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