weekly newsletter of south charlotte middle...
TRANSCRIPT
Weekly Newsletter of South Charlotte Middle School
NOVEMBER 14, 2014
Parents:
Next week, November 17 – 21, 2014, is American Education Week. For nearly a century, this country has recognized public education and all those entrusted with providing a quality education to every child. This year’s theme, Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility, reinforces the vital role we all have in the success of our public schools – as parents, students, educators, public officials, corporate leaders, and community members – as well as in ensuring access to a solid educational foundation for future generations of learners. As part of this celebration, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will feature a week of events designed to celebrate and appreciate the exceptional service that its 18,000 employees provide to children each and every day. On Monday and Friday, CMS will host Pride Days which will allow staff to wear jeans and school or district colors. SCMS is very fortunate to have the staff we have. Your students are doing great things in classrooms, in clubs, in sports and more and we owe gratitude to the teachers and staff here that lead and facilitate those great things each day. The administration will be celebrating the staff each day with various activities. I am hoping some of you or your students would like to send appreciation notes to teacher and/or staff. I know that a written note is something we rarely do now in our society, but it is meaningful when the staff receives them. Email is also very meaningful. Anything that allows the teachers and staff to feel appreciated next week will be great. I personally feel that next week should be Eighth Grade Kindness Committee appreciation week as well. Walking down the eighth grade hallway today was one of the greatest if not the greatest experiences I have had as an educator. Each student’s locker had a sticky note with an encouraging word or phrase. Several Kindness Committee members met early this morning to distribute the sticky notes. Teachers indicated that the spirit of all eighth graders this morning was amazing and it has sustained itself throughout the day. There are a lot of smiles and an overall feeling of kindness and belonging. Caroline Thomas indicated that she read a story about a young girl who was bullied and opposed to being a bully in return, she began putting positive notes out to her classmates and it had a significant effect. Caroline took the information and transferred it as an idea for the Kindness Committee. Nathan Kocmond is the President of this committee and I commend him and the committee for a job well done. Mr. Blake Gross, eighth grade teacher, has been an integral part in supporting this committee as it was started in his homeroom. Thank you, Mr. Gross. As a teacher, you epitomize kindness. The NJHS is planning a beautification day. The group will come together on November 22nd and clean out plant beds, distribute straw and more, making our campus more beautiful. Please reach out to Mrs. Alisa Yasurek if you are interested in helping with the beautification project or if you can donate items for the cause. Any and all will be appreciated. Please put December 18th on your calendar. We will have a parent meeting that evening. We will detail all procedures and exciting events as it relates to the personalized learning initiative/pilot that we will begin second semester. Dr. Valerie Truesdale, Chief of Technology, Personalization and Engagement will join us. She is the CMS leader that researched this initiative and is managing the process. She has a wealth of knowledge and can answer any questions related to this Initiative. Please plan to join us that evening. There will also be a meeting held during the school day. That date will be forthcoming. Make this a great weekend with your student(s). Thank you so very much for allowing us to serve them each day. Regards
Lisa Bailes, Principal
SHOCKER STANDOUTS
Congratulations to Berklee Bell (6th), Nicole Casarrubias (7th) and Xavier Zhou (8th)!
They have been selected by teachers as South Charlotte Standouts for the week. South
Charlotte Standouts are scholarly, honest, optimistic, caring, kind, energetic, and
responsible (SHOCKER).
PowerSchool Maintenance
Weekend
Parent Portal will be down from
Friday 5PM until Monday 6AM. UPCOMING EVENTS…
11/17-21 Winter Sports Tryouts
11/26-28 Thanksgiving Break
Hello! My name is Jill Torrence, and I joined the South Charlotte faculty last
November. My role is Professional Development Facilitator, but I enjoy any
opportunity to work with staff and students at SCMS. Prirr to joining South
Charlotte, I taught middle school math for 15 years, both at Jay M. Robinson
Middle School and South Charlotte (2000-2002).
Outside of school, I spend most of my time at the barn, training horses and teaching horseback riding lessons. I've ridden and shown Hunter/Jumpers most of my life. In addition, I also volunteer at the USO of North Carolina and at
Theatre Charlotte.
I am so happy to be back at South Charlotte. Gooooooooooooo Shockers!
Ms. Torrence
Professional Development Facilitator
A Healthier You Let us take steps to encourage our South Charlotte Middle School family to be the best we can be. Please share your favorite fitness/health app, heart-healthy family recipe and student/family active fitness photos by emailing entries to [email protected] __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Qdoba bonus opportunity……… Remember to have a parent email Ms. Kissmann telling her the TWO physical activities your family completed together this week and your homebase teacher’s name to earn 10 points for the Homebase Fitness Challenge. The first 2 received after 6pm Friday earn the free Qdoba meal. Newk’s Café is the Second Quarter sponsor of the challenge.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Pork Chops With Apples and Garlic Smashed Potatoes Ingredients 1 pound small fingerling potatoes
2 cloves garlic
Kosher salt
4 1/2 -inch-thick boneless pork loin chops (5 ounces each)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup buttermilk
Directions Put the potatoes and garlic in a saucepan, cover with cold water and season with salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and
continue cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, rub both sides of the pork chops with the sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat,
then add 1 teaspoon olive oil and sear the chops until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out the
skillet and add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add the onion and apples and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned,
about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cider.
Return the chops to the skillet. Cover and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving
1/4 cup liquid. Return the potatoes to the pan; add the buttermilk and mash, adding cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and
pepper. Serve with the pork chops, onion and apples. Drizzle with the pan juices.
Per serving: Calories 413; Fat 16 g (Saturated 5 g); Cholesterol 76 mg; Sodium 98 mg; Carbohydrate 40 g; Fiber 5 g; Protein 26 g
"Pork Chops With Apples and Garlic Smashed Potatoes Recipe : Food Network Kitchen : Food Network." Pork Chops With Apples and Garlic Smashed Potatoes Recipe : Food Network Kitchen : Food Network. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Upcoming races around the Charlotte Area: http://www.runningintheusa.com/race/ListByCityRadius.aspx?City=Charlotte&State=NC&Radius=25&Rank=Upcoming&Page=2 1. November 27, 2014- Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot (8K, 1M fun run, kid’s run, 5K walk)- Charlotte 2. November 29, 2014- Holiday 5K- McAdenville, NC 3. December 6, 2014- Jingle Bell Run/Walk (5K, 1M fun run, 1M walk)- Charlotte - Run Run Rudolph 5k and 10K (10Krun, 5K walk, 5Krun)- Charlotte 4. December 20, 2014- Frostbite 5K (5K run and 1M fun run- Kannapolis, NC 5. December 31, 2014- Siskey Indoor Mini Triathlon- Matthews, NC 6. January 1, 2014- Ring in the New Year 15K and 5K Trail Runs- Fort Mill, SC
CLASSics
Sixth Grade Single Gender Classes
The single gender classes have dress-up Thursdays!
South Charlotte is a member of the South
Learning Community. (980) 343-1463
In compliance with federal law, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools administers all education programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination against any person on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age or disability.
Please remember to re-link your
Harris-Teeter VIC card!
Our TIE number is 1933.
Ask your cashier or you can do it online (with your VIC card#)
http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together_in_education/link_to_your_
REPORT AN ABSENCE
Please let us know as soon as possible if your child will not be attending school
for the day. The school attendance email is [email protected]
or you may phone the school at 980-343-3670.
On-Line School Payments (OSP)
CMS has provided us with the opportunity to accept payments for school events on-line. It is much like Athletics Pay-to-Play, comes with a fee (4%), and allows you to pay at your convenience. If you choose to pay on-line, it also relieves our teachers from the time taken to do the paperwork and to receipt and turn in money or checks. Teachers will continue to take cash and checks as they always have.
Just sign in to: osp.osmsinc.com/CMS
Choose your student’s event and homeroom teacher, and make payment.
The teacher and Financial Secretary are sent advisements of your payment.
We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. Through the year, events will be added including field trips, textbooks, fees, and other payments.
TUTORING
Ms. Butler is offering tutoring for students taking Math 6-8, Math I, Math II & Geometry. Contact Miss Butler at [email protected].
Ms. Titus is offering tutoring for Language Arts and Social Studies. Contact Mrs. Titus at [email protected].
Ms. Raffensperger is offering tutoring for students taking Standard Plus Math or Algebra I. Contact Miss Raffensperger at [email protected].
Mr. Brown is offering tutoring for 6th, 7th and 8th graders for standard Math and Honors Math, ADHD Coaching, WISC-IV Testing. Email [email protected] or call 704-622-3624.
Ms. Oaks is offering tutoring in Language Arts and Social Studies. Contact Miss Oaks at [email protected].
Ms. Gallagher will offer private tutoring after school for Language Arts. Parents can contact here at [email protected].
Mr. Getsinger a teacher with 17 years of experience teaching World and American history, English lan-guage and study skills is available to begin tutoring students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. If your child is having problems getting the grades you know they are capable of and you wish to see them fulfill their potential, please email me at [email protected]. Thank you and I look forward to working with you.
Ms. Conlan is offering math tutoring. Please contact her at [email protected].
Ms. Eisner is offering private tutoring in Spanish for all levels. Please contact her at : [email protected]
Middle school and high school Math tutoring for summer and fall. Amy Walters 704-543-0464 704-491-4426 [email protected] (former SCMS teacher)
SOUTH CHARLOTTE MIDDLE SCHOOL 8040 Strawberry Lane Charlotte, NC 28277 Phone: 980-343-3670 Fax: 980-343-3725 Office Hours: 7:45 am—4:15 pm Phones answered from 7:45 am—4 pm