The IB Matters Newsletter will be shared once a month on this page ( 2024-25 school year)
You will be able to access updates, celebrations, and reminders here. Please contact me with any questions or feedback on information to add to the newsletter. maranda.thornburg@cms.k12.nc.us
Thanks for visiting!
Please join our next Parent Information Night – Preparing for College with College Foundation of North Carolina on February 25th at 10:00 am. Go here for more information.
maranda thornburg is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Parent Q&A for Sixth and Seventh grade Parents
Time: Nov 5, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the First Thu, until Apr 1, 2021, 6 occurrence(s)
Nov 5, 2020 06:00 PM
Feb 4, 2021 06:00 PM- The focus of this meeting will be "Satisfying the Service Requirements for IB/ Open floor for questions - this is a relaxed forum where we invite you to join in to ask questions you have. We are here to support you and make sure you are well informed. Thanks for joining us if you can.
Mar 4, 2021 06:00 PM
Apr 1, 2021 06:00 PM
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Monthly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJwvce2hrzgpG9HQSuFI6I1leLpuR49Zkbez/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCgrD0uE9WWsxiCRow-AI_oLPPzmHZejfp1rSzwJQkFS1L6M85SJ4ArSeLb
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Meeting ID: 982 6491 3315
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maranda thornburg is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: 8th Grade IB Parent Meeting
Time: Oct 5, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the First Mon, until Apr 5, 2021, 7 occurrence(s)
Oct 5, 2020 06:00 PM
Nov 2, 2020 06:00 PM -
Feb 1, 2021 06:00 PM - topics 8th Grade Community Project / Thinking ahead to High School - this is a relaxed forum and teachers, admin., counselors, and former student (currently in High School) will be there to field questions. We look forward to seeing you. If you have any questions reach out to Mrs. Thornburg
Mar 1, 2021 06:00 PM
Apr 5, 2021 06:00 PM
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJ0rduysrzwoHNbUaKMKqPfVFUARitCajehn/ics?icsToken=98tyKuChqDovHtWSsh-FRox5BIj4Z-jzmGZBgo1fqR7OLgtCUgXAENdjALtrM9na
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99615417262?pwd=VzhONUxoWkNlcXZ4cktLZnd3MVZyZz09
Meeting ID: 996 1541 7262
Passcode: JSf5qr
This year’s event was a huge success. We were at capacity and the parent volunteers were AMAZING! We could not continue with special events like this one without your support. The eighth grade students that held session in the classrooms, Mrs. Styles, Mr. Reddig’s leadership squad, Piedmont Graduates, and community speakers from the Urban Ministries Running group provided for our attendees lots of information about poverty and our homeless neighbors. We did have to sleep inside this year (first time ever), but the students were such good sports about the call at the last minute. The donations of PB&J we were able to assemble over 200 sandwiches to support the residents at Crisis Assistance Ministries. They gladly accepted the unopened donations as well.
The 2020 Community Project Showcase will be on February 14th. Please mark your calendars. We love to have parents and community members come out and view all the wonderful work our 8th graders do on their required project. Our staff is working hard to support the students. Please continue to have conversations with your child about how that project is coming along. Ask your child to share his/her journal with you as a parent so you can see all the hard work that goes into this project. Encourage them to adhere to deadlines and to follow through on plans. Reach out to your child’s supervisor if you have any questions or to Mrs. Thornburg to address any questions or concerns. Objective C is due January 7th and supervisor feedback is due January 14th. There is a full calendar in your child’s process journal on page 4.
Please note that all hours are due by May 1st. That seems like a long time from now, but it will be here before you know it. Please have your child turn his/her reflection sheets for hours in to the math teacher in a timely manner. If you see a discrepancy in the running totals for your child’s hours in PowerSchool please contact the math teacher first. If you have additional, questions or concerns please contact Mrs. Thornburg. Please utilize our REMIND app (find info for this on our webpage at bit.ly/ibpiedmont) to stay up to date on events happening that are sponsored by our school and other events they may be happening in our broader community. If your child goes over the required hours please have him/her turn those hours in as well. I like to give certificates at the end of the year to those students that go beyond what is expected. Some parents have asked if hours can roll over- the answer is No. All hours start anew on the last day of the school year. Thanks so much for taking advantage of our 8th grade projects to earn Service as Action hours. I hope that attending these events helps your child discover his/her passion(s).
Remember that novel, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind”? Students read this book over the summer. We are still using that book in class discussions and we will have a school-wide lesson on our early release day Jan. 8th. Students are continuing to connect the reading with our IB program.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns regarding IB.
Thanks
maranda.thornburg@cms.k12.nc.us
Veteran’s Day Breakfast 2019- Keeping this Piedmont tradition alive. Great job with record participation this year and a military band in attendance. Great Job Mrs. Brown and 8th grade team.
Daniel and Tristan – Epilepsy Alliance Presentation w/ Guest speaker. These students have been invited to speak in the spring at the Annual meeting in Winston Salem, NC
October 2019
Attention to parents who volunteered for the Cardboard Camp Out:
There will be a meeting with all volunteers on Tuesday October 30th from 4:45-5:15. If you cannot make this meeting and you have signed up to volunteer please contact Mrs. Thornburg so she can go over details with you.
Warm, comfortable clothes and a sleeping bag and/or blankets and pillows
Thick socks
A tarp or cardboard boxes to make a shelter or to put under you for sleeping (All carboard that comes in with your child MUST leave with your child. We do not have room in our recycle bin to dispose of these boxes)
A reusable water bottle labeled with student’s name on it.
A $5.00 donation to pay for security (any money left over will go to the Urban Ministries)
Items signed up to bring/donate
A positive attitude
A willingness to participate
Food
A phone
Any electronic devices
Drink/Soda (only bring water)
A negative attitude
If you have any questions at all regarding this event please contact Mrs. Thornburg or Mrs. Styles.
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We have several collection events rolling out so be on the lookout for information on these. Some items we will be collecting are…
New or gently used coats for the Steve’s Coats for Kids drive
Non-perishable food items for the Loaves and Fishes drive- these are any food items like beans, rice, oatmeal, dehydrated boxed foods, canned foods, cereal, soups, etc…
Non-perishable food items for the Belmont Community Thanksgiving drive (these are items specific to a Thanksgiving meal – canned pumpkin, cranberry sauce, cornbread mix, stuffing mix, dehydrated potatoes, yams, etc.
Toiletry items for the Thompson’s Children’s Home – deodorant, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, etc. for teen girls or boys
Gift cards for restaurants and gas stations for parents of children in extended stay situations for Levine Chilren’s hospital. Many Families have to travel to be with their child for extended stays and they need support with food and gas. Additionally these students are collecting crayons, coloring books, construction paper, watercolors and art paper for the students at the hospital. The gift cards can be dropped off to Mrs. Thornburg’s office. The craft supplies can go in the donation box in the front office. This collection will take place from Nov. 1st thru Nov. 8th.
. We greatly appreciate your help supporting our 8th grade community projects however we cannot award service hours for donating items
Light the Night for Talia
This year’s Light the Night Event will be held at Romare Bearden park uptown on Saturday November 9th. The event kicks off at 5pm and we will send out more specific information closer to the day of the event. Our 8th grade students, Talia and Titus Ivory are organizing this project. Students attending the event will receive community service hours. You do not need to sign up – just show up to help us support Talia. There is a link if you would like to make a donation to Talia’s Team.
In addition to the Light the Night walk there will be a basketball Tournament on Friday night Nov. 8th This tournament has a fee to enter and all proceeds go to Team Talia to support the Leukemia/Lymphoma foundation. Here is the link to get to the Team Talia page https://pages.lls.org/ltn/nc/Charlnc19/teamtalia
2018 Light the night event
We are always busy at Piedmont and we could not do any of it without the support from our Parents, staff, and students. Thanks so much for all you do to enhance our IB Program at Piedmont.
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IB MATTERS
SEPTEMBER 2019
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Open Streets 704
Our Piedmont students participated in the Charlotte Open Streets 704 on Sunday September 15th. Students painted the street at the intersection of Park Ave. and Mint St. Look closely if you drive down Mint at the amazing art display. We had 45 students sign in approximately 20 parents to help supervise students. All students participating earned service hours.
International Day of Peace
This Saturday, September 21s,t Piedmont will be joining Irwin Academic Center (at Irwin) for our first annual International Day of Peace. We will have food trucks, entertainment, and art. The gym will host performances from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (in addition to booths for art and face painting on the lawn). From noon - 1:00 p.m. we will participate in a Circle of Peace. Students and adults will share their “ingredient” in our recipe for peace. Then from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. there will be another set of performances in the gym. Please come out and join us for this fun day. Students can earn service hours for participating. There is no need to sign up - just show up and have fun at this event. There will be service forms provided at the event. Find Mrs. Thornburg or other designated volunteers to sign your sheet. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Thornburg at maranda.thornburg@cms.k12.nc.us or at 980-343-5435.
Campus Clean-Up
We will have a campus clean-up on Saturday, September 28th from 9am-11am. Please bring gloves and tools for cleaning our campus. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Thornburg or Mr. Alan Hendrix for details. Students can earn 2 hours of service. This is not a drop off event. Parents are expected to stay and help us please.
Volunteers
We have several students helping in the mornings and afternoons to help raise and lower the flag, to water the plants and to maintain our fish tank. We have a full crew currently. If you are interested in helping out please consider signing up next semester. Many Thanks.
The 8th Grade Community Project
Objective A is due on Tuesday, September 17th. Please remind your student to continue to work on his/her project. Time will pass quickly. If your child needs help with the project or project ideas please talk to the supervisor assigned to your child or contact Mrs. Thornburg. There is a support group for the project during clubs on Mondays in student services. If a student needs to see Mrs. Thornburg during the school day, that must be done during lunch/healthy kids and the student must have a pass. Things to remember when planning the 8th grade project:
No money can be collected on campus.
No event can be held on campus without approval. There is a google form to apply for Piedmont space, but the event must be approved by the supervisor first and all details must be included in the request. The link to the form can be found on the Piedmont webpage at bit.ly/ibpiedmont.
Students can advocate for a cause - not all projects need to collect money or items.
Students can find lots of ideas through their research online and in books on Community Service and Service Learning.
YES you can do your project in your neighborhood - the projects do NOT have to be done on our Piedmont campus.
All Public Service Announcements for our morning announcements should be pre-recorded, shared and approved by the supervisor before being shared with Mrs. Newburger and Mr. Kennedy.
All ACTIONS should be completed by January 7th. It is best to complete the project activity before the winter break
The showcase will be held on Friday, February 14th.
REMIND
To stay informed sign up for REMIND. You can find the codes for the sign up on our IB Webpage at bit.ly/ibpiedmont
The CARDBOARD CAMPOUT
The date of the cardboard campout 2019 has not yet been confirmed. This will take place early November. Mrs. Styles has a team that will be working to plan this event. We will keep you posted on details as they are solidified.
Community BBQ
North Meck High's BBQ team is looking for help at the Fall into Huntersville Festival on Saturday, September 28 from 10-2pm. We need volunteers to help with ticket sales as well as serve as the mascot.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a49aeae23abf58-41st
IB Ambassadors
The Ambassadors meet every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon to stay informed of all things IB and to help keep their classmates, teachers, and support staff informed. These students also help guide parents and visitors when our school is open to the public. We have 14 current Ambassadors. The application to be a Piedmont IB Ambassador will be open in April 2020 for next school year.
Thanks so much Piedmont family for all you do support our IB program