CMS Newsletter - 09/26/21

This Week at a Glance

6th Grade

7th Grade 

8th Grade

 

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Principal's Message

Outdoor masking: 

Because the rates of transmission of COVID continue to decrease in CA, San Mateo County, and San Carlos, and the air quality is really nice, we have no reason to continue to mandate outdoor masking.  As before, we know many will decide to wear a mask outdoors. However, we will no longer require students to wear masks outside.  

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Conference Week:

This is a reminder that  Conference Week is October 4th - 8th.  We will be on a minimum day schedule.  Students will be released from school at 1:15 everyday.  

In order to make conference week move smoothly and efficiently for teachers, parents, and students, we will utilize an individual student conference model. Parents will have the option to meet with teachers either via zoom or in person. Monday will be a town hall style zoom meeting, please record the meeting and share it with parents afterwards. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be live conferences (Zoom or In-person). 

Below are some details that will help with planning ….

Goal Setting Sheets 

Every advisory teacher on Thursday, September 30th, 2021 will complete a goal setting sheet with their students. These goals will be communicated with parents during conference week, during town hall, or during individual conferences.  

Monday  

  • Group town hall setting, Zoom class, record the meeting and push out to parents/content.
  • Each teacher schedules a zoom meeting and shares the link with their parents.
  • Elective teacher conferences. 
  • Below is the flow of the Zoom meeting schedules per content area. Look for an email coming from your teachers 
-First 15 mins - ELA
   -Second 15 mins - SS
       -Third 15 mins - Science
   -Forth 15 mins - Math

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 

Live Conferences - teachers create their schedule (15 - 20 minutes) 

  • Teacher Requested Conferences: (in person or zoom)
  • Individual goal setting
  • One to two teachers per meeting
  • Parents can request a conference: (in person or zoom)
  • Individual goal setting
  • One to two teachers per meeting

SpEd Conferences 

SpEd teachers will schedule conferences with all their students. Gen Ed teachers can attend if they don’t have meetings set.  

Please let me know if you have any questions, 

 Tom Domer

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8th Grade Baby Pictures

We are currently putting together the yearbook and need baby photos. If you have one you want to submit please email it to Marissa Chuang [email protected].

The due date is October 31 so please submit them before then.

Thanks, Central's Multimedia class

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PTA Corner

Volunteers Urgently Needed: Fall PTA Reflections Coordinator(s)

If we don’t get a coordinator this opportunity won’t exist for our students this year!  Sign up here to volunteer.

This program is very well supported at the district level with lots of guidance on how to do this role. Any questions contact Kirsten Kell, last year’s Coordinator at [email protected]  

Calling All Readers!  

The Central/Arroyo Book Fair is Coming October 4th-8th! 

We need your help to make it a success! Please visit the sign-up page: Book Fair Volunteering and sign up for a shift (or more!).  Parents must fill out a volunteer form with the district in order to be able to volunteer. Please consider signing up soon and filling out this quick form to ensure that you are able to volunteer.   

Students will be visiting the Book Fair throughout the week with their classrooms. The Book Fair will also be open after school from 1:15 to 3:00. Please tell your student to swing by.  Parents are also welcome to check it out before or after their parent-teacher Conference. 

Thank you in advance for your support! Funds raised from the Book Fair support the Central Arroyo PTA and the Library. If you have any questions please contact Jenny Goines: [email protected] Lena Grodin [email protected]  or Andrea Mardesich: [email protected]

Lunch Time Support Needed

Support school staff by being present in the yard and playground during student lunch.  Assist students and supervise as needed.  Your chance to observe students in a relaxed setting. Sign up here! https://signup.com/go/iTDfWqZ 

OR go to our website and sign up here Ways to Support your PTA Programs and Events – PTA – Central Middle School (scsdk8.org)

Join the Central Arroyo PTA! - Fall Fundraiser: How YOU Can Support Our Students

We’re sending a big THANK YOU to the families who have donated to the PTA this fall. Because of you, we are more than one-third of the way to our fundraising goal of $46,000. Please consider joining this effort to enhance student success and improve the school. We invite each family to support this mission by:

What do these funds support? All donations go toward school assemblies, Art in Action, teacher grants, Healthy Cities Tutoring, staff appreciation, 8th grade promotion, and more! Thank you for your support of Central and Arroyo’s students and teachers.

Yearbook

This year Central is using the eShare for the yearbook again. Families can submit photos for consideration for the yearbook. Please be sure to indicate which students are in the photos, the grade of the students and the context. The yearbook staff hopes that this will be an extremely helpful tool for CMS athletes and sports.

https://www.hjeshare.com/eShare/?code=central22

Calling All SCSD Library Books!

We are so delighted that our school libraries are open once again, but we need your help to get them in order! There are still hundreds of outstanding library books that need to be returned to our school libraries from the past 2 years. We are asking any families with library books from any SCSD library to return them to our CMS/Arroyo library. Students can bring the books to the library or parents can drop books off at the Central office. Thanks for your help!

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District News

COVID Reminders - Stay Home When Sick and Get Tested

Staying home when sick and getting tested for COVID-19 are two of the most effective ways to keep our community safe. Click here for more information.

Common Symptoms of COVID-19 (CDPH)

covid

  • If you have any of the symptoms listed above, call your school office to report an illness, stay home, and take a COVID test.
  • If you need to report a COVID case, please call our District Nurse - Page Pollack at 650-632-8300 (Arroyo Office) or Human Resources at 650-590-5922 if the Nurse is unavailable.

For additional information, visit our COVID-19 Resources page and review the SCSD Health & Safety Plan.

New Hours for Curative Van

Please take advantage of the no-cost COVID-19 testing provided by the San Mateo County Health Department.

Click on the link to sign up at one of the following locations to begin your regular weekly testing:

Central Middle School (parking lot, under solar structure)

Tuesdays & Wednesdays 9:00 am-3:00 pm
Thursdays 1:00 pm-7:00 pm
Fridays 11:00 am-5:00 pm (effective August 17, 2021)
 

Other Community Based Testing sites in San Mateo County Here

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Community Partners

Code for Congress, Code for Your Future

The 2021 Congressional App Challenge (Middle and High School Students) is a district-wide competition to encourage kids to learn how to code. The challenge is the most prestigious prize in student computer science where students are invited to design and create their own app.

Winning apps are eligible to be displayed in the US Capitol Building and students are invited to a reception in Washington, D.C. Learn more. Submissions Due November 1.

San Carlos Education Foundation (SCEF)

SCEF is an organization that relies on volunteers! We are currently in need of volunteers on our finance and marketing teams. Interested in sharing your expertise or passion while supporting our public schools and volunteering with other parents? Please fill out this GoogleForm: https://forms.gle/GcFmSwk63SgU55k59

So many ways to give! Your support of our schools is appreciated and necessary, and there are many ways for you to give (https://scefkids.org/donate/).

Community Foundation of San Carlos

The Community Foundation of San Carlos is proud to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month!

To us, Latinx Heritage Month is about honoring the different and diverse cultures and heritages, celebrating in the joy, the strength, and contributions of our Latinx community as well as continuing to learn more about its rich cultures and history.

We have a list of resources to share and are honored to uplift and amplify the voices of our community members.

Happy Latinx Heritage Month!

San Mateo County Reads

San Mateo County Reads fosters community building, enthusiasm for reading, and deep discussions by inviting people to participate in a reading experience across the county. This year, students and families can choose from a range of books under the theme of "Good Trouble." Learn more.

Parent Education Series

Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month! From September 15 to October 15, we pay tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have influenced and enriched our nation and society.

How will Covid impact learning and mental health? Anya Kamenetz, NPR education correspondent, will discuss her upcoming book, The Stolen Year: How America's Covid Response Failed Children, and How We Can Fix It (September 29, Online).

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High School Happenings