Casimir Weekly Cougar Updates
October 18, 2024
Amazing Casimir Families, Please Enjoy Our Newsletter!!
Great job against Magruder on Thursday, Casimir Soccer!
🚶🏻♂️🏃🏻♀️Skecher's Walk Oct 20th 🏃🏻♀️🚶
🏃Please help by joining the Casimir Skecher Team!! 🏃🏻♂️
Be sure to choose Casimir Middle School first 😀
🎉A Big Thank you from Casimir for your Support by joining our Skecher Walk!! 👏
CONGRATULATIONS Diego!!
Congratulations Diego for winning the Paper Drive with the most reams of paper donated to Casimir!!
Students have a great time working on Descriptive Writing in Ms. Porzio's class
📚Kids having a Wonderful time "Book Tasting" in Ms. Vuoso's ELA class 📖
Student Council Activities
Student Council will have face painting for $3 at the mural next Tuesday during lunch!
We will be having our first dance of the school year on November 1st from 4pm to 6pm. Permission Slips will be in the office.
We will also be having the First Gotcha ticket Store on November 1st during lunch in Room 13! You will be able to buy candies, snacks, drinks, and more with your Gotcha tickets!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask any student council member!
Casimir Volleyball Tryouts
Volleyball tryouts will be Next Wednesday, girls from 3:30 to 5pm and boys from 5 to 6:30pm. Tryouts will also be next Friday, times to be announced. You will need to have your athletic packet turned into the office along with your physical in order to try out. There is a clipboard available in the front office to sign up for tryouts.
Helping Students Learn - November 2024
Parents, please look through the latest edition of Helping Students Learn for articles about supporting your child's academic journey, privacy on social media. respectful language, addressing a poor report card, fostering school succes with responsibilities at home, and more.
Athletic Clearance Packet
This is just a gentle reminder that if your child wishes to participate in any afterschool sports this school year, the TUSD Athletic Clearance Packet AND Physical form (in the packet) are required to be submitted. All documents must be received before your child can participate in tryouts, practices, or games. Thank you.
What's for lunch?
Click the button below to see the monthly lunch menu.
REMINDER! Metro Go Passes are now available for all students!
Our Board of Education voted to extend the free Metro GoPass program for a second year, and we are proud to offer this benefit to all our students. The program includes a Metro TAP (Transit Access Pass) card that offers FREE unlimited rides on Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) bus rail and subway lines, including Torrance Transit, Long Beach Transit, Culver CityBus, Gardena Transit (GTrans) and LADOT Dash.
If your student has a TAP card from last year, you will just need a new code, which you can pick up from our school office. We also have a stock of TAP cards for new riders or those who lost their old cards. New cards will need to be activated before being used. For more information, visit https://www.tusd.org/administrative-services/metro-gopass.
Quick Guide to Reporting Student Absences
Quick Guide to Reporting Student Absences
If/When your student is absent please notify us via email by sending an absence note with the following information to cook.lindsay@tusd.org
Absence Notes should include:
1. Date
2. Name of your Child
3. Date of absence
4. Reason for absence (if out due to illness please specify what symptoms your child is having)
5. Parent/Guardian Name & Relationship (absence notes can only be accepted from Primary Guardians listed in PowerSchool)
6. Phone Number where you can be reached
If you have any questions or concerns you can always reach out to Ms. Lindsay our Attendance Clerk @ (310) 533-4498 ext. 4782
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
The first Gotcha Store of the year will be Friday, 11/1, in room 13 at lunch!
Bring your Gotcha tickets to buy awesome items!
In-N-Out Winner!
Our weekly In-N-Out winner is Ricky KIm!
Please see Ms. Beasley after school to pick up your burger card.
Mr. Merrihew's Raffle Winner!
Congratulations, Thomas Alvarado! You won a premium snack in Mr. Merrihew's class!
SOS Signs of Suicide Program
Dear Parent / Caregiver,
This year school staff are working to teach students about mental health and how to seek help if they are worried about themselves or a friend. We are using a program called SOS Signs of Suicide. The program teaches students about this difficult topic and encourages them to seek help.
SOS has been used by thousands of schools for over 20 years. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts.
Through the program, students learn:
● that depression is treatable, so they are encouraged to seek help
● how to identify depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend
● to ACT (Acknowledge, Care and Tell a trusted adult) if concerned about themselves or
a friend
● who they can turn to at school for help
Students will watch age-appropriate video clips and participate in a guided discussion about
depression, suicide, and what to do if they are concerned about a friend. Following the video,
students will complete a brief depression screening form. This form cannot provide a diagnosis of depression but does indicate whether a young person should seek help from a mental health professional.
At the end of class, students will complete an exit slip which asks whether they would like to talk to an adult about any concerns. School staff will conduct brief meetings with any student asking to talk.
We encourage you to visit www.mindwise.org/parents for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.
Presentation will occur on November 4 and 6th.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s participation in this program please contact me at 310-533-4498 X 4711, Hunnel.stephanie@tusd.org or Janet Liu 310-533-4498 X 4728 any of our school counselors.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Hunnel School Counselor
Janet Liu School Therapist
Meet the Counselors
Mrs. Hunnel
Hello. My name is Stephanie Hunnel, and I am the Casimir Middle School counselor. I offer school-based counseling that focuses on academics, social, and emotional well-being.
Our mission is to provide a positive, safe, healthy, nurturing, and respectful environment where all students can become productive members of society.
Casimir offers the Wellness Center a safe place to hang out with friends, make new friends, and play board games with peers. Students are welcome to bring their lunches with them to hang out.
The Wellness Center is open daily for snack and lunch. All are welcome.
Ms. Liu
Hi, there! My name is Janet Liu, and I am the Casimir Middle School Mental Health Counselor. I offer short-term mental health services to help students address issues related to daily stress, anxiety, depression, peer relationships, grief and loss, and more.
Wellness Center
Contact Us
If you need any help with this transition or with any other mental health difficulties, please reach out to the mental health team at Casimir:
Stephanie Hunnel - School Counselor
(310) 533-4498 ext. 4711
Janet Liu, AMFT
School Based Mental Health Therapist
liu.janet@tusd.org
(310) 533-4498 x4784
Save the Date: School Site Council Mtng #1 - October 22nd, at 3:35pm, Rm #31
Stay in Contact!
Casimir Facebook Page
Calendar at a Glance
10/22 - School Site Council Mtng
10/25 - Dine & Dash
11/1 - End of Quarter 1, Gotcha Store, Dance
11/11 - No School - Veteran's Day
11/25 - 11/29 - No School - Thanksgiving Break
12/23 - 1/3 - No School - Winter Break
1/20 - No School - M.L. King Jr. Day
1/24 - End of Quarter 2
2/7 - No School - Student Free Day
2/10 - No School - Lincoln Day
2/17 - No School - President's Day
3/14 - No School - Local Non-Instructional Day
4/4 - End of Quarter 3
4/7 - 4/11 - No School - Spring Break
5/26 - No School - Memorial Day
6/11 - Last Day of School
Casimir Middle School
Website: https://www.tusd.org/schools/casimir
Location: 17220 Casimir Avenue, Torrance, CA, USA
Phone: (310) 533-4498
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasimirMiddle/