August 2018 Carmel Middle School

1740 Pepperwood Dr

Colorado Springs, CO 80910

(719) 579—3210

The Principal’s Office Falcon Families,

Welcome to the 2018-2019SY at Carmel. Our staff is excited to continue our academic work

and building our school culture. Our focus on continued growth in reading, math, and writing

continues to be our priority as we engage students in learning. Following the International

Baccalaureate (IB) framework for learning is critical to our students’ success and begins with

our learner profiles and critical thinking.

In order to support our students’ growth, our reading and math interventionists will work

with small groups of students to improve the percentage of students performing at grade-

level. We also offer Power Hour (after school from 4:15—5:15) to support our students in

reading and math. This year, we will invite students to attend beginning September 11 on

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday’s only. Saturday school may also be an option; you'll

receive more information towards the end of August.

Our counselors are fully implementing the Second Step Program in which they provide

lessons about:

•Growth Mindset and Goals

•Values and Friendships

•Thoughts, Emotions, and Choices

•Serious Peer Conflicts

As part of our Positive Behavior intervention and Support (PBiS) program we will recognize

and celebrate the work of our scholars:

•Students earn Carmel bucks (C-bucks) for demonstrating our learner profile

attributes

•Students may spend the C-bucks in our Falcon store

We invite you to participate in our Very Involved Parent program (V.I.P. program). One of our

goals is to increase our volunteer hours each month, and we need your help and support to

make it happen.

Thank you for taking part in your child’s education!! We appreciate the time you put in as a

family to make sure your child or children are ready for school each day.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call 719-579-3210.

Sincerely,

Lorna Breske, Principal

The Learner Profile

Attribute of the Month is

Communicators.

As communicators, we:

Express ourselves

confidently and

creatively in more than

one language and in

many ways.

Collaborate effectively,

listening carefully to

the perspective of

other individuals and

groups.

IB Profile Highlight:

Communicator

Principal, Lorna Breske

Assistant Principal, Monica Glickman

Assistant Principal, Josh Stewart

Dean, Shawn Weatherill

IB Coordinator, Amanda Wermers

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We are proud to share our different department staff for this upcoming school year!

Language and Literature

Mr. Bridger Stapleton, Mr. Bruce Kooken, Mr. Josh Madrid, Ms. Samantha Rehberg,

Mr. Braden Studhalter, and Ms. Julie Jones

Mathematics

Ms. Patience Agana, Ms. Lauren Kichnet, Mrs. Rowena Borromeo, and Ms.Emily Ibarra

Science

Mr. Alain Briand , Mr. Ian Perry, Ms. Kelly Wise, and Mr. Jesse Baca

Individuals and Societies

Mrs. Deb Lanzas, Ms. Rachel Chizever, Mrs. Jordan Lager, Mr. Richard Gilbert, and Mr. Chad Fetyko

World Language

Mrs. Linda Ngwesse, Ms. Clare Koppin, and Mrs. Keyla Alicea Diaz

Visual and Performing Arts

Mr. Paul DeNardo and Ms. Katie Baker

Technology/Design

Mr. Seth Cook and Mr. Joe Gilson

Special Education

Ms. Mary Ann Andres, Mrs. Alejandra Santiago, Mrs. Kaitlyn DeNardo, Ms. Maria Quartullo, and

Mr. David Furphy

Physical Education/Health

Ms. Gina Fair and Mr. Dominique Hill

Our staff is dedicated to developing your children as high-achievers and global citizens.

We look forward to working with you and your child this school year!

DEPARTMENT SPOTLIGHT

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Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

August

Grade-level

assemblies with

4th quarter

awards

Check In

8am —4pm

Check In

8am —4pm

Check In

11am—7pm

Ice Cream

Social

3pm—4pm

1st Day of

School

8:30am—

4:00pm

For more information and updates, please visit www.hsd2.org/CMS

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (CMSFalconsHSD2)

Back to School

Summer Fest

Cross Country

Volleyball Volleyball

Spirit Day:

Carmel Shirts

Spirit Day:

College Shirts

Spirit Day:

Carmel Shirts

Spirit Day:

Carmel Shirts

Back to School

5:30—7:00pm

Cheerleading

Try-outs 5pm

COUNSELOR CORNER

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

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We are engaged in pursuing authorization from the IB Organization as an IB

World School, which will give us full permission and support to offer the IB

MYP (IB Middle Years Programme) at Carmel Middle School. This school

wide program will be a huge part of each scholar’s learning experience at

Carmel.

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people

who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the

planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.

Please contact our IB MYP Coordinator, Mrs. Amanda Wermers for more

information at awermers@hsd2.org.

Carmel Middle School is a candidate school* for Middle Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common

philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Carmel Middle School believes is important for our students.

*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma

Progamme and IB Career-related Programme. Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.

We are excited to work with your child this school year!

We will be supporting your child through our PBIS systems where we

celebrate the positive behavior and hard work your child has been

doing. We work with our Very Involved Parents (VIP) to open our Falcon

Store for students to purchase a variety of items with their earned

C-bucks. We are looking to celebrate more this year the high grades and attendance of your

children!

We will be implementing the Second Step program to support with bullying and social-emotional

wellness. Information available at: http://www.secondstep.org/middle-school-curriculum

We will be working with families for additional supports that students may need. This could

include behavior, attendance, grades, and social-emotional wellness.

If you have any questions, please reach out:

Ms. Sirena Mese: smese@hsd2.org or (719) 579-2621

Mrs. Katie Barrows: kbarrows@hsd2.org or (719) 579-2631

Eligibility: Students must

• Not have more than 1 failing grade in any class

• Not have behavior issues and/or referrals

• Have a current physical on file with the health clinic or coach prior to

the beginning of the season

• Be in attendance during school in order to participate in evening games

Student may be removed at the Coaches discretion if the student violates any of

these criteria.

If you have any questions, please contact our Athletic Director, Rachel Chizever at

rchizever@hsd2.org.

Students at Carmel Middle School are expected to wear a Carmel logo or solid color (blue, black, or white) polo shirt along with blue, black, or khaki pants, shorts or skirts. Students can wear a second layer blue or black crewneck or pullover sweatshirt. They are expected to dress in a way that contributes to a healthy social environment and an academic atmosphere.

Students must come each day covered from shoulder to mid-thigh.

If a skirt is worn, it should be at least knee-length.

No ripped and/or torn clothing.

No excessively baggy clothing.

No exposed underwear.

No excessively tight clothing.

No open-toed shoes including flip-flops, slides, crocs, or Birkenstocks.

No hoods worn on school grounds.

Any inappropriate or distracting clothing or jewelry is prohibited.

No hats, sunglasses, bandanas or do-rags are allowed on school grounds.

No writing or drawing on their own or another person’s skin.

Clothing and/or jewelry with symbols related to drugs, alcohol, sex, violence and/or media images are prohibited.

Outside jackets and non-CMS sweatshirts with hoods must be taken off and put in lockers at the beginning of the day.

The faculty and staff of CMS reserve the sole right to interpret and enforce the student dress code. Students who violate the dress code will be required to take off the item and/ or change into and wear a school uniform for the day, call home for appropriate clothing to be

brought to school for them or be sent home. Repeat dress code violations may result in further discipline consequences.

Spirit Day

On Fridays and scheduled Spirit Days, students may wear blue jeans with a Carmel logo or solid color (blue, black, or white) polo shirt. ______________________________

On the calendar it includes the Spirit days for Carmel shirts and college shirts. Students are able to wear jeans with a Carmel shirt or a college shirt per those days.

ATHLETICS: 6TH—8TH

DRESS CODE

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“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning” - Pelé, soccer player

As listed in 2018-2019 Student Handbook (available online and in planners)

Fall: Football, cross-country,

and volleyball

Winter: Basketball and

wrestling

Spring: Soccer, softball, and

track

Year-Round: Cheerleading

BACK TO SCHOOL INFORMATION

Front Office:

It is important to have updated contact information for your student. If you need any of the following corrections made to your student’s contact information, please contact our Registrar, Mrs. Vasquez–Barela at ivasquez-barela@hsd2.org or 719.579.3216

• New address

• New phone number

• Adding or deleting household members

• Adding or deleting approved persons to pick up your student

• Other emergency contact information

WE ARE A BOX TOP SCHOOL!

Our goal for this year is to earn $1000 through the collection of box tops.

Support our school’s funding by bringing box tops into the front office.

Health Office:

With a new school year beginning, it is important that your student has updated and accurate information on file in our clinic.

The following information must be updated annually:

• Medications to be taken at school

• Allergies (food)

• Diabetes Management

• Asthma

• Immunizations

Please contact our Health Tech at 719.579.3210

Attendance Office:

If your student will be absent for any reason, please call our attendance line to report their absence. All professional documentation must be submitted within 48 hours of your child’s return. Any absence that has not been parent excused (see handbook) or does not have professional documentation, will result in an unexcused absence. If you have any questions, please contact our attendance secretary, Ms. Marissa Merino at mmerino@hsd2org or 719.579.3215.

• To our VIPs for supporting with student and staff celebrations, dances,

copies, sharpening, and so much more.

• To dPix for their continued support and for helping with our science fair

LAST YEAR WE HAD 368 VOLUNTEER HOURS. OUR GOAL THIS YEAR IS TO

HAVE AT LEAST 405 HOURS.