SCMS PTO Newsletter The Shocker - Pages - Home
Transcript of SCMS PTO Newsletter The Shocker - Pages - Home
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
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.