December Principal's Message

Dear CMS Families~

It seems as though the new trend is for us to have a snow day prior to the winter break or even before the official start of Winter! The break this year is somewhat longer than our usual length; two full weeks! We try to be respectful of the time off and not assign homework or major projects, but we do encourage a daily commitment to reading for a minimum of 20 minutes. We know, not only from the mountains of research, but also from our experience working with children, that the more children read the more they learn to love to read. The hardest part is finding just the right book. Below are my suggestions for some books that might be of interest to your child. All are available on Amazon or your local library.  

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe – Did you know that in that past 12 years movies based on the Marvel comics have grossed $5 billion in the U.S. alone! The author interviewed over 150 current and former employees at Marvel and tells the history of the genre’s rise in American culture. The New York Times named this book as one of their editor’s picks. You can read their review of the book here.

Zoom: How Everything Moves: From Atoms and Galaxies to Blizzards and Bees by Bob Berman – When you think about it, our world is full of natural motion. Berman examines the “how” of motion starting with the earth’s rotation, to the trajectory of a baseball and everything in between. The Amazon review of this book says the author writes “with an entertaining style and a gift for distilling the wondrous.”

Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner – A follow-up to their first book Freakonomics, the authors explain how we make decisions and how to sharpen our thinking skills. The book reads like a great story and is completely accessible for a middle-level student.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – This is one of the best loved books of all time but one we never seem to read anymore. The story is set during the Civil War and paints a vivid picture of family hardship and the bonds of sisterhood.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – The classic story of the true meaning of Christmas is well-known to all of us mainly through the many film versions. The book, however, is so much more poignant and moving. Think your children are too old to be read a story? Try this one…the Lozier children all-time favorite. (I love the version illustrated by Roberto Innocencti.)

On behalf of the entire CMS faculty and staff, I wish you and your children a happy and restful holiday season.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth

Principal’s Message

Greetings CMS Families,

Believe it or not, we are already in the second week of the second quarter! On Friday your child brought home their first 10-week report card. Schooltool is an effective resource for tracking academic progress. It is best when students check for themselves on a regular basis. Should you need help with an account please email our secretary in the Guidance Department, Nancy Boise, at nboise@westgenesee.org. 

The start of the new quarter is the perfect time to get your child to think about their own learning. “Thinking about one’s thinking,” is known as metacognition. This process reaps great benefits especially as students enter a period of greater independence. Here are some questions from The Vanderbilt Center for Teaching you might work through with your child. You can even model how to process these questions by thinking aloud your own responses: 

  o   What about your test preparation worked well and what should you remember to do next time?

  o   What did not work so well and how can you adjust that behavior for next time?

  o   What support do I need to do homework effectively? What works best for me?

  o   What are my strengths as a learner?

  o   What class do I find most interesting?

As we look toward the holiday season, our students will start several service learning projects directed by our Student Council. We will be sure to keep you informed by posting these projects on our announcement page. Want to see the action at school each day in real time? Follow us at twitter.com/CamillusMiddle.

SPOTLIGHT

The Camillus Optimists sponsor a student award each year for two 8^th grade students at each middle school. The CMS students are Katherine McManus and Phillip Martin. 

The award recognizes students who are responsible, polite, trustworthy, respectful and diligent in their school work. They will be recognized at the annual dinner this evening. Our 8^th grade mathematics teacher and department coordinator, Mrs. Becky Eassa, will be awarded the Optimist Teacher Award tonight as well. We are thrilled that Mrs. Eassa, Katie and Phil will represent the best of West Genesee.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth

P.S. – Have a child interested in science? The Most features an informal discussion with a scientist, engineer or technologist every month during the school year. The talks are aimed a middle level students.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE

Our next dance and open gym is this Friday from 6:30-8:30 pm. Admission is $5. Have time to chaperone? Please email Kristin Corcoran at Kristin.corcoran1@gmail.com. Mark your calendar for the remaining dances: January 16, March 27 and April 17. 

From the PTO

Mark your calendars now for our next meeting on January 5, 2015 at 6:00 pm. This meeting will be held in the East Hill Elementary school library. Our principal will be giving a short presentation on the status of the building and student achievement. If you haven’t already joined the PTO, now would be the perfect time! We can use everyone’s support of the terrific programs here at CMS. You'll find a membership form here or simply send $6 and your name in an envelope to school with your child.

Curriculum Night and Upcoming PTO Meeting

Dear CMS Families~
Many of our teachers reported standing room only in their classrooms last night! Your attendance at events like our Curriculum Night helps to build an important bridge between your child’s two most important worlds; home and school. All of us at CMS hope to form and sustain this valuable relationship. We are always available to meet with you to discuss your child’s experience here at school. Simply call our guidance office at 672-8381 to schedule an appointment or email you child’s counselor.

Our first PTO meeting of the year will take place this coming Wednesday, October 1st, at 6:00 pm in our library. We will have sweet treats along with an opportunity to hear about our wonderful committees. The effects of having such a supportive PTO are felt daily here at school. From the Scholastic Book Fair that was held this week to the Staff Appreciation Luncheon in May, we can always count on our families to volunteer and make these events happen!

We Celebrate Learning!
Beth
Beth Lozier-Principal

September Message

Greetings CMS Families,

Each morning I look at the calendar to confirm my suspicion that the month of September is almost over! We have had a terrific start to the school year! We are looking forward to seeing all of you at our Curriculum Night this Thursday, September 25^th. The evening will begin in Homeroom/1^st period at 6:30 pm. Your child will bring home their schedule today for you to follow. If for some reason you don’t have it just stop in the main office when you arrive and we can give you a copy. This year we will have our Scholastic Book Fair, sponsored by our terrific PTO, open during Curriculum Night. Please stop by the café to browse or buy and sample one of our cookies from our cafeteria. You can also order a book online by clicking here.

Speaking of books, the entire faculty and staff at CMS read a great book this summer called Focus by Mike Schmoker. An entire section of the book examines the importance of what the author calls “authentic literacy.” Schmoker quotes two researchers who succinctly describe the value of reading; “Think of literacy as a spine; it holds everything together.” Further, he makes a clear recommendation that every student should read 20 books per school year. If we look at the demands of the middle level schedule, it is probably not possible for all 20 books to be read exclusively here at school. As a point of reference, ask your child how many books they read last school year. The start of the school year presents a perfect opportunity to establish new habits. A consistent but short burst of independent reading time each night, perhaps a minimum of 15 minutes, will go a long way in getting every child to the 20 book mark. In the blogs to follow I’ll give other suggestions for how we can strengthen the literacy spine in all our students. Looking for a good book to start the nightly habit? Click here for the list of the 2014 Newberry Award Winners.

Your child’s first interim progress report will be available for viewing in Schooltool on October 8^th. I will send a ParentLink notification that day to remind you. We will only be printing the 10 week report cards this year. If you would like a paper copy of the interim progress report please email Nancy Boise at nboise@westgenesee.org and she will be happy to mail you one.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions at 672-3159 or by email at blozier@westgenesee.org.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth

Principal's Back to School Message

Dear CMS Families~

It’s official…the Ferris wheel is spinning on the midway which means that our summer vacation is almost over! If you missed our locker night last week, don’t worry. Just look at your “pink sheet” to find your child’s homeroom number. Report there on the first day of school and the homeroom teacher will have the locker combination. You should have received our mailing two weeks ago, but I thought I would remind everyone of our opening week schedule:

Sept. 2^nd – First day of school – 10:10 a.m. dismissal

                        Please bring $5 for a planner and the “pink sheet” to school.

                        Lunch is now $2.65 per day.

Sept. 3-5^th – 2:10 p.m. dismissal – There will be no Interaction Time except for students participating in the play or athletics. IT will begin for all other students on Sept. 9^th.

During the first week of school our bus drivers work very hard to become familiar with our students and their individual routes. Please have your child outside a few moments early and allow for a later arrival home than is stated on your bus route letter. By the start of the first full week of school the kinks tend to have worked themselves out. Should you have any questions, please call the Transportation Department directly at 487-4576.

I would like to welcome the following faculty and staff to the CMS school community:

              Kim Dunham – part-time Speech

                   Dom Fruscello – Team 7/8M Social Studies

                   Jamie Welch – part-time Special Education 7/8

                   Pam Ciarla – Team 6 Special Education

                   Brian Donahue – 7C Science

                   Mackenzie Cartner – 7/8M Mathematics

Beth 

Principal's July Message

Happy summer greetings everyone!  I am sad to tell you that I saw the telltale sign that our summer is coming to an end…New York State Fair tickets went on sale at Wegmans this week! Lest I miss out on my fair share of Gianelli, I got right in line to purchase my tickets. By now I hope your children have had a chance to relax and spend some time outside on these beautiful days that we sure earned by enduring this past winter. Please feel free to tell them that Mrs. Lozier sent a blog reminding them to start their summer reading book! I know that for some of our children, the summer read can feel like a chore. I often get calls from parents when the reading list goes home asking “how many” of the books does their child have to read. My answer is simple: All of them and then some! We only “require” one book. That’s a shame really, especially in light of what we know about how the simple act of reading impacts student achievement. There is simply nothing more powerful than reading. To be truly effective a daily dose and a wide variety of genres is best. This steady exposure to vocabulary, ideas and places can’t be replicated in any other way and has an incredible multiplier effect over time.

Several years ago our son, Nate, interviewed with a small start-up company in San Francisco. During the course of the conversation the founder started talking about the book Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Nate casually mentioned that it was one of his favorite books growing up. On his first day of work at that job, the founder mentioned that he hired him because they shared a similar fondness for that book. (Nate reminded me that I gave it to him when he was in middle school.) I was reminded of this story today because Nate is interviewing again! I started thinking about science and books and remembered that the National Public Radio program Science Friday (a great thing to listen to in the car-it is on FM 89.9 every Friday from 2:00-4:00 pm) has a summer reading club. I checked it out and found some titles that would be of high interest for middle level students:

Letters To A Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson

The Pulitzer Prize winning biologist writes about his career and science in 21 letters to his students. Each is illustrated and covers topics ranging from the stars to the depths of the ocean.

Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin

The Amazon Review says that, “This is essential reading for anyone who’s ever owned, cared for, or simply cared about an animal.” Grandin may be well-known to you; there was recently a movie made about her life as a person with autism.

The Way To Go (Moving By Sea, Land and Air) by Kate Ascher

This is the most recent title in a series of books about “how things work.” The review from Slate.com really caught my eye: "Is it possibly to write a stunning book about infrastructure? Kate Ascher’s books are bliss... Using gorgeous graphics and clear, simple, language, Ascher explains the infrastructure and engineering marvels around us."

I just ordered all three titles from Amazon…I can’t wait to read them! I hope that one (or all) will be of interest to your child!

We Celebrate Learning!

Take care,

Beth

May Message

Dear Families,

As the month of May begins, I wanted to take the opportunity to update you on life here at CMS. The NYS Common Core testing concluded today. By the end of next week we will have given make-ups, collated booklets for scoring and boxed up remaining materials. Despite the controversy of this year’s testing cycle, I think it is important to take a moment to recognize the characteristics of a learner that were quite visible in your children.  I saw our students persevere and persist, go into the testing with a positive attitude and bring a high level of engagement to the task. We have two more NYS assessments to give; the Common Core Algebra Regents on June 3^rd and the NYS 8^th grade Science Assessment on May 28^th and 29^th (lab) and the written on June 2^nd.

This morning I stopped in on the review session for our algebra students. While our math department chairperson, Mrs. Heil, assisted one group I noticed hands go up at another table. I approached the group with some trepidation...my high school algebra course happened a LONG time ago. After nailing the question about tangents, the wind was quickly taken out of my sail. I was unable to think through the next step even after looking at some of the good attempts the students had made in the review book. I was starting to think, “If only I could look this up on YOUTUBE.” Within less than two minutes the girls and I had watched the video on my phone which culminated in a collective “aha moment” and the completion of question #30 in short order. I don’t think it will be too long before we change our perspective of smart devices in schools. We are obligated to put all tools at our students’ disposal and allow them to solve their problems in the most efficient way possible. We need to set the expectation that they will use these devices appropriately while they are engaged in meaningful learning.

Our annual school budget vote will take place on May 20^th at West Genesee High School. The polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Please take the opportunity to vote! You can learn about the 2014-15 school budget by looking at the Fact Sheet or attending the Budget Public Hearing on May 7^th at 7:00 p.m. at the High School Library. You can also attend the presentation just after our May 5^th PTO meeting (6:30 p.m.) at 7:00 p.m. in the LGIR at the High School. Speaking of our (fabulous) PTO, we have several open positions for next year. We will be voting at our May 5^th meeting. If you would like to discuss any of these positions please call me or email our president, Mrs. Barbara Soper, at bsoper@twcny.rr.com.  You can learn a little about these open positions by reading the descriptions below.   

Co-President - This position has a 2 year term. This position will work directly with the PTO President. One year as Co-President and one year as President. 

Treasurer - The position has a 2 year term. This position is responsible for compiling monthly treasurer reports and presenting them at the PTO meetings. Responsibilities include, but not limited to, writing all checks, paying all bills, preparing tax paperwork, maintaining proper records to ensure records of all monies spent is accountable for. 

Corresponding Secretary - The position has a 2 year term. This position includes going to CMS a monthly basis to check for any correspondence. This correspondence may include thank you notes, requests, etc. Responsible for attending all PTO meetings to present correspondence.

I look forward to seeing you on our athletic fields (if the rain EVER stops), concerts and other events in the coming weeks. Don’t forget, we have a 10:10 a.m. dismissal for students on May 16^th for our Teacher Workshop Day.

In the meantime take good care~

Beth

We Celebrate Learning!

Principal's March Message

Spring conjures so many images for those of us who live in CNY…black snow, mud and thermometers holding at freezing. But I think we can all agree that we do breathe a collective sigh just saying the word spring! Spring also brings the annual cycle of New York State Testing.  The dates for testing this year are as follows:

Grades 6-8 ELA – April 1-3

Grades 6-8 Math – April 30, May 1-2

Grade 8 Science – May 28 (performance) and June 2 (written)

It is very important the every student is in school and on time during the testing process. We begin testing at 7:40 a.m. each day. Students who are late can’t be admitted to the classroom and will have to wait in the office. Although we do have a small make-up window, students simply perform better if they take the test during the regularly scheduled days.  A good night’s rest, breakfast and extra hydration help students perform better as well. Please take this opportunity to check your calendar and reschedule any appointments that your child may have. We rely on the best instruction, day in and day out, as preparation for these assessments. Our students are ready!

"Go study!" Do you ever say that to your children? I sure did. In retrospect, I am sure I just expected them to get their work done without really giving a thought about them becoming more independent and reflective students.  Given the sometimes hectic nature of a school year, it is important to teach students how to study effectively and strategically.  Our faculty recently read an article from American Educator that summarized what studying techniques give students the biggest boost. We were surprised to learn that many of the strategies our students use are not particularly helpful, highlighting, rereading and summarizing among them. In fact, when we ask students how they studied for a test they often mention one of those three strategies. Here are three strategies that are effective and that you can reinforce with your children at home:

1.       Distributed Practice – This is just a fancy way of saying "don’t cram."  Although cramming might help reinforce concepts in the short-term, it doesn't allow for information to be retained over long periods of time. Multiple study sessions over a longer period of time allows students to really own information. Parents can help by discussing how many session they may need to prepare for an exam, when those sessions should take place and what exactly they will review at each session.

2.       Use a Study Planner – Students use a daily planner to record assignments here at school. It would also be helpful to have a larger calendar, with each day of the month visible at one time, for students to note after school practices, games, and other obligations. In this way they will be able to see where they have chunks of distributed time for practice. Those chunks should be scheduled into their study planner and will allow for an early bedtime during the week!

3.       Self-Explanation – When your children were little, did they ever ask "why?"  Try to tap into that question in this strategy. Students should not  just  regurgitate facts. They should be able to explain why something is true or not. They might ask themselves  questions like:

Why did I just decide to do x?

What does this sentence mean to me?

What new information does this sentence provide?

How does this relate to what I already know?

Spring is the time to enjoy the sunshine that will surely come. It is also the time to renew our commitment to learning…for today and for all the seasons to come. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our concerts, athletic fields and other school events.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth