-in details are a child’s CCPS student ID followed by @ccboe.com as the user name. For example, 123456@ccboe.comand then a child’s StudentVue password.
3. When the page opens, users should click on the Edit button on the top right-hand side of the page. This will allow you to enter a student's legal first and last name.
4. Click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.
5. Teachers will see the display name in the waiting room of a Zoom class.
SCHOOL SUPPORTS
Marlon Walker - 6th Grade VP - mwalker@ccboe.com
Cynthia Panizzi - 7th Grade VP - cpanizzi@ccboe.com
Wualanda Thenstead - 8th Grade VP - wthenstead@ccboe.com
Sonia Matthew - Administrative Asst. - smatthew@ccoe.com
COUNSELING SUPPORTS
Kenneth Tojek - 6th Grade Counselor - ktojek@ccboe.com
Nancy Franklin - 7th Grade Counselor - nfranklin@ccboe.com
Brittany Williams - 8th Grade Counselor - bwilliams@ccboe.com
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM
Andrea Johnson - Reading Resource Teacher (Reading) - afjohnson@ccboe.com
Jennifer Branham - Instructional Resource Teacher (Math) - jbranham@ccboe.com
Suzanne Johnson - Learning Resource Teacher (Gifted Education and Testing Coordinator) - srjohnson@ccboe.com
Email: somersms@ccboe.com
Website: ccboe.com/schools/somers
Location: 300 Willow Lane, La Plata, MD 20646
Phone: 301-934-4663
Twitter: @miltonsomersms