Principal P's Friday Message
June 17, 2022
A Message from Principal P
I can't believe this is the last Friday message of the 2021-2022 school year! It has been a year of many transitions and growth. Over the weekend I started reading Brene' Brown's Rising Strong. As I began reading it did not take long to find sections that resonated with me. I wanted to share a section that I feel sums up where we have been, where we are, and where we are headed.
"When a group or team first comes together (form), it's often rocky for a time while members figure out the dynamics (storm). At some point, the group finds its groove (norm) and starts to make headway (perform). Storm occupies the middle space. It's not only a dark and vulnerable time, but also one that's often turbulent. People find all kinds of creative ways to resist the dark, including taking issue with each other."
We have formed as a team and have occupied this middle space at different times throughout the school year. Change brings out fear and resistance, it causes uneasiness, but I want to thank all of you for continuing to weather the storm. It is because of the turbulence and our willingness to be vulnerable with one another that we are making headway, and will continue to do so in the years to come. We will revisit this "middle space" at different times but if we continue to focus on doing what is best for students, open ourselves up to being vulnerable, and embrace the messy we will always find our "groove". I believe we have all proven this to be true.
I look forward to our continued growth as we work through challenges and change as a team. You have all taught me so much this school year. I am grateful for your support, I am grateful for the times you have challenged me, and I am grateful for the times I failed because these are the moments I learned the most.
I want to thank those of you who have offered words of encouragement, support, and feedback throughout the school year.
I am looking forward to welcoming students and families back in the fall. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer.
A special message to our 8th-grade families. You will be missed. It has been a pleasure getting to know this group of kids. I have watched them grow so much since September. I wish them the best of luck at WGHS!
Better Together,
Mrs. P
What's Happening at CMS
8th Grade Celebration
This is during the school day and is for students only. Our planning committee has a number of activities planned to celebrate our 8th graders moving on to the high school.
Thank you to families who donated their time and/or made monetary donations.
On Thursday students are being asked to wear blue and gold or their 2026 t-shirts.
Yearbooks
Distributed Tuesday in homerooms
Information Regarding Summer School
Summer school for middle school level courses will run from July 11-26 at Camillus Middle School. Students who are eligible to enroll can take up to two courses between the hours of 8:00 and 12:30. Counselors will contact families at the end of June to recommend summer school and complete the enrollment process.
Visit https://files.ocmboces.org/summerSchool/files/2022_SumSchCal.pdf or contact your child’s counselor for more information.
In June We Recognize and Celebrate Juneteenth and Pride Month
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth (official federal holiday name - Juneteenth National Independence Day), also called
Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day, is a holiday commemorating the end
of slavery in the United States, observed annually on June 19. The name Juneteenth references the
date of the holiday, combining the words “June” and “nineteenth.”
In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states to be
free. More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Americans living
in Texas, which was the last state of the confederacy with institutional slavery. It was not until
Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, and proclaimed
freedom for enslaved people in Texas.
The following year, on June 19, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas. The
original observances included prayer meetings and the singing of spirituals, and celebrants wore new
clothes as a way of representing their newfound freedom. Within a few years, African Americans in
other states were celebrating the day as well, making it an annual tradition. Celebrations have
continued across the United States into the 21st century and typically include prayer and religious
services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings and picnics, and festivals with music, food,
and dancing.
Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, and a number of other states subsequently
followed suit. In 2021 Juneteenth was made a federal holiday when President Joe Biden signed the
Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. The day is also celebrated outside the United
States, being used by organizations in a number of countries to recognize the end of slavery and to
honor the culture and achievements of African Americans.
Further reading:
https://www.nytimes.com/article/juneteenth-day-celebration.html
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007315228/juneteenth-what-is-origin-observation
It's a day to "commemorate the hardships endured by the ancestors. It really exemplifies the
survival instinct, the ways that we as a community really make something out of nothing... It's
about empowerment and hopefulness."
-Shane Bolles Walsh
-information shared from AntiRacist Education Now, NPR, and the New York Times
Pride Month
What is Pride Month?
From People.com updated 6/1/2022 https://people.com/human-interest/pride-month-explained-pride-month-facts/
Pride Month both commemorates and celebrates LGBTQ activism and culture through the years.
Pride Month is an entire month dedicated to the uplifting of LGBTQ voices, celebration of LGBTQ culture and the support of LGBTQ rights.
It is part political activism, part celebration of all the LGBTQ community has achieved over the years.
You probably knew that the rainbow flag — created by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978 — is used as a symbol of LGBTQ pride, but did you know that each color on the flag has its own meaning? In the widely known six-color flag, red is symbolic of life, orange is symbolic of healing, yellow is sunshine, green is nature, blue represents harmony and purple is spirit. In the original eight-color flag, hot pink was included to represent sex and turquoise to represent magic/ar
LOOKING AHEAD
Better Together Parent Coalition
Our first meeting date will be September 19, 2022. We will meet in the CMS library from 6:00 PM-7:00 PM
Building Norms and Expectations 2022-2023
Be Safe:
Walk in the hallways and when entering and exiting the building
Practice safe use of technology
Maintain personal space and boundaries
Make sure adults know where you are
Be Responsible:
Take ownership and pride in your work.
Be on time, prepared, organized, and productive.
Attend school regularly
Seek help if you need support.
Be Respectful:
Respect others’ belongings
Follow school and classroom expectations
Speak appropriately to peers and staff
Be open-minded to individual differences
Follow directions
Take care of school property.
Be Kind:
Include everyone - no one gets left out
Encourage and help others
Treat others the way they want to be treated.
Do a good deed
Cell Phone Policy-
Cell phones should be off and out of sight during the school day in classrooms and hallways. The safest place for cell phones is your locker.
Hallways include standing in the lunch line and while moving from classes.
Cell phones are still permitted for use during lunch and breakfast when you are sitting at your table.
Cell phones may be used in study halls with teacher discretion.
If you need to make a phone call home during the school day you can come to the main office to do so.
Misuse Consequences:
First Offense: Warning
Second Offense: Teacher confiscation of the phone for the class period and you have to put their phone in your locker. Parent contacted by the teacher.
Third Offense: Cell phone will be confiscated and brought to the main office until the end of the day. Parent contacted by administration.
Fourth Offense: Cell phone will be dropped off in the main office every day for a week. Parent contacted by the administration.
Mark Your Calendars
June 20th- No School
June 21st - Chromebooks Collected
June 22nd - School Day 7:45 AM-10:10 AM
Half-day for students- 8th-grade celebration assembly/7th-grade outdoor activities with team
June 23rd - School Day 7:45 AM-10:10 AM
Half-day and last day of school for students-8th grade outdoor celebration
August 24th- Locker Night 3:00 PM-6:00 PM