CMIT South Elementary School

Happy New Year and welcome back! I am excited to enter the 2023 calendar year as we continue to lead our students to grow and learn. I hope everyone is rested and recharged from the holidays and has a renewed focus on our academic achievements for the remainder of the 2nd quarter for the remainder of the school year. We will be making sure to maximize instructional time each day with students so families we ask that you not send food for parties in the classroom. Feel free if you would like to send “goodie bags” that staff could distribute at the end of the day or invitations to events outside of school. I want to be able to look back at the end of this school year and point to how we did not waste any moment in the classroom or opportunity to help students grasp instructional concepts in preparation for an upcoming assessment or the next grade level.

Please review expectations with your students as we will also be hosting each grade level for Student Rights and Responsibilities review. We have high expectations of student behavior, academics, and attendance. Our school day is 8:00 am - 2:25 pm students who enter the building after 8:05 will be marked tardy. Additionally, students who are left after 2:55 pm the end of the duty day for staff will have families contacted and attend meetings.

If your student(s) are currently carrying a balance for school meals please add funds to your MySchoolBucks.com account online or by sending cash via the student or coming into the building to Ms. Voss in the cafeteria from 8:00 am - 10:00 am M-F.

Thank you families and staff for making our school world-class each day I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to help our school community grow and thrive.

Sincerely

Ronald A. Miller, Jr.

Principal

CMIT South Elementary

Happy New Year! We welcome our scholars back this week of the year (2023). We are back into the swing of things and gearing up to round out the second half of the second quarter. Please continue to encourage our scholars to give their best efforts. We look forward to a very prosperous New Year!

Please take note of these January 2023 calendar reminders:

• Monday, Jan 2nd - Friday, Jan. 20th - Joe Corbi Pizza Fundraiser

• Wednesday, Jan 11th - Thursday, Jan 12 MAP Growth Testing (K-5th)

• Wednesday, Jan 11th @ 6:00 p.m. - PTO General Meeting (In-person & Via Zoom)

• Thursday, Jan 12th @ 6:00 pm - Open House for new families and potential enrollees

• Monday, Jan. 16th - Schools and offices are closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

• Tuesday, Jan. 17th - iReady Assessment (K-5th)

• Wednesday, Jan. 18th - Feb. 8 Dibels Testing (K-3rd)

• Tuesday, Jan. 24th is the end of the second quarter.

• Wednesday, Jan. 25th is a half-day of asynchronous virtual learning from home for students and a professional day for teachers. Learn more about virtual learning days this school year.

Operation Warm - Free Coats for Kids- The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) and PGCMLS Foundation continue to provide essential support to Prince George’s County residents this winter with the fourth annual edition of Operation Warm: Free Coats for Kids. This special initiative provides free brand-new coats to children in need. Families can bring their children to three locations between December 3 and January 7 to obtain a free coat, while supplies last. The coats are generously sponsored by the PGCMLS Foundation, Wawa, and Operation Warm.

Saturday, January 7th, 10 am-12 pm - Laurel Branch Library - Link: https://ww1.pgcmls.info/event/7512856

The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System and PGCMLS Foundation offer a free coat for kids who need one this winter. One coat per child, a limit of 2 coats per family. Children must be present to receive a coat. Sizes 2T-18. *Available while supplies last

Remember: masks remain a tool to reduce the spread of illness and vaccinations continue to be the best defense against COVID-19. When children are sick, please keep them home.

January is National Mentoring Month! National Mentoring Month is all about being a friend, making a difference, and getting involved. It is a time to celebrate mentoring and its positive effect on our youth. https://youtu.be/_WHu8Om2Mdo

Want to send a Shout Out to a Teacher/Staff Member?

Do you want to say thank you or SHOUT-OUT a teacher or staff member for their great job? Complete and submit the SHOUT-OUT Google Form link, which will be shared with the faculty at an upcoming meeting and/or morning announcements.

Reading into the New Year

Parents/Guardians,

Happy New Year! Calling everyone to start reading each day for at least 20-30 minutes. Please set a time to either read to and/or listen to our scholar read.

Many of you are already reading; Great, we need everyone to be a part of this daily practice.

Be excited about this: read a book, menu, label, magazines, and letters, to name a few of what we can read. You may use the following to help guide students’ understanding before, during, and after reading.

Ms. Watkis

Before reading a book, ask:

• Why did you select this book?
• What makes you think this book is going to be interesting?
• What do you think the book is going to be about?
• Does this book remind you of anything else you’ve already read or seen?
• What kind of characters do you think will be in the book?
• What do you think is going to happen?

While reading a book, try asking:

• Will you catch me up on the story? What’s happened so far?
• What do you think will happen next?
• If you were that character, what would you have done differently in that situation?
• If the book was a TV show, which actors would you cast in it?
• Where is the book set?
• If the main character in that story lived next door, would you be friends?
• What does the place look like in your head as you read? Would you want to visit there?
• Did you learn any new words or facts so far?

After reading, ask questions like

• What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
• Who was your favorite character? Why?
• What was the most exciting thing you learned from the book?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?
• Would you have ended the book differently? Did it end the way you thought it would?
• Did the problem of the book’s plot get solved?
• If you could change one thing in the book, what would it be?

Happy New Year Kindergarten families,

The National Aquarium field trip has been approved for Friday 1/27. We will begin collecting money on Monday, 1/9. The money collection will end on Friday, 1/13. The fee is $14/person (exact cash or check). Permission slips will be coming home tomorrow. Please place the signed slip and payment in a sealed envelope and place it in their folders. This is imperative for adequate collection. We will check the folders daily next week and send a receipt. There are a limited amount of chaperones per class. Please contact your scholar’s teacher if you have any questions. Any adults outside of the chaperone limit who’d are wanting to attend must meet us at the Aquarium and must pay an entry/parking fee.

Students will be working on:

• Isolating and pronouncing initial, medial, and final sounds in CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.
  

• Reading/writing words with consonants blends (two or more sounds heard together at the beginning/end of a work).
  

• Making and confirming prosecutions using text features and structures.
  

We will also be discovering living things and answering questions:

• What do living things need to survive?

• How do living things eat their food?

• Understanding how addition can be shown in different ways, such as with objects, mental images, drawings, sounds, acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

• Putting together parts to make a whole.

• Writing equations to show addition.

• Build on their understanding as they explore Earth’s weather.

• Use their science knowledge to explain or predict observable events in the universe.

Students will inquire about decisions made by individuals and groups in order to understand economics and the importance of jobs.

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This week in reading, students are beginning Unit 3. The theme of this unit is “Our Traditions.” Students will explore different traditions over the next six weeks through a variety of stories and activities. In our first lesson, students will read fables and identify the theme. In phonics, students are decoding and reading words with the long /i/ sound spelled i, ie, i_e, igh, and y. Examples: try, spied, tonight, dime, pirate..

In math, students will be finishing up topic 4, adding within 100. Our next topic, topic 5, will include strategies for subtracting within 100. Please review items such as daily reviews, quick checks, and any optional homework sent home. .

This week in science, we are finishing up changes in matter. In topic 3, students will be exploring Earth’s water and land. They will learn to describe Earth’s surface, the water on Earth, and how to map land and water..

Students have been learning about rules and laws. They have explored the components of government and about important documents such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. .

This upcoming week, students will be continuing on in Unit 2 about interactions for Reading discussing informational texts and key details! Students will also be working on their spelling words for the section we are on.

Students will be continuing on in Math on multiplication properties.

STEM Fair projects are due next week! Students will also be working on forces in motion.

Students will be continuing on in Social Studies in Chapter 2 talking about types of resources and economic choices while knowing the difference between wants and needs.

.Happy New Year Tiger Parents,

Reading: This week we continued in our Unit of Adaptations by reading an informational text called “Animal Mimics.” In this text students learned about how animals use mimicry to survive. As we read the text closely we worked on the skills of monitoring our inner conversations, text structure, and context clues. Next week we will continue to read the text closely to work on the skills of main idea, text features, and writing an informative essay. Students will also have a spelling quiz, all words have been posted on Canvas. We will close out the week by completing a project in which students will show their understanding of the information presented in the text. STEM Fair Research Papers were due to Ms. Crusoe by Fri. January 6, 2023.

Reading: This week in reading workshop we read “Animal Mimics”. In this story students learned how animals use mimicry to adapt to their environment from predators. The week we worked on, connecting to the text, generating questions as we read the text, responding to the text, and context clues. Next week, we will work on cause/effect, main idea and supporting details, and vocabulary in the text. Friday we will have our quiz on the text, vocabulary, and spelling. Spelling words can be found on Canvas.

Math: This week we began working on Topic 3-4 UsingArea Models and Partial products to multiply. In standard 4.NBT.B.5 Students will learn how to use area model and use given numbers and operation symbols to show how to find the area of a regular rectangle. to Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, expressions, standard algorithm and/or area models.

Reminder “Topic 3” Pick A Project is not due until the end of the Topic 3.

Please make sure students have dry erase markers and cleaning wipes.

Science: This week students focused on standard K-5-PS3-B-3 by completing a Quest Check Lab that provided an opportunity for students to build a paper windmill as part of an Investigation activity where students had to apply scientific ideas to make windmill models to understand how wind can be captured for energy use.

Reminder STEM FAIR Projects are due January 9, 2023

Research papers are to be printed and submitted to Ms. Pavignano

Social Studies: In social studies this week, we focused on finishing Chapter 2 Lesson 4. We talked about the transcontinental railroad and other transportation systems on the growth of the United States. We talked about immigrants and their impact on the United States. We ended the week talking about the causes and effects of World War I and World War II. Next week, we will be talking about why the end of World War II is often considered a turning point in the United States.

Just a reminder that all STEM Fair deliverables should be submitted to teachers no later than Monday, January 9th. Also, please send scholars to school with a reusable water bottle as we still do not have access to water fountains in the building due to COVID protocols.

In RELA this upcoming week, students will be wrapping up Unit 2 (and our first book!) with the text, “Let Wild Animals BE WILD” by David Bowles. Our vocabulary words this week are sanctuaries, diminished, thrive, and unfettered. This week’s big question is, “What are some different ways people can observe and protect wildlife?” and we will be looking at the text features that make up an argumentative (or persuasive) text. We will return to a regular week of spelling and reading logs. Just a heads up that when we get to quarter 3, spelling lists will no longer be 10 words, but instead be 15 words with 5 bonus words (meaning spelling tests will be out of 15, but students can earn up to a 20 out of 15 or 133%).

List 1

equip

equipped

rely

relies

permit

permitting

benefit

benefited

involve

involvement

List 2

theory

theories

program

programming

industry

industries

convey

conveys

equip

equipment

In Math, students will either be working on double digit multiplication or multiplying with decimals, depending on what small group they are in.

In Science, students will be going in-depth with water cycles and how the water cycle works to support an environment and its ecosystem.

In social studies, students will be taking their Chapter 3 assessment on Wednesday this upcoming week. Scores will be returned Wednesday before school ends and the retake will be provided 2 days later on Friday. Students will have access to a review game that includes all content covered on the test over the weekend and all of next week to prepare for the test/retest.

Updates from the Art Room!

Last quarter, the artwork that Kindergarten through Second Grade brought home was focused mainly on the art elements e.g. line, shape, and color. This quarter, the lower elementary students are learning how the elements of art come together to build objects in the world around them!

Upper elementary students (third through fifth grade) know enough about the elements of art and how they are used to create the world around them that the creative process is more independent and/or realistic looking. The year started off realistic for third grade, now they’re going to use their own knowledge to think abstractly. Fourth and fifth graders started out abstract so they are going to start drawing from real life!

Stay happy, healthy, and creative,

Ms. James

The PGCPS lottery for specialty programs and charter schools is now open until February 10th. Siblings receive preference BUT must still apply to the lottery.

Sibling Preference Information

CHESAPEAKE MATH AND IT SOUTH ELEMENTARY

• Hours: 8:00am to 2:15pm
• Grades: K-5
• Uniform: Yes
• Before After School Enrichment: Yes
http://clfmd.org/enrichment-2/
• School Colors: Hunter Green, Navy Blue
• School Mascot: Tigers
• School Website: http://www.cmitsouthes.org

For more information

https://cmitsouthes.org/faq/