CMS News
Week of June 8-12, 2020
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Monday – Locker cleanout and return of materials - Day 1
Tuesday – Locker cleanout and return of materials - Day 2
Wednesday – Have a great summer CMS Students! Farewell & Best Wishes to our 8th graders! We’ll see everyone in September!
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A Special Goodbye to the CMS 8th Grade Class of 2020
Dear CMS 8th Grade Class of 2020,
Congratulations! You did it, and you should be proud of your accomplishments while at CMS! You have completed three years at Carson Middle School and are ready to begin a new journey at NAI. It is hard to believe that you are almost FRESHMEN in high school! Just think, three short years ago you were only eleven years old as you entered Carson as new sixth graders. At that time, you were probably a little nervous about starting middle school – “Who will my teachers be? Where is my locker? Where is my next class?” Now, you are getting ready to enter high school and are excited to begin a new chapter of your life. High school will be filled with new and exciting opportunities while meeting new people and making even more friends.
Over the past three years, you have made an impact at Carson Middle School by participating on teams, being involved with the music programs, supporting community-service projects, achieving high academic standards, and developing many life-long friendships with your peers and the Carson staff. We know you will continue to make a positive impact at NA as you begin your freshman year. As you reflect on your time here at Carson Middle School, we know you have many memories of the good times with your friends and teachers. However, as you look back on your time at CMS, reflect on how you have grown personally over the years. What a difference three years can make! You are ready to face the new and exciting challenges at NAI. For those new challenges, you will find that you will continue to grow as a person, a friend, a student, and a leader. Take ownership of those challenges and rise to the occasion like we know you can.
As a special goodbye and best wishes for you, the CMS 8th grade teachers, counselors, and administrators
put together some messages and pictures to wish you well. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Mr. Niven for the numerous hours he put in to make this awesome video for all of you! We hope you enjoy the video!
Eighth grade, thank you for making Carson Middle School such a great place to be each day. You have made this great school “Someplace Special.”
Best Wishes next year at NAI and in NA!
Mrs. Jenkins, Dr. Crimone, and Your 8th grade Teachers & Counselors
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Summer Reading
The middle school library department has created summer reading lists for students and is sponsoring a “Book-Tac-Toe” promotion. Each time a student crosses off three squares in a row (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) on the “Book-Tac-Toe” board, they earn a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card. Links to the reading list and more information about the book promotion can be found here on the
Summer Reading Newsletter. While we have made title suggestions, students are not limited to these lists. There are over 800 ebooks and audiobooks in our middle school
Destiny digital collection for students to browse and enjoy.
Looking for more?
Check out our Online Resources Newsletter to find opportunities for coding, virtual field trips, drawing, author insights, and additional digital ebook and audiobook links. We will update this newsletter throughout the summer, so check back periodically for more fun things to do. If you have any questions, please reach out to CMS Librarian Ms. Tricia McNeill (
pmcneill@northallegheny.org).
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Seventh Grade Tiger Grid Collaborative
One of Mrs. Birdsey’s seventh-grade art classes collaborated for a group remote learning project. Each student worked in the Sketches School app to digitally paint an assigned section of a larger tiger photo (downloaded from a fair use photo resource site, altered, and gridded by Mrs. Birdsey). The pieces were then digitally woven together to create the finished poster. It is currently displayed on Mrs. Birdsey’s NA website and can be seen below. Enjoy!
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Extra! Extra! Read All About It! The Carson Chronicle is Here!
The final edition of the 2019-2020 Carson Chronicle is available for your summer reading pleasure. The parody writers have finished their songs and we have finished the 4th edition of the newspaper. Videos are linked using pictures in most of the articles. Check out all of the awesome articles written by our amazing CMS newspaper staff!
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Tiger Strong Live Long - Mental and Emotional Well-Being Resources
Since we are unable to see students each day in the school buildings for our usual conversations, information sharing, and check-ins, we have created a “virtual” place where students and their families can visit to gain and utilize resources to support students’ mental and emotional well-being. Students' mental health and happiness are just as important to us as academics during this time of remote learning at home.
This site, “Tiger Strong Live Long”, is a resource guide meant to answer questions, provide information, and give you real-life tips and strategies from familiar voices at school.
Remember:
Reach out to someone if you need help. We’re all in this together.
STAY #TigerStrong
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June 11 - 6th 6-Weeks, 3rd 12-Weeks, & 4th 9-Weeks Report Period Ends
June 22 - Final Report Cards Available via Parent Portal
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Thank You from the Superintendent
NASD Parents & Guardians:
This has certainly been a challenging end to the school year. It’s been challenging for our students. They have been asked to learn in new ways, organize their time differently, and do all of this without the daily in-person interactions with other students and staff members that are part of the traditional school experience. It’s also disrupted important milestones for our students, particularly our 12th graders who weren’t able to participate in many of the traditional senior activities. It’s been challenging for our families. They have had to organize dedicated learning spaces in their homes, serve as quasi teachers, and do all of this while maintaining a work-life balance.
It has also been challenging for all of us who work in the District. In a very short period of time, we completely changed our educational model and the ways that we interact with students and one another. We also learned that we can move mountains when there is a call to action. But through every situation, good or bad, you learn something that helps you grow moving forward.
Shortly after we moved into a remote learning environment, we distributed a survey to students, families, and staff members regarding their experiences. The feedback we received contains valuable information regarding how we responded to a remote learning environment and helps set the stage for future efforts. Some of the highlights from this remote learning survey include:
- Students and parents would like to see more real-time, live instruction between students and teachers. They miss these important interactions.
- Blackboard in grades 6-12 helps organize student learning.
- The lack of a consistent learning platform in grades K-5 is very challenging for students and parents.
- Staff members are asking for more professional learning around teaching in a remote environment.
- Students and staff members noted in the survey that there are concerns about their mental health and well-being.
This feedback proved valuable as we thought about the end of the current school year and how we might prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. To address some of our needs, we made the decision to change the last student day of the school year from June 11 to June 5. In doing so, we were able to coordinate opportunities for students to return school materials and pick up their belongings next week and this information was recently communicated with students and families. The change to the last student day also created time during the week of June 8 to begin preparing for the coming school year, using the feedback from the remote learning survey to help guide these efforts and provide staff with the professional learning activities that they have requested.
Next week will also give us an opportunity to continue our planning for next school year. We know that the coming school year may look different. We need to think creatively about how we can meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students as well as ensuring the safety of our students, staff members, and families. Recently, we developed a Return to School committee for the 2020-2021 school year. This committee, composed of stakeholders from across the District, is tasked with answering a variety of questions, including:
- How might we incorporate the CDC guidelines and Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) guidance in our planning efforts for next year?
- How do we support learning for all students in an environment that flexibly moves back and forth between in-person and remote learning environments when needed?
- How might we incorporate more live video if we are in a remote environment in the future?
- What does this look like for students and families who are physically unable to come to school in person?
- What are the parameters we have to work with at North Allegheny?
These questions, and many others, are being addressed by the Return to School committee.
Education is going to look different for all of us. So let’s take what we have learned over the past three months and build a better future for our students, for our families, and for our staff members. I am confident that we have the people in this District to guide this work throughout the summer in preparation for next year. Once these plans take shape, we will communicate them with the entire school community.
Thank you for embracing change. Thank you for being kind, because the world certainly needs more of that right now. And thank you for being the difference and supporting our remote learning efforts over the past three months. As Mr. Rogers once said, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Scherrer
Superintendent
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A Letter from the North Allegheny School Board & Administrators
Over the last week, our country has been torn apart by the tragic events related to the death of George Floyd and other similar incidents of racial inequities. The North Allegheny School District stands in solidarity with our black and brown students, families, and staff members. We are committed to diversity, anti-racism, and positive support for our school community.
While our District has taken steps to educate students and staff members on racial differences, ways to combat hatred, and how to build an inclusive community, it is not enough. We are committed to working together with our students, staff, and families to continue to build a more inclusive environment.
Plans are already underway to expand the work of our District Diversity Committee and help us lead conversations about racism, inequalities, and ways to embrace diversity in the coming school year. Our hope is that the North Allegheny community can be part of a larger movement that is working to promote positive, systemic change in our changing world.
Children may have questions about protests and racism. We wanted to provide some resources so that you are prepared to have a conversation with your child.
Resources
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June 12 Virtual Commencement
Our virtual commencement will be streamed live on Friday, June 12 at 7:00 p.m. A link to the ceremony will be shared
on the NA website and via our social media accounts (
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram). We encourage you to share the link with family and friends that may want to watch. The link will be live on our website for continued viewing after the June 12 event.
This virtual ceremony was designed by senior students and NA staff. Class of 2020 families were asked to submit photos and each graduate will be featured during the program. This was truly a group effort and we thank all of you for the time you spent to help make it a memorable event. The commencement will include:
- Student Speeches
- Student Performances
- Messages from NASD Administration
- Messages from the Community
- Conferral of Diplomas
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Help Pick a New Tiger Logo!
A logo is much more than an image. It’s a symbol of what a school stands for: it’s memorable, timeless, and unique to the District. A consistent logo provides instant visual recognition of a school.
After discovering multiple tiger images in use across the District, a team of North Allegheny staff and students embarked on a project to design a consistent tiger logo. The goal was to create a custom design with unique qualities; friendly enough not to scare our youngest students, but fierce enough for our student-athletes, making it recognizable to the community and the region as the NA Tiger. Key stakeholders met on an ongoing basis to review and discuss various iterations of the design.
Today, we are pleased to share the final two concepts with students, staff, and parents/guardians to help us vote on the final logo. The tiger image will complement our NA letter logo and be available for District clubs, organizations, and sports to use.
Please vote on your favorite NA Tiger Logo by the end of the day on Sunday, June 7. The winning design will be unveiled at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. A special thank you to the staff and students that provided feedback to the design!
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North Allegheny Foundation Community Survey
North Allegheny Foundation is asking for insight on our mission to enrich and enhance the educational experiences at NA. Participants who complete the five-minute survey will be entered in a drawing to direct a $250 grant to the school of their choice. The survey closes on June 8.
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Volunteer Clearances
School volunteers need to update volunteer clearances every five years. This program began five years ago this coming fall, and many volunteers have clearances expiring in the coming months. Please
reference the North Allegheny School District website for further information about the types of clearances needed and how to update those clearances.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information
Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates are archived on the North Allegheny website. This designated webpage will be updated as new information is provided.
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Remote Learning Guidelines
The District will continue with the remote learning plan for the duration of the closure of our buildings. Details on remote learning for elementary and secondary students can be found on the NA website.
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Missed a Newsletter?
All building newsletters are archived weekly on the North Allegheny website. This designated webpage will be updated with links to the previous week’s newsletters at the beginning of each school week by 11:30 a.m. A link to the archive is accessible on the District’s homepage and on each building’s homepage.
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The North Allegheny School District often receives requests for the distribution of athletics and approved non-profit community organization digital flyers. All requests for community flyers to be included in this newsletter must be submitted via email only at
flyers@northallegheny.org. Flyers will only be posted and removed from the District website on Friday.
Visit our website for details on how to submit flyers.
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Main Office - 412-369-5520
Nurse's Office - 412-369-5520
Counseling Office - 412-369-5421
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