Information for parents/Guardians. Please use the following links to get more information on the reopening of school after the spring break. Q/A :- https://www.pgcps.org/reopen-pgcps/reopening-plans-frequently-asked-questions Reopening Guide:- https://www.pgcps.org/globalassets/featured-pages/reopen-pgcps/docs---reopen-pgcps/reopening-guide-for-parents-and-guardians-spring-2021.pdf You may also visit our school's website at this link: https://cmitsouthes.org/

L. Watkis (Assistant Principal)

Over the next two weeks, CMIT grade level leaders will engage their teams in introspective and reflective student data analysis. This analysis will assist us to identify our scholars’ strengths and deficits as well as help us to develop goals and identify action steps toward improvement. We look forward to learning more about our scholars and their achievement! Mr. Metin and Dr. Donovan

Dr. Donovan, Program Coordinator

Judging for the STEM Fair will take place on March 12-March 13th! We are excited to have secured some amazing judges for this our first ever CMIT South Elementary School Virtual STEM Fair! Thank you to all of the K-5 teachers who provided instruction and guidance for each project. A hearty thank you to all of our fabulous parents and guardians who motivated, encouraged and provided all that was required to have our scholars to produce projects of excellence! STEM Fair Committee Members Kylie Fleet Andrew Holloway David Rowland Deidra Chandler

Dr. Donovan, Program Coordinator

As it has been determined that Maryland scholars in grades 3-5 will take the MCAP this school year; we’ve identified a non-exhaustive list of resources to help your scholars to continue to prepare: Reading CommonLit.com - A free common core aligned digital lesson library. IXL.com - Each scholar has an account that gives them ready access to Language Arts and Informational Texts in Science and Social Studies content. iReady - Each Grades 3-5 scholar has a Reading account through Clever which provides Reading skill practice. Mathematics IXL.com - Each scholar has an account that gives them ready access to common-core aligned Mathematics content. Mathplayground.com - Free online math games (ad heavy). Math is Fun - Instruction and Practice with EVERY Common Core Standard. Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Math Compilation Videos - Homeschool Pop YouTube Channel (search by subject and grade level).

Dr. Donovan, Program Coordinator

Greetings CMIT South community, On March 2nd, we completed our month long push of the IXLathon. Our students mastered 5,568 skills across the subject areas of Math, Reading, Science and Social Studies. This breaks down to an average of roughly 10 skills per student in our school. This is an incredible feat and I want to applaud each and every student for their hard work. A big thank you goes to the teachers, administration and support staff for pushing our scholars to master those skills as well as the parents for constant reinforcement and encouragement. This feat could not have been accomplished without you. Thank you. On Friday, I will announce our winners for last week so they can receive their moment in the spotlight. Next week will be our grand reveal for the winners of the month for each grade level. Stay tuned. - Victor Hawkins

Victor Hawkins

Keep up the amazing work 3erd Grade Tigers!!

Attachment(s)

Carmen McTaggart

Hello parents/ guardians and students ! This week in physical education we covered dribbling a ball with our hands. Which means that coming up next week is dribbling a ball with our feet. The kids have been doing so well and I could tell they are trying their very best to get better at this skill as some are just learning and some are intermediate or advanced. If you would like to help your child with their skills, we covered the main concepts of dribbling: 1. Use your finger pads ( finger print portion of your fingers ) to push the ball and NOT slap it down. Using the wrist to snap down and give the ball force enough to come up 2. Bounce the ball to your waist. Have your dribbling hand ready at the waist to stop the ball and push it back down. Any higher and it could get stolen or out of control. 3. Eyes looking forward. You need to know where; the hoop is, teammates are, defenders are, and where you're going. 4. Knees bent. So you can move quickly if you have to and cut either direction to get around someone ( or dribble through your legs ! ) PARENTS - This is the first time asking you to help buy equipment for home, but if you DO NOT have a basketball, kickball or soccer ball at home, PLEASE make sure you make your way to Wal-mart or Target or even CVS has kickballs and PE equipment sometimes in the toy department. It is very important for the next 3 weeks that students have a ball ready that will optimize their learning. I would recommend a RUBBER KICKBALL because it can be used for both our dribbling with feet lessons coming up and can be dribbled easily. The glossy, plastic looking playground balls are very light and hard to control so if you can, please avoid those. I appreciate your help in advance.

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

This week 2-4 finished up their projects! Above are examples of African masks done two different ways from 3rd and 4th grade and a torn paper landscape inspired by Romare Bearden from a 2nd grader! The fifth grade will have their self portraits done come next week! The Kindergartners will be creating a garden using only their primary colors and the 1st graders are making clowns using the same color scheme!

Stay happy, healthy, and creative! Miss James

Dear Parents/Guardians, Please complete the Emergency Contact Information Form by clicking the link below: https://forms.gle/ehzeoz4Jbyd8mjq58 This information is required for school staff to follow the correct procedures and make appropriate contacts in case of emergency. This includes the unscheduled closing of schools, illness of student, accident, or other situations in which someone other than the parent/guardian needs to assume temporary care of your child if you cannot be reached. Thank you.

Juliana Derin - Principal Secretary/Admin Intern

Hello everyone, from the 2nd grade team! We hope you all had a great week this week and welcome to a new month of school! Thank you so much to everyone who participated in and attended our Black History Month Program! Also, congratulations to all our students who made honor roll for the past quarter! We are so proud of you! Students are continuing to learn a lot in each subject! In Reading, students are finishing up learning about poems and rhyming words as well as reading biographies! In Social Studies, students are finishing chapter 2 from our social studies books and took our test this past week! Students will be starting Chapter 3 next week! In Math, students are finishing up learning about subtraction within 100, and in science, students are learning about properties of matter! Make sure to be logging in minutes of reading to the READ-A-THON website this month! If you need any information on READ-A-THON, please send your teacher a message. If anyone has any questions about the school reopening plans, make sure to write them on the 2nd grade parents questions sheet! Thank you, and we are looking forward to another great week of school next week!! From your 2nd Grade Team! :)

Leah McDonagh Kylie Fleet Kristen Girch Michelle Phillips Andrew Holloway

The Kindergarten Team is getting ready to go back in to the classroom. We are getting our classrooms ready for students to come back to school. We are very excited. We came up with a list of supplies students will need to come back. Remember students will not be able to share so they need all of their own things. We are also celebrating Women's History Month. Students have their March Projects highlighting a woman that has made an impact in their life. Projects are due March 24th . As we prepare to come back into the building...students will need to have the following supplies if they are returning to school. This is an ongoing list. We will keep families updated. 1 Large backpack 1 Chromebook or ipad fully charged at home 1 headphones with wire 1 Plastic pencil box to keep ALL supplies 5 Sharpened pencils 1 pencil sharpener with covering so shavings stay in container 1 24 pack crayons 1 4 pack of dry erase markers 1 eraser or sock 1 Journals 1 personal hand sanitizer 1 Water bottle 1 Small pack of tissues 2-3 Reading books (switch out weekly) 1 Face mask 1 Change of clothes Everything will be kept in your child's backpack and will go home each day. Materials needed for CARTS Class...If your child is coming back M/T...please have supplies for those classes. If your child comes in on Th/F...please have supplies for those classes.

Kindergarten Team Ms. Curtis, Ms. Williams, Ms. Herbert & Ms. Derfler

Our Saturday Academy STEAM Team has partnered together since October 2020 to provide a rigorous and beneficial extended learning experience each Saturday morning to scholars in Grades K-5. The experience focused on building our scholars’ proficiency with informational texts and mathematics concepts. A genuine thank you to all of the parents who ensured that their scholars attended and participated in our classes. A sincere thank you to the entire team; Mrs. Derin our co-coordinator and all of the teachers, Ms. Derfler, Ms. Gregory, Ms. Madison, Mr. Holloway, Ms. Phillips, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Lambert, Mr. Rowland and Mr. Kennedy who committed their time early each Saturday morning to engage, motivate and have our scholars excel! Dr. Donovan, Saturday Academy Co-coordinator

Beverly Donovan

Parents/Guardians, Each school year as you know, students in the state of Maryland take the common core examination. At CMIT Elementary School, teachers work assiduously to prepare students for the next grade level. While we cultivate a culture for learning by planning, and implementing best practices at school, we need your ongoing support to ensure that ALL our students are at school, each and every day. While this helps to guarantee that NO learning is missed, it also signals the value of hard work and determination. It is a healthy habit to cultivate. We thank you so much, because we see and know the effort many of you put into each learning day. Knowing that our students, grades 3-5th will take the common core, we NEED you fully onboard. The following strategies will help students feel confident and ready for each school day. So, begin to have a conversation about the importance of testing. It helps students feel more confident about testing when they hear the same conversation about it at home and at school. That is, both home and school value testing. Make it a habit to check computers and keep them fully charged Find a good spot to complete daily assignments; look for a good spot to complete tests. Make sure you understand the test guidelines, ask teachers in advance for support. Opportunities will be available for students to take practice exams... Study daily...students should begin to get into the habit of studying .. Begin to practice good time management now...during classwork and while taking tests. Our scholars should begin to read a question, pause and think! Students should learn how to keep track of time now- while they are online. Participate in non related activities outside of school hours, not while in class. Read! Read ! Read! We thank you for partnering with teaching and learning @CMIT South Sincerely, Admin Team

L. Watkis (Assistant Principal)

Parents/Guardians, Our IXLathon came to an end on March 2nd. Our school thank you so much for all the hard work that you have put into this initiative. Thanks for your support. Of course, it does not mean the end of learning via the IXL way. Students should continue to practice skills in ALL four areas daily. Practice makes perfect is still true today, so please ensure that our scholars are doing just that. Please take a look at the data, look at how much we have accomplished with your support. Respectfully, Ms. Watkis

L. Watkis (Assistant Principal)

Parents/Guardians, To ALL our wonderful ladies at CMIT South:- You are strong women- Take this month to reflect on the amazing things that you have done, and stay true to the plan to keep going. Sincerely,

L. Watkis (Assistant Principal)

Hello Parents! Our 1st and 4th grade scholars will begin to complete their Personal Education Plan (PEP). The PEP is an electronic tool that will follow them to high school to help students plan, with the school counselor, for high school graduation and college and career readiness. Our first grade students will meet with me one-on-one, in break out rooms, during class to complete the form. The form will take students about 5-10 minutes to complete asking the student's questions such as "What is your favorite thing to learn about?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?". I will review the document with the students step by step in order to assist them in planning for the upcoming school year and beyond. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Days for Ms.Chandler's 1st grade PEP class visits Ms.Gregory-March 4th Ms. Brown-March 5th Ms.Libebe-March 8th Ms.Madison-March 9th Make up-March 11th If more days are needed they will be added on. Our 4th graders will complete the form during their SEL time next week via google form. Best,

Deidra Chandler Professional School Counselor