CCMS Principal’s News

What an amazing first week of school! Students have been quite excited about learning, meeting new teachers, making new friends and learning their way around CCMS! We know this will be a great year!

BELL SCHEDULE 9/1-9/5

Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
HOLIDAY!! / Periods 1-6*
2:20 dismissal / Welcome Back Assembly
Periods 1-6*
1:35 dismissal / Periods 1-3-5
2:20 dismissal / Periods 2-4-6
2:20 dismissal

*Please note: Because of our Welcome Back Assembly on Wednesday, we have an adjusted bell schedule this week! Please see attached.

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

We are so excited to see you all at our Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 17th. It is a great opportunity to put faces to names of all of your child’s teachers as well as get to see classrooms and the campus! We look forward to seeing you there.The datewas incorrectly printed in the student Time Trackers, our apologies for any confusion.

TARDIES

This first week, we have already experienced an influx of tardy students in the morning. Please help us get students to class on time. The first bell rings at 8:15 and students need to in their seat at 8:20. Students who are not in class are not learning—we want all students learning as well as tardies disrupt the educational environment of others who are on time. Students that accumulate five (5) tardies will receive Friday detention.

DRESS CODE

Attached is the CCMS dress code policy. Please look it over and review it with your child. We want students to take ownership of their choice. Simply stated, there have been an awful lot of short shorts, midriff baring tops and other clothing out of dress code.

Students will be held accountable for the dress code. This means students out of dress code will change into PE clothes for the day.

Here are some simple tips to help students meet dress code:

·  When looking at the length of shorts or a dress, the hemline should come down to theirmid thigh—this is the end of the index or middle finger when shoulders are relaxed and hands are placed to their sides

·  Tanks need to be at least 1” or two fingers wide—no spaghetti straps, strapless or undergarments showing.

·  Armholes on tanks and shirts should not be showing student’s undergarments or be so big that a student’s stomach can be seen from the side—sports bras, a bandeau or strapless tanks do not suffice.

·  Midriffs/stomachs, even when worn with high-waisted bottoms cannot show

·  Sagging pants are not allowed

·  Images on shirts may not be violent, suggestive or disrupt the instructional process.

Why do we have a dress code? First off, we want school to be about learning and not what students are wearing. Additionally, because middle school is a transitional time for students in their development, we want to ensure that both young ladies and men are treated with respect and we are building their self esteem around their character and not their looks, body type, or clothing. Finally, the students have a long time to be adults….we want them to be kids and enjoy their childhood while they can—we want students to learn to make smart decisions and good choices at this age without peer or societal pressures. Please help us in ensuring that y(our) kids are making good choices for their attire. We thank you for
your support.

DISMISSAL

CCMS has many opportunities for students after school. It is the expectation that students will move swiftly to their after school program or home when the bells rings at the end of the day. Please make arrangements for your child to be picked up or find a good after school option—students, especially on Wednesdays cannot be unsupervised on campus.

SCHEDULE CHANGES

Counselors are completing all schedule changes this week. Many requests cannot be accommodated such as teacher changes. Moreover, some elective changes are hard to make as the content area courses are impacted due to our increasing student body. Please understand that counselors are trying to do as much as they can however there are some changes that we simply cannot accommodate. We too, want students to have the best experience and appreciate your understanding.

DROPPING OFF ITEMS FOR STUDENTS

We all forget things occasionally! We understand that there will be times that kids will forget lunch money, lunch, homework, etc. If your child does forget, we are happy to hold it up at the front counter in the office and can send a note however we are trying to refrain from interrupting classes. Hopefully this will be on occasion. If your child knows that you are dropping off, have him/her come to the front office to pick it up at lunch or in between classes. We are happy to help but want to avoid any unnecessary interruptions to classes. Learning is the most important thing!J

ADJUSTING TO MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Many of our 6thgraders have been overwhelmed by this first week of school –part of it is the size of CCMS, the new faces, changing classes, great lunch and the adjustment can be difficult. Monitor it, talk to your children, have them share their day with you and have comfort in knowing that so many kids are experiencing the same transition. If you have questions regarding academics, feel free to contact teachers directly and other concerns or questions can be directed to our 6thgrade counselor, Sarah Slemmons .

STEP UP!

Students will be attending our Welcome Back Assembly that will emphasize student expectations on Wednesday, September 3.

This year we are going to engage our students to STEP UP academically, socially with their peers, for the school community and for themselves! So does it mean for a student to STEP UP?!

Academics:We are asking students to STEP UP academically by being well-behaved, participatory students. This means students are prepared, engaged, asking questions, working collaboratively with peers and most importantly extending their learning outside of school by doing homework and studying. Setting goals and making good choices is part of stepping up! We commit ourselves daily to educate students and we want students to STEP UP and commit themselves as well!

Socially:Students must STEP UP and take care of one another--Take actionwhen they see mistreatment or ask an adult for help if they are involved in or see something that makes them uncomfortable. Every student has a right to a safe and healthy learning environment and students need to be ambassadors for one another and STEP UP and commit to being kind to one another all of the time!

School Community:It is the expectation that students take good care of their campus and are responsible citizens on and off campus. On campus, students must throw away their trash in the proper receptacle and respect their campus. This campus is ours--a collective of students and adults who share a wonderful place--let's keep it a neat and awesome place to learn! Off campus, we are encouraging students to be a good representation of our campus and to ensure that they are showing their school pride by acting as responsible citizens in the community

We hope that you will help us carry the message to our young people to STEP UP!

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT CAME TO OUR

PANTHER PARTNERS CLEANUP ON SATURDAY!

What a great way to kick off the school year. We had a great turnout to the Panther Partners Clean up! It was a lot of fun and it was great to see new students acquainting themselves to our campus and to new friends!!! We appreciate your support of Panther Partners as they help fund so many of our campus endeavors! A huge thank you to Karen Goldberg for organizing!

Thank you for a great first week! We are glad to be working together and know that all of our hard work will result in awesome students!

Sincerely,

Linsey Gotanda, Ed.D.

Principal