Oct. 31, 2016 Announcements

Hello Cherokee Families,

Another beautiful weekend in the Ozarks! I’m loving this unseasonably warm Fall.

Have a great week!

Be sure to read the notes below AND the Daily Announcements each day via our website so you can stay connected with all things Cherokee!

Carline reminders: Thank you to all parents who are following our carline expectations of pulling as far forward before dropping off. We also appreciate everyone’s patience in the carline.

• We’ve received calls from neighbors asking that we please not block their driveways when dropping off and picking up students. Please be courteous and do not block driveways. Thank you.
• Do NOT drop off in the west/athletic parking lot. This if for buses ONLY.
• Thank you again for not using your phones in the carline. Everything we are doing is for the safety of all students. Thank you for doing your part too!

Here are a few updates and reminders for you:

1. Daily Announcement and website – Remember you can stay closely connected with these listed events and even more each day by visiting our website HERE. Our Daily Announcements are updated Monday – Friday.

2. PTSA yearly calendar & Clothing Bank signup – Here is the YEARLY CALENDAR with other dates of note and all meeting dates as well. Our next meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 15th at 7:30 a.m. in the library. You can also find Cherokee PTSA on Facebook HERE. We are looking for volunteers for the SPS PTSA Clothing Bank. Click HERE for dates and times and to sign up. Thank you!

3. We have an amazing team here at Cherokee. Thank you to all the families who submitted a recognition last year! You have no idea how much this means to our teachers and staff. You can complete an Employee Recognition Form here to show them your appreciation. No recognition is too small. Thank you for taking the time to recognize and celebrate our staff!

4.  IGNiTE – Have questions about IGNiTE? Check out this website for more information on IGNiTE. Our website also has links to more information at the top left-hand side of the page under IGNiTE.

• District Chromebooks are filtered using a product called Securly. Securly filters Chromebooks at school and at home.
• Websites are filtered upon categories and blocks items such as pornography, proxy websites used to bypass filtering, weapons, drugs, gambling, hacking and other non-educational websites.
• Parents can find out more about how we keep students safe and secure on their Chromebooks on the IGNiTE@Home website.
• If a student, parent or teacher reports that inappropriate content is available to students, please send any websites or Chrome extensions you believe should be blocked to me immediately.
• Here is an FAQ regarding district filtering policies.

5. Bell schedules for Cherokee – We use a few different bell schedules during the school year. These will help you when planning for lunch, appointments, etc. This LINK will take you to a folder with the following schedules - Character Ed, Morning assembly, Sports/Pep Assembly, and our regular bell schedule. The dates are listed at the top of each schedule.

6. Spirit Wear orders - Final orders are due by TODAY, Oct. 31st. Here is the order form. Turn all orders in to the main office. This is the last opportunity to order for the 16-17 school year.

7. FOOD FIGHT! - Today, October 31st is the final day to turn in nonperishable food items at Cherokee to help Ozarks Food Harvest. You may donate cash or checks also. Please make checks payable to Ozarks Food Harvest. Thank you for your donations!

8. Box Tops for Education - Our PTSA collects these and the collection dates are: Feb. 15, 2017 and April 28, 2017.

9. Flu shot clinic - Cherokee will be hosting a flu shot clinic on Wednesday, Nov. 16th. More info will be sent home from our nurse soon. In the meantime check HERE for additional information.

10. Facility master planning - As part of its long-range facility master planning process, Springfield Public Schools is hosting a series of community meetings to gather input about proposed facility improvements.

The school board is currently considering two options to address opportunities for improvement identified through assessments of about 60 buildings, which were conducted by an independent team of facility experts.

More meeting dates and information can be found HERE.  Here is a short video with more information and this link takes you to a survey for you to provide input as well.

11. No School for students - Nov. 7th and 8th.

Teachers will have professional learning on Nov. 8th.

12. Fall Dance - Friday, Nov. 18th.

6th and 7th graders may attend from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 8th graders may attend from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Students must attend school ALL day, tickets must be purchased in advance and will NOT be sold at the door, and all students must be picked up on time. Anyone picked up later than 15 minutes after their dismissal will not be allowed to attend the next dance. Thank you!

13. Transitional Transfers - Attention families with students currently in 5th or 8th grade.  Do you want your child(ren) to attend a school outside your current attendance area for 6th or 9th grade during the 2017 - 2018 school year? If the answer is yes then you need to complete a transitional transfer. The window to do so is from 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1st until 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. To learn more and apply for a Transitional Transfers click HERE.

14. Kickapoo U. - 8th grade families - Do you want to learn more about Kickapoo U.? We are hosting a parent meeting at Cherokee on Tuesday, Nov. 29th at 6 p.m.

In the meantime check out their website HERE.

15. Veteran’s Day Assembly - All Veterans are welcome to attend on Friday, Nov. 11th at 8:15 a.m. in our gym. Our 8th grade band, choir, orchestra, and jazz band as well as a guest speaker will provide a patriotic theme as we honor all who have served our country.

16. Smoke Signal - Our student produced online news magazine is LIVE. Check it out HERE.

17. Fall Back - Don’t forget to set your clocks back 1 hour on Sunday, Nov. 6th.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

Have a great week and as always #GoIndians

Bill Powers

Principal

Cherokee Middle School

420 E. Farm Road 182

Springfield, MO 65810

Ph: 417-523-7210

Deliberative/Significance/Learner/Maximizer/Achiever

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." - Alvin Toffler

Confidentiality Notice: This email message and any accompanying document(s) and attachments contain information from Springfield Public Schools, which is confidential and privileged. The email transmission and any attached documents are intended to be for the review and use solely of the individual(s) or entity(ies) named and listed on the email transmission message. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby advised that any review, disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the information and/or contents of this email message, as well as any attached documents, is prohibited. If you have received this email message in error, please immediately delete this email transmission and notify us by telephone of this error.

Oct. 24th, 2016 Announcements

Hello Cherokee Families,

Second quarter is underway and October is almost over! We’re having a great year at Cherokee thanks to you and our students!

We have parent-teacher conferences tonight and Thursday night. It isn’t too late to schedule one. Call the main office at 523-7200 if you would like one this week.

Be sure to read the notes below AND the Daily Announcements each day via our website so you can stay connected with all things Cherokee!

Carline reminders: Thank you to all parents who are following our carline expectations of pulling as far forward before dropping off. We also appreciate everyone’s patience in the carline.

We have a few families dropping off in the west/athletic parking lot. Do NOT drop off in the west/athletic parking lot. This if for buses ONLY.

Thank you again for not using your phones in the carline. Everything we are doing is for the safety of all students. Thank you for doing your part too!

Here are a few updates and reminders for you:

1. Daily Announcement and website – Remember you can stay closely connected with these listed events and even more each day by visiting our website HERE. Our Daily Announcements are updated Monday – Friday.

2. PTSA yearly calendar & Clothing Bank signup – Here is the YEARLY CALENDAR with other dates of note and all meeting dates as well. Our next meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 15th at 7:30 a.m. in the library. You can also find Cherokee PTSA on Facebook HERE. We are looking for volunteers for the SPS PTSA Clothing Bank. Click HERE for dates and times and to sign up. Thank you!

3. We have an amazing team here at Cherokee. Thank you to all the families who submitted a recognition last year! You have no idea how much this means to our teachers and staff. You can complete an Employee Recognition Form here to show them your appreciation. No recognition is too small. Thank you for taking the time to recognize and celebrate our staff!

4.  IGNiTE – Have questions about IGNiTE? Check out this website for more information on IGNiTE. Our website also has links to more information at the top left-hand side of the page under IGNiTE.

• District Chromebooks are filtered using a product called Securly. Securly filters Chromebooks at school and at home.
• Websites are filtered upon categories and blocks items such as pornography, proxy websites used to bypass filtering, weapons, drugs, gambling, hacking and other non-educational websites.
• Parents can find out more about how we keep students safe and secure on their Chromebooks on the IGNiTE@Home website.
• If a student, parent or teacher reports that inappropriate content is available to students, please send any websites or Chrome extensions you believe should be blocked to me immediately.
• Here is an FAQ regarding district filtering policies.

5. Bell schedules for Cherokee – We use a few different bell schedules during the school year. These will help you when planning for lunch, appointments, etc. This LINK will take you to a folder with the following schedules - Character Ed, Morning assembly, Sports/Pep Assembly, and our regular bell schedule. The dates are listed at the top of each schedule.

6. Parent Teacher Conferences - We will host parent-teacher conferences on Monday, Oct. 24th from 3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. and Thursday, Oct. 27th from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Please remember you do not need to wait until this time to have a conference. You are welcome to contact teachers any time to request a conference.

7. Spirit Wear orders - Final orders are due by Oct. 31st. Here is the order form. Turn all orders in to the main office by Oct. 31st. This is the last opportunity to order for the 16-17 school year.

8. PTSA Reflections contest - Are you good at dance, photography, Film, Literature, Musical composition, or Art? This year’s REFLECTIONS theme is What is your story? Here are the Rules and here is the Entry Form. See our daily announcements and main webpage for more information about Reflections.

All Reflections entries are due Oct. 28th.

9. FOOD FIGHT! - We are in the final week! Now until October 31. BRING NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS to Cherokee to help Ozarks Food Harvest.

You may donate cash or checks also. Please make checks payable to Ozarks Food Harvest. Thank you for your donations!

10. Box Tops for Education - Our PTSA collects these and the collection dates are: Feb. 15, 2017 and April 28, 2017.

11. Report Cards - First quarter report cards were sent home on Friday.

12. Flu shot clinic - Cherokee will be hosting a flu shot clinic on Wednesday, Nov. 16th. More info will be sent home from our nurse soon. In the meantime check HERE for additional information.

13. Facility master planning - As part of its long-range facility master planning process, Springfield Public Schools is hosting a series of community meetings to gather input about proposed facility improvements.

The school board is currently considering two options to address opportunities for improvement identified through assessments of about 60 buildings, which were conducted by an independent team of facility experts.

More meeting dates and information can be found HERE.  Here is a short video with more information and this link takes you to a survey for you to provide input as well.

14. Guest Wifi Network - Cherokee has a new wireless network called SPS-Guest.  The purpose of this wireless network is to allow building guests access to the Internet.  To ensure our network remains safe and secure,  there is an onboarding process that requires a cell phone for guests to gain access. Please use the “Create Account" button and complete the process to gain access to this network.  This network has the same filtering as our students.

15. No School for students - Nov. 7th and 8th. Teachers are off Nov. 7th, but will have professional learning on Nov. 8th.

16. Fall Dance - Nov. 18th. 6th and 7th graders may attend from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 8th graders may attend from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Students must be in school ALL day, tickets must be purchased in advance and will NOT be sold at the door, and all students must be picked up on time. Anyone picked up later than 15 minutes after their dismissal will not be allowed to attend the next dance. Thank you!

17. Red Ribbon Week - Today = Hat Day “Hats off to being Drug Free”

Tues. - Socks with Sandals “live a comfortable life without drugs”

Wed. - Hawaiian Day - “Every day is Paradise without drugs”

Thurs. - Twin Day ‘Twinning is Winning”

Fri. - Red Out! “Put a stop to Drugs”

18. MAP scores - will be coming home this week.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

Have a great week and as always #GoIndians

Bill Powers

Principal

Cherokee Middle School

420 E. Farm Road 182

Springfield, MO 65810

Ph: 417-523-7210

Deliberative/Significance/Learner/Maximizer/Achiever

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." - Alvin Toffler

Confidentiality Notice:

This email message and any accompanying document(s) and attachments contain information from Springfield Public Schools, which is confidential and privileged. The email transmission and any attached documents are intended to be for the review and use solely of the individual(s) or entity(ies) named and listed on the email transmission message. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby advised that any review, disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the information and/or contents of this email message, as well as any attached documents, is prohibited. If you have received this email message in error, please immediately delete this email transmission and notify us by telephone of this error.