CMS Parent Newsletter
September 18, 2017
Dear Parents,
Upcoming Seahawk Events
September 19 - Softball vs. DeRenne
September 20 - Softball vs Isle of Hope
September 21 - Football at WCMS
September 22 - Spirit Wear - $2 Donation benefits TX Hurricane Relief - Wear red, white or blue top with blue jeans.
September 22 - PBIS Redeem Day
September 22 - Progress Reports Issued
September 25 - Softball vs. Godley Station
September 26 - Spirit Night at Five Guys
September 27 - Softball vs. WCMS
September 27 - Football at Islands Field vs. Myers
September 27 - 8th Grade IB Community Project Planning Worksheets & Parent Signatures due.
September 28 - Softball vs. Rice Creek
September 29 - Spirit Wear - $1 Donation benefits TSA
September 29 - Student PTSA Meeting 2:00 p.m. Cafeteria
October 2 - Softball vs. SWMS
October 2 - Volleyball Tryouts
October 3 - Softball vs. Myers
October 5 - Domino's Pizza Spirit Night
October 4 - Football vs. Oglethorpe at Islands Field
October 6 - PTSA Reflection Entries Due
October 6 - Beginning of 2nd Marking Period
October 6 - Extreme Spirit Wear benefits TSA
October 6 - Pep Rally
October 10 - Seahawk Strut Money Collection
October 11 - Spirit Night at Rio Bravo
October 11 - Football vs. Mercer at Islands Field
October 12 - Seahawk Strut Dress Down for $30+ donation
October 13 - Seahawk Strut Event
October 13 - Seahawk Strut - Dress Down for $15+ donation
October 13 - Report Cards
October 16 - Seahawk Strut Dress Down - $50+ donation
October 18 - Football at DeRenne
October 19 - Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night
October 19 - Teens in the Driver's Seat Information meeting 3:00 - 4:00 Counselor Suite
October 20 - Spirit Wear - Coastal Cares
October 24 - Spirit Night - Molly McGuire's
October 27 - Spirit Wear 2 Cans of Food - Second Harvest and Salvation Army
April 11 - GMAS ELA
April 12 - GMAS ELA
April 13 - GMAS ELA
April 16 - GMAS Math
April 17 - GMAS Math
April 18 - GMAS Science - 8th grade only
April 19 - GMAS SS - 8th grade only
April 25 - GMAS EOC - Comp Lit
April 26 - GMAS EOC - Comp Lit
April 30 - GMAS EOC - Alg 1
May 2 - GMAS EOC - Physical Science
** All softball games are scheduled for 4:30 at Paulson Stadium on Field 1
Absent Monday? Please contact us.
We look forward to seeing our Seahawk students Monday. The building opens at 7:10 a.m. If your Seahawk is not able to attend for any reason, please email your child’s homeroom teacher or call the front office at 395-3950 Monday morning to check-in. We want to be sure all of our students are safe. If your family has experienced a hardship due to the storm, please be sure to notify our counselors or social worker.
Counselor Jennifer Fell – jennifer.fell@sccpss.com
Counselor Christa Eallonardo – christa.eallonardo@sccpss.com
Social Worker Diana Shiley – diana.shiley@sccpss.com
Progres Reports Issued Friday
Progress Reports will be issued Friday, September 22nd. (We originally thought they were being issued Wednesday the 20th.)
Book Logs
Rescheduling Parent Conferences
Parents who were scheduled to attend a parent conference or IEP meeting the week we were out of school may contact Debra Shambayati (debra.shambayati@sccpss.com) to reschedule.
Attendance Matters
A statistical analysis by the Georgia Department of Education found that just a 3 percent improvement in attendance – five additional days -- would have led more than 55,000 students to pass end-of-year standardized tests in reading, English, or mathematics in grades 3 to 8. The biggest impact was for students who missed between five and 10 days of school, suggesting that missing even a week to two weeks can have a significant negative impact on achievement (Barge, 2011). (https://getschooled.com/i/27-finalchronicabsenteeismreport_may16-pdf pg 24)
Computer Lab 2 Open for Student Use
Computer Lab 2 is open for student use for school assignments at the following times:
- Each morning from 7:10 - 7:35
- Wednesday afternoons from 2:45 - 3:45. Please be sure your child has a ride home at 3:45. Please send a note giving permission for your child to remain after school.
The public library is also a great place for students to access needed technology.
Keeping Our Teens Safe:
REACH Scholar
Congratulations to our very own Mi’Karee Stafford. Mi’Karee has been named a 2017-2018 REACH Scholar and will be awarded a $10,000 college scholarship.
Band Events this Week
Band students will have the opportunity to see the Paris Island Marine Band perform at Islands High School at 9:15 a.m. Monday morning.
Congratulations to Billy Hoffman who will be the guest conductor at the SAA Fall Concert this Thursday.
Our 8th grade band students will perform with Islands Marching Band this Friday at Memorial Stadium.
Lighthouse Photography Contest
Congratulations to Palmer Walker for submitting the winning photographs for the summer challenge. Palmer's photos are showcased in the front lobby, and he will be recognized on the CMS Morning News this week.
Student PTSA Membership Drive
Students who join by Sept. 22nd will be entered in a drawing for one of five passes to Get Air! The membership form and $6 per membership fee may be dropped in the blue PTSA box in the front office. Join today!
Drama Auditions for 6th Grade Students
PTSA Fall Ball for 6th Grade Students
The 6th Grade Fall Ball will soon be rescheduled. Volunteers are needed to help collect permission slips, decorate, sell concessions, and chaperone. If you can help with this event, please click on the link below to sign up.
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/20f094ca5af2ca5fd0-coastal
Thank you for helping to make this event a fun, first middle school dance for our 6th graders! If you have questions, please contact Brandy Davenport at brandalyndavenport@gmail.com.
Required Choice Reading
Buddy Bench Update
Thanks to many hands working together, with a special thanks to Jim and Elaine Glenn for building the bench, our own Seahawk Buddy Bench is now in the front lobby with brief instructions on its use. Please consider talking to your child about the issue of loneliness and bullying and encouraging him or her to replace those elements with kindness and generosity. As we weather the storms of life together, the Buddy Bench is a great starting place to initiate friendships which may last a lifetime and make a huge difference in the life of someone struggling with isolation or sadness.
IB
Call to Action: As a Lighthouse School to Watch and an International Baccalaureate School, community involvement is paramount to our success. If you would like to challenge yourself and your children to make positive changes in our community through kindness and generosity, encourage yourself to do one or two of the following generous actions this week. Share with friends and family, and show our students that we are a safe beacon of light to follow and a model of acceptance and tolerance for all human beings.
Week 3 Challenge:
· Donate to a charity in your community, state, nation or world.
· Give up your seat for someone who is standing.
· Lend a hand to help someone who is struggling.
· Read a book with someone.
· Write a note of gratitude.
· Thank a service person
· Eat lunch with someone new.
· Compliment a stranger
Community Events
Hospice Savannah’s Full Circle Center for Grief and Loss will present a valuable learning session on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 entitled “Children, Grief and Trauma.” The program is from 7:30am-9:00am, with registration beginning promptly at 7:00am – Refreshments and pastries will be served.
This opportunity will teach you about how trauma and grief affects children,
new tools to utilize to provide support and resources available. The presenters are all masters’ level clinicians who have a combined 50 years of experience working with children affected by grief and trauma. For more information and to register, please call Hospice Savannah’s Full Circle at 912-303-9442. Demere Center for Living, 6000 Business Center Dr., Savannah GA 31405
Parent's Peak
September is Hunger Action Month across America. 1 in 8 people in our country struggle with” food insecurity,” or not knowing where his or her next meal is coming from, yet over 40% of our food goes in a landfill. To help break this cycle and be a more principled consumer of what we are blessed to have, consider serving in your local food bank, concentrating on ZERO WASTE at your own home and recycling at shelters or food banks for animals. Together we can eliminate this problem.
Repeats and Reminders
PTSA Reflections
Students of all grades and abilities may participate and explore the arts based on the 2017-2018 theme: Within Reach. The deadline for Seahawk entries is October 6, 2017. For more information, please contact our art teacher Lauren Greene or the Reflections Committee co-chairs Brenda Sierzant at bdsierzant@yahoo.com or Steve Tisinger at tisingerstephen@gmail.com.
Band Discount Cards are back by popular demand. Please see the parent of a band member or our band director, William (Billy) Hoffman, to purchase your card.
Yearbook
Purchase your yearbook now for only $25. Prices increase to $35 after December.
https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/?event=general.displayLanding&jobnumber=20020
Late Work
All work should be submitted on the date it is due. Teachers will accept no more than 1 late assignments, with parent signature, within 3 days of the date the assignment is posted, for no more than 70% credit.
Free Digital Resources
Please be aware that you and your child can access free, interactive digital textbooks through the Georgia Department of Education's website. The textbooks can be accessed by visiting www.gavirtuallearning.org/Resources. Texts are currently available for middle and high school courses.