April Message from Principal Lozier

Report Cards
The 3rd quarter report cards were passed out to our students in homeroom this morning. Please ask your child to show it to you. You may also log onto SchooTool to see individual assignment grades. This can help you to get a better sense of how the final average was derived. If you have difficulty with SchoolTool please contact Nancy Boise at nboise@westgenesee.org or at 672-8381 in our Guidance Department.  The next progress report will be available for viewing on May 18. The final report card of the year will be mailed home to you in July. 

PTO Meeting and Budget Presentation
Please mark your calendars for two very important meetings happening this coming Monday, April 18. Our PTO will have their final meeting of the year which will begin at 6:00 pm. We welcome any new members and anyone who might be interested in serving on the executive board. If you can’t make the meeting but would like more information please contact our president, Mrs. Pearlene Amica, at pearleneamica@yahoo.com. At 7:00 pm Dr. Brown will present the school budget for the 2016-17 school year. Both meetings will take place in the LGI at West Genesee High School.






Astronaut Jeanette Epps Visits WG! 
You won’t want to miss this opportunity. 
Look here for the flyer with all the details! 

Principal’s Message

I keep flipping back and forth in my planner trying to figure out where the school year went and how we can possibly be peeking into May. The old adage sure is true; time flies when you are having fun! Our librarian, Mrs. Bush, recently asked the entire CMS staff to submit the name of their favorite book when they were in middle school. We were so excited to see the range of genre and found it very interesting that we hardly had any duplicate titles. I thought I might share a few of our favorities to add to your reading list for April Break (remember our 10 Book Challenge):

Mrs. Buchanan, ELA Instructional Support Specialist, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Mrs. Bates, Home and Careers, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Mr. Primiano, 8th Grade Science, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Mrs. Vinci, Math Teacher, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 
Mrs. Parry, 6th grade Reading Teacher, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Families often ask us for book suggestions related to parenting especially on the topics of peer influences and keeping the lines of communication open. You might be interested in the Developmental Assets research and their web site which includes many resources for families. These internal and external assets are indicative of positive influences found in teens and their families. Each asset is accompanied by book suggestions or other helpful resources.

I hope you all enjoy the week off (April 25-29)! 

We Celebrate Learning! 
Beth
Beth Anne Lozier - Principal
Follow us on Twitter @camillusmiddle

IMPORTANT DATES
May 5 Battle Of The Books (CMS-café) - 7:00 pm
May 17  Budget Vote at WGHS - 6:30 am-9:00 pm
May 19 Talent Show (CMS-café) - 7:00 pm
May 25  New York State Science Assessment (Gr. 8 only)
May 27  No School – Snow Day give back

March Message from Principal Lozier

Spirit Week at CMS!

Our favorite week of the year is right around the corner! Sprit Week will run from March 14-18 and will culminate in a St. Patrick’s Day Dance and Open Gym for all grades on March 18 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Tickets are $5 at the door. All proceeds benefit the CMS PTO, which in turn supports valuable programs here at school. Our Student Council has voted on the daily Spirit Week themes…and the winners are:

Monday (3/14) – Pajama Day

Tuesday (3/15) – Crazy Clothes and Hair Day

Wednesday (3/16) – Beach Day

Thursday (3/17) – Twin Day

Friday (3/18)-Sports Day

Prizes will be awarded for students who best exemplify the spirit of the day! Please remember that all outfits should be school appropriate.

3 on 3 Basketball Tournament

Our first ever 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament for grades 7 and 8 will take place on March 11 from 2:15-4:30 pm. Advance registration is required and will close on Thursday, March 10. Students may sign up in either 3 or 4 person teams which can be co-ed or mixed grade if they choose. Registration is $5 per child. Registration forms are in the main office and cafeteria. Daily announcements have been made regarding the process. Watch out NCAA and ACC…our teams are ready! All proceeds benefit the CMS PTO.

CMS PTO

It is not too late to become a PTO member or to make a contribution to our No ShowFundraiser. Simply print the forms and send them to the main office with your child. We appreciate your support as the PTO provides many valuable experiences for our students. Our Spirit Wear sale, Scholastic Book Fair and Battle of the Books competition are just a few of the many programs made possible by the PTO. Our final meeting of the year will take place on April 18 at 6:00 pm in the LGI at West Genesee High School. Dr. Brown’s budget presentation for the 2016-17 school year will take place immediately following our meeting at 7:00 pm.

Important Dates

March 9 – 25 week Progress Reports available on SchoolTool
March 11 - 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
March 14-18 - Spirit Week
March 18 - St. Patrick's Day Dance & Open Gym

March 25 – No School

April 1 – Wildcat Friday – wear your BLUE and Gold!
April 1 - Career Fair & Field Trip to OCC - 8th graders only, periods 1-3

April 5-7 – ELA Assessments – 2 hour delay schedule

April 12-14 – Mathematics Assessments – 2 hour delay schedule
April 18 - PTO Meeting and Budget Presentation

February Message

Ten Book Challenge

Over the weekend you will be receiving in the mail a report for your child comparing their growth in reading level from October to January. We will be reviewing the report with your child here at school, but it would also be beneficial to review their progress as a family. If your child hasn’t grown as a reader it is likely because they have not developed the stamina, practice and exposure to a variety of texts.  We continue to stress the importance of reading outside of the school day. You can remind your children that the 10 Book Challenge is still in progress. If your child hasn’t read five books, don’t fret! February break should provide a great window of time to get started.

I read an interesting article in the New York Times this week which reviewed that changes to the SAT that are just around the corner. The gist of the article is that the new test will have longer and harder reading passages and more difficult vocabulary, especially in the math sections. This type of test simply can’t be crammed for as an 11^th and 12^th grader. Students will do best-not just on the SAT (that may not be the road for all students)-but in life in general if they simply have steady exposure to a variety of reading materials over time.

Want some suggestions for February Break? Try these:

The Batboy by Mike Lupica – Lupica is one of the finest sport’s writers of all time, and his fiction writing is just as thrilling. This is a New York Times Bestseller.

Son by Lois Lowry – Written in Lowry’s typical powerful and simple style, Son brings to closure the journey of the characters we initially met in The Giver.

The Boys of Winter by Wayne Coffey – I am old enough to remember the Miracle on Ice of the 1980 Olympic Games. This book recounts the story of the stunning US victory during the peak of the Cold War.

The Sports Gene by David Epstein – A senior writer for Sports Illustrated looks at how elite athletes are born or made.

I will look forward to welcoming our students back to school on February 22^nd! Have a wonderful break!

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth

Follow us on Twitter @Camillusmiddle

  

New York State Testing

Many of you may have read that New York State has made some positive changes to the Common Core assessments in ELA and mathematics that will be administered this April. Of note, the tests will now be untimed. This means that any student who is working productively to complete any portion of the test may have all the time they need to finish. There will also be fewer questions and reading passages. 

I want all families to know that we believe all students are prepared to take these assessments. Our daily instruction and units of student are aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards and thus we have no need for “test prep” or additional work to ready our students. We rely on the excellent teaching and learning that we commit ourselves to each and every day. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions at 672-3159.

Grades 3-8 ELA                             April 5-6-7

Grades 3-8 Mathematics               April 13-14-15

Yearbook Order Deadline!

This is the last call for yearbooks. Please click the Balfour icon which will take you to the ordering page.

Should you have any further questions or have trouble ordering please contact Dale Keida at dkeida@westgenesee.org or by calling the main office at (315) 672-3159. Yearbooks are $28. They can also be personalized with your child’s name for $33. The deadline for ordering is February 26, 2016.

Kindergarten Registration

Dates: February 1- March 4

Process starts by making an appointment: 

https://wgkregistration.youcanbook.me/ 

  

Important Dates

March 2 – PTO Meeting at East Hill Elementary School  6:00 p.m.

March 9 – 25 week Progress Reports available for viewing on Schooltool

March 11 – 3:3 Basketball Tournament for grades 7/8 - 2:15-4:15 p.m.

March 18 – St. Patrick’s Day Dance/Open Gym-grades 6-7-8-6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

January Message

Final grades and comments for the second quarter of the 2015-2016 school year are now available to view through Schooltool. Click on the 'Grades' tab, select 'Marking Period Grades' in the 'view' dropdown and make sure you have 'Marking Period 2' selected. If you have any questions or difficulty logging into Schooltool please contact our Guidance Department at 672-8381.

Olweus Class Meeting

Early dismissal days are the perfect opportunity for us to focus our attention on strengthening our school community. This past year our Guidance Department, Melissa Ahern, Monica Canterino and Nancy Boise, have created engaging and fun activities that reinforce our school motto: True Blue Wildcats Have a Heart of Gold. Each Olweus Day seems to be bigger and better than the one before! Today we had a whole school pep rally lead by the WGHS cheerleaders. Talk about #wildcat pride! As a culminating activity each class made a vase of origami flowers which will be donated to Van Duyn Nursing Home.

Students also watched two videos that can viewed here and here. If you have a few spare moments over the weekend it might be fun to watch one or both with your children and talk about how they demonstrate their own heart of gold.

Have a terrific weekend! We Celebrate Learning!

Beth

Follow us on Twitter @Camillusmiddle