Photos and Videos Needed for Staff Appreciation Week!
Staff appreciation week is next week: May 4th to May 8th. We will be posting photos on our social media accounts daily, along with a culmination video that will go out on Friday. Please email your photos and videos to
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English News
In English 8, we are critiquing stories we hear on the news so we can start to determine what makes a good, nonfiction story. We are going to start to write our own stories to make an online news site for our Cortland Community. It has been important to look for good news in particular in the hopes that it will help us connect with each other and see the bright side of this strange situation. We are watching
John Krasinski’s “SGN: Some Good News”
Youtube channel for inspiration!
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Social Studies News
The last few weeks we have been busy with work via Google Classroom on a Roaring Twenties project. Students created answers to essential questions about the Roaring Twenties. We have also covered the Great Depression with a Google Slides project and now this week we are entering WWII. Topics such as the causes of war, America entering the war, the homefront, D-Day, V-E and V-J day will be critiqued by students.
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Math News
Math 7 and Math 7A are both getting our weekly routine down with distance learning. Math 7 has just finished a unit on how to calculate the area and circumference of circles. They have just begun a Geometry unit on Monday 4/27. Math 7A just finished a unit on right triangles and learned Pythagorean Theorem. They have just begun an exponent unit on Monday 4/27.
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Library News
Want to read an ebook or listen to an audio book? What to go on a virtual tour? Want to use an interactive online book? Want to try some home makerspace activities? Join the CHS Library database & resource Google classroom (code: fjomcr2) and you and your family can do all of these things.
If you need help finding information in our databases for any of your class work please email me and I can help you find what you’re looking for. Stay well and be safe. Mrs. Hay
khay@cortlandschools.org
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News From the Nurse
We wish good health to all our families during this unprecedented time. As we work to ensure our current health, we also look to the future and want to share information regarding health requirements for the 2020-21 school year. Below is a list of current state mandates for students which must be completed prior to attending school in the fall. Therefore, please begin planning for your child's next well visit and required immunizations once routine visits are once again scheduled.
- All incoming Kindergarten students need Dtap, Polio, Hep B., MMR and Varicella (please refer to your provider for up to date requirements)
- Every 6th grade student requires the TDAP vaccine.
- Every 7th and 12th grader will need to receive the Meningococcal vaccine.
- When your child receives their vaccines, please make sure to have it signed by their provider.
- Every K, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th,11th grader and new students to the district will need to have a current physical. Please send a copy to your nurse's office.
If you have current health questions, please feel free to reach out to your school nurse via email. For COVID-19 specific information, please click on the
link located on the district webpage
.
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Art News
Well, my friends, life is very different now, isn’t it? In junior high Art classes, we are trying to make art using whatever we have at our houses. Not everyone has art supplies! So, we’ve used whatever we could find. Last week, we made art out of laundry! Can you imagine? I certainly couldn’t have a few short weeks ago. But, we’ve done it, we’ve learned from it, and we’ve found creative solutions.
21st century skills are really coming into our learning these days, and that’s a GOOD thing. Critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation, personal expression, perseverance, self-direction, planning, self-discipline, adaptability, initiative, information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, media and internet literacy, as well as health and wellness literacy….these are all things we are doing, whether we realize it or not. So, I’m looking for the silver lining in this Covid 19 cloud, and I think this is it.
Going forward, we will continue to use our Google Classrooms for all assignments, announcements and comments/feedback between students and myself. Please be sure to check it daily, as well as your school email.
I want to encourage my students to use art making as a way to express the many, often conflicting feelings they are experiencing during this quarantine. It is so helpful as a means of focusing, relaxing, and releasing difficult emotions. It is also a lot of fun!
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Junior High Band News
Make sure to check the Junior High Band Google Classroom at the beginning of each week. Mrs. Phetteplace will post a video explaining the assignments for the week. There are three easy assignments that are mandatory and will be graded as complete or not complete. Please mark everything as complete when finished, including the video!
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Orchestra News
Along with continuing our work on rhythms and scales, students are taking some time to listen to the soundscapes of their homes - the sounds occurring around them all the time (birds chirping, wind chimes in the wind, the hum of the refrigerator, the sound of the cars passing by, etc.) Students are taking a few uninterrupted minutes to listen to what they hear around them, rather than focusing on everything they have to do or wish they could do. Even just a minute can be relaxing!
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Contacting the School
Our school buildings are closed to the public. On site staff in each of our buildings has been reduced to a small rotating group of essential employees. Teachers and office staff are working remotely from home.
Teachers have posted their contact information on the Distance Learning Portal which is accessible from the District website. A staff email directory is available from the Junior High School website. As a general rule, staff email is the person's first initial and last
name
@cortlandschools.org.
If calling our main office, please leave a voice message. We will make every effort to respond within a 24 hour period.
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Technology Help
For those who received a Chromebook, please read through the directions that were provided with the device. You will need to connect to your own home WiFi. If you have any questions or problems using the Chromebook, you can email:
helpdesk@cortlandschools.org
or call: 607-758-4188.
This same email may be used if you did not previously request a Chromebook, but would like one. Important to know: Chromebooks do not function without Wifi access.
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Food Service Continues
Breakfast and lunch will be available for every student, Monday through Friday, at locations across the community from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. Locations include:
- Barry Primary bus loop
- Junior Senior High School bus loop
- Randall Middle bus loop
- Smith Intermediate bus loop
- Virgil School bus loop
- Additional sites added:
- Parker School (parent drop-off area)
- Penguin Trailer Park (11a - noon only)
- Rickard Street Apartments (11a - noon only)
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Stay Tuned for Our Newsletter Next Month!
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