SCMS PTO Newsletter

The Shocker Spring 2019

Spring 2019 1

Letter from the Principal

PTO Updates 2

Box Tops 2

Shocker Sports 3

Chorus/Orchestra 4

Dance/Band/Orchestra 5

Band News 6

The Little Mermaid 7

Media Center

News/NJHS

8

Odyssey of the Mind 9

Grade-Level Updates 10

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

IMPORTANT DATES

6/3: Math 2 NCFE/ELA

make-ups

6/3: 6:30 p.m., NJHS

Induction Ceremony

6/5: Math 1,2 and

Math 6,7,8 make-ups

6/6: Spanish, CTE,

PLTW, Social Studies,

Science make-ups

6/6: 11 a.m., 8th Grade

Promotion Ceremony,

Carmel Baptist Church

6/7: 7th Grade Field Day

6/7 Last Day of School

Dear Parents,

Though our school year is quickly coming to a close, it seems that our staff and students are picking up speed and energy to accomplish the end of year tasks. From field days to spring con-certs to final research papers to End of Grade testing, each day has purpose and is an opportunity to see students’ aca-demic, social, and personal growth. Academically, this has been another great year of success. Our spring MAP scores show that our students’ growth again beat the national average of growth. We look forward to excellent results on our EOG and NCFE tests. Our academic clubs did very well this year. A South Charlotte Odyssey of the Mind team will be traveling to Michigan at the end of May to compete in the World Finals. Our Math Counts and the Battle of the Books teams did an outstanding job winning several events. We thoroughly enjoy seeing our Fine Arts students grow and excel, and I appreciate the amazing work of our FAN parents who support the programs. We all enjoyed the fabulous Little Mermaid production at the beginning of May. I am proud of the service-oriented atti-tude that our National Junior Honor Society members have demonstrated this year. The Mental Health Awareness Committee and the Kindness Committee worked creatively this year to promote positive actions among our students and staff. Athletics, fine arts, clubs, and academic teams are all valuable opportunities for students to grow socially, discover their interests and talents, and work for a common goal.

Many of our staff received recogni-tion this year. Ms. Kailey Kiker was named N.C. Support Person of the Year by the Middle Levels Educator Associa-tion; Ms. Meagan Barger was honored as MeckEd Teacher of Excellence as well as the May CMS Beginning Teacher of the Month; Ms. Kimberly Ivey won Teacher Assistant of the Year for the Southwest Learning Community, and Ms. Katie Butler won Teacher of the Year for the Southwest Learning Community. Truly, we have an excellent faculty. A significant task of fourth quarter is preparing student schedules for next year. Registration for next year spans several months. If you have specific questions about placement, please con-tact your student’s current math/language arts teacher(s), as he/she will have the most relevant information regarding this decision. The success we see each day at South Charlotte Middle is due to the strong commitment from our community. I truly appreciate the many ways you support our students—from helping your child set up a study schedule at home to volunteering at school to en-couraging your child to do his best each day to attending a school event. It is the involvement from the whole community that makes our school great. It is a joy to work with your students each day and see them grow academically and socially. I look forward to a strong finish. Kindest regards, Lisa Bailes, Principal

The Shocker

2 Spring 2019

Thank You,

School Store Volunteers

The School Store has been open

every Tuesday and Thursday during

lunch throughout the school year

for our middle schoolers. If it

weren’t for our generous

volunteers, we could not offer this

service to our children and

parents. A HUGE heartfelt thanks

goes out to these volunteers for

their time:

Niki Koesel, Trish Baker, Karen

Webb, Shannon Kinlaw, Tara Hill,

Theresa Joiner, Nancy Knox, Krista

Harman, Karen Wolfe, Gennie

Saffer, Kathy Porter, Cara Dalton,

Anje Seufert, Reyna Watson, Marty

Metzl, Amy Sutton, and Kim

Anderson.

I know there are others that have

jumped in to help at the last mi-

nute! We couldn’t have done it

without you this year!

The school store closed May 21 for

the school year, and we’ll see you

back for our fall opening.

Thanks!

Dawn Hamilton,

School Store Committee

Keep Clipping Box Tops for Education

We will send in our last Box Tops submission in June, so please turn in Box Tops by the last day

of school, June 7. Students can drop them off in the mailbox in the parent waiting area for easy

delivery. Thank you to all who participated this year in the Box Tops fundraiser.

Don’t forget to clip this summer!

PTO News

As we approach the end of the 2018-19 school year, I want to thank you

for your continued support of the PTO. Thank you to our PTO volunteers

who gave their time to support our students, teachers and staff throughout

the year. In the second semester, PTO volunteers honored our teachers

and staff with a fantastic Staff Appreciation Week, tirelessly worked to se-

cure EOG proctors, organized honor roll parties, 6th and 7th grade Field

Days and the 8th grade Sports Connection outing, helped with school pic-

tures and yearbook sales, assisted with Chromebook collection, promoted

and sold great merchandise in the school store, led school tours, created

and distributed newsletters, organized and submitted Box Tops, coordinat-

ed all of the volunteers, and so much more! We appreciate all you do!

Thank you for your continued donations to our annual fund, which raised

more than $30,000, making it possible for us to make additional purchas-

es in the second semester, including three metal picnic tables to provide

outdoor seating next to the bus lot and much-needed materials for the en-

tire Math Department. Thank you also for linking your Harris Teeter VIC

card and clipping and submitting so many Box Tops.

Finally, I want to thank the members of the PTO Executive Board for their

tireless commitment and dedication to the students, teachers and staff of

South Charlotte Middle School. To Heather Collier (VP of Fundraising), Beth

Cotton (Assistant Treasurer), Theresa Joiner (VP of Communications),

Nancy Knox (Treasurer), and Kim Zusi (Secretary), thank you for a great

year.

To all SCMS families, have a great summer!

Katharine Willis, PTO President

From the PTO President

The Shocker

Spring 2019 3

SHOCKER SPRING SPORTS IN ACTION Baseball, Boys’ Track, Girls’ Track, Boys’ Soccer, Girls’ Soccer, Tennis and Lacrosse Want to Play

Fall Sports

at SCMS?

Summer is a great time to

begin preparing for fall

sports. Here’s what student

athletes will need:

• An up-to-date physical

within 365 days of Sept.

3, 2019, the start date

of fall sports, from a

duly-licensed physician.

• A 2019-20 sports

insurance pack.

• A 2.0 GPA from the

previous semester.

All paperwork can be found

on the athletics home page.

Calling All Runners!

Cross country for boys and girls is one of a handful of clubs representing South Charlotte Middle School. The team is entering its eight sea-son competing against Char-lotte metro region teams. This club team is open to all sixth through eighth graders, and there are no tryouts—you only must be willing to work hard and be a good teammate. Practices will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 3:30-5 p.m. at SCMS. The first practice will be the Thursday after Labor Day, and there will be five races of 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) during the season. The program cost of $50

covers uniforms and funding

for the athletic department. The

coaches will be Kurt Seufert

and Kimber Arrington. Look for

more information about

signups in the fall.

The Shocker

Spring 2019 4

Fine Arts News

Congratulations to all SCMS fine arts students on their accomplishments this spring. Here are some highlights.

It has been an extremely busy semester for chorus! Honors Chorus went to Wingate University and was adjudicated by state judges.

The Singing Shockers received a Superior rating with nearly perfect scores! Soon after, Honors Chorus was invited to sing on the big

stage of Charlotte’s Belk Theatre. The Singing Shockers represented as they sang on CMS’s “A Musical Showcase” highlighting excel-

lent music programs in our district. Avery Lyon, Tara McGee, and Jayme Dinkin were featured in the first song of the concert. Tara

McGee, Emma Grace Purcell, Amelia McCarty, and Claire Neeriemer represented SCMS in the 2019 NC Music Educators Association

All-State Music Festival at the Greensboro Coliseum. Honors Chorus joined with Honors Dance, Honors Drama, Jazz Band, and mem-

bers of the cast of The Little Mermaid Jr. to sing a lovely performance for SCMS’s feeder schools. Many SCMS chorus students held

leading and supporting roles in The Little Mermaid Jr. Joshua Chapman, Emma Grace Purcell, Amelia McCarty, Chianne Spencer, Tara

McGee, Neve Taylor, Alexa Bullard, Norah Dacus, Skyler Neuenschwander, and Anne-Mari Smit were selected to sing in the CMS Hon-

ors Chorus concert at Northwest School of the Arts.

CHORUS

ORCHESTRA

It has been an excellent year for the South

Charlotte orchestras! The following students

auditioned and were selected for the CMS

Honors Orchestra: Violin: Sophia Kuncoro,

Noah Chang, and Anvitha Ponnada. Viola:

Claire Mitchell. Cello: Raechel Wu and Ben

Uslan. These students gave a stunning per-

formance at Waddell Language Academy.

Sophia Kuncoro, violin and Claire Mitchell,

viola went through a challenging audition

process and were selected for the 2019 Jr.

West Region Honors Orchestra. The 7th and

8th grade orchestras had a terrific oppor-

tunity to work with string players from the

Charlotte Symphony! Each instrument re-

ceived a group coaching from some of the

best players from the Charlotte Symphony.

Orchestra wrapped up its final concert on

Thursday, May 9, and the 8th grade led us

off into the sunset with a beautiful rendition

of “Tropical Serenade.”

ORCHESTRA

BAND and ORCHESTRA PHOTOS

Congratulations to the Elite Honors

Dancers who performed at the

Legacy Dance Competition this spring.

• Soloist Peyton Purvis: 1st place and

highest rating of Platinum.

• Soloist Holliday Grow: 4th place.

• Lizzie Walsh and Ellie Hinkle:

1st place/duet.

• Carly Arrington and Taylor

Wojnowich: 2nd place/duet.

• Large group dances took 2nd and 4th

place (Bella Naspinski , Carly

Arrington, Elle Hinkle, Holliday Grow,

Lizzie Walsh, Peyton Purvis, Riley

Buelow, Taylor Wojnowich, Yeuyi Li)

DANCE

Spring 2019 5

The Shocker

6 Spring 2019

BAND NEWS

SCMS 8th Grade Jazz Ensemble at the UNCC 49er Jazz Festival

The SCMS Bands presented their final concerts

for this school year: Spring A-Day Concert on May

13 and Spring B-Day Concert on May 16. The 8th

Grade Wind Ensemble, 8th Grade Jazz Ensem-

ble, 7th Grade Symphonic Band, 7th Grade Con-

cert Band, 7th Grade Jazz Ensemble, 6th Grade

A-Day Concert Band and 6th Grade B-Day Con-

cert Band performed outstanding on these

concerts. Michael Osborne was the recipient of

the Band Directors Award of Excellence,

while William Cole was the recipient of the Most

Outstanding Band Member. Congratulations to

the these students as well as all of our band

students for an excellent year of musicianship.

Several of our students were selected into Honor

Bands during this school year: NC Honors Band

(All State), South Central District Honors Band

(All District), Western Region Jazz Band (All Re-

gion Jazz) and CMS Honors Band (All County).

Members of these bands are Michael

Osborne %#$*, William Cole %#$, Brandon Ellis

#$, Nathalia Berengurer %#, Ryan Ragona #,

Caleb Taylor #, Jacob Mattapallil #, Joseph Chen

#, Diego Castro %, Robert Meador %, and

Frances Asby %. (* = NC Honors Band, # = South

Central District Honors Band, $ = Western Re-

gion Jazz Band, % = CMS Honors Band).

The SCMS Jazz Ensemble performed at the

UNCC 49er Jazz Festival, where they received a

superior rating and many positive comments.

Cayden Sambuco and William Cole were award-

ed "Outstanding Soloist of The Day," while Reid

Hufham and Ryan Jacobs were awarded

"Outstanding Musicianship of The Day.”

We are thankful to FAN, the Fine Arts Network,

for their support. We were able to purchase

music, instruments, and mouthpieces and regis-

ter for honor auditions and clinics, provide trans-

portation, and more with your par-

ents'/students' donations and participation in

fundraisers! Thank you, FAN Board Members:

Leslie Dinkin, Jennifer Schubert, Helen Kim,

Malia Fox, Cathy Kirkland, Angela Knight and

Sarah Asby.

—Carl Ratliff

Spring 2019 7

The Shocker

The Little Mermaid

SCMS 2019 Spring Musical

MEDIA CENTER NEWS Nelda C. Smith

8 Spring 2019

The Shocker

Our Battle of the Books team members are CMS champions! They won both the zone and the CMS championship

by reading as many books as they could from the North Carolina School Library Media Association’s list of 27

books. They competed in a quiz-bowl type tournament, where they answered content questions about what

happened in specific books. They also came in fourth at the Regional Battle of the Books competition where there

were teams from nine surrounding counties. The students on the competition team are: Spencer Abrams, Kellyn

Arnold, Annie Eilers, Katie Eilers, Lauren Gluck, Aniela Haines, Dave Hite, Sara Kirkland, Charlie Kuhlman, Aspen

Nelson, Elizabeth Payet, Sara Schubert, Kira Sheladia, Devere Shelmandine, Yls Virkler, and Angelina Yan.

March Madness came to the South

Charlotte Library. March Book Madness

that is. Students were presented with a list

of Sweet 16 books on the morning news

program, and they voted for their favorite

book. The books were narrowed to the

Elite 8, the Final Four, and the Champion-

ship Round. More students joined the

competition as the championship got

closer. The favorite book for South

Charlotte is The Lightning Thief by Rick

Riordan.

Thank you to the PTO, which purchased

library books for Battle of the Books class

and for the March Madness competition.

Our students are fortunate to have a

wonderful selection of books to choose

from.

All students have completed an online Digital Citizenship and online expectations course at school using

materials from Common Sense Media, a nationally recognized, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. Please take a

few minutes to explore the Common Sense Media website at www.commonsensemedia.org, or Kids Media app,

and ask your child what they’ve learned about digital citizenship at school.

National Junior Honor Society By Janice Bernier

NJHS has had a great year!

With 19 members, we

completed 19 independent

service projects that helped

our community in so many

ways, including

• Training for police dogs.

• Cleaning supplies for

previously homeless families

moving into their own apartments.

• Creating a "de-stress room" for

SCMS students--look for it next year!

• Books for students at Thomasboro

Academy.

• Food for the less fortunate.

• Personal hygiene kits for homeless

citizens.

As a group, we painted two murals (one

still a work in progress) to beautify the

school and encourage kindness and

positive change, raised almost $800 in

coins for Bright Blessings to provide

birthday parties and books for homeless

and underprivileged children, and

collected more than 2,000 cans for the

Matthews Help Center.

What a year we have had!

Looking ahead, 36 students have been

invited into membership for the 2019-

2020 school year, and the induction

ceremony will be held at SCMS on June

3. We have added a new officer position--

parliamentarian--and plan to conduct

service projects around the pillars of

NJHS: community, citizenship, service,

scholarship, and leadership.

SCMS Battle of the Books team

The Shocker

Spring 2019 9

Odyssey of the Mind This spring, Odyssey of the Mind (OM) teams represented South Charlotte Middle School in the regional and

state tournaments at Wingate University and East Carolina University. One team has advanced to World Finals

and, this month spent five days at Michigan State University competing against middle school students from all

over the globe.

OM is a competitive program that promotes divergent and critical thinking. Every team consists of a maximum

of seven students who must creatively solve a given problem and present their solution in the form of an eight-

minute skit. Problem requirements range from building vehicles and engineering mechanical devices to master-

ing classical literature, art, and comedy methods. Team members also learn the art of improvisation, how to

respond spontaneously to random verbal questions, and work together to solve hands-on building problems.

Problem 1: OMER to

the Rescue Again

Tavish Sheth

Prayaksham Gupta

Mihika Prayagkar

Sreshtha Mishra

Molly Metzl

Maxwell Parrish

Riya Chivate

OM is always looking for

volunteer coaches. If you're

interested in coaching next

season, please contact

Nadine King

(nadineking@att.net).

Problem 4:

Structure Toss

Maia Campbell

Caitlin Croswell

Emma Hatmaker

Ian Brown

Ava McRae

Grant Zalomek

Robert Kendrick

Problem 2: Hide in

Plain Sight

Jax Buechler

Mrunal Dongre

Isabella Hall

Joshua Joy

Emma Grace Purcell

Neal Zalomek

Devanshi Parmar

Problem 3:

Classics...Leonardo’s

Workshop

Lucas King

Dimitri Ferrell

Ben Uslan

Bella Peter

Besse Karavokiros

Isabel Silverstein

Hazel Silverstein

Problem 5:

Opposites Distract

Maddy Capraro

Jaclyn Binder

Izzy Meltzer

Aditi Babar

Julius Martin

Hannah Stoots

Spring 2019 10

The Shocker

6th Grade Update From Rich

The end of the year has been quite busy for 6th graders! We are getting ready for our end of grade

tests in math and literacy as well as prepping for our final exams in science and social studies.

Has your child been talking about a 6th grade math mission? We have a big competition in all of our

6th grade math classes: who can complete the Khan Academy math mission. Winners will receive gift

cards! This is a fun and exciting challenge for students and is also helping to prep them for the

EOG. Students can visit bit.ly/6thgrademathmission to get in on the action.

Our students also have enjoyed field day and are looking forward to our end-of-year celebrations.

The first year of middle school has flown by for our students, and they are gearing up for 7th grade! We

are so proud of all they have accomplished this year!

7th Grade Math

From Foster, Less, Matusiak,

and Walker/Friend

Math 7 and Honors Math 7 started in

early spring with math career day.

Parents came and talked to each

class about how math is used in their

job. Jobs in textile design and testing,

lasers, cables and fiber optics, and

interior design were some of the

students' favorites. We wrapped up

the semester by completing our last

unit, Probability and Statistics. Each

class played SKUNK (a game of

chance and choice) and a rather

intense tournament of Rock, Paper,

Scissors. The theoretical probability

was calculated for winning a single

bout, a game (win 2 bouts), and then

the tournament bracket.

We have begun our EOG review with

challenges such as Numbered Heads,

Timed Skilled Practice Partner

Competition, and the EOG Blitz Review

Challenge.

7th and 8th Grade Updates

8th Grade Science

From Marcus and Martin

In 8th grade science, we explored many concepts through activities,

investigations, labs, and creative projects to keep the students

engaged as active learners. Some of their favorites were:

• Analyzing elements and chemi-

cal compounds

• Exploring water sources and

built models of aquifers and water-

sheds. On Google Maps we learned

the Catawba river forms from the

mountains to the North, and we

attempted to clean an ocean oil spill in our classrooms.

• Understanding the evolutionary history of modern day animals,

many were surprised to find out that the ancestor modern whale

once lived on land!

• Creating timelines to model the history

of Earth were eye opening as the

students realized that the Earth is very

old it and it took a long time before

mammals or humans even appeared.

• Modeling an epidemic in the classroom and being able to use

data to determine the original infected student who was

responsible for spreading the disease to most of the class.