The Mustang Minute

This past week all 3 grades and all music performance groups had fantastic winter concerts at CMS. It is always amazing to me how much they develop their skill and abilities over the course of the three years. A great job was done by all! A big thank you to our many parent volunteers that helped the over 500 students get on and off stage over the two night. Kudos to Ms. MacDonald and Ms. Sheehan for amazing performances!

Middle School night Out at the Civic

On Friday, January 12th, the Civic Center is holding a Middle School Night Out! The cost is $25/student. See below for details.

Winter Wonderland Dance

On Friday, January 19th, CMS will be holding a Grade 7 Winter Wonderland Dance at CMS sponsored by the Coakley PTO. Permission Slips are due January 19th by homeroom!

Coakley PTO Fudge Fundraiser

See the flier below and the attached order form for the Coakley PTO Fudge Fundraiser. Hard copies came home this week. Orders are due January 17th!

Believe it or not, it's that time of year! If you are interested in being part of the grade 8 end of year events committee please email Dr. Fraczek at mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us. We will set up a first meeting later this month. All meetings are virtual!

Family Tech Tips

Did your child get a new device for the holiday? Check out Katie Greer’s 3 quick tips on how to keep them safer online.

Each week we will highlight one of our DC scholarship fund sponsers!

Thank you to Norwood Bank for your generous donation! The scholarship program is funding 14 students on the Washington DC trip. Students receive a scholarship of varying amounts and provide 10 hours of community service.

NORWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES

During the week of January 29th (note the date change), the Coakley Middle School nurses and guidance counselors will be conducting SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) screening for all 7th graders. This screening is required by Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71, Section 97.

The purpose of SBIRT screening is to offer conversation and information to help prevent students from starting to use alcohol, nicotine, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs, or to intervene early in substance use. Student screening sessions will be brief, approximately 5 minutes, and conducted confidentially and privately in a one-to-one meeting with a school nurse or guidance counselor. Students who are not using substances will have their healthy choices reinforced. The nurse or guidance counselor will provide feedback or referral for further evaluation to students who report using substances, or are at risk for future substance use. All students will be asked to complete an anonymous evaluation of the screening, and will receive some educational material and a resource list at the time of the screening.

Results of the SBIRT screening will not be included in your student’s school record. Nor will screening information be shared with any staff without student and parent written permission. As with any school screening you have the right to opt your child out of this screening. The request to opt out must be in writing. Please contact Tova Sperber, RN via e-mail tsperber@norwood.k12.ma.us if you wish to exclude your child from this screening. Additionally, screening is voluntary and students may choose not to answer any or all of the screening questions.

One way to prevent youth substance use is to talk with your child about your family’s thoughts and expectations regarding substance use. Research shows that parent influence is the #1 reason young people decide not to drink alcohol. Some resources that can help parents start these discussions can be found at:

• https://drugfree.org/

• https://helplinema.org/for -parents/

• https://handholdma.org/

Together, schools and parents CAN make a difference for the youth in Norwood.

Sincerely,

Jill Driscoll, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN

Nurse Leader, Norwood Public Schools

jdriscoll@norwood.k12.ma.us

No School January 15th: Martin Luther King Day

Early release January 23rd: Teacher Professional Development

Coakley PTO

The PTO is a parent/teacher organization that helps fund a variety of activities at CMS from assemblies, to field trips, to classroom projects and more. We would love for everyone to be a part of the PTO!

PTO meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00pm both virtually and in person. The dates are listed below a link to the meeting online is sent out the day of the meeting.

Next Meeting: January 23rd

February 27th
March 26th
April 23rd
May 28th
June 18th

Please email coakleynorwoodPTO@gmail.com or mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us if you are interested in volunteering or being a part of the PTO!

Email: mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/norwood.k12.ma.us/cms-principal/home
Phone: 781-762-7880
Facebook: facebook.com/CoakleyMIddleSchoolPTO
Twitter: @mfraczek