April 7, 2017 Announcements

Hello Cherokee Families,

This week we honored several of our volunteers. We want to thank each of you for the role you play in our community and school! Thank you!

We have a survey we would like everyone to take for us. It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. We appreciate your feedback.

I wish each of you a peaceful weekend and #GoIndians

Here are a few updates and reminders for you:

1. Daily Announcement and website – Parents of 8th graders - please check our announcements as we are sharing info from Kickapoo regarding upcoming events, tryouts, etc. via our announcements.

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. Last day of school - Will be Monday, May 22nd. Cherokee will dismiss at 12:45 p.m. on Monday, May 22nd.

10. Parent Survey - Cherokee families, Each student having equitable access to engaging, relevant and personalized learning experiences that positively impact academic achievement and personal growth is a goal of the Springfield Public Schools strategic plan. Receiving feedback from students and parents regarding the performance and their satisfaction with the district, school, and building leaders is one way SPS monitors and uses the data to improve performance. Thank you for taking 15 minutes to respond to this survey about our school.

Thank you!

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

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

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