Thomas C. Cario Middle School

The Comet’s Tale Preparing resourceful, positive, service-oriented leaders of tomorrow!

January 5, 2017 Volume 4, Number 2

Upcoming Important Dates and

Fine Arts Performances:

Scholastic Book Fair: Media Center February 7-13: 8:00 - 3:30.

JAN 7: BAND - REGION IV BAND AUDITIONS at Summerville High School

JAN 6, 7, 8: Drama Practice JAN 9, 10: Drama Dress Rehearsal JAN 11, 12: DRAMA Lion King, Jr. PERFORMANCE: Wando PAC 7:00 p.m. each night. JAN 12: Last day of Quarter 2 and First Semester JAN 13, 16 – 17: Holidays for students - NO school JAN 16: Martin Luther King Holiday Celebrated JAN 18: First day of Quarter 3 and Second Semester for students JAN 19-20: Winter MAP MATH Testing JAN 20: Report Cards Distributed JAN 21: Band All-State Auditions: Lexington High School JAN 23-24: Winter MAP ELA Testing JAN 27: First Semester Awards Ceremonies JAN 31 and FEB 2: Drama SCSTA Auditions: Drama Cabana 3:45 -5:00 p.m.

Cario Website: http://cario.ccsdschools.com/

Cario PTSO Website: http://teacherweb.com/SC/CarioMiddleSchool/CarioPTSO/apt14.aspx

Park West Campus Education Fund Website: http://parkwestschoolfund.org/

3500 Thomas Cario Boulevard Mount Pleasant SC 29466

Phone: (843) 856-4595 Fax: (843) 856-45

Hello Cario Parents, Community, Faculty, and Students: 2017 is here, and I look forward to seeing what great achievements our students,

faculty, and staff accomplish this spring semester!

The Charleston County School District is migrating to a new website platform,

along with all of the individual schools. This process will involve working

through some transition issues and glitches. Please do not hesitate to email

teachers, guidance, or administrators, including me, if you are not finding what

you need on Cario’s website or teacher website calendars, etc. We hope this

transition will be completed by the end of January.

This week your child should have received a letter and parent consent form from

the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control concerning student

flu vaccinations. All consent forms are due back to Cario’s Nurses’ Clinic

by Monday, January 9, 2017. Once all consent forms are collected a date will be

selected to administer the flu vaccine to those Cario students, and the nurses will

alert those families of the date. If you have any questions please contact our

nurses clinic at 843-375-4646.

We will hold First Semester Academic Awards Ceremonies on Friday,

January 27, in our gym as follows:

8th Grade Awards Ceremony: 8:45 - 9:30

7th Grade Awards Ceremony: 9:45 - 10:30

6th Grade Awards Ceremony: 12:45 - 1:30

All parents and family are invited to attend, coming in/out of our gym at the

designated times.

Thank you for your support of all we do!

Sharon Randall, Principal

Cario Comets’ News and Upcoming Events:

Cario's Mock Trial Team competed in the Middle School Regional Mock

Trial competition in Georgetown, S.C. on Saturday, November 12th. After 9

weeks of practicing, our Mock Trial team made a stellar showing in the

courtroom. We are very proud of the following students for their hard work

and dedication: Mersina Argyropais, Wes Baldwin, Julia Coggins, Grace

Colangelo, Emalee Goode, Katharine Hranowsky, Millie Rice, Anastasia

Robinson, Hope Spencer, Caroline Strader, Isabelle Turner, Rhys

Verhanovitz, Matthew Iannuzzi, Hilton Reynolds, and Gracyn Vesey. We

could not have competed with the dignity and knowledge that we had

2 | Thomas C. Cario Middle School

Some of Cario’s Student Council

members attended a Mt. Pleasant Youth

Forum at Moultrie Middle School.

Students interacted with local police

officers, local news (Tessa Adams), and

national figures (Reggie Love, personal

assistant to President Obama):

Here are some 6th Graders completing a

controlled experiment. They designed

and it themselves, testing the

insulating properties of different

materials and trying to see which will

keep water the hottest. (From Mrs.

Strong in the 610 Pod)

without the expert coaching from the following VOLUNTEER attorneys

from Clawson and Staubes: Peggy Urbanic, Christie Fargnolic, Johnny

Stewart, and Leslie Boodry. We would also like to thank Mrs. Falkovitz for

helping Mrs. Leland sponsor the 2016 Cario Mock Trial team. Way to Go

Cario!!

The Cario Spirit Pantry is a program begun several years ago by one of our

PTSO parents and as a part of our 7th grade “Guided by a Cause” theme. The

Spirit Pantry collects food donations for our very own Cario families in

need. We are completely dependent on our Cario parents and students to

donate food items. Student volunteers pack the food in boxes for Cario

families in need of extra assistance over the long Thanksgiving, winter,

spring, and summer break. We collect non-perishable food donations at any

time. Your support is invaluable and very much appreciated! Email

Ashley_davis@charleston.k12.sc.us with any questions.

We would love to have a large variety of Cario Sports pictures for the

yearbook. If your child has participated in ANY sport at Cario, please send

your pictures to Rebecca_Kutcher@charleston.k12.sc.us Please send them

in the highest quality format. Thank you!

Volleyball Tournament Champions!! Cario 8 Blue

3 | Thomas C. Cario Middle School

On December 3, Cario's 7th Grade Girls

Basketball Team volunteered for the

Charleston Animal Society's "Kennel

Squad." After being taken through the

entire process from admittance to

adoption (through an animal’s eyes), the

girls rolled up their sleeves and made

treats and handed them out to the dogs

at the facility. They were also introduced

to two rats rescued after being trained

to play basketball as a science

experiment. A new basketball court is

being constructed so the rats can

continue their playing career at the CAS.

A huge thanks goes to Sarah Napier and

the entire staff at CAS for making it a

great experience for the girls. Special

thanks to Dana Silber for organizing the

event!

Mrs. Samantha Mumford, one of the band directors at Cario Middle School,

has been selected to do a presentation at the South Carolina Music Educators

Association (SCMEA) Annual Conference. She will be teaching an hour

long clinic about the second year band student and what they need to know.

The Cario 7th Grade Band will be helping her with this clinic, demonstrating

many of the skills that will be discussed. She will also talk about motivating

students and keeping them focused in band. This is a big honor for the 7th

grade band students to be accepted to play at this event. The clinic will be

on Friday, February 3 at 1:00PM at the Columbia Convention Center.

Congratulations, Mrs. Mumford, and to the 7th Grade Band Students!!

Student Council had a very busy fall. They had four students attend the

Youth Forum and came back with great ideas to share. They are VERY

interested in hosting a Youth Forum at Cario and inviting Student Councils

from Laing, Moultrie, and other schools in Mt. Pleasant. They also found

out when Town Council meetings are, and students expressed an interest in

attending. The Children's Day Festival went well and the students designed

and created their booth and were able to volunteer at the food booth.

Students got hands-on experience in planning and time management.

Students discussed ideas while building interpersonal skills. One idea was to

purchase a tent for events like this with Cario’s logo on it. We look forward

to seeing more from Student Council!!

Congratulations to the following string orchestra members for being selected

to the 2016 Low Country Region Orchestra: MaKenzie Anderson, Cello;

Mikala Anderson, Bass; Alaina Crothers, Violin; Kayla Bolling, Viola;

Samuel DeSantis, Cello; AJ Lombardi, Cello; Abby Sullivan, Viola; Lauren

Wiggins, Viola; Janae Wilson, Violin; Michael Zapor, Viola. The Low

Country Region Orchestra consists of three orchestras of string musicians in

grades 6-12. Students who participate in this honors orchestra will rehearse

and perform with guest conductors and will qualify for the opportunity to

audition for the SC All-State Orchestra. The Low Country Region Orchestra

performance was at Cane Bay High School.

4 | Thomas C. Cario Middle School

Through the efforts of one of our

parents and a couple of Cario

Teachers, we now have a VET Club!

We look forward to seeing what they

get to experience. Thank you to

Congratulations to Cario Chorus and Mr. Brunson!! 44 All-County

Selections! 2 Altos tied for #2 score in CCSD: Victoria Park and Brooke

Smith.(Caroline Caron tied for #3, Madison Broach #4)

#3 Soprano in CCSD: Emma Raschke.

#2 Bass in CCSD: Ben Karinshak.

#2 Tenor in CCSD: Liam Traynor.

Anderson, Makenzie S

Horlback, Madison S

Anderson. Mikala S

Jewell, Brooke S

Barker, Jenna S

Karinshak, Ben B

Belcher, Casey A

Landrum, Pierrette S

Brindley, Charles T

Lee, Bennett T

Broach, Madison A

Little, Branton T

Brooks, Macey S

Miranda, Brianna A

Burrill, Connor T

Orvin, Wilson T

Caron, Caroline A

Park, Victoria A

Coggins, Julia S

Person, Emily Grace A

Cradock, Cameron A

Quattro, Kenna S

Crowell, Ashlyn S

Raschke, Emma S

Cutter, Luke T

Secor, Grace S

Davis, Nate T

Shay, Natalie A

DeMoura, Cally A

Smith, Brooke A

Doyle, Sarah S

Smith, Trevor B

Fellows, Margaret A

Traynor, Liam T

Hammers, Cicily S

Treibley, Arielle S

Hart, Alex B

VanHook, Claire S

Hohm, Rayna S

Walters, AnnaJaye A

Holland, Caroline S

Watson, Ashton T

Hopkins, McKenzie A

Wolverton, Landry S

Thomas C. Cario Middle School is happy to announce that Ms. Regina Ford,

7th grade ELA, has been chosen as our 2016-2017 Teacher of the Year!

Ms. Ford strengthens and improves the teaching profession both inside and outside

her classroom in the 730 Pod. Inside, she develops engaging and rigorous lessons

that challenge her students to reach deeper and learn for the long-term, not just the

immediate quiz or test. At first, some students struggle with such high expectations.

But, Ms. Ford works with them and encourages them until they meet the challenging

goals set. From the resulting successes, students learn to appreciate hard work and

real academic successes, setting them up to try harder classes in their high school

careers, which we want for ALL students. MANY of Ms. Ford’s former students

speak about how much they appreciate having her for their teacher because it helped

Cario’s First LEGO League Teams

competed at Cane Bay Middle

School on November 12. Coaches

Kellie Passarello, Donna Lange,

Mike Carr, and many supportive

parents spent most of the day

enjoying the determination and

creativity demonstrated by our

students. Way to go FLL students!!

5 | Thomas C. Cario Middle School

Mrs. Strong and Mrs. Snoots, VET

Club Sponsors:

Also, here is a picture of our

Fellowship of Christian Athlete Club

Members. Their sponsor is Mrs.

DiCarlo. This is a large group who is

very active and meet often:

them in future classes! And, Ms. Ford works with her peers and other staff outside

her class to make real progress toward ensuring our ELA curriculum is rigorous,

relevant, and progressive through all grades, with constant reinforcements built into

the whole program for learning retention. Her intensity and willingness to sacrifice

her personal time to focus on her professional work are remarkable. Outside the

classroom, Ms. Ford is the sponsor for QUEST Public Speaking, and she helps pick

and coach students to speak at our large, 8th grade Moving-Up Ceremony, where

there are easily more than 2500 people present. In addition, she organizes and runs

our school-wide Spelling Bee, and faithfully attends all related events as far as our

victor goes, coaching the student along the way. Ms. Ford is highly respected by

both colleagues and students. In addition to her teaching duties, she is the English

Department Chair for our large school. Mss. Ford deserves this important TOY

recognition because of the time, care, and passion that she brings to educating our

students and in helping create a positive, professional culture here at Cario and

within the district. Our students, school, and staff would not be as successful

without her influence! Thank you, Ms. Ford!!

NOTE: If you help with a club, class, sport, or have any other Cario-related

information to include in future Comet’s Tale Newsletters, email text AND/OR

pictures to: cariomiddleschoolnewsletter@gmail.com

We would not want to leave out ANY Cario-related celebrations or information – so

THANK YOU for your help getting the information submitted!