In order to retrieve your child for early dismissal, you must arrive before 1:30 pm.

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Greetings All, Thank you for letting me know that you were unable to complete the acknowledgement page. For those who were not able to complete the GoogleForm, I have attached the acknowledgment page. Please complete and send back to your child's teacher. On Monday, when the teachers send their attendance folders to the office, they will insert the parent acknowledgment forms in the same folder and the office personnel will collect them. I have attached the form for you to print and return as well as the parent handbook for your to peruse.

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Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Attendance Students shall be considered in attendance at school when participating in school-sponsored activities during the school day, and when that participation is approved by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the school principal or any persons duly authorized by the CEO or principal. Lawful Absences includes: Death in immediate family Student illness Court Summons Weather conditions Sponsored school event (i.e., field trip) Observance of a religious holiday State emergency Suspension Health exclusion See the full administrative procedure on Student Attendance, Absence, and Truancy: file:///Users/pcarter/Downloads/Administrative%20Procedure%205113%20Student%20Attendance,%20Absence%20and%20Truancy%20(07.05.18)%20(1).pdf

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Greetings All, Once you receive your background/fingerprint proof, a copy must be housed with our front office staff. For more information, please access: https://www.pgcps.org/fingerprinting/

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Dear Parents, We kindly ask everyone to refrain from parking in nearby business premises. We do not want to cause any inconvenience to our neighbors. Therefore, we do not assume any responsibility for possible violations and consequences. Thank you for your understanding.

Ms. Derin Secretary II

Greetings Parents, There has been an influx of tardies. Last week, we made exceptions, as parents/guardians/commercially hired vans, were getting use to the routine. As a reminder, the cafeteria doors in the back the school were students are dropped off, will close promptly at 8:00 a.m. You will need to come around the front of the school, to drop your child off. Students are not considered late until 8:06 a.m. Although, you have to come around the front, students still have five minutes to get to class. However, after such time, you will need to bring your child into the school and sign them in as they are considered late and will be marked tardy.

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Greetings All, I would like THE CMIT South Elementary to be well represented at the CultureFest which is planned for Saturday, November 3, 2018. See our very own Mr. Mark Sutherland's positive plea below and we need your support. If you have a talent, know a vendor who is willing to purchase a table to sell their goods, or would simply like to volunteer please do. Please see all the attachments to get a full picture of how this will all come together. We appreciate your company's investment & excitement about our six public schools growing to serve 3,300 STEAM students & 5K parents across MD. We do need our business leaders and I’m not just saying this for some pitch. Here at CLF, the spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy is being nurtured because of how it connects to all other areas of business and community. Directly, the biggest mistake we can make is for a false perception that our home office or public schools are elitists. I’m writing to you to let you know that we need volunteers & we need philanthropic support routinely. You’ve noticed our schools, our high standards, and how, even though our students come from random lottery assignments, they rise to meet and exceed expectations. This is not by some miracle or secret recipe. It’s by creating a culture within our school community designed to succeed. There is no guarantee. Have you noticed our innovative approaches are beyond classroom academics? Did you know the construction, operations, renewals, & replications of our public STEM/STEAM schools are accomplished here at CLF? To date, we’ve serviced over $70 million in debt as a non-profit to provide this community’s STEAM academies. Now, for MORE students to continue to maximize their individual potential, for CLF to be able to maintain quality, we know as a business leader in the same community’s we serve that you would understand and empathize with this reality: staying on top is harder than the climb. That’s why we’re doing things a little different for this year’s 6th Annual CLF CultureFEST. Please let me know if you are able to participate (as little as $150) to secure a vendor booth. Perhaps even just a THEME BASKET to donate for our silent auction (hobbies like golf, or a dinner & movie date night, perhaps a new baby gift basket, or your cool company brand/promos, tech gear, collectibles, rare items that help us draw a crowd, etc.)! Perhaps this is the year we put your company name next to ours for co-sponsor naming rights ($10K) to our harvest-style CLF CultureFEST? Please, help us reach our philanthropic goals for STEAM education programs. Our shared business benefits are already compounding. Come further with us; expand your company’s footprint with our education community! Let’s celebrate our cultures & show folks on Nov. 3 from 10am-4pm that you support MD's #1 public STEAM schools by supporting our annual festival! Remember we at CLF, like all our STEAM schools, are all 501c3 not-for-profits. Know when you give, its totally a tax-write off, too. Please, we really do need our community’s support to sustain success. $1, 1 hour to volunteer, 1 fwd to the right company. Our festival is the platform, but I’m really just asking you to have fun with us in the spirit of thankfulness for the same community’s we live, work, and serve. Find all details attached & cc.’d here for quickest Q&A are my event team. Mr. Johnson handles vendors, graphics, and philanthropy and Mr. Bicer here is on live performances/music and coordinating with school staff/event volunteers. I’m happy to answer any Qs related to these areas or event info in general towards making sure our two companies work closer together in the future. If nothing else, come to our family-friendly festival. There’s nothing corny about a harvest-fest that puts the unity in community, is there? Warmest regards, Mark J. Sutherland Community Partnerships Director Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation 6151 Chevy Chase Dr. Laurel, MD 20707 T. (301) 776.2300 x.104 E. msutherland@clfmd.org www.clfmd.org

Attachment(s)

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Greetings All, Some of you may have received an exclusion letter regarding your child's immunizations not being up to date. According to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene School Health Services Regulations, a school principal or other person in charge of a school may not knowingly admit or retain a student without proper documentation of age-appropriate immunity against vaccine preventable diseases (COMAR 10.06.04). Children who are not completely immunized or who have not presented their immunization record, may be temporarily admitted to school and given up to 20 calendar days to furnish required documentation. There is a Back to School Immunization Event that I encourage you to attend should you fall under this category. This way, your child will not be excluded from school.

Attachment(s)

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

Another week down! We have reached out to all parents. Please make sure you are connected with ClassDojo. Both homerooms have reached their whole class goals. Please keep an eye out for specifics with regards to classroom rewards via ClassDojo. For Math this week, both classes focused on place value and will continue to do so into next week. A "Generalize Place Value Understanding" guideline worksheet has been sent home to help parents assist their child. For Reading, the students have been working on sequencing and familiarizing themselves with the vocabulary terms for the reading cycle. The students have additionally been working on spelling VCCV words. For Social Studies, the students have been practicing describing the different types of landforms that they can find in the United States. We talked about how landforms and the weather impact our daily activities. For Science, the students have been exploring how to express observations and inquire about wonderings. Next week, the students will be discussing the Nature of Science (NOS) through observation of popcorn kernels. Thank you so much! We can't wait for another awesome week! ~The Fourth Grade Team~

Ms. Nicholls

Another week down! We have reached out to all parents. Please make sure you are connected with ClassDojo. Both homerooms have reached their whole class goals. Please keep an eye out for specifics with regards to classroom rewards via ClassDojo. For Math this week, both classes focused on place value and will continue to do so into next week. A "Generalize Place Value Understanding" guideline worksheet has been sent home to help parents assist their child. For Reading, the students have been working on sequencing and familiarizing themselves with the vocabulary terms for the reading cycle. The students have additionally been working on spelling VCCV words. For Social Studies, the students have been practicing describing the different types of landforms that they can find in the United States. We talked about how landforms and the weather impact our daily activities. For Science, the students have been exploring how to express observations and inquire about wonderings. Next week, the students will be discussing the Nature of Science (NOS) through observation of popcorn kernels. Thank you so much! We can't wait for another awesome week! ~ The 4th Grade Team ~

Kristen Girch

Hello terrific tigers! The second week is already over! Where has the time gone? This week in third grade, we started talking about multiplication, we learned the difference between 4 x 5 and 5 x 4, and we learned how to show multiplication on a number line. Just a quick reminder that any parents who would like to volunteer or chaperone field trips must get their background fingerprinting taken care of first! Have a great weekend!

Mr. Rowland

Students, pat yourselves on the back for finishing your first full week of Fifth grade! I am so proud of the students and cannot be more happy to see how much they will grow this year! This week the students covered the basics of decimals in Math and have been discovering how perception and the constellations can help us find our way, in Science. As a gentle reminder please make sure that you have received an invite to connect with your child's account on Class Dojo, it is used often throughout the day and it is a perfect way to observe how your child is doing in live time! Have a wonderful weekend, all homework is due on Monday!

Ms. Libebe

Hello Tigers! Great way to end the first two weeks of school. Just as a reminder, if you would like to volunteer or attend field trips you must be finger printed. As the weather changes, please send your student to school with a sweater. Students need to come to class each day with their pencils and red folder for homework. I do hope that you enjoy your weekend as a family and be safe as the hurricane passes over.

Ms. Michelle Phillips

This week we have enjoyed working with our students. We've been learning so much more in all of our subjects. This week in science we learned all about engineers, who they are and what they do. We also learned the difference between things that are made in nature and things that are made by engineers. We can't wait to keep exploring the world of engineering next week as we keep diving into our science curriculum. We have also started assigning homework this week to get students used to the idea. Starting next week it is our hope to assign a homework packet for the week. This packet will include homework for the whole week and certain assignments will be assigned every night. The whole packet will be due to the teacher on Fridays. We hope that this system will prove to be efficient If you have any questions feel free to email us at: Ms. Fleet kfleet@cmitsouthes.org Ms. Brown cbrown@cmitsouthes.org Ms. Madison cmadison@cmitsouthes.org Ms. McDonagh lmcdonagh@cmitsouthes.org

First Grade Team :)

Hello parents! This week, fifth graders were introduced to the concept of recontextualization. They viewed and discussed several artists who's work consisted of both photographs and drawings. They learned how artists sometimes take an object out of its natural environment and place it into a different one in order to create new meaning. A look ahead: Students will create an art piece using photographs and drawings to tell a unique story! Donations needed!!! Please send your child to school with any unwanted magazines (school appropriate only). Thank you!

Brittney Frei

We are just about to finish our second week of school. These students are learning so much academically as well as developmentally. They can walk in the hallway quietly, raise their hand to ask questions, listen to others in a group, get their own lunch and so much more. They have really come a long way since the first day of school. Kindergarten Rocks! This is what we have been up to. RELA: Students are working hard on recognizing letters A-H. They are also practicing writing letters and becoming more comfortable with holding the pencil. We have read The Ugly Duckling and discussed how we each are special. As always, we continue to practice our routines. Each classroom is working hard to learn how to rotate to stations in the classroom. Science: Students are working on understanding and identifying the five senses. We have talked about the five senses, drawn pictures, watched videos, and used our five senses in the classroom. We have also talked about what it means and looks like to be safe when doing science in the classroom. Mathematics Students are working on counting and cardinality. They work on rote counting as well as being able to identify the number that describes a set of objects. Using a numeral song and Travis opportunities students are practicing writing the numerals 0-10. Social Studies: This week we have been learning about being a good citizen in school, at home, and in our communities. We discussed that one way to be a good citizen is to cooperate with our friends. With cooperation and teamwork, we can accomplish anything! Recess: Students have been excited to go outside and play on the playground. It has been hot and humid. Please send water bottles with your child to school. It is easier to have them use their own water bottles than the water fountains. Thanks for all the support of our Kindergarten classrooms. Kindergarten Team Ms. Cunningham, Ms. Lucas, Ms. Curtis, & Mrs. Derfler

Amy Derfler

Greetings Parents! We have had an exciting week in Reading and Social Studies. Students have been building a literacy community by discussing the rules and routines as well as using Accountable Talk. We have learned more about the elements of a short story as well as Real Reading vs Fake Reading. We also learned about the importance of 9/11. Students have taken the MAPR assessment to gauge their Reading and Writing Levels. As we familiarize ourselves with our routine for assignments, we will begin to acquire skills to take on our first Reading and Social Studies projects. Our next week will have us looking into using our Reading skills and apply them to different text. In Social Studies we will learn more about the First Americans. Please remind students of classroom and school behavior as well as being a role model and setting the example for the other students. Stay safe from the stormy weather.

Victor Hawkins

Dear Parents, The students were introduced to class procedures and policies. We will enforce them during the year. Please take the time to discuss with your student at home. Your support is greatly appreciated. I have attached a picture of the Technology Class. Please feel free to contact me anytime. Thank you, Mrs. AK

Mrs. Ak

Greetings All, When the dismissal process begins, our goal is to complete it by 2:50 pm. Therefore, by 3:00 pm., your child is considered a late pick-up. If this continues, you will be charged a drop in fee of $30 because your child has now enter the after school enrichment time. If your child rides a commercial van in which you pay for, you need to ensure that they are on time to pick up and drop off your child. The drivers have been as late as 3:30 pm picking up your children with no traffic in the line.

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

We did it! Even with a couple bumps in the road we made it through Week 2! This week we started spelling homework. It didn't go picture perfect. A lot of spelling packets that were left on desks, thrown onto the floor, or left in their math class. Starting next week, EVERYTHING will be posted on Class Dojo. I will be sending a homework log next week that will also help them keep track of their daily homework. We are all in this together. Communication is the most crucial! Please if you need anything or have any questions please email! Have a great weekend with your student!

-Ms. Pavignano

Contacting CMIT South ES and Frequently Asked Questions Our staff is committed to providing excellent service to all CMIT South Elementary families. We greatly appreciate your patience. If your question is urgent and you have not yet received a response, please resend your question to Secretary@cmitsouthes.org Moving forward, we suggest the following procedure when in pursuit of information about CMIT South ES: Step 1: Is your query featured on our website CMITSouthES.org? Frequently Asked Questions: : http://cmitsouthes.org/faq/ can answer myriad questions from School hours to uniform policies. Picture slideshow: The pictures on CmitSouthES.org feature links to information related to their content-- this can help with School Supply list questions, uniform information and how to join the PTO! You can move through the pictures by clicking the arrows which appear on screen or clicking the dots at the bottom of the slideshow. Step 2: Is your question in the CMIT South ES Newsletter? Or a past issue? Visit https://newsletter.clfportal.org/newsletter/issues/cmites to subscribe to our newsletter and to see previous issues of the newsletter. Step 3: You have tried the website and newsletter but still have questions: Send an email to secretary@cmitsouthes.org with all pertinent information regarding your query. We will connect your question to the member of CMIT South ES Staff who can assist best!

Lucy Waters-Sutherland Secretary CMIT South Elementary Lwaters@cmitsouthes.org 240-767-4820 http://cmitsouthelementary.org/

Happy Friday! Thank you to CMIT South ES Parents, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Watkis, Mrs. Davis and CMIT Staff for coming out for the inaugural CMIT South ES PTO Meeting. Over 45 parents in the room shows that our parents are engaged and the PTO will be super robust and we are off to a good start! Many different ideas, thoughts and questions were raised during our meeting and with the new incoming PTO Board, we will be able to make us THE BEST school in Prince George's County. Special thanks to the PTO Start-Up Committee for drafting bylaws, setting preliminary goals and sending solicitations for parents interested in leadership positions. Nominations were submitted and last night we held elections with those in attendance. Meet our CMIT South ES PTO Board: • President - Dolreen F. Holland • Vice President - Jachea Holmes • Treasurer - Kennita Spratley • Corresponding Secretary - DeRon Johnson • Recording Secretary - Georgette Gorham Our PTO Board is excited and moving forward with the vision and theme - Building A Firm Foundation. In the coming weeks, you will hear more about our: • PTO Bylaws • Membership Drive • Fundraising Plans • Activities for the 2018-19 school year As this is the inaugural year for THE CMIT South Elementary School, we are all strategically positioned to frame this our school and the experience for our children into greatness. We look forward to building this firm foundation with you strong support. The PTO is here for you and want all to be heard. Please contact us to share ideas or volunteer your time at pto@cmitsouthes.org. Our next PTO meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday October 10, 2018; hope to see you there!

PTO Board

On Wednesday, September 12, 2018, approximately 70 parents came out to support the inaugural PTO meeting. The basis of the meeting was the voting and election of PTO officers. I cannot thank all of the parents who cared enough to run for an office, prepared a one-minute speech to address the school community, and those who came out to support in a spirit of synergistic passion for young people and the school community at large. President: Ms. Dolreen Holland Vice President: Ms. Jachea Holmes Treasurer: Ms. Kennita Spratley Corresponding Secretary: Mr. Deron Johnson Recording Secretary: Georgette Shaw-Gorham Please take a moment to congratulate and celebrate the new board members. I have no doubt that they will do amazing things.

Patrice Harrell-Carter
Principal

WOW!! We have come to the end of the second week. YEAHHHH!! Let's take a moment to address an area in life that can pose a challenge to many, known as anxiety. Anxiety Anx·i·e·ty Noun A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. "he felt a surge of anxiety" synonyms: worry, concern, apprehension, apprehensiveness, uneasiness, unease, fearfulness, fear, disquiet, disquietude, inquietude, perturbation, agitation, angst, misgiving, nervousness, nerves, tension, tenseness; More desire to do something, typically accompanied by unease. "the housekeeper's eager anxiety to please" synonyms: eagerness, keenness, desire "an anxiety to please" PSYCHIATRY A nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks (https://www.google.com/search?ei=DwibW_aNJIqc_QbAw47ABw&q=anxiety+definition&oq=anxiety+d&gs_l=psyab.1.1.0j0i131i67j0l8.25924.25924..28163...0.0..0.55.55.1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71.3dWuhfKKMCU&safe=active&ssui=on). There are several individuals, both young and old who have experienced adjusting to a new environment or making new friends. Reflecting on my own life, I realize I have experienced anxiety for several different reasons. As I process the definition of anxiety, I have to wonder, could anxiety be a normal healthy part of our development? Could it be possible through education, love and support of our students, they could learn how to put having anxiety in a positive manner? For example, as an athlete I learned how to use my high level of anxiety immediately before competition as a tool to build strength and confidence. Parents and Educators, I ask that you take a moment and reflect on your experiences with anxiety! How did you cope? What could have made it better? Most importantly I ask you to keep your young students in mind, and remember they are only little people we once use to be. Listed below are a few informational websites: https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/starting-preschool/issues/school-anxiety/ https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/mental-health/mental-health-disorders/anxiety-and-anxiety-disorders-in-children-information-for-parents https://www.weareteachers.com/7-ways-to-help-students-who-struggle-with-anxiety/ Parents, I am looking forward to working with you and your little ones in teaching him/her how to work though his/her anxiety. Have a great TIGER weekend! See you next week!

DM Davis Professional School Counselor CMIT South ES dionne.davis@cmitsouthes.org