Hybrid Students Moving to 4 Days a Week at CMS

Dear CMS Families,

Thank you so much for your patience while we have been working through the process of bringing our students back to school for four days a week of instruction. This will begin on Monday, April 26th. All hybrid students will attend school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesdays will continue to be used for Office Hours and planning time for teachers. (Students will not attend on Wednesday.) We have made most of the necessary master scheduling changes, and our school counselors will be reaching out to families where a teacher or team change is necessary. Our cafeteria will now be open for lunch service, and half the students in each class will eat there each day on a rotating basis. This will allow us to adhere to distancing guidelines. Students will also begin moving to their classes each period.  The Transportation Department is still working on bus routes. We are anticipating some adjustments to our dismissal time and procedure. Stay tuned for another update as soon as we have a solid plan in place. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at 315-672-3159 should you have any questions at all.

New York State Assessments in ELA, Math and Science

The New York State Assessments in ELA and Mathematics for grades 7 and 8 will be given in one session and will consist of 50 multiple choice questions. The assessments are computer-based and will be administered in your child’s regularly scheduled ELA and Mathematics classes. The science assessment is for grade 8 only and is administered in a booklet format. It will be given in your child’s science class. Please mark your calendars for the dates: 

April 19th (Monday)         ELA Mon/Tues Cohort
April 22nd (Thursday)     ELA Thur/Fri Cohort
May 4th (Tuesday)                 Math               All Students
June 8th (Tuesday) Science            Grade 8 Only

*Students who do not take the assessment will read in the classroom.

Fine Arts Update

The Fine Arts Department, including our music ensemble teachers, are discussing how best to provide a performance experience for students and their families. We recently learned that New York State has a new Executive Order regarding small and medium scale performing arts venues which includes our stage/cafeteria at CMS. We may now host up to 100 attendees indoors and up to 200 attendees outdoors, which will allow our family members of our student performers to attend live performances. We will update you once we know what we can safely accomplish here at CMS. Our school musical cast is currently in rehearsals. We are proud to present Elf, the Musical on June 3rd, 4th and 5th. We will send ticketing information and procedures once we have worked out the details. 

As a reminder, Festival Wednesdays has concluded. Finally, our very popular Fine Arts Summer Program will be returning this year. Please look here for all the information about registration. 

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth

April 19 & 22            NYS ELA Assessment

April 21                    BOE Meeting - 7:00 p.m.

April 30                     3rd MP Report Card Available

May 4                        NYS Math Assessment

May 28-June 1          Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL (if no snow days)

June 8                       NYS 8th Gr. Science Assessment