November 5 is a 2-hour early dismissal day. There will no clubs on this day. Please pick up your child by 12:15 pm. November 6 is election day and schools are closed. Please go out and vote. November 12 is parent-teacher conferences. Please look for sign-ups from the teachers in the next coming weeks. November 21-23 Thanksgiving Break (School Closed)

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Greetings Parents, We had a great time this week. Students have been having problems in terms of behaviors but I have seen some progress and we always applaud progress. Next week, students will be working with other students in the first grade to help spread kindness as part of our Positive behavior activities. Students can brain storm some ideas to do with 1st graders such as helping with math facts, reading a book or helping draw or color. Three students will also be chosen from each class to present their Family culture project to the classes. Positive Behavior Essays are due on October 30th. Please remind students this is a major part of their written and oral communications. The information is on Class dojo. Please let me know if you need further assistance. Lastly, we will be decorating our doors for a contest between the classes dealing with an enchanted forest. Please let students bring materials we can use to decorate the door. Any spare recyclable items that would normally go to the recycling bin are acceptable. Please make sure they are cleaned out. Thank you as always for all you do and have a great weekend. I am also including this note from our vice principal regarding Nov. 2nd Book Character Day and Parade Parents/Guardians, When:- Character Day Parade is Friday, November 2nd. How:- Please support your scholar to dress as a favorite character from a book of their choice. They should bring the book to school. Entry to the parade: Students who are dressed and have the book will participate in a parade here at school. Please support your scholar to begin thinking about and creating something fabulous for the day. Remember the best part is reading and/or rereading the book. Thanks for supporting school. Ms. Watkis

Victor Hawkins

Good afternoon, As you may know, Culture Fest is next next Saturday at CMIT North ES. We have been asked to put on a performance to represent CMIT South at the event. K-1 will perform "Whisper, Talk, Shout, and Sing!" with the proper movements, while 2-5 will perform "Can't Stop the Feeling". All students who are interested in performing please email me or send a message through Class Dojo. We will be practicing each song in class throughout the week. However, I'd still like to practice with just the students who are interested in performing. Please be on the lookout for updates and details concerning this performance next week.

Jared Bailey Music Teacher CMIT South Elementary

Do you have 10 minutes extra time in the mornings? Are you available in the mornings to help our team with car line? If so, please sign up for an available time slot to help get the children out of the car and into the building quickly. Any support you can offer is greatly appreciated! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4BADAF2AA0FD0-cmit

"The" CMIT PTO Board

Dear Parents/guardians, Week 8 was filled with fitness. The younger grades, K-2, learned what physical activity was, discussed what fun activities can keep us active as well as what exercises keep us healthy. We did an experiment to see how our heart reacts to rigorous activity and learned the definition of a "cardio" exercise. The older grades, 4-5 are still undergoing fitness testing. Its a long process because I can only test 6 students at a time, but we are getting through it and will soon learn the benefits of tracking fitness data and setting goals for future success. Arrival and Dismissal: Arrival - The front entrance to the drive way that goes around the school will be closed promptly at 8:00am, just as it has for many weeks prior. This allows your child 5 minutes to get through the front and to their class and also allows our staff in the back a chance to work the line of cars down before the 8:05 tardy deadline. Dismissal - Please make sure to use the Pikmykid application on your smart phones or have a parent delegate you to pick up their child ( if you are not the primary parent/guardian ). It will make for an even faster dismissal process if school staff does not have to input numbers on the spot. Until the geo-sphere is established around the perimeter of the school, please refrain from announcing yourself on Pikmykid until you are on school grounds. We have children who are waiting outside with no car in sight yet. Dismissal ends at 2:45pm. The staff outside will bring the last few kids out at that time, but are then off duty. After 2:45pm, parents must park in the back and come in the building to get their children.

Garrett Loomer P.E. Teacher - Department Chair CMIT South Elementary gloomer@cmitsouthes.org

Parents, It is my pleasure to experience my first year of teaching with CMIT's fourth grade students. I have spent this past week getting to know our students and I am extremely hopeful for the 2018-2019 school year. I have been in PGCPS for 4 years and I have encountered students of all age groups. As a mother of a fourth grader, I believe I am able to connect with both my students and my parents. Please feel free to contact me via telephone (240) 767-4820 and email at lyoung@cmitsouthes.org if there are any questions or concerns. I look forward to partnering with you as I guide students to through a successful school year and prepare them for the academic years to come.

Leah S. Young

Greetings, K-2 grades built a seesaw using building instruction paper. The students put different size and shape and color of bricks on both sides and observed if it balances and moves up and down smoothly. 3-5 graders defined spur gear and crown gear. They tried to figure out what is the difference between the spur gear and crown gear. They built up a simple machine which the rotary motion was changed through a 90-degree angle/turns through an angle/ turns a corner. ... The students of Lego Club created what makes them happy and presented to the class. The students of Math Club studied Geometric Patterns and solved many questions. The FLL Club will be started for 4th and 5th graders on October 27th at 9 am. Have a wonderful weekend! Sincerely,

Esra Keskin Lego & Robotics Teacher

For Math, we are wrapping up Unit 2 (4.OA.1, 4.OA.2, 4.OA.3, 4.NBT.5, 4.MD.3) as we close out our first quarter. Unit 2 Exam will be given next week, and study help will be provided on Class Story. All grades will be entered this weekend for missing or make-up work. Moving into quarter 2 I will accept late or re-done work only on a case-by-case basis of approval. Let’s teach the students to take responsibility and feel prideful and accountable for his or her learning. For Reading this week, the students completed their final close read of On the Banks of Plum Creek to determine the main idea of the text and identify supporting details. They were assessed on their understanding of the text and vocabulary words. We will begin second quarter with The Horned Toad Prince. For Social Studies, we read “Slavery in the North” and discussed Sojourner Truth. We also reviewed Unit One to guide us through the completion of the Lesson One Review and Assessment within our textbooks. Chapter One Reviews that were not completed in class were sent home to be completed over the weekend. We will dive into Chapter Two and learn about Americans and their history. Please remind students to bring their social studies journal with them on Monday. For Science, please do not forget about the STEM project! This will be a significant portion of the second quarter. We have been discussing weathering and erosion, and how flooding affects an area. Please see the Class Dojo Class Story for a chance to investigate the effect of slope on erosion. Next week we will move in to discussing environmental changes and how they help shape the Earth’s surface.

~The 4th Grade Team~

Ready, Set, Go! And we will be off to the Baltimore Aquarium on Monday, December 17, 2018. We will be sending more information out very soon so be on the lookout! RELA Our students are continuing to learn what writers do. This past week students have been working on word webs to come up with ideas for their writing. They are also composing authentic sentences and using the correct punctuation. Each week we focus on a new letter. This week’s letter has been S. We are continuing to work on rhymes, syllable counting, and consonant, vowel, consonant(CVC) words. Math We are still working on sorting and catergorizing! Students have been working with shapes, colors, and sizes to try to separate by one attribute. They have also been practicing spelling and those tricky color words and identifying both 2D and 3D shapes. Sorting is a great skill and will come in handy throughout all other subjects so we will keep working hard trying to master it! Social Studies This week we began a new unit called Celebrating Diversity and Traditions. Over the next few months we will learn: Families and cultures are alike and different in many ways. We are all part of a culture and there are many different cultures around the world. History is the story of our past. Change happens over time. At the end the unit, we will have a celebration of cultures. Our classrooms will have different displays around the room that feature pictures of different families, foods, items of clothing, homes, celebrations, games, and languages. We will also invite family members to the classroom to share different specialty foods, dances, music, arts and crafts, and language. Science: This week we began a new unit while still focusing on weather. We took a look at severe weather such as lightning and how we can be safe and prepared when severe weather comes. We discussed different supplies we may need and different steps we can take to stay safe when a storm comes! Kindergarten friends have been very interested in lightning and thunder and all that comes with it! Have a wonderful weekend. Kindergarten Team CMIT South ES Ms. Cunningham, Ms. Curtis, Mrs. Derfler & Ms. Lucas

Amy Derfler

Happy Friday! This week was a little rough but we made it through! I cannot say enough how much I enjoy teaching your children, they are amazing human beings and I have seen them do extraordinary academic work this week. Please pat them on the back, give them a high five, and let them know that their teacher thinks they are awesome! Until the quarter ends (Nov 2) we will continue to review all of the concepts of decimals that we've learned. In science next week we will continue to talk about Ecosystems and what they entail. Starting next quarter we will start to have conversations about the reproductive system, please look for more information to be sent home! The Scholastic Book fair will be here until the end of the week next week (Nov 2). The fifth grade class will have a designated time to go on Wednesday (Oct 3) if you would like to send your child with cash to purchase books. A small error was made on the due date for the Math Extra Credit Packets, those will be due Thurs Nov. 1 to ensure that the extra credit points are entered into SchoolMax before the quarter ends. Thank you again for all of your help and support!

-Ms. Libebe

Hello parents! Lately in Art class, 4th and 5th grade students have been making scratch art. The first step requires students to fill an entire sheet of paper with brightly colored crayons. Following this, students completely cover over the colors with a black crayon. Next week, they will begin the final step - scratching away the black crayon to reveal the bright colored background. Students will have an opportunity to experiment with this subtractive (scratching away) process rather than the traditional additive (drawing). Announcements: Students are no longer being accepted into the Art club. All students are locked in at this point.

Brittney Frei

Hi Kindegarten families! I wanted to say thank you to all of those families who turned in the dues for the club, we are so excited to continue with our crafts and expand our creativity. This week continued with our seasonal fun and read There was an old lady who swallowed a bat! It was a very fun read and leant itself to a very cool craft! Can’t wait for next week! Ms. Lucas and Ms. Curtis

Diana Lucas

Greetings Tigers! Please send all students to school with their jackets as we are going out for recess and need to keep warm. Come one, come all, come to our bookfair! You are invited to come to our bookfair or send your student with money to purchase books from their wishlist. Please remember to take time to volunteer for field trips. We can not organize a trip until we have enough volunteers. Look for the sign up for parent teacher conferences. If you have any questions please email myself or Mrs. Baynham.

Ms. Michelle Phillips

Do you have questions? Not sure who to contact? Please use this helpful guide to identify the type of questions you have and the correct CMIT South ES staff member to help you. Please review attached listed below. Ms. Williams

Attachment(s)

Stacy Williams, Receptionist swilliams@cmitsouthes.org

Please see the attached information regarding the charter school lottery process from the Interim CEO of Prince George's County Public Schools, Dr. Monica E. Goldson.

Attachment(s)

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Greetings Parents/ Guardians, This week students’ assignments are from 10/29 – 11/2 Assignment for K-1 graders: Computer Fundamentals: Mouse, Select, Drag, and Double-click - In this engaging and interactive digital lesson, the learners receive direct instruction and practice using a mouse to select, drag, and double-click as they select items using the pointer and mouse button, move objects on the screen, and double-click to open objects.  www.learning.com Assignment for 2-3 graders: Computer Fundamentals: Symbols of Technology Computer Fundamentals: Data Storage - During this engaging and interactive digital lesson, the learners receive direct instruction and practice with data storage devices, accessing stored data, and using and taking care of compact discs, DVDs, flash drives, and computer drives.  - In this engaging and interactive digital lesson, the learners will receive direct instruction and practice recognizing and applying simple pictures and symbols to identify and use technology.    www.learning.com Assignment for 4-5 graders: Hardware Fundamentals: Mobile Devices Unit 1- Quiz - In this engaging and interactive digital lesson, the learners receive direct instruction and practice with smartphones, tablets, phablets (larger phones), and applications, and understand how mobile devices connect to a wireless network, store information using cloud computing, and use GPS for tracking. www.learning.com Grading Assignments will be graded based on participation, following the instructions from the assignment, turning in the assignment on time and effort during the class assignments. Thank you, Mrs. AK Technology Teacher

Mrs. Ak

Parents/Guardians, Please stop by and see how much work our PTO has put into decorating and setting up for the book fair. The fair will end on November 1. Please sign up to purchase your books online. You may also visit the school to purchase books from 3PM to 5:30 PM. Reading daily to students will not only improve students' comprehension skills, but it will support social development as our scholars develop confidence in reading. Please encourage 'read alouds' at home; take turn reading and listening, and please ask questions about what they are reading. Have students reread the books they really like as this will build reading fluency and allow them to discover new things from the book. Parents, please share your books too, if you can, and open up the discussion about the story elements such as author, setting, characters, theme, plot, and illustrator. We all read for pleasure, but we focus on the standards for state testing even more. Some of these standards include:- -Main Idea and Details -Problem and Solution -Cause and Effect Please get involved with the PTO and help our school to move forward. Please keep reading!

L. Watkis (Assistant Principal)

Here is our PTO newsletter for 10/26/2018! https://conta.cc/2O9yc9k

"The" CMIT PTO Board

October 23 – November 2nd - Book Fair – yes, the Book Fair is still open! Friday November 2nd – Character Day Saturday November 3rd – CLF CultureFEST Friday November 9th – Picture Day Wednesday November 14th – PTO Meeting 6-7:30 Wednesday November 28th – Chipotle Fundraiser (Donnell Drive)

"The" CMIT PTO Board

Let’s get our creative juices flowing and plan a grand carnival themed event to wrap up the first half of the school year. Sign up for the committee to help plan our carnival night for December 14th. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4z1_NfmPUU4X8SEHWcSCOLiZlbjEr965UB2xoV9du5hF6oQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

"The" CMIT PTO Board

Hello again Thee CMIT Family, Your scholars made it another great week of testing and learning: This week I will not take much of your time, but I would like to share the joys of showing your little person he or she is appreciated just for being him/herself. Often times as parents it is easy to get caught in the vision of what we have created for our children, and forget to he/she was born with natural abilities which may not be apart of our vision. As a young parent I recall visualizing my son becoming an Architectural Engineer; my oldest daughter would become a Lawyer and my baby girl would become a Veterinarian-my was this furthest from the truth. My son went into Computers, and has now chosen Sports Medicine, my oldest daughter is a Social Worker and my baby girl is an Elementary Educator. This became possible only because I released my vision and learned to appreciate my children's vision of what he/she believed would make him/her happy in life. My behavior allowed my scholars to develop his/her form of appreciation for his/her life journey. Reflecting, I realize this level of appreciation begins as early as Elementary School-although I did not realize it until later in life-with kind words shown by parents, teachers and the community, young scholars can blossom in ways parents and educators can only dream. As my children aged, I learned the demonstration of appreciation can assist in the development of gratitude in young children. At times it becomes very easy to say things, however, children are more apt to imitate adults behavior rather that what is being told. This week, I charge you to take a moment and show your scholar how much you appreciate his/her thoughts, the simple good things he/she does, by providing him/her with positive powers and grateful appreciation of his/her behavior. Kids Appreciation Seven Ways to Foster Gratitude in Kids Model and teach gratitude. ... Spend time with your kids and be mindful when with them. ... Support your child's autonomy. ... Use kids' strengths to fuel gratitude. ... Help focus and support kids to achieve intrinsic goals. ... Encourage helping others and nurturing relationships. ... Help kids find what matters to them (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_to_foster_gratitude_in_kids). 1. Model and teach gratitude Our children want to be like us. We provide the blueprint for what to say and what to do and in what contexts. Expressing gratitude through words, writing, and small gifts or acts of reciprocity are all ways to teach children how to become grateful. Doing this will help make your appreciation for the goodness in your life more public, showing your kids that blessings abound and that being thankful is a valued attitude. Adults can promote gratitude directly in children by helping them appraise the benefits they receive from others—the personal value of those benefits, the altruistic intention of people providing them, and the cost to those people. This helps kids think gratefully. 2. Spend time with your kids and be mindful when with them Another way to spell love is T-I-M-E. Believe it or not, children and, yes, even adolescents, like being with their parents. Giving a child a lot of quality time with you teaches them the language of love—life’s greatest gift. Savor every moment together, big and small, and rid yourself of distractions at such times, including your smartphone. Being mindful helps you maintain empathy toward a child, and this provides important modeling of empathy, the most important emotion for developing gratitude and moral behavior. It will also give you and your child a heightened sense of appreciation for the things both of you love and for your relationship. 3. Support your child’s autonomy Using an authoritative or democratic parenting style, which is firm, yet flexible, sup- ports children’s autonomy. This will enhance family relationships, improve the atmosphere at home, and help bring out their strengths and talents, all good for making grateful kids. By taking ownership over their skills and talents and being responsible for developing them, children gain things to appreciate in life and make it easier to attract support from others, thus inviting gratitude into their daily life. Also, limiting children’s media consumption and guiding them to use media in prosocial ways protects them from commercial influences that discourage the development of the authenticity, self-development, and social interaction necessary to grow into positive, purposeful, grateful individuals. 4. Use kids’ strengths to fuel gratitude After you’ve identified your children’s top strengths and you know their unique strengths profile, you should encourage and help them to use those strengths whenever possible. Not only does this open up opportunities for others to contribute to the things your children love, but it also enables your children to strengthen their ability to be helpful and cooperative toward others, which will make them more grateful. To directly promote gratitude, encourage and help your children to use their strengths to thank and be kind to others. 5. Help focus and support kids to achieve intrinsic goals It’s very easy for people, especially youth, to pursue extrinsic—or materialistic—goals such as desiring or having possessions that show wealth, status, or convey a certain image. This usually leads to less fulfilling social relationships and forecloses prospects for developing deep connections with others and genuine gratitude. It’s our job to steer them away from pursuing extrinsic goals and toward pursuing intrinsic goals, such as engaging in activities that provide community, affiliation, and growth. Not only will successfully achieving these goals fulfill children’s fundamental human needs of competency, belongingness, and autonomy, but their personal development, happiness, success, and gratitude depend on it. To amplify their gratitude even more, remember to savor their accomplishments with them along the way, and encourage them to thank those who’ve helped them meet their goals. 6. Encourage helping others and nurturing relationships Helping others and being generous are two key ingredients for making grateful kids. When children lend a hand, especially while using their strengths, they feel more connected to those they’re helping, which helps them to develop and nurture friendships and social relationships. A great way to do this is by teaching them through your actions that other people matter and that tending to relationships should be a priority. To help children strengthen their relationships, you should encourage them to be thoughtful of others, to thank others regularly, and to be cooperative, helpful, and giving. 7. Help kids find what matters to them: Having a sense of purpose in life gives youth a compass for creating a meaningful life. As adults, it’s our job to help kids discover their passions and to find a path to purpose that resonates with them— with their values, interests, and dreams. This starts with feeding their interests in the social issues they care about and pushing them to learn as much as they can about those issues and discover ways they can make a difference. The deepest sense of gratitude in life comes from connecting to a bigger picture, to an issue that matters to others and doing things that contribute to society down the road. Trying to make grateful kids isn’t just an issue for families; it’s an issue for society as well. Society desperately needs to harness the power of gratitude. As our world becomes more culturally diverse and digitally connected, and as complex societal problems mount, gratitude may help catalyze the motivation and skills youth need to succeed not just academically but in the “life test” too. We must all do our part to help kids develop into moral adults, who will contribute to a world of compassion and care. But, while there’s no quick fix for cultivating gratitude in young people, the more we remain committed to it, the more rewards we’ll reap. Indeed, by bringing out the best in our kids, we can only imagine what blessings Generation Grateful could bring. Anything worthwhile takes a lot of time and effort. It’s up to all of us to make it happen (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_to_foster_gratitude_in_kids). Additional Links for gratification: 100 Phrases to Use to Show Appreciation for Your Child: https://carrotsareorange.com/appreciate-your-child/ Fostering Appreciation in Children: https://familyandhome.org/articles/fostering-appreciation-children Teach Your Child the Importance of Appreciation:http://www.teachkidshow.com/teach-your-child-the-importance-of-appreciation/ The below link is for Character Education on November 2, 2018: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwjuxCpLUAUUczZGWXlmOFg5bEJhMkh0X3pSaHAzU2k2U2s0/view?usp=sharing

DM Davis, Professional School Counselor, CMIT South ES, ddavis@cmitsouthes.org