CJMS Weekly Updates

Good Evening, Cabin John Middle School Families!

This is your Principal, Ms. Snider, with the Sunday announcements for the week of January 20 to January 24. Remember, there is no school tomorrow, on January 20th, for Martin Luther King, Jr. day.

A quick reminder to everyone to complete their registration for next year. By this point, counselors have visited the 6th and 7th grade classes and most students filled out the google form registration for electives at that time. Students do have the ability to revise their selections until tomorrow, January 20th. All of the registration information can be found on our website, including the course bulletin. The courses students have selected for next year, along with their required courses, will be available to view in ParentVue in mid-February. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's counselor.

Another reminder we will be transitioning to ParentSquare at the end of this month. You should have already be receiving messages from MCPS on ParentSquare. Some people have asked if they need to sign up for ParentSquare, you should not have to do anything during this transition to keep receiving messages. The information is pulled from what we already have in our student databases. We hope this transition will make accessing our messages more convenient across computers and other digital devices. All of our communications, and the most up to date information, will also be shared on the Cabin John website.

Remember to check out additional events and information in the digital version of our newsletter! We look forward to welcoming every back on Tuesday into our Cabin John community focused on respect, positive relationships, and resilience.

Have a great evening!

Ms. Somer Snider
Principal, CJMS

The safety of our MCPS community is critical, and being able to communicate with students, staff, and families during severe weather or other emergencies is of the utmost importance.

Use this link to find all the ways you can connect with MCPS to receive emergency operational information from the school system. The current operating status options for the school district appear on the MCPS website and on individual school websites.

In the event of a change in operational status, this link will provide more information about the MCPS Operating Status options.

Our digital newsletter can be translated into many different languages and the font can be adjusted so our entire community has access to what is happening in the CJMS community!

To adjust your view of the newsletter, click on the "accessibility" button. The button is a circle with figure in it. Once you click the accessibility button, the menu to choose the language or different font size will appear.

• Monday, January 20 - No School for Students and Staff
• Tuesday, January 28 - Last Day of Marking Period 2
• Wednesday, January 29 - No School for Students/Grading Day for Staff
• Thursday, January 30 - 7th Grade Principal's Tea @7pm in the Cafeteria
• Monday, February 3 - Wednesday, February 5 - Outdoor Education, Session #1
• Wednesday, February 5 - Friday, February 7 - Outdoor Education, Session #2
• Monday, February 10 - Wednesday, February 12 - Outdoor Education, Session #3
• Monday, February 17 - No School, President's Day
• Thursday, February 20 - Chinese Classes Cultural Field Trip
• Friday, February 28 - Early Release Day

Please take time to review what students are currently learning in their classes this week at Cabin John Middle School in our weekly assignment summary.

Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation

of the

Auschwitz Concentration and Extermination Camp

Thursday, January 30th

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Black Communities in Montgomery County Post Civil War to Today

Featuring Celeste Winston, Author of How to Lose the Hounds: Maroon Geographies and a World Beyond Policing

Thursday, February 6th

6:00 pm -7:30 pm

As we begin the second half of the school year, we want to remind students and their families of the many resources available to support everyone. These resources also reflect our shared commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and inclusive school community.

Civic Engagement and Civil Discourse
MCPS is committed to fostering civic engagement and civil discourse among our students. These are essential skills and strategies that empower young people to navigate a diverse world with respect and confidence.

• The MCPS Civic Engagement and Civil Discourse Google Site provides centralized resources for staff and is easily accessible via the MCPS Resources tab in Google Chrome. The website provides resources to support creating an environment where students can participate productively, engage safely, and experience uniform rule application across the district.
• Strategies concerning political engagement, including guidelines for students.

Supporting Our Diverse Community
Our diversity is a huge strength for us, and it’s our duty to ensure every individual feels valued and supported. Please keep the following resources in mind:

• Immigration Resources for students and families
• MCPS Immigration webpage with more resources

Addressing Hate-Bias and Antiracism
MCPS tiered protocols are critical for addressing hate and bias incidents, ensuring we respond thoughtfully and effectively when these situations arise.

Procedures for reporting and responding to hate-bias incidents.

Sally McCarthy, Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA) Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Chair, will be our guest at the next Wootton PTSA meeting on Tuesday, January 21 from 7-9pm in the Wootton Media Center. Sally will share information about the upcoming Crown High School boundary study that is due to start later this month, that will include Cabin John, Frost and Wootton.

The Wootton PTSA is extending the invitation to all Wootton cluster families to attend and learn the details about the boundary study and have an opportunity to ask questions. The goal for the meeting is to help parents understand the boundary study timeline, how Wootton fits into the Crown boundary study, who will be making up the steering committee, how the Wootton cluster community can provide feedback, and MCCPTA's advocacy role.

In addition to the Crown High School boundary study involving 11 high school clusters, there will also be a Woodward High School boundary study involving another eight high school clusters. Both boundary studies are due to be completed by January 2026. Here is the memo from the interim superintendent to the Board regarding the Crown High School boundary study: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://gis.mcpsmd.org/boundarystudypdfs/CrownDamascusHS_BoundaryStudyScope.pdf.

They are working on a way to livestream the meeting but may not be able to make this happen. We encourage parents to come in person if possible. If we can't livestream, we will see if someone can tape the meeting and then add to our YouTube channel.

Thank you Wootton PTSA and MCCPTA!

The next meeting for the Minority Scholars Program will be in room 1125 on Wednesday, January 22nd at 3:30pm. Even if you have not come to previous meetings, please consider attending!

Along with other agenda items, we will be discussing plans for Black History Night. For more information, contact Ms. Susanna (Susanna_Bonig@mcpsmd.org)

The MCPS 2024-2025 Change of School Assignment (COSA) transfer season opens on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 and ends on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The COSA process allows families to submit a request for their children to transfer out of their assigned home school.

Important changes for the upcoming COSA transfer process:

• Requests submitted after April 1, 2025, will not be considered unless there was a recent move or an emergency event that could not have been foreseen prior to April 1st.
• All COSA requests will now be submitted online through ParentVue in Synergy. Parents who need support on how to use ParentVue to complete an online COSA request will be encouraged to reach out to the Counseling Secretary & Registrar at their child’s assigned school.
• Detailed information related to the COSA process can be found in the 2025-2026 COSA information booklet, which will be available at the end of January. Hard copies will be available at Cabin John at the end of January.

If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Hardy, Counseling Secretary & Registrar in the Counseling Office at (240) 406-1560.

If your child(ren) will not be returning to CJMS or will not be attending one of our feeder high schools for the 2025-2026 school year, contact Mrs. Hardy, Counseling Secretary & Registrar, Tamara_A_Hardy@mcpsmd.org with the next year’s school’s name and address, your child’s full name, MCPS student ID number, current grade level, and a forwarding address.

Or you may complete and submit these two forms directly to Mrs. Hardy: Verification of Enrollment and Withdrawal Information Form.

This is important planning for class schedules for the upcoming school year. Thank you for your assistance.

Acer Chromebook Collection and Decommissioning

MCPS has disabled and needs to collect older Acer model Chromebooks because they have reached end-of-life and should no longer be in use. The models being retired include the Acer C720, C740, C738, and C771. Students who need a device for home use can submit a request for a new device by completing the Home Use form. All Lenovo devices will continue to work as expected.

Students currently using an Acer model at home should have received communication about this information and how to request a device for home use if needed. These students should return their loaner Acer to the Media Center and will need to complete a new Home Use form.

Are you interested in joining the Career Advising Student Advisory Council?

It’s a great way to earn up to 10 SSL hours and help plan awesome career exploration activities, like bringing in working professionals and planning fun events to help explore your interests! Other schools have lunch parties and lots of exciting events—we can do that too!

If you're interested, please email Ms. Poole or Mr. Adams, or stop by the counseling office to learn more. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Due to an increase in respiratory illnesses in the community, we want to remind parents that they should pay attention to their child's symptoms. If they are exhibiting excessive coughing, along with fatigue, shortness of breath or fever, they really do need to go to the doctor as they need to be monitored and treated if necessary. Respiratory viruses can lead to secondary infections that cause bacterial pneumonia which can be very serious and be spread to other members of the community that are more vulnerable such as the elderly or the very young. Students also need to stay home until they are feeling better and are less contagious.

In the interest of reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses, when students come to the health room with excessive coughing, we will give students a mask to wear and will be calling parents and requesting that they go home if they seem to be extremely fatigued, have a fever or are not feeling well. We appreciate your assistance in keeping the community safe and healthy. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your continued support.

As always, we are here to help your child to thrive while at school! Please feel free to contact me (Brienne_B_Merritt@mcpsmd.org) if you have any questions or if we can be of assistance.

Resources for SSL:

• SSL forms, resources, and guidelines
• September SSL Opportunities
• SSL opportunities -September and Montgomery County Volunteer Center
• SSL program overview
• Step-by-step directions for viewing student SSL record on StudentVUE
• Introduction to SSL Handout: English | Español| 中文 | Français | tiếng Việt | 한국어 | አማርኛ | Portuguêse

Welcome to our new CJMS PTSA Board that was voted in during the Back to School Night Welcome Back Fair! We appreciate you!

Please be sure to become a member of this important organization. Our PTSA is funded primarily through our memberships and donations.

Membership Information:

Family Memberships (2 parents) are $50

Student and Faculty Memberships are $10

General donations are welcomed.

Ways to join the CJMS PTSA:

**Preferred Method** AtoZConnect (payment can be made with any credit card) @ https://cabinjohnptsa.membershiptoolkit.com/

Mail in an application (send in your membership form with a check;

mail to Cabin John MSPTSA, Attn: Treasurer, 10701 Gainsborough Road, Potomac, MD 20854)

Questions? Send an email to PTSA Membership.

Our first meeting will be at the start of Back to School Night on August 28th. Please join us to hear more about how we can all support our CJMS school community!

Main Office telephone: 240-406-1600

Counseling Office telephone: 240-406-1560

Health Office telephone: 240-406-1570

FAX: 240-740-4403

website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/cabinjohnms/

The school day for students is from 8:15 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It is imperative that students not be dropped off prior to 7:55 a.m. Students being dropped off by parents/guardians at school must enter through the doors by the cafeteria. Parents/guardians, if you are using the student drop-off loop, please make sure to pull as far as possible to the stop sign at the end of the loop - students are not permitted to enter through the main office doors, so it doesn't help to drop them off at that location.

After school activities will start on September 10th and will be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Students must be picked up from after-school activities by 4:35 p.m. as supervision is not scheduled outside of these hours.

If you have questions about events, schedules or other school-related matters, including reporting the absence of a student, please call us at 240-406-1600.

If you need to report an absence and would like to submit a letter via email, please send an email to our attendance secretary, Ms. Jordan Murek (email: Jordan_Murek@mcpsmd.org). CJMS Attendance policies can be found here.

In an effort to keep our weekly newsletter shorter and more concise, I am not going to add the resources that appear every week. Instead, I will link our BTS newsletter here so you have easy access to that information.

Principal: Ms. Somer Snider

Assistant Principal (6th Grade): Mr. Casey Siddons

Assistant Principal (7th Grade): Mr. Andy Lee

Assistant School Administrator (8th Grade): Ms. Jen Wingate

Main Office Phone: 240-406-1600
Fax: 240-740-4403
Guidance Counseling Office: 240-406-1560
Health Room: 240-406-1570

Attendance Office: 240-406-1599 (to leave a VM)

Please call CJMS to notify us of your child's absence.

CJMS Attendance Office Procedures can be found here.

Email: Somer_Snider@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/cabinjohnms/
Location: 10701 Gainsborough Road, Potomac, MD, USA
Phone: 240-406-1600
X: @CabinJohnMS