Quarterly SCMS PTO Newsletter The Shocker Winter 2016 Capture the Memories Message From the Principal Order Your Yearbook by Feb. 14. The snow came right at the end of second competition, and was hosted to lunch with me quarter, presenting us with some challenges at McAllister’s. In addition, she is now the See page 9 for information. getting grades prepared for report card distri- owner of a custom “Nothing but 100” T- bution. To that end, report cards now will be shirt. We are proud of all of our Math I stu- distributed on February 3, 2016. dents and their teacher, Mrs. Aycock, for a job MARCH 7-11 well done. When Omotayo was asked on the Our library looks terrific thanks to you, the announcements about Mrs. Aycock, she de- PTO. The students love the new look, and it scribed her as “simply amazing.” SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! adds such a cutting-edge appeal as we move in the direction of personalized learning and crea- Math teacher Melissa Matusiak has been nomi- Learn how to sign up on page 2. tive learning spaces. It is exciting to watch stu- nated for the 2015-2016 national LifeChanger dents interact, study, and research in the com- of the Year award. This year, a new prize, called Important dates fort of the new furniture. Research shows that the “LifeChanger Spirit Award,” will be given to on last page! many middle school students need to move in the nominee whose community demonstrates a particular way in order to learn. This furniture the most support for his or her nomination. allows for that movement. We hope to contin- Support can be demonstrated through positive ue with this project in the future, as we would comments on the nominee’s profile page, so- like to convert many areas within the school to cial media posts, and school and community these learning areas. recognition activities. A resource page with ideas for ways to celebrate nominees can be Inside this issue: We should hear soon from the North Carolina found at http:// Middle School Board whether SCMS will again lifechangeroftheyearnominees.com/ receive the coveted “School to Watch” award. showspirit/. Please take the time to show your PTO News & NJHS 2 Thanks again to the support of the PTO, we will support of Missy and send a comment her way. send a team to the N.C. Middle School Confer- Annual Fund Update & 3 ence to hopefully accept the award and sup- Thank you for all that you do for our school. NJHS Application port conference presenters Mrs. Yasurek and We could not accomplish what we do without Ms. Estro. In addition, thanks to the PTO as you. The giving both financially and of your 8th Grade News 4 well, two of our outstanding Social Studies time is appreciated and recognized by all of us. 7th Grade News 5 teachers, Mr. Chevalier and Mrs. Bauer, will I am humbled every day by your giving spirit attend the Social Studies Conference in Greens- and how much you want to ensure our stu- 6th Grade News 6 boro this month. dents have what they need to be successful and our staff has what it needs in order to do Media Center News & 7 Recently, our Math I/II students completed this. Simply stated: thank you so very much. I Angel Tree Results their first high school course, Math I. All of our am proud to be the principal of this great students received scores of 5, the highest school and serve your students. CTE Department News 8 attainable score on High School End of Course Tests. One student, Omotayo Fasan, received a Yearbook & Dia de los 9 perfect score on this assessment. Omotayo was Kindest Regards, Muertos Celebration recognized on the morning announcements Lisa Bailes, Principal with a certificate of excellence, received four FAN Update 10 tickets to the CIAA tournament STEP DANCE Shockers Sports 11 Winter 2016 1 The Shocker PTO NEWS South Charlotte’s National Junior Honor Society Gives Back! 2016-17 PTO BOARD In December, members of the NJHS volunteered at the “Operation Christmas Child” processing center. SCMS teachers Ms. Williams and POSITIONS Mrs. Yasurek joined the group as they inspected and packed shoe- We are beginning to look to- ward next year. If you are in- boxes in assembly-line fashion. terested in a PTO board posi- Samaritan Purse’s “Operation Christmas Child” project has delivered tion for the next school year more than 100 million shoebox gifts to kids in at least 150 countries please contact Stacey Ellis since it started in 1993. This year, the Charlotte center planned to at [email protected]. ship over two million boxes. South Charlotte’s Chapter of the NJHS is an active chapter. Students BOX TOPS DUE participate in several service projects throughout the school year. FEB. 26 Thank you students! (For more information on membership in the NJHS, see page 3.) Please send in Box Tops by February 26. There is a collection box in the school’s foyer. With your help, we can reach our $500 goal for the school year. Thank you! SCMS Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week: March 7 – March 11 Show the teachers and staff at SCMS how much they mean to us! Visit http://www.signupgenius.co m/go/10c0d4babae1-scms to contribute. Game Club The Game Club meets every first and third Tuesday of the month. Students enjoy play- ing games they bring with each other. Pickup time is 5:00 PM. 2 Winter 2016 The Shocker Donations Received 2nd Quarter SCMS Annual Fund Update Over $37,000 raised and at work in our school Platinum Level $500 & above Jennifer Kaeppler The PTO extends a special thanks to the 25% of South Charlotte families Gold Level $250-$499 Jay & Heather Herring who have donated to the Annual Helen Kim Fund. Katherine & Peter Melvin The money we have raised supports Silver Level $100-$249 our teachers and students in many Bridget & David Cohen ways. In a continued effort to update Stephanie Eickenhorst Damian P. & Family our Media Center, we purchased furni- Benjamin Wallach ture to create flexible learning spaces. These new items represent the first in a three-stage plan to provide func- Purple Level up to $99 tional and inviting student workspaces, not only in our library, but in other Jake Garbarino John & Kerry Hufham areas as well. For a complete list of Annual Fund We have raised over $37,000, surpassing our goal of $35,000. If you donors, visit the SCMS PTO website. haven’t contributed, you can still make a difference this year. We appre- ciate your support. To donate, visit the PTO website. Attention 7th Graders! Do you have what it takes to represent SCMS as a member of the National Junior Honor Society? Submit your application for consideration by April 15! Mrs. Yasurek, NJHS faculty advisor, is accepting applications for South Charlotte’s 2016-2017 Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. Students who are interested should complete the application in its entirety and submit it for consideration to Mrs. Yasurek in room 312 by April 15. Copies of the application form are available on the South Charlotte website. The National Junior Honor Society is the nation’s premier organization which recognizes outstanding middle school students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, ser- vice, citizenship, and character. The standards for selection are established by the National Junior Honor Society of the United States and by the South Charlotte Middle School NJHS by-laws. As stated in the NJHS Handbook, “Selection to the National Junior Honor Society is a privilege and not a right. Stu- dents do not apply for membership in the National Junior Honor Society; instead, they provide infor- mation to be used by the local selection committee to support their candidacy for membership.” Materials submitted by the candidates will be reviewed by the NJHS faculty panel. Candidates will be notified of their status by early May. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Yasurek at [email protected]. Winter 2016 3 The Shocker 8th Grade News Social Studies They covered topics such as eutrophication, increased bacterial counts, and decreasing supplies of fresh water. We then learned Chevalier and Getsinger about the pros and cons of renew- Eighth grade History students will able and non-renewable energy. continue their journey through U.S. Students studied the newest ener- and N.C. history from 1803 to the gy trends as well as looked back at Civil War in the 1860s. Students will the use of coal and oil to provide participate in the major project of energy for the country. Presently, the year by creating Civil War battle boards and 3D posters of we are working our way through this important event in our history. From there, we will move the fossil record and how to read into Reconstruction, the Industrial Revolution, and immigration, it. We've looked at the Cretaceous Extinction as well as the Per- with all students sharing their families’ immigration stories. mian. We have studied the methods of dating the rocks and what the record shows. Next up, we will examine the smallest of our neighbors, microbes and cells. It will be an interesting and Language Arts fulfilling quarter. Estro, Gross, and Wright-Yasurek In our standard classes, students will read the novel Chasing Lin- Math coln's Killer by James L. Swanson. Swanson's novel is a fast-paced Aycock, Conlan, and Torrence adventure about the search and apprehension of John Wilkes In December, all 8th grade Math students spent a class period Booth.