I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Instruction and

Assessment

2

The Builder’s Club 2

Bulldog

Beatification

3

Special Olympics 3

Let’s Talk 4

Concelor’s

Corner

5

Healthy Habits 5

Parent

Involvement

6

Bookends 7

Bulldog Bulletin J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

January 16, 2015

Dear CMS Families and Friends,

We are shifting into high gear around CMS with student expectations! There are 89 school

days left of school and only 58 days before state testing. With the start of this second

semester, we need to see improvement in the areas of student attendance and work

completion in order to reach our instructional goals. In too many cases, teachers have

identified these two issues as obstacles to students’ progress often leading to course failures.

To address these concerns, we have designed individual and class incentives for 3 week

increments to help motivate students in these two areas. These incentives were highlighted

to students at a recent pep rally. We’re excited to see our students and staff pumped up and

inspiring each other to reach these individual and shared goals for attendance and work

completion. We will provide similar incentives for the last grading period. Special thanks also

to Nick Chubb, former CMS student and current University of Georgia football player, for

joining us in pushing this effort with students! He recorded a special video for classes and

plans to visit this spring.

From the Desk of Mrs. Walker

CMS Star Bulldog Challenge

Goal Reward

Individual: No missing work Prize: Free time in gym during extended HR Drawing: $50 Wal-Mart gift card (per grade level)

Individual: Perfect Attendance (no tardies, checkouts, and absences)

Prize: Day pass to listen to headphones Drawing: $50 Hibbitt Sports gift card (per grade level)

Homeroom: Best Grade Level HR Attend-ance Average (Goal = 97% of students with perfect attendance)

Prize: Classroom breakfast snacks (per grade level)

Overall: No missing work AND Perfect Attendance for 3rd quarter

Prize: Certificate and recognition on website and school display + CMS Dog Tag Necklace Drawing: Beats Headphones (one overall win-ner)

P A G E 2

CMS Instruction and Assessment Update As we ring in a new year, CMS ended 2014 with a refined focus in preparing all students for success for April’s upcoming Georgia Milestones Assessment. That strong focus has carried into the new year, and below is a sum-mary of the steps CMS has taken in each department in regards of Georgia Milestones preparation:

Social Studies teachers from each grade level visited a neighboring middle school that has shown frequent success on the CRCT in some of the domain areas that CMS has been weak in over the recent years. Teach-ers were able to conduct classroom observations and talk with teachers about successful practices that could be useful here at CMS. Since the visit, CMS Social Studies teachers have remained in contact to share ideas and to assist each other with professional development. This kind of collaboration is a great step to exploring new ideas that could be beneficial in individual classrooms.

Science and Social Studies teachers at CMS have collaborated across the county with Rockmart Middle to refine our countywide effort at raising Science and Social Studies standardized testing scores. Teachers from both departments and both middle schools will reunite this January for a planning day to continue building common assessments and refining pacing guides and approaches to Georgia’s performance standards. The data-driven system GradeCam has provided quick and thorough data for our teachers to have at their dis-posal for appropriate planning, remediation, and enrichment aligned to standards and subject matter.

Language Arts teachers have participated in site visits and classroom observations from a School Improve-ment Specialist from Northwest Georgia RESA, an organization that focuses on instructional and school-wide improvements. Our RESA representative has been pleased with the reform in our ELA classes as a radi-cal change is in store for students on this portion of the Georgia Milestones Assessment. Looks like what we have done so far is pointing us in the right direction!

Math and Language Arts teachers have utilized Classworks to target struggling students from this past nine-week quarter to help build up deficits in math and language-related skills. We will screen all students again at the end of January in Classworks to check on their development and progress according to expectations of their grade level and subjects in Math and Language Arts. Weaker students will work more on Classworks in the final quarter of this school year.

Focus this semester will narrow into ensuring that the latest updates we have received regarding Georgia Mile-stones are in place in all classrooms. Teachers will receive training to refine our writing initiative efforts while also utilizing the Milestones assessment guides to begin some test-related benchmark testing and preparation in all classrooms. Spring is a busy season for schools, especially when it comes to testing. CMS is already in full gear in this new year to ensure the best possibility of success for all students! Go Bulldogs!

- Mr. Matt Johnson

B U L L D O G B U L L E T I N

The Builder’s Club

The Builder’s Club is a student lead community service organization that operates under school regulations and draws its members from the student body. It is a division of the Kiwanis Club. The Builder’s Club strives to build character, develop leadership, and provides opportunities to preform service for the school and community. The Charter for the Builder’s Club of 2013-2014 began the task of buying new picnic tables for CMS. There were purchased for CMS last spring. The 20140-15 Builder’s Club will stain the ta-bles as soon as weather permits. We plan to have a spring fund raiser with the Yankee Candle Company to raise money for more tables.

-Mary Jane Benefield The officers for the 2014– 2015 CMS Builder's Club are: President: Cody Ledford Secretary: Thorn Turner Vice President: AJ Carnes Project Manager: TJ Wills

Progress Review Dates for Second Semester Student Goals

1/21 to 2/4

2/5 to 2/19

2/20 to 3/6

3/9 to 3/23

Bulldog Beautification

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

Bulldog Beautification has

been hard at work! We

painted the restrooms on

8th Grade hall and are on to

the next! Special thanks to

Knight's Ace Hardware for

donating all of the paint, the

CMS PTO for a monetary

donation used for paint sup-

plies, and to Mr. Elliott Gam-

mage for donating snacks

and drinks to tie us over dur-

ing those late-night painting

hours! Our club is so blessed to

have such awesome support.

- M.K Seabolt

This year, the 2015 Polk

County Special Olympics will be

held on Friday, May 1 at the Na-

than Dean Park in Rockmart.

CMS Student Council members,

who have demonstrated hard-

work, good behavior, and are

positive role models, will be cho-

sen as partners to assist student

athletes. All students competing

require a physical every three

years. Physicals for 2015 will be

held in February for those stu-

dents competing. Artwork for the

t-shirts will be drawn by stu-

dents competing and will be

available for purchase closer to

the May 1st event date. If you

have questions regarding Special

Olympics, please see our school

contact, Mr. Ellis, or visit

www.specialolympics.org.

Ms. Kelly Camp

Polk County Special

Olympics is a county-wide athlet-

ic competition for individuals

with disabilities. Student athletes

may compete with peers from

other schools in our county or

their own classmates. This is al-

ways a fun day for schools in Polk

County to join together to cheer

on the athletes participating from

each school, in a variety of age

ranges! The Special Olympics

provide students with disabilities

with more opportunities to build

physical fitness, demonstrate

courage, and experience joy.

Some events that take place dur-

ing Special Olympics include

Running Events, Wheelchair

Race, Softball Throw, and Run-

ning Long Jump.

Special Olympics

Polk School District Special

Olympics will be held on May 1st

at the Nathan Dean Park in

Rockmart.

P A G E 4

“Let’sTalk!” About Girl Talk with Caye Burch, NP & Karen Craig, NP

Our Annual Mother/Daughter Banquet in rapidly approaching here at CMS. Please save the date March 19th, 2015 at 6pm. The Mother/Daughter banquet is a time for mothers and daughters to come together in a

female friendly atmosphere to learn more about women’s health. This banquet is funded by the

Northwest Georgia Cancer Coalition. Dress is casual and back by popular demand will be our excellent

speakers. Caye Burch, NP and Karen Craig, NP are local nurse practitioners that have been providing

care, and keeping women and girls informed on health issues for over 25 years.

We will have a catered dinner that will include a full course meal. We will end the evening with a question and answer session and give away some great prizes for attendants. Please mark your calendar, talk to your daughter, and be on the lookout for our official invitation that will come in late February. Please note that on the invitation a response will be required so that we can plan appropriately. I look forward to seeing you and your daughter there, and if you have any questions, please call me at 770-749-8850. Thank you so much for your participation. Marla Frasier, RN CMS Nurse

Counselor’s Corner

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 2

It is an exciting time of the year for our 8th graders. February 11th our 8th graders will have the opportuni-ty to attend the Reality Fair at

Rockmart High School from 8:00-12:00. The students will be given a “pay check”. They visit different booths where they pay bills such as car, power, mortgage and

phone bills. The amount of their check is based on a career interest inventory that they have complet-ed. Hopefully this will help them understand the value of completing and continuing their education. After the fair they will tour the

career pathway booths set up by the high schools. This is where they will begin to make their choice of a career pathway. All high school students are required to complete three classes in a particular path-way in order to graduate. On February 26th and 27th we will have 9th grade registration here at CMS. Students and parents will come and meet with high school personnel and complete the regis-tration process.

- Holly Gaston

ach viruses and the flu. Polk School

District is doing our part to keep a

sanitary school atmosphere, but it

will take everyone working togeth-

er to make a large impact. Accord-

ing to the Center for Disease Con-

trol (CDC), the following healthy

habits can help in the prevention of

viruses, colds, and flu.

Wash your hands often with

soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.

Avoid touching your eyes,

nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.

Try to avoid close contact with

sick people.

Practice good health habits.

Get plenty of sleep and exercise, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat healthy food.

Cover your nose and mouth

with a tissue when you cough or

sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

If you are sick with flu-like illness,

stay home for at least 24 hours

after your fever is gone without the

use of fever-reducing medicine.

The last habit might be the most

important step to prevent the

spread of sickness. No one is giving

a free pass to miss school, but

when you have a fever and other

major symptoms it is best to rest at

home. Most minor issues such as

the common cold, headaches, or

even allergies should not prevent

anyone from attending school.

Everyday, every period, and every minute in a classroom is a piece to the education puzzle that can only assist with the academic challenges for all students. Maintaining good healthy habits not only strengthens everyday school attendance, but also the educational experience at all levels.

- Mr. Godfrey

Maintaining good school attend-

ance has proven to increase stu-

dent achievement and mastery of

the academic subjects. The national

push to increase academic chal-

lenges in the classroom for global

competition requires educators,

students, and caregivers to go

above and beyond the old school

reading, writing, and arithmetic.

For students to obtain a competi-

tive education, we now have to

consider society demands, high

stakes tests, showing student

growth and content mastery. The

biggest hurdle that affects the stu-

dents in all areas is attendance.

Some attendance issues are com-

pletely unavoidable such as a death

in the family or medical emergen-

cies. One area that can be helped is

seasonal sickness. Applying healthy

habits can help in preventing sick-

ness which in-turn will help with

school attendance. Recently, Polk

School District has felt the impact

of health issues dealing with stom-

The reality

fair gives

8th graders

insight into

life after

school.

Healthy Habits Help Maintain School Attendance

The reading bowl team will have our

regional competition on Saturday, Feb-

ruary 7th at The University of West

Georgia. Teams from school districts

throughout northwest Georgia will

gather to see who knows the 20 books

nominated for the Georgia Children's

Book Award best. Our 10 student

team has read all the books, written

questions for each one, and quizzed

each other on the student buzzer sys-

tem. They are ready to go and hopeful-

ly, if we can finish in one of the top two

spots, we will be going to UGA in

March!

- Lori Shiver

It has been an exciting couple of months

and more is coming our way in the Me-

dia Center. The school wide spelling

bee was on Monday January 12th at

8am. Each of the classroom winners

received a certificate, participated in a

special breakfast, and were recognized

at the pep rally. The winner and run-

ner-up each received a dictionary, a free

subscription to the Britannica online and

an ITunes gift card. This year our win-

ner was Abigail Burris and our Runner

up was Ethan Lester. They will be go-

ing on to the district bee on February

4th.

While opportunities for parent engagement change at the middle school level, your involvement in your child’s education is still very important to his or her achievement and success. Check out the ideas below for some ways to help you stay an integral part of your child’s educational journey. Visit your school’s parent/student organization such as the Parent Teacher

Organization (PTO). Keep a family calendar Check the school website frequently and teachers’ online classroom up-

dates. Attend school activities Volunteer at home or at school. Share your ideas. Be an informed parent. Show you child that you care. The next CMS family event is poetry night on April 16th at 6pm. See you there!

How Do I Become Involved In My Child’s School and Education?

We had a great turn out for

Science and Social Studies Night !

Bookends