CMS Families,

We hope you are enjoying the summer. We are getting excited to welcome new and familiar faces on Tuesday, September 2nd. Not to rush the start of the year, we wanted to communicate a few “back to school” items. As a reminder, our medication drop-off will take place Tuesday, August 19th and Wednesday, August 20th from 8:30 am - 3:00 pm at the CMS front door. Medications must be brought in by a parent or guardian with a doctor's order.

• Communication from CMS

This is our CMS newsletter. You will receive one each month with important information. This will be the longest one you get all year because we have a lot to share before the year starts! It is linked on our website so you can find previous editions as needed. You can also check out our district Facebook and Instagram (@clarencecsd) for more information. 

• ParentSquare

ParentSquare is the district's communication platform designed to keep you connected with important updates from the district, school, and your student's teachers. Clarence is using ParentSquare for school communication, primarily with email, text, and app notifications. We encourage you to download the mobile app and update your preferences on when and how you are notified. Please see this link for directions for installing the app and updating your preferences. The mobile app is great because you get information all in one place and can scroll back in time to see previous notifications. If you have multiple children in the district, it is a one stop shop to access information shared by the schools they attend.

• Lockers and Schedules 

Students will receive locker assignments in Headquarters (Homeroom). They will also be introduced to/reminded how to use their locks and lockers throughout the day. Teachers will be ready to help students find their way the first few weeks of school. No student should worry about being tardy the first few days of school - we understand this is a big building to figure out!

Schedules will be available today on Parent Portal around 4:00 pm. If you are having trouble viewing the schedules in the Power School app, please log into your account through the website. If you need Parent Portal login information, you should contact your House Office. There is a “button” below with a link to our "Who do I call?" handout. We recommend printing out or bookmarking this page and keeping it handy! Be sure to put CMS as a contact in your phone if you have not done so already at (716) 407-9200. Please note: while schedules are complete, there are occasions where we need to make last minute adjustments. Please double check your student's schedule closer to the first day of school.

• Supply Lists 

Supply lists were posted this spring and can be found on our school website under the "supply lists" tab. Most supplies are general across the grade but some teachers have specific requests. Students are not expected to have all of these items on day one and should bring them in over the course of a few days. Please be sure your student has their name labeled on items like water bottles and lunch boxes. 

• Chromebooks

Students should come to school on the first day with a charged Chromebook. We encourage you to establish a routine where the device gets charged each night. Please be sure your student takes care of their device. Any personalization of the devices should not be permanent or damage the device. Our district device policy states that students and families are responsible for damaged devices. 

• Drink Policy

*NEW* this year for CMS is a revised drink policy to ensure we have students consuming only water throughout the day. Students are not permitted to consume energy drinks, pop, etc. during the school day. There are drinking fountains throughout the school for student use. In addition, there are water bottle filling stations. Students may carry a water bottle with them to maintain proper hydration throughout the day. Only water may be carried by students between 7:50 am - 3:35 pm. Drinks purchased in the cafeteria must be consumed there and not taken out of the cafeteria.

• Cell Phone Policy

Dr. Frahm will be sending communication regarding the district's updated Internet Enabled Device Policy this week. This type of policy is not new to CMS as we previously had a no cell phone rule during the school day (8:58am - 3:35pm). The major change for us this year, with the new state law, is that students must store their devices in their lockers. 

One of our roles, as middle level educators, is to help foster social skills. Cell phone use during the school day takes away from that effort. Additionally, cell phone use is distracting during classes. We ask for your cooperation with our no cell phone use policy by not texting your student during the school day expecting a response as they are not permitted to respond. Our house offices are happy to get messages to your student and to allow them to use our phone to call you when necessary. If your student is sick, they should go to the nurse's office and not text you directly. The nurse is happy to get in contact with families should a student need to go home ill.

• Open Houses

Please take note of our open house dates and be sure to get them on your calendar. More details to come at the start of the year! 

7th and 8th Grade Open House will be Thursday, September 18 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm and 6th Grade Open House will be Thursday, September 25 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

• Arrival and Dismissal

We ask that you take a minute to look over our traffic pattern information. We recognize drop-off and afternoon pick-up can be busy and hectic here at CMS. Much of it is out of our control as we are unable to control traffic on Greiner Rd. It is critical to arrival/dismissal that drivers are patient and follow the proper procedures. Parents may drop off students using the front loop beginning at 7:55 am. Students dropped off before then will not be supervised. Students will be housed in one of our cafeterias until the building opens at 8:45 am. There is a long-term plan to fix our traffic situation in the next capital project. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and safe practices during arrival and dismissal.

• We are here to help!

Finally, we know that middle school may be a difficult time for students. We love what we do and enjoy supporting our kids through the transition from childhood to adulthood. We look forward to your continued support and partnership to ensure your student is successful. We encourage you to reach out to our house offices whenever you need assistance or are looking for clarification. 

If you are looking for some tips on navigating the middle school years, many of our faculty and parents have enjoyed the book Middle School Matters by Phyllis Fagell. If you don't have the time to read, she has been a guest on many podcasts you can search. 

Please be sure to check out the other “buttons” and sidebars below which includes other helpful information. The CMS Resource Guide is a middle school handbook for families and has helpful videos for using our digital resources Schoology and PowerSchool.

Thank you,

Ashley Dreibelbis

Principal