THE CHMS POST www.chm.leeschools.net

October 1, 2020

Principal’s Corner

Parents, It is hard to believe we are halfway through the first quarter. We want to encourage you to consider having your child return to Face to Face learning as soon as possible. We un-derstand this is a difficult choice for so many and we very much respect your views. Hav-ing said that, students participating Face to Face are performing far better on average. For those of you electing to remain Lee Home Connect, please know students in the Lee Home Connect model require much greater parent engagement. We are excited for the prospect of having many of our students returning to Face to Face learning, and will con-tinue to follow all health and cleaning protocols established by the district. We also have our before/aftercare program to assist you. Please know, we are here to support all of our students regardless of their instructional model and hope to see everyone soon. Respectfully, Mr. Berry, Principal

The School Board of Lee County, Florida: Mary Fischer, District 1 (Chair); Debbie Jordan, District 4 (Vice Chair); Melisa W. Giovannelli, District 2; Chris N. Patricca, District 3; Gwynetta S. Gittens, District 5; Betsy Vaughn, District 6; Cathleen O'Daniel Morgan, District 7; Kathy Dupuy-Bruno,

Esq., Board Attorney; Dr. Gregory K. Adkins, Superintendent.

Media Center Book Request Beginning October 5th, students will be able to request a book from our Media Center, using the Media Center Book Request form found in their Reading Google Classroom. Students will be able to use our

online book circulation, Destiny, to search for titles, authors, and book availability.

Students may have one book checked out at a time, and will have a two week window to finish reading and return.

If you have not yet returned a book from last school year, you may drop it off at one of the book collection carts, found on each floor. Any 6th grader with a book checked out from their

previous school, may bring it to our for check -in. We will be sending all books back to schools in the Lee County area.

Challenger Middle has formed a Social and Emotional Learning Team that will be training staff and student to build their non-academic, social

and emotional skills. The goal is to create an even happier, healthier, and better-performing school community. The team is comprised of counselors, behavior And student specialists, as well as the entire administrative team. The SEL Team is currently working on foundational items to ensure that this is a sustainable, long-lasting, and fruitful effort. They are working on the cre-ation of SEL Team Roles, the refinement of the SEL Triage System and Room (to replace the in-school suspension system) and the creation of a two-way com-munication system to make sure all stakeholders are a part of the decision-making process. Their next step will be to get input from YOU about your vision for what school-wide Social and Emotional Learning should look like.

Bus Driver Spotlight Our first Driver Spot Light is on Kristy of bus #2824.

She has been driving for Challenger for eight years now.

She enjoys the students she has on her route, and is hap-

py to be a part of the CHMS family. Way to go Kristy!

Thank you, for safely getting our students to and from

school each day! Our students look forward to starting

and ending their day with you.

Back in the Day by Amy Pontius (Teacher of the Gifted) The first traditional school Was housed in a single room Where a pot belly stove belched And there was no meet-up with Zoom Students sat on backless benches The wood cold to the touch Hours of sitting up straight No sofas, bean bags, or such They wrote on tiny slates Chalk pens soon turned to quills They never used a typewriter Or a Chromebook with all the frills They practiced math with an abacus Computations done by slide rules Memorization of all the formulas No Khan Academy or other tools They practiced reading with their primers Learning the alphabet through simple stories Spelling acquired by frequent drills No auto-correct in all its glory But the times they were a-changing Recitation became a thing of the past All hail to the individual The scientific method came on fast Worksheets came in storms of packets As a solvent dissolved a wax Purple ink was placed on paper That the Ditto machine left in its tracks Chalkboards transformed into whiteboards Transparencies no longer ruled the day Scantron sheets became un-bubbled As Google Forms led the way So now in this virtual world Education transforms once more No need for a book strap or satchel Or for backpacks to litter the floor No, now is the time for technology To take learning to new improved heights But I’d still like to keep my tin lunch box - Fill my thermos while I snack on some bytes

The Challenger Way

Early Dismissal 10/30

1st Quarter Ends 10/30

17

18 18-Nov. 1

Dates to Remember: October

Looking Forward to November

No School—Veterans Day 11/11

Thanksgiving Break 11/23-11/27

Thanksgiving Day 11/26

iReady Diagnostic 2 Begins 11/30

It’s been great meeting all our new and returning students. We look forward to visiting your classes and spending time with you. Have you taken the time to consider your Mindset yet? If you haven’t, it’s something very important for you to do. First, take the time to understand what Mindset you currently have. It is a Growth Mindset or Fixed?

Think about how you approach a challenge:

The fixed mindset says “Are you sure you can do it?” “ Maybe you don’t have the tal-ent.” “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure”

The growth mindset answers, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort.” “Most successful people had failures along the way.”

When you see us around the school, take a minute to let us know what your Mindset is or if you would like to talk with us about changing your current Mindset.

Counselor Corner

The Pinto team would love to give a big shout out to our very own Ms. Gagliardi! Ms. Gagliardi has done an amazing job making her students feel welcomed in both her Language Arts and Reading classes.

She has really mastered the art of technology through her Lee Home Connect clas-ses and is engaging all of her students in their learn-ing. One student said, "Ms. Gagliardi is my favorite teacher because her class is so fun! I used to think I was bad at reading but not I think I'm actually good at it." We are so proud of you Ms. Gagliardi. Keep up the great work!

Challenger staff has long enjoyed teacher Amy Pontius’ writing!

She sends out poems for special events, to perk us up, and to make

us smile. Now those smiles are being shared with the world in

“Kaleidoscope: Reflections on Women’s Journeys In My Shoes”.

Mrs. Pontius had her very first book launch party September 30!

You can read her excerpt by ordering the book here:

kaleidoscopewojo.com

CONGRATULATIONS Mrs. Pontius!!

Author’s Corner

Student Accolade Caspian Team

Caspian 8th grader, Sophia Dupeyron, was selected from over 2,000 applicants to receive a Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship. The Cooke Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for high-performing students that pro-vides internships, summer programs, academic/college advising, and nu-merous enrichment opportunities.

Congratulations, Sophia!

Cross Country tryouts are the

first week of October!

The Challenger CC Coaches look forward to

starting their intramural season with their

students.

Students may refer to the Google Classroom

for more information. Our Ar-

ea Meet will be October 14th,

and Regionals Oct. 19th.