Grades for the first quarter will be final after Tuesday, November 1. Parents are asked to review Schoolmax grades with their students and then contact relevant teachers for questions.

Ms. Riley

KINDERGARTEN
Janae Jenkins (Ms. Miller)
Beruk Yiheyis (Ms. Santiago)
Kaitlin Foster (Mrs. Smith)
Amobi Uzouwku (Ms. Valera)

FIRST GRADE
Jacory Wright (Ms. Hutchins)
Ellis Wilson (Ms. Starks)
Aarav Bhut (Ms. Whyte)
Michael Isichei (Ms. Rhodes)

SECOND GRADE
Avery Percival (Mr. Trippe)
Yonan Yiheyis (Ms. Ahmed)
Chima Amadi (Mr. Brillantes)
Garbriella Jones (Mrs. Dougherty)

THIRD GRADE
Ifeoma Akabude (Ms. Daniel)
Jovan Daisy (Mrs. Fryson)
Eben Smith (Ms. Tolbert)
Loury Ramirez (Ms. Nick)

FOURTH GRADE
Sperra Vittor (Mr. Mogilski)
William Brockel (Mrs. McCain)

FIFTH GRADE
Leah Smith (Mrs. Watkis)
Joshua Burrough (Ms. Cooper)

TECHNOLOGY (Mrs. Avsar)
Alexander Akinmutimi (McCain-4th)

ART (Mrs. Breckenridge)
Laila Kuyateh (Mogilski-4th)

PHYSICAL EDUCATION (Mr. Hatcher)
Gabriella Romero (Valera-K)

LEGO (Mr. Inci)
Langsten Martin-Eley (Brillantes-2nd)

ECOLOGY (Mr. Powell)
Rougui Barry (Trippe-2nd)

MUSIC (Mr. Ross)
Aaron Stills (Dougherty-2nd)

Ecola Virgil

Do you like to read? Do you enjoy doing projects? I, Ms.Riley, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to Read. Each month I will introduce a topic, theme, or idea. You may choose a book to support this. There will be a list of items that you can do to show how you connect to the book you have chosen. Your work will be displayed for all to see. I can’t wait to sit down and discuss the books we have read.

All books should be at the student’s reading level.

September-Kindergarten and 1st graders we will read a Pete the Cat book. 2-5 should choose a book with a animal as the main character. (Winner C. Ottman)
October – Book about sports or a sports figure (These book submissions are now due)

November -A book in a series. (Ex. Harry Potter is a series.) Due date for this will be between November 28 and Dec. 5)

Activities – Choose one
1. You can create a new book jacket with a short description of the book
2. Do a book review (sample questions attached)
3. Create 1-3 new illustrated pages for the book
4. Write the introduction to sequel of the book you have just read
5. Make a diorama (directions attached below)
6. Make a poster – pretend your book is going to be made into a movie
7. Write the author a letter – state why or why not you liked the book
8. Illustrate and design a comic book around the book you have read
9. Make a mobile – create your favorite scene
10. Create a timeline – include the important topics (attached below)
11. Create a magazine ad for the book
12, Make a board game – Ex. (http://www.donnayoung.org/homeschooling/games/game-boards.htm)
13. Put together a Powerpoint Presentation no more than 6 slides around PLOT Diagram. (Plot diagram is attached)
14. Write a letter to a friend informing them why they should read the book
15. Make a bookmark of your favorite chapter
16. Create a word search – use vocabulary words in the book
17. Make a crossword puzzle – let someone who’s read the book work the puzzle
18. Make a memory game – use index card with vocabulary words
19. Outline your favorite chapter
20. Interview someone who lived in the time of the setting or has experienced the plot
21. Make a True or False quiz – have someone take the quiz who has read the book
22. Make a lapbook – use these templates here (http://www.homeschoolshare.com/lapbook-templates.php)
23. Create a Poem about the theme of the book.

Steps to success.
1. You can purchase the book, read one in your personal collection or visit your local library.
2. I would suggest that parents read the book with their scholar to ensure the child fully understands it and can have a meaningful discussion with their friends.
3. Decide what you would like to do to represent the book for our board.
4. Book extensions should be turned in the last Monday of the Month to Mrs. Dubon in the front office. Please give her a hard copy and no emailed entries.

Parents here is a nice article on cultivating the love for reading in children –https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/03/17/how-do-you-foster-a-love-of-reading-in-young-children/

Ms. Riley

Dear Parents/Guardians:

CMIT-elementary requests you provide us 24-hour notice if you would like to shadow your child. The request should be sent to:

----> evirgil@cmitelementary.org and the classroom teacher <-----


Included in the subject line of your email should be Parent Shadow, name of your child (Grade and teacher). The body of your email should be your name and the date(s) you wish to shadow. Also please include specific times or subjects you would like to shadow.

Your email request will be processed accordingly when received in a timely manner. You will receive a return email if this request cannot be accommodated for reasons such as testing, for example.

Front office staff

October 31 Monday Teacher grading Day
November 8 Tuesday General Election Day
November 11 Friday Parent-Teacher Conferences
No Students
November 23-25 Wednesday - Friday Thanksgiving

PGCPS

Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) public charter schools will be accepting online applications for the 2017-2018 school year starting November 01, 2016.

All Prince George’s County families can apply to a public charter school, as there are no attendance boundaries assigned to charter schools. Interested families must complete the online application for each child they wish to enroll.

Prospective public charter school families must ensure that the students has a PGCPS student ID to apply. If your student does not have a PGCPS ID, please visit your neighborhood school to get one.

The PGCPS Charter School Lottery is live. This is particularly important for your 5th grade families. If they are interested in continuing to CMIT North or CMIT South as 6th graders- they must re-enter the lottery for the specific school of choice. This is a new provision as a result of the recent change in the Maryland Charter School Law that allows "only 35%" of the currently enrolled 5th graders to automatically enroll as continuing 6th students at CMIT North or CMIT South. Therefore, CMIT Elementary parents of 5th grade students are to be informed that continuity is not guaranteed and they are strongly encouraged to apply to the 6th grade program at CMIT North and/or CMIT South to ensure they receive a spot.

CMIT Administration

The National day of writing was observed October 26, 2016. This day highlights the importance of bringing together educators, school staff, students, parents and community members in a unified effort to acknowledge and affirm the importance of writing.

We here at CMIT Elementary are proud to say we participated in the National Day of writing.

Ms. Riley

Members of the K-Kids Club at CMIT Elementary and the Kiwanis Club of Ellicott City volunteered for the Honor Flight Program. The program brings Veterans from World War II, Korean, and Vietnam Wars to D.C. to visit the memorials dedicated to honor the service and sacrifices of themselves and their friends. For those from World War II, it is especially important for them to have an opportunity to receive closure and reflect on their life.

The K-Kids and the Kiwanis Club welcomed and greeted the Veterans as they arrive to BWI to embark on their journey. We thanked them for their service and sacrifices, and wished them well on their trip through the memorials. Some Veterans even had photos from their time in service that they shared with the students!

As Veterans' Day approaches, we would just like to take a moment to thank all of the Veterans of the CMIT Community for their service.

- Ms. Santiago, K-Kids Advisor

Jumpstart’s Read for the Record is a national campaign that was launched over a decade ago to address the educational inequities that leave too many children unprepared for school. On Thursday, October 27, we read this year's campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach, as part of the world’s largest shared reading experience.

Students at CMIT had the pleasure of having Ms. Riley, Mrs. Virgil, Ms. Dubon, Mr. Gourdin and Mr. Russel, a parent, come into their classrooms to guest read the story. We are so thrilled to have been a part of Read for the Record!

CMIT ES Staff

We will have our third annual Scholastics book fair from November 9th-18th. Please consider signing up to volunteer. If you would like to volunteer for a spot that is taken please email Mrs. Benora McCain at bmccain@cmitelementary.org. Complete the link below to help out with our book fair.
https://volunteer.scholastic.com/#/chairperson/signup/6816

We will be having our Third annual CMIT Elementary STEM fair on January 7, 2017. We need volunteers. Please complete the link below if you are able to volunteer.
https://goo.gl/forms/BZGZihCsG8DOsbcU2

Benora McCain

Reading at least 20 minutes a day is an integral part of your scholar's success, and Six Flags wants to reward you for your efforts!

Six Flags Read to Succeed is a reading program sponsored by Six Flags to encourage students from grade Kindergarten to 6th to read! Between now and February 1, 2017, read SIX hours total and you can receive a FREE ticket to Six Flags. Simply print and complete the reading log (link below) and when you've read a total of 6 hours, turn in your completed log to your teacher! In late May, Six Flags will send us tickets for every student who submits 6 hours of reading! What a great way to kick off summer!

http://static.sixflags.com/readtosucceed/StudentReadingLog.pdf

This week upper elementary students should start their research papers. Upper elementary Students should have a "testable question. Lower elementary students should be reading books and gathering information related to their topic.

STEM fair book link!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kXZrB4lL3v-TE9mCMLG2D44gTZylA4jluIVoNmbAuNA

STEM fair topic ideas...
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml

The scientific method song...
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bUa-ilQqEv0

Testable question link...
http://www.kyrene.org/cms/lib2/AZ01001083/Centricity/Domain/895/Testable%20vs.%20Nontestable%20PPT.pdf

Testable question video link...
http://youtu.be/WUNKpAFxogQ

Famous scientist...
http://www.famousscientists.org/list/

People in STEM links...
http://stemploy.com/25-stem-women-you-should-know/

http://www.usasciencefestival.org/newsletter-volume-3-number-15/recognizing-african-american-stem-innovators-of-the-past-and-present,-including-the-festival-s-nifty-fifty-speakers.html

Direct all question to bmccain@cmitelementary.org

Benora McCain

Do you want to attend a party? Support our Mid Atlantic Fundraiser. Sell 8 items to attend the glow party. Please sale items through November 6th. All money and order forms are due November 7th. We have great prizes for our top sellers. Thank you for your continued support of our school. Online accounts can be created using the school code cmites.

Benora McCain

We will have our third annual Scholastics book fair from November 9th-18th. Please consider signing up to volunteer. If you would like to volunteer for a spot that is taken please email Mrs. Benora McCain at bmccain@cmitelementary.org. Complete the link below to help out with our book fair.
https://volunteer.scholastic.com/#/chairperson/signup/6816

Benora McCain

Student of the Month Spotlight

Our Student Spotlight this week is Cori Lewis. Cori is in Mrs. Valera's class. She says her favorite part of school is art. She loves to color and draw. Congratulations on being Student of the Month, Cori!

This week in Kindergarten...
English Language Arts
We will be reading the story "Bear Snores On." The story will be about a bear in hibernation! We will be discussing Realism and Fantasy, working with initial and final /k/ spelled Cc, and learning more about adjectives.

Mathematics
We will continue counting numbers to 100! We will start with counting to 30, then skip counting to 100 by 10's. We will then transition to learning about shapes! Please note: students should still practice finding 1 and 2 fewer. Be sure to get some extra practice at home! An easy way to incorporate this at home is during dinner prep or at the grocery. For example, "I have eight apples, but I need 2 more (or 2 fewer). How many will that be? Can you do that for me?" This will help make Subtraction and Addition much easier later in the year!

Science
Students will continue to study objects using the five senses to describe the objects. We will also identify and categorize objects based on different attributes. We will also be learning about how sound is made!

High Frequency Words
Here are our sight words we have learned so far. Remember to practice reading and writing these words regularly! (When reading at home, if you see these words, have your child point it out!) All of the words we will learn this year are available on our grade level website under "Sight Words."

I, am, little, to, a, have, is, the, we, my, like

REMINDERS
- Don't forget to sign up for Parent Conferences via the sign up genius link sent by your child's teacher. Conferences will be 15 minutes and held on November 11.
- Homework is due on FRIDAY each week. Remember to look for their new homework packet on Fridays.
- Please read regularly! Remember that just 20 minutes a day can boost your child's reading levels!
- If you would like to chaperone any future field trips, you must have a fingerprint background check. This can be obtained from the Fingerprint office at the county building 14201 School Lane, Upper Marlboro, MD Monday-Friday from 8:00am-3:45pm. For more information or to contact the fingerprinting office, please look at the fingerprint office website: http://www1.pgcps.org/fingerprinting/
- Please remember to send an extra pair of uniform clothes to keep in your child's cubbie at school in the event of accidents or spills.
- Uniform is enforced daily, including uninterrupted black shoes. Please go to http://cmitelementary.org/uniform-policy/ for more information.

The Kindergarten Team
www.kindergarten.cmitelementary.org

Greeting Parents,

This week, we will go on a field trip to the African American Museum. Most people will not be able to experience the museum until next year because it is in high demand. However, thanks to the persistence of Mrs. McCain, we are privileged to be invited. So thank you Mrs. McCain! Outside of our field trip in ELA and Social Studies, we will work on consonant digraphs, text structures, and the first people in communities in United States. In Math and Science, we will work on division strategies and forces and motions. Also, every 3rd grade teacher has sent out sign-up genius links for you to sign up for a parent-teacher conference. Please note that if it is full, we do have other days we can meet with you. Just let us know.

Tenika Fryson

We will focus on physical science for science in second quarter. We will start with energy. In math, we will explore measurement for our first week of second quarter. On Wednesday, November 2nd we will go to the African American History Museum. We plan on leaving by 9:00 am. Our bus will arrive at 8:45 am. Chaperones should arrive at 8:30 am. All students should bring a bag lunch. STEM fair research should have begun. We will not have science logs for November or December. Students are excepted to be working on their STEM Fair projects. We will have math logs. Homework packets will be available online at Pearsonrealize and paper packets will be given. Students will continue to have weekly tenmarks assignments.

Our students of the month for October are William B. and Sperra V. Great job scholars!

Benora McCain

Thanks to all parents and guardians for your support of the teaching learning process. Moving forward, let us work harder at motivating all our children to be scholarly in and out of school.
This past quarter in reading, the focus was on Character Setting and Plot, Cause and Effect Relationships, Comparing and Contrasting, Fact and Opinion, Making Inferences, and Asking and Answering Higher Order Questions. As we move into the second quarter, new skills will be taught.
In an effort to retain information, please encourage and support all students to practice online.
All fifth grade students have access via password to Read Theory for Reading. Please encourage daily reading and writing practice.

Congratulations! Leah Smith and Joshua Burrough are Students of the Month for October.
Field Trips:- Wednesday, November 2 we will visit the African American Museum in Washington, DC

Parent/Teacher Conferences:- Friday, November 11-Sign up sheet is available on the 5th Grade website-http://grade5.cmitelementary.org/

Monday, October 31-Grading/Teacher Planning – Schools Closed for Students

Have a safe and productive weekend.

Lesma Watson Watkis

Dear Tigers Den,

Currently, at CMIT, we are completing an anti-bullying curriculum to equip our scholars with the tools to stand up against bullying.
Bullying is an epidemic that is becoming prevalent in our society. Working together, we can help your child so they don't become a victim...or a bully.

In the above images, as well as on my blog (http://guidance.cmitelementary.org/) you will find some tips to help you recognize signs of bullying and cyberbullying with your child, and some tips for bullying prevention.

Please discuss bullying with your child. They key to bully prevention is open communication with your child. Never assume that because your child isn't talking about it that it is not happening to them, or around them.

Please help us spread the word about anti-bullying, together we can make the difference!

ROAR!

Graciously,
Your School Counselor

Hello Everyone,

I am glad to announce that students have been learning simple machines(drive gear, driven gear, spur gear, and crown gear) since at the beginning of the school year and so far they did a great job. We finished the first book with fabulous students.Students will be learning the second book which includes wheel and axles.

Mr. Inci
Lego Teacher

We are in week 3 of our Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser. Heart Man stopped by CMIT this week to keep our kids motivated. Our school has raised $1,685, which brings us very close to our goal of $2000. Let's go Tigers!

There is still time to donate if you are interested. Log on to www.heart.org/jump, and look for CMIT Elementary.

Thank you for your support!

Mr. Hatcher
Physical Education

Hello,

October Student of the month is Langsten Martin-Eley. She loves to read and she loves to watch the Lego movies.

Mr INCI
Lego Teacher

Update on Uniforms
All American Wear is now restocked. All back orders should have been filled. If you have items on back order and haven't received a call or email, please call the store. All American Wear has also extended the coupon through 12/31/2016. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hy5WL0_CkbsQekym7liDd74YZa7r6P_BchJ4wPMrIPo/edit?usp=sharing
All American Wear will be changing to "Off Season" store hours of operation begin next week on Tuesday 11/1/16. The store will open at Noon and close at 7:00 PM during the week and the business hours on Saturday are Noon to 6:00 PM. They are closed on Sunday except for the month of August.
The PTO has received many complaints from parents dissatisfied with All American Wear. Your voices have been heard and we have been looking into other options for the upcoming school year. We welcome any additional suggestions. We plan to call a vote on the uniform companies at the February PTO meeting.
In the meantime, we have found two additional options for uniforms, Risse Brothers and Flynn & O'Hara. Both companies have agreed to stock the long sleeve and short sleeve polo shirts in both colors with our school logo without a contract for the remainder of the school year. Sweaters and fleeces will also be available on their websites and as special orders in-store. Both Flynn & O'Hara and Risse Brothers are now ready for online orders. Flynn & O'Hara is also ready for in store orders at the Lanham store, as well as, two other stores as noted in the attached file. Flynn & O'Hara has provided us with the attached price list and a free shipping coupon.

Flynn O'Hara has provided the following link for CMIT shopping: www.flynnohara.com/school/md170
Parents can order from Risse Brothers on RisseBrothers.com.
Risse Brothers and Flynn & O'Hara both offer the following:
- Personalized web option for online ordering (starting late next week)
- Store fronts for in person shopping (starting late next week)
- Refunds and exchanges for unused items
- Guaranteed items including no pilling, fading or seam tears for at least one school year
- In-store embroidery and screen printing allowing for items to be embroidered/screen printed as you shop

CMIT Elementary PTO

Transportation: Student Drop Off /Pick Up and Early Departure
Note: The parents/guardians are responsible for the daily transportation of their child(ren). CMIT-Elementary does not provide transportation during student arrival or student dismissal. Please update the authorized person(s),including the bus company or the childcare business, that will pick up your child(ren)by submitting an email or written notice to , Crystal.Dubon@pgcps.org and the Principal’s Secretary, Stefanie.Powers@pgcps.org.

Q: What is the earliest that I may drop off my child?
A: 7:35 a.m.

Q: Where should we drop off students in the morning?
A: All car riders should be driven to the rear of the building and dropped off at the cafeteria entrance. Parents must remain in the car in order to keep the process constant and mobile. Carpoolers that include 3 or more students may be dropped off at the main office entrance along with the bus riders.

Q: What is the earliest time that I may pick up my student?
A: Student dismissal begins around 2:30 p.m.

Q: What is the latest time that I may pick up my student?
A: Student dismissal ends at 2:55 p.m. Otherwise, students will be sent to Enrichment and charged Enrichment late fees.

Q: Where should we pick up students in the afternoon?
A: All car riders should be picked up in the rear of the building at the cafeteria entrance. Parents must remain in the car in order to keep the process mobile. Please notice the flow of traffic and refrain from stopping in the middle of the pathway. If you need to buckle in your students we ask that you do not block the flow of pick up so that we can dismiss all students in a timely manner.

Q: What is the latest time that I may pick up my student for early departure?
A: Student dismissal ends at 2:55 p.m. Otherwise, students will be sent to Enrichment and CHARGED ENRICHMENT DROP IN FEES (PAYABLE UPON PICK UP).

Q: Where should we pick up students in the afternoon?
A: All car riders should be picked up in the rear of the building at the cafeteria entrance. Parents must remain in the car in order to keep the process mobile. Please notice the flow of traffic and refrain from stopping in the middle of the pathway. If you need to buckle in your students we ask that you do not block the flow of pick up so that we can dismiss all students in a timely manner.

Q: What is the latest time that I may pick up my student for early departure?
A: Students should be picked up from the Main Office no later than 2:10 p.m. To expedite the process, please send an email to the classroom teacher, the receptionist, Mrs. Virgil, EVirgil@cmitelementary.org and the School Secretary, Crystal.Dubon@pgcps.org and the Principal’s Secretary Stefanie.Powers@pgcps.org or submit a handwritten note in order to expedite the process.

Q: What is the process for walkers?
A: CMIT-Elementary does not recognize walkers since there are no residences within walking distance. Please call the Main Office at 240.573.7240 if you have unique circumstances relevant to the pick up of your child. Please consider that CMIT-Elementary does have a student body of 500 and we are unable to accommodate 500 different unique circumstances.

Uniform Policy
Q: How do I order uniforms?
A: All uniform shirts and tops are handled by the All American Wear. Please call 301-459-5000. All khaki or navy uniform bottoms may be purchased here or at any retail store that sells uniform pants, shorts (except cargo pants), skorts, etc. Full dresses are not allowed for females. The CMIT-ES logo must show during the school day.

Q: When will the uniform policy be enforced?
A: The uniform policy will begin during the first week of school. Please ensure that students are wearing a burgundy or royal blue polo until official uniform tops are received prior to September 19, 2016.

Q: When does the student wear the Physical Education uniform?
A: Please confirm the day of the week that the students enrolled in Physical Education class. Then, students report to school and wear the gym uniform all day. Parents may wish to send the students with wipes for sanitary purposes.

Q: Must the uniform shoe have all black?
A: Yes, the shoe worn with the uniform must be ALL BLACK. Any tennis shoes can be worn for PE and PE only.

Visitations and Volunteers
Q: How does a parent make an appointment to visit a class?
A: Please email EVirgil@cmitelementary.org to request an appointment. Please allow up to 48 hours for a response to the email. All classroom observations will be limited to 15 minutes.

Q: How does a parent volunteer for classroom assistance, chaperone of field trips, etc?
A: Please email the classroom teacher to express an interest in volunteering. The classroom teacher will contact the parent to establish a date, time, and the nature of the task(s). however, we ask that parents participate in a brief orientation sponsored by the PTO prior to volunteering. Please contact the PTO at cmitespto@gmail.com for assistance.

Parent’s Corner

Parent Teacher Conferences
Q: How is a Parent Teacher Conference scheduled?
A: Please email the classroom teacher to request a conference date. The parent will have no more than 30 minutes to meet with the teacher. The conference date scheduled by PGCPS is November 11, 2016. Any other conference requests must be scheduled with the teacher.

Parent Teacher Organization
Q: When will the Parent Teacher Organization Meet?
A: The PTO is scheduled to meet on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. except when a holiday, school closing and/or early dismissal has been scheduled. The following dates have been designated for PTO meetings: September 13, 2016; October 4, 2016; December 6, 2016; February 7, 2017; ; April 4, 2017; and June 6, 2017.
Student Academic Performance

Q: How do I know if my student is missing assignments and/or homework? How do I follow up on my student’s progress in the class?
A: Please check the School Max website first. If there are further questions, email the teacher for information on your child’s academic progress or call 240.573.7240 to leave the teacher a voicemail message.

Q: To whom do I express my concerns about academics?
A: Please contact the teacher first. If the teacher fails to respond, then contact the Program Coordinator, ProgramCoordinator@cmitelementary.org. The next line of communication is the administration.

Home Visits
Q: When will the home visits begin?
A: Parents should submit a request to the teacher. A teacher and/or staff member will contact the parent to schedule a date and time that is convenient for the parent and the CMIT Staff.

Student Breakfast/Lunch

Breakfast/Lunch
Q: What time does breakfast begin?
A: Breakfast is served from 7:35 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. in the cafeteria. Students arriving at 7:50 a.m. or later should have breakfast prior to being dropped off.

Q: How much are the breakfast/lunch?
A:

ELEMENTARY (Kindergarten - 5)
	Daily	Weekly	Monthly
Reduced Price Breakfast	$0.30	$1.50	$6.00
Full Price Breakfast	$1.60	$8.00	$32.00
Reduced Price Lunch	$0.40	$2.00	$8.00
Full Price Lunch	$2.75	$13.75	$55.00

Q: How do I pay for the breakfast/lunch?
A:

METHODS OF PAYMENT
Cash	Send Cash payment to the school cafeteria so your child’s account can be updated.
Online Payments using a debit or credit card	Visit www.MySchoolBucks.com to set up, review, and add money to your child’s account. The account balance follows the student as long as they are enrolled in a Prince George’s County Public School.

Q: Where can I find the menu for the breakfast/lunch?
A: Please click on the link for the School Menu.