CMCSI Warrior Word Parent Newsletter

March 2021

Click to translate newsletter into Spanish.

Haga clic en el enlace de arriba para leer el boletín en español.

News from the Front Office

Wow! February has come and gone and we're headed into March. Exciting things are happening at CMCSI, and we are continuing to see our Warriors learn and grow. March kicks off with Read Across America Week this week, and we look forward to getting our Warriors even more excited about Reading. In the next few days, your child's teacher will be reaching out for you to sign up for Spring Parent Conferences. Parent Conferences will be from March 22-26, and will once again be held over Zoom. Our goal is for 100% of our families to have a conference with their child's teacher at CMCSI, so we look forward to meeting with you to share your child's progress. We will continue with Enrichment Clusters, MARC Awards and service learning projects during March. It's great to be a Warrior!

We are excited to welcome two new Partners in Education! Dairy Queen in Oakwood and Sliced in Oakwood will both be hosting Spirit Nights this spring to support CMCSI. Also, Culver's in Braselton had such a successful Spirit Night this fall, they asked CMCSI to come back this month! Thank you for your continued support of CMCSI and community businesses through our Spirit Nights.

The Georgia Department of Education announced that Georgia students WILL take the Milestones State Assessment this year. This means our 3rd, 4th & 5th Grade students will take the End of Grade Milestones test this spring. Details about our testing schedule will be coming soon. In addition, there will not be a remote option to take Milestones, so options for our virtual students will be shared as soon as plans are finalized. We know our students will do great on Milestones, and we'll share information as it becomes available to us.

We hope you have a wonderful week! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @CMCSIWarriors to keep up with all of the amazing happenings at CMCSI and see lots of pictures of our students and staff too. Feel free to contact us if you ever need anything.

Dr. Betsy Ainsworth, Principal

Mrs. Dana Walker, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates

3/1-5 Read Across America Week

3/4 Spirit Night at McDonald's in Oakwood

3/18 Report Cards

3/19 Magnet Application closes

3/22-26 Parent Conference Week (via Zoom)

3/25 Spring Pictures

3/30 Spirit Night at Culver's in Braselton

4/5-4/9 Spring Break

Read Across America Week: March 1st-5th

We are thrilled to be celebrating Read Across America this week. Encourage your children to participate in Read Across America as we promote reading among our Warriors.

Read Across America Information

Virtual School Program of Choice

Hall County is excited to announce they will be offering a Virtual School Program of Choice for the 2021-2022 school year. Information regarding the virtual learning program of choice which will begin in the Fall, can be found by clicking here. To stay up to date on Virtual School Program of Choice information, visit www.hallco.org

International Travel Statement

As Spring Break approaches and families make plans to travel over the holiday, the Hall County School District feels it is important to inform parents, students, and team members of new State Department of Public Health requirements with regard to international travel. These requirements are based on guidance from the CDC.

Currently, the State Department of Public Health requires all individuals who travel to an area with a high incidence of COVID-19—generally, those countries designated as level 4 by the CDC--to do the following upon return to Hall County Georgia:

Get tested with a viral test 3–5 days after travel AND stay home to self-quarantine for a full 7 days after travel.
Even if you test negative, stay home to self-quarantine for the full 7 days.
If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from infection.

If you choose not to be tested, please quarantine at home for 10 days after travel and monitor yourself for symptoms of COVID-19.
Additionally, you should avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you are tested or not.

The HCSD strongly recommends that families contact the District 02 Department of Public Health for information and guidance before traveling abroad.

Additionally, in order to protect students and staff--and to minimize community spread--we ask parents to notify their child’s school when planning to travel outside of the United States.

Please be advised: When traveling abroad, the COVID-19 level of your destination is subject to change during your visit and you may be required to quarantine upon return.

CMCSI Magnet Applications Due Soon

If you know friends & family who would like to attend CMCSI next year, but do not live in our attendance zone, we are now accepting Magnet Applications through March 19th. (Students who are already accepted and attending CMCSI through our Magnet Program do not need to reapply.) More information & the Magnet Program Application can be found here. Help spread the word to our future Warriors!

Yearbook Sales

Yearbooks are still on sale for $35 and you can order by clicking on the link below. Once you’ve opened the link, be sure to click on yearbooks, type in CHESTNUT MOUNTAIN, and then click on our school. All yearbooks will be delivered to our school. Yearbook sales will end 4/15/21, but yearbooks are now being sold while supplies last, so don't let your child miss out!

Link for Ordering Yearbooks

Transportation Reminders

Parents, please make every effort to have your child here at school before 7:45 AM each day. If you are dropping your child off after the school day has started, please be sure to pull up to the breezeway, stop your car, walk your child to the front door, ring the "buzzer" and wait for a front office staff member to meet you there. We want to be sure and keep our Warriors safe, so please do not drop students off unattended, as the front doors of the school are locked this year, and staff may not see your child outside once drop-off has ended.
Be sure to have your car rider tag hanging up each day when picking up your child in the car rider line. If you need a new car rider tag, please send an email to cmcsi@hallco.org and we will be happy to print you a new one.

Information from the School Nurse

Medications at School

Please remember that medication in any form may NOT be brought to school by the student. Parents must bring medication that is needed at school to the Front Office. If a student has any medical conditions which require medicine at school, please call or email the school nurse (Shaunda.Harper@hallco.org) to make her aware. Before any medication can be given at school (over the counter or prescription), a parent permission form and/or doctor’s orders may be needed. Medication will not be given if the proper forms are not filled out and the school nurse has not be notified. Please click on the links below to see guidelines for medication and permission forms (available in both English and Spanish). Feel free to call our school nurse, Shaunda Harper, with questions.

Guidelines for Assisting With Medication in the School Setting

Parent Permission Form-English

Parent Permission Form-Spanish

Character Education & Community Topic

Character Word

Our CMCSI Character Education Word of the month is Patience. Students are learning that patience is waiting until later for what you want now. Please see more resources for parents to use to discuss Patience here.

Community Topic

Determination is this month's Community Topic at CMCSI. Students will be learning about community influencers from history like Hank Aaron and Mae Jemison and how they illustrate dedication, humanitarianism, and resiliency.

Cafeteria Information

If you have not completed the Free or Reduced Meal application (even though meals are free for all students this year), PLEASE DO SO! You may complete your application at www.schoolmeals.hallco.org and find more information here.

March Breakfast & Lunch Menus (English)

March Breakfast & Lunch Menus (Spanish)

Ways to Support CMCSI

Spirit Nights

CMCSI Spirit Nights take place each month! If your family visits the restaurant or drive-thru on our CMCSI Spirit Night, a portion of the sales will be donated to the school! Mark your calendar for these:
- - - March 4 @ McDonald's in Oakwood
    - March 30 @ Culver's in Braselton
    - April 20 @ Dairy Queen in Oakwood
    - May 13 @ Sliced in Oakwood

Masks & Face Coverings

Be sure to send your child to school with a mask or face covering each day AND send an extra in his/her backpack, as we know masks sometimes can be lost, broken, soiled, etc.

Kroger Plus Card Community Rewards

Be sure to link your Kroger Plus Card to CMCSI here. We earn when you shop!

Publix Partners

Box Tops for Education

Bottled Water for Classrooms

Since our water fountains cannot be used this year, we provide bottled water for students who forget their water bottles. If you would like to donate a case of water (regular sized OR small bottles are great too!) to your child's classroom or the front office, we would appreciate it!

Wipes & Hand Sanitizer

Please continue to send hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes (like Clorox wipes) for our classrooms. Please consider donating to your child's classroom, our Media Center, gym, Computer Lab, etc. We appreciate your help!