May Update

PAUSE Week (May 11th-15th)

Next week will be another opportunity for students to complete and/or make-up any assignments still open from the first few weeks of the 4th marking period. Any assignments that are missing (M) or incomplete (I) in SchoolTool can be submitted for teacher review and feedback. Not every student will have work to submit this week. This is a chance for everyone to catch their breath and gear up for the final five weeks of the school year. This is also a great opportunity to take part in our Virtual Wellness Spirit Week!  We are encouraging students and teachers to have a “Technology Free Friday” on May 15th to give everyone a needed brain break. Finally, please check out our Well-being Choice Boards for some additional ways to take a pause.


Five Week Reports

Five week reports for Marking Period 4 will be available to view through SchoolTool on Friday, May 22nd. Students will be receiving comments in the following categories:

• attendance & participation 
• progress during MP4
• predicting successful course completion

You can access the report by logging into SchoolTool and following the step by step directions posted there.


Student Belongings In Lockers

We are finalizing the plan for you to pick up the contents of your student’s locker. This will take place sometime in June. We will communicate the plan right here in the blog as soon as we work out the details.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth Anne Lozier
blozier@westgenesee.org
Follow us on Twitter @camillusmiddle

May Message

Virtual Planners

This week we will begin using grade level specific virtual planners for all subjects. Every Monday, at around noon, parents and students will receive a link to the planner in their email. We will also post the planner to the Online Learning Portal and the CMS website by going to 'Virtual Planners' under the 'School Links' section. We hope that this will help families with time management and to develop a regular schedule to complete assignments. 

Extended School Closure

I know that many of you have questions regarding locker clean out now that Governor Cuomo has officially closed school through the end of the year. We are currently in the planning stages of how to accomplish this safely. As soon as the plan is in place, likely further down the road, we will communicate with you again. If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at blozier@westgenesee.org. We know that school is the heart of our strong community. The memories made each day, the laughter, and the learning are felt deeply by not only our students but also by every single staff member. I hope this video will bring a smile to you as we begin another week. 

May you all remain well. 

We Celebrate Learning! 

Beth Anne Lozier

Principal

Follow us on Twitter @camillusmiddle 

3rd MP Report Card & Other Important Reminders

Dear CMS Families,

I wanted to send a reminder regarding some important information as we continue our virtual learning journey.

Marking Period 3 Report Cards

Report cards are now available to view in Schooltool. The grade has been calculated from assignments handed in prior to the March 16th school closure and any made up assignments a student submitted during the week of April 6th. Here are the directions to view the report card:

• Login to Schooltool from the West Genesee web site
• Click on blue icon to left of student photo
• Click on “grades” tab 
• Report card will be available for viewing

If you have difficulty logging into Schooltool please contact Nancy Boise in the Guidance Department at nboise@westgenesee.org.


Marking Period 4

Marking period 4 began on April 13th and will continue through June 25th. Teachers will no longer be giving numerical grades. In addition to teacher feedback, students will receive a C (complete), I (incomplete) or M (missing).


Online Learning Portal

Please remind your child to check their email. Here is the link to WG Online Learning Portal:
https://sites.google.com/westgenesee.org/wg-online-learning-portal/home?authuser=0

Please check your email again on Monday, April 27th for a link to our new Virtual Student Planner.

We continue to send you our best and gratitude for all you are doing to support our efforts to maintain teaching and learning during this time. Please feel free to reach out with any questions at all.

We Celebrate Learning!

Beth Anne Lozier
blozier@westgenesee.org
Follow us on Twitter @camillusmiddle

School Closure Grading Information

Dear CMS Families -

I hope that all of you are safe and healthy. As we all adapt to how we experience school, I wanted to share some information about how teaching and learning will continue in the weeks and months ahead. Given all of the unknowns, we have looked beyond Governor Cuomo’s school closures through April 15th. We will adjust our plan as he updates his guidance to the State.

Week of April 6-10 (previously April Break)
We will utilize the extra week of instruction for students to complete and/or make-up any assignments still open during the 3rd marking period. Teachers will reach out to individual students regarding what assignments they are looking for that most closely measure the learning standards for their courses. Not every student may have make-up work that they are responsible for completing.

Closure of 3rd Marking Period
Teachers will finalize the 3rd marking period grades on April 21st. Report cards will be available for viewing in Schooltool on April 24th.

Marking Period 4 (April 13-June 25)
Teachers will begin to deliver new content through Google Classroom beginning on April 13. We will continue to follow these guidelines:

Core Subject Area (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Languages)-
2 assignments per week, approximately a 40 minute completion time each 

Electives and All Special Area Classes-
1 assignment per week, approximately a 40 minute completion time

New Grading Guidelines for Marking Period 4
Teachers will no longer be giving numerical grades for submitted assignments in marking period 4. In addition to teacher feedback, we will be using the following criteria for each assignment:

Complete = Student has executed the task to the course or grade level standard
Incomplete = Student has executed the task, but it is not yet to the course or grade level standard
Missing = Student has not yet submitted the assignment

Parents and students will be able to view individual student progress through Schooltool for marking period 4 as assignments will be posted as they were previously. In place of grades, you will see a C, I or M representing Complete, Incomplete, or Missing.

At the end of Marking Period 4, students will be given a final quarter grade of Pass or Fail based on their ability to demonstrate their learning of course specific learning standards.

The calculation of the final cumulative (4 marking periods) average has not yet been decided.

All of us at CMS are thinking of all of you each day. We so deeply miss all of our students and hope that we will all be together again soon. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our students and staff.

We Celebrate Learning!
Beth Anne Lozier
blozier@westgenesee.org
Follow us on Twitter @camillusmiddle