20/20 Vision for 20 Days!

Starting with...CMS Good News!

• CMS has been awarded a $500 Book Award from Conyers Target
• CMS has been selected as one of four schools invited to Georgia School Nutrition Association's Let's Move Literary Consortium at UGA later this month! Thanks to Ms. Revere's ELA classes!
• 7th grader, Jordan Auld-Ellis, represented CMS well at the Regional Spelling Bee on Sat 3/1, making it to the fifth round. Jordan will be back next year!
• Thanks to counselors Zandra Jackson and Marcia Spivery-Parker, media specialist Jean O'Kelley, and instructional technology/data specialist Patryce Harvey for your help with successful TKES survey administration!
• Due to an anonymous donation, Ms. Jennifer Toney's class has received 10 iPads for classroom use!
• Also thanks to Ms. O'Kelley and Ms. Harvey and CMS for having fun making our school video...coming soon!

We have 20 instructional days left before we begin various Georgia CRCTs! While we recognize that testing is not everything in education, these tests let us know if students are grasping the most essential knowledge and skills in Reading, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. As we draw closer to these important tests, it's important that we have 20/20 FOCUS on supporting our students' learning in this final push!

Here are 4 techniques you could use to help them on a daily basis:

1) Have your student log-in to Study Island.com to practice each core subject for at least 10 minutes each weeknight. There are a variety of games available here to help students review.
(Study Island username: studentIDnumber@cms      password: studentIDnumber)

2) Have your student check their teachers' webpages for great learning links.

3) Looking to get in your students' 20 minutes of reading each night? Go to newsela.com and register for your student to read current events articles that are appropriate for their Lexile level. The more our students read, the better readers they become - PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT!

4) Check out Parent Portal to check students' progress in their classes.

Upcoming events:
 

Event	Date
PTA Krispy Kreme Doughnut Sale	Friday, 3/14, 3-7PM Saturday, 3/15, 8A - Noon
8th Gr LGPE – Chorus Festival Performance	Tuesday, 3/11 Avondale First Baptist
6th Gr and 7th Gr LGPE – Chorus Festival Performance	Wednesday, 3/12   Avondale First Baptist
RCPS Parent Academy	Saturday, 3/15, 8:30 - Noon
District Benchmark Exams	Tuesday, 3/18 – periods 2/4/6   Wednesday, 3/19 – periods 3/5/7
Title I CRCT Readiness Night	Thursday, 3/20, 6:30 – 7:30
Progress Reports	Thursday, 3/20
8th Gr LGPE – Band Festival Performance	Friday, 3/21

Thank you for your ongoing support!
Got questions? see our Parents' Page

Success @ CMS between the Winter Storms!

Yes, school is closed, but it's a GREAT time to communicate our GREAT news - between the storms...

Last week - the week between the storm - was an EXCEPTIONAL week for the CMS community with many GREAT things to share:

• Our district science fair participants posted the following results on Tuesday:              

• 1st place	2nd place	3rd place
  Isabelle Kirkwood	David Lockett Toree Thomas Noah McGlocklin Baylee Moon Lilly Parham	Andrew Payne Megan Munroe Skylar Jerome Philip Green Ryan Stokes Dion Page Paul McKinney Annalesia Law

          THANK YOU to Mrs. Pittman for your leadership in supporting this effort!

• Our exceptional cheerleading coaches, Ms. Barber & Ms. Mitchell, coordinated our pep rally on Wednesday to celebrate our basketball and wrestling teams! 

• We hosted playoff games for the girls' and boys' basketball teams and enjoyed competitive showcases by both teams last Wednesday night - including an overtime contest in the boys game. We were victorious and going to the semifinals!

• On Friday, CMS was the host site for the District Spelling Bee, coordinated by 6th grade social studies teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Toney, who hosted the event STELLAR fashion! I also wanted to send a special THANK YOU to Mr. Jeffrey Feighner, who literally worked behind the scenes, as our audio technician! Sponsored by our PTA, school-based spelling bee winners, principals, and parents from grades 4-8 enjoyed an EXCEPTIONAL reception with many treats in the media center and received commemorative gift bags which included framed self-portraits from that day! We would also like to thank the district GAE coordinator and district spelling bee coordinator, Mrs. April Swain (EMS) and spelling bee facilitator, Dr. Chara Moore, RCPS English Lang Arts Coordinator!

• Our own 7th grader, Jordan Auld-Ellis, withstood fierce competition and was named the District Spelling Bee winner! He will compete on March 1st at the regional competition! CONGRATS, JORDAN! See Jordan's feature in local newspapers:
• Check out the article from the Rockdale News
• Check out the article from the Rockdale Citizen

• We then traveled to Cousins Middle for the girls' and boys' semifinal basketball games, where our teams fell short but provided high-energy contests the entire evening! THANK YOU to Girls' Head Coach Lawaynta Wiggins, and Boys' Head Coach Anthony Crowell, as well as assistant coaches, Sean Turley and Aubrey Crook. THANK YOU to student-athletes, cheerleaders, and parents for your support!

Don't forget these reminders:

• RCPS Snow Make-up dates for students and staff: Monday, Feb 17 - Wednesday, Feb 19; winter break: Thursday Feb 20 and Friday Feb 21
• ACT EXPLORE & CollegeBoard ReadiStep Score Night - Third Thursday 3/20 @ 6:30PM  - new date! (information about 8th gr trip will be provided)
• March 31st - 8th grade Savannah Trip final payment due

Need something constructive for your student to do while at home? Logon to Study Island!

Study Island student login info:

USERNAME: studentID@CMS

PASSWORD: studentID

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay tuned for more CMS updates!
Never underestimate what SUCCESS can happen after a storm...and before another one shows up!

#ProudCMSPrincipal
Mr. White

 

Cooperation makes it happen!

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are about to embark upon a hectic time of the school year. As winter athletics taper off and spring athletics begin, students will begin to take state-mandated tests, such as the 8^th grade Writing Assessment that occurred today.  For school leaders, it’s also the time to begin preparation for the next academic year. While there are certainly many priorities, this time of the year excites me because it causes me to reflect on how we can engage our students, teachers, and parents in meaningful ways that will improve our school.  In essence, this is a great time to focus on teamwork and cooperation.

As a youngster, one of my favorite TV shows was the classic, Sesame Street. Of the many songs I remember, one comes to mind as when we consider the nature of our work. The chorus was, “Co-op-er-ation makes it hap-pen; co-op-era-tion, work-ing to-ge-ther…” This song resonates with me as principal because it reminds me of the necessity of cooperation – we cannot have a great school, school system, county, state, or nation without it! However, in order for that to occur, each individual within the organization must be willing to commit to a philosophy of interdependence rather than independence. Interdependence reflects a notion of depending on one other; an opportunity to use one team member’s strength to reinforce another team member’s weakness. Independence, however, is solely focused on one’s wants and desires, without consideration for the group goal. Interdependence builds sustainable high performance, and an environment of mutual respect and inclusiveness; independence creates division and a lack of productivity.

As we continue to build an exceptional 21^st century learning institution at CMS, I invite our community to be a part of this process. Truthfully, we cannot reach our optimal level of performance without you—whether you are a volunteer, PTA member, school council member, or involved parent. We value your input and mission-minded conversations as you cooperate with us to achieve our vision of “Success for All Students”. Let’s have a strong finish!

This week, I look forward to crowning our next CMS Spelling Bee champion on Friday morning at 9AM, and I cannot wait to see how our students compete on Saturday at the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl at RCA, 8AM!

#ProudCMSPrincipal!

Working On The "WRITE" Stuff!

It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.
- Ernest Hemingway

It's an exciting time at CMS as we prepare for Writing Wednesday on January 23rd. On that day, our 8th grade students will take the Georgia 8th grade Writing Assessment, a test that counts toward our CCRPI accountability score, and our 6th and 7th grade students will take the Mock Writing Assessment. Since we have returned from the holiday break, our teachers have been helping students solidify their knowledge of key elements to improve writing so they can perform well.  In particular, the domain of depth of development has been an ongoing focus within the area of persuasive and argumentative writing. Students will have 100 minutes to go through the writing process to develop an essay. At this time of the year, however, it also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this critical skill.

I am reminded of the "power of the pen". Have you thought about how many times have you met someone in writing before you met them in person? While one may argue about the power of first impressions, we see many examples of where writing may precede their face-to-face meeting. For example, as we think about our students' college and career readiness, we can find scholarship and college admissions applications to be excellent examples. The most common example would the job application - especially in our current age of technology.

In both of these cases, having the art of persuasion through writing is extremely important because it forces the reviewer to determine if you have a convincing argument for being considered as a worker or scholarship recipient. These tests do not just focus on simple grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Students get the most points in their score for how they development their paper and support their line of reasoning with REASONS.

With that said, take a moment to have your child write 4-5 sentences about one of the rules at home. Tell them to find one house rule that they would like you to change, but they have to give you 3-5 reasons why you should consider changing the rule.  They must write in complete sentences. There are so many ways that students can write. As we continue to prepare our students - regardless of the test - writing is a skill that must be developed like speaking, listening, computing numbers or even any athletic skill - THROUGH PRACTICE!


Announcements:

• All RCPS middle schools are working to distribute report cards as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience. 
• Principal's Parent Roundtable - THURS NIGHT, JAN 16, 2014, 6:30PM
• PTA Winter Dance - Friday, Jan 17, 4 - 6:30PM
• Georgia PTA Men's Forum - Saturday, January 19, 2014 @ Towers High School, 1 - 3PM
• No School Monday, January 21 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday Observance
• WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23 - GEORGIA 8TH GR WRITING ASSESSMENT & Mock Writing (6th & 7th grades)  - please ensure students arrive on time
• Friday, Jan 24 - CMS Schoolwide Spelling Bee
• Saturday, Jan 25 - Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl @ Rockdale Career Academy:- 8:00 - Noon

What difference will you make?

The life and legacy of Nelson Mandela should cause us all to reflect upon our daily work. Further, it allows me to consider how critical our roles are as we aid in the shaping and molding of our young people - our future leaders. On Friday morning, we shared the news of Mandela's passing with our school and dedicated our moment of silence to this purpose.  We also encouraged all students and teachers to reflect upon the difference they can make by focusing more on helping others. 

This is something we must teach our young people, but most importantly, show them. Often times, it is easier to focus on what is wrong or missing, than to start with what is right, good, or present with our children. I had an opportunity to speak with a diverse, random sample of 60 students on yesterday during my student roundtables at each grade level. I'm reviewing that work will share out some of my findings. More than anything, I could sense that students want to be heard, valued, and offered a simple explanation for why things have to be the way that they are.  We discussed opportunities to change and enhance our current practice, and they seemed open to it. It also reminded me how self-conscious our teenagers are, and they are often reluctant to share their ideas for fear of scrutiny. Believe it or not, I had to keep prompting them to speak!

Try enhancing more conversation with your student by asking them:

1) What did you do well today?

2) What would you do differently tomorrow?

3) What was something interesting you learned today?

4) How can they make a difference in someone else's life?

5) What was a problem you faced today? Let's talk about how you handled it. 

Asking these types of questions will not only help your teenager communicate more, but it will also help they consistently think about the difference they can make in their school, their community, their world.

This week @ CMS!

--GREAT TO SEE SO MANY SCIENCE FAIR PROJECTS FOR THE SCIENCE FAIR!

--Great band concert for 7th and 8th grade students!

--SCIENCE FAIR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

--Wednesday: Wrestling @ MMS 5pm, Basketball vs Davis, 5:15pm

--Thursday: Jr. Beta Club Induction, 6:30PM - Theater

--Friday: Basketball @ Veterans 5:15

--Saturday: Wrestling Tournament @ RCHS

--Next Tuesday and Wednesday - District Benchmarks 

#CMSPROUDPRINCIPAL

Happy Thanksgiving!

We would like to wish our CMS faculty, staff, and students and families a restful, safe, and enjoyable Thanksgiving Break!

We return to learn on Monday, December 2nd.

Want to provide feedback on the RCPS 2014-15 school calendar? CLICK HERE

Celebrate American Education Week - Celebrate Teachers and Support staff!

 

1) Quick Tip - Would you like to get your student reading more? The common core standards requires students to read more nonfiction texts - check out this link: http://www.timeforkids.com/. There's a Homework Helper to help students make flash cards for mathematics and other subjects!

2) CMS Spotlight in the Rockdale News!

• Did you see our feature in the Rockdale News? See #4 below for my write-up for the paper.
• In bringing recognition to our teachers, read my Principal's Message that highlights the great work our teachers are doing each day!
• Our Interact Club and PTA are sponsoring a Canned Food Drive in partnership with Rockdale Emergency Relief. Please have students bring in canned foods. The winning homeroom wins a pizza party after Thanksgiving break!

3) Highlights from the Sunday Call:

• In celebration of American Education Week, send a kind e-mail, note, or phone call to one or more of your child’s teachers for all of the work they do with our students.
• First Wrestling Home Match - Wed, 5pm
• Class of 2018 Parents - join us on Thursday at 6:30 in the Media Center to hear about 9^th grade course offerings at Rockdale Career Academy and Rockdale Co High School. Then, stick around to hear our 6^th grade band students’ concert at 7pm. #HighSchoolerInTheMaking!

4) Rockdale news article - Saturday, November 16th
    From the Principal's Desk - in honor of American education week

           As we prepare to celebrate American Education Week this is an appropriate time to reflect on the meaning and purpose of education. While student achievement and learning are our greatest responsibilities, my vision for our daily work is that we support the development of confident, informed citizens who embody mutual respect and who can think critically. However, any individual who has ever learned how to do anything recognizes that learning is a process. Therefore, we must be reminded that it takes investments from everyone - school administrators, teachers, parents, and community supporters – in the process of schooling in order for our schools and students to continue to achieve at high levels.

 
       We must also never forget the power of a teacher.  Teachers change lives – positively or negatively. Regardless of our age, we can think of our best (or our worst) teachers. Why? The research is clear – across all educational contexts, the teacher has the greatest impact on student learning!  Moreover, the teacher has the power to encourage, to affirm, to nurture, and to coach – even when they don’t always get to see the fruit of their labor. Each day, whether I am greeting students as they get off the bus in the morning, observing student learning, or out in the hallways, I can attest that our teachers are making a difference in the lives of our students. So, rather than focusing on a persistent narrative of negativity, can we not consider all of the positive ways that teachers and schools are supporting students? It’s time for a change in perspective. It’s time to recognize the outstanding individuals that give of themselves daily and get back up the next day to do it all over again. It’s time to celebrate…TEACHERS!

 I’m proud to say that our PTA assists me greatly in celebrating our staff!

This week @ CMS!

Quote of the week: “Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”  ~Vince Lombardi

Parents, did you receive our CMS Sunday Call?

Here are some highlights from the message:

• Monday, 11/11 - Happy Veteran's Day - thank you for your service to our country
• Tuesday, 11/12 - Pep Rally - celebrating our CHAMPIONSHIP football team and introducing our basketball and wrestling student-athletes
• Wednesday, 11/13 - Progress Reports; Basketball vs Ind Creek @ Home, 5:15/6:30
• Thursday, 11/14 - DQ Spirit Night - 4 to 8 pm
• *Teacher Banana Split Contest @ 6:30PM - winner gets a Dilly Bar party for grade level!
• Friday, 11/15 - Basketball @ Cousins MS 5:15/6:30 and Wrestling Kick-off @ Rockdale High, 5pm

Let's make it a great week of teaching and learning!
Mr. White
#ProudCMSPrincipal

Welcome to the Bulldog Blog!

Greetings, CMS Community!

 

As principal and lead learner at CMS, I must admit that I am a "tech-ie". Like many of our teachers and students, I value the power that technology has to transform teaching and learning.

Thus, I believed it was necessary to start a blog for our parents and community members to get an inside look at Conyers Middle School. This is aligned with our school-wide focus on enhancing communication this year.

 

It's easy for me because a blog is as simple as writing an e-mail; it's easy for you because it gives you a one-stop link just in case you weren't home to hear the weekly Sunday call. You can even leave comments, if desired.

 

While I will primarily post weekly updates about CMS events and achievements, I will also share snapshots of outstanding teaching and learning that occur on a daily basis. I welcome your partnership and feedback as we work together to continually move our school from good to GREAT!

 

Thanks for your ongoing support for CMS, where we are...

Committed to Excellence - Motivated to Learn - Supportive of All -- WE ARE CMS!

In service,

Mr. White
#ProudCMSPrincipal