As we enter the final full week before Thanksgiving break, it is important to show gratitude to all of our families whose quick conversations, car pooling abilities, countless nights of helping with homework and provision of words of encouragement help our CMS Hilltoppers flourish! Your care and love for your student is appreciated by our staff this time of year (and all of the days ahead)!

Take a look below for many upcoming events including our annual food drive sponsored by Builders Club, led by Mrs. Weaver, Topper Shop Pop Up at an upcoming Boys Basketball game, and a Yearbook video by the talented Mrs. Ceraolo.

I'd like to conclude by acknowledging a pair of 7th grade teachers for their outstanding representation of Charon Middle School at the recent Ohio Middle Level Association Annual Conference - Mrs. Culliton and Mrs. Chastain. Their two sessions on differentiation of instruction for their students had over 150 participants. That says a lot about the efficacy of their teaching practices and how lucky we are to have them as staff members. Congrats to both of these seventh grade team members!

There is also still time to access the Parent-Teacher Conferences Survey below - thank you for filling this out to give us feedback.

Finish raking those leaves,

Craig Caroff

Recent Grade Level Counseling Lessons

4th - Learning About Our Brains, Emotional Regulation, and Mindfulness

5th - Respect

6th - Career Exploration in Naviance (based on personality types and interests)

7th - Kindness and Bullying Prevention

Ask your students about what they've learned this month with Mrs. Stuart and Mrs. Collins!

Interested in learning about the difference between shame and guilt when it comes to children? Check out the link below! It talks about identifying shame in children, shame vs. guilt, and explains reasons for many undesirable behaviors we may see in our children. It's a quick 20 minute listen :)

Builders Club is holding a food drive next week, November 18th-26th for The Geauga Hunger Task Force. Non perishable food items such as canned vegetables and boxes of pasta will be collected in Homerooms. The class from each grade that collects the most food will earn free time during Flex. If you have any questions please contact Amanda Weaver (amanda.weaver@chardonschools.org)

CMS Topper Families,

STUDENT and STAFF safety is a top priority for our team at CMS. The past week saw a number of cars come close to hitting staff and students due to a number of families not following our arrival and dismissal procedures. Please adhere to the following expectations for everyone's safety. We truly appreciate it.

• Please enter the arrival and pick up lines. Parking in the spots across from Door 14 (flagpole door) is not permitted as do not want students running in front of cars to get to their ride.
• Crossing North Street in front of the main entrance unsupervised is not permitted as there is a high volume of traffic in the morning for student arrival and in the afternoon for dismissal.
• Please look for staff directing traffic especially near the main entrances off of North Street. If you are trying to pull in to the entrance that travels to the stadium and it is full (during dismissal) please continue on to the next entrance so we are not backed up in front of St. Mary's and on North Street.

Thank you again - when we all follow the expectations, we have a speedy and safe arrival and dismissal.

It’s time to order a CMS YEARBOOK! CMS yearbooks are on sale through December 20th via Infinite Campus for an optional fee. We do not order extra yearbooks, so all sales must be completed before winter break.

To order a yearbook, log in to Infinite Campus. On the left-hand side of the screen click “fees.” Then click on the “manage accounts” folder (tab next to the shopping cart). From there click “optional payments.” Add “CMS Yearbook” to your cart and pay the $25 fee. Please contact the main office with questions on this ordering process!

Exciting news! CMS will be participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this year!

Each student at CMS will be taking a spelling bee assessment in their ELA classes on December 2. Once all tests have been graded, the top spellers from each class will be invited to take part in a live, class-style, school-wide spelling bee December 18th in the LGIR! Parents, caregivers and siblings will be welcome to come watch their Bee participant in action.

Our TOP speller in the building will then advance to the Geauga County Bee on February 6th!

Next rounds include the Tri-County Bee (Geauga, Ashtabula, Lake Counties) - February 18 - and the 2025 National competition in May, held in Washington D.C.

Topper up! Help your child prepare by downloading the Scripps “Word Club” app for studying. This app includes all the possible 450 words selected for this year's Spelling Bee competition!

https://spellingbee.com/word-club

During the first week of school, all families received personalized QR codes to join PBIS rewards to see your student's information as it relates to positive behavior choices in the building. If you have not joined yet, please consider doing so by scanning the code you received and signing up to receive notifications.

If you need another QR code, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or Ms. Paroubek to access another copy.

Thanks for partnering with us on this new system!

Did you capture a great action photo of your child participating in CMS Basketball, Wrestling, or Cheer this season? Would you like that photograph in the yearbook? If yes, submit that photo to the yearbook staff for review. You might see it in the yearbook this spring!

Use this link with the password: CMS24pics!

Wondering what is for breakfast or lunch? Use this link to access the menu each day!

https://www.myschoolmenus.com/organizations/2280

*All meetings are at 4:30 p.m. in the CMS Library/Media Center on the first Wednesday of each month.

September 4

October 2

November 6

December 4

January 8

February 5

March 5

April 2

May 7

Use the screenshots above and these directions below to access the Donation Fund. We appreciate you!

In the Parent Portal, select Fees > Filter by School Year 2024-2025 > Optional Payments > FIELD TRIP DONATION > Add to Cart > select 'My Cart' > Manually add donation under AMOUNT > Complete payment process

Have you done your annual OLR update yet for your student/s?

Not yet? Visit this link for instructions: https://www.chardon.k12.oh.us/InfiniteCampus.aspx

Scroll down the page and look for the first red link that says INSTRUCTIONS.

THANK YOU for updating this information for us!

Chardon Middle School

Asst. Principal: Ms. Tracy Paroubek: tracy.paroubek@chardonschools.org

Website: www.chardonschools.org

Address: 424 North Street Chardon, OH 44024
Phone: (440) 285-4062