Note from Mr. Holmes
I hope you have had a safe and enjoyable summer! My name is Derek Holmes and I am the new CMS principal. We take pride in USD 333 in providing a safe environment while providing a quality education. We look forward to an outstanding school year. Below are some changes and information that will be helpful to you.
- We have a tremendous staff at CMS and we have added many positive additions to the staff. Please welcome the following new staff members when you have the opportuntity: Leah Mehl- 6th grade Language Arts, Ryan Mortimer- 5th grade Science/Social Studies, Shalon Ragnoni- 5th grade Math/Social Studies, Mark Maciejewski- Custodian and Lori Stahlman- Speech services.
- We will have building wide MTSS Reading for 25 minutes daily for all students. 5th and 6th grade students will be mixed with CMS staff to work on reading skills and deficiencies. The goal of Multi-Tier System of Supports(MTSS) is to provide an integrated approach to meeting the needs of ALL students.
- We will go to partial departmentalizing in the 5th grade and full departmentalizing in the 6th grade. This system will help students learn different content areas from various teachers in different learning styles. This will help students transition from CES to 5th grade to 6th grade, then to Junior High and so on. This process will help students learn to adjust to different adult personalities. This will benefit students as they get older and are out in the workplace, serving in community organizations,etc.
- Examples of departmentalizing: A 5th grade student will have one teacher for two subject areas (Social Studies and Math) then rotate to another teacher for Science and Language Arts. All teachers at both grades will teach reading and have a homeroom. Due to having five sections of 5th grade one teacher will be self-contained and have the same students all day long for the entire year. A 6th grade student will have four different teachers during the day for the four areas listed above.
Our staff looks forward to these positive changes for your children for the 2010-11 school year. Enjoy the rest of your summer! If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 243-2114.
Derek Holmes
Concordia Middle School Principal
