CMIT South Elementary School

Greetings Tiger Family,

This Friday, March 31st will be the last of three virtual half-days of instruction. As on the previous two days, Nov. 7 and Jan. 25, students will learn from home. Instruction will be “asynchronous,” which means lessons will be shared without live instruction through Canvas or another virtual platform. This Friday will also be the end of the 3rd quarter. CMIT South Elementary will operate according to a half-day schedule and assignments will be shared by the start of the school day. Thank you, families and students, for your hard work in our attendance campaign. Together we have an attendance rate of 94%! I am looking forward to celebrating over 300 students who met the lofty goal of only missing 1 day of school and having less than 3 tardies. Dedication to showing up is preparation for success in all facets of life and education.

Spring Break will be from April 3rd - April 10th. Students will return on April 11th. When we return, we will begin the 4th quarter and preparation for Maryland State MCAP testing for grades 3-5. We will have our MCAP Kick-off night on Wednesday, April 12th at 6 pm via Zoom for Grades 3-5. I wish everyone a restful week away from school and encourage you all to take advantage of any educational opportunities in our community, locally and abroad. Safe travels and we look forward to everyone’s refreshed return.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ronald A. Miller, Jr.

Principal

Chesapeake Math & IT Academy South Elementary

Prince George’s County Public Schools

CMIT South Elementary’s April Themes

Character Theme: Ambition

STEM Theme: STEM Careers

"Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Please take note of these April and May calendar reminders:

• Monday, April 3, 2023 - Monday, April 10, 2023 - Spring Break
  
• Tuesday, April 11, - Friday, April 14, 2023 - MCAP Spirit Week
  
• Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - MCAP Night for parents @ 6p.m. via zoom
  
• Friday, April 14, 2023 - Vocabulary Parade
  
• Tuesday, April 18, 2023 - 3rd qtr Report cards release online
  
• Friday, April 21, 2023 - School Closed - Eid al-Fitr
  
• Monday, April 24, - Thursday, April 27, 2023 - MCAP (5th grade)
  
• Tuesday, April 25, 2023 - 3rd qtr Report Cards Release (hard copy)
  
• Thursday, April 27, 2023 - Last day for Clubs
  
• Monday, May 1,- Thursday, May 4, 2023 - MCAP (4th grade)
  
• Monday, May 8, -Thursday, May 11, 2023 - MCAP (3rd grade)
  
• 2022-2023 SY Calendar
  
• April Lunch Menu

Our CMIT South ES yearbook is on sale NOW! Be sure to get your yearbook for the 2022-2023 school year. You will need to create an account to place your order. Our school ID is 712984.

Please place your order by Friday, April 7th!

Order Your Yearbook HERE!

Our second annual Vocabulary Parade will be Friday, April 14, 2023! Soon, each student will pick a word, from the provided grade level vocabulary word list, to represent. Students are encouraged to make a costume, hat, or poster. Put your thinking caps on! How would you show the word ADRIFT? or POROUS? or ZIGZAG? From A to Z, students will depict vocabulary words in a creative way. A “Costume Design Sheet” will be sent home to help your child plan his/her costume. Your child will be asked for their word, a definition, and a sketch of their costume.

April is World Autism Month! It is a time dedicated to raising awareness, understanding, and acceptance for individuals on the autism spectrum.

“People are so afraid of variety that they try to fit everything into a tiny little box with a specific label,” says 16-year-old Rosie King, who is bold, brash and autistic. She wants to know: Why is everyone so worried about being normal? She sounds a clarion call for every kid, parent, teacher and person to celebrate uniqueness. It’s a soaring testament to the potential of human diversity.

National Assistant Principals Week, Monday, April 3–Friday, April 7, 2023, is a celebration of the unsung heroes in our education system. AP Watkis and AP Lewis work tirelessly to bolster teachers, motivate students, support Principal Miller, create a positive learning community, and face the many unpredictable challenges that land on their desk.

They play a crucial role, and April 3- 7, 2023 is a dedicated time to recognize them for their hard work and commitment to our school, students, and profession.

Please join us in celebrating these incredible school leaders… Assistant Principal Watkis of K- 2nd grades and Assistant Principal Lewis of 3rd -5th grades! 👏🏾👏👏🏽

The Department of Curriculum and Instruction for PGCPS has developed spring break enrichment packets for grades K-12. Enrichment packets and answer keys can be found at the following link. Consider extending learning over the break by taking a few minutes daily to practice grade-level skills!

Spring Break Packets

Check out these Spring Break ideas to help you recharge – whether by staying active, exploring, tapping into creativity or finding your zen! Click the following link:

Spring Break Bucket List

Dear Families,

The common denominator for student achievement is reading comprehension. Need I say more? Yes, we all participate and enjoy ourselves with all school-related, church, and family activities. Every one of these activities involves some form of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Each one requires to a great extent the common denominator READING.

Nearly everything that we do in life is impacted by reading. Reading to understand, explain, clarify, follow directions, for information, and reading for fun. The standards for reading were developed with some of these goals in mind. So, from K-5 our scholars are reading and engaging across texts such as Literary and Informational texts.

Please visit the following page to read more about Maryland Common Core standards. Get informed - HERE. Then click the relevant grade level.

Over the Spring break, please be very intentional about what students read. Be very selective and provide the opportunity for reading across genres each and every day.

Happy Holidays!

Summer is just around the corner and programs are beginning to open up for registration. As we learn about more programs, we will add them to the newsletter. Please click on the following programs to view and/or register your child:

CMIT South's Summer Enrichment Program

A free program to help currently enrolled CMIT South Elementary students stay connected with Math, Reading, and STEM skills during the month of July. The program will have 100 students in rising grades 1-5. Hours of the program are Monday -Thursday 9 am - 1 pm there is no before and/or aftercare. Students who have had behavior or attendance concerns during the school year will not be selected to participate. The 1st 100 students 20 per grade level will be selected. Use the following link to register:

https://forms.gle/ti4kSumVRMwErm8h6

Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation

Summer Camp and Summer Programs Booklets were mailed out last week to residents. You can also view camps and programs at the following link or in person at PG Parks facilities.

Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Rec Summer Programs

Lacrosse

Kettering Largo Mitchellville Boys & Girls Club is working to establish a lacrosse program. A flyer for our upcoming clinic is attached. If you have any questions please see the link attached below.

https://www.klmbgc.com/

Marlboro Boys & Girls Club is working to establish a lacrosse program. Please see the link attached below.

https://www.mbgc.org/boyslax

Get an Academic Boost with Tutoring

Accelerate learning and build academic confidence with these free tutoring opportunities!

Tutoring provided by CMIT South

CMIT South Elementary will have tutoring offered by 12th-grade seniors from CMIT South Middle/High school for 3-5 grade students. More information coming soon.

TutorMe

Connect with an online tutor in less than 30 seconds, 24/7 for help with a single problem or a lesson! Tutors are highly qualified from the best universities and are ready to assist students.

Carnegie Learning Math

On-demand math tutoring for students in grades 3-12. Log in through the CLEVER tutoring app.

Carnegie Learning Math

On-demand math tutoring for students in grades 3-12. Log in through the CLEVER tutoring app.

Want to send a Shout Out to a Teacher/Staff Member?

Do you want to say thank you or SHOUT-OUT a teacher or staff member for their great job? Complete and submit the SHOUT-OUT Google Form link and it will be shared with the faculty at an upcoming meeting and/or morning announcements.

The Board of Education approved the 2023-2024 school calendar during their March 23 meeting. The first day of school will be on August 28, and winter break has been extended through January 2, 2024.

Remember: masks remain a tool to reduce the spread of illness and vaccinations continue to be the best defense against COVID-19. When children are sick, please keep them home.

Cell phones may be used on school grounds before school and after school. Cell phone use is prohibited in classrooms, restrooms, cafeteria, hallways, and school offices unless otherwise stated by a teacher. During the instructional day, cell phones must remain out of sight and must be turned off or on silent mode and stored in a backpack, book bag, pocket, purse, or locker. “Cell phones” include, and are not limited to, iPhones, “smart” phones, smart watches (i.e., Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch), internet-enabled phones, and other PEDs that are capable of placing and/or receiving telephone calls (including personal listening devices such as earphones, earbuds, “Bluetooth”, etc.), text messages, browsing the internet, creating and distributing videos, taking photographs, and the like. Please click to review the Portable electronic Policy (Administrative Procedure 5132).

We hope that you all have a safe and relaxing spring break!

We look forward to getting back into the groove of Kindergarten once we return. Please remember that we will be having our school-wide vocabulary parade on Friday April 14, 2023. All information was sent home this week. In April, we will be having a spring sight word hunt. Students will work in teams to hunt for sight words outdoors and will receive treats and prizes once they share their findings with their classmates. Stay tuned for more information on our fun-filled sight word activities.

UNIT 4: Uncovering the Past

Essential Question- What can we learn from the past?

WEEK 1- Why is it important to make inventions better?

• Phonological awareness: Middle Sounds; Count words and Syllables

• Phonics: Short and Long Uu

• Sight words: all, now, pretty

• Reading a variety of Narrative Non-Fiction

• Making inferences

• Visualizing

• Supplemental Reading Programs- Students will spend time working on IXL, Lexia or iReady to gain academic support in a variety of English/Language Arts skills

UNIT 10: Compose and Decompose Numbers 11-19

Use drawing and equations to make the numbers 11-19

• Build of foundations to understand place value for numbers 11-19

• Explore different ways of representing our understanding of teen numbers

• Solve composition problems by putting together ten ones and extra ones to make teen numbers

• Solve a variety of decomposition problems by breaking up teen numbers into a set of ten and more ones

TOPIC 5: Lesson 4- ife Cycles

• Recognize that plants and animals grow and change as they go through life cycles

• Understand that change means to become different

• What are the different stages of life called?

• How do babies look different from their parents?

• Life cycles can begin with eggs

CHAPTER 5: Time and Chronology

• How do we track time?

• Vocabulary words: future, past, calendar, months, weeks, year, decade

• Special activities we do throughout the year and when we do them

Unit 8: What does it mean to be healthy?

• Discuss choices/ decision we make that are a part of our healthy routine

• Healthy choices at school vs. at home

• Vocabulary: sick, well, healthy

First-Grade is hosting an iXLathon! Scholars will compete to see who can master the most skills across math, language arts, science, and social studies. Students must master 25 or more skills to be eligible for prizes. The goal of this competition is to encourage student growth across all subject areas. Research shows that students who reach a goal of 40 questions a week will see growth. The competition ends on Friday, April 28. The top 5 students with the highest number of mastered skills across all subjects will win a prize! Prizes include coupons, gift cards, and an in-school movie invitation. We will track skills mastered and announce weekly high scores. Please help us make this competition a success that will push our students toward first-grade mastery.

Essential Question: How can stories help us learn lessons?

Comprehension Strategy: Making Connections

High-Frequency Words: down, drink, now, there, together

Spelling/Phonics: Words with Vowel Sounds of y

Genre: Fable

Vocabulary Words: angry, happy, sad, surprised

Students will decode words with inflectional endings including -ed, -s, and -es.

Students will use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, and event.

Students will count tens and ones to find a two-digit number.

Vocabulary Words:

tens

ones

Students will identify the major parts of plants and explain how plant parts help plants.

Vocabulary Words:

root

stem

leaf

Students will describe how families celebrate national holidays.

Vocabulary Words:

veteran

armed forces

memorial

Students will define the word drug and identify various substances as drugs.

Hello Second Grade Families! Our team has just a few updates and reminders for the coming week.

• Friday, April 14th will be our second annual vocabulary parade! Vocabulary words have been shared on CANVAS. Ms. Barboza's and Mrs. Valera's classes will focus on reading vocabulary and Ms. Womack's and Ms. Convert's classes will focus on math vocabulary. There are great ideas and resources located at the following link.

• Please continue to check SchoolMax for up-to-date grades.

• Students should be completing 4 spelling assignments and 5 DreamBox lessons weekly for homework.

• Please remember to check interventions for completion. Students working on iReady should have at least 4 lessons per week. Students working on Lexia should have between 8-12 units done per week as determined by the program and discussed with their teacher.

When we return from break, students will focus on the weekly question: How can you get involved to improve your community? Students will read and evaluate elements of persuasive texts. They will also focus on developing comprehension by using the following strategies: rereading, using background knowledge, checking for visual cues, and asking questions.

In phonics, we will practice with words that follow the VCCV syllable pattern. For example, the word basket can be separated into bas/ket where /bas/ ends with a vowel and consonant and /ket/ starts with consonant and vowel.

After break, students will begin Topic 12 on measurement. In this topic, students will measure with inches, feet, and yards as well as centimeters and meters. They will practice estimating length and using appropriate measuring tools to solve problems.

Students will begin learning about plants and animals in Topic 5. During this topic, students will learn about life cycles, plant needs, animal needs, and how animals can help plants to reproduce.

Students will be wrapping up Topic 5 on Making a Difference. Please stay tuned for an update for your teacher regarding testing on this topic. Please also check CANVAS for additional resources available for review.

Topic 6 will be on American culture. In this topic, students will learn about what culture is, what cultures we have in our country, different American stories, and American holidays. CANVAS resources will be available once Topic 5 has been finished!

Students are wrapping up learning about things that can cause fear, when fear can save them, and ways to manage anxiety and stress.

Hi everyone! HAPPY SPRING BREAK! We hope everyone had a great week and has a wonderful and restful week off!

Let’s stay on track with our assignments as we move through each unit! Report cards are going to be released soon! Please ensure you use our weekly assignments breakdown page always to see what homework assignments are due each night. Here is the link for those who need it: https://sites.google.com/pgcps.org/3rdgradeclasssite22-23/assignments

We have started reviewing for our state assessment, MCAP for Reading and Math. The test for the third grade will begin the week of May 8th! Please join us at our MCAP parent night on Zoom on Wednesday, April 12! It will be in the evening and we will be presenting important information and resources regarding the MCAP assessment. The grade with the most participation earns a dress-down day!

Please make sure students have the supplies they need for school each day (pencils, scissors, colors, etc.)! Also, make sure you are sending students to school with proper jackets for the cold weather.

Have an amazing spring break with lots of rest so we can come back and finish out the LAST QUARTER of third grade!

This week, students started Unit 3 which is about heroes. We will be reading many historical fiction stories this unit. We are also continuing working on comprehension questions and understanding how to look back in the text to find direct evidence. We will also be reading and writing about different biographies for Women’s History Month throughout the month!

This upcoming week, students will be learning about perimeter.

Students will also be learning about life cycles and traits.

We finished chapter 3 lesson 3 about early spanish explorers, and began chapter 3 lesson 4 about early french explorers. We are working on timelines and understanding the order of events in history. We also finished up learning about people for women’s history this month!

The end is near! 3rd Quarter has officially come to a close and all report card grades have been published. Schools are closed from April 3rd through April 10th for Spring Break and Easter observation. 4th Quarter will begin once we return from the break. We celebrated all scholars who participated in our P.A.N.T.S (Perfect Attendance No Tardies) initiative for the month of March this Thursday and ended our week with a bang!

Reading: This week we continued our preparations for MCAP. Students will synthesize information given across two texts about stress. When students synthesize they are combining the information that was gained from two different texts about the same topic. This is something students will complete each day for the Reading MCAP. Students integrated the information that was presented from both texts to speak knowledgeably about the subject. Students closed out the 3rd quarter this week by completing their last spelling quiz.

After the Break: We will continue our preparations for MCAP. Students will continue to synthesize information given across two different texts. The students will read about how animals adapt to their environments. We will continue to work on the integration of information given about the same topic across two different texts. Students by the end of the week will be able to write knowledgeably about how animals change and adapt to their environments. Students will return to weekly homework and spelling words. We will begin MCAP testing in the first week of May.

Social Studies: This week began Chapter 5 in which students will learn about the Northeast Region. We viewed visuals and had collaborative discussions in order to build background and establish meaning for the unit. Students will also explore the landforms and bodies of water that can be found in the Northeast Region. Students got to read about the things that people do for fun in the Northeast Region

After the Break: We will continue reading Chapter 5 and exploring the Northeast Region. In our upcoming reading, we will explore the natural resources that can be found in the various states in the Northeast region. We will also explore how the Northeast region played a large role in the founding of the United States and the people who resided there.

Math: This week scholars have completed the Topic 7 assessment and have begun our introductory fraction unit. Scholars have discovered equivalent fractions with the help of area models. All topic 7 Assessments have been returned and sent home with students for review as well as reports to reflect their 3rd Quarter Report Card Math, Science, and Health grades

Science: This week scholars have started Topic 4: Earth’s Features. We have familiarized ourselves with map features. Scholars worked together to create their own map to demonstrate their understanding. All Topic 3 Assessments have been returned and sent home with students for review as well as reports to reflect their 3rd Quarter Report Card Math, Science, and Health grades.

Health: Next week we will continue Topic 6: Be Cool, Keep Clean. This unit discusses hormones and body changes, what good hygiene is, illness prevention, and good hygiene and looking good and feeling great. All health activities are assigned at the beginning of the week and are due on Friday. Because of this, retakes and late submissions are no longer accepted and all grades are final.

Reading: This week in Reading Workshop, we continued MCAP boot camp. This week we read two articles on the moon. One talked about the temperatures of the moon and the other talked about the moon’s phases. We worked closely with vocabulary, and details, and compared one text to the other.

Math:

This week we reviewed Topic 4 in preparation for the Topic 4 Test given on Wednesday, students were also given the opportunity to retake the test alternate redo test was given on Thursday.

Science: This week students continued working through lesson 3 “Waves and the Electromagnetic Spectrum”. Students conducted an investigation that focused on how light is refracted, reflected, or absorbed.

Please remember to check Canvas and SAVVAS with your student to review scores, and missing and or incomplete work.

Social Studies: This week we finished Chapter 4: Our Nation’s Economy. In this unit, students learned about globalization and how it affects our everyday lives. Students also explore how businesses meet our needs and want in our communities. Students used what they learned to create a business plan for their own business.

Greetings Awesome 5th Grade Families!

I hope that everyone has a great Spring Break and enjoys some rest and relaxation with their families and friends. We will be returning from break on Tuesday, April 11. Q3 grades will be published and available on SchoolMAX on Friday afternoon. Students may earn extra credit in Reading over break by completing iReady lessons. Each iReady lesson will be counted as 2.5 points towards their overall Independent Assignments category when Q4 grades are finalized.

In PE we have been working on basketball. This week the students are doing hot shot, where they get points for making baskets from certain designated spots on the floor.

CHESAPEAKE MATH AND IT SOUTH ELEMENTARY

• Hours: 8:00 a.m to 2:25 p.m
• Grades: K-5
• Uniform: Yes
• Before After School Enrichment: Yes
http://clfmd.org/enrichment-2/
• School Colors: Hunter Green, Navy Blue
• School Mascot: Tigers
• School Website: http://www.cmitsouthes.org

For more information

https://cmitsouthes.org/faq/