The Seahawks Call
December 18th through January 7th, 2024
Message from Principal Taylor..............................
Consequences for "Unexcused" Late Arrivals!
We have seen an increase in the number of students arriving late to school. Regular school attendance is essential to student success, and this includes being on time to learn. Not only does this cause your student to miss valuable instruction, but it also causes a disruption to the teacher and the classroom environment. Our school doors open at 7:15am and students are expected to be in their 1st period class by 7:30am. Allowing your student to ride the bus ensures that they arrive to school on time. If you choose to drive your student to school, please be mindful to allow enough time for them to go to their locker and get breakfast, if needed.
Teachers have been reminded to follow our normal procedures for unexcused tardies to class and this includes late arrivals (unexcused tardies) to 1st period. Once a student has 3 "unexcused" late arrivals and for every "unexcused" late arrival thereafter, a referral will be written. This will now alert the grade-level administrator to become involved and issue appropriate consequences (i.e. afterschool detention, Saturday School detention, etc.).
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this request.
Holiday Spirit Week!
Important Dates to Remember!
(Monday) - December 18th
- 8th grade Treble Choir carol @ ES from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm
- Administrator on duty for after school clubs/detention - Walker
- Educators Rising until 3 pm in T9
- Yearbook until 3:30 pm in rm 218
(Tuesday) - December 19th
- Mitchell's 5th gr. winter concert being held @ Somers from 5:30 pm - 8 pm
(Wednesday) - December 20th
- SCHS Performance for 8th gr. music from 9 am - 10:15 am
- Administrator on duty for after school clubs/detention - Taylor
- NJHS until 3:15 pm
- Sea Perch until 3:15 pm
- Girls' Volleyball practice from 2:15 pm - 3:30 pm
- VEX IQ until 3:30 pm
- VEX Robotics until 3:30 pm
(Thursday) - December 21st
- Grade Recovery for registered students from 2-5 pm
- Administrator on duty for after school clubs/detention - McAllister
- Math Counts until 3:30 pm in T9
- Boys Volleyball practice until 3:30 pm
(Friday) - December 22nd
- Teachers will be updating grades and LMS pages in Synergy
(Monday) - December 25th - January 1st
WINTER HOLIDAY BREAK (Schools closed for students)
(Wednesday) - January 3rd
- Administrator on duty for after school clubs/detention - Taylor
- Drama Club until 3:30 pm
- Girls' Volleyball practice until 3:30 pm
(Thursday) - January 4th
- Grade Recovery for registered students from 2-5 pm
- Administrator on duty for after school clubs/detention - McAllister
- GSA until 3:15 pm
- Math Counts until 3:30 pm in T9
- Boys' Volleyball practice until 3:30 pm
(Friday) - January 5th
- Teachers will be updating grades and LMS pages in Synergy
- Girls' Volleyball practice until 3:30 pm
What's all the Buzz About?
Congratulations to our 2023-2024 Milton Somers Spelling Bee Team:
WINNER: Evan An (winning word: simultaneously)
Aidan Cobos
Ryleigh Compton
Alternate: Jamahl Harper
DECEMBER SEAHAWK STARS!
This month's Seahawk Stars:
6th grade
Clarence Johnson
Allison Zimmerman
Liam Campbell
Tyler Rock
Kerrington Richmond
7th grade
Mallory Chewning
Jennifer Ipina-Guerra
Brennon Mooneyham
Dylan Lott
Evan An
8th grade
Zayda House
Rowan Jespersen
MJ Magauay
William Reckeweg
Justin Scott
From the Library's Circulation Desk.................................
From the Library: Students have been introduced to our new reading app, SORA. This app gives our students access to new ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines. Sora also has a free phone or tablet app that can be downloaded to make it convenient to use at home or while travelling. The app is available on both Apple and Android systems. So encourage your child to get cozy and read!
Tech Notes: Just a reminder that students are not issued laptop bags at school. Therefore, a new laptop bag or sleeve would make a great holiday gift. Plus it would help protect those laptops from expensive accidents.
Congratulations Ms. Buckmaster! Somers' SY23-24 School Nominee for Teacher-of-the-Year
Mrs. Buckmaster has taught sixth, seventh, and eighth graders with varying ability levels and positively impacted the lives of so many children over her twenty-four years of teaching experience. All of these years have solely been serving and supporting our Milton Somers students and staff.
A comprehensive nomination packet was submitted in hopes that she will be one of the finalists.
A word from your PTSO...........
Upcoming PTSO meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 19th @ 6:30 pm
Hello and Happy Holidays from the Milton Somers PTSO!
Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the next PTSO meeting on Tuesday, December 19th, 2023. The meeting starts at 6:30pm in the cafeteria. Our guest speakers are from CCPS/CCBOE Youth Mental Health First Aid program. They will be offering information and helpful tips to assist our students and families towards developing and maintaining positive mental health. We look forward to seeing everyone! There will also be a door prize drawing for this meeting, so be sure to get your ticket when you arrive!
PTSO membership – A family membership is $10. The membership fees help to fund some of the activities that are planned for this school year as well as helps to limit the need for multiple PTSO fundraisers. Please see the attached membership form and we thank you for supporting Milton Somers PTSO!
Milton Somers PTSO - Working together to form great partnerships with our Home-School Community!
SCHOOL SUPPORTS
Sandra Taylor - School Principal - staylor@ccboe.com
Chris McAllister- 6th Grade & 7th Grade (with last names A-L) acting AP - cmcallister@ccboe.com
Marlon Walker - 7th Grade (with last names M-Z) & 8th Grade AP - mwalker@ccboe.com
COUNSELING SUPPORTS
John Craddock- 6th Grade with last names A-L and 7th Grade Counselor - jcraddock@ccboe.com
Megan Chappelle - 6th Grade with last names M-A and 8th Grade Counselor - mchappelle@ccboe.com
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM
Jody Bell - Reading Resource Teacher (Reading) - jbell@ccboe.com
Jennifer Branham - Instructional Resource Teacher (Math) - jbranham@ccboe.com
PTSO Officers
President - Jessica Anderson
Vice President - Kenneth Britt
Secretary - Eileen Lynch
Treasurer - Shellee Stine
Email: miltonsomersptso@gmail.com
Email: somersms@ccboe.com
Website: https://www.ccboe.com/schools/somers/
Location: 300 Willow Lane, La Plata, MD 20646
Phone: 301-934-4663
Twitter: @miltonsomersms