collierville middle school dragon news...please make plans to join us at our next pta general...

January – February 2016

Collierville Middle School

Dragon News A bi-monthly newsletter published by the Collierville Middle School PTA

Letter from the Principal

1

Dear CMS Parents, Guardians and Students,

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! It is so hard to believe that we have already completed half of the school year. We have accomplished so much during the first semester; however, there is still so much yet to be done before proclaiming this school year as a success.

Parents and guardians, I want to thank you for your unyielding support as we continue on our journey of providing students of Collierville Middle School with an outstanding educational experience. In the month of February, we will begin to administer the TNReady state assessment. The links below will provide you with information sample tests for our upcoming assessments:

• Question Comparisons Between the Previous TCAP Tests and the New TNReady Test: tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/tnready-question-comparisons.pdf

(cont. page 2)

1

The CMS “Dragon News” Newsletter is available on the CMS webpage or through the CMS-PTA email chain.

Key Dates

Have news to share?

2

If you have any news, dates or information for an upcoming newsletter, please email Katie Timms at [email protected].

Jan. 20

Jan. 25

Jan. 28

Jan. 29

Feb. 2

Feb. 5

Feb. 11

Feb. 12

Feb. 15

6th Grade Awards (9 a.m.)

8th Grade Open House at CHS (5-8 p.m.)



PTA Meeting (6 p.m.) with 7th Grade Performance, Reflections and PTA Lifetime Achievement Awards, 8th Grade Parent H.S. Info

Valentine’s Dance (7-9:30 p.m. for 7th and 8th graders)

Parent Conference Night (4-7 p.m.)

District Learning Day (No School)

President’s Day (No School)

Dragon News January – February 2016

Collierville Middle School 580 Quinn Road Collierville, TN 38017 901.853.3320

Letter from the Principal (cont. from page 1)

Collierville Middle School would like to send a special thank you to the Collierville Home Depot and its manager, Bethel Trammell, for donating a 9-foot tall Christmas Tree and decorations to our school. You helped make our school’s entrance festive over the holiday season and we appreciate your support!

Community Corner

2

• Parent Access to Practice Questions: support.micatime.com

• Parent Guide to Being TNReady: tn.gov/ assets/entities/education/attachments/tnready_parent_guide.pdf

• Social Studies/U.S. History Practice Resources: tn.gov/education/topic/social-studies-assessment

Finally, I want to deliver a very special message to our student body. Students, I am immensely proud of your overall performance thus far as it pertains to the first semester. Each of you at one point or another has had to deal with transitioning to a different grade, exploring your uniqueness, engaging in leadership roles, and attempting to understand social changes, all while trying to achieve high marks academically. Understand that the second semester will bring new challenges which will also require an increased work ethic to declare this school year a success. I implore you to set personal goals for yourself this semester to achieve the results you seek.

3

Your goal can be as simple as attending tutoring sessions once a week to improve your grades or even setting a higher goal to make honor roll for the third quarter. More importantly, each goal must be reinforced with a plan. What will be your strategy for attaining your goals? What impact will it have on your work ethic? Nevertheless, whatever you define as your goal, I want you each to know that you have the support of not only your parents, but you also have the support of your teachers and administration as you continue your journey in striving for excellence this school year. I wish you all much success and look forward to a great 2016!

Sincerely, Roger L. Jones, III Principal, CMS



PTA President’s Profile

Dear CMS Families,

I hope everyone had a happy and restful holiday break. This school year is flying right along! It seems like just yesterday we were starting our first semester.

Please make plans to join us at our next PTA General Membership meeting on February 2 at 6 p.m. We will announce our PTA Reflections and Tennessee Life Achievement winners, have our 7th grade program and Mrs. Blake will give us our 8th grade informational high school talk. We look forward to seeing you there!

In this newsletter there is information regarding positions on the PTA Board of Managers for the 2016–2017 year. If you are interested in serving on the PTA board, please make sure you fill out a form and send it back to the school. Someone will contact you to discuss the information. If you have any questions about any of the positions, please let one of us know.

Collierville Schools is working very hard to become the best school system possible. Please stay updated by going to colliervilleschools.org for information and updates.

Thanks for everything you do to help our school and teachers. It is greatly appreciated.

Tina Rehm PTA President, CMS [email protected]



CMS Junior Beta Rocks the House with 10 Awards at the Tennessee Junior Beta Club State Convention!

The Living Literature 2-story set from “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” which won 1st Place.

1

The Sunday through Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 66 of the CMS Junior Beta student members, along with parents and club sponsors, attended the Tennessee Junior Beta Convention at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville along with 5,000 other Junior Beta students from across the state.

These CMS students spent many weeks, and even months, preparing for various competitions. All competitors did a fantastic job, and had a great time competing and participating in electing state officers for Tennessee Junior Beta. Students’ days began at 7 a.m. and ended at midnight for the two nights and three days we were there. CMS students were amazing; they earned top awards in more competitions (three times as many awards) than any other school across the state!

2

Living Literature – 1st Place Our largest group competing was the Living Literature group. Students were tasked with choosing a scene from a book and then creating and designing a set measuring no larger than 12’x10’.

Our CMS team chose a scene from the book “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.” Students were in costume and frozen like statues in the set for 3 minutes at a time, with a 2-minute rest between each “freeze time,” for more than two hours.

(cont. page 5)

66 members of the CMS Junior Beta Club attended the Tennessee Junior Beta Club State Convention at Opryland in November.



The stylish CMS Jazz Band placed 4th. One of their songs was an original arrangement by band member Brandon Neil of “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

3

“Statues” included 8th graders Maddie Bobbit, Laura Cherry, Mary Catherine Enriquez, Katherine Freed, Casey Hanaeur, Sydney Rehm, and Eliza Reynolds, along with 7th graders CJ Coleman, Addie DePauw, Tera Scott, and Emma Worrell.

The two-story set took students (with parental assistance) four months to design, build from scratch, and paint. The set then had to be assembled on site by students and two parents in thirty minutes or less just prior to competition, or face disqualification.

We would also like to thank Mr. & Mrs. Freed for help constructing, storing, transporting, and coordinating the Living Literature group, along with Mrs. Stephanie Alligood for artistic assistance for the group, to allow them their 1st place win!

4

Jazz Band – 4th Place Our group talent this year was a jazz band of seven members including 8th graders Calvin Ault, Brandon Neil, Cameron McCord, Brendan Granger, Robby Skelton, Will Cozart, and 7th grader Eric Kim. The group met each morning, with assistance from Mr. Seek, for several weeks to perform two songs.

One of the songs was an original arrangement by member Brandon Neil of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” The handsomely dressed performers in crisp, white tuxedo shirts and black bow ties made it to the semi-finals and then performed again for the finals in front of a cheering and clapping audience of more than 6,500 students, parents, and sponsors, earning them fourth place.

Technology – 1st Place Our technology team included 8th graders Anna Hudson, Mary Catherine Enriquez, Sydney Rehm and 7th grader Nikitha Sam. This team spent months designing, creating, and editing an original video showing the values of Beta demonstrated at CMS. These ladies took first place. This is the second time this group of three now 8th grade girls has taken the top award!

Visual Arts Design – 1st Place The visual arts design group of 8th graders Emory Bradford, Gabi Coombs, Eliza Reynolds, and Samantha Schott were required in one hour’s time to create a slogan and visual design of a topic announced at the start of competition. These four artists placed first and had one of the largest groups of competitors in any of the competitions.

(cont. page 6)



CMS Junior Beta Sponsors:

Laura McLemore, Shelley Pitts, Marsha Nall

Eliza Reynolds won 1st Place in the Art Sketch division for this piece.

5

Battle of the Books – 3rd Place Our Battle of the Books team of 7th graders Joey Macri, Taryn Miskowiec, Philip Urrutia, and 8th grader Katherine Freed read 12 different books and were given detailed questions about each of the books, authors, and awards won by the book/author, in addition to answering an essay question comparing/ contrasting some of the books, all in under an hour.

They placed 3rd in another one of the largest of all the competitions. The seventh graders look forward to working together again next year for a chance at a first place win!

Individual Award Winners Several students won individual competitions in academic endeavors. For the academic competitions, students studied their subject area and were given 60- 80 unknown questions (with a time limit of 60 minutes) covering material considered common knowledge for American students in grades 5–9.

Those with the most correct answers and the fastest times were the ones who placed. Each student competed against 150 students from other schools.

6

Congratulations to Calvin Ault for 1st in spelling; Anna Hudson for 3rd in math; and Brandon Neil for 3rd in social studies.

Two students, also part of the visual arts design team, placed individually in artistic competitions. Eliza Reynolds placed 1st in the art sketch division. Emory Bradford placed 1st in the recycled art category with a 36”x24” recreation of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers created with used recyclable items in a background of blue plastic newspaper sleeves.

On to Nationals! Students who placed first, second, or third in their group and/or individually will compete against other state winners at the

National Junior Beta Convention in New Orleans, June 23–26.

Let’s go, Dragons….let’s go!



1

The Collierville Fire Department sponsored the annual contest Fire Prevention Poster that was open to all Collierville students. Starting in August, students from across the state in Kindergarten through 12th grade began creating posters to illustrate this year’s poster theme “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep: Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm.”

The local winning posters were then sent to the State Fire Marshal’s Office in Nashville for the final statewide judging; this year, more than 200 poster entries were submitted from across Tennessee.

2

Continuing a tradition of state-level recognition, 7 out of 16 total winners were from Collierville. The winners from Collierville Middle School were Reese Nelson (6th Grade) and Nicole Bartley (7th Grade).

State winners will be honored at an awards event on January 30, 2016, at the Tennessee Fire and Codes Academy in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and awarded a $50 prize check and certificate of achievement signed by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Congratulations, Reese and Nicole!

CMS Honored with Two State Fire Prevention Poster Winners



Spelling Bee Buzz On January 7, 64 classroom spelling bee winners came to the cafeteria to compete against all classroom winners from all three grades.

Spellers did a great job spelling really difficult words! Some words were available on a study guide, but many words were not. It took almost an hour and a half to reach the final two spellers, Sydney Nix (8th grade) and Duncan Loomis (7th grade).

Sydney is our runner up, and Duncan is our champion. Duncan will represent CMS at the Scripps Howard Regional Spelling Bee on February 6. He will compete against school winners from the mid-south region. Good luck, Duncan!

Join Us for the Annual 7th and 8th Grade

Valentine’s Dance

Friday, February 5 7:00-9:30 p.m. in the CMS Gym

Dress is semiformal Cost is $8

Tickets will be sold in the cafeteria

Feb. 2-5.



Reminders from the Front Office

Join CMS Alerts!

If you haven’t already, please sign up for the CMS text alert system.

The CMS ALERTS text messaging system notifies CMS parents of any transportation delays, PTA meetings, inclement weather dismissal, or any other information pertinent to know.

To receive the alerts, send a text to 81010 with the message: @cmsalerts.

Check CMS Website for Updates The CMS Website, colliervillems.colliervilleschools.org is continually updated with announcements, upcoming events and other news.

Please bookmark this page and check back to stay informed on what is going on at the school.

Health Room Help Needed Anyone — from parents to grandparents — who are willing to occasionally help from an hour to a few hours a day in the health room would be greatly appreciated. You do not have to have any medical background. If this opportunity may be of interest to you, please contact Kelly Roller at [email protected] to be added to the calendar.

Also, the health room needs to replenish several items including small water bottles, Dixie cups, and extra-large band aids. If you wish to donate any of these items please send them with your child to school.

Car Rider Procedure Reminder We have noticed an increased number of students not exiting the cars when the car rider line comes to a complete stop. We also have seen an increased number of parents stopping before the line comes to a complete stop in order to give a student easier access to a particular entrance.

We ask that you please understand that these practices slow our car rider line down and prevents some of our students from making it to homeroom on time.

There are multiple doors in the back of the school that students may use to enter the building, which are locked promptly at 8 a.m. Thanks in advance for partnering with us to ensure the safety of our students.



Save your Box Tops, Tyson and Campbell Soup Labels, and Can Tabs!

1

Many of the things you already purchase can bring additional funding to CMS!

Each box top labeled “Box Tops for Education” is worth 10 cents when you turn it in to your student’s homeroom. You can view a list of participating products at boxtops4education.com. For the quarter ending in December, CMS earned $1,043.20 just from collecting Box Tops!

CMS also collects labels from Tyson products and Campbell Soup cans through the “Labels for Education” program. Please visit labelsforeduation.com to view the dozens of products that qualify.

2

Save your can tabs, too! All money collected from the can tabs directly benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The next collection date for Box Tops, Campbell Soup Can Labels and Can Tabs is Friday, February 19. More information will come home with your student closer to the due date.

The homeroom that brings in the most Box Tops for each grade level by February 19 will win a pajama/onesie day on Friday, March 4!

Earn Money for CMS by Shopping at Kroger

Kroger’s Community Rewards®

program

allows you to designate CMS as your nonprofit organization to receive funds.

Just link your Kroger Plus Card to CMS and our school will automatically earn funds when you purchase from Kroger. Go to kroger.com and log into your Kroger Plus Card account. Then type in “Collierville Middle School” in the Find Your Organization search box and click “Enroll.” It’s that simple!

Reminders from the Front Office

Each January, you must re-enroll thee non-profit organization tied to your Kroger Plus Card. Please log in and re-enroll CMS to your card so CMS can continue to earn funds!



Library Links CMS students are encouraged to visit the library to check out the many new books that are now available.

40-Book Challenge Books Now Identified By Genre Students who are working on the Forty-Book Challenge will find that genre stickers have been applied to the spines of hundreds of our books for easy identification.

Battle of the Books Team Competition in March The Battle of the Books Team has almost completed reading the 10 books that will be part of the 2016 Shelby Area Middle Schools competition. Our Dragon team will compete in the Southeast Regional competition in March 2016. For more information please contact Mrs. Petersen ([email protected]) or Mrs. Gonzalez ([email protected]).

“Blind Date with a Book” for Valentine’s Day The library will continue its tradition of “Blind Date with a Book” for Valentine’s Day. Books are wrapped so that students cannot see the cover or title of each book. If a student chooses to play the game, he or she checks out one of these books and promises to read at least two chapters before returning it. Those who participate receive a bookmark with a Hershey’s kiss.

Media Library Upgrades to DVDs The CMS media library is transitioning from educational VHS tapes to educational DVDs. Donations of educational DVDs from sources such as National Geographic, PBS, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, or Disney educational videos (Bill Nye) that are appropriate for ages 10-14 would be appreciated. Please contact Mrs. Petersen for more information.

Collierville Public Library Resources Available to CMS All members of the CMS community are encouraged to make use of the many wonderful resources available at Collierville’s Lucis E. and Elsie C. Burch, Jr. Library. We especially recommend that students and parents become familiar with Tennessee READS powered by Over Drive. Citizens of Collierville who get a free Burch library card will have access to free e-books by accessing Tennessee READS powered by Over Drive through the library. Start Here: http://colliervillelibrary.org/download-it/tennessee-reads

Enjoy your reading!

Contact:

Ann Petersen, Librarian [email protected]



Orchestra Lego Club

Contact:

Patty Breedlove [email protected]

On December 14, the Lego Club held their holiday celebration by creating a 3D holiday ornament of their choice.

Club members enjoyed food, drinks, and sharing their creative minds with each other!

Many of the CMS Orchestra students will participate in the Sole and Ensemble at CHS on Saturday, January 23. Let’s wish them luck! They have been working really hard.

Who is ready for Butter Braids? We will begin our Spring Fundraiser very soon.

Contact:

Brita Hall [email protected]

2016 UDA & UCA Pom/Dance and Cheerleading Teams to Compete at National Competition in Orlando Collierville Middle School Pom/Dance and Cheerleading teams have been practicing since last May for upcoming National Competition. They have spent the last several months on the sidelines cheering on the basketball teams. After months on the sidelines, it’s their turn to take the stage! On January 30–31, CMS Pom/Dancers will compete at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. CMS Cheerleaders will arrive on February 9–10 to compete in the 2016 National Championship. Good luck to both teams! Bring it Home!

It’s about… It’s about…. It’s about….to go Down!



CMS PTA Board of Managers Positions 2016-17 The CMS PTA is a direct link between our children, their teachers, and the school administration. Our goal of ensuring community support for quality public education could not be met without the wonderful teachers, staff, and parents of CMS. If you wish to make a difference, we have exciting opportunities for you.

The following positions are open for nominations: • President • 1st Vice President Programs • 2nd Vice President Membership • 3rd Vice President Ways and Means • 4th Vice President Publications • 5th Vice President Room Parent Coordinator • 6th Vice President Cultural Arts • 7th Vice President Legislation • 8th Vice President Hospitality • 9th Vice President Parent Volunteers • 10th Vice President Health & Safety • 11th Vice President Public Relations • Secretary • Treasurer

If you are interested in any of these positions, or have any questions regarding the specific duties of any position, or please contact one of the members of the CMS Board of Managers. Also, please fill out and return the Board of Managers Application form, included on the next page, to the main office by Friday, February 26.

Currently, our BOM meets on the 1st Friday of every month at 9:10 a.m. Please make sure you are able to attend if you are interested in any position.

Thank you, Beth Majkrzak Parliamentarian [email protected]



CMS PTA Board of Managers Application 2016-17 Please complete this form and return it to the main office by Friday, February 26, 2016. Thank you! Name: ________________________________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________________

Phone: ____________________________________ Email Address: _______________________

List ALL names of all children in your family and grade they will be during the 2016-2017 school year.

1. _____________________________________ 2. ___________________________________

3. _____________________________________ 4. ___________________________________

List any offices (in order of preference) in which you are interested in serving.

1. _________________________ 2. _________________________ 3. _________________________

Please list any previous PTA experience:

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Why are you interested in this position? Tell us about yourself.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Please list anyone who has worked/volunteered with you for references.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________



It’s Not Too Late to Support the CMS PTA. Join Today. How does my membership help CMS? The PTA uses your membership money to make CMS a strong, positive learning environment for our children by purchasing items needed to keep CMS on the “cutting edge of technology” and by providing funds to fill school and teacher grants.**

CMS 2015-16 Goal: 100% participation How do we achieve 100% participation? Purchase memberships. No limits exist on the number of memberships you can purchase.

Who can join? Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Guardians, or anyone wanting to support CMS.

What is the cost of Membership? $6.00 per Membership

How do I join? Complete this form and return it to school with your student in an envelope marked “CMS PTA MEMBERSHIP.” We accept cash or checks. Make checks payable to CMS PTA.

If you have any questions please contact the CMS PTA Membership chairperson: Amy Bouche at [email protected]

The PTA does not release information provided on this form. Money received without a member name listed will be considered a CMS PTA donation. **A small portion of the membership dues supports National, State and local PTAs.

(Please Print) Member name _________________________________________ Phone # __________________________ (Your Name) Email ______________________________________________________________________________________ Member name _________________________________________ Phone # __________________________ (Additional Person’s Name) Email ______________________________________________________________________________________ Please list additional membership names and contact information on the back of this page. # Of memberships ________ @$6.00 = $__________ Total Enclosed List children attending Collierville Middle School:

Student ____________________________ Grade_____ Homeroom Teacher_______________________

Student ____________________________ Grade_____ Homeroom Teacher_______________________



President Tina Rehm [email protected] 489-5990

Secretary Kimberly McNutt [email protected] 489-0293

Treasurer Liz Baird [email protected] 848-8823

Communications Rebecca Wyrick [email protected]

Cultural Arts Tamala Lyle [email protected]

Health and Safety Kelly Roller [email protected] 268-1177

Hospitality Angela Porada [email protected] 355-6402

Legislation Susan Mascari [email protected]

Membership Amy Bouche [email protected]

Parent Volunteers Lisa Cox [email protected]

Programs Sherrie Cox [email protected]

Publications Katie Timms [email protected]

Publicity Amy Flood [email protected] 687-8415

Room Parents Jan Gould [email protected] 832-4833

Ways and Means Heather Arnold [email protected] 651-1953

Parliamentarian Beth Majkrzak [email protected] 850-5887

CMS PTA 2015-2016 Board of Managers



A special thank you to each of our Sponsors listed below for their contributions to Clash of the Dragons.

Please be sure to support these local companies who continually support our events and school.

Our Sponsors for Clash of the Dragons

Silver Dragon Sponsor ($250-$399) Dr. Tommy Whited

Dragon Food Vendor Sponsors McAlister’s Deli Mama D’s Italian Ice

Golden Dragon Sponsors ($400 or more)

CMSClash of the DRagons 2015

collierville middle school dragon news...please make plans to join us at our next pta general...

Documents