The Lighthouse - Lighting the way for Excellence in Education! November 2021 Volume 1 - Issue 4 https://clfmd.org/the-lighthouse-newsletter/

CLFPR@CLFMD.org

Greetings! We appreciate your cooperation, parents and guardians, during the morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. Here are a few tips and reminders! Please use the LEFT lane to drop off and the RIGHT lane to exit. We're also suggesting that scholars sit on the left side in the back of cars so they can quickly and safely exit on the left side of the vehicle. Students must use the sidewalk and crosswalks as they proceed to the cafeteria entrance. Students may be dropped off BEFORE they get to the cafeteria doors. We're asking drivers to keep moving forward and when traffic stops, they can allow scholars to safely exit on the left. Again, be sure to use the LEFT lane to drop off! The right lane is for cars to exit and we are seeing an increase in the number of parents dropping off from the wrong lane. Thanks again for keeping our scholars safe and following our procedures.

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Rosalynn Gaskins

Dear Students, Another fantastic STEM club is about to start: Wright Stuff - Balsa Plane Club under the leadership of Mr. Coplan who is a professor at UMD Collegeboard! Students participating in the Wright Stuff, one of the activities of the Science Olympiad, will build long-duration indoor planes and, through testing and experiments, learn to maximize the time in the air. Building and flying Wright Stuff planes is interesting, rewarding and students learn new and useful skills. CMIT has a tradition of placing first in invitational and regional Wright Stuff competitions in the state. 2 club members whose planes fly the longest will have a chance to compete at Science Olympiad invitational and regional tournaments to defend our gold medal. If you want to make a balsa plane that can fly up to a few minutes, join this club? Watch some Wright Stuff flights on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVG63Qq3rH4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuN4rl-7g4M https://jhaerospace.com/product/senior-flyer-2018-2019-div-c-contest-model/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me5_fggETag Requirements: 1. Commitment and dedication! 2. Patience. 3. Attending all meetings. All materials will be provided by the school. Club will meet on Thursdays from 4 PM to 5:30 PM. The first meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec 2nd! Please fill out the google form below if you are interested. https://forms.gle/BfwN4Qm9Xx9ePxXM7 Let me know if you have any questions.

Mr. Bayram Program Coordinator STEM Coordinator Clubs/Academic Teams CMIT Academy North nbayram@cmitacademy.org

November 16, 2021, CMIT celebrated America Recycle Day, led by the Green School Club. There was live streaming during the First period through all classes about Green School Sustainability programs. Teachers were requested to log in to CMIT media. In addition, all science classes from the second period to the eighth period had literacy lessons led by the green school members. - Students wore GREEN tops. - Teachers and Staff wear green/ green accessories to show their support for Environmental Sustainability. - Green masks were distributed to all staff and students on the same date. - Parents turned to CMIT social media. - It was a wonderful opportunity for all students, staff, and parents, and our community to understand the Green School program CMIT North High School is a Green School certified by Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE), Maryland, USA. This year, our school projects include building the green garden, a living umbrella, increase our school literacy and sustainability, apply for Green school scholarships, and fly a green school flag. Thank you for all your support. (Videos, photos, and more information are available on our school website.

Dr. Clarke Science Teacher Tutoring & Academic Services Saturday Academy, Liaison STEM Fair Coordinator Green School, Advisor

Sometimes we feel it's awkward or cumbersome to think we are being tutored; however, after the QUARTER 1 GRADES and issues like difficulty submitting work on Canvas, too long being in virtual learning, and other things, students should consider getting help. CMIT Tutoring & Academic Services gives free assistance to improve grades, support academic challenges, and basic homework help. We have high-caliber tutors benefiting anyone struggling with a difficult subject. In addition, our tutors have approaches centered on students' strengths to help them feel less stressed about the subject. Finally, our tutor can customize the program to tailor your needs to pass your course, including honors and & AP courses. They can help develop basic study habits and strategies that can use in the student's essential skills. Parents may request for tutoring schedule. However, students must attend classes regularly with a specific schedule (each session or tutoring time is 1 hour) Ninety-eight percent of the students who avail tutoring from Progress 1 to Quarter 1 had improved their grades. (data will be furnished in the next newsletter and on our school website) Note: Any student who receives grades are below 60% after Quarter 1 cannot attend the after-school club or athletics. Therefore, please take the opportunity to impact your academic success by taking tutoring advantage.

Dr. Clarke Science Teacher Tutoring & Academic Services Saturday Academy, Liaison STEM Fair Coordinator Green School, Advisor

Picture day make up is scheduled for December 7th. Students who did not have their pictures taken on October 25th can have their picture taken on this date. Students MUST wear their CMIT OXFORD for individual pictures. The Yearbook Staff does not have enough oxfords to share with students. Our sizes are too small for many of our students. Therefore, we are asking you to purchase your own oxford OR borrow an oxford from another family for pictures. Club pictures can be in regular uniform. Sport/Athletic pictures will be in their team uniform. ALL STUDENTS WHO WISH TO BE IN THE 2021-2022 YEARBOOK MUST COMPLETE A PUBLICITY RELEASE FORM. If we do not have a publicity release form on file for your student, THEY CANNOT BE IN ANY PICTURES IN THE YEARBOOK. Here is the link in case you need it: https://cmitacademy.org/highschool/2021/10/05/pgcps-student-publicity-release-form/ If you have any questions, please let me know.

Tammy O'Donnell

Hello Class of 2022 parents! First of all, thank you for being so patient as we work with a new yearbook/photography company this year. The supply chain issues have had an impact on them, as well staffing issues, but we are working hard to get things scheduled. Secondly, Senior Portraits are scheduled for DECEMBER 14-17TH. You should have received the link to reserve a time for pictures. The scheduled time is only 10 minutes because the only pictures that will be taken on these days are the CAP AND GOWN and the TUX AND DRAPE. Since these are the pictures we will need for yearbook, and the picture package that is ordered the most, we are starting with those poses. The casual pose and athletic pose picture date will be scheduled for January. By scheduling it this way, we are able to keep contact limited and not have students gathering in the gym and locker rooms for an extended period of time. The package details for Senior Portraits are attached. If you choose an additional pose to the ones listed above, those pictures will be taken in January. Students will be excused from school for the day they have scheduled pictures. THEY WILL NOT BE EXCUSED FOR ALL THREE DAYS. The student will still be expected to make up any work they missed on their picture day. If students want to attend school for part of the day, leave school to prepare for pictures and then return to school for their scheduled time, that will be allowed for this instance. If you have not already booked your student’s picture time, the link is below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050C4BAEAE2FA3FE3-laurel If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mr. Hommel. Congratulations parents and seniors!

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Tammy O'Donnell

The October results of the Vocabulary Bowl have just been released! We're excited to announce that Chesapeake Math & It PC - N High School earned the following achievements for October 2021: Maryland StateTop 10 School October 2021 Way to go Tigers!! Here how the breakdown looked for first quarter in the TEACHER CHALLENGE: In third place was Ms. O'Donnell's classes In second place was Ms. Houston's classes AND THE WINNER OF VOCABULARY.COM TEACHER CHALLENGE FOR FIRST QUARTER IS MR. BRADSHAW'S CLASSES! Congratulations and well done!!

Tammy O'Donnell

Greetings families, Throughout the school year, Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) and the Prince George’s County Board of Education conduct activities that may be publicized by local or national news media or used to promote the school system. Publicity activities include interviews, photographs or videos of individuals or groups of students, or student works (including, but not limited to, artistic works, athletic activities, performances, and competitions) that may be used in websites, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, print (Yearbook, school magazine, etc..!!) or online publications (School Youtube, etc..), or videos. The information shared under this publicity release may include certain directory information, which is generally not considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released under Administrative Procedure 5134. Please fill out the google form below to grant the publicity release. This Publicity Release Form will remain in effect through September 2022. https://forms.gle/fzW7MTSru3Suf5Pt8 If the form is completed once for a student, it will be valid for all activities, programs, and events until September 2022! nbayram@cmitacademy.org Mr.Bayram Program Coordinator

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Hey CMIT Family! Follow us on social media not to miss the latest updates! Below are CMIT-N High School`s official social media accounts: Twitter: @CMITAcademy Instagram: cmitacademy Facebook: @CmitNorthHighSchool YouTube: CMIT Academy Media https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuPgTO2ZyC2WQoTOgBislA?view_as=subscriber nbayram@cmitacademy.org Mr.Bayram Program Coordinator STEM Coordinator

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Dear Students, Parents, Guardians, and Friends, Here are a few updates for Mr. Bevard’s 9th and 10th grade English classes: - Mr. Bevard is out to support the family after the birth of our latest child and will return to the classroom on Monday December 13th. The current absence plan for both 9th and 10th grade remains in effect until Wednesday December 1st. *Thursday and Friday, December 2nd and 3rd will be a transitional, independent activity for Mr. Bevard’s students as we introduce our next major resource: vocabulary.com. *The learning activities of December 6th through the 10th will be announced closer to those dates but will be available at least by the 5th of December. 9th GRADE UPDATES For Mr. Bevard’s 9th grade classes, there are some definitional, procedural updates to be aware of moving forward, which I will detail below. But first, some important context. In our first notable writing assignment, The First Short Composition of Week 5, it became apparent that large numbers of students were not completing the work. At that time, I canceled the DocHub digital resource as a requirement for completion of work. Students had expressed concern that this was an impediment to completion of assignments, and I yielded to suggestions that we eliminate any conceivable obstacle to completing the work. By and large, students did not begin completing the work in large numbers. Some students who were completing all the work performed very, VERY well in Quarter 1. Students who availed themselves of TCR in the last week of the Quarter also did well, though not as well as they might have had they received feedback and revised and resubmitted their work, as many were invited to do. This suggests that the coursework is both balanced and not unduly difficult. In Week 10, however, students were assigned another short composition. This was distributed through the Digital Notebook Exemplar - the resource on which is recorded and disseminated all of the course’s content and which all students are instructed to find the work as sorted by type and date. (To bookmark this work was one of our Week 2 and 3 tasks.) Students are expected to consult this resource nightly; it includes the drill, class work, and homework assignments which are also written on the board daily. (For interested parents, the 9th grade course work may be found up to 11/19 - with cancelations for my paternity absence indicated - here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12GgRjgpyBetq_eeoQtYltHdbdhOvGEQY/view?usp=sharing). Yet when asked to submit this work, only 72 of 105 (or 69% students submitted the work). Of those 72 students who did submit the work, 46 submissions were incomplete - defined as 5 or fewer sentences. (In other words roughly 64% of submitted work was incomplete, and only 44% of all 9th graders turned in this work to begin with.). Many students submitted screenshots to avoid Canvas’s conversion error, but in doing so they inadvertently shared their editing history which often showed that the “last edit was seconds ago,” suggesting that when students saw the collection post on Canvas, they hastened to put together something to submit. This data, along with that I collected near the close of Quarter 1, demonstrate that when students fail to complete the work, they do poorly on both follow up practice tasks as well as scored accuracy measures. Conversely, by submitting complete work on time, students tend to perform better in the class. Interested parents and guardians can see this information reflected in SchoolMax. Assignments with a comment of Late/NS mean that an assignment was submitted late or was not submitted at all. To add greater clarity to our workflow, the following practices will be adopted in 9th grade English: 1. No work submitted after a posted deadline will receive feedback. Feedback takes time to develop; late submissions create gaps in the feedback cycle and yield scores which students don’t always understand and frequently do not follow up with for additional clarity. If students want feedback, they must submit the work on time. 2. Late work of any quality will receive a score of zero. A standard of acceptable work is its timely submission; late work does not fit this definition and will no longer be considered for points. Students have been receiving announcements in class regarding this resumption of the syllabus policy since the beginning of TCR in class. 3. Only assignments expressly invited for resubmission with an instructor’s comment will be reassessed. Students should check their feedback and take advantage of the frequent invitations to revise and resubmit their work. 4. The following are some paragraphing updates: 1. Many students have asked what the minimum number of sentences is for a high school paragraph. This question raises grave questions about how students conceive of their writing. Rather than regarding their work as a unique expression of their own attitudes and reasons, this question reveals a desire for technical compliance rather than excellence of composition. Since the beginning of our this year - and for as long as I’ve taught high school - we have defined a paragraph as “a well developed and adequately supported idea.” Since this is nebulous to many students, we have numbered an effective paragraph at 12-15 sentences and equipped them with 5 methods of reasoning to support their developing writing. To this point, paragraphs have been scored qualitatively based on the validity and development of their paragraphs using selections of the reasoning methods. But to ensure students will begin meeting this objective for high school composition, we will adopt the following schedule of escalated expectation. These may seem abrupt, but with complete application of the 5 reasoning methods which have been at the core of our composition instruction, these goals are achievable. (Some students even as recently as this week have achieved the goal for Quarter 3 below.) 1. For Quarter 2, paragraph assignments will not be considered complete unless they include 8 sentences. This includes the work for The Pearl, which begins next week and is part of the Paternity Absence plan for 9th graders. (Incomplete paragraphs will earn a maximum score of a D.) 2. In Quarter 3, no paragraph will be considered complete without 12 sentences. 3. By Quarter 4, all paragraphs will include 15 or more sentences. 5. Work submitted to Canvas which becomes converted into an unreadable link will no longer be invited to resubmit. Students should submit all work as a PDF or screenshot of the work as appropriate. Multiple screen shots of the work must be converted into one file for proper rendering in Canvas.

All the Best! Mr. Bevard, MA English 9 & 10 Department Chair CMIT Academy

Our first quarter novel, Ashes, was a great way to start novel study this year and generated lively conversation. Now with the second quarter starting, we will accelerate our rigorous learning with novel study and book group study (information to come on that after Thanksgiving). This quarter, we will focus on a classic: THE PEARL, by John Steinbeck. I plan to start the novel study after the Thanksgiving break. I will have a PDF of the book available, as well as some classroom copies, but if your scholar prefers to have their own copy, here are the details: Paperback $10.80 THE PEARL: Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 1st edition (April 6, 2000) Language ‏ : ‎ English Paperback ‏ : ‎ 90 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014017737X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140177374 Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1010L “There it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon.” Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the Kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, as "perfect as the moon." With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and of security.... A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man's nature, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tammy O'Donnell

Our first quarter novel study, Miracle's Boys, generated lively discussion and debate. I am looking forward to what our second quarter novel study will bring! Not only will we continue our novel study, but we will also start our book club novel (details will be shared after the Thanksgiving holiday). This quarter we are focusing on classic novels. The 10th graders will be reading A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens. I will have a pdf of the book available and some classroom copies, but if your scholar prefers their own copy the details are below: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens This novel traces the private lives of a group of people caught up in the cataclysm of the French Revolution and the Terror. Dicken's based his historical detail on Carlyle's "The French Revolution", and his own observations and investigations during his numerous visits to Paris. ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1853260398 Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wordsworth Editions Ltd (January 1, 1993) Language ‏ : ‎ English Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781853260391 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1853260391 Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 710L It certainly does not have to be this edition, as most editions are unabridged and have the same text just in different formats. Any copy will do. This is the copy I will use in the classroom. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tammy O'Donnell

Our first quarter class winners for a pizza party was.... FIRST PERIOD!! The student with the most points overall in vocabulary.com for first quarter, and the winner of a $25 Amazon gift card is: 9th GRADER, SAMUEL ADENOLA!! Congratulations! A new quarter means a new opportunity to win! Get playing!!!

Tammy O'Donnell

CMIT-N HS offers plenty of STEM and tutoring options for the students to take part in on Saturdays including Science Olympiad, Math Olympiad (Mathmagicians), Team Illusion (Solar Car&FIRST Robotics&VEX Robotics&Seaperch), Fire-STEM (Rocketry&VEX IQ&Ten80 Autonomous Vehicle&Junior Achievement) CTAS (CMIT-N HS Tutoring and Academic Services). If you want to join the Saturday Academy programs, follow the link below: https://cmitacademy.org/highschool/2021/10/18/saturday-academy/ STEM Teams continued preparing for upcoming competitions at Saturday Academy. A few headlines from the past Saturday Academy Teams` works: Fire-STEM Rocketry team worked on the stability of the rockets. Fire-STEM VEX IQ team tested their robot on the new field! Team ILLUSION’s VEX branch worked on driving systems! Team ILLUSION #4464 went on building the Solar Car! Science Olympiad Tigers went on preparing for the upcoming NCS invitational competition. Scioly Tigers practiced Write it do it, codebusters, experimental design, astronomy, and more!

Mr. Bayram Program Coordinator STEM Coordinator Clubs/Academic Teams CMIT Academy North nbayram@cmitacademy.org

Our SGA officers attended their first meeting of the Prince George's Representative Assembly of Student Government this month. It was an opportunity to meet with officers from around the county and discuss issues that students may be facing in their schools, as well as brainstorm ideas on how to address the issues. The students were also able to share fundraising ideas and network with other leaders in our county. The Student Board Member also gave a presentation on what has been happening at Board of Education meetings. This was a great opportunity for our emerging leaders! Next up is a leadership retreat for our officers. Details are still in the works but we plan on solidifying our SGA as the best in the county!! We will keep you posted. Mr. Mirza and Ms. O'Donnell

Tammy O'Donnell

Once again, the supply chain and staff shortage continue to impact our 2020-2021 yearbook. It has again been returned to me to address some of the formatting issues so I will work on that over the break in an attempt to streamline the yearbook and get it out to everyone by Spring. I know this is frustrating and I ask for your patience. We switched to a different company this year, so I do not anticipate this kind of issue with our next yearbook. Thank you again for your patience. I truly appreciate it. THERE WILL BE A YEARBOOK!! It just is taking longer than anticipate. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tammy O'Donnell

Our photographers have been BUSY! With so many wonderful activities happening, soccer games, volleyball games, staff games, club meetings, etc, we have a lot of pictures for our yearbook. We have been meeting as departments to ensure that things are running smoothly. Our Editor in Chief, Kennedy Johnson, has been leading a team of Associate Editors and working with their staff to get things organized and prepared for publication. This has been a wonderful group of students to work with and I cannot wait for you to see the results!

Tammy O'Donnell

Science Olympiad had another productive meeting, with students continuing preparation for the December 11th Invitational at National Cathedral. More information regarding the tournament will be communicated through email. There will be no virtual Science Olympiad meeting Friday November 26th, or in-person next Saturday, November, 27th. Science Olympiad will resume virtual meetings Friday, December 3rd, and in-person meetings Saturday December 4th. Happy Thanksgiving!

Joshua Ikegwu

Greetings CMIT Family, The mathmagicians team students are adding a new competetion to another each week. Last week's challenge is a Math Madness competition against Albuquerque Academy. Even if the questions are very challenging, Mathmagicians working eagerly, and it will pay off. Good job Mathmagians, keep it up! Also, we celebrated the students success with a pizza party (as I promised). Definetelly, we enjoyed it! Have a great week!

Esra Keskin, MBA Math Teacher Math Olympiad's Coach ekeskin@cmitacademy.org

CMIT FIRE Ten80 Autonomous Vehicle Team Building a new AV

FIRE CMIT

Mandatory Team Practice Tuesday November 23rd from 3-4 pm in room 211. For next week our practice is moved to Tuesday. This is a very important practice and all members are urged to attend. We will be planning tournaments for the rest of the year, finalizing teams, and updating our practice schedule. Please make plans to attend.

Jennifer Matson

CMIT-North HS Mathematics Department is inviting our Students, Parents, and Guardians to participate in our BI-WEEKLY MATH CHALLENGE. An email will be sent to Parents, Guardians and Students of the MATH CHALLENGE question bi-weekly starting today, Nov 22. Please follow the instructions on the email in sending your responses. Make sure to send in your responses by the due date and time. LATE responses will not be accepted. We will choose 5 individual winners who will be awarded small gift packs. Plus, we will tally the scores of the top 20 students who send in correct responses. These scores will be tallied for the students' Math Teacher (indicating their class and period) . The Math Teacher's class with the highest score at the end of the quarter will get a class prize. If you have any questions, send an email to Mrs. Mace Eclevia at meclevia@cmitacademy.org Enjoy the Math Challenge and Happy Solving!!!

Mrs. Mace Eclevia Chair, CMIT-North HS Math Department

The PTSO hosted the first PARENT ACADEMY of the year. It was a TECH ACADEMY and the focus was on CANVAS, SCHOOLMAX and the CMIT WEBSITE. Our presenters did an AWESOME job of sharing the information with parents. Everything from how do you get notifications from Canvas to where do I find the absence form to submit my student's excuse? One big question was which grade do you look at for the CURRENT quarter grade in SchoolMax. Here is the answer: • Current Term Grade Weighted Average is the current estimated grade percentage so far for the entire course term (full year, semester, or quarter). • Grade Period Weighted Average is the current estimated grade percentage so far for this current quarter. We had a great turnout and plan to continue a monthly series just for parents. If you have an idea for a Parent Academy topic, email to the PTSO at : cmitnorthptso@gmail.com We look forward to seeing you at our next Parent Academy in December!

Tammy O'Donnell

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