Wednesday, September 28, 2011

October 6th Parent Meeting

Dear Parents:
The first meeting of the CMS Parent Organization will take place on October 6th at 6pm in the CMS library.  I hope to provide some technology training that you might find useful as a way to keep up with what is going on the middle school.  We also need to discuss how you would like to structure the group.  I think that it is important that we decide what parents want to get out of these meetings as well as the organizational structure of the group.  As I mentioned last summer, I would like parents to take a larger leadership role in the group.

Below is the agenda for the meeting.  I hope to see you there :-)

Agenda:
1.       Welcome
2.       Update on Architectural firm
3.       Website Updates/Twitter Training
4.       Discussion 
a.       How can we structure the group so that parents organize and lead the meetings?
                                                               i.      Board structure?
                                                             ii.      Grade level committees?
                                                            iii.      Committee chairs?
Upcoming Events:
1.       October 3rd-October 26th: NWEA Testing
2.       October 7th – 5th graders go to You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown at Memorial Hall
3.       October 14th – End of First Quarter
4.       October 15th 7th and 8th grade football v. Goron-Rushville – 9:00am
5.       October 26 – Jump Rope for Heart
6.       October 28 – No School

*Parents are always welcomed in our school.  Please make arrangements with your student’s teacher prior to your visit and sign in at the front office as a visitor on the day of your visit.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Awesome Attendance at Parent-Teacher Conferences!

Thank you to all of the parents that came to Parent-Teacher Conferences on 9/19 and 9/20.  We had 77% of our students' parents attend, which is a testament our students' parents commitment to education.  I hope that all of the conferences went well, and I encourage all parents to stay in touch with their student's teachers throughout the school year.



Thursday, September 15, 2011

CMS Activities 9/19-10/15

Up Coming Events/Activities:
September 19th – CMS Parent-Teacher Conferences 5-8 PM in the MS Gym
September 20th – 1:30 Dismissal – CMS Parent-Teacher Conferences 2-6 PM in the MS Gym
September 20th – 1:30 Dismissal – CMS Only
September 30th – 1:30 Dismissal
October 3rd – MAPs Testing Window Opens
October 5th – No School – Teacher In-Service
October 7th – 5th Grade will attend a play at Memorial Hall
October 19th – End of the First Quarter

Athletics:
September 17th – 7th Grade FB v. Torrington 10:00AM
September 17th – 8th Grade FB @ Torrington 10:00 AM – Bus leaves at 6:30 AM
September 17th Cross Country @ Alliance 9:00 – Bus Leaves at 7:00AM
September 17th – 7th grade/8th grade VB @ Alliance 8:30 AM – Bus leaves 7:00AM
September 22nd – Cross Country @ Gorgon Invite 4pm – Bus leaves at 2pm
September 29th – 7th grade VB @ Gordon-Rushville 4:30pm – Bus leaves at 3:05pm
September 29th – 8th grade VB v. Gordon-Rushville 4:30pm
October 1st – 7th grade FB v. Hot Springs 9AM
October 1st – 8th grade FB v. Hot Springs 10:30AM
October 1st – Cross Country Western Conference @ Chadron – 9AM
October 1st – 7th grade VB @ Torrington 8AM – Bus leaves at 5AM
October 1st – 8th grade VB @ Torrington 8AM – Bus leaves at 5AM
October 3rd – 7th grade VB @ Alliance 4PM – Bus leaves at 2:15PM
October 3rd – 8th grade VB v. Alliance 4PM
October 4th – 7th grade FB @ Alliance 4PM – Bus leaves at 1:45PM
October 4th – 8th grade FB v. Alliance 4PM
October 6th – Cross Country @ Sidney 3PM – Bus leaves at 11am
October 15th – 7th grade FB v. Gordon Rushville  9AM
October 15th – 8th grade FB v. Gordon Rushville  10:30AM



 

September Good News From CMS



 Good News From CMS
Dear Parents/Guardians:

It is hard to believe that we are already finished with the first 5 weeks of school and that we are at the end of the first mid-quarter!  With the end of the first mid-quarter comes Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Like last year, the middle school will offer two days of Parent-Teacher Conferences in the middle school gym on September 19th from 5-8pm and on September 20th from 2-6pm.  Please note that the middle school will dismiss school at 1:30pm on September 20th for conferences.  I believe that parent/teacher conferences are extremely important because it provides parent/guardians the opportunity to discuss their child’s academic progress with the classroom teachers.  I also encourage you to bring your student(s) to the conference because we want to stay focused on the ways that we can work together to help them be successful in school and they should be a part of that conversation. 

Fall sports are in full swing.  Volleyball and Cross Country have already had several competitions and football will have their first game against Torrington on Saturday, September 17th.  We are very proud of our student athletes and the positive way that they represent our school and our school district.  I know that they appreciate all of the support that they receive at school and at home.  Go Cardinals!

We are also very pleased with the recent release of the district’s NeSA Reading and Math scores.  District-wide, students at Chadron Public Schools performed very well.  The middle school celebrated our students’ success with a school-wide assembly on September 2nd.  Students were congratulated on their success and encouraged to keep up the good work.  When the assembly was over, each student received a frozen treat on their way out.  Again, I want to congratulate our students on their success and encourage them to keep working hard in the classroom so that they continue to grow and improve academically.

Speaking of testing, NWEA MAPs testing will begin on October 3rd and end on October 26th.  MAPs tests assess student progress in Reading, Language Arts, Math, and Science.  The tests that are given in the fall provide us with base data that we use in several ways.  First, it helps us assess our academic programs and gives us an idea of the specific academic areas that we need to focus on in the classroom.  Second, we use the data to place our students in classes that will ensure that they receive the support that they need to improve.  And third, we use the data to help our students set assessment goals.  It is extremely important that all students be present for testing because we do have a tight testing window and there are only a few make up days at the end of the testing window.

Thank you for supporting your student and the programs at Chadron Middle School and if you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Nick Dressel
Chadron Middle School, Prinicpal
432-0708
On Twitter @NickDressel
Blog: http://mrdressel.blogspot.com