

CMIT South Elementary School
Week of November 27, 2022

Friday, October 6 2023
Principal's Desk
Dear CMIT South Elementary School Community,
We are diving into October and have some important updates and announcements to share with you this week.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
I would like to remind all parents that the Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, October 9, virtually through the Zoom platform. Please make sure to schedule your conference with your scholar(s) teacher(s) for this date. However, due to the high demand and limited time slots, some parents may be unable to secure a conference on October 9. In such cases, teachers will reach out to you to schedule conferences at another convenient time. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
STEM Fair Packets and Projects
To all our budding scientists and engineers, STEM packets will be sent home this week. We encourage students to start working on their projects early to ensure they have ample time to explore, innovate, and create. Let's capture the essence of STEM and nurture your love for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
K-2 STEM fair packet Part 1 Part 2
3rd - 5th STEM fair packet Part 1 Part 2
Club Selections
I would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the students who have been selected for various clubs this year. We are proud to announce that we offer 20 different clubs, providing our students with a wide range of extracurricular opportunities. However, please note that due to limited slots, not all students were able to secure their first and unfortunately even their second choice. We encourage parents to support their children in exploring alternative clubs and taking advantage of the diverse options available. We believe that each club offers a unique learning experience and an opportunity for personal growth.
Upcoming Events
1. Fall Book Fair: The Fall Book Fair was held from October 2-6 in the school Media Center. It was an amazing opportunity for students to discover new books and support our school library and PTO. Thank you to all of our volunteers and PTO for such a well-run and enjoyable book fair.
2. Hispanic Heritage Month: As we enter into our last week of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 - October 15 we learned about different cultures and saw each class post and decorate their door. Had families volunteer to share facts and information and each Friday Ms Chandler shared a trivia question for staff to make learning fun even for our adults. We will have a schoolwide celebration for the student to dress as their class Country’s flag in the coming week to celebrate this wonderful learning opportunity.
3. PTO Meeting: Our next PTO meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 11 at 6:00 PM. We encourage all families to attend in person or virtually. By actively contributing to the discussion on upcoming school events and initiatives. It also offers an opportunity for the administration to share our academic performance and the definition of a 5-star school according to the Maryland State Department of Education.
Important Reminders
Don't forget to review your scholar's progress report, which is available online now. Together, let's celebrate their achievements and discuss areas for improvement.
As the weather gets cooler, please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor activities during recess. Please label each article of their uniform, especially outerwear. We have a large collection of CMIT items in the Lost and Found in the cafeteria as well as other clothing items.
Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community. We value your partnership in nurturing our students' academic and personal growth. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Sincerely,
Ronald A. Miller, Jr
Principal
Chesapeake Math & IT Academy South Elementary
Weekly Updates
CMIT South Elementary October Themes
Character Theme: Kindness
STEM Theme: Scientific Method
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” -Kahlil Gibran
Please take note of these October calendar reminders:
10/1-31/23 - National Bullying Prevention Month; National Principals' Month; Breast Cancer Awareness Month
10/09/23 - Indigenous People Day - Parent Teacher Conferences - School Closed for Students
10/10/23 - Picture Day
10/11/23 - PTO General Meeting @ 6 p.m.
10/12/23 - Clubs start
- 10/12/23 - Hispanic Heritage Spirit Day
- 10/13/23 - PINK OUT for Breast Cancer Awareness
10/16/23 - National Boss Appreciation Day
10/20/23 - Professional Development- School Closed for students.
10/27/23 - Character Book Parade
10/28/23 - Fall Festival
School Closed for Students- Monday, October 9, 2023
Parent-Teacher Conference - Monday, October 9, 2023
Join us for Parent-Teacher Conferences scheduled for Monday, October 9, 2023! Enhance the partnership between home and school with a fresh guide packed with useful advice and proven strategies to optimize your conference experience. Additionally, we have a dedicated guide tailored for parents! Click on the following link to access the guide for parents! If you've already scheduled an appointment, please don't hesitate to get in touch with your child's teacher.
Picture Day - Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Get ready, Picture Day is TUESDAY‼️
As a reminder, students must come dressed in their school uniform. We'd love to see our scholars in their white collared shirt.
Approved Uniform:
White collar shirt
Green or Blue collar shirt
Blue or Khaki pants/skirt/dress
V-neck sweaters
If your scholar has PE, they should come dressed in the school uniform.
Additional details regarding picture day (including volunteer opportunities, purchase options, make-up day, etc.) will be shared soon.
Please contact the PTO with any questions.
202.810.2250 | pto@cmitsouthes.org
National Principal Month
October is National Principal Month! Help us celebrate our amazing Principal Ronald Miller, Jr for his hard work — and for being a guiding light here at CMIT South ES!! Click here to Send an E-card Link to show Principal Miller how much you appreciate him! Let him know he ROCKS! #THANKAPRINCIPAL
Professional School Counselor's Corner
There are numerous upcoming events scheduled for October. In my capacity as your Professional School Counselor, I will be disseminating information throughout the month and conducting guidance lessons for our scholar.
Hispanic Heritage Spirit Day
Bullying Stops Here Spirit Week
Tutoring
TutorMe
TutorMe is an online tutoring program that will enable all PGCPS students to connect with an online tutor in less than 30 seconds, 24/7. Students can get help with a single problem or participate in a 2-hour lesson. The virtual tutoring space features a virtual whiteboard, text editor, audio/video chat, screen sharing, and more. All lessons are archived and students will be able to get help in over 300 subjects.
TutorMe's tutors are highly qualified from the best universities and are ready to assist students.
Registration Information
Students can access TutorMe through Clever
For more information click the following link: https://www.pgcps.org/offices/curriculum-and-instruction/tutoring/tutorme
Mathematics Tutoring sessions
On-Demand Tutoring
Mathematics tutoring sessions are designed to provide students in Grades 3-12 with 1-on-1 online, on-demand mathematics support that students can access at home after school or on Saturdays.
Session Information
ELEMENTARY STUDENTS Grades 3-5
- Monday-Thursday: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Saturdays: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Contact Information
Mrs. Joneida Nelson-Generette
Elementary Mathematics Supervisor
jone.nelsongenerette@pgcps.org
Birthday Celebrations
Birthdays are so much fun to celebrate with classmates. However, during the school day, the health and safety of each student are important, especially students with food allergies. Students are ONLY permitted to bring in NON-FOOD items to distribute to classmates at the end of the school day. Birthday invitations will not be distributed.
Attendance
Attendance in school each day is important. Let’s stay in school.
In order for an absence to be considered excused, a written note must accompany the student no later than three (3) days after return to school. The note should include:
- date(s) of absence
- scholar’s name
- Reason for absence
Late or make-up work will not be accepted unless the absence is an excused absence. Please review Administrative Procedure 5113 AP 5113 - Student Attendance, Absence and Truancy for further information.
Students who are absent for ten consecutive days will be withdrawn on the 11th day and will need to re-enroll.
Lawful Absences
Students enrolled in public schools are considered lawfully absent from school for any portion of the day, only under the following conditions:
- Death of a family member
- Illness of the student
- Court appearance
- Work approved or sponsored by a school
- Observance of a religious holiday
- State of emergency
- Suspension from school
- Mental Health (Students may receive as an excused absence one (1) day of absence
- in each semester of each school year for a student’s mental health needs.
- Other emergencies
- Deployment-related absences
Unlawful Absences
Unlawful absence – any time a student does not attend school that does not qualify as the above-listed reasons for a lawful absence.
Tardy
Scholars will be officially tardy if they are not in the building at 8:10 a.m.
If your scholar enters the building after the 8:05 a.m. bell, a parent must escort them into the building and electronically sign them in the late arrival portal. Scholars will be given an orange tardy slip to be permitted to class.
Parents of students who have 10 or more tardies in a semester will be required to meet with the principal/designee to discuss the reasons for the tardies and to develop a plan for improvement.
Parent Patrol Volunteers
Tiger Families,
The PTO is seeking Parent Patrols to volunteer daily and assist with the morning car line!
Parent Patrols will assist scholars with car doors and direction to the rear school entrance. Parent Patrols are necessary in order to quickly and efficiently move the car line.
Fifteen minute shifts are available beginning at 7:30 AM. Parent Patrols should park their vehicles upon entering the blacktop and join other Parent Patrols. Sign up for as many time slots and days as you would like.
Please review the available slots via the link below and sign up today!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4BADAF2AA0FD0-morning
Morning Arrival Instructions
Dismissal Protocol
Throughout the school year, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) and the Prince George’s County Board of Education conduct activities that may be publicized by local or national news media or used to promote the school system. Publicity activities include interviews, photographs or videos of individuals or groups of students, or student works (including, but not limited to, artistic works, athletic activities, performances and competitions) that may be used in websites, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, print or online publications, or videos.
Click here to access the required publicity release form.
In November 2020, PGCPS launched an online volunteer application and approval process. Click here for more information on becoming a volunteer and to access the application.
👩🏽⚕️Nurse's Station
Health Forms
Please be sure to submit all required health forms! Please note that ALL medications, cough drops included, cannot be administered or consumed without appropriate documentation.
You can access all health forms here for the 2023-2024 school year.
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.
Cafeteria Updates
School Meals
2023-24 School Year Meal Prices
Elementary (Pre-K through Grade 5)
Breakfast: $1.60/day
Lunch: $2.75/day
How to Pay
MySchoolBucks, owned and operated by Heartland Payment Systems, is an online payment service that provides parents the ability to securely pay for meals, monitor student cafeteria purchases, make tuition payments for Before and After School Extended Learning programs, and receive email notifications for low-account balances. With MySchoolBucks, payments can be made 24/7 using a Visa, MasterCard, Discover, credit or debit card, and mobile app.
Free and Reduced-Price Meals
We encourage all families to consider applying for free and reduced-price meals! Visit www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict to apply online today!
To apply, you will need:
- The name, school, and grade of your school-age children
- The name of all adults living in the home
- Income information for all adults living in the home
- Student ID Numbers for your school-age children
Applications will also be sent home with students the first week of school. Applications are available at all PGCPS schools and can be submitted at any time.
Portable Electronic Policy (Administrative Procedure 5132).
Kindergarten
Grade Level Updates
Kindergarten students have been completing testing this past week and will continue this upcoming week. Please ensure that students are at school on time and are well rested. Students may also bring their Chromebooks to school daily. We will begin to focus on using Lexia Core5 and iXL within the classroom. To make the transition easy for students and staff, please bookmark Lexia Core5, iXL, and CLEVER on your child’s Chromebook and assist students with understanding how to log on to the programs. Friendly reminder that CLEVER can be found on the PGCPS website. Within CLEVER, you can search for both Lexia and iXL to access the sites. Please label the inside of your child’s Chromebook, along with the password to help students and teachers log onto their devices.
Independent activities (homework) have been issued to all scholars. Packets are given bi-weekly and will include all work that should be completed and a list of supplemental websites that students can explore at home. Please support students in completing the activities.
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!!!! Please visit Volunteer with PGCPS in order to register. Please follow all of the required steps and contact your scholar’s teacher with any questions. Inform the teacher when you are approved and ready to support. Thank you for your assistance!
IMPORTANT KINDERGARTEN DATES-
OCTOBER 9- Parent-Teacher Conferences – Schools Closed for Students
OCTOBER 13- Sight word Practice Test
OCTOBER 27- Pumpkin Project due
First Grade
Grade Level Updates
Families, thank you for sending our scholars to school every day and on time. It makes a difference when they are punctual; it impacts learning in a positive way. 1st Grade Curtis won the Hispanic Door competition for the K-2 category, while 1st Grade Brown received an Honorable mention.
Home and school work together, so I encourage you to review and support students as they complete homework packets. Additionally, please provide a quiet area that is conducive to reading. Allow at least 20-30 minutes of reading (a book) each day. Smaller children can also picture-read books if they do not know the words.
Reading
Math
Numeration. Problem-solving that involves addition and subtraction
Science
Sounds-students will continue finishing up Sounds and moving to new topic-Light
Social Studies
Continued learning Citizenship: Following rules and responsibilities (lesson)
Health
Second Grade
Grade Level Updates
Hello Tiger Family!
We are moving right along 2nd grade! We are wrapping up the first unit of many subjects.
Our team has been experimenting with math homework since DreamBox is no longer available. Many of the classes are trying out Boddle. Please contact your homeroom teacher for any questions about Boddle.
Reminder: We are happy to have volunteers come in to assist us with different things throughout the year, so if you are interested, please make sure your volunteer requirements are completed.
We are excited to enter into October focusing on our character trait, kindness! We want to promote kindness in any way we can, whether the act is big or small!
Parent-teacher conferences are Monday, October 9, and they will be virtual. Please keep an eye out for a signup sheet coming next week! It is first come, first serve for the time slots. Once they are filled, if you didn’t get a time slot but would still like a meeting, please contact your teacher to set up a conference on another day.
Reading
Many classes will be moving on to Unit 1 Week 4 focusing on Poetry. We will be reading a variety of poems and focusing on our weekly question of “How do different places make us feel?”
Our spelling week will be on consonant digraphs. /th/ and /ch/ are examples of consonant digraphs. Consonant digraphs are TWO letters that make ONE sound.
Math
Your class should now be in Topic 2 Working with Equal Groups. Please utilize the optional homework packet and CANVAS site for additional support at home. This is a quick unit so we will be testing soon!
Science
We will pause on our SAVVAS curriculum for a week to support students in their STEM fair by diving deep into the Scientific Method.
Social Studies
Health
Our health unit this month is all about “How you Think” students will dive deep into their brain and its functioning.
Third Grade
Grade Level Updates
Greetings amazing parents and students!
We have successfully made it through week 6. All parents should have received MAP scores for their students. Please plan to have the scores with you at the time of your scheduled conference. You should have also received information regarding parent-teacher conferences on Monday. Conferences will take place virtually. The Book Character Parade is scheduled for October 27, 2023. This month we will highlight characters and character traits to prepare for the parade. Students can dress as their favorite character in a book. Please be sure to send the book in with students on the day of the parade. Thank you for your support and partnership. We are looking forward to meeting with you on Monday to discuss your child’s continued success!
Reading
This week students finished the folktale Why the Sky is Far Away. Students participated in acting out short stories to identify the theme, or the lesson/moral of the story. Additionally, we have been covering similes, synonyms, antonyms, and subject/predicate agreements. Next week students will practice asking and answering questions as well as using graphic features to better understand the story. Also students will take the end of the week comprehension quiz for the story. Please allow students to listen to the read aloud of the story which was shared in Canvas. DIBELS testing will begin next week. Please be on the lookout for scores once testing is complete.
Math
Science
We have officially wrapped up Topic 1. We introduced topic 2 this week, introducing electricity and magnetism. Please be mindful that topic 2 is only 2 lessons long. So stay tuned for more information regarding the topic assessment.
STEM FAIR Corner: Friendly reminder: Scholars should be working on identifying a topic and question to investigate for the Stem Fair Project. The topic is due October 11, 2023, to your Science Teacher. Click here to access the STEM Packet. An electronic copy of the packet is available in Canvas for students to complete and submit. Let’s go CMIT Tigers, You’ve got this!
Social Studies
We have wrapped up our unit on Land and Water. Students will take a quiz to demonstrate their understanding of the material learned by the end of next week. Students will begin learning about Weather, Climate, and Forces of Nature.
Health
The theme for the month of October is All About the Eyes. Students will be learning about the parts of the eyes, how they work, and why they are important to us.
3rd grade Field Trip
We are going on our first field trip to COX Farm! Permission slips will be distributed on Tuesday. The date is November 7, 2023. Those who would like to chaperone, please be sure that you have completed all requirements of the PGCPS Volunteer Process. Students should plan to attend in uniform with a bagged lunch. Reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher if they will be purchasing a bagged lunch for that day.
Fourth Grade
Grade Level Updates
We have finished our super sixth week of school! The team is very proud of the efforts being shown by our scholars this year. We thank all those that were able to donate Scholastic funds to our classes and those that made purchases at the book fair.
Students received their MCAP results from last year’s testing during May of 2023. If you are new to this school, your scores were sent to the school of record at the time of testing. Those results will be sent to us from the previous school. This was this group's first time sitting for the MCAP. Please take the time to review the results and the information that was provided by the county and the state regarding this testing. We ask that you keep this copy because it is the only one that will be provided. Teachers are not able to reprint these documents as they are secure testing materials shared with us from the state. Please keep in mind that MCAP scores cannot be compared with any other tests. Also MCAP results are not just a set of “numbers” but a roadmap to opportunity.
Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday October 9, 2023. You will meet with both of your scholar teachers at the conference time. All conferences will be virtually and Zoom links will be provided before the conference time. Sign-Up Genius was shared on Classdojo for all families to sign up for a conference spot. Please click the link provided to you through Classdojo to join the conference at the scheduled time.
Each week we suggest checking your scholars browser history and YouTube history. This is to make sure that your scholar isn’t going to a site or watching videos that you would not approve. Teachers are limited to only seeing activity on your scholar’s screen when they are in class. We utilize a system called Hapara that allows us to prevent access to certain sites. We are asking that you check your scholar's computer history weekly.
Hispanic Heritage Month Countries
Crusoe- Guatemala
Felton- Panama
Holloway- Ecuador
Ramsey- Nicaragua
Anti Bullying School Spirit Week October 16- 19, 2023
Monday- Croc and Socks/ Students must be in full uniform
Tuesday- Represent your favorite superhero
Wednesday- Dress like a buddy
Thursday- Wear orange
If students are not participating in the spirit days they must be in full uniform.
Reading
This week: Students finished reading closely our second story of the year “Rare Treasure.” This biography gave us information about scientist and one of the first paleontologists Mary Anning. Students worked on determining the meaning of unknown words that appear in context. Students also had a chance to begin working with the figurative language of similes and metaphors. Finally students complete their first essay in which they wrote an opinion essay about traits to describe Mary Anning. The week was concluded with students completing a quiz that assessed their about the text of the week.
Next week: Students will have Writer’s Workshop. We will begin generating ideas for our personal narrative. A personal narrative is a story written by the author about the author. We will continue to focus our students on having a purpose for their writing and writing for their audience. Students will determine the topic for their personal narrative and begin planning their writing. We also will work with students on how to properly portray the characters that will be in their narrative.
Math
This week we completed sub-topic 1-5 Constructing an Argument, and began reviewing all of Topic 1, students also completed the Topic 1 Assessment. Next week we will begin exploring Topic 2: Fluently Add and Subtract Multi-Digit Whole Numbers.
Please check Schoolmax and Canvas with your scholar to ensure completion of assignments.
Science
This week students' learning was focused on the Scientific Method and how to correctly conduct an experiment and collect data. Next week will resume exploration of Lesson 2 Collision. All students were given a hard copy of the STEM FAIR Packet, a copy was also added to Canvas. . STEM FAIR Topic is Due Wednesday October 11, 2023. STEM FAIR Projects are due Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Social Studies
This week: Students reviewed Lesson 2 Climate and Weather of the United States and identified the different climates and weather that are in different regions of the United States. They also started reading Lesson 3 Regions and Resources.
Next week: Students will continue to read Lesson 3 Regions and Resources and analyze and classify natural resources, capital resources, and human resources. They will understand how each region has natural resources that are used to make products.
Fifth Grade
Grade Level Updates
Hi everyone!
We are moving right along in 5th grade! We have been moving along in our curriculum for each subject finishing up our first unit in each subject. Please check the assignment calendar on our Google site to see what upcoming assignments students may have. Students should click on their homeroom teacher’s name to see their assignments. Here is the link to the 5th-grade website for those who need it: https://sites.google.com/pgcps.org/5thgradeclasssite/home
Reminder that we are happy to have volunteers come in to assist us with different things throughout the year, so if you are interested, please make sure your volunteer requirements are completed.
We are now in October focusing on our character trait, kindness! We want to promote kindness in any way we can, whether the act is big or small!
We will be attending our wonderful book fair next week, so if students are buying things, please make sure they have their money!
Parent-teacher conferences are Monday, October 9, and they will be virtual. A signup sheet has gone out! It is first come, first serve for the time slots. Once they are filled, if you didn’t get a time slot but would still like a meeting, please contact your teacher to set up a conference on another day. We also have our field trip coming up on October 18, so please keep an eye out for more info on that! Chaperones, we will be messaging you with more info!
Reading
We are now in section 3 of unit 1 about historical fiction stories. Our story this week is called “Pedro’s Journal.” In this story students will read about Pedro’s journey to discover land on board the Santa Maria. Students received new spelling words as well focusing on vowel combination sounds.
Math
Students are in the third unit of Math which is about multiplying multi-digit whole numbers. Homework will be posted on the assignment calendar as we get started so keep an eye out!
Science
Students are in the first unit of Science, in lesson 3 which is about properties of matter. Homework will be posted on the assignment calendar as we get started so keep an eye out!
Social Studies
Health
Students are in the first unit of Health which is about first aid.
Hispanic Heritage Month Door decorating Contest
A HUGE THANK YOU to our parent volunteers, Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Pullum for decorating our doors for Hispanic Heritage Month! We appreciate it so much!!
CARTS
Updates from the Art Room!
This week our young artists finished their various artworks inspired by different cultures in Mexico and Panama! I am so proud of everyone’s hard work and appreciate 5th grade’s excitement with being the first 5th grade to do printmaking with me! Next week, I will add pictures of the bulletin board displays.
Lego:
Hello CMIT South Family,
This is a critical thinking week in Legos/Robotics. On critical thinking weeks the students are developing problem-solving skills. This is essential as it helps them become independent thinkers, critical thinkers, and effective decision-makers. These skills not only benefit them academically but also in their personal and social lives. During the critical thinking week, all of the legos are being cleaned and sanitized to ensure a safe germ free environment. The students all use hand sanitizer before using the legos.Maker's Lab
Hello All, This week in the maker's lab we watched Generation Genius, Introduction to Sound. We discovered that when things vibrate they make sound. That sound can also make things vibrate. And Vibrations are what let us hear each other speak. The students were engaged and had a good week.
Music
Greetings,
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are taking a look at Latin music and the instruments of the genre. We will be studying what makes that genre so unique and the rhythm pattern of this music. The students will have a chance to demonstrate their own interpretation of genre with the instruments provided in class.
FAQ
CHESAPEAKE MATH AND IT SOUTH ELEMENTARY
• Hours: 8:00 a.m to 2:25 p.m
• 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
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CMITs offer high tech, STEAM education to all our Prince George’s County students grades K-5!
In partnership with students, parents and the community, CMIT Elementary School will attain educational excellence by providing a rigorous and technology-integrated education for elementary school students with an emphasis on mathematics, science, and information technologies.