CMIT South MS/HS Newsletter

Happy Friday CMIT South!

I hope this message finds you all in good health and high spirits as we approach the end of another productive week at our beloved school. It is always a pleasure to share updates and highlights with you, celebrating the achievements of our students and the dedicated efforts of our faculty and staff.

Change in Weather: As we quickly approach our winter season, it is important for me to remind everyone of our school hours. Our building does not open for students until 8:20am. Our student support staff will begin their outside duty at 8:15am. Please refrain from dropping off your scholars before this time. Additionally, all students are expected to be picked up no later than 3:30pm if they are not registered in Enrichment, a club, or sport. Students who are found loitering the building after school will receive consequences. Parents who are dropping students off too early or picking them up too late will also be contacted.

Academic Achievements: I am delighted to announce that our students continue to excel academically. Our recent English Benchmark assessments have shown impressive results, reflecting the hard work and commitment of both students and teachers. Let's keep up the momentum and strive for excellence in all our academic pursuits.

Upcoming Events: We have some exciting upcoming events lined up for our 2023-2024 Homecoming week! Please make sure you see the flyer below which outlines the theme for each day. As a reminder, participation in the themes is optional. If your scholar chooses not to participate, they are expected to be in appropriate uniform.

Staff Appreciation: A huge thank you to our dedicated teaching and non-teaching staff who go above and beyond to create a positive learning environment for our students. Your hard work and commitment are truly appreciated, and they play a crucial role in the success of our school.

Safety Reminders: As we prioritize the well-being of our students, please be reminded of the importance of adhering to safety protocols on campus. This includes following traffic rules during drop-off and pick-up and ensuring that all visitors sign in at the front office. Students are not allowed to receive food orders from delivery companies before, during, or after school. Your cooperation in maintaining a safe and secure environment is crucial.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our dedicated staff or me directly. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to CMIT South MS/HS.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Dr. Borden-McCarter, Principal

Dear Parents, Students, and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well. I am grateful for your patience and understanding as we navigate the STEM/Maker's Fair process. Your support has been invaluable.

If you have any questions, please contact your student's Science teacher directly for guidance.

1. Deadline Extension: Due to some students' challenges, the rough draft submission deadline has been extended to December 8th, 11:59 pm. The submission form and rubric are available on Canvas with detailed instructions. The paper should be completed in a Google Doc or Word doc. Reminder this is just a rough draft of your paper, so it's okay if some sections are incomplete or if you plan to make revisions (for example, the results section consists of the data table being used to collect information and a graph set up that will allow you to display your data as it pertains to your project). Some sections will just include the section header as a foundation for the final version of the report.
2. Extra Credit Opportunity: Students who submit their rough drafts by the initial deadline of December 1st will receive extra credit.

Warm Regards,

Miss Hamilton

Science Department Chair

We are happy to announce that CMIT South MHS is hosting a Homecoming Bazaar this year on Saturday, December 16! If you are interested in being a vendor, please register via the provided link. Vendor registration is OPEN! Please spread the word, share the flyer, and join us for festive holiday shopping! Please come out and support your local school community businesses.

Join us for our first Annual Talent Showcase hosted by the Athletic Department! Admission is $5 We appreciate your support in helping our Athletic Department! Tickets will be available on Ticket Spicket Starting Monday December 11, 2023

https://events.ticketspicket.com/agency/f702b924-95d9-4936-8f16-44a418bbc6df

National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society, give many thanks to those of you who donated to our Winter Coat Drive. Your donations will benefit several children in our community this season!

Students, Parents, and Guardians,

1. Student lunches should be sent with them when they arrive for school or lunch can be purchased in the cafeteria via MySchoolBucks.
2. Please refrain from bringing fast food to the school for your students and their friends throughout the school day and during their lunch period.
3. Food deliveries ordered by students, parents, family members or friends will NOT be accepted from DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub or any other food delivery service or vendor.
4. All orders for students will be refused and sent back with the driver. CMIT South MS/HS is not responsible for any cost or loss of food.

CMIT Family,

Open house dates for interested lottery applicants:

• In-person:
• November 11, 2023
• Virtual:
• December 13, 2023
• January 11, 2024

As a follow up to many parent concerns, we are creating a Traffic Safety Committee to address your concerns to Prince George's County. Please click the link below to share your concerns and sign up for the Committee.

This committee will be led by parent, Mrs. Candice Perkins, who worked extensively while at the Elementary school and was very instrumental in their traffic safety project currently in review with Prince George's County Safety Division. Let's offer more voices to the overall effort and make our scholars' safety a priority!

Should you have any questions, please respond directly to the PTO at pto@cmitsouth.org and Mrs. Perkins at cperk421@gmail.com. Thank you.

Hello CMIT South MS/HS Families,

We want to ensure that all parents and students know the CMIT South attendance policies. At CMIT South, we follow the PGCPS attendance policy AP 5113. Below are some quick bullet points of the attendance policies:

• CMIT South will use the Google form 2023-2024 Absence Reason Notification Form CMIT South Middle/High School for all student's absences. This form will be the official means of parent/guardian notifications for student absences. Parents can also email attendance@cmitsouth.org when their student will be absent.
• CMIT South does not take paper excused/doctor notes. When a student is absent please fill out the Google form 2023-2024 Absence Reason Notification Form CMIT South Middle/High School. This form will be sent straight to the attendance manager. Parents are the only ones who can fill out the form and email the attendance manager about a student who is absent. A student cannot send the email or fill out the Google form, the absence will not be excused if a student does it.
• The Google form must be filled out within 3 days of the student’s absence; otherwise, the absence will not be excused. This can be emailed as well.
• Students who are considered unlawfully (unexcused) absent from school or a class will not have the opportunity to make up missed assignments.
• A doctor’s note is needed if a student is reported absent for three school days for an illness, and a physician’s certificate will be required if a student's absences reach six days. Please send the physician’s certificate to the school's attendance manager at attendance@cmitsouth.org.
• Mental Health Day. Students may receive as an excused absence one (1) day of absence in each semester of each school year for a student’s mental health needs. A note from a physician to excuse a student’s absence for mental health needs is not required.

Once again, these are just some of the new updates that PGCPS has put in the attendance policy AP 5113. We encourage all parents to read the full updated attendance policy linked below.

For all attendance-related information or questions, please direct it to attendance@cmitsouth.org.

Thank you.

• First with the week recap!

  
  

  • Both our Middle School and Boys and Girls basketball teams won their only game of the week. We took on John Hanson Middle school and both teams cruised to double digit victories!! Congrats to our middle school basketball team on their sustained success.
  • Our HS Boys and Girls Varsity teams kicked off their season this week. Despite losing to Largo HS both teams showed flashes of being able to turn around their season with next week's games.

  
  

  The Week Ahead
  

  • This upcoming week will be busy for our basketball teams.
  • Our Middle school teams will play Issac Gourdine on Monday 12/11 and travel to Stephen Decatur MS on 12/13
  • Our HS teams will play Fairmont Heights HS on 12/12 and our homecoming game will be on 12/14 against Gwynn Park HS

  
  

  Upcoming:

  
  

  • All of our home games will be posted on Ticket Spicket! Please utilize the link below to come out and support our Tigers.

  
  

  Ticket Spicket Link

High Schoolers mark your calendars for Homecoming Week 2023!

We will celebrate Spirit Week from Monday, December 11th to Friday, December 15th. Follow the Spirit Week schedule and read the dress requirements for the week. The biggest thing to remember is NO CROCS or LEGGINGS at all.

Plan to attend the afterschool activities that week as well. Come out and cheer on your Tigers during our Homecoming Basketball Game on Thursday, December 14th vs Gwynn Park HS at 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm. The Talent Show is on Friday, December 15th, from 6-8 pm, and our Winter Wonderland Dance is on Saturday, December 16th, from 7-10 pm!

High Schoolers, mark your calendars for our Winter Wonderland Homecoming Dance on Saturday, December 16th, from 7-10 pm! Attire is Semi-Formal/Formal. Purchase your tickets via the Cheddar Up link below.

Seniors!!!

The following link is a list of scholarships with deadlines in early October! For any questions or concerns, please reach out to the contact information provided on the scholarship's page.

https://studentscholarships.org/scholarships.php

Seniors,

Please see the attached Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship Opportunity!

Seniors,

Please check out the Prestige Photography Scholarship opportunity by clicking the following link:

Happy Wednesday, Juniors and Seniors!

Please see the below scholarship opportunity. Students who are currently taking dual enrollment courses may apply for this scholarship. Please take note of the applicant requirements under the "Undergraduate Applicants" section. For any questions or concerns, please email smart@smartscholarship.org.

SMART Scholarship Eligibility & STEM Disciplines

To learn more about the Ronald V. Dellums Memorial SMART Scholarship (Dellums SMART Scholarship) and to review eligibility requirements of the Dellums SMART Scholarship, visit the About Dellums page: https://www.smartscholarship.org/smart?id=kb_article&sys_id=5eb87d811b1f6d504e7ba820f54bcbf7

Eligibility Requirements: Review the below scholarship requirements to ensure you are eligible to apply for this life-changing opportunity. Who can apply? The SMART application is open August through December of every year, with awards being granted the following spring.

All applicants must be:

• a citizen of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or United Kingdom at time of application,
• 18 years of age or older as of August 1, 2024
• requesting at least 1 year of degree funding prior to graduation (which starts at the program start date),
• able to complete at least one summer internship (multi-year scholars only)
• willing to accept post-graduation employment with the DoD,
• a student in good standing with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale,
• pursuing a technical undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the 24 STEM disciplines listed below,
• able to produce a fall 2023 college transcript from a regionally accredited US college or university, OR be pursuing a graduate degree at a regionally accredited US college or university.

For more information, watch the SMART Eligibility Requirements video.

What kind of STEM?

The program focuses on students pursuing disciplines that are critical to national security functions of the Department of Defense (DoD). The following is a list of SMART’s 24 approved STEM disciplines. These disciplines are general umbrella disciplines – specific applicant majors or fields of study may fall under one or more discipline on this list. Please note, non-technical degrees, including management, arts, or humanities, are not approved or funded by SMART.

• Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biosciences
• Chemical Engineering
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Cognitive, Neural, and Behavioral Sciences
• Computer Science and Engineering
• Cybersecurity
• Data Science and Analytics
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental Sciences
• Geosciences
• Industrial and Systems Engineering
• Information Sciences
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Oceanography
• Operations Research
• Physics
• Software Engineering

Scholarships are awarded for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 5 years of funding, depending on degree requirements. SMART is a one-for-one commitment; for every year of degree funding, the scholar commits to working for a year with the DoD as a civilian employee.

Undergraduate applicants

Must be currently enrolled at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university Must be able to produce a fall 2023 (or earlier) college transcript at the end of the term AP coursework is not considered college credit

Graduate applicants

Can be either currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or awaiting notification of admission If awaiting admission, you must be accepted for entrance in the fall 2024 term Scholars enter the program as either recruitment or retention. Learn more information on how scholars participate in the SMART Program through recruitment or retention. Learn more about the citizenship and security clearance requirements for SMART scholarship awards.

Greetings CMIT South Class of 2024!

Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation has taken a proactive position in identifying early interest and recruiting educators for each of their seven schools located in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties. To that end, they are elated to share The CLF TEACH Service Grant Application for eligible 2024 graduating seniors, or CLF alumni.

Once the grant applications have been received, the Application Review Committee will select recipients for the one-time $10,000 grant. Recipients will agree to serve in a teaching capacity at any of our Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation Schools for one year to repay the $10,000 grant (1:1). If a grant recipient does not teach at one of our seven schools immediately upon graduation from the college or university, the grant will become a loan, repayable with interest.

If you are interested, the deadline for submitting applications is December 15, 2023.

Greetings Tenacious Middle School Families, Please join the Middle School Assistant Principals, Mrs. Green and Mr. Walker for as we wrap up 2023 before the break with our November/December Parent Town Halls on Thursday, December 21, 2023. Please see the flyer for more details. Hope to see you there!

Please see the opportunity below if you are interested in signing up your scholar for math tutoring.

A big THANK YOU! to our parent volunteers who helped our scholars on the JA Finance Park field trip. Our scholars learned so much and had a great time. We appreciate your support in providing them a meaningful and engaging learning experience they will use in their futures!

Greetings CMIT Scholars,

Scholars, do you need SSL hours? If so, here's your opportunity!

The PTO needs assistance hosting the concession stand at the MS Basketball Games and would love a few helping hands of support.

Sign up by clicking the link below.

The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a school-based organization made up of parents, guardians, teachers, staff and administrators who work together to supplement and enrich the educational experience at CMIT Academy South Middle and High schools. Please consider joining our PTO and getting involved with school activities.

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