CMIT South MS/HS Newsletter

Happy New Year CMIT South Families!!!

I trust this message finds you all in good health and spirits. As we navigate the new calendar year and ongoing academic year, I am filled with gratitude for the incredible energy and dedication that permeates our school community.

It is my pleasure to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students, teachers, and staff members. Special “Shout Out” to the 680 students who were honored for making the Honor Roll 1st quarter. From academic accomplishments to artistic endeavors and athletic triumphs, the collective efforts of our community continue to make CMIT South a place of excellence!

As we delve into the heart of the academic year, I encourage our students to remain focused on their studies. The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong journey, and each day presents a chance to learn, grow, and contribute to our collective wisdom. I commend our educators for their tireless efforts in guiding and nurturing the minds of our future leaders.

Our parents play a pivotal role in the success of our students, and your ongoing support is truly appreciated. I encourage open communication between parents, teachers, and students to ensure a collaborative and nurturing learning environment. Your involvement makes a significant difference in the educational journey of our students.

Safety and Well-being:
The safety and well-being of our students remain our top priority. Please continue to adhere to safety protocols on campus and the surrounding areas. We invite you all to our next PTO meeting, January 18, 2024, for a demo of our security enhancement devices. These devices will go live for students and visitors on January 22, 2024.

The weather has changed!!! As a reminder, our building opens for students at 8:20am. Our student support staff are not on duty until 8:15 am. Please refrain from dropping off students before this time. Similarly, all students not enrolled on a sports team or in a club should be picked up no later than 3:30pm. Feel free to reach out to our dedicated staff if you have any concerns or suggestions regarding our school's safety measures.

If you ever have questions, suggestions, or just want to share your thoughts, my door is always open. Let's continue working together to make CMIT South MS/HS a place of inspiration, growth, and success.

Wishing you all a wonderful month ahead!

Dr. Borden-McCarter, Principal

Greetings Scholars, Parents and Guardians,

There have been some changes to the STEM/Maker's Faire Timeline to allow all scholars to collect their data before the final draft is due. Rubrics are posted on your scholar's Canvas page. If you have any questions or concerns reach out to your scholar's science teacher.

Warm Regards,

Miss Hamilton

Science Department Chair

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

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!
  

  
  

  • Our Middle School Girls basketball team lost their playoff game vs Thomas Pullen Middle School. Congratulations to them on a great season as they finished 8-1 during the regular season and made the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

  
  

  • Our HS girls basketball team defetaed crossland HS 73-43 on Thursday January 4th. They improved their record to 4-2 on the season. Congratulations lady tigers.
  • Lastly our JV and Varsity Boys teams defetead crossland HS at home this week. Both teams were able to win by a large amount and it looks like our boys basketball program is hitting their stride as we head into the new year.

  
  

  The Week Ahead
  

  • This week our HS boys will head to LaPlata HS on Monday January 8th. After that we have back to back conference games vs Largo International and CMIT North.
  • Our Girls basketball team will take on Largo International on Tuesday, CMIT North on Thursday and Bladensburg HS on Friday.

  
  

  • Tickets to all games will be sold on Ticketspicket.com if you are interested in purchasing.

Good Morning Parents and Juniors,

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen would like to share information on an exciting opportunity that may be of interest to your students.

Juniors (students in the Class of 2025) who have an interest in learning about opportunities to attend a U.S. Service Academy for college are encouraged to apply to participate in a summer program. Each Academy’s summer program provides a week-long immersion into the academic, military, and social life of that Academy. The Academies are ranked among the top undergraduate public universities in the country.

Participation in a summer program is considered a student’s first step in navigating their future to becoming one of our nation’s next generation of leaders. Summer programs introduce one to life at an Academy, where they will experience first-class academic, athletic, and professional training at one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country

Summer program applications are now being accepted for the U.S. Military Academy (Summer Leaders Experience, West Point, NY), U.S. Naval Academy (Summer Seminar, Annapolis, MD), and U.S. Coast Guard Academy (AIM Summer Program, New London, CT).

U.S. Military Academy

Session I

Session II

Deadline: March 15, 2024

June 1-7, 2024

June 8-14, 2024

Additional information and the application for the Summer Leader Experience (SLE) are on West Point’s website at https://www.westpoint.edu/admissions/summer-program

U.S. Naval Academy (USNA)

Session I

Session II

Session III

Deadline: March 31, 2024

June 1-6, 2024

June 8-13, 2024

June 15-20, 2024

Additional information and the application for the Summer Seminar are on the Naval Academy’s website at https://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Programs/NASS.php#fndtn-panel3-Steps-For

U.S. Naval Academy

Summer Stem

Session I

(9th Graders)

Session II

(10th Graders)

Session III

(11th Graders)

Deadline: March 31, 2024

June 3-8, 2024

June 10-15, 2024

June 17-21, 2024

Additional information and the application for the AIM Summer Program are on the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s website at: https://www.uscga.edu/aim/

U.S. Air Force Academy

Session I (Virtual)

Session II

Session III

Deadline: January 15, 2024

June 4-6, 2024

June 11-14, 2024

June 18-21, 2024

Additional information and the application for the Summer Seminar are on the Air Force Academy’s website at: https://www.academyadmissions.com/prepare/high-school/summer-seminar/

Financial aid is available to students who are accepted into a program. Program participants must be U.S. citizens.

For any questions or concerns, please reach out to the following contact:

Catherine Provost

The Office of Senator Chris Van Hollen

academynominations@vanhollen.senate.gov

Seniors!

Please see below for the HBCU Council Scholarship Awards Universal Application:

The HBCU Council of Shiloh Baptist Church is pleased to announce the 2024/2025 HBCU Council Scholarship Awards Application Cycle. Our Universal Application is available now via our website, www.hbcucouncil.com or HBCU Council Scholarship Awards Universal Application. Established in 2003, the HBCU Council offered two Scholarship Awards totaling $4000; The Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith HBCU Award, based on academic excellence and the HBCU Heritage Scholarship Award, based on academic performance and financial need. Since then, the HBCU Council has expanded its offerings in additional Scholarships and Awards.

Students are encouraged to apply for our Scholarship Awards if you plan to attend or have been accepted to a Historically Black College or University (Public/Private). As a reminder, all applications must be submitted via email by January 19, 2024 (11:59pm). For more information you may call the HBCU Council at 202-524-2696 or email the Scholarship Committee at scholarships@hbcucouncil.com. Thank You.



Yours in HBCU Spirit,

HBCU Council Scholarship Committee

HBCU Council of Shiloh Baptist Church

1510 Ninth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

W: www.hbcucouncil.com

P: 202-524-2696

E: info@hbcucouncil.com

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.

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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