

CMIT South Elementary School
Week of November 27, 2022

Friday, February 3, 2023
Principal's Desk
Greetings Tiger Family,
This week CMIT South Elementary along with Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation was able to visit our state capital of Annapolis, MD. We were there along with the Maryland Association of Charter Schools to advocate for additional funding for facilities for charter schools and students. Currently, over $2000 per child, on average, is utilized to maintain charter facilities in the state of Maryland. Those funds come directly from the per-pupil allotment for instruction for students and not a separate facilities budget. Through our advocacy, we hope to get our State Senator and Delegates to take legislative action to provide over 50 million dollars to charter schools across the state of Maryland to better equip our charter school facilities.
This month we are also celebrating Black History Month! As a proud Historically Black College and University Alumni from the illustrious and world-renowned Howard University, I encourage all families to share their love of HBCU culture with your students. We will be providing multiple opportunities to shine spotlights on well-known and little contributions to American and World culture this month by African Americans.
February 9, 2023, we will be streaming our Honor Roll assemblies. Please be on the lookout for more details from our Professional School Counselor, Ms. Chandler. In support of student academics we are also collaborating with the High School to provide tutoring for select 3rd-5th grade students during the school day; we will have more details to follow. Finally, please remember the importance of students showing up on time daily for the entire day with our Perfect Attendance No Tardies (PANTs) campaign from now until March 30, 2023.
Sincerely,
Mr. Ronald A. Miller, Jr.
Principal
Chesapeake Math & IT Academy South Elementary
Prince George’s County Public Schools
Weekly Updates
CMIT South Elementary’s February Themes
Character Theme: Peace
STEM Theme: African-American Inventors and STEAM Professionals
“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.” ― Marvin Gaye
Please take note of these February calendar reminders:
Wednesday, Jan. 18th - Feb. 8 Dibels Testing (K-3rd)
Thursday, February 2, 2023 - Report cards release online
Friday, February 3, 2023 - College/Greek Day
Monday, February 6 - Friday, February 10, 2023 -National School Counseling Week
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 - 100th day of School celebration
Wednesday, February 8, 2023 - Report Cards Release (hard copy)
Wednesday, February 8, 2023 - PTO General Meeting - (In-person & Zoom)
Thursday, February 9, 2023 - Honor Roll Assembly (2nd-3rd grades: 8:30 a.m. and 4th -5th grades: 9:35 a.m.)
Monday, February 20, 2023 - School Closed Presidents’ Day
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 - Parent-Teacher Conferences - 2hr delayed opening (10 a.m.)for students
Report Cards
Parents, Guardians, and students will be able to view report card grades In SchoolMax Family Portal. by Thursday, February 2, 2023. Please be sure to review it with your child. SchoolMax Family Portal or SchoolMax Family Mobile Portal. Scholars will receive a hard copy of the report card by Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
Candy Grams
Candy Grams are back!
Treat your tiger to a Candy Gram!
New this year, treat your tiger's class to a Candy Gram.
Click the link below and place your order today! Order by Thursday, February 9, 2023
https://cmitsouthespto.org/shop/ols/categories/candy-grams
Tutoring
Get an Academic Boost with Tutoring
Accelerate learning and build academic confidence with these free tutoring opportunities!
Tutoring provided by CMIT South
CMIT South Elementary will have tutoring offered by 12th grade seniors from CMIT South Middle/High school for 3-5 grade students. More information coming soon.
TutorMe
Connect with an online tutor in less than 30 seconds, 24/7 for help with a single problem or a lesson! Tutors are highly qualified from the best universities and are ready to assist students.
Carnegie Learning Math
On-demand math tutoring for students in grades 3-12. Log in through the CLEVER tutoring app.
National Professional School Counseling Week
National Professional School Counseling Week (February 6-10, 2023), Let’s honor our professional school counselor Mrs. Chandler and celebrate the tremendous impact she makes in our school. Keep up the Great Work! Send her a thank you email, poster, or card to show our Professional School Counselor Ms. Chandler (deidra.chandler@pgcps.org or dchandler@cmitsouthes.org ) how much you appreciate her! Let her know she ROCKS!
100 Days SMARTER!
To celebrate our 100th day of school on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, we would love to have all of our scholars and staff dress up like they were 100 years old. Below you will find a list of ideas to help you and your scholar start planning for our fun-filled day. Be CREATIVE!
Girls:
- Printed skirt
- Eyeglasses
- gray wig or gray hairspray
- pearls
- curlers
- sweater
- Knee-high stockings
- large purse
- scarf
Boys:
- Button down shirt
- gray hair
- mustache and/or beard
- suspenders
- eyeglasses
- tie or bowtie
- flannel shirt
Friday, February 17, 2023, is National Acts of Kindness Day. We are upholding this annual tradition of celebrating kindness because we know everyone can use more kindness in their lives. Scientific evidence shows us the positive effects of doing kind acts for others as well as receiving or even witnessing kindness. Even the smallest act of kindness can change a life. In 2021, we encourage everyone to Explore the Good and Make Kindness the Norm. Click here to on ways to observe National Acts of Kindness Day
Remember: masks remain a tool to reduce the spread of illness and vaccinations continue to be the best defense against COVID-19. When children are sick, please keep them home.
Want to send a Shout Out to a Teacher/Staff Member?
Do you want to say thank you or SHOUT-OUT a teacher or staff member for their great job? Complete and submit the SHOUT-OUT Google Form link and it will be shared with the faculty at an upcoming meeting and/or morning announcements.
Grade Level Updates
Kindergarten
SAVE THE DATE! We have booked a reservation for our next field trip. We will be heading to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, MD tentatively on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Please inform your scholar’s teachers if you would like to chaperone or have any questions regarding chaperone requirements. All fingerprinting documentation and other background requirements must be submitted to our school 14 days before any field trip.
Today, students should have received their instructions for the Black History Month projects. They will all be briefly presenting their projects in class on Friday, February 17, 2023. We look forward to hearing about the influential figures in African American history.
Reading Updates
Folktale: story passed on by word of mouth, or a legend or myth shared among people of a culture.
Reading African American Folktales
Exploring Black Historical figures
Celebrating the 100th Day of School: 2/7/2023
Math Updates
Unit 7: Subtraction
Understanding subtraction as “take apart” or “take away” and can be demonstrated using fingers, mental math, images, drawings, equations, sounds, acting out situations, and verbal explanations
Separating parts from a whole
Taking apart a number and telling the parts of the whole
Science Updates
Continuing the discussion of weather forecasting
Pretending to be a meteorologist
Documenting and making a hypothesis about the weekly forecast
Social Studies
Geography: Places around the world
Beginning the concept of learning about different locations around the world
Neighborhoods far and wide
Health
Discuss the differences between how the doctor helps when you are sick
Tools doctors use when you get a check-up
Understanding what to do when you’re sick
1st Grade
Reading Updates
Students will ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud.
Students will decode words with initial and final consonant blends, digraphs, and trigraphs.
Students will use text evidence to support an appropriate response.
Essential Question: How can we use our imaginations?
Comprehension Strategy: Predictions
High-Frequency Words: round, good, said, no, put
Spelling/Phonics: consonant digraphs and trigraphs
Genre: Fable
Vocabulary Words: create, imagine, suppose, possible
Math Updates
Students will organize data into categories.
Vocabulary:
tally chart
tally marks
data
Science Updates
Students will observe and measure weather.
Vocabulary:
weather
thermometer
rain gauge
anemometer
tornado
blizzard
Social Studies Updates
Students will recite and explain the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America.
Vocabulary:
pledge
tradition
freedom
justice
Health
Students will define the word trustworthy and tell why it is important to have that quality.
Vocabulary:
trustworthy
2nd Grade
Hello Second Grade Families! Our team has just a few updates and reminders for the coming week.
- On Tuesday, February 7th students are invited to celebrate the 100th day of school. Students should dress like they are 100 years old. Please see the above flyer for additional ideas!
Students are invited to bring in valentines to exchange with their friends on Valentine’s Day. We will dedicate a short amount of time at the end of our day to exchanging valentines. To help this process go smoothly, please have your student write only their names on the valentine. Do not write individual student names.
Please continue to check SchoolMax for up-to-date grades.
Reading Updates
This week in reading, we are exploring informational text as it relates to our weekly question, "What Makes a Native American Tradition?" Students will learn more about informational text features such as headings and bold print. They will continue to practice comprehension strategies related to identifying the author's purpose and making text connections.
In phonics, students will practice with words that have the dipthongs ou, ow, oi, and oy. Dipthongs are two letters that begin with one vowel sound and move into another vowel sound in the same syllable. For example, about, power, poison, and royal.
Math Updates
We are progressing through subtracting within 100. Students are learning a variety of strategies to help them do this. Consider practicing at home. Please also check CANVAS for additional practice opportunities and consider completing the optional homework packet sent.
Science Update
Students are learning about Earth’s water and land.
Social Studies
Students will begin chapter 4. In this chapter, students will learn about the people who provide our goods and services. They will also know the difference between wants and needs, and when choices might need to be made.
Health
This month, students are learning all about their hearts. They are learning about how their heart functions and how to keep it healthy and happy!
3rd Grade
Grade Level Blurb
Hi everyone! Welcome to a new month! Let’s try to keep up with ALL assignments this quarter! We don’t want any zeros in the grade book and we want to stay on track as we move through each unit! Please make sure you are using our weekly assignments breakdown page to always see what homework assignments are due each night. Here is the link for those who need it: https://sites.google.com/pgcps.org/3rdgradeclasssite22-23/assignments
We have now started learning and celebrating Black History Month as we started off the month this week! We are excited to be learning about many different influential people throughout the month!
3rd grade is planning a field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium in late February so keep an eye out on Class Dojo for more information soon. We have already started accepting parent volunteers, so if you are interested, make sure your background checks, fingerprints, and safeschools videos are done! We are so excited to go on this trip with the 3rd grade!
Valentine’s Day is also coming up so we will be sharing information soon about how we will celebrate in class on Class Dojo this week! When students send in valentines, they should bring in enough for the entire class, not individual students. Also, please make sure there are no nuts in the items you are sending in! Lastly, to save time, we are advised not to write individual names on each of the valentines; students can write their own name so students know who gave it to them, but no individual names in the “To:___” section. Thanks so much!
Please make sure students have the supplies they need for school each day (pencils, scissors, colors, etc.)! Also, make sure you are sending students to school with proper jackets for the cold weather. If it is above 32 degrees, there is always a chance that we will go outside for recess.
Let’s have a great week!
Reading Updates
This upcoming week, students will be continuing on in Unit 2 about interactions discussing realistic fiction stories! Students will also be working on their spelling words for the section we are on. These words are all compound words. We are reading our story “Wolf Island,” and focusing on comprehension questions and sequencing. These stories focus on the essential question of how a chain of events affects plants and animals. We will also be reading and writing about different biographies for Black History Month throughout the month!
Math Updates
This upcoming week, students will be moving into Topic 4 which is division facts. Students will have a project due at the end of the topic in the next few weeks!
Science Update
Students will also be moving into learning about electricity and magnetism this week.
Social Studies Update
Ms. McDonagh and Ms. Fleet’s class finished their Chapter 2 assessment about types of resources and economic choices while knowing the difference between wants and needs. Ms. Mathews’ class and Ms. Balogun’s class will be taking it shortly. We also will be learning about people for black history month as well.
Health
Under Construction
4th Grade
Grade Level Blurb
Happy Weekend Parents,
3rd Quarter is off to a great start. Our team is excited about the growth ahead. Just a reminder that CMIT has begun our P.A.N.T. initiative, Perfect Attendance No Tardies. Scholars are to be present and on time for the entire 3rd Quarter in order to participate in our Spring Extravaganza Party. Winter MAP data is available. If you have not received your scholar's updated test score please reach out to their homeroom teacher. We want you all informed on the progress that has been made.
Sections 41 & 42 Update
Reading:
This week we will read a collection of poems called “Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow.” In these poems, we explored how creatures by the meadow depend on one another for survival. Our guiding question for the week was “ In what ways do living things depend on each other?” We identified the elements of poetry, figurative language, and sensory details. Students also got a chance to use these elements to create a poem of their own based on food.
Next week we will bring a close to Unit 2 Adaptations and textbook 4.1 by completing a project. Students will complete a brochure about endangered animals. Students will conduct research to determine what is causing these animals to be endangered and things being done to help save them. Students will view one another’s brochures in the form of a gallery walk. We will have our assessment on the poetry collection and we will also have our spelling quiz. Homework for the week will be i-Ready Elements of Poetry. Students must complete the entire activity.
Social Studies: This week we concluded Chapter 3 which explored government in the United States. Students have identified how the founding documents affect their lives and how their lives would be different without these documents. Students have explored the different branches and levels of government Finally students identify their rights and responsibilities they have as American Citizens. Next week we will begin Black History Month activities. Students will have a Black History Project that they will be required to complete. Students' homework for this week will be to complete a brochure on a state of their choice.
Math: Topic 5-2: Estimate Quotients has been conquered this week. We have used compatible numbers to estimate quotients; used place value patterns and division facts to estimate quotients of 3-digit dividends. During this lesson, we have discovered the need to strengthen our knowledge of division. Basic division concepts have been retaught this week and I have provided scholars with multiplication and division fact cards. It is imperative that scholars review these cards daily and work to master fact fluency as it will make the remainder of our lessons easier to maneuver through. Next week, we will begin to interpret remainders, as well as, begin to use partial quotients and place-value understandings to divide with greater dividends. We will also begin our multiplication and division drills to help build fact fluency. We will focus on 3-5 fact families. Please use the fact sheets provided to practice in preparation. Topic 5 Pick–Project has been posted and distributed. The deadline is Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Late submissions and resubmissions will not be accepted for this activity.
Science: Properties of waves, such as amplitude and wavelength, have been studied this week as we continued to unpack Topic 3 Lesson 1: Properties of Waves. We’ve also discussed the difference between sound waves and light waves, and the use of mediums to carry sound. Next week we will review the properties of a wave and discover how a wave moves. Scholars have selected their African American STEM History for their research project and have begun answering some of the important questions. Continue to work with your scholar at home to ensure this project is completed by Friday, February 10, 2023. Late submissions and resubmissions will not be accepted for this activity.
Health: This week begins Unit 5: It’s My Body which focuses on self-care/hygiene, social and emotional wellness, reporting abuse, and being responsible. Scholars have received a hard copy of this unit’s magazine but I will still place reading sections in each lesson to help with each activity. All health activities are assigned at the beginning of the week and are due on Friday. Because of this, retakes and late submissions are no longer accepted and all grades are final.
Sections 43 & 44 Update
Reading: This week in Reading Workshop we read a collection of poems called “Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow.” In these poems, we looked at how animals depend on one another for survival. Our essential question for the week is “ In what ways do living things depend on each other?” We will identify the elements of poetry, figurative language, and sensory details. Students will get a chance to use these elements to create a poem of their own.
Spelling, Vocabulary, and comprehension quizzes will be on 2/11. Words can be found in their online textbook and on the Reading Canvas page.
I will be organizing the scholastic book orders to come out next week!
Math: This week we finally finished working our way through Topic 3-8 “Problem-Solving, Modeling with Math” this subtopic focuses on using the math that students know to solve problems. This subtopic is the ending of the teaching portion of Topic 3. Students are scheduled to take the Topic assessment Tuesday. Next week we will also begin Topic 4 “Use Strategies and Properties to Multiply by 2-digit numbers.
Please remember to check and sign your students' agenda books as well as review Savvas and Canvas with your student.
Science: This week students completed an investigation requiring students to build a working solar-powered circuit with the goal of activating a small fan or alarm. Students also began working on their Black History Month Research Slide Project (in Canvas), and students were given the opportunity to choose a research subject. This project is due Friday, February 10, 2023.
Social Studies: In social studies this week we started Chapter 3 lessons 1 & 2. Chapter 3 explores the government in the United States. Students have identified how the founding documents affect their lives and how their lives would be different without these documents. Next week students will continue to explore the three branches of government and the responsibilities of each branch. They will also explore our rights and responsibilities as American citizens.
5th Grade
Grade Level Blurb
This is your weekly reminder to be checking SchoolMAX at least once a week. We have 100 students and 2 grades per week to put in, so it is extremely helpful for parents to come behind us and reach out if they have questions about assignments. Please make sure students are coming with a charged Chromebook. Donations of tissues, paper towels, pencils, wipes, etc. are greatly appreciated. Please reach out to homeroom teachers to facilitate the drop off if your students are unable to carry the donation themselves during drop off.
Reading Update
Our Unit 3, Week 2 Essential Question is, “What are some different ways in which people can reach a goal?” We will be reading another realistic fiction text called, A Pet for Calvin by Barbara Robinson. The vocabulary words for this week are loamy, tolerate, wriggled, quarters, and tingled. We will be focusing on how a story’s plot begins with an introduction, then has rising action, peaking at the climax followed by the falling action and eventual resolution at the conclusion of the story. The spelling focus for this week is words that end with “-ize”, “-ance”, “-ence”, and “-ist.” Just a reminder that our lists are now 15 words with 5 bonus challenge words.
Spelling Words:
appearance
familiarize
sanitize
pessimist
optimist
brilliance
colonize
insurance
coherence
influence
antagonist
memorize
existence
clearance
preference
Challenge Words:
disappearance
performance
physicist
italicize
protagonist
Math Update
This week in math, students will review multiplying decimals in addition to using equivalent fractions to add and subtract fractions. The standard for the week is 5.NF.A1, Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with equivalent fractions in such a way as to produce an equivalent sum or difference of fractions with like denominators. For example, 2/3 + 5/4 = 8/12 + 15/12 = 23/12. (In general, a/b + c/d = (ad + bc)/bd.) To support students at home, you can work with students in the kitchen to improve their equivalent fraction frequency by giving them a recipe that calls for cups or half cups but having them work with only a ¼ cup measure.
PGCPS SCHOOL LOTTERY
CHARTER SCHOOL LOTTERY OPEN NOV 1 - FEB 10
The PGCPS lottery for specialty programs and charter schools is now open until February 10th. Siblings receive preference BUT must still apply to the lottery.
FAQ
CHESAPEAKE MATH AND IT SOUTH ELEMENTARY
• Hours: 8:00am to 2:15pm
• Grades: K-5
• Uniform: Yes
• Before After School Enrichment: Yes
http://clfmd.org/enrichment-2/
• School Colors: Hunter Green, Navy Blue
• School Mascot: Tigers
• School Website: http://www.cmitsouthes.org
For more information
CMITs offer high tech, STEAM education to all our Prince George’s County students grades K-5!
In partnership with students, parents and the community, CMIT Elementary School will attain educational excellence by providing a rigorous and technology-integrated education for elementary school students with an emphasis on mathematics, science, and information technologies.