CMS September Newsletter

Easily pay School Fees online! Create your free MySchoolBucks account to conveniently and securely pay for your student’s school fees online or with the mobile app. With MySchoolBucks you’ll be notified when fees are due, and make payments from anywhere!

Get Started Today:

1. Go to myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app

2. Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID

3. Add school items or invoices to your cart

4. Check out using your credit / debit card or electronic check

If you need assistance with your account, you can find helpful how-to videos and answers to commonly asked questions by visiting myschoolbucks.com. Or, you can contact MySchoolBucks directly by logging into your account to start a chat conversation or give them a call at (855) 832-5226.

Regular attendance, punctuality, and success in school are closely related. The primary responsibility of good attendance at the middle level rests with students and their parents/guardians. Patterns of good attendance are usually established early in the school year. It is necessary for a parent/guardian to notify the school the day of the student’s absence. If no phone is available, a note may be sent with the student on his/her return to school. Parents will be contacted in the evening by an automated dialing system when their student has an unexcused absence or tardy. In order for an absence to be excused, the parent/guardian must notify the office each day of absence or have the student bring a note to the office excusing him/her upon returning to school. When a student’s illness extends beyond three (3) consecutive school days, a physician’s statement verifying the necessity of the absence is required, giving permission to return to classes, and/or requesting restricted activity. When a student has accumulated 2 unexcused absences, a pre-truancy advisory letter will be sent. When a student accumulates 10 or more absences a doctor or a medical professional’s note will be required to excuse further absences. If no note is provided, the absence is considered unexcused. Truancy status may result in a loss of transfer status if a student is attending Chase on a transfer.

Chase Middle School complies with all State of Kansas truancy laws. All cases of truancy will be reported to the School District’s Truancy Officer. When a student accumulates three (3) consecutive unexcused absences, five (5) cumulative unexcused absences in a semester, or seven (7) cumulative unexcused absences in a school year, the principal may file a Truancy Report verifying the dates and extent of such absences with the Truancy Officer for USD 501. The report will then be forwarded to Court Services for processing. Any student who leaves school for any reason during school hours must have parent/guardian’s permission and must sign out in the office before leaving the building. Upon returning to school, a student must check in at the office for a pass to class. If this should involve a doctor’s appointment, etc., please have your parent call or send a note stating where you are going and what time you should be excused. Your parent could also come to the office in person. A student will not be allowed to leave school without prior notification from parent/guardian.

Each student has a Chromebook and charger checked out to them from the library.
Each student is responsible for taking their Chromebook home and charging each night and bringing it to school fully charged each day. (Alternative: Charger stays in the library and Chromebook is plugged in there each night.)
Each student is responsible for the care of the Chromebook checked out to them. Any loss or damage may be billed to the student and family.
Students should use only their school-issued Chromebook and charger and not share with one another, nor should non-school devices be used on the school campus.
Students are responsible for being good digital citizens as taught in classes.
Students are responsible for using their school accounts and devices in a manner appropriate for school and in a manner that supports learning.
Chromebooks are essential to 21st century education, and must be ready to use when needed at school, and must be used for educational purposes.

Beanstack is a reading tracker to encourage students to read. Musicians get better at their instrument through practice. Athletes get better at their game through practice. Guess how readers can get better?? READING!

Students can log in to Beanstack on their Chromebook or other device with internet access; you can even download the app to a tablet, phone, or other mobile device! Students are encouraged to log every time they read, so the easier the better!

Beanstack creates a reading log showing which days students have read, how long their reading sessions average, reading streaks, reading lists, and they can even check the leaderboards to see how they are doing compared to friends they choose to share with.

Students who complete challenges can also win prizes! Reading 600 minutes before October 11 will earn any student completing the challenge a party break in the library. Stay tuned for future challenges!

For more information, contact Ms. Schwanke in the Chase Library at cschwanke@tps501.org.

Regardless of their life circumstances, AVID students overcome obstacles and achieve success. They graduate and attend college at higher rates, but more importantly, they can think critically, collaborate, and set high expectations to confidently conquer the challenges that await them.

In 47 states across the U.S., K–16 educators are driving student success through engaging, rigorous, and student-centered learning environments.

From Jessica

In 6th grade I had decided that I would join AVID because of the benefits that came along with it. I hope it would help me become better at certain stills like notetaking, planning, and completing my work.

AVID has helped me with a lot of things, like organization. Before, I wasn’t a very organized person; I would constantly lose my papers and forget important things. After investing in AVID I became really good at organizing important things and keeping my things in a specific order that suit my learning style best. Another way AVID helped me was with completing my work on time. It’s not like I was terrible before, but I certainly wasn’t great, and I always procrastinated instead of planning ahead. Now I focus on setting certain deadlines for specific assignments based on their importance and due date. There are other things AVID helped me with, but these are a couple that it really helped me with!

I plan on going to AVID in 8th grade and in high school. I’m especially focused on going to college, where I plan to use the skills I learned in AVID and implement them to help me become a better student.

Hear from Ra’Mira

Ever since I joined AVID it has helped me a lot! At first I thought it wouldn’t be that helpful and it was just like any other class because we had to do presentations and notes every week plus binder checks. I realized later on that all of that stuff was to help us with organization, speech, and just mainly school! In AVID I’ve learned much more about teamwork and lots of organization. For a long time my biggest goal has always been to go to college and become a lawyer, but to do that you have to be able to manage time and be organized, and AVID has helped me out. Also, when we did presentations it helped me so much because I have always been kind of shy and I hated to speak in front of a class or anyone who wasn’t family. Doing those presentations helped me become more confident and comfortable speaking in front of an audience. AVID is very important and even though it may seem a little annoying or boring in the beginning, it is a very helpful and valuable class to be a part of.

Message from Mya

I joined AVID so that it can help me in the future, give me better chances, and help me succeed. AVID has helped me be more confident when talking in front of people, helped me prepare for the future, and helped me to become more organized. It has also helped me improve my writing skills like taking notes and asking questions. It has also taught me that success only comes to people who actually try. I am very glad I made myself join AVID last year. It has really changed my thoughts on the future because I know I will put in the effort to make my future better when I start high school and college.

"Down low" from Dulce

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. To me, AVID gives you direction in your academic life and even your everyday life. I joined AVID because I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future; I didn’t know what college I wanted to go to or what I’d do once I got there. AVID provided direction for me. It helped me answer a lot of questions I had and helped both me and my peers develop skills we would need in our everyday lives. AVID prepared me for my future.

Greetings from Gretel

When I first heard about AVID, I had no idea what an AVID student is or what AVID does for students. As a sixth grade with no idea what I wanted to become in the future, I decided to join as I heard about all the amazing things AVID did for students as they have gotten scholarships to colleges they wanted, and I heard that AVID aims to help people reach their goals even when something is holding them back. What I never heard was how hard it was, or about the challenges people faced to reach their goals.

Now as an eighth grader, I have embraced challenges and learned what AVID means. We as AVID students are hard workers, and a hard worker can mean a lot of things. We prepare ourselves for the future, we get out of our comfort zone, we learn new habits, and we are AVID students.

I recommend becoming an AVID student no matter who you are and where you are. There are hard times, but it was one of my best decisions. I am not hard-working, prepared, ready, responsible, self-aware, organized, and determined. What AVID means to me is: don’t just dream about your goals, reach for them.

Gibbs is a 2 year old Goldendoodle who has been a facility dog at Chase for the past year. Gibbs works alongside Mrs. Stallbaumer, in the front office with greeting students, playing with them, and helping them during visits. Students love saying “hi” to Gibbs throughout the day and petting him as he does his rounds. Gibbs enjoys playing fetch, going for walks with students, and giving them high fives. When Gibbs has free time he loves taking naps, eating treats, and playing with his sister, Abby.

The CMS PTO is looking for your support! Don't forget to adopt your duck in support of our PTO and Sertoma Clubs of Topeka.

WHAT: The 29th Annual Sertoma Great Topeka Duck Race. A minimum of 10,000 rubber duckies will virtually swim, splash and bob their way to the finish line. Amazing prizes will be given to the lucky duck winners which will be randomly selected by our “E-Quack” computer database at 10:00 on September 14th.

Winners will be called. Ducks can be adopted for a $5.00 donation each. A number will be assigned to each duck. Winners will be selected by our E-Quack computer database. Every duck is given an equal chance to win. Adopt your ducks online with a credit card. Adopt on your own, or join or form a team!

WHEN: Saturday, September 14, 2024

WHY: To benefit the programs of the Sertoma Clubs of Topeka and their sponsorship beneficiaries which have included Capper Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, The Villages, The Marian Clinic, Meals on Wheels, Head Start Programs, LULAC and East Topeka Sr. Center, Safe Streets, KVC, LifeHouse Child Advocacy Center, Ronald McDonald House, TARC, Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters of Topeka Serving Shawnee County, Boys & Girls Clubs, Sole Reason, Sheep Dog Impact Assistance, hearing health missions, and many other worthy causes.

Make sure you are following city traffic laws by following the guidance link below. Red lines indicate locations you should not park at any time. Do Not block driveways or mailboxes within the community. Failing to obey the policies described below can earn you a traffic ticket from the police department. If you have any questions, please contact Officer Hamilton at 785-295-3848.

The Topeka Public Schools, Unified School District No. 501 is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity. No person shall, on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, disability, national origin or ancestry be denied lawful access to any appropriate educational service, program or activity provided by the school district. The Title IX compliance coordinator is the executive director of administration. The Section 504 compliance coordinator is the general director of special services. For employment, the EEO/AA officer is the general director of human resources. All compliance coordinators may be contacted at 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, KS 66611-1294, (785) 295-3000. The clerk of the Board of Education has been designated to receive and redirect or handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies, regulations and procedures. The clerk may be contacted by calling (785) 295-3045 or by writing to 624 SW 24th Street, Topeka, Kansas 66611-1294.