October Message

TOMORROW is picture retake day! If you missed picture day back in September or if you were unhappy with your first photo shoot, our photographer will be back in the building tomorrow Wednesday, October 25th. Please bring your old photos to exchange at the retake session. 

Our Halloween Dance and Open Gym will be this Friday, October 27th, from 6:00-8:00 PM. Tickets are $5 at the door and all proceeds benefit our PTO. Students may wear a costume (school appropriate) if they choose. Come celebrate the holiday with your favorite friends and ghouls!!

The ordering link for our yearbook is currently open. Online ordering is preferred. If you need to pay by check please make it out to WGSCDSAF in the amount of $30. The deadline for ordering is February 1, 2018. Please contact Mr. Keida at dkeida@westgenesee.org or Mrs. Clift at kclift@westgenesee.org if you have any questions.

Our next PTO Meeting will be on Wednesday, November 1st at 6:00 pm in the CMS Library. Our

guest speaker will be School Resource Officer Anthony Gucciardi from the Camillus Police Department. He will be sharing resources and tips for parents on how to monitor and support our students as they interact with others on social media. You won’t want to miss his very informative presentation.

Our school musical this year is a special one…Damn Yankees. Come hear everyone’s favorite number, Heart, and cheer on the Senators during our two performances, November 3rd at 7:00 pm and November 4th matinee at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available at the door for $8.00.

Principal’s Message

In all my years here at CMS, I don’t think I have seen such a sustained streak of outside recess as we have had this year. Our students are enjoying their time outside the school building as much as inside!

Speaking of inside the building, you might remember hearing from our ELA teachers on Curriculum Night that we have adopted the use of what is known as the Modules as our core curricula to support the Next Generation ELA Standards. This is a pivotal and critical change for us at West Genesee because the new Standards are a clear call for us to prepare students with advanced mastery of reading, writing, speaking, listening and presenting skills. After a careful analysis of the Standards, we came to the conclusion that the Modules provided the rigor, relevance and breadth necessary to provide students with lifelong literacy habits. You can read more about the Next Generation Standards here.

One of the practices highlighted in the reading standards is the ability for students to read often and widely from a range of global and diverse text. One of the shifts you will notice at home is the amount of independent reading students will have to complete at home to be prepared for each day’s lesson. You can help us by monitoring nightly the completion of assigned reading from the class novels and supporting activities. Please reach out to your child’s ELA teacher if you ever have any questions.

I hope to see you at the PTO Meeting on November 1st.
We Celebrate Learning!

Beth
Follow us on Twitter @camillusmiddle

November 1st – PTO Meeting in Library at 6:00 PM
November 3rd - Wildcat Friday
November 3rd – Damn Yankees – 7:00 PM
November 4th – Damn Yankees – 2:00 PM
November 7th – Early Dismissal (10:10 AM)

Thought Exchange

October 3, 2017

Dear CMS Community,

Every year, the West Genesee Strategic Planning Team asks all stakeholders (students, staff, parents, and the community at-large) to provide feedback on areas of strength and areas for potential growth.  This year, Dr. Brown has partnered with Thought Exchange - a web-based organization that will help us reach more of the community to maximize your direct input.

Using the email you have shared with us already for SchoolTool, you will be given a link to take part in the first stage of this survey, the Share Stage. You can tell us what we are doing well and what can we improve. This step will take approximately 5 - 10 minutes. A few weeks after that, you will be asked to take part in the Star phase where you will see others’ responses.  You have the opportunity to “rate” the comments that resonate with you. The final stage, Discover, is where you will have a chance to see what concepts are most important to all participants.

Please know that your submissions are confidential, but not anonymous to Thought Exchange. Thought Exchange will not share the authors of comments with the District. Your name will not appear on your submissions. This allows you to answer fairly and honestly. However, responses that are demeaning to any individuals will be removed by Thought Exchange.  

The members of the Strategic Planning Team will use this information in evaluating our successes as well as our areas in need of improvement when we begin planning for 2018 - 2019 school year.

Please take the time to complete the survey when it is sent to you. Although the link can not be forwarded, there are directions on how to get other community members on the list if they don’t receive an invitation. We truly want to hear from as many people connected to West Genesee as possible.

Sincerely,

Beth Lozier

Building Principal

Dear CMS Families!

It’s a little hard to believe that our first full week of school is now in the history books. We’ve already had our 6th Grade Getting Acquainted Dance, school pictures, musical rehearsals and modified games. We are off to a great start of the 2017-18 school year!

I’d like to introduce the newest members of the CMS faculty and staff:

New Staff
Steven Berkey – Tech
Deb Beyer – Sp. Ed. T.A.
James Cicarelli – Math
Sarah DeCapio – LOTE
Mary Ann Didio - Nurse
Nicole Franke – LPN
Marybeth Gaffney – Food Service
Gigina Long – Art
Carolyn Quinn – Sp. Ed. T.A.
                             
Returning Staff
Kelly Boswell – Home & Careers
Nicole LeVea – LOTE
Steph Murphy – English
Danielle Tamulevich – Sp. Ed. T.A.
Courtney Updegraff – IS

We are very excited to be introducing a new program this year called The Positivity Project (P2). CMS will be joining with all our elementary schools and many other local districts, as we seek to build an understanding of the research findings in the field of positive psychology amongst our students. P2 is rooted in the motto #otherpeoplematter and focuses on strengthening 24 character traits throughout the school year. Please read the introductory letter and keep the character definition summary handy. We will begin P2 this Monday with the character trait of curiosity. We will post each week’s character trait on Twitter (@camillusmiddle) and on our announcement page.

Our first meeting will be on September 25th at 6:00 p.m. in the CMS Library. WE NEED YOU! Right now we have open officer positions of co-president and secretary. If you are interested please contact our President, Pearlene Amica at pearlene.amica@gmail.com. We also need volunteers for our Scholastic Book Fair which is held during the school day on September 26th, 27th and 28th. If you are able to lend a hand please contact Michele Hess at moonstars0427@gmail.com. If you haven’t already joined our PTO please stop by the registration table in the library during Curriculum Night. Your $10 dues support so many important programs; we thank you in advance! Mark your calendar now for our remaining meetings:

November 1, 2017 – 6:00 p.m. at CMS Library

January 10, 2018 – 6:00 p.m. at WGHS LGIR

April 17, 2018 – 6:00 p.m. at WGHS LGIR

Curriculum Night will take place on September 28th from 6:30-8:00 pm. You will receive a mailing next week with each grade level’s schedule. Our Scholastic Book Fair will be open in the library. Please stop by to browse the terrific selection. Students were given a flyer of available titles today. All proceeds benefit our PTO. Thank you for your support!

As you can see, our middle school is one busy place! To help you keep track of everything going on, we put all of our daily announcements on the CMS web page for your access. Just click on the announcement tab.

If your child is going to be late or absent you may call the Health Office line at 315.672.3426. There is an answering machine that will take your message during non-school hours.

Please feel free to call or stop by if I can ever be of assistance to you. On behalf of everyone here at CMS…We Celebrate Learning!

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

September 25 - PTO Meeting - 6:00 p.m. CMS Library

September 26-28 - Book Fair

September 28 - Curriculum Night - 6:30-8:00 pm

October 6 - Wildcat Friday

October 6 - End of 5 Weeks

October 9 - Columbus Day - No School 

Summer Reading

Summer. Reading.

Those two words can sometimes provoke a feeling of dread in our students. They somehow get translated to mean a task that needs to be completed, in as little time as possible, just prior to the buses pulling up to the stop in September. We SO want to change that feeling! We want those two words to conjure the sense of an opportunity to read in a way that might be a little more relaxed, and a little more extended, than during the regular school year.

By now you have received our Summer Reading Lists. Families often ask us how many of the books a child should read. One? Two?  Our answer is simple; all of them and then some! Becoming an independent and engaged reader is one of the single largest influences impacting a child’s academic growth. There just isn’t any substitute for it. Vocabulary, new knowledge, points of view, and ideas are presented in books in a manner that can’t be replicated any other way. There are 3 key ideas to keep in mind in supporting students who read:

1. Variety: The Narnia Chronicles and Harry Potter series are often the hook in getting students engaged and motivated to read. We love a good series! It is important to remember that a broad exposure to different genres helps to build an open mind. It is true what they say: You can’t judge a book by its cover. Pick up a book of poems, or a non-fiction title over fiction. And if your child gets one or two chapters in and doesn’t like the book…close it and try another. 
2. Rigor:  Don’t be intimidated by a book that might seem to present a little challenge. Reading ability gets stronger when books cause a student to focus, re-read and maybe even have to look up a word now and then. Experts recommend looking at 5 random pages in a book to test out the readability. It won’t be long before students find that sweet spot. 
3. Amount: A little bit of reading, every day, goes a long way. The daily habit of reading can be instilled at any age – it’s not too late! Newspapers and magazines are a great source for short bursts of reading. We always recommend a hard copy of the New York Times because of its high-interest articles. Each day of the week has a unique section, but students might have particular interest in these: Monday (Sports), Tuesday (Science), Wednesday (Food) and Thursday (Arts). Grab a copy next time you are out and just take a look. We get ten copies a day delivered here at school so that your child can always get their hands on a newspaper.

In Daniel Willingham’s new book, Raising Kids Who Read, the University of Virginia psychology professor writes, “To engender positive reading attitudes, students need to have positive reading experiences. They need to see themselves as readers. And they need to have books that they enjoy readily available.”

To help you keep a steady supply of books readily available, check out one of our terrific local libraries-there’s one near YOU!:

Maxwell Memorial Library   
Onondaga Free Library

School will begin again before we know it. In the meanwhile, we wish you a summer full of good books!
We Celebrate Learning!
Beth 

Follow us on Twitter@camillusmiddle