Dear Families,

Last night, Boston families and Sudbury administrators and staff welcomed Leslie Smart, our new METCO Director. Leslie comes with excellent experience and will be a great leader in Sudbury. The evening, which was held at METCO Inc. in Boston, was positive and informative and allowed for valuable conversations and connections. The commitment from Boston families and students to participate in the METCO program is extraordinary. Many of the students commute between 2-3 hours each day, requiring early wake-ups and long days. One of our goals this year is to strengthen the connection between Boston and Sudbury students - during the school day, after school, and on the weekends. We appreciate any ways that families can help with this partnership.

This is a no-homework weekend. We utilize no-homework weekends as an opportunity for students to relax and enjoy their families without having to think about school work.

We hope you enjoy the long weekend.

Jeff

Monday, October 10 - No School - Indigenous Peoples' Day

Wednesday, October 19 - 12:45 Early Release; 7:30 p.m. CPO Meeting

Wednesday, November 2 - 12:45 Early Release: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Wednesday, November 9 - 12:45 Early Release: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, November 11 - No School - Veterans Day

October 3-7 is National Digital Inclusion Week, which celebrates programs that promote more equitable student access to technology. One program highlighted by the state of Massachusetts is the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which offers eligible households a $30 monthly discount for internet services and a $100 discount off certain devices. Please visit the ACP website to see if your family qualifies and how to sign up.

The Pennies for Hope fundraiser competition at Curtis starts this coming Tuesday, October 12th, and runs through Friday, October 28th. Collection jars for donations will be located in each homeroom. On the 28th, donations will be collected and consolidated for each grade. The grade that raises the most money will win a prize, such as an extended recess or a movie to be shown at school the day before one of our upcoming vacations.

The money collected at Curtis will be presented to HopeSudbury during their telethon in early November. Last year, Curtis raised more than $3,000 for HopeSudbury. In the past, money raised by HopeSudbury has helped families cover expenses such as medical bills, household repairs and utility bills.

Please encourage your child to support this important fundraiser. If you have questions about the Pennies For Hope fundraiser competition, please contact Curtis Angels Faculty Advisor, Ivar Henningson.

Thank you for your support.

Through music, stepping, tap, and ring shouts, the amazing dance troupe Step Afrika! captures the rhythmic rebellion of the human spirit. Please click here for more information.

The Curtis Library is looking for parent volunteers to assist in checkout, staffing the circulation desk during team time, building displays and bulletin boards, and other library tasks. No library experience is needed, you will be trained, but it is useful! Please email elizabeth_simpson@sudbury.k12.ma.us for more information. (Please email again if your original attempt bounced back). Thank you!

We are fortunate to offer a diverse list of clubs and activities this year to meet the interests of our students:

• Cauldron
• Strategic Games
• Computer Club
• Diversity Club
• ECMS Theatre Troupe
• Model UN
  
• Science Olympiad
• Speech & Debate Team

Click here to go to the Activities & Clubs webpage, where you will find a description of each of the course offerings, along with applicable forms to print out, complete, and return to school. Please be sure to make all checks payable to Town of Sudbury. If you have any questions, please email the advisor of the activity.

Attention all math lovers! The MATHCOUNTS Competition is coming back to Curtis again this year! This competition series will be in person. All in-school students of Curtis 6th - 8th graders are eligible to participate in a school level MATHCOUNTS practice competition. Following that, a group of up to 12 selected students will be representing Curtis Middle School at the Chapter Competition.

What is MATHCOUNTS?

The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is a nationwide middle school mathematics competition that provides students the opportunity to compete in-person against and alongside their peers.

The competition is held annually at the school, chapter, state and national levels. This will be the sixth year that Curtis Middle School will participate in the competition. Our goal is to have fun, build confidence, and improve our critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Registration and Cost

School Practice Competition

Date: TBD before end of January 2023 (after school time or weekend)

Cost: free

How/when to register: Complete the registration form here by Nov 20th

Chapter competition will be held in February 2023.

Registration fee for Chapter Competition: $30 / student

A group of up to 12 students per school will attend the Chapter Competition.

Who leads the Chapter team?

The Curtis team will be lead by volunteer Curtis parents. There are no weekly meets. There will be online or in-person practice sessions before the chapter competition for the school group. This year’s coaches will be Mr. Yi Hou and Sophia Hou.

Please contact Yi Hou at yihou@hotmail.com with any questions.

Our students would love to have more recess equipment! Please consider donating a used or new ball or jump rope to help our kids enjoy their recess time. Supplies needed:

• Rubber balls for 4 Square
• Basketballs
• Footballs
• Soccer balls
• Tennis balls
• Any other balls that are not hard
• Jump ropes

We are looking for School Council representatives for the Curtis School Council this year.

What is School Council?

A school council is a representative advisory group that collaborates in planning for and implementing school improvement. It is a form of site-based management that places the school at the center of planning, goal setting, and budgeting for improvement.

Who serves on a School Council?

It is composed of representatives of the school and community. Members of the council include:

~principal

~teachers

~parents of students attending the school

~community representatives

If you are interested in serving on the school council, please submit a brief statement about why you wish to serve on the Curtis School Council. Please send this information to Jeff Mela.

Reminder to 8th grade families: To register your 8th grader for the civics trip, go to Worldstrides AND Family ID. To seek financial aid, use the SPS Financial Assistance Form.

To set up your Frozen Fundraiser account, click here, or scan the QR code below. For other information and links, please visit the ECMS D.C. Website.

- If your child will be absent or tardy from school, please call 978-443-1071, press 1, and leave a message on the absence line stating your child’s name, the date(s) of their absence/ tardiness and the reason. If there is a planned absence, you are welcome to call ahead of time -- you do not need to wait until that day.

- If you will be taking your child out of school for an appointment or picking them up early, please write a note and have your child drop it off in the front office. You must come into the office to sign out your child; if they return to school that day, they may come back in on their own and stop by the office.

- We do not need to know about a change in dismissal plans at 3:10 dismissal time (or 12:45 on an Early Release day).

- Students may only ride the bus to which they are assigned.

- We will interrupt class to have students pick up eyeglasses or Chromebooks dropped off in the office. All other items will be placed on the table outside the office. If your child calls and asks you to bring something to school, please tell them they must come to the office to retrieve.

***GRADE 7 PHYSICALS***

Please submit a copy of your 7th graders most recent physical exam to the Health Office (within the past 13 months). If you have already submitted one, thank you! No need to submit another one. To date, we have only received about half of the required physicals.

***COVID GUIDELINES***

Please continue to remain vigilant for symptoms of COVID-19. If your student becomes symptomatic please test. If your student tests positive please notify the health office for isolation guidelines.

***CLOTHING NEED ***

As you clean out closets and prepare for the seasonal change in wardrobes we would love it if you keep the health office in mind. Accidents happen, even in middle school! We are critically low on boys and girls short and long sleeve shirts, shorts, sweatpants and leggings, especially in larger sizes. If your student comes home in clothing from the health office please wash and return to the health office. Thank you so much!

Please click here to view the SPS 2022-2023 School Calendar.

Please click here to see the complete Curtis schedule for this school year.

Curtis Directory

Please remember you can purchase the CurtIs directory and make a donation to Direct Appeal in one easy step. Print and online access for the directory is $15 and online-only is $10; the printed directory will be available in November and you will have online access right after you place your order.

Direct Appeal

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the CPO to help support Curtis’ cultural, creative, and educational programming. The CPO supports a variety of programs and initiatives, including cultural enrichment, the 1:1 computing program, the Curtis Messenger newsletter, student scholarships, student social events, technology, end-of-year activities, classroom curriculum aids for teachers, UA supplies, recess equipment, uniforms for school sports teams, library furniture, the student counseling department, the tile project in the school hallways, outdoor beautification projects, and much more. These are all important additions to the Curtis community and they truly improve the students’ experience at Curtis Middle School. This is all possible because of the generosity of the Curtis parent community.

We suggest a $75 donation—but no donation is too small—and all are appreciated! Also, please check if your company offers a matching donation. Click here to donate.

Please note that donation acknowledgment letters will be provided by request only. If you require a letter for tax purposes, please email a request to cpotreasurer@gmail.com.

(You can also make a donation when you order your directory!)

First CPO Meeting

We will be hosting our first CPO meeting in a virtual format on October 19 at 7:30pm. We’ll share the meeting link soon. We hope you can join us, along with Mr. Mela, who will discuss the upcoming school year, as well as Ms. Kerrigan, technology integration specialist at Curtis, who will give an overview of how technology is used at the middle school, including Schoology. Both will answer parent questions.

CPO Facebook Page

The CPO Facebook is a great resource to get information and ask questions. Please remember to answer the required questions to be approved. This is important for us to keep the membership contained to Curtis families.

Curtis Gear

The Curtis online store is now open with lots of Curtis spirit wear and gear, including clothing, hats, bags, and more!

8th Grade Events and Washington DC Trip: VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED

Thank you to those who have volunteered for the 8th grade events and DC trip. We still need more volunteers. If you can be a T-Shirt Coordinator for DC or a Care Package Coordinator please let us know. Please reach out to the 8th Grade Co-Chair Nalini Luthra via email nluthra647@aol.com if you would like more information or sign up to help.

CPO MESSENGER

Please share this newsletter with others who are new to Curtis and encourage them to sign up for their own copy!

Learning ~ Respect ~ Responsibliity

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