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CENTER GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL NORTH www.centergrove.k12.in.us

317-885-8800

September 2019

The MSN office hours are 7:00 am – 3:30 pm

Upcoming Dates

√ Sept 2 - Labor Day – No

School

√ Sept 3 – STUCO meeting

6:45 am

√ Sept 4- MSN Fundraiser

forms due

√ Sept 9 - NJHS Inductions

6:30 pm

√ Sept 12- NJHS Meeting

6:45 am

√ Sept 13- Ella’s Froyo sold

during lunch periods

√ Sept 16-20- Book fair

√ Sept 16- PTO Meeting

7:00 pm

√ Sept 20– All Pro Dad’s Club

breakfast 6:45 am

√ Sept 20– Fall Family

Festival 6:30-8:30

√ Sept 26- Student of the

Month Breakfast 7:00 am

√ Sept 27- Ella’s Froyo sold

during lunch periods

√ Sept 27- Lifetouch picture

re-take day during lunch

periods

√ Oct 4- End of the 1st

Grading Period

√ Oct 8- Fall Choir Concert

6:00 & 7:30 pm

√ Oct 9- New Date MSN

Fundraiser pick-up

1:30 – 6:30 pm

√ Oct 9-10- Parent Teacher

Conferences

√ Oct 10- NJHS Meeting

6:45 am

√ Oct 11- Ella’s Froyo sold

during lunch periods

√ Oct 11- All Pro Dad’s

Meeting 6:45 am

√ Oct 14-18 - Fall Break

√ Oct 21 – Classes Resume

√ Oct 21- PTO Meeting

7:00 pm

Dear CGMSN Families,

Thank you for your continued support and involvement with all of our school events and activities. Our students, families, and staff have made our first month of school fantastic (and very fun)!

Our students’ safety and wellbeing are important to us. We want our students to be able to report incidents or submit tips in any way they can. Therefore, we have a link on our website that they can use for anonymous reporting if they are unable to tell someone in person. Our students can also scan the QR codes on the pink flyers posted throughout our building to fill out a problem report. We want our students to always feel welcome to speak with a staff member when they need something, but these two ways may help when that feels difficult to them.

At MSN, our website and monthly newsletter are two very important pieces of communication that we provide. Here are four very important additional ways to stay informed. We encourage you to access these forms of communication regularly, but also please feel free to call or email us with any questions that come up during the school year. We also thank you for becoming connected with MSN in other ways, such as joining the PTO, volunteering, and all you do to communicate with your child’s teachers.

We are so proud of our students in so many ways. This month, I would like to highlight Mia Prusiecki and Carson Smith. I would love to hear more about the wonderful things our kids are doing, so please contact me to share!

Mia Prusiecki recently competed in USA Diving Junior Nationals in Knoxville, TN. She placed in the Top 10 for her age group in all three events - 9th on 3 meter springboard, 6th on 1 meter springboard, and 3rd on platform! Go Mia!

Carson Smith sang the National Anthem in a children’s choir made up of NASCAR drivers’ and crew members’ kids at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 17, 2019. Here is a picture of Carson and his family in Victory Lane, after their team won the race! We look forward to another excellent year at CGMSN!

Respectfully,

Dr. Davin E. Harpe, Principal

Mission

We empower all

students to grow as

persistent learners,

exceptional

collaborators, and

responsible citizens.

Vision

All students succeed

as lifelong learners

and contributors in

the global

community.

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Important: The date has changed for our Fundraiser pick-up. Fundraiser pick-up is now Wednesday, 10/9/2019. Parents may pick-up fundraiser items from 1:30-6:30pm. The annual CGMSN School Wide Fundraiser kicked off on Wednesday, August 8, 2019. Our annual fundraiser is essential to gain the funds needed to provide activities and resources for Middle School North students to enhance their educational experience. Proceeds from this fundraiser will purchase awards for student recognition, student resources and supplies for team activities, and help supplement the costs of field trips. All funds raised directly benefit the students who attend Middle School North! This year students will be working with the Believe Kids Fundraising and will be selling an assortment of items from catalogs, including gift-wrap, The Cookie Factory and Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough, and Auntie Anne’s pretzels. Sales dates will be from Thursday, August 8th to Wednesday, September 4th. Order forms and money are due on Wednesday, September 4th.

*Online Ordering Information*

Check out the easy to use ONLINE direct delivery option for families and friends outside of your selling area and have their order delivered right to their door!

Order online at WWW.shopbelieve.com and click on the ShopNow button.

Any online order over $75.00 ships free!

All online sales count toward prizes and profit for the group.

Our Fundraiser pick-up day is Wednesday, October 9th

We are also providing an opportunity for students to participate in the fundraiser without selling items from the catalogs. This year we are again offering a donation program. Parents may select to donate a money amount instead of having their student sell fundraiser items. Any and all donations will be appreciated! Please make checks payable to CGMSN. Thank You! We appreciate everything you do to support the students at Middle School North and for your consideration of our fundraising and donation programs—please remember that participation is voluntary, and any help you can provide will further enhance the educational experience of all students at CGMSN.

PTO meetings begin at 7:00 in the LGI. 1st Semester 2nd Semester September 16 January 13 October 21 February 10

November 18 March 9 April 15

May 20

Attention 7th and 8th grade families: Enroll in 21st Century Scholars this year!! The Center Grove Middle School North Counseling Department is hosting a free dinner for invited 7th and 8th Grade students and their families on October 9, 2019 (5:00pm during Parent/Teacher Conferences). The evening will include a short presentation about the benefits of and enrollment in the 21st Century Scholar program, which provides qualified students with scholarships that cover up to four years of undergraduate tuition at any participating public college or university in Indiana. We will have computers available to sign up on the spot! 21st Century Scholars accepts new enrollments based on household income. Students who are under court documented legal guardianship or are currently in Foster Care are not subject to the income guidelines and can enroll anytime.”

Please RSVP by Friday October 4, 2019 using the

Registration Link below:

http://bit.ly/MSN21ST

OR call/email Miss Leeth at leethr@centergrove.k12.in.us (317) 885-8800 with questions/to see if you might qualify.

Meetings are from 6:45 - 7:20 am in the Cafeteria at CGMSN.

1st Semester 2nd Semester September 20 January 17

October 11 February 21 November 15 March 20

December 20 April 17 May 15

For more information, check out their website

Parents need to call the Attendance Hotline, 317-885-3392, before 10:00 am to report their student’s absence for the day

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If your child needs to leave school early for an appointment or other planned event, please send a note signed by a parent giving us the time and reason for the early dismissal. Your child must bring that note to the Student Services Office upon arrival to school. We will then write them a pass to leave class and meet you in the Student Services Office at the appropriate time.

Maximizing Student Achievement MeansMinimizing Classroom Interruptions

One of the most important things that school administrators can do to maximize student learning is to minimize the number of distractions experienced by teachers and students within the classroom. Often even the smallest interruptions can spoil the flow of a lesson, or catch a student at a critical time in the learning process. In order to minimize classroom interruptions, we will deliver messages and/or materials to students twice during the school day. Please see the options for student deliveries below:

1. Deliver during my student's lunchtime. 2. Deliver during my student's last period. 3. My student knows an item is being

delivered and will pick-up item in student services - No notice needed.

In the event that a message is related to a family or medical emergency, please ask for an administrator so that messages of this nature can be delivered to your child in the appropriate manner.

We appreciate your help as we continue to maximize student achievement at MSN record daily assignments, long-term projects, and upcoming events in their agenda.

State law requires the following: No student can be in possession of prescription or Non-prescription drugs in school.

All medications have to be stored in the nurse’s office. Prescription medications have to be in their original container with dosage directions on the label.

Non-prescription medications (e.g. Tylenol/Advil) have to be stored in the nurse’s office with a parent note.

Parents picking students up after school must park along the curb in the lane clearly marked “Drop-off/ Pick-up.” No student is allowed to cross into the parking lot to a parked car. This policy is designed for the safety of our students/your child.

Students walking to and from school will need to have a note from their parents granting them permission. This note must be taken to the Administrative Office. Students are not allowed to ride bikes to school.

If you are allowing your student to walk home after school, they must have a walking pass on file. Walking pass forms are available in the office. They should be returned to Laurie Long in the Administrative Office.

Make-up work is the responsibility of the student. A student will receive an equal number of days to make up work as he/she was absent from school. A request for make-up work can be made on the third consecutive day a student is absent by calling the Student Services Office (885-8800 ext. 5008) before 8:30 a.m. Requests received after 8:30 a.m. cannot be processed until the following school day. Assignment requests are prepared during the teacher’s preparation period; therefore, requests must be limited to extended illnesses. The make-up work and student’s books are to be picked up in the Student Services Office before 3:30 p.m. A student who is absent the day of a test is expected to take the test upon returning to school. Again, students are encouraged to record daily assignments, long-term projects, and upcoming events in their agenda.

From Center Grove Middle School North Athletics for only $20.00.

Sign is located at entrance to school parking lot! For only $20.00 a day, you can say “Happy Birthday” to your favorite CGMSN students. You can also say “Good Luck” or “Congratulations” to a club, organization, or sports team. See the ad on our web page, contact Joe Higginson 885-8800, ext. 5168 or Leah Garrison ext. 5110. Make checks payable to CGMSN Athletics

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News from the Library

Our Book Fair is Coming!

The MSN Book Fair is coming the week of September 16th through

September 20th, 2019. I am looking for volunteers to help that week.

Volunteers are needed for various shifts beginning at 7:20 am until 2:40

pm.

Please email or call me at ortegav@centergrove.k12.in.us, (317) 885-8800 ext. 5144. Better yet, sign up through PTO.

Thank you in advance for your help. Mrs. Ortega

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Parents, please check with your students to see if they have any

outstanding fines or books. They will not be able to check out any library

items until these are taken care of.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Coming to MSN on November 13th, author Dan Gemeinhart.

More information coming soon.

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6th Grade Language Arts

Sixth graders have taken to middle school like a duck takes to water! Nearly all students have learned their schedules and locker combinations and have made some new friends. In language arts, students are wading into the skills that we cover throughout the year in the areas of nonfiction reading as well as fiction. These skills include: citing text evidence, understanding the plot structure of a piece of fiction, and determining theme and/or central idea. In writing, students are learning the acronym, RACE, for their constructed responses. Teachers in every area of curriculum use the RACE format to answer constructed response questions. In addition, sixth grade students use a program called DOL to review grammar and punctuation skills as well as to learn new ones. DOL helps students to use these skills when they study simple and compound sentences - skills that all language arts classes study at the beginning of the year. Finally, students use a program called Words on the Vine to study Latin and Greek roots. If it sounds like our students are busy, they are! All 6th grade language arts teachers are impressed by how adeptly students have transitioned to middle school!

6th Grade Math

We are off to a great start in math! The students have been working on problem solving along with reviewing previous skills to prepare them for the concepts that will be covered this year. This month we will begin working very hard on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals. Please review basic multiplication facts with your student daily as this will help with the understanding of higher level concepts. We have enjoyed getting to know your student and are looking forward to a great year!

6th Grade Social Studies

Can you name all seven continents? In Social Studies, the 6th graders at North can not only name them, but label them correctly on a map. They can also do the same with the 5 oceans. Our geographers are working hard on many skills including latitude, longitude, hemispheres, reading a compass, earth’s features, and five themes of geography. The study of different governments and cultures around the world will lead into our next adventure which will be the study of Ancient Greece. Get your toga making skills ready!

6th Grade Science

In Science, the 6th grade students started the year off by putting together their interactive science notebooks (ISN). We will be using our ISNs all year to take notes, display work, show lab reports, graph, and study for tests. We have been working hard to learn to distinguish between “observations” and “inferences” and can now determine whether an observation is “qualitative” or “quantitative”. We are learning the steps of the scientific method, and will continue to practice this throughout the year. Soon, we will participate in our first science lab of the year, which proves to be a crowd favorite: “The Skittles Lab”! What’s better than learning science with candy??? (Ummm….. NOTHING!) We will also be sharpening our measurement skills and learning to identify the VARIABLBES in an experiment. We will continue working to prefect our Variable identification skills all year long. When the year is over, the 6th grade students should be Variable experts! Next up in Science will be the study of Space!

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7th Grade Language Arts

In language arts class, August was all about reviewing key skills so that we can dive even deeper this year. Students showed off their mastery of nouns, verbs, and elements of plot. Students have read a variety of short stories and memoirs and are looking forward to reading our first novel, Scar Island, before the author Dan Gemeinhart comes to visit MSN in November. Our first big writing project is a narrative based on an interview with an adult; look for information coming home after Labor Day. Everyone is excited about the new vocabulary words for 7th grade...ask them to tell you about their words!

7th Grade Math

The seventh grade math classes are off to an amazing start. The students have been successful in solving problems that involve powers and exponents, order of operations, and classifying real numbers. One main goal for the students this year is to persevere in solving real-life mathematical problems. In the next unit, we will apply and extend our understandings of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals.

7th Grade Social Studies

In September, 7th Grade Global Studies students will be learning all about the continent of Africa. From the Sahara Desert in the north to the lush rain forests of Central Africa, to the cradle of civilization in Southern Africa, students will learn all about the history, geography, and politics that make Africa one of the most dynamic locations on earth.

7th Grade Science

In science class, students have been familiarizing themselves with the steps of the scientific method. Everything from asking proper scientific questions to appropriate methods of data collection is covered. Students have conducted in class experiments to show their learning of the scientific method. Outside of class, honors students will start their own independent experiments, which will be performed completely on their own and then presented at school.

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Twitter @Msn8Red

@MSNSilverTeam8

…from our little corner of the school

This year students have numerous resources at their fingertips with the availability of materials at my.hrw.com,

Canvas, and their iPads.

All students will soon receive a copy of Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart. He will be our visiting author this year on

November 13th. All students are encouraged to read it as their “choice” novel in Connect. FYI---It is a Young Hoosier

Nominee, so if they pass a 10-question quiz in the library, they will earn extra credit in English class. Additionally, English

8 students are reading The Outsiders by SE Hinton and Honors is reading selections from Collection 3. Our skill focus this

quarter includes punctuation (commas, ellipses, dashes), literary elements, and theme.

Coming to class prepared is vital for a student’s success. Each student should bring a charged iPad, earbuds, class

notebook, text, agenda, and a pencil every day.

Students will use Canvas for posting most work. Please check Skyward often, too. Our grade distribution this year is

English 8 (75% assessment and 25% practice) & Honors (70% assessment and 30% practice). All HW for 8th grade is

posted on the HW hotline page. Feel free to contact Mr. McCoy (ext. 5229), Mrs. Bowser (ext. 5231), or Mrs. Harmon

(ext.5230) if you ever have a question.

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8th Grade Math As we dive into our first quarter of the year in our 8th grade math classes, we have worked with Integers, Order of Operations, Fractions. We have begun working with equations and will continue this work as we begin learning about the Pythagorean Theorem. The Pythagorean Theorem will allow the students to explore the relationship between the lengths of sides of a right triangle with real world applications.

8th Grade U.S. History Welcome to a new year! Eighth grade students have started the year refreshing their orienteering skills while studying the geography of North America. Our focus has been on the Big 40 and Indiana maps, which consist of the physical features and cities that are historically significant as we move through the study of our great nation. Students have also been creating Native American display books that incorporate the 5 Themes of Geography and the Big 40 as they pertain to the regions of North America.

8th Grade Science Students will be discussing and studying the nature of science as well as measurement, data collection and data analysis in 8th Grade Science class. This will culminate in a PBL Product Claim Project to allow students the chance to work through all parts of the scientific method and to apply their process skills. Student get to practice their measurement, data collection, data analysis, using computational thinking, arguments from evidence and more… In short, we give them the chance to “do science.”

In Honors Biology, Students will be studying biochemistry and the structure and function of biomolecules (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids). If your son/daughter is in need of some math or science help at home, you can call the Rose Hulman Homework Line (1-877-ASK-ROSE from 7-10 pm) for some support!

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Stay connected

Team Links

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Ways to stay connected…

For daily pictures and up to the minute information, sign up for Homeroom:

https://gethomeroom.com/i/BCZAG484

For reminders after school hours, sign up to receive text messages from Remind: Enter this number: 81010 Text this message: @cgmsn6

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Please use the link below to see what the 6th Grade Silver Team has been up to... https://gethomeroom.com/i/FMNLDLK9

8th Grade Twitter

You can get the latest news by following us on Twitter: @msn8red @msnsilverteam8 @petersonjeffrey @MSN_Carter

Art ~ Mr. Treece

Want to see what is going on in MSN’s Art room? Follow us on our artistic journey on Instagram! Simply search “cgmsnart” and request to follow. -Mr. Treece

🎶 CHOIR & DRAMA CLUB 🎶

Want to see how exciting things are in the choir room? Follow us on Instagram @choir_cgmsn