The PTO’s Membership Committee would like to thank those of you who have joined the PTO this year! To show our appreciation, all current PTO members’ names were entered into a drawing.

Congratulations to our staff PTO member, Mr. Brauer!! Mr. Brauer received 2 tickets to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Saturday, November 5th.

Congratulations to 7th grade parent PTO member, Kimberly Harley!! Ms. Harley received 4 tickets to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Sunday, November 6th.

Another drawing will be held during the November PTO meeting for all current PTO members, but you must join to win! Dues are $10 per person. You can join the PTO by filling out our online membership form here: http://tinyurl.com/cmitnpto-membershipform and paying your dues through our online store here: https://squareup.com/store/cmit-north-pto

Thank you for your support!
PTO Membership Committee

Please make a note of the following school closings next week and plan accordingly:

Tuesday, November 8th - No school. Election Day.
Friday, November 11th - No school. Parent-Teacher Conferences.

CMIT Administration

We are pleased to announce our upcoming school Open House Dates:

CMIT North Open Houses for prospective parents are on the following dates:

Date: November 17, 2016
Time: 6:00pm to 7:30 pm

Date: December 3, 2016
Time: 9am to 10:30 am

Click the following link to sign up for attending the open houses: http://tinyurl.com/zzcupvl


Please spread the word.

CMIT Secretary

All 8th and 9th graders will be taking PSAT 8/9 on Tuesday, December 6th. This test will start to prepare our students to be successful on the SAT. It will also allow students to apply to speciality programs throughout the county. The application process is through the guidance department.

Please keep in mind that there is NO MAKE UP DAY. If your child is absent that day, we cannot test them on a later day. If your child is late to school that day, we cannot allow them to enter the testing room and will not be able to make up the test.

Students should bring a number 2 pencil (not mechanical) and a calculator. We will not be providing calculators. It is recommended that students bring a graphing calculator, if they are familiar with it. Students can bring a scientific calculator or a four-function calculator. Please also note that all math questions can be completed without a calculator.

To help students prepare, Khanacacdemy.org has videos and practice problems.

Here is a website with more information on PSAT 8/9: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-8-9/inside-the-test

Casandra Westerfield
Testing Coordinator

This school year, I have been afforded the great opportunity to be your child’s School Nurse. My name is Crystal Anthony, RN, BSN and it has been a pleasure working with the students at CMIT thus far. I come to CMIT with 10 years of nursing experience and over 4 years of pediatric and school health experience. My goal is to provide acute care to the students and staff throughout the school day, as well as, provide health education and enrichment activities. I look forward to working with each of you towards a healthy school year.

CMIT Nurse

The club formerly known as "Music Appreciation" has expressed a growing interest in learning how to play the guitar, so we have been meeting in room 127A on Thursdays for guitar lessons. Students and staff are welcome to attend and learn about the guitar while practicing on a Fender Telecaster. We'll be adding an amplifier to our setup later this week as we continue to learn techniques and songs across many different musical genres. Embrace your inner rock star and join us on Thursdays!

Scott Hommel

Our first session of Saturday Academy has been very successful. As we are about to close this session, we are pleased to announce the opening of our second session. This session begins on Nov. 12th and concludes on Dec 17th. Registration is on a first come first serve basis. All interested middle school students are invited to register. High school students taking Algebra 1 and Geometry can also register. Please follow the link below to register by Nov 5th.

If you are registered in the first session for the above dates, there is no need to register again.

https://goo.gl/forms/wSLjXK8xkTFgU4su1

Jennifer Jackson

The athletic department is selling sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats and other apparel to help support its programs. All proceeds will assist with making uniform and equipment purchases. Click the link below to purchase your apparel and help support the tigers! Deadline to purchase is Sunday November 6th at midnight. Turn around on the items is usually 3-4 weeks, in time for the holidays!

https://cmitstaff.itemorder.com/

Bailey Lawrence, Athletic Director

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This year we will be hosting our parent teacher conferences on Friday, November 11th. The format of the day has changed, and we want to make sure that you get an opportunity to meet with all of your child’s teachers in a timely and orderly manner.

We will be having individual conferences from 8:00 - 11:00 and group conferences from 1:00 - 3:00.

If you were contacted to have a group conference with all of your child’s teachers at once, please do not sign up for individual conferences.

How it works:

1. Go to http://signup.com/go/YqxTcn
2. Scroll to find your child’s first teacher with whom you would like to meet. It is in alphabetical order by last name. Click View.
3. A new window will open. Click on Sign Up next to the time slot you would like.
4. Enter your email and click Next to enter in all required information. Click Save, and you just reserved your first parent-teacher conference.
5. Please click on the Activity Location tab at the top of the page to find where the conference will be held.
6. Close that window and go back to the original window to find another teacher and repeat steps 2 - 6.

Please note that you can only sign up for one spot per teacher. Please also make sure that you leave time to get from one classroom to the next in between appointments.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you on November 11th!

Attachment(s)

CMIT Administration

Please consider attending the Berwyn Heights Town-Wide Clean Up on Saturday, November 12th, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Registration starts at 10 am at the Berwyn Heights Town Center --5700 Berwyn Road, Berwyn Heights, MD 20740.

Free pizza/drinks will be provided to all volunteers from 12:00 - 12:30 pm! Students can earn community service hours! Participants should wear pants, long sleeves, and closed-toe shoes. We will provide instructions and distribute clean-up supplies, (safety vests, rubber gloves, trash bags, and pickers). Participants will be given a map of the community and assigned a certain area to clean-up. Participants can either form their own groups, join in with another group, or walk the assigned area by themselves. For more information, contact Theresa Beck at beck_theresa@yahoo.com or 301-237-2829.

Natalie Gaudette

Absent on Picture Day? The date scheduled for makeup pictures is on November 18th, 2016. Please visit mylifetouch.com and enter picture day ID:MJ016767Q1

Jared Brooks

It turns out that leadership not only matters: it is second only to unity and cooperation.

Every year the week leading up to homecoming is designated as spirit week. CMIT students and staff dress up to the theme of the day in an effort to have fun while bringing the student body together. By the end of the week, the whole school is pumped up for a day full of events.

Spirit week is the time when students and teachers bond together. Our spirit ideas on the week of October 24 – 28, 2016 to promote our ideals didn’t only make a difference in improving confidence but also convey how important those effects are in promoting the learning four our students.

On Monday, teachers and students strides by wearing pink to unite in celebrating diversity and raising awareness on breast cancer. On Tuesday, they wear twin clothes to revel the importance of closeness - one must consider their duality as much as their unity. The science department on that day was Einstein’s octuplet. Anticipation and excitement lead the way to a mix- match day on Wednesday. Mix match symbolizes that our future is so unknown right now, but mix Match day is the day that we will learn our fate.

Thursday was great because it was our character day. We focused on who we are, who we want to be in the world, and how to develop this character strengths _ resilience, grit, empathy, courage, kindness.

Teachers and students are encouraged to sign up that they will not use prohibited drugs on Friday. CMIT call on every student to continue to improve the lives of everyone especially those who are blighted by drug abuse.

Gemma Y. Bognot-Clarke, Ph.D
Science Department Chair

Last Saturday(October 29th), Science Olympiad students were hard at work. Students practiced a range of events with their teammates, coaches, and mentors. The students participating in the Towers Event started building their tower out of balsa wood. Some other students that are in the Bottle Rocket Event made some rockets out of soda bottles with the help of Mr. Bayram and Mrs. Sarica. Students also worked on Wind Power, Fast Facts, Optics, and Crime Busters. Overall, great progress was made this week, and we are excited for next week.

Nuri Bayram

Please see the two attached Scholarship Application Packets, The Sharon A. Thomas Academic Book Scholarship Application Packet 2016 and the Academic Book Scholarship Application Packet 2017, for high school seniors graduating in the spring of 2017.

The Chapter is very excited this year and is requesting your assistance in making this application packet available to all Prince Georges County public and private high school students. All of the information regarding the criteria and submission of the completed application is listed in the packet.

For the 2016 school year the program received applications from all of the public high schools in Prince Georges County. Those applications were prepared well and presented so professionally that the only regret was that the program did not have sufficient funds to award more students. However, two deserving students, one attending Eleanor Roosevelt and one attending Flowers High School, were awarded the scholarships for 2016.

If there are concerns or questions please feel free to contact zphibvicepres2spz@gmail.com.

Attachment(s)

Natalie Gaudette

We are in the middle of the NHS canned food drive. The drive began on October 26th and continues through November 18th. Please encourage your student to contribute. We are collecting in their MWF first period classes. Some teachers are offering extra credit or other incentives so please don't be afraid to ask!

Ben Krystal

High School NHS is starting a tutoring program for both middle and high school students. We are seeking students to serve as tutors in subjects they are strong in. This is a great opportunity for students to gain service hours! We will provide a location every Thursday from 3-4 where tutors and tutees to meet up. In addition, tutors and tutees can meet up at their own convenience. If your student needs service hours and they are strong in a particular subject, please encourage them to apply to be a tutor! Tutor applications can be picked up in Mr. Krystal's room 160 or on the NHS bulletin board.

Ben Krystal

The deadline for Dual Enrollment course registration for Spring 2017 has been extended to November 15th. Eligible students have been emailed by the Dual Enrollment Office at Prince George's Community College regarding the application process. Please make sure to read that email thoroughly.

Students who are interested in taking a Dual Enrollment class in Spring 2017 should email Ms. Gaudette at ngaudette@cmitacademy.org to set up an advising appointment on one of the following dates: November 7th, November 9th or November 10th.

Students should bring the following items to their advising appointment:
(1) PGCC Dual Enrollment Application (attached): Please leave the "cumulative GPA" box and "Approved Class" section blank. Ms. Gaudette will fill these out.
(2) Dual Credit Course List (attached): Please highlight the courses you would be interested in having your students take in Spring 2017. Ms. Gaudette will verify their eligibility before adding those courses to the form. (The two "Searching for Classes" documents will help you figure out which courses the student's personal schedule will allow for)
(3) Transcript Request Form (attached)
(4) SOAR Certificate for PGCC New Student Orientation: this can be completed online by visiting SOAR Online or by entering the URL below: http://scripts.pgcc.edu/~tutorials2/Tutorials/OwlSuccessTrack/Owl_Success_Track/index.html

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Ms. Gaudette and she will get back to you as soon as possible.

Attachment(s)

Natalie Gaudette

Congratulations to both the girls and boys varsity soccer teams for making it to the second round of the regional playoffs. Although both teams lost in the second round, the tigers had a great run! Coach Chris, Coach Lawrence and the entire tiger community are proud of you. Thank you to all our seniors who will be missed next season.

Bailey Lawrence, Athletic Director

Bridging The Watershed (BTW) is an outreach program of the Alice Ferguson Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and area schools, designed to promote student academic achievement, personal connections with the natural world, lifelong civic engagement, and environmental stewardship through hands-on curriculum-based outdoor studies in national parks and public lands. Our 6th Grade students will participate in an authentic field study experience that allows them to take measurements and make field observations at Great Falls National Park on November 10th and 17th.

There is no cost to students for transportation or the activity. Students must bring a bagged lunch and dress warmly (in layers, in their school PE uniforms, gloves, hats, warm socks, coat/jacket).We encourage students to bring a pair of rain or water resistant boots on the trip because some of the activities will occur in water.

Permission slips went out in Mrs. Crespo's science classes Thursday and Friday of this week. Please submit them back to her by Monday, November 7th C.O.B. Please contact Mrs. Crespo via email if you have any questions or concerns at ncrespo@cmitacademy.org.

Half of the 6th grade class will attend the trip on this Thursday and the other half will attend the following week. We will inform parents and students via email and in class on Monday which day they will attend.

Lauren Chestang
Natalie Crespo

The lab next week will require students to have safety googles. They can be purchased at Home Depot or online. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Daniel Fleming

A friendly reminder that all physical education classes have switched to health. Therefore students are not to wear their PE uniform anymore and should wear regular school uniform until the 4th quarter.

Mark Snyder

Hola Todos,

Can you believe it, the second quarter is already here! Students in la case de Srta. Young we will be studying the literary works of Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet who wrote on many topics from food to relationships.

Students will need to come prepared each class with a Spanish Dictionary, having read the literature and be ready to participate in class discussions.

This lesson will be challenging, but rich in culture, history and literature.

Buenas Suerte,

Stacie Young

Welcome to the 2nd Quarter!

At this point, students are very familiar with how things work in my classroom. They know that in order to be successful they need to stay on top of every assignment, participate and inquire in class, and practice the topics learned after each class. Practice and application is SUPER key in becoming efficient in the content that we cover this year.

Students have several places to check and recheck what their HW assignment is for the night — front board in my room AND Google Classroom. They are responsible for checking Google Classroom, the bulletin board in my room dedicated to their class, or asking a classmate about assignments or missed work BEFORE coming to me.

Algebra 1:
We are officially wrapping up our first unit on Solving Equations and Inequalities (chapters 2 and 3 in our textbook). Students will be given a study guide this week (in class, but posted on Google CR) and unit tests will be given next Wednesday and Thursday 11/9 and 11/10. Please ensure that your students prepare. They can come any time next week before/after school or during lunch to ask questions — even if it is just for 5 minutes!

Trigonometry:
We are entering the world of the Unit Circle! We will be extending our knowledge on the 6 trig functions to the unit circle, finding exact values of unit circle values and looking at different real world applications and circles in creative ways. We are currently in Chapter 3 sections 3 and 4 in our Trig book.

AP Calculus:
After weeks of finding derivatives of many different types of functions using the different rules of derivatives, we are moving into our Applications of Derivatives unit - Chapter 5 in our book. Topics in this unit include finding extrema values of functions, the Mean Value Theorem, matching graphs of derivatives with functions, and curve sketching of functions and derivatives.

Please remember, students are expected to be keeping up with assignments on a daily basis. This is a very fast paced class and it can be easy to fall behind. We move on to new topics daily quickly. Students should be practicing every night in addition to the assignments given. In AP Calc, Practice really Makes Perfect!

I am available for my AP students after school on Monday’s and Thursdays. I encourage any student who can to take advantage of that time or come in during lunch!

REMEMBER - AP Exam is on May 9th at 8 am! We started preparing on Day 1!

All Classes - Please check School Max for information on your student's progress as grades are updated every week.

Ms. Rooney
HS Math Teacher
Hs Math Teacher Coordinator

Hello,

I cannot believe that time is going by this fast, but the first quarter is already over. Please check SchoolMax for your student's grade, and contact me if you have any issues. I will be contacting you if your student has below a 70%. One more announcement, please have your student purchase safety googles for future labs if they have not already purchased one. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you again,

Daniel Fleming

Physics students continue to practice applying learned physics concepts to novel situations in preparation for an upcoming test (date to be announced).

Astronomy students reviewed the first portion of the Distant Stars material. The PPTs are on the class's google classroom.

Environmental Science students began Ecosystems this week.

Please remember to check SchoolMax regularly.

Suzanne Coholic
High School Science Teacher

For the past two weeks, students have been working on planning a wedding. This concluded with an in class mock wedding on Friday. Students were able to experience all that goes into planning and implementing a wedding.

In Pre-Calculus, students were able to cut cones so that they may see how cutting through cones create the four conic shapes.

Next Week:
- Algebra 2 will work on factoring and solving polynomial functions
- Pre-Calculus will work on the four conic sections
- Family Living will discover the thought process that takes place before deciding to have children.

Nichole Bivins

The concept of multiple intelligence (MI) known to most teachers. Rather than a single intelligence, we possess many intelligence in varying doses. These intelligences include logical, mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, kinesthetic, naturalistic*, existential, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. As most of us understand that we are better at some things than others, it is difficult not to accept, in theory. With this concept, the MS students discussed and interpreted cell division (mitosis) through making mini-flip book illustration the phases of mitosis, poems, comic strips and raps. They described what happens in each stage. One of the student said that he felt more motivated to learn while doing his mini book (Monica Ojetela -W&M)-- other comments are:

- It was fun to see creativity in the lesson, I learned more than I learned in discussion - Kindalin Smith (W&M)
- We use something we all love, food! - Byrd Dasia (W&M)
- The project gave me a better understanding of mitosis - Adjustis Houey (W&M)
- The thing I like the most in this project is drawing, I learned the different phases through it! - Tyrese Hooper (Harvard)
- I learned the importance of cell division when through the flip chart I made - Bryce Stephan (Harvard)

In other words, when engagement is at a high level -- they perform better academically, improve classroom behavior, and gain a higher sense of self-esteem. The students were graded on creativity, accuracy, presentation and knowledge.

Gemma Y. Bognot-Clarke, Ph.D.

This week, 6th grade students learned that it is not considered rude to arrive to an appointment a few minutes late in Spanish-speaking countries. Please compare this standard of the Hispanic world with your rules at home on punctuality.

8th graders took a dive further into their study of Mexican culture by learning vocabulary about the imminent Day of the Dead, observed on November 2nd as part of a three-day-long set of holidays in Mexico that begins every year on the 31st of October. Some students also viewed video recordings of Day of the Dead gatherings in Mexico City (nothing gruesome). To practice speaking at home, ask your young scholar how to say "Day of the Dead" in Spanish.

Best wishes,
Mr. Hester

For the past two weeks, the scholars enrolled in the Character Education/Life Skills course have been working on how to make good choices by using the various techniques taught during The Decision Making class such as the following:

* The 3 Cs
1. Clarify: make sure you understand the problem
2. Consider: weigh your options and the results of each option
3. Choose: pick what's best for you in that particular situation

* The Traffic Light Technique
1. Stop: identify the problem (making sure the problem is crystal clear). If there is no problem, then there is no choice/decision to be made
2. Think: the options/choices you have and the results of each choice
3. Go: pick/choose what's the best option for you

* Ask yourself 3 questions before you make your final choice:
1. Is it legal?
2. Will my parents approve?
3. Is it safe for me?
If you can say yes to all 3 questions, it's a good choice.

The poster will reflect 4 different situations incorporating the 3 questions and the other two techniques taught as well as having the vocabulary words per grade level, colorful drawings with wording explaining same and what the final decision is along with the reason for selecting that particular choice.

Dr. Sullivan-Williams (a.k.a. Dr. BB)

7th Grade

Students should be working on their Africa & the Silk Roads DBQ Essay. Final drafts need to be posted on Google Classroom by

- Monday November 7th- Morehouse
- Thursday November 10th-Morgan State


8th Grade

Students are writing a document-based essay about who fired the first shot at Lexington Green to start the Revolutionary War. Final drafts of essays should be posted on Google Classroom by the following dates:

- Wednesday November 9th- Duke, Xavier, William & Mary
- Thursday November 10th- Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Harvard


National History Day

Students should be well into their research at this point. Notetaking/research aids have been posted on Google Classroom. Thesis statements must be submitted using the required worksheet by Friday November 18th.

Please feel free to contact Ms. Cracovaner with any questions, comments, or concerns at acracovaner@cmitacademy.org

Ms. Cracovaner
Middle School Social Studies Teacher & Department Chair

As we are beginning a new quarter, we will be conducting our individual Newsela data conferences. This is a reminder for Mrs. Taylor's William & Mary, Vanderbilt and Xavier scholars to have at least 10 Newsela grade leveled articles completed. We will be looking at the individual scores for the common core-aligned quizzes and analyzing data.

~Conferences started on Friday and will continue on Monday!

Crystal Taylor

Currently, both Xavier and Vanderbilt are in Unit 2 of Math 8 which focuses on functions.

We have compared and contrasted functions and relations, found the domain and range of functions, evaluated the rate of change and started identifying specific functions that are linear. Looking forward, we are going to start graphing linear functions to make predictions and estimates.

Students should continue to practice with functions by completing the recommended homework on google classroom. A majority of the homework is on IXL.

Attached are several pictures of an activity which was completed in class. For the activity students were moving around the classroom completing 4 different stations. At each station, students were expected to evaluate the relation shown and determine whether it was a linear or nonlinear function.

Mr. Gruber

My name is Amy Sumor and I am happy to join CMIT as the new 7th grade Reading and Language Arts teacher. I come to CMIT after several years of teaching middle and high school in Baltimore City Public Schools. I hold a B.A. in English from Walsh University and an M.A. from Loyola University Chicago. I received my teaching credentials in 2006 from Baltimore City Teaching Residency and Johns Hopkins University. Prior to being a teacher I worked for various non-profits throughout the world. Passionate about education, I cannot imagine my life without teaching. I hope to bring that passion along with my love for language and literature to your scholars here at CMIT.

Amy Sumor

There will be an interest meeting for all students (boys and girls) who would like to try out for the high school varsity basketball team on Thursday November, 10th at 3:00 in Portable 6. If you can not make the meeting, please see Ms. Lawrence during the school day. Tryouts begin on Tuesday November 15th and will be held at Get Good Field House in Laurel. Time is TBA.

Bailey Lawrence

Dear CMIT Parents,

Have you registered your Giant bonus card to support CMIT?! If not, please visit www.giantfood.com/aplus and select "register your card", which is located in the red box on the right for customers. Enter the first 3 letters of your last name and your 12-digit GIANT CARD number. Next enter CMIT’s ID# (17899) and you’re finished!

If you do not know your Giant Card number, please call the Giant hotline at 1-877-366-2668 for assistance. The success of this fundraiser has allowed the PTO to purchase the caps, gowns, tassels and stoles for EVERY STUDENT of our first graduating class – The Class of 2017!! Please continue to support this fundraiser so we can do the same for all future graduating classes.

Thank you for your support,
CMIT North PTO Fundraising

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