Friday, March 31, 2017

March 31, 2017 Announcements

Hello Cherokee Families,
Another amazing week in the books! Can you believe we only have 7 weeks of school left until summer?
A reminder MAP testing begins in just two weeks. Dates are listed below.
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.
Have a great weekend and #GoIndians
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 and are now embedded on the website and will automatically scroll through for you. Enjoy!
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, April 18th 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. We’ve had several families take time to submit these this year. Our teachers & staff appreciate the kinds words so much. Thank you! 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.  2017 - 2018 School Calendar approved - Ready to make summer plans? Here is the calendar for 2017 - 2018.
The first day of school will be Wednesday, Aug. 16th, 2017.
2017 - 2018 Cherokee Orientation dates/times:
6th grade - Monday, Aug. 7th 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
7th grade Panthers - Monday, Aug. 7th 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
7th grade Ravens - Tuesday, Aug. 8th  5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
7th grade Endeavor - Tuesday, Aug. 8th 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
8th grade NEW students (never attended Cherokee for 6th or 7th grade) - Wednesday, Aug. 9th 4:30 in library
8th grade returning students (attended Cherokee in 7th) - Wednesday, Aug. 9th 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
7. MAP testing - Our MAP dates have been set. Please make every attempt to be present on these dates.
6th, 7th, and 8th grade Reading & Math - Tuesday, April 18th and Wednesday, April 19th.
8th grade Writing - Thursday, April 20th
8th grade Science - Monday, April 24th
Algebra I EOC (end of course) Exam - Tuesday, April 25th.
8. Explore (aka Summer School) - Make your mark at Explore!
This summer,  Explore will offer students eight weeks of exciting opportunities to pursue their unique interests and passions. Each day will be packed with engaging, relevant and personal learning opportunities, enriched by integrated technology, exciting field experiences and hands-on activities.
Artworks will also be offered free at two locations, plus students can choose to stay all day to enrich their experience. Here is the guide for more information.
There will be two sessions of Explore. Session I could start as early as May 30, depending on the actual last day of the regular school year. The last day of Session I will be June 28. Session II will be held July 5-July 28.
Free transportation will be offered for eligible students and free breakfast and lunch will be served daily at every school.
*Middle school students, students in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade for the 17 - 18 school year, will attend classes Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration for middle school is open and the pocket guide is HERE. Carver is considered our home school for summer.
*8th graders going to high school in 17 - 18 your Field Guide is HERE and students may register for classes now. Hurry as high school classes close quickly.
Register for Explore classes at explore.spsk12.org
9. Tribe Time - Every Tuesday and Thursday except MAP testing days we will be following a different bell schedule (See Here).
What is Tribe Time? On the Tues/Thurs our students will report to their Core teachers (each team has decided what this will look like) for a 20 minute intervention/enrichment time. Each team has been working on a plan and will be very flexible as we begin our pilot of Tribe Time. Our hope is through these next few weeks of implementing Tribe Time we can fine tune what works and what doesn’t work as we look forward to potentially continuing this for the 17 – 18 school year.
Where did Tribe Time come from? Tribe Time was born out of several conversations our Leadership Team has had this year. As a staff we recognize the need for more time for more and more of our students. Whether is it time to decompress (but not unstructured free time) or more time to get additional help in areas of need we want to investigate this opportunity to provide support for our students.
10. 2017 - 2018 Washington, D.C. trip Parent Meeting - The trip is for our current 7th graders only.  A meeting with parents and students who are interested in going on next year’s trip during Spring Break of 2018.
Date: Tuesday, April 4th. Time: 6 PM - 6:30 PM Location: Cherokee Cafeteria
11. Proposition SPS - What is it? Learn more about Proposition SPS and the April 4th Bond vote HERE and HERE.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
Have a great week and as always #GoIndians
Bill Powers, Ed.D
Principal
Cherokee Middle School
420 E. Farm Road 182
Springfield, MO 65810
Ph: 417-523-7210
"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.
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Thursday, March 23, 2017

March 24, 2017 Announcements

Hello Cherokee Families,
We are off to a fantastic start to the 4th quarter!
Third quarter report cards are being sent home today. Questions or concerns? Please contact us any time.
Have a great weekend and #GoIndians
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 and are now embedded on the website and will automatically scroll through for you. Enjoy!
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, April 18th 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. Report Cards - will be sent home Friday, March 24th.
4. We have an amazing team here at Cherokee. We’ve had several families take time to submit these this year. Our teachers & staff appreciate the kinds words so much. Thank you! 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!
5.  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.
6. 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.

7.  2017 - 2018 School Calendar approved - Ready to make summer plans? Here is the calendar for 2017 - 2018.
The first day of school will be Wednesday, Aug. 16th, 2017.
2017 - 2018 Cherokee Orientation dates/times:
6th grade - Monday, Aug. 7th 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
7th grade Panthers - Monday, Aug. 7th 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
7th grade Ravens - Tuesday, Aug. 8th  5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
7th grade Endeavor - Tuesday, Aug. 8th 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
8th grade NEW students (never attended Cherokee for 6th or 7th grade) - Wednesday, Aug. 9th 4:30 in library
8th grade returning students (attended Cherokee in 7th) - Wednesday, Aug. 9th 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.
8. MAP testing - Our MAP dates have been set. Please make every attempt to be present on these dates.
6th, 7th, and 8th grade Reading & Math - Tuesday, April 18th and Wednesday, April 19th.
8th grade Writing - Thursday, April 20th
8th grade Science - Monday, April 24th
Algebra I EOC (end of course) Exam - Tuesday, April 25th.
9. Explore (aka Summer School) - Make your mark at Explore!
This summer,  Explore will offer students eight weeks of exciting opportunities to pursue their unique interests and passions. Each day will be packed with engaging, relevant and personal learning opportunities, enriched by integrated technology, exciting field experiences and hands-on activities.
Artworks will also be offered free at two locations, plus students can choose to stay all day to enrich their experience. Here is the guide for more information.
There will be two sessions of Explore. Session I could start as early as May 30, depending on the actual last day of the regular school year. The last day of Session I will be June 28. Session II will be held July 5-July 28.
Free transportation will be offered for eligible students and free breakfast and lunch will be served daily at every school.
*Middle school students, students in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade for the 17 - 18 school year, will attend classes Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration for middle school is open and the pocket guide is HERE. Carver is considered our home school for summer.
*8th graders going to high school in 17 - 18 your Field Guide is HERE and students may register for classes now. Hurry as high school classes close quickly.
Register for Explore classes at explore.spsk12.org
10. Tribe Time - Every Tuesday and Thursday except MAP testing days we will be following a different bell schedule (See Here).
What is Tribe Time? On the Tues/Thurs our students will report to their Core teachers (each team has decided what this will look like) for a 20 minute intervention/enrichment time. Each team has been working on a plan and will be very flexible as we begin our pilot of Tribe Time. Our hope is through these next few weeks of implementing Tribe Time we can fine tune what works and what doesn’t work as we look forward to potentially continuing this for the 17 – 18 school year.
Where did Tribe Time come from? Tribe Time was born out of several conversations our Leadership Team has had this year. As a staff we recognize the need for more time for more and more of our students. Whether is it time to decompress (but not unstructured free time) or more time to get additional help in areas of need we want to investigate this opportunity to provide support for our students.
11. 2017 - 2018 Washington, D.C. trip Parent Meeting - The trip is for our current 7th graders only.  A meeting with parents and students who are interested in going on next year’s trip during Spring Break of 2018.
Date: Tuesday, April 4th. Time: 6 PM - 6:30 PM Location: Cherokee Cafeteria
12. Scholastic Book Fair - will be held in the library through Friday, March 24th. You may also place orders online until March 28th at https://goo.gl/ZXKO1l
13. Proposition SPS - What is it? Learn more about Proposition SPS and the April 4th Bond vote HERE and HERE.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.
Have a great week and as always #GoIndians
Bill Powers, Ed.D
Principal
Cherokee Middle School
420 E. Farm Road 182
Springfield, MO 65810
Ph: 417-523-7210
"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.
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