Hello, CMIT Families: Given that all instruction is online moving forward, a refresher about how to use Google Classroom for parents and guardians might be useful. Here is a link to a resource that might prove useful to this end: https://tinyurl.com/r8nkmga Presentation courtesy of Prince George's County Advocates for Better Schools. Best,

HS Administration

Hello everyone, In line with the state mandate to slow the spread of COVID-19, all school-sponsored field trips have been cancelled. I am in contact with all field trip sponsors to determine if the field trip will be rescheduled for next school year or cancelled altogether. All students who paid for cancelled field trips will receive a refund as soon as it is safe for school staff to return to the school building. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at sbond@cmitacademy.org. Thank you and stay safe.

Mrs. Bond, Bookkeeper

Dear Parents and Guardians, I reach out to you with both concern and optimism for the weeks where our students and staff are practicing distance learning. I certainly accept that the circumstances are not foreseen or ideal. Yet, I am optimistic because it is well planned, and implementation is going smoother than expected. Today, April 6, Spring Break started for the students. April 6 - April 8 will be teacher professional development days. All schools and classes will be closed from April 6 - April 13. All distance learning will start again on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Please take your time and discuss with your students how, during this difficult time, self-discipline and being well organized are the key points to continue success. As a parent, we should remember that some students may need more help to adjust to new learning strategies. Creating opportunities to talk and provide guidance to them will be helpful for a smooth transition. This global crisis is a great reminder that the world is moving to more virtual learning/working spaces, and if our students are not able to adapt, they will be left behind. CMIT North teachers created the virtual learning spaces and strategies by using some tools such as Google Classroom, Zoom Meeting, and Google Hangouts. I hope our students will continue taking full advantage of this tireless effort. Parents and guardians, please know that we are here working to support you. We will continue to respond to emails and communicate via newsletter and virtual classrooms, etc. Please do not hesitate to ask any of us for anything you need to support your students learning and we will be happy to help. We will miss our students tremendously, and we hope that we are back in session as soon as possible, but for the safety of all of our families, it is important that we shift our learning approach right now to stop the spread of this virus. Stay Safe and Healthy!

Gonul Ozturk, M.Ed, Principal

Hello Class of 2020 Families: Senior Diploma Verification Forms were handed out to each senior two weeks before school closures. These forms are needed to ensure the accuracy of the spelling of their names on the student's high school diploma. The deadline to submit the signed forms was Friday, April 3, 2020, however, due to the current situation, I will be extending the deadline to Friday, April 10, 2020. Please be sure to view this form, sign, and submit back to me as soon as possible. As we will be out of school for the couple of weeks, feel free to scan and email a copy of the form to my email at sbond@cmitacademy.org. I have attached instructions, as well as a blank copy of the form, if needed. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you and have a wonderful and safe week.

Mrs. Bond, Registrar

Hello Parents, Due to the current school closures, we are not able to process any new lottery registrations, or complete any student record updates. Lottery registrations and withdrawals will be processed once it is safe for staff members to re-enter the school building. Parents that may need to update their home address in the system, will have the ability to do so at that time, as original documents will be required. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me via email at sbond@cmitacademy.org. Thank you and please stay safe.

Mrs. Bond, Registrar

Hi, Everybody! Just "wow." OK, after a deep breath, here we go. Please see any emails or newsletter posts from Mrs. Ozturk. She is really on top of things and making information available to all. Additionally, the administrative staff is a body collective providing teachers and parents with the assistance needed so we teachers have the capability to keep our students learning. For ALL MY classes: Your grades will be published Monday, April 6 through Wednesday, April 8. If technology availability was an issue for you during the March 16-27 closure, do not worry, you will be 'exempted' from any assignment you missed. If you were able (as most of you were) to complete assignments, they have been placed back into SchoolMax by SchoolMax and made part of the 3rd quarter once again. The special coding that SchoolMax had placed there making you and me think that your work was not counted has been removed. I immediately saw most grades went up! So far, all I know is that our classes will be held on Wednesday mornings. All Physics will be in one online class, and all BioGeoChem classes will be in one online class. I understand the time for classes and office hours are still being tweaked. Hoping by the time this newsletter is out, there will be more specifics for us all. Physics classes: On April 14, the start of 4th quarter, I plan to keep us going with the original plan - to begin the Electricity Unit. So far, it looks like Zoom is the way to go. Because many of you are way more tech-savvy than me, I may be relying on you to not only set a high bar for your course online participation, but also to offer your classmates help (as well as help me!) with any tech usage issues in Zoom. (I don't care what anyone else says - you are the CMIT FLAGSHIP!) BioGeoChem: When the quarter starts on April 14, and we have our first class together, we are going to press on with our instruction where we left off. Originally, I was keeping us all up to date with the school district pacing guide to cover all needed material so you were FULLY PREPARED to take the MISA in May. The good news is this: YOU ARE AHEAD OF THE DISTRICT!! I saw that science in the district is only now going to cover the glaciation unit you already completed. So, we're going to keep pressing forward so you are still MISA prepared EVEN THOUGH the MISA is now waived. We will not repeat the Glaciation unit, but will continue with Human Impacts and Earth Resources. In closing, I miss seeing all of you coming into school in the mornings! As I've been reading your submitted work and entering your grades, your faces appear in my mind. I can hardly wait till this is all over and I can see you again. So, enjoy your Spring Break!

Suzanne Coholic, High School Science Teacher

Hello, Families and Friends of CMIT! I just wanted to share a friendly gesture of warmth, gratitude, and excitement of what lies ahead. I know these times of change are an adjustment for everyone, however, we must remember to focus in on the positives. It is important to share the kind and warm gestures within our community, as everyone is facing different obstacles during these times… that friendly gesture can be as small as a virtual check-in on a friend, neighbor, student, teacher, etc. It might be the ‘pick me up’ they need that day. Gratitude is an important virtue to remember during these times as we cherish our hardworking ‘essential’ community that continues to be there for us; give thanks for some extra quality time with family and friends you may be experiencing, even if its virtual and not in person; and look forward to the world progressing towards a more positive environment once we are able to embrace one another again. I am excited for the future, as the world will come together again as a new society. We are all considering things we normally do not think about, using new technologies that will shape the way some of us carry out our daily tasks, and most importantly, learning something new. Although the pressing, looming issue above everyone’s head may be frightening and uncertain, it is a virus, and an example of one way to connect what goes on in the real world with Biology. I look forward to reconnecting with my classes on a virtual platform after Spring Break, starting on a clean slate for 4th Quarter, and utilizing different applications granted upon us by our uniting society. Some of these applications are already utilized at CMIT while others are new for teachers AND students. In our technologically progressive society, being forced by current circumstances to utilize these platforms will be a vital skill for our students to obtain as they grow in their academic careers and one day future careers. See, there’s always a positive side! On the note of virtual classroom meetings, these sessions will be scheduled depending on the material that week. For more difficult material we may have more virtual discussions that week. Other times, I may only have one live Q and A session that week, and more supplemental videos I’ve created for students to view on their own time and pace. Keep an eye out for email updates and posts on Google Classroom for the scheduling of these virtual classroom sessions and a finalized schedule of office hours, weekly objectives, and more! One thing CMIT holds high are our expectations of students. We know they can do it, and together it’s our job to get them there. The expectations I hold for my students in a virtual classroom are high, their student etiquette should be stellar. Since they have the control to enter or leave the platform, they are becoming more and more responsible for their own learning. They will be exerting what will be a new discipline for some students. They must pace themselves and stay up to date as to not fall behind. Communication is important! If a student is feeling overwhelmed or lost, it is very important that they email their teachers ASAP, but the goal is for them to reach out before they feel that way. That being said, holding similar rigor from the classrooms is important online. We do not want students to fall behind when they enter the next grade level, or for our seniors, the next phase of life. We want to continue to push them to be their best! Our students are going to be learning an important lesson: you must be present not just physically, but mentally too and want to learn. My hope is that more students develop a deeper sense of their intrinsic motivation during this time, and carry that drive with them for the rest of their lives. Together, we can get our students to where they need to be! Stay safe everyone! We’ve got this CMIT!

Brittany Gonzalez, Biology & Forensic Science Teacher

Hello Parents and Students! While this week is Spring Break, some students have asked that optional/recommended assignments be posted for the week. I am going to continue with our schedule and focus on Period 3 for AP US History and The Judicial Branch for AP Gov this week, but not grade any assignments until the due dates listed for each assignment. I will post a survey on Wednesday evening to see who would like to have a Google Hangout on Thursday, April 9, but that will be optional to attend and a recording will be posted for others to review. All assignments will open up on Monday, 4/6 and will be closed on the dates listed for each assignment at 11:59pm. Each assignment is meant to be a one-day assignment, so even if it is not worked on next week, it should be completed by the due date listed. Key Things to Note for APUSH Exam: May 15, 2020 at 2pm DBQ Essay: 45 minutes and then 5 minutes to upload (100% of exam score) 5 historical documents, one of which will be non-text based Prompt will be from any of the Periods 3-7 Key Things to Note for AP Gov Exam: May 11, 2020 at 4pm FRQ #4- Argument Essay: 25 minutes and then 5 minutes to upload (60% of exam score) FRQ #1- Concept Application: 15 minutes and then 5 minutes to upload (40% of exam score) During the week, College Board will be posting Daily Review Videos for AP Gov and APUSH on YouTube. As of today, they have not released the schedule for the coming week, but some of them might be assigned as part of the student's highly recommended work if they pertain to our studies this week. Please make sure to check Google Classroom throughout the week for updates. APUSH Video link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoGgviqq4847VRWTPXkDwxeVvNNfoKD7J AP Gov Video link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoGgviqq4847dhi0SrQsNup5c76p7m3Ve As always, stay healthy and safe during this time.

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Mrs. Jessica Cunning, Social Studies Department Chair

Dear All, I truly hope that everyone is safe, healthy, and doing well during this time. AP WORLD HISTORY Please make sure you check your GoogleClassroom this week for information and updates about the changes in the AP Exam. While there will be no new assignments this week [enjoy Spring Break!], I will post the review plan and virtual class information for the upcoming weeks as well as resources to help us down this final stretch towards the exam. WORLD HISTORY I hope you all enjoy your Spring Break. I will post to Google Classroom on Wednesday (4/8) the game plan and information for the beginning of the 4th Quarter as we begin our virtual classroom. As of now, our first virtual lesson will be Thursday 4/16 from 11-11:30am [more information will follow in the Google Classroom update]. Please stay safe and healthy. Best,

Joe Funk, jfunk@cmitacademy.org

Parents, As we try to weather the remainder of the school year, it will be important that I ensure all parents and students are receiving the same information. Toward that end, I am asking parents to click the link below and complete the form to provide me with updated contact information. This information will be used to communicate reminders about assignment due dates, information about the resources I am making available to the students, and any other feedback that might be necessary during this time. There will be challenges as students get used the the distance learning. I will make every effort to assist our students so that we can finish the year strong and prepare the students to continue to be academically successful. Thank you in advance for your response. https://forms.gle/3hTHtSixqYpubahX6

Greg Caldwell, Math Instructor

Dear Parents and Families, On Wednesday, April 8, 2020 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm, the CMIT HS PTO will host a Zoom webinar, a conversation with the HS administration about the distance learning our scholars must contend with during the COVID-19 response. You may submit questions prior to the discussion electronically at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GKLT6RM up to one hour before the forum begins. An online chat will be available to submit questions live during the forum. Our guest will be the Principal of CMIT HS. When: Apr 8, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: CMIT North PTO Town Hall Meeting Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cfu_FDJLTHiv6XXaxdz_fw After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Thank you, CMIT North PTO

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