C.H.S. Chronicles

Happy Thanksgiving from the CHS Middle School Staff!

Respectfully,

Nayal Maktari

Congratulations to the Clifford Smart Forensics Team on their performance at the Fall Middle Level Competition last weekend.

In the category of Informative Speaking, Austin Cousens took 1st place with his speech on World Football (aka soccer), Evan Reed took second with his piece on the French Horn, and Cotter Ritter took third with his piece on playing cards. In the category of storytelling, Nate Grant took 2nd with the piece "Grumpy Monkey," and Ella Ritter took 3rd with the piece "The Gruffalo." Other members of our team participated in the fall workshop, and are excited to compete later this season. Go CHS Forensics!

Our next iReady testing dates will be the morning of December 12th and 13th. The intent of the schedule change is to hold testing over two 1/2 days versus the previous schedule, which was a much longer testing window during ELA and Math classes.

December 12th Testing Schedule (8:10 a.m.-11:18 a.m.)

• Students report to their 1st Hour, and remain there to take the iReady ELA Diagnostic
• Students will have 1st-3rd hours instead of their normal 4th-6th hours following 3rd hour
• Students will be encouraged to bring books to read independently and/or other work to complete
• Breaks are built into their morning testing schedule

December 13th Testing Schedule (8:10 a.m.-11:18 a.m.)

• Students report to their 4th Hour, and remain there to take the iReady Math Diagnostic
• Students will have 4th-6th hours following testing
• Students will be encouraged to bring books to read independently and/or other work to complete
• Breaks are built into their morning testing schedule

I respectfully ask that you make every effort to have your child at school and on time the mornings of December 12th and 13th.

Thank you.

Our CHS Middle School Students need your help. Please contact jillymsu@comcast.net if you are willing to be our PTSA Reflections Contest Chairperson this year. Thank you!

Dear Smart Families,

We hope you will help our Smart PTSA as we adopt two families for the holidays this year. These families come to us directly from the Walled Lake School District community. Gifts should be delivered to the Clifford Smart front office no later than Monday, December 4 to allow time for sorting and delivery. Gifts SHOULD NOT be wrapped.

Please contact Jillian Moutafis at 248-568-2396 or JILLYMSU@comcast.net with questions. Thank you for helping us make the holidays a little brighter for these special families.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094FAAA72DA02-smart

Hello!

My name is Megan Nicles and I am originally from Plainfield, IL which is a suburb of Chicago. I moved to Grand Rapids in high school, where I was inspired to follow my dream of becoming a teacher at Central Michigan University. There I met my husband and followed him over to this side of the state, where he is from. We currently live in Milford.

My husband Steven and I have been married for 3 years, we have a ten-year-old golden doodle named Calvin and a beautiful little daughter named Molly who will be 2 years old in March.

Molly takes up most of my free time but some hobbies that I enjoy are baking, reading, and learning about true crime.

I have been an ELA teacher for the past 7 years in both middle school and high school. I love teaching middle school and I know that it is where I am meant to be. I am so excited to be a part of the Clifford Smart team!

Please click on the tab below and join our CHS Middle School Remind 101 text group. You will receive helpful reminders, time sensitive information along with other pertinent texts.

*Reply @LEAVE to the number you are receiving messages from if you'd like to leave the text group at anytime.

November 23-34 NO SCHOOL. Thanksgiving.

November 27-CHS 5th Grade Night beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Calling all creative minds! The National PTA Reflections program theme for the 2023-2024 school year is,"I am Hopeful Because..."

We are asking our innovative CHS students to express what this theme means to them, by using ONE of the following categories:

*Dance Choreography
*Film Production
*Literature
*Music Composition
*Photography
*Visual Arts (2D and 3D)
*Special Artist (must qualify)

No experience is required to participate in Reflections. Students simply choose the arts category they are interested in, create a NEW and ORIGINAL piece of artwork based on the theme, and they will be recognized as an artist in our community!

All entries are DUE to Smart's Main Office by NOVEMBER 30TH.

PTSA Sponsored 8th Grade End of Year Party

Oakland Yard

Friday, June 7th

3:00-5:00 p.m.

More information to come later in the year.

Are you curious about Classical / Pops / Jazz music or just enjoy listening to music? Do you like going to concerts? Then come join the Music Appreciation Club. We will be learning more about the music, the performances, the artists and attend concerts with:

Yuja Wang, Vanessa Williams, The Music of Pink Floyd, Disney & Broadway Favorites, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, Dvořák and many more!

Cost: $25 per student membership unlocks one free ticket to almost every Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) 2023-2024 concert series, and up to two companion tickets (bring your parents/sibling/friend) for $5 each, access to the best seats, access to DSO Replay and online Live streaming performances.

See attached flyer and Music Appreciation Club Details Document and link to Google form for registration.

https://forms.gle/3eAmCFB4Vf9FCP626

For more information please contact Monique Levu: monique.levu@gmail.com

Welcome to the new school year! Don't forget our GAP program- you or your student may have already received a packet at Smart Start. This Goal Achievement Program, or GAP, provides students with the opportunity to work towards and meet objectives throughout their middle school years in four main areas: Citizenship, GPA, Reading Hours, and Community Service.

All students are enrolled in the program from the start of the school year, and will be rewarded for completing their milestones. Please click on the tab below for further information. If you have any queries on this subject, please do not hesitate to reach out to Andi Parel at AndiParel@gmail.com.

As you know, the Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency has ended and all remaining state epidemic orders have been rescinded. This, however, does not change the recommendation to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as isolation and masks. The expectation is that staff, students, and family members will follow the recommended guidelines regarding COVID-19. With that said, at this time, for the 2023-24 school year, COVID-19 positive cases will no longer be monitored at the District level and timelines will not be provided. Please see below for next steps when a positive case is reported to you:

· Report absence and subsequent absences in Skyward as Ill-Excused.

· Report the number of positive cases to the Oakland County Health Division as part of the your building’s weekly aggregate counts via their online portal.

· Advise families to follow recommended guidance from their physician, the Centers for Disease Control, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and/or the Oakland County Health Division.

· COVID cases no longer need to be reported on the WLCSD COVID Report Form, nor do they need to be reported to the corresponding teacher(s)/class(es).

· Building office staff will not be required to track and monitor COVID isolation timelines, nor should they give COVID-19 guidance.

· COVID-19 questions or concerns should be directed to their physician or the Oakland County Nurse On Call Line at 800-848-5533.

· Questions regarding protocol within the District should be directed to Ms. Kelly Baier - Human Resources or Mrs. Tacoma Corbin - District Nurse.

This form below is for any student who is borrowing a district chromebook this year. You will fill this out when you need tech support for your chromebook. Please make sure to check your gmail after submitting for an email response from Mrs. Stasak or one of her interns within 24 hours of your submission. Thank you.

DROP OFF 8:00 A.M.

SCHOOL STARTS 8:10 A.M.

DISMISSAL 3:00 P.M.

1/2 DAY DISMISSAL 11:40 A.M.

Please feel free to call our main office with any questions at 248.956.3500. You can also email us.

Counseling Secretary: JulieSmith@wlcsd.org

Principal's Secretary: TerriSzymanski@wlcsd.org

Building/Attendance Secretary: TonyaGray@wlcsd.org

6th Grade Counselor: JulieBraley@wlcsd.org

7th Grade Counselor: KathleenHoover@wlcsd.org

8th Grade Counselor: MaureenBratke@wlcsd.org

Nayal Maktari, Principal

Dan Holland, Assistant Principal

Steve Spickard, Dean of Students

Please contact us with positive or constructive feedback, questions, and/or concerns.

Website: www.wlcsd.org/smart
Location: 8500 Commerce Road, Commerce Charter Township, MI, United States
Phone: 248-956-3500
Twitter: @CliffordSmart