The CMS Tide Weekly Newsletter

On Friday, students from all grades attended a CMS Club Fair in the courtyard. Faculty advisors and student members representing various clubs and organizations answered student questions and shared why they participate in that activity. “I really liked learning about all the different clubs the school has," shared one 6th grader. “The worst part is deciding which I want to do–I don’t think I can do them all.” Clubs and activities at the fair included (advisors’ contact information is in parenthesis):

• CMS Yearbook (aayer@cohassetk12.org)

• The Pond Street Press Student Newspaper (dmelia@cohassetk12.org)

• Robotics Club (rerlandsen@cohassetk12.org)

• CMS Cross Country Team (mgreaney@cohassetk12.org)

• CMS Inclusivity Club (apearce@cohassetk12.org)

• After School Enrichment Program (meagles@cohassetk12.org)

• CMS Math Team (jcronin@cohassetk12.org)

• CMS Green Team (ksanges@cohassetk12.org)

Please encourage your CMS student to consider getting involved in one of these clubs. If your child has an idea for a new activity, ask them to meet with Principal Mills to share their vision.

Students will complete the i-Ready Math benchmark on September 19th. This is completed in the morning so it is important that students arrive to school on time like every day.

i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning. Student performance from each of the three i-Ready administrations (Fall, Winter, Spring) will be shared with parents.

You might be asking "What can I do to help?"

To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:

• Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.
• Try their best on each question and try not to rush.
• Try not to worry about questions to which they do not know the answers—remind them that it is expected that they will only get about half of the questions correct.
• Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish. Bring a book to read, for example.
• Use paper and pencil to show work for math questions

Cell phones are “Away for the Day” at Cohasset Middle School. As we are a BYOD learning

environment, students have ample access to technology for instructional purposes and do not

need to reference their personal cell phones during the school day. This holds true at break,

lunch, during passing time, as well as in lavatories and locker rooms. Students who violate this

practice are subject to progressive discipline and should expect that a teacher or staff member

will retain the device for the remainder of the school day during which it is confiscated. Students

needing to connect with a parent/caregiver can use a school phone in the Middle School Main

Office before, during, and after school with the permission of a staff member.

We appreciate parents’ support for our “Away for the Day” practice. However, as technology continues to evolve, students can also be distracted by smart watches and online messaging applications accessible by students’ BYOD devices. We ask our parents to support their students in the following ways among others:

● refrain from directly texting students during school hours. Please call the CMS Main Office (781-236-1070) and we will relay messages to students without disrupting their academics

● reconsider whether students need to bring smart watches to school as they constitute a major distraction to middle school students

● actively manage the student’s BYOD device. Restrictions can be set on laptops so students cannot access certain apps/websites during school hours

Most importantly, we encourage parents to discuss with their children how important it is to avoid letting technology negatively impact them during the school day. Academic achievement is undermined when learning is frequently disrupted and distracted by inappropriate technology use. We are trying to develop students who are engaged in their learning, can meaningfully communicate in person, maintain healthy, respectful relationships, and can limit their use of technology to productive pursuits. We appreciate parents' help in this endeavor.

On Friday students learned about CMS clubs and activities at the Club Fair

It is great to see all the familiar and new faces this year! Please remind your children that I am located upstairs in Room 223 if they have any medical needs during the day. They will need permission from their teachers to leave class.

I have received many Confidential Health Forms for the year, but please send one in if you have not yet done so. I will need a new form every year. The main purpose of the form is to provide parent/guardian permission for me to administer over the counter medication to your children if indicated, and the form needs to be completed annually.

Thanks,

Nurse Erin Kalberer

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 76 requires that each school notify parents and guardians if their student has five (5) or more unexcused school absences. Parents and guardians will receive a letter when their child has 5, 10, and/or 15+ days of unexcused absences. The letter will also include the number of unexcused tardies and unexcused early dismissals.

Absences will be excused under the following circumstances:

• After a medical appointment documented with a note from the medical office

• Illness or quarantine with a note from the appropriate medical office

• Observance of a religious holiday

• Bereavement or serious illness in family

• Court appearance

• A child may also be excused for other exceptional reasons with approval of the Principal or designee in accordance with the school committee policy and the regulations set in Chapter 76

Daily attendance is essential to a student's success. Missing a significant number of days of school has a detrimental effect on academic and social development. Therefore, each school will work with individual families to support student attendance.

Since July 2014, Safe Harbor Cohasset has been working to promote awareness and implement resources to help make an impact on the substance use in the community. The group has members from across the spectrum in the community, including, but not limited to, Paul Pratt Memorial Library, Cohasset Recreation Department, Cohasset Police Department, Cohasset Public Schools, Second Congregational Church, town leaders, health professionals, parents, youth, fire personnel, and concerned citizens. In September 2017, Safe Harbor was awarded a federal Drug- Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant, which focuses on preventing substance use among youth ages 12-17.

Since then, the group has worked to foster a strong and inclusive community that allows youth to strive and encourages healthy, educated and responsible choices about drug and alcohol use. The mission is supported by evidenced based, prevention focused, sustainable policies and youth- focused programs, such as Ground Level Café and the Safe Harbor Youth Ambassador Program. To learn more, and to find resources for both parents and teens, visit the Safe Harbor website at safeharborcohasset.org. Keep up to date on the latest news and trends by following Safe Harbor on Facebook at www.facebook.com/safeharborcohasset, on Twitter @cohsafeharbor, and on Instagram @safeharborcohasset.

Oftentimes when dealing with personal or family issues, we feel overwhelmed because we lack experience and expertise with handling these issues. We want to be sure our families know that they are not alone--there are many resources on the South Shore that can help.

Community Resources

Wellspring Multi Service

Website: wellspringmultiservice.org

Address: 814 Nantasket Ave Hull, MA 02045

Phone: 781-925-3211

Contact: Jenny Gerbis, Community Outreach, ext. 127, jenny@wellspringmultiservice.org

Baystate Community Services

Website: baystatecs.org

Address: 1120 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA 02169

Phone: 617-471-8400

Email: info@baystatecs.org

Cohasset Food Pantry

Address: 129 So. Main Street, Cohasset, MA 02025

Phone: 781-383-0219 ext. 25

Cohasset Rotary Club

Website: cohassetrotary.org

Email: cohassetrotaryclub@gmail.com or pwmcohassetrotary@gmail.com

Interfaith Social Services

Website: interfaithsocialservices.org

Address: 105 Adams Street, Quincy MA 02169

Phone: 617-773-6203

Email: info@interfaithsocialservices.org

Safe Harbor Coalition Cohasset

Website: safeharborcohasset.org

Address: 35 Ripley Road, Cohasset, MA 02025

Phone: 781-783-5293

Contact: Nicole Balaschi, Program Director,

Email: safeharborcohasset@gmail.com

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu observed "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."

These are certainly difficult times and many parents and families are experiencing great stress. Our ability to cope is regularly challenged and, understandably, there may be times when individuals can no longer manage their emotions. It is important to know where to turn when we reach that point.

To help our families, we share this contact list of support providers--Mental Health and Crisis Contacts These support providers offer great opportunities to help receive help when those we love are struggling to manage.

The CMS administration and faculty communicate with our families using many digital and traditional means. Our weekly newsletter, the CMS Tide, is emailed to families and students every week. It is also posted on our school website .

We call it the CMS Tide because just as the tide brings to us treasures from the deep and leaves them on the beach for us to discover, The CMS Tide brings to our community the news, images, and stories about life at CMS each week,

We hope you enjoy each issue this year!

The Cohasset Middle School is a grade 6-8 school dedicated to the development of the whole child. We are an inclusive, supportive, and safe learning environment committed to excellence and growth. Our community values experiential, collaborative, active learning that is rigorous and relevant, and fosters creative, responsible contributors to a global society.

Website: https://www.cohassetk12.org/Domain/9
Location: 143 Pond Street, Cohasset, MA, USA
Phone: 781.383.6100
Twitter: @comsprincipal