CMS Parent Newsletter
September 4, 2017
Dear Parents,
We hope everyone enjoys this Labor Day weekend.
Thank you for providing feedback related to this year's Parent Class Meetings. Your feedback was most helpful and will be used for next year's event.
Students are doing very well on their MAP reading and math assessments. We should finish testing all of our students mid-September and be able to send home student scores and reports.
Upcoming Seahawk Events
September 4 - Labor Day - No School
September 6 - Softball vs. Garrison
September 6 - Spirit Night - Wendy's on the island
September 8 - PBIS Rewards
September 8 - Texas Spirit Dress Down for $2 wearing red, white or blue t-shirt with blue jeans.
September 11 - Softball vs. Hesse
September 13 - Softball vs. Rice Creek
September 13 & 14- FCCLA Fall Leadership Conference
September 14 - Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A on Victory Drive
September 15 - TSA Officer Retreat
September 15 - Progress Reports Issued
September 15 - Spirit Wear - $1 donation benefits Light the Night
September 20 - Softball vs Isle of Hope
September 22 - Spirit Wear - $1 Donation benefits TSA
September 22 - PBIS Redeem Day
September 25 - Softball vs. Godley Station
September 26 - Spirit Night at Five Guys
September 27 - Softball vs. WCMS
September 27 - 8th Grade IB Community Project Planning Worksheets & Parent Signatures due.
October 2 - Softball vs. SWMS
October 2 - Volleyball Tryouts
October 6 - PTSA Reflection Entries Due
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
Keeping Our Teens Safe: Smart Devices are NOT a Smart Choice for Teens
Anyone who thinks a cell phone is going to keep a teen safe is falling for a horrible myth. Students often find themselves in much trouble, bigger than ever imagined, because of what happens with cell phones and smart devices in this “world at your fingertips society” in which we live. The number of wonderful, sweet, smart students facing expulsion and criminal charges each year is alarming. If you think your child needs a phone to stay safe in this world, please consider purchasing one that does nothing but allow him or her to call or text 3 programmed numbers. Any video, camera, social media or internet activity needs to be from a device that mom and dad control and monitor, not from a child’s phone.
Student PTSA Membership Drive
Thank you to everyone who has joined PTSA! The parent winners of our prize drawing will be announced this week. Students who join by Sept. 15th 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!
The New Band Discount Card
The new band discount card is back by popular demand. You don’t want to miss out on this great opportunity to save money and support our awesome band program and students. Please see the parent of a band member or our band director, William (Billy) Hoffman, to purchase your card.
Volunteer Opportunity
We could use your help. We must determine the Lexile level of each book that is donated through our book drive. If you are a volunteer would you consider giving some of your time to help with this? Please call our media clerk, Lisa Sims-Stevens, or email her at lisa.sims-stevens@sccpss.com.
PTSA Fall Ball for 6th Grade Students
The 6th Grade Fall Ball is coming up on September 15th! 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
A buddy bench is now a recommended resource for all schools and playgrounds, and one is coming soon to Coastal Middle School. The simple concept behind this bench has been adopted by educators around the world. When a student or adult feels lonely, they know to go over and sit on the buddy bench. Other students or adults in the area are then instructed to mingle with that student and demonstrate to them through their presence that they are not alone in this world. This simple gesture of kindness spreads beyond the walls of the campus and into the community. Our Seahawk buddy bench will foster a genuine sense of acceptance and kindness. Relationships will be initiated that will develop into friendships. This bench will serve as a "seat" from which people will gain the acceptance that they need, the support or comfort that might go unnoticed otherwise or hear the voice of a graceful listener that often gets forgotten in this high-tech world in which we live. Please consider talking to your child as we roll out this new imitative and teach the students a very simple way to let others know that they care.
PTSA Reflections Contest
PTA Reflections is a nationally acclaimed student recognition program to encourage artistic creativity in the classroom and at home. 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.
Host Family Needed for an Islands High School Exchange Student from Germany
Islands High School has an exchange student from Germany who needs a new host family. His current, wonderful host family is a military family who has been reassigned out of state. If your family is interested in hosting this student, or you would like more information, please contact Dr. Mark Linsky at mark.linsky@sccpss.com.
Partnering with Our Parents
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.
IB: Week 2 Challenge (Learner Profiles: Caring, Communicators, and Risk-takers)
_____Plant a tree in your community.
_____Spend time with a veteran.
_____Do a chore no one else wants to do.
_____Say hello to someone you don’t know.
_____With your parent’s permission, spend time with a grandparent or elderly person.
_____Bake cookies for your neighbor.
Parents’ Peak
September is National Family Meals Month. As an IB World School and a Lighthouse School to Watch, we encourage our students to be excellent communicators. Meal times are a great venue to give your student a chance to try out his or her conversation skills. This month, we would like to challenge you to eat at least one more meal at home together every week. It doesn’t have to formal or take a long time. The key is to share healthy food, along with a heaping side of meaningful conversation. Have fun and make memories!
Community Events
Boredom Busters: Don’t get the “I’m Bored” blues! Drop by the Islands Public Library on Tuesday afternoons from 4:00-5:00 pm for a different boredom-busting surprise activity each week! The library is located at 50 Johnny Mercer Blvd next to Islands High School. For more information, call 912-897-6233.
Pop-Up and Paper Circuit Bookmaking: Create kinetic stories you can share through the creation of pop-up books and paper circuit designs. Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center is sponsoring four after-school workshops for middle and high schoolers to explore this new storytelling art form and connect to the Jepson Center’s newest TechSpace Gallery at the Islands Public Library beginning Thursday, September 7th @ 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM.
The first week teens will create storyboards, design and layout.
The second week basic construction will begin.
The third week teens will continue building content.
The fourth and final week teens will add paper circuits, switches, and LED to their pop-up books.
Registration required. Ages 12-18. To register or get more information, call 912-897-6233.
Walk To Fight Suicide: Suicide prevention starts with everyday heroes like you who will walk, volunteer or donate to let others know that there is a way OUT OF THE DARKNESS. Sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, this community walk will take place on Saturday September 16, 2017 at Lake Mayer Park. For more information or to register, go to afsp.org/Savannah.
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.
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.