CMIT South MS/HS Newsletter

Happy Friday CMIT South Families!

I hope this message finds you well. As we approach the end of the first academic quarter, I want to take a moment to reflect on our collective achievements and offer some important updates.

First and foremost, I want to express my appreciation for the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers, and staff. This quarter has been a time of growth, learning, and resilience. Your commitment to education and our school's values is truly commendable.

As we head into the next quarter, I encourage students to continue striving for excellence in their studies and to make the most of the opportunities for personal and academic growth. Remember that your teachers and counselors are here to support you, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need assistance.

Parents and guardians, your ongoing support and involvement in your child's education are invaluable. Thank you for entrusting us with their learning journey. Special “Shout Out” to our PTO and parent volunteers who attended the Middle School dance last night. The students had an amazing time, and the adults went home exhausted!!! All signs of a successful Fall Incentive Dance.

Looking ahead, we have several exciting events and initiatives planned for the upcoming quarter, and we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our school community. Please begin your volunteer application process so we can count on you for upcoming events such as our Senior Pinning Ceremony, Honor Roll Breakfast, Homecoming Week, and much more!

Please consider purchasing some of our new CMIT SWAG Sweatshirts. Click HERE to access the link to pre-order. The sale ends next week!

In closing, I want to wish everyone a restful and rejuvenating weekend as we transition into the new quarter. Let's move forward with enthusiasm and a shared commitment to excellence.

Thank you for being a part of our CMIT South family. Together, we will continue to achieve great things.

Educationally yours,

Dr. Borden-McCarter, Principal

CMIT Family,

Open house dates for interested lottery applicants:

• In-person:
• November 11, 2023
• Virtual:
• December 13, 2023
• January 11, 2024

Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Location: CMIT Middle/High School Auditorium

Open to All Grades

Dear CMIT Students,

Get ready to shine and let your talent take center stage! We are excited to announce the CMIT Middle/High School Talent Showcase Audition, coming your way on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. Whether you're part of a group or an individual, this is your chance to showcase your unique skills and leave your mark on the CMIT stage.

Audition Details:

Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Time: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Location: CMIT Middle/High School Auditorium

Who Can Audition?

We welcome all students from every grade to audition, whether you're a solo performer or part of a group act. Singers, dancers, actors, musicians, comedians, and performers of all talents are encouraged to participate.

How to Audition:

Sign up for an audition time slot by Wednesday, November 1st. Audition slots are limited, so be sure to sign up as soon as possible! Use this Sign-Up Genius Link to choose a time.

Prepare your act - it can be a song, dance, instrumental performance, a skit, or any unique talent you possess. Showcase your skills during your audition on November 8th you will have 5 MINUTES to audition.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Ms. Eades in Room 132

Let's make the CMIT Middle/High School Talent Showcase a night to remember! See you on November 8, 2023.

Greetings Parents, Guardians, & Scholars,

I’m so excited to announce the start of our 2024 STEM/Maker's Faire process. Scholars will need to decide which process they want to follow. The end result of these processes looks different. I advise you to work together to choose the best fit for your interests and budget. Please note that although your child's teacher will be doing check-ins, the majority of the work is expected to be done at home.

If your scholar chooses to follow the STEM Process they will use the scientific method to guide them through an experiment. Their experiment will have them identify a question to ask, do background research, construct a hypothesis, test the hypothesis by doing the experiment, analyze the data, draw a conclusion, and report the results.

The Maker’s Faire process guides scholars through the engineering design process (or engineering method). This process offers similar steps for students working on engineering projects and inventions. Engineering design projects don't have a hypothesis to test. Instead, they have a challenge or problem that needs to be solved and, often, a set of design constraints that need to be considered when brainstorming and prototyping solutions. At the end of this process, your scholar would’ve built a working prototype of their idea.

With everything going on in the world I want all our scholars to take this time to be inspired to investigate their wonders, build new ideas, and experiment with their curiosity. Grades 6-12th will be required to participate. Review the timeline and mark your calendars. To make sure you receive feedback promptly, late work will not be accepted, please strive to meet all submission deadlines. Your scholar's science teacher will review all requirements and rubrics and post additional information on their canvas pages.

All dates may be subject to change, the most up-to-date changes will be posted on the newsletter and on Canvas. I look forward to seeing everyone's hard work at the 2024 STEM/Maker's Faire!

Warm Regards,

Miss Hamilton

Science Department Chair

Happy November!

As we shift into this new month of November, here are some important awareness topics to focus on this month that families and students should continue discussing and implementing and taking supportive action with:

Upcoming NOVEMBER Awareness Month Topics and Events:

• National Homeless Youth Awareness Month
• National Runaway Prevention Month
• Native American Heritage Month
• Nov 7-11 Solidarity Week
• Nov 11 Veterans Day
• Nov 13-21 National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
• Nov 13 World Kindness Day
• Nov 13-19 Transgender Awareness Week
• Nov 16 International Day for Tolerance
• Nov 16 Children’s Grief Awareness Day
• Nov 16 National Parental Involvement Day
• Nov 18 International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
• Nov 20 Transgender Day of Remembrance
• Nov 24 Native American Heritage Day
• Nov 24 Random Acts of Kindness Friday

FAMILY/COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT: PG County Council Presents: The Mental Health Town Hall

• When: Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023
• Time: 6pm-8pm
• Where: Wayne K. Curry Administration Building
• Sign-Up To Speak: https://pgccouncil.us/speak

🆘 If you need immediate help due to suicidal thoughts or other serious emotional challenges, please contact:

• Prince George's County Crisis Services (Mobile Crisis Team): 301-429-2185
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• Maryland 211: Call 2-1-1 or Text your zip code to 898-211
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
• Child Protective Services: 301-909-2450

Sincerely,

Ms.Tutt, Wellness and Mental Health Counselor

Hazel Health is here to support your family. See the Prince George’s County Schools information and consent page at my.hazel.co/pgcps to sign up.

Having fun and doing work on Saturdays...

Hello CMIT South MS/HS Families,

As we begin the new school year, we want to ensure that all parents and students know the CMIT South attendance policies. At CMIT South we follow the PGCPS attendance policy AP 5113. Below are some quick bullet points of the attendance policies:

• CMIT South will use the Google form 2023-2024 Absence Reason Notification Form CMIT South Middle/High School for all student's absences. This form will be the official means of parent/guardian notifications for student absences. Parents can also email attendance@cmitsouth.org when their student will be absent.
• CMIT South does not take paper excused/doctor notes. When a student is absent please fill out the Google form 2023-2024 Absence Reason Notification Form CMIT South Middle/High School. This form will be sent straight to the attendance manager.
• Parents are the only ones who can fill out the form and email the attendance manager about a student who is absent. A student cannot send the email or fill out the Google form, the absence will not be excused if a student does it.
• The Google form must be filled out within 3 days of the student’s absence, otherwise, the absence will not be excused. This can be emailed as well.
• Students who are considered unlawfully (unexcused) absent from school or a class will not have the opportunity to make up missed assignments.
• A doctor’s note is needed if a student is reported absent for three school days for an illness and a physician’s certificate will be required if a student's absences reach six days. Please send the physician’s certificate to the school's attendance manager at attendance@cmitsouth.org.
• Mental Health Day. 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. A note from a physician to excuse a student’s absence for mental health needs is not required.

Here is the link to the 2023-2024 Absence Reason Notification Form CMIT South Middle/High School Form: https://forms.gle/QCb1Xu2ytD9vUToW6

Once again these are just some of the new updates that PGCPS has put in the attendance policy AP 5113. We encourage all parents to read the full updated attendance policy here: https://www.pgcps.org/globalassets/offices/general-counsel/docs---general-counsel/administrative-procedures/5000/administrative-procedure-5113---student-attendance-absence-and-truancy.pdf

For all attendance-related information or questions, please direct it to attendance@cmitsouth.org.

Thank you.

As a reminder to all parents whose child is not up to date with their immunizations. Students will be excluded from school starting 09/18/2023. An execution letter was mailed to all students that are Non-Compliant. A free immunization clinic is available. Please check the PGCPS website.

The Week Ahead

• Our Varsity volleyball team will begin their playoff tournament next week. Our first game will be the regional semi-final. The game is at home vs. Surrattsville HS! Please come support our team as they look to win our school's first ever volleyball regional championship!!!
• For regional playoff games the ticket purchasing instructions are a little different. Tickets will not be sold on our normal CMIT South page, but on the PGCPS ticketspicket page. The link is below.

Upcoming:

• High School Basketball Tryouts will begin the week of November 13th.
• Indoor Track season is coming. All students who are interested please make sure you contact Mr. Cooke. His email address is tcooke@cmitsouth.org
• All HS students interested in participating in athletics must register on Aktivate. The Link will be at the bottom of the page.
• All students must have a physical completed within the last calendar year in order to be on an athletic team
• PLEASE REGISTER ON AKTIVATE or you will not be allowed to tryout!

Both JV and Varsity beat Potomac in the last game of the regular season. JV finished the year 8-5 and made great improvements throughout the year. We are very proud of all your success this season JV!

Varsity continues their season in the state tournament, beginning Monday against Surrattsville at CMIT South at 5:30pm. If the team wins that game, they will play in the Regional Championship game against the winner of Friendly vs. Largo. The game would again be here at CMIT South at 5:30pm. If they win Wednesday, they will continue on to the State Quarterfinals on Friday. We hope to see you in the stands cheering us on!

Thank you again for your continued support of the team!

Coach Sears & Coach K

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UPCOMING GAMES: (Games start @ 5:30 pm - games are played only if the team wins the previous game)

• Regional Semifinal Game: Monday, November 6th HOME vs. SURRATTSVILLE
• Regional Final Game: Wednesday, November 8th HOME vs. FRIENDLY/LARGO winner
• State Quarterfinal Game: Friday, November 10th TBD

GAME RESULTS:

If you are looking for some volleyball options for your student, please check out the links, flyers, and posts below for clubs in the area. Club volleyball is the best way for players to improve their skills and learn the game of volleyball.

Middle school students should strongly consider playing if they hope to play once they get to high school. High school players should consider playing to strengthen and improve their skills before next season. Also, anyone hoping to play in college should play club, as most college coaches recruit during the club season.

Club tryouts are happening at the start of November for most clubs, and many clubs have teams for both girls and boys. If you aren't ready or can't commit to club volleyball just yet, please still take note of the websites, as some clubs offer clinics throughout the year that could be beneficial for players as well.

The Chesapeake Region Volleyball Association (CHRVA) has compiled a spreadsheet of clubs in our region. The sheet includes each club's updated tryout dates, website, and contact information should you have any questions. Click the link below to access the information.

Coach Sears

AR Stars Volleyball Club Team Tryouts for 2023-24 season are coming soon!!

All ages will try out the weekend of November 3rd-5th.

Check out the link above or flyer below for more information.

The Potomac Valley Premier League is an AAU-sanctioned league created to provide a cost-effective option for club volleyball. The PVPL will allow athletes who desire to compete to have an opportunity to participate in competitions among local/regional teams. The league concludes with a Grand Prix to allow teams an opportunity to win a bid to AAU Nationals.

The schedule consists of 6 to 8 dates and is divided up into 8 teams in the following age groups:

• Ages 11-13 (Middle School)
• Ages 14/15
• Ages 15/16
• Ages 17/18

The Potomac Valley Region seeks volleyball teams, clubs, and/or individual players to participate in the PK Martin Sports Festival. Individual players will be placed on a team by age and position. This event is a Super Regional in which participating teams can win a full or partial bid to the AAU National Championship.

Age groups are as follows:

• 14U
• 15/16U
• 17/18U

Team entry fee is $375 Max 12 player/roster - Team Registration link

Free Agent Player fee is $75 - Register here

Seniors!!!

The following link is a list of scholarships with deadlines in early October! For any questions or concerns, please reach out to the contact information provided on the scholarship's page.

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarships.php

Good Day Parents, Juniors, and Seniors!

Please see the attached flyer for a FREE HBCU College Fair hosted by Mount Calvary Baptist Church. For any questions or concerns, please reach out to the contact information provided on the flyer.

The 2023 Baltimore Washington Invitational Men's Gymnastics Meet needs volunteers to help make the event a success!

Dates:

• 12/8, 7pm to 10pm
• 12/9, 8am to 10pm
• 12/10, 8am to 8pm

Preference will be given to students that can commit to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

There are a limited number of volunteer spots!!

Sign up by clicking the button below.

Greetings CMIT South Class of 2024!

Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation has taken a proactive position in identifying early interest and recruiting educators for each of their seven schools located in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties. To that end, they are elated to share The CLF TEACH Service Grant Application for eligible 2024 graduating seniors, or CLF alumni.

Once the grant applications have been received, the Application Review Committee will select recipients for the one-time $10,000 grant. Recipients will agree to serve in a teaching capacity at any of our Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation Schools for one year to repay the $10,000 grant (1:1). If a grant recipient does not teach at one of our seven schools immediately upon graduation from the college or university, the grant will become a loan, repayable with interest.

If you are interested, the deadline for submitting applications is December 15, 2023.

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a school-based organization made up of parents, guardians, teachers, staff and administrators who work together to supplement and enrich the educational experience at CMIT Academy South Middle and High schools. Please consider joining our PTO and getting involved with school activities.

Do you own a business? Are you interested in vending for or supporting upcoming CMIT MS/HS events?

If you answered yes, click the link below to access the form. On the home page of our website, scroll down slightly, fill out the form and someone will get back with you.

As a follow up to many parent concerns, we are creating a Traffic Safety Committee to address your concerns to Prince George's County. Please click the link below to share your concerns and sign up for the Committee.

This committee will be led by parent, Mrs. Candice Perkins, who worked extensively while at the Elementary school and was very instrumental in their traffic safety project currently in review with Prince George's County Safety Division. Let's offer more voices to the overall effort and make our scholars' safety a priority!

Should you have any questions, please respond directly to the PTO at pto pto@cmitsouth.org and Mrs. Perkins at cperk421@gmail.com. Thank you.

Great news! The deadline to purchase a pizza gift card has been extended to November 15. The deal gets you one pizza free when you purchase one at regular price. The gift card is $15 and good for multiple uses over the course of a year. We have a few cards left. Hurry and get yours today!

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