The Mustang Minute
June 8, 2018 - Issue 36
The Sprint to the Finish
The school year is a strange mix of marathon and sprint. At times it feels like you are trying to sprint the length of a marathon! As we hit the final 10 and a half days (OMG) we have many activities coming up. This past week has been an exciting whirlwind of events and I want to take a moment to share a few of them in the Mustang Minute.
- Washington DC: There is way to much to share here but let me just say it was incredible! The students were amazing and we all had so much fun. We saw the Capital, several Smithsonian museums (including the African American History Museum - amazing), the Library of Congress and so much more! If you want to see some pictures you can check out the CMS PTO page on Facebook or the #CMSDCTRIP2018 on Twitter. I still have a bunch of photos on my "nice" camera to upload and share which I will try to do soon!
- Chorus/Band/Orchestra concert series: Each week a different grade holds their concert for families. Last week was grade 6, this Tuesday was grade 7 and next week is grade 8. I am so impressed by the improvements made in sound and performance by our students. It was a great night!
- Citizens of the Month Breakfast: A great celebration of some fantastic CMS students. We had two speakers from the high school and I have included the speech from Kirill Didychouck below. State Representative John Rogers also joined us and gave a wonderful speech about the value of student citizenship. We recognized all of the students and celebrated with a delicious breakfast provided by the PTO, Roche Bros, and Honeydew Donuts.
- Literary Lunch: This Thursday we hosted a lovely group of seniors courtesy of the Norwood Public Library. Rebecca Spillane continued a long standing CMS tradition of getting 6th grade students together with our communities most valuable resource - our seniors! They had all read the same book, The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and had great discussion, a delicious lunch provided in part by D & G Deli and a rousing set of board games to finish.
- Grade 5 Step Up Day: There is nothing like having an additional 250 kids at your school for a day! Our guidance department and Mustang Mentors did an excellent job getting the incoming sixth grade ready for September! Grade 8 students did a question and answer panel and 7th grade mentors did orientation activities and lead tours. All 250 had lunch here at CMS and then went outside to enjoy their field day.
- Finally, I would like to that the six students that were brave enough to go on TV this week with our School Committee to talk about our great school. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can catch a recording on Norwood Public Access TV. Thank you to Olivia Connor, Melvin Dohbila, Sathvika Kommera, Careen McLean, Cameron Munroe, and Rafael DaSilva. You all did an amazing job speaking about the great programs at the Coakley Middle School!
Citizen of the Month Speech by Kirill Didychouk
Bus Forms
Tropical Paradise
Summer Reading List
Stargirl by Spinelli (bookfair cost: $6.39)
Schooled by Korman ($5.59)
Grade 7
Graveyard Book by Gaiman ($7.19)
Freak the Mighty by Philbrick ($5.59)
Outsiders by Hinton ($8.00)
Grade 8
Anne Frank by Mooyaart ($5.59)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Boyne ($7.99)
The Book Thief by Zusac ($11.99)
Transfer Information
Any students attending private schools or a high school other than Norwood High, please make sure to contact your child's guidance counselor before the end of the year. Attached is the release form that must be filled out in order to ensure that your child's new school receives the pertinent school information (Transcripts, attendance, testing results, health record, discipline, etc.).
Allyson Culgin (6th grade) - aculgin@norwood.k12.ma.us
Brittany Moore (7th grade) - bmoore@norwood.k12.ma.us
Meghan Mba (8th grade) - mmba@norwood.k12.ma.us
PTO Corner
The PTO meets the second Thursday of each month to hear an update from the principal and discuss planning related to enrichment, fundraising, activities and other topics of interest. You can also stay up to date with the CMS PTO by following us on Facebook. You can contact the PTO at coakleypto@gmail.com.
As we near the end of the year we have a few special activities and requests for 6th and 7th grade parents.
Field Day, June 19 & Graduation. June 21 - 7th grade parents traditionally help out with 8th grade graduation, and this year we will need parents to help set up and serve food from 5-7. For field day we need donations of water and ice. Small water bottles are preferred. You can sign up for either need here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aada828a6f85-field1
School kits available for purchase. Order on schooltoolbox.com. Ordering deadline is June 24 and they will be delivered to Coakley the week of August 13th. THIS IS A NEW VENDOR
And for 8th grade parents - we are putting together a slide show for the end of the year. Please feel free to upload photos, share with your kids and let them add in photos from their years at the CMS. https://photos.app.goo.gl/cjgI48M1cjg8kgeo2
We are also still looking for volunteers for PTO next year - board positions and coordinators. Please contact coakleypto@gmail if you would like to help.
2017-2018 Meeting Schedule
Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month from 7-8 p.m. in the middle school library.
• June 14
Check out the Coakley Apparel Store through the link below!
After School Club Updates
Coakley Insider: Tuesdays at 2:10 in the library.
Drama Club: Mondays 2:15-3:00 pm
National History Day: Students choose either Tuesday or Wednesday
Friendship Club: Will meet Tuesdays starting later in October
Cartooning: Will meet Thursdays
SEARCH: Meets on Mondays
Student Council: Will meet on the last Tuesday of the month starting later this month.
Artists Club: meets Wednesdays starting October 18th.
CMS Book Club: This year we are reading “Ghost” by Jason Reynolds. Read the book and join us on October 26th after school in the library. See Mrs. MacTavish or Mrs. Lockwood with questions.
Math Club: Will be meeting on Thursday's
CMS Honor Chorus: Monday and Wednesdays 2:15-3:00 pm
CMS Jazz Band: Wednesday's 5-7:30 pm
CMS Honor Band: Rehearsal Mondays from 4:30-6 pm in the CMS auditorium.
CMS Honor Orchestra: Tuesdays 4:40-6:00 pm
Intramural Sports: please check the website (linked below) for all schedules.
Important Dates
6th Grade Spring Concert: Due to Town Meeting, date or location May change. More information to come.
7th Grade Spring Concert: Tuesday, June 5 @CMS
8th Grade Spring Concert: Tuesday, June 12 @CMS
Grade 8 promotion ceremony/dinner/dance: June 21st PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE
Big Y Education Express
We have over 20 people signed up and over 11,000 points already! Join in and earn points for CMS!
Dr. Margo Fraczek
Email: mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/norwood.k12.ma.us/cms-principal/home
Phone: 781-762-7880
Twitter: @mfraczek