JANUARY 24, Weekly Newsletter of South Charlotte Middle School. Dear Parents,

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1 JANUARY 24, 2014 Weekly Newsletter of South Charlotte Middle School Dear Parents, As we begin second semester, we want to ensure that your child is getting the most of their instruction while at South Charlotte Middle School. To that end, we have to make some very tough decisions about how students will be placed during ninth block for second semester. Ninth block is designed to remediate and enhance. Remediation trumps the enhancement as we want to ensure that students are doing well in their classes before we move them into an enhancement opportunity such as Science Olympiad, Odyssey of the Mind, for examples. During second semester, as we prepare for EOGs, it is critical that your child gets the extra help he/she needs. Our teachers are committed to doing this. Removing a student from their choice of ninth block class is not designed to be a punishment but rather is an opportunity to catch up on what was not mastered previously or is not being mastered currently. Thank you for your support as we continue to push your students to their highest potential. If you should have questions regarding this, please reach out to your child s counselor and your questions will be answered. Congratulations to Science Olympiad in the recent fourth place accomplishment at the CPCC Science Olympiad Invitational. We are very proud of the team. This is the second year of Science Olympiad under the direction of Mr. Brown and Mr. Aubry and the students are exceeding expectations. In March, the team competes in the regional competition at UNCC. We are expecting great things from them in this competition, hoping to qualify for the state finals. Good luck SO!! Next week, I will be joining a group of principals from CMS that will travel to the Mooresville School District to see hands on activity with technology. The school district there has placed individual devices in each student s hands and we will observe how this has impacted instruction and how seamless it works for all. I look very forward to this opportunity. A special thank you to the parents that attended our session on SOCIAL MEDIA and its impact on teens, presented by the FBI. We had several parents attend and it was very well-planned and facilitated by that group. We encourage you to continue monitoring your child s device so that they are protected as much as possible. Enjoy a great, cold weekend. We look forward to seeing your children next week. Best, Lisa Bailes, Principal

2 FAN NEWS Check out the new and improved display case featuring all the Fine Arts programs at South Charlotte! It is just outside Ms. Jenkins' room. Special thank you to Margot Strickler for putting it together. It looks amazing and shows just how active the Arts program in at our school. Way to go! SCMS Science Olympiad Team Competes in the CPCC Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament The South Charlotte Middle School Science Olympiad team competed in the CPCC Invitational Science Olympiad competition over the weekend. Yearly powerhouse teams like JM Robinson, JM Alexander, Community House, Randolph IB, and Science Hounds were all present and in full force. This competition was an opportunity for our team to see what Science Olympiad is all about and what types of questions are asked, as well as an opportunity to see the competition from other schools. Your South Charlotte MS team placed 4th overall with ** first place ** medals going to Gordon Rogelberg and Alyssa Sharma for Sounds of Music, ** second place ** medals going to Sunny Zhang and Lisa Cai for Anatomy, Bansi Chhatrala and Gayatri Srinivasa for Road Scholar and Rocks and Minerals. ** Third Place ** medals went to Gordon Rogelberg and Connor Delaney for Boomilever, Andrea Ward and Mercedes Deramgozin for Dynamic Planet, Andrea Ward and Clara Wang for It Matters, Andrea Ward and Bansi Chhatrala for Water Quality. Mr. Aubry and Mr. Brown want to congratulate a great effort by our team. YMCA HAPPENINGS The Morrison YMCA will be hosting a Ping Pong Tournament this Friday, January 24 at 6:30pm. It s free for any Middle School student who wants to play. The grand prize will be a great gift card. Teens can sign up anytime at morrisonyteens on Instagram or Twitter. Spots are limited, so it is encouraged to sign up today! This Saturday, January 25 is Middle School Madness at the Morrison Y. It s a huge Middle School event with music, dancing, games and more! Concessions will be available for purchase. The event is from 7:00pm to 10:15pm. Visit our website at ymcacharlotte.org/morrison or contact Jonathan Jones for further details.

3 2014 Yearbook Sales As of now, only 357 copies of the 2014 Yearbook have been ordered! We want all students to have a copy. So don't wait until May when yearbooks are distributed to buy a copy, because there will be a very limited supply available. In addition, if you want to have your son's or daughter's yearbook personalized, you must go to and place the order no later than January 27. Use Order #13948 when placing your order. If you do not feel comfortable ordering online, you may call All these instructions are on the school's Wiki. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Seaman at mary.seaman@cms.k12.nc.us. UPCOMING EVENTS 1/27 Home basketball vs. Southwest 1/30 AG 2/3 Community House 2/5 REPORT CARDS 2/6 Carmel 2/10 Pep Rally 2/10 Home basketball vs. Quail Hollow 2/11 Winter Sports Athletic Banquet 2/14 Carnation delivery 2/24 Soccer/baseball tryouts 2/27 Track tryouts

4 BOOSTER CLUB NEWS Mark your calendars: Flower Power! Parents and students alike can thank friends, acknowledge teachers and administrators, and show someone they care with flowers. During lunch on January 29, 30 and 31, Booster club volunteers will be taking orders in the third annual, much anticipated VALENTINE S DAY CARNATION SALE. Flowers are 1 for $3, 2 for $5, or 5 for $10. The carnations will be delivered during 9th block on Valentine's Day, Friday, February 14. Want to be part of the fun? Contact Lynn Pounds at lynnpounds@carolina.rr.com to learn how you can help. *************************************************************************************** It's that time of year again - time for a PEP RALLY! Students and parents can come cheer for their favorite winter athletes at the pep rally at 3:45 p.m., Monday February 10, right before the final home basketball game of the season. Students will be bringing home a permission slip, required for admission into the pep rally, the week before the event. Permission slips also will be included in the weekly Shockwave newsletter. Got the spirit? Come be a part of the action. Contact Renee Leonard at reneepl@carolina.rr.com if you want to help. *************************************************************************************** The WINTER SPORTS BANQUET will be held Tuesday, February 11. All winter athletes and their families are invited to attend. Check The Shockwave for details. Have a business or service you'd like to promote? Consider sponsoring an SCMS team or buying a banner or an ad. Contact Lynn Pounds at lynnpounds@carolina.rr.com for more information about getting YOUR words out.

5 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 ing entries to Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp Makes: 6 to 8 servings Prep 15 mins Cool 20 mins Bake 375 F 40 mins Ingredients Directions Nutrition Facts 1/3 cup strawberry preserves 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries 2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats 2 tablespoons cornmeal 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon vanilla Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together preserves and cinnamon. Add strawberries and rhubarb; stir gently to coat. Add flour; stir gently until combined. Spoon into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together rolled oats and cornmeal. Stir in honey and vanilla until combined. Sprinkle over strawberry mixture. Bake, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until topping is golden brown and fruit is tender and bubbly. Cool about 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm. Nutrition facts per serving: 161 cal., 1 g total fat (0 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 7 mg sodium, 38 g carbo., 3 g dietary fiber, 2 g protein.

6 CLASSics Ms. Rich s 6th grade Math classes In Ms. Rich s class, we started our unit on Fractions with a game: Getting Close card game. This game focuses on mental estimation strategies for finding the sum of fractions and decimals. Students had to change tactic and develop new ones based on the cards that were drawn. This game reinforces benchmark fractions and decimals that we learned in 1 st quarter. The students had fun playing the game and shared some great strategies that they learned. They will use this same approach to tackle Percents in the near future!

7 Cultural Awareness January and February are great moths to begin the conversation at home about cultural awareness. In the month of February we not only have the opportunity to celebrate Black History Month but, we will also be blessed this year with the Winter Olympics. These events highlight the impact that culture plays in our everyday lives and in our world. Take the opportunity to talk with your child about the cultural similarities and differences that you recognize over the next few weeks. What is meant by culture? Specific groups of people that are set apart or distinguished by: ~Customs ~Beliefs ~Language ~Dress ~Habits & Behavior ~Ideology ~Social Norms SCMS School Counselors Mr. Winnek (Last names A-M) Ms. Da Costa (Last names N-Z)

8 SHOCKER SPORTS Upcoming dates: Jan Carnation Sales Feb 10 Pep Rally Feb Spring sports sign-ups (during lunch) Feb 11 Winter Sports Banquet Feb 14 Carnation delivery (during 9th block) Feb 24 Soccer/Baseball tryouts Feb 27 Track Tryouts ATTENTION SPRING SPORTS ATHLETES: Make plans now to get your physical for tryouts if you do not have one that s current. See Coach Sprenger if you have any questions. Good Luck!

9 PERMISSION SLIP BASKETBALL PEP RALLY ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014 I will allow (Please print) (Please print name of child) to stay afterschool on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014, to attend the Pep Rally for the last South Charlotte home basketball games of the season. The Pep Rally will begin at 3:45 and the game will begin at approximately 5:00. We are encouraging all attendees to wear school colors to show your school spirit! Please make sure to bring the signed permission slip to the Pep Rally with you. Only those students who have the signed permission slips will be allowed to attend the Pep Rally (unless accompanied by an adult). (Signature of parent or guardian) (Date)

10 You re invited to the Winter Sports Celebration Banquet Honoring Shocker Cheerleading & Girls and Boys Basketball On Tuesday, February 11 th at 6:00 pm in the SCMS Cafeteria Catered Dinner by: A proud supporter of SCMS Athletics *All athletes are asked to wear game day dress.* Player Name: Sport: Number of Meals x $ 8.00 = Please make checks payable to SCMS Booster Club. Return this form & payment to Mr. Sprenger by Thursday, February 6 th

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12 TUTORING Miss Butler (SCMS Teacher) is offering tutoring for students taking Standard Plus Math or Algebra I. Contact Miss Butler at Mrs. Titus (SCMS Teacher) is offering tutoring for Language Arts and Social Studies. Contact Mrs. Titus at Miss Raffensperger (SCMS Teacher) is offering tutoring for students taking Standard Plus Math or Algebra I. Contact Miss Raffensperger at Creative and effective Tutoring for 6th and 7th Graders! Contact Mr. Brown, a South Charlotte MS 7th grade educator, Science Olympiad Coach, and Agent Einstein STEM Summer Camp Director. Keep your child performing well all year long! scotta.brown@cms.k12.nc.us or call Miss Oaks is offering tutoring in Language Arts and Social Studies. Contact Miss Oaks at abigails.oaks@cms.k12.nc.us. Mrs. Gallagher will offer private tutoring after school for Language Arts. Parents can contact here at lisab.gallagher@cms.k12.nc.us. Mr. Getsinger a teacher with 17 years of experience teaching World and American history, English language 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 me at norman.getsinger@cms.k12.nc.us. Thank you and I look forward to working with you.

13 SOUTH CHARLOTTE MIDDLE SCHOOL 8040 Strawberry Lane Charlotte, NC Phone: Fax: Office Hours: 7:45 am 4:15 pm Phones answered from 7:45 am 4:15 pm 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. It is rolling out in all CMS schools this year. Through the year, events will be added including field trips, textbooks, fees, and other payments. Please remember to re-link your Harris-Teeter VIC card! Our TIE number is Ask your cashier or you can do it online (with your VIC card#) link_to_your_school.aspx (Each card can be linked to up to 5 schools) South Charlotte is a member of the South Learning Community. (980) 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 is scms.attendance@cms.k12.nc.us or you may phone the school at 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.