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