Please inform all CLF school TRAC Teams of the invitational on SAT 2/9/19 from 10a-2pm. Let's use this as a great opportunity to "build momentum" for our 17 (yes, 17 CLF teams) & collect data points needed on portfolio submissions! Hope to see everyone that can make it...MAKE IT. (punny stuff). Special thanks to our friends at MDOT SHA and to our sister school, CMIT South MS/HS Team, for their willingness to host in the auditorium. Special Guests, including District School Board Members, our local media, CLF and team members from MDOT SHA / Transportation officials will be in attendance. (A great career reference/networking opportunity for our students, too!) MDOT SHA BRIDGE BUILDER Invitational at CMIT South MS/HS Auditorium Who: MDOT TRAC What: TRAC Bridge Testing Invitational Where: CMIT South Auditorium, 9822 Fallard Ct. Upper Marlboro, 20772 When: February 9, 2019 10a – 2p

Mark J. Sutherland Community Partnerships Director T. (301) 776.2300 E. msutherland@clfmd.org

Happy Friday! This week we completed some more testing and students are beginning to explore and set goals for themselves in Math. We have started a new Math program called Prodigy and students may of course use this program at home to help improve their number fluency. It is my hope that with all of the delays and and different schedules that we will be able to get back on track of our new Science unit next week. Thank you for all that you do!

-Ms. Libebe

Parents, A few students have shown interest in either singing or playing instruments (for my band students) for the Black History Month program later this month. Please be on the lookout for further details including permission slips.

Jared Bailey Music Teacher CMIT South Elementary

Greetings Parents/ Guardians, 3-5 Graders: Students learn knowledge about proper finger placement, posture, typing basic punctuation and typing home row keys. K-2 Graders: Students gain familiarity with the placement of the keys on the keyboard, learns the relationship between pressing keys on the keyboard and seeing letters on the screen, learns to identify and key the letters of the alphabet. Thank you, Mrs. AK Technology Teacher

Mrs. Ak

Dear parents and guardians, The FLL Club Students attended to FLL competition last Saturday. They worked hard and represented our school. They did an awesome job. Please congratulate the FLL students. Louel Alan Maman Adryan Maynard Andre Elam Elizabeth Abang Kayden Jones-Byron Karen Odiete I have also shared some of the pictures from the competition. Thank you. Sincerely,

Esra Keskin

Dear Parents, guardians, and family members, Due to safety concerns our staff has noticed in the mornings, we are going to approach the arrival procedure with a new policy. There will be staff members blocking off the car lanes at the yellow posts ( near the building side ) and allowing the first 10 cars in both car lanes to let children get out ON THEIR OWN all at the same time once all cars have come to a complete stop and put into park. Once all 10 cars are clear of students and it is safe to move, we will dismiss one line at a time ( to not congest the exit ) then let the next 10 cars move forward for self-drop-off. This will also cut down on the stop and go of moving up every half a minute. The bus lane will operate in the same manner. This new policy will be started on Monday, February 4 in the morning. Mr. Loomer will be timing the process and see if it is faster or slower in order to see if we should continue. Please make sure that if you are BEHIND the staff member who is stopping the 2 lanes that you DO NOT let your child get out of the car. This is a trial run next week and we do not want our few staff to worry about and pay attention to more than 10 cars at a time. Please be patient and have your child(ren) READY to get out of the car when you approach the entry doors for their turn to get out. This process will function its best if students do not linger and hold up both lanes with putting on hats and gloves, etc. They should be ready when entering the driveway at the front of the school. Thank you for your cooperation and hopefully this new process will make things run faster and smoother !

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

Parents/Guardians, Opportunities to volunteer at the school. We need support with morning arrivals and afternoon dismissal. Please let me know how you can assist. We need as many as possible so we can create a schedule and have volunteers on rotation. Please let me know. Thanks in advance. Student Behavior Please continue to give us your support as you help remind students of schoolwide rules. Rules are in place to keep all students and staff safe, and without your support, we cannot accomplish much. The school and home must work together to promote student success-you are a part of that equation. Thank You. Reading and Studying at Home Please continue to provide students with that time and space to read and study. The PARCC assessment is coming up in April, and we need your support. Good study habits will help ensure that students make good use of time, and when they arrive at school, the energy to take work seriously will become natural. Starting Monday, January 4, the following will be in place:- ( NEW ARRIVAL PROCEDURES: Due to safety concerns, new procedures are in place for AM arrivals. 1. Students must be ready to get out of the car when you drive up. (This includes having on their winter gear, and their book bag.) 2. Please do NOT proceed past the yellow posts until you are told to do so, by the teacher on duty 3. Parents/Guardians, please stay in your car. 4. We will allow at least five cars in each line to drop off students, and then we will do another 'wave' of cars etc. Mr. Loomer will time this process to see if it is effective for full implementation moving forward. The dismissal team would like to thank you for your patience as we streamline AM and PM dismissal procedures to keep everyone safe. Thank You Thanks so much

L. Watkis (Assistant Principal)

Hello parents. As we are now in the second half of the school year, many supplies have been consumed. Thank you to all parents who made towel donations earlier in the year. We are currently over stocked with towels! However, the art room is in desperate need of hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. This is the season for colds, the flu and others illnesses. It is important for staff and students to keep our work environments germ free! Please, any donations are greatly appreciated. In addition to this, if you have any unwanted construction paper, colors pencils or glue sticks, please donate them as well. These supplies run out quickly and are constantly needed in the art room. Thank you all in advance! Have a wonderful weekend. Artist quote of the day: "Creativity takes courage." -Henri Matisse

Brittney Frei

Hello Thee CMIT Family Hopefully, everyone has been able to stay warm and enjoy the extra time with your scholars during the inclement weather. This week I completed an area of the wall called "my feelings". While in my office it has been interesting to hear the young scholars share his/her thoughts of the "my feelings" wall. Some children are fascinated with the look of the expressions, some do not agree with the expressions and demonstrates what the true feelings actually looks like. As I listen to several conversations and observe the interaction of the students, I realized the importance of teaching young children how to express his/her feelings in a healthy manner. It is important to ensure students are able to express anger and be okay. Early childhood is when children begin developing their social and emotional skills, which influence their mental health and wellbeing, now and in the future. Children learn these skills through their important relationships including families, caregivers, peers and early childhood staff. Children’s developing emotional skills Children begin developing emotional skills from birth. Emotional skills include being able to recognise, express, understand and manage a wide range of feelings. These skills are important for children’s developing ability to interact successfully with others and their physical world. Children who can understand and manage their feelings, stay calm and enjoy their experiences, are more likely to develop a positive sense of self and be confident and curious learners. Children develop their emotional skills through their relationships with important others, such as their parents and carers. Babies move from relying on adults to help them organise and regulate their emotions (e.g., through adults soothing and calming them by rocking, patting and holding), to being able to deal with some of their feelings on their own as toddlers. Supported by their increased language, thinking, planning and organising abilities, preschoolers develop more advanced emotional skills such as being able to wait longer for things they want and having more understanding of the feelings of others. They also learn to predict how what they do will affect others (e.g., “You will feel sad if I don’t let you play with me.”) Ethan’s story Five-year-old Ethan was feeling sad because his friend Sarah from next door had hurt his feelings. Ethan’s mum, Amanda, comforted and cuddled him saying: "There, there sweetheart, do you want to tell me what happened?" Ethan’s little brother, three-year-old Cameron, watched from a distance. “Ethan’s sad?” Cameron asked his mum as he came over to her and his brother. Amanda stretched her arms out to encourage Cameron to join her and Ethan. “Why don’t you ask Ethan?” suggested Amanda. “Ethan, are you sad?” Cameron asked his brother. Ethan nodded, cuddling into his mum. “What do you think you could do to help?” Amanda asked Cameron softly. Cameron cuddled his brother and patted his back gently. Then he went to find Ethan’s favourite teddy. Later, when Ethan was feeling better, Amanda talked to Cameron about how he had supported his brother. “You helped Ethan when he was feeling sad. He felt better when you brought him his favourite teddy.” Good feelings are catching! Children imitate the emotions expressed by others around them especially their significant caregivers. We can help children learn to manage their emotions by soothing them when they are upset, modelling effective ways to manage feelings (e.g., saying: ‘I’m upset, I just need a minute to calm down.") and talking about feelings in everyday conversations. This includes feelings of happiness and excitement and not just when someone is upset. What parents and carers can do: Be a role model for your child - show them that having difficult feelings is part of everyday life and show them how to deal with them (e.g., “I’m feeling really tired and I think I need to have an early night.”). Try to understand the meaning behind your child’s behaviour and respond accordingly (e.g., when a baby cries, they are generally letting you know that they need something). Make talking to your child about feelings a normal part of every day. You can do this by naming feelings in yourself and others, and encouraging your child to do the same. Encourage your child to express his or her emotions in healthy ways, such as talking about sad feelings or saying why they may be feeling angry and helping them to become calm (e.g., by being still for a few moments) and move on to more pleasant activities. Be as warm, caring and responsive towards your child as you can - children learn to recognise your usual way of responding which is built up over many interactions so it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t have to be perfect all of the time. Remember that children are affected by the feelings, behaviours, and interactions of others - it’s important to monitor your own wellbeing and ask for help and support when you need it so that you have the energy to be there for your children including showing ‘feel good’ emotions such as happiness, joy, enthusiasm and excitement. Being able to recognise, express and manage a wide range of emotions in themselves and others benefits children’s mental health and wellbeing. Caregivers can help children learn about feelings and how to manage them effectively. What early childhood services might also be doing: having conversations with children and reading stories about feelings describing and labelling emotions and linking emotions to behaviours during everyday experiences (e.g. asking a child how they are feeling after their block tower has just been knocked over) encouraging children to talk about their feelings helping children to be calm and manage their feelings teaching children about considering the feelings of others (e.g., showing how to comfort a child who has fallen over) (https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/mental-health-matters/social-and-emotional-learning/emotional-development/feelings-matter). Articles: http://www.elementaryschoolcounseling.org/identifying-and-expressing-feelings.html https://proudtobeprimary.com/teach-children-emotions-classroom/ https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/mental-health-matters/social-and-emotional-learning/emotional-development/feelings-matter

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