CMS T-Bird Newsletter
October 2019
Principal Young
As we wrap up the first nine weeks and head into the second here are some reflective questions that you can ask your students- It is called the 5-4-3-2-1 reflections.
5 Things that made me smile during this past nine weeks
4 Words to describe my nine weeks
3 Things I plan to do during the next nine weeks
2 New concepts I learned during this nine weeks
1 goal I have for the next nine weeks.
Keep the lines of communication open with your middle school student. You will never regret having these conversations.
Fall conferences are scheduled for October 23rd from 4:30 - 8:00 and October 24th from 9:00 - 3:00. The fall conference structure is open. We do not schedule a specific time for you to come and go. Please realize if you are wanting to speak with every teacher the time frame to set aside is about 2 1/2 hours, give or take. We are asking that during the fall conferences, students attend with you and about 10 minutes of time is spent with the Advisement Teacher. Students have been given the task of talking about three items that will help with furthering their education. They will conduct this portion of conferences with you and their Advisement Teacher. This portion of the conference can occur at any time while you are in attendance.
Athletic Director's Notes
Football
Our 7th-grade football team is currently 4-1 on the season and 3-0 in our division. We face Winfield this week with a possible league championship on the line.
Our 8th-grade team is 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the East division.
Both teams have two remaining games (Winfield then El Dorado).
Volleyball
Our 7th grade A team is currently 4-5 on the season and 1-2 in the East division of the Patriot League. The B team is currently 7-7 overall.
The 8th grade A team is 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the division standings. The B team is 10-5 overall.
Only two games remain against Winfield and El Dorado. Both A teams will then play in the Patriot League East division tournament on Saturday, October 19.
Cross Country
The cross country season is quickly coming to an end with the league meet at Haysville West on October 15.
Girls Basketball and Wrestling
The first winter season starts October 21 and will end before Christmas break. CMS offers girls basketball, wrestling, and cheer during this season.
Scholars Bowl
Scholars Bowl practice begins December 2nd with their meets will be during January and early February.
Food Drive
The CMS food drive is scheduled for the week of December 2-6. Items will be collected during the week and reported to the league to determine the league champion.
Spelling Bee
The Circle Middle School spelling bee will be held on December 11. Our league spelling bee is in January.
Counselor's Corner
Students have also begun working on their College and Career plans by utilizing the Xello program. Parents will be able to see their progress through the year during their parent-teacher conferences.
It's an exciting time to be a T-Bird!
CMS SOCIAL
Come an enjoy time with friends, we want all to feel included and welcome.
Upcoming Events
Oct 16- GraceMed Dental Screenings
Oct 21- Winter Season I Tryouts Begin & Wrestling practice begins
Oct 21-24- Book Fair
Oct 23- 4:30- 8 pm Parent-Teacher Conferences
Oct 24- 9 am- 3 pm Parent-Teacher Conferences
Oct 25- No School
Oct 30- Individual Picture Retakes
Nov 1- No School- Staff Development
Nov 6- 8:20 am- Veterans Program
Nov 8- 3:30-5:15 pm STUCO Fall Social, $2
Nov 9- 9 am Honor Music @ Haysville
Nov 15- 7-7:45 am Donuts with Dad
Nov 26- 6 pm Fall Vocal Music & Band Concert
Nov 27-29- No School Thanksgiving Break
Dec 11- CMS Spelling Bee
As always, all games are listed in our District calendar or check out our new website and app to keep up with our Fall and Winter Sports at https://www.usd375.org/
Blue Team- 8th-grade
Most students (those using HMH) are finishing up their first essays and getting ready to move into our second unit: The Thrill of Horror. Essay corrections will be coming home, and your student will likely feel a little overwhelmed. Encourage them to manage their time wisely and ask for help when needed! Amplify students are nearing the end of our narrative writing unit. Ask them to show you their vocabulary app!
Mrs. Thiessen- ELA
In September, my classes took part in "Book Speed Dating". Students were asked to persuade their classmates to consider reading a book based on a 1-minute speech about the book. Students shifted seats and spoke to and heard from the next person, rotating around the table much like a real speed dating event. Quite a few students found a "match" and wrote down books they were interested in reading. It was a fun event!
Ms. Hall- English
We have been going over the basics of grammar and literary elements. We have now begun to dive into how to collect our thoughts and putting them into sentence form to produce fluent paragraphs. Our goal is to strengthen our writing by the end of October. Starting in November the students will be partaking in a novel study where they will explore the concept of innocence and how characters either try or fail to maintain their innocence in the "The Outsiders."
Mrs. Weber - Algebra
We have just completed Chapter 2 - Solving Equations in Algebra. Now, we are beginning to apply that knowledge and graph equations on a coordinate plane. Students will also be creating some fun projects this fall!
Mr. Rorabaugh- Social Studies
Students have been studying the main causes of the American Revolution and the choices made by the Founding Fathers. They have identified key people, compromises and concepts that happened during the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. They participated in a King George III activity that demonstrated how the colonists felt. This activity gave them a better understanding of “No taxation without representation”. Recently students wrote a “Break Up” letter that incorporated the major elements written in the Declaration of Independence.
Mrs. Graham- Science
We have started to dig into our unit on space! This week, students created models of the solar system using everyday objects as planets and measured their distance from the sun using toilet paper. We discovered that it was very hard to see Mercury (a small dot on a piece of paper) at the library, from Neptune (an extra-large bead) at the end of the hall!
Mrs. Graham- Explorations in Science
Water bottle rockets are looking fantastic! The launcher...not so much. We are ready to launch and have practiced using altitude trackers to take the height of objects that are much bigger than us. Our launcher is having some technical difficulties, so we are on pause with that for the time being.
Mrs. Potter- Computer Applications
Students are in the thick of YouTube channel creation in Computer Applications. Many have done a fantastic job filming at home and bringing video to school. Take a minute to check-in with your own student to see if everything’s going well with their video and see where they are in the editing process. I’m looking forward to seeing the videos and what everyone creates!
Mr. Smithwick- Health
Health students spent most of September researching and learning about different types of hygiene. They completed projects to advocate for the area of hygiene that they chose. It was really fun to see the creativity they had during this project, there were many great posters and fliers created by the students and some even created amazing websites. The students also learned why hygiene is important and how hygiene affects the other areas of their health. They came away with a much better understanding of germs and how to avoid spreading them.
Mr. Smithwick- Physical Education / Strength and Conditioning
Physical Education classes have been playing flag football and working on aerobic activity. Strength and Conditioning classes are still working on developing core muscles and flexibility as we transition into the weight room.
Ms. Sawyer- PLTW
We are currently having lots of fun in Flight and Space. Students just finished building and flying tetrahedral kites and we are currently making hot air balloons that we will test out in the coming days. From there we will get to explore different styles of planes and finish this portion of the unit with building rockets.
Ms. Sawyer- Robotics
Students finished building vex claw bots, which are the first robots we have experimented within this class. We will be learning how to program them in the near future. For now, though, we are exploring the different types of robots that benefit our current lifestyles. Each student has chosen a different robot to research and will be writing a paper as well as presenting a slide show to their classmates.
Ms. Collins- Art
Circle Middle School ceramic students traveled to area art museums on September 25th. The first stop was the National Ceramic Exhibit at the Ulrich Museum on the Wichita State University campus. Portions of the biennial faculty exhibit were also viewed. Then students viewed Pre-Columbian ceramics at the Wichita Art Museum. The photo shows students enjoying glass artist Dale Chihuly’s Chandelier at the WAM.
No More Kings- Mr. Rorabaugh Social Studies
Ceramics Field trip- Ms. Collins Art
Speed Dating with a book- Mrs. Thiessen ELA
8th-grade Tech Policies and Violations
Teachers have two posters in their rooms that display Chromebook and Electronics policies. Students are aware of these policies, as well as the consequences. The technology violations are as follows:
Step 1 Verbal teacher warning. Teachers notified via email.
Step 2 White List, one week. Teacher Assigning conferences with the student. Acceptable Use Contract Review. Parent Contact.
Step 3 Computer Loss (Two days: the remainder of the initial day plus two). Parent Contact informing the next step. The computer is taken by teacher, given to Potter with a return date on computer. DSF Folder with generic assignments in an alternate, centralized locations.
Step 4 Office Referral (ISS). Individual behavior plans.
Students are increasingly forgetting to charge Chromebooks, or in some cases, leaving computers at home. We do not have extra computers or chargers for the students to borrow. Teachers are documenting these cases, and the consequences are as follows:
Step 1 Verbal teacher warning.
Step 2 Parent contact.
Step 3 Computer Loss. Stays at school for a week.
Step 4 Computer stays at school.
Gold Team- 7th-grade
Ms. May- ELA Amplify 1st hour
We are beginning to get the hang of the new progressive digital format of this curriculum. We spent two weeks working on sentence and paragraph writing. We have moved into integrated reading and writing in the Red Scarf Girl unit. We will soon finish this up with an informative essay and formal reading assessment. The students are building background knowledge and working hard to convey meaning and cite evidence in concise writing.
Ms. May ELA HMH 2nd, 4th & 5th hour
This traditional literature curriculum is contained in two write-in workbook models. Students have digital access to all the materials in the two paperback books. We are working our way through the first unit: What helps people rise to face difficulties? Reading a variety of texts and working with word study and comprehension questions based on the plot. We will be writing an essay as our culminating assessment.
Mrs. Wishart- ELA Amplify 4th hour
We are towards the end of our writing unit in this progressive digital platform. Students are focusing on writing, specifically writing with the purpose of showing, not telling. We're headed towards an integrated reading and writing unit about The Red Scarf Girl.
Mrs. Wishart- HMH 1st & 2nd hour
We are in the middle of our first unit in this blended curriculum where students have both digital and paper access. Our essential question is: What helps people rise up to face difficulties? We're reading a variety of genres with a focus on plot. We will be writing an essay as our culminating assessment.
Mrs. M. Haines- Pre-Algebra
We completed the Dinner Party Project Part 1. With this project, the students practiced multiplying and dividing fractions to increase or decrease the serving size of a recipe. Students helped each other figure out the calculations, then they had the opportunity to make the food for their family. Students showed so much pride when they shared in class the cooking of the food. They beamed from ear to ear.
Mrs. C. Haines- Science
In 7th grade Science, we've been reviewing measurement and metric conversions. We are currently working on the Scientific Method and how knowledge of that process impacts experiments.
Mrs. C Haines- Scientific Argumentation
In Scientific Argumentation, we have been learning the proper way to debate. We will begin researching topics and developing the pros and cons of these topics. We will then begin debating these topics during class. We will utilize the debate format we have learned in class.
We have been studying the 5 Themes of Geography, and latitude and longitude. They are currently creating a brochure on a continent using the 5 Themes of Geography. Students practice using latitude and longitude with a Kansas map.
Coming up next, students will create a brochure on a country using the 5 Themes of Geography and we will be finishing the semester with a Dream Vacation Project.
Mrs. Thomas
7th and 8th grade EL students went on a field trip to Hutchinson Kansas to the first Dillon Lecture Series of this year to hear John O'Leary, author of "On Fire". They will attend another lecture series on November 5th.
EL students currently are working on a writing assignment titled "Pop Can Personification". This entails four pages of writing about the life of a pop can, using various forms of figurative language.
Science in Mrs. C. Haines' Class
Baking Rolls for Math
Cooking for Math
7th-grade Tech Policies
We have two types of policies surrounding Chromebooks: the “I forgot” and actual tech violations.
I forgot-- students either forgot his/her Chromebook at home or forgot to charge it. This is a three-step policy.
First time --students are given a reminder, the student's name is recorded in a document, and the 7th-grade team is notified.
Second time -- parent contact is made, the student is warned if it happens again the Chromebook will need to stay at school to be charged, the student's name is recorded in the document, and the team is notified.
Third time --Chromebooks stay at school to be charged for the semester and the team is notified.
Tech Violations-- student is using his/her Chromebook during class but not where they’re assigned to be. For example, a student is playing games or watching youtube videos instead of doing the assigned task. This is also a three-step policy.
First Violation-- teacher warning, the violation is recorded on a document, and the 7th-grade team is notified (all teachers give at least one verbal warning/reminder of what students are supposed to be doing before the step of recording the violation on the document).
Second Violation-- a conference with two teachers, acceptable use contract reviewed, parent contact made and the student loses all internet access except for Google Classroom for one week, this called being whitelisted.
Third Violation-- parent contact, loss of computer for three full days. If the student has been taking the Chromebook home at night, it stays at school for those two days.
Fourth Violation-- office referral and in-school suspension.
Why this matters: At school, we don’t have extra Chromebooks or chargers to loan. If a student forgets his/her Chromebook, they have to do all of the work with paper and pencil. Some of the students’ classes are totally digital. Depending on the activity, paper and pencil may not be an option, examples include PLTW and the ELA classes who are piloting Amplify. NWEA, interims for state testing, and state assessments are all administered via Chromebook. Typically class time is provided for students to work on assignments. If students choose not to use their time wisely or they don’t have their Chromebooks, they get further behind.
Thank you, for supporting and reminding your child about the responsibility involved with the use of Chromebooks.
GraceMed Dental Screenings
The Bureau of Oral Health has implemented a statewide oral screening program to satisfy The Kansas State Statute of Dental Inspection, K.S.A. 72-5201. Dental screening services within Circle USD 375 schools are provided annually by The GraceMed Dental Outreach Team. Dental screenings consist of a very brief visual inspection of your child’s oral cavity with a flashlight. Your child will bring home the results of the screening. If there are any urgent needs that require immediate attention, you will receive a phone call or e-mail from Nurse Michelle Swift.
All students in Circle USD 375 schools will receive a free dental screening during the 2019-2020 school year. Extended care services require parental/guardian consent and include cleaning, fluoride varnish, and sealants. No x-rays, exams, or restorative services such as fillings or tooth removal will be provided. Consent forms were sent home with your child and will need to be returned to school by Wednesday, October 9th, 2019 if you wish for your child to receive Extended Care Services. A consent form is not required for your child to be screened.
Oral health is an important part of your child’s overall health and is a critical component in their ability to learn and succeed at school. If you do not wish for your child to be screened, you must contact the CMS office/or Nurse Michelle before Wednesday, October 16th, 2019, the day of the GraceMed visit at CMS. Every child will receive a toothbrush regardless of whether they are screened or not.
School screenings and fluoride services DO NOT take the place of a dental exam or include x-rays. Please continue to have your child see a dentist regularly for cleanings and check-ups!
If you have any questions about the dental screening process, please contact mswift@usd375.org or call the CMS office at 316-778-1470.
Scholastic Book Fair
The books will be set up in the library Monday through Wednesday for students to look at and buy during the school day.
Books will also be available Wednesday and Thursday during the Parent-Teacher Conferences in the Commons.
Lunch Accounts
You can also come in and pay in the office anytime or send money to school with your student.
Box Tops
We are still collecting Box Tops, if you have any, please send them to the library.
Otherwise, you no longer need to clip Box Tops! Scan your receipt and earn money for our school. For more information, go to the Box Tops website: https://www.boxtops4education.com/.
All proceeds from Box Tops help to purchase books for our library.