Canon-McMillan Middle School
March 2023 Update
Random Acts of Kindness Week
CMMS students had the chance to participate in many different theme days and challenges during Random Acts of Kindness week. Some of the challenges included a Kindness Bingo board, trying a mental health activity to "Be Kind to your Mind," and bringing in donations for the North Strabane K9 fund in order to "Be Kind to All Kinds."
The week was capped off with a mural made of "kindness coins." Students made these coins in Art Club and art classes throughout the year. On Friday, students had the opportunity to take kindness coin to pass along to a friend or loved one and share kindness. The inspiration for this mural came from contemporary American artist, Jonathan Saiz. He is known for his large murals made up of smaller works of art. In 2019, he displayed a work entitled “#WhatIsUtopia”. It consisted of 10,000 individual 2”x2” pieces of art. Once the exhibition closed, he gave away every piece.
“I don’t know if free art can create a better world, but I’m inspired to try…one tiny painting at a time.” Jonathan Saiz
Gifted Program
7th and 8th grade students from Canon- McMillan Middle School participated in the PA Math League competition last week. Students had 30 minutes to answer 35 challenging math questions. Shout out to Mikey for placing 1st in 7th grade and 1st overall and Kiara for placing first in 8th grade.
Mikey - 1st place in 7th grade!
Kiara - 1st place in 8th grade!
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to Parker for getting second place and Ben for getting first place at the First Annual Canon-McMillan Middle School Spelling Bee!
The CMMS Press: March 2023 Newspaper
Click the GIF to view the March 2023 Issue of The CMMS Press, CMMS's official school newspaper written and designed by students!
This article features an interview with new SRO Mike Lukanski, a team feature on the Hurricanes, a welcome to new teacher Mrs. Scheidler, and a look at the brand new auditorium!
Scholastic Art Show
Three students are representing CMMS in this year's Scholastic Art Show. They are: Willow Weinzen, 8th grade, Silver Key Award; Gracy Guyton, 8th grade Silver Key Award; and Paige Simpson, 7th grade, Honorable Mention. The work was displayed in the show at the Mandarino Library. There was an awards ceremony on March 19, 2023. Congratulations to these young artists.
MathCounts Competition
The CMMS MathCounts team competed in the Washington County MathCounts competition in February. The MathCounts competition consists of several rounds of challenging and problem-solving-based math topics. Students are scored on a sprint round where they cannot use a calculator to answer math questions, a target round where students may use a calculator on each question, and a team round where students can work in groups.
At the competition, team members Vivian Snodgrass, Ben Caputo, Rocco Bellino, and Noah Taylor placed 1st and will move on to the state competition. In the individual competition, Colsen McCormick placed 1st and will also be competing at the state level. The state-wide MathCounts competition is in Harrisburg on March 17th and 18th. Ben Caputo also was second in the individual competition, Rocco Bellino was third and Noah Taylor also placed in the top ten. Joseph McCaffrey, Quinn Paris, and Jackson Yeager also competed in the individual competition. Congrats to the MathCounts team!
CMMS Students Sweep Essay Contest
Selected from a pool of 41 county-wide entries, all four middle school level winners of this year’s Washington Teen Outreach Black History Month Essay Contest are CMMS 7th grade students!
Congratulations to Mya M., who won 1st place ($100 prize), along with Dara A. (2nd place-$75 prize), Caitlyn Riley (3rd place-$50), and Elizabeth F. (Honorable Mentions-$25 prizes)! Mya, Dara, and Caitlyn are Knights, and Elizabeth is a Titan.
With the high school level winners, these students attended and were honored at a ceremony on the evening of February 23 at the Common Ground Teen Center, where Dara, Caitlyn, and the high school winners read aloud their essays (Mya, who attended via Zoom, chose for Mrs. Berg, her English teacher, to read hers aloud on her behalf) to the attendees before all were awarded with their award certificates and gift cards.
Along with the high school level first place winners’ pieces, Mya’s essay will also be published in the Washington Observer-Reporter!
Great job representing Canon-McMillan Middle School!
Which Supernova Tribe Can Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast the Others?
Mrs. Porter’s Advanced English 8 students started their reading of the novel, Lord of the Flies, by participating in Survivor-themed activities. Since the boys in the novel are stranded on a deserted island, much like the participants on the television show, Survivor, this was a fun way for the students to connect to the text. Like on Survivor, the students were placed in tribes, which served as their reading groups for the novel.
The students participated in challenges to see which tribe could outwit, outplay, and outlast the other tribes. The students enjoyed participating in survival-themed activities and tribe challenges. Pictured below, the students are attempting the spaghetti marshmallow tower challenge.
Phipps Conservatory Field Trip
On March 10, Mr. Schugg’s class attended Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. The students participated in an interactive game-based lesson focusing on the importance of pollination, bees, and the organisms that make it possible for us to sustain life. The students also participated in a self-guided tour of the entire conservatory. They had the opportunity to observe many different plant displays, various unique species, and vegetation from all over the world. The students also practiced life skills orientation to the community by interacting with community members, navigating public spaces, and following set expectations in a new environment. The students participated and asked great questions. It is safe to say the students are excited to return in the future!
Titans Mosaic Project
Students on the Titan Team wrapped up their Roman Civilization chapter by making mosaics in the team room. They used card stock, glue, and tiny pieces of colored paper to make a mosaic of their choice. Mosaics are traditionally made from broken colored glass or rock.
Knights Science
In our fantastic new science room at CMMS, Knights students have investigated many of their own unique traits as they learned about heredity. All Knights had the opportunity to construct small-scale DNA models to help understand their genetic material. Oludara, Grace and Mayowa took their creativity even further with the design and creation of these unique large three-dimensional DNA models!
McTeacher Night
McTeacher Night was held at the local Canonsburg McDonald's on March 13! Students had the chance to order food from teachers in the drive through and at the counter. Teachers also delivered food right to students' tables! The CMMS Band program earned over $900 from the evening (and we smashed the McDonald's hourly record - twice!). Thanks to everyone who stopped by and showed their support.
8th Grade Social Studies
Students in 8th grade social studies classes had the opportunity to observe Black History Month, while at the same time taking advantage of the awesome educational resources we have close by in Pittsburgh. The Heinz History Center invited our students to join a Zoom lesson called “The History of Hill City Youth Municipality Program” This was a great opportunity for the students to experience a live Zoom lesson and to interact with the instructor through chat. Students were also able to appreciate the fact that many important people and events in black history happened right here in our greater community. We also enjoyed hosting the lesson in one of our new CMMS team areas and are looking forward to many more interactive group educational experiences!
Hurricane English & Advanced English
Hurricane English
8th-grade English team Hurricane students spent the last month reading the dystopian novel The Giver. At the conclusion of the novel they too had to “Escape the Community” by using their skills in vocabulary, reading comprehension, teamwork, and critical thinking. All four classes worked hard and successfully escaped before the bell rang!
Hurricane Advanced English
Advanced English team Hurricane students read the novel Lord of the Flies this quarter. During their reading, they were tasked with completing a character study on one of the main characters in the novel. At the conclusion of the story, they worked with their classmates who studied the same character and completed a full-body biography of their assigned character. They had to represent their character through symbols, colors, quotes, song lyrics, and an acrostic poem.
Starbooks Cafe
All three 8th grade teams enjoyed a book tasting at the “Starbooks Cafe” in the LMC. Students had the opportunity to sample books from several different genres to see if they would like more than just a “sip” during this coffee-themed day. Many students realized that they are interested in reading books they never would have tried. Overall, it was a “grande” success!
Spartans Mythology Project
Spartan students researched Roman mythology in a cross-curricular project completed in one of the new team rooms at CMMS. Mrs. Wright and Mr. LaSalvia joined forces to bring their Language Arts and Social Studies classes together for a project researching a Roman god or goddess. This project served as a culminating activity allowing students to use their knowledge of Greek mythology from Language Arts class and of the cultures of ancient Greece and ancient Rome from Social Studies class.
Tickets are available at the door: $5 for adults and $3 for students.
CMMS Honor Society Program
Thursday, Apr 13, 2023, 06:00 PM
Canon-McMillan Middle School, Big Mac Boulevard, Canonsburg, PA, USA
Band Concert
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2023, 07:00 PM
Canon-McMillan Middle School, Big Mac Boulevard, Canonsburg, PA, USA
7th Grade Parent Orientation
Wednesday, May 3, 2023, 06:00 PM
Canon-McMillan Middle School, Big Mac Boulevard, Canonsburg, PA, USA
Staff In-service - No School
Tuesday, May 16, 2023, 07:00 AM
Chorus Concert
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 07:00 PM
Canon-McMillan Middle School, Big Mac Boulevard, Canonsburg, PA, USA
Canon-McMillan Middle School
Email: CMMS@cmsd.k12.pa.us
Website: https://www.cmsd.k12.pa.us/2/home
Location: 100 Big Mac Boulevard, Canonsburg, PA 15317
Phone: (724) 745-9030
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanonsburgMiddleSchool/
Twitter: @CanonMacMS