The Mustang Minute
May 26, 2020 - Issue 38
News from the Bunker: Ending the Year with Fun!
Welcome to Week 10!
It is definitely starting feel more like summer - I think March may finally be over! The staff is planning for our final two weeks of school and for an innovative Grade 8 promotion. This newsletter will outline those events. More details will follow as we get closer to each individual event/week.
Assessment Week
The week of June 8th - 12th will be assessment week for all CMS students. Each day students will have one exam from a CORE subject plus World Language that will last from 30 minutes to an hour. Specialists will be sending out projects the week prior that will be due during assessment week.
We will use this information to gain knowledge about what our students have been able to learn during remote learning in order to plan for the fall. As with all assignments, students will be graded on their level of effort and participation and will receive feedback on their performance and level of understanding. We hope to get a high level of participation during this week. There will be no daily assignments during this week so that students can focus on the daily assessment and the projects. Please encourage your students to participate in each day's assessment and the specialist projects.
Virtual Field Trip week
We are hoping to end the year with some virtual exploration for kids to enjoy. During this week students will receive links to two virtual field trips per day. One trip has been designed by a team teacher and one by a specialists. Students are expected to participated in all field trips they receive, even if they are not currently in that specialist class. There will be no assignments or written work with the field trips but each day students will also have two scheduled meets. We do consider these field trips and meets to be required - the same as we would if we were in school.
Grade 8 will be doing all DC field trips during this same week. We have left Thursday, June 18th blank for their promotion ceremony. The grade 6 & 7 meets will be earlier that day so that all teachers can attend the promotion car parade at CMS. The schedules are posted below.
Grade 8 End of Year
We will have two events for grade 8 students this spring:
June 17th at 7:00pm we will hold a virtual awards and promotion ceremony. This will be broadcast on NCM. NCM also has streaming access on several sites. A small group of teachers will read the names of student award winners and all grade 8 students being promoted.
June 18th from 3:00-5:00 pm we will have a "reverse" parade for grade 8 students. Students will be driven down the front lane at CMS and receive a swag bag, promotion certificate and awards. We are working with the Norwood police to make sure this is safe and organized. We will send out specific directions when we are closer to the date of the event.
As always, please keep the lines of communication open. If your child is getting overwhelmed, reach out, we can reduce the load and help them organize their time. If they need more challenging material, also let us know, we have a lot of content available. Feel free to call or email with questions and concerns. I hope everyone has remained safe and healthy!
Virtual Field trip Schedule: June 15-19th
Wellesley Survey on Social Media
If you would prefer your child NOT take the survey you may send in the opt-out form attached to this newsletter or email your child's homeroom teacher before June 8th and the survey will not be sent to them. Students can also just not take the survey, when it is pushed out. It is helpful for the researchers to know if a child is opting out, if possible please have your child email their teacher if they are choosing not to take the survey. Students that participate will be entered into drawings for gift cards as a thank you.
Please reach out to mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us with any questions about the survey.
Washington DC Refund
Kindness During Coronavirus
5 Ways to Be Kind to Yourself During Coronavirus
Organize. View this extra time at home as an opportunity to finally declutter. Clean out the closets and reorganize the drawers. How about all the photos trapped on your devices? Get them on a computer and sorted into folders. Use this time to clear your house and mind - and smile, laugh, and cry at the memories that come up as you go through your home.
Get outside. Take a hike, go fishing, breathe in the fresh air, enjoy our world. The grandness of our world, combined with its attention to detail, has a way of making everything else seem like it will all be ok.
Stay calm. Meditate and take deep breaths, anything to practice some mindfulness, and reduce anxiety. Take this time to rest and restore your mind, body, and soul. Oh yeah, Netflix and chill, and don’t feel guilty about it.
Read. Go through your bookshelf and open up a book that you keep meaning to start but haven’t gotten around to it.
Feel your emotions. If the trip you have been saving for is canceled, it’s ok to be disappointed. If social distancing gets you down, it’s ok to be lonely. Feel the sadness. Cry and yell for a minute. Then intentionally find joy and be grateful for all that you have. Believe that we will all get through this!
From 15 Ideas to Practice Kindness During the Coronavirus/covid19 by Kathryn Good
Schedule an Appointment for Chromebook Repair
Release of Records
Any students transferring to another school district, attending a private school or another high school other than Norwood High, please make sure to contact your child's guidance counselor before the end of the year. Attached is the release form that must be filled out in order to ensure that your child's new school receives the pertinent school information (Transcripts, attendance, testing results, health record, discipline, etc.).
Ashley McCaffrey (6th grade) - amccaffrey@norwood.k12.ma.us
Meghan Mba (7th grade) - mmba@norwood.k12.ma.us
Allyson King (8th grade) - acking@norwood.k12.ma.us
Need to Contact the School?
Grab & Go Lunch Options
During the school shut down due to COVID-19, The Norwood Public Schools will be providing Grab & Go lunches at all 5 elementary schools. These meals will be provided to all teens and children, 18 years of age and younger without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at the following sites and times as follows:
Lunch will be served from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Meals will be bagged and ready for Grab & Go service. All teens and children 18 years of age and younger are eligible to get a free meal from the listed sites and take it with them for off-site consumption.
Please note that there will NOT be lunches served on Good Friday (April 10th) or Patriot's Day (April 20th) but lunch WILL be served during April Vacation.
Need to Contact your Guidance Counselor?
Grade 6: Ashley McCaffrey amccaffrey@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 7: Meghan Mba mmba@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 8: Ally King acking@norwood.k12.ma.us
School Adjustment Counselors
Amy Riley ariley@norwood.k12.ma.us
Deana Norton dnorton@norwood.k12.ma.us
Raina Keenan rkeenan@norwood.k12.ma.us
Need Aspen or Access Help?
For any students and families that have any issues regarding the Aspen family or student portal, please continue to use the NPS Aspen support email at: npsaspensupport@norwood.k12.ma.us
For any students and families that have questions about accounts or accessing educational resources that their teachers send them, please contact Joe Kidd at: jkidd@norwood.k12.ma.us
PTO Corner
The PTO typically meets the third Wednesday of each month (at times our day varies due to conflicts) to hear an update from the principal and discuss planning related to enrichment, fundraising, activities and other topics of interest. You can also stay up to date with the CMS PTO by following us on Facebook. You can contact the PTO at coakleypto@gmail.com.
We are looking for people to be on the PTO board as Vice-President and Secretary to finish out the year. If you are interested, please email the PTO!
Dr. Margo Fraczek
Email: mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/norwood.k12.ma.us/cms-principal/home
Phone: 781-762-7880
Twitter: @mfraczek