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Feb. 20, 2010 7:45 pm
Silent Sustained Reading
Being a middle school student is a busy time of life and often the social support is as important as the academic support. We make every effort to provide support in all areas of the middle school experience, however there are a few areas that we could use your help with. The temptation of using down time to practice the social often out weighs the goal of pulling out a chapter book and getting a few pages deeper into the story. We understand this and are making efforts to build in a little more time in the day to allow students to read. This being said it is important that all students have a book with them in classes so that when time is provided, or there is the down time at least the book is with them.
While we know that we will have limited success with this we are asking that parents help check in with their children and see that they are reading both at home and at school. If we can start building the habit of reading more often we will see great growth in each student's zone of proximal development.
Jan. 29, 2010 6:00 PM
Ending the 2nd Quarter
This afternoon I was able to speak to students and share with them that we have hit the turning point in being closer to the next grade for each cohort. In fact our founding class will be leaving us after graduation to extend their educationally careers in high schools around the Charlotte area and beyond. This conversation ends up having different meaning to students depending on where they are emotionally with excitement or stress with adolescent development or even anticipated second quarter grades!
All in all this chat is intended to provide prospective to students, to give them a timetable and meaning to what they will accomplish in the given school year. It is also used to celebrate the growth and maturity that we have seen with many of our students in a given grade level.
From a purely educational standpoint this also serves as a time stamp for us as teachers and support staff in regards to what we need to do to assure that each and everyone of our students are getting the education that they need to be most successful at CSS and beyond!
This also means that it is about time to start scheduling 2nd Quarter Parent Teacher Conferences. We will have more information going out in the following days regarding signing up for conferences.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate the office. (704) 295-0137
Jan. 1, 2010 3:00 PM
New Year/New Goal
Some people feel as though the new years resolution is something overdone or even a little unnecessary, given that we should set goals when they are pertinent. However I believe there is nothing wrong with taking a date and a tradition like a New Years Resolution/Goal to make the most of the chance to better your life experience! In the case of the being a CSS student, staff member, or parent I encourage you to take this time stamp of a new year to pick something to focus on.
In my case, my most important goal for the remainder of the 2009-2010 school year is: To make these 6th months the best months possible with individual student experiences and opportunities. I take this to mean that I want to challenge student academically, socially, and civically. To be available to support and grow staff and students in their personal goals!
Nov. 10,09 1:45 PM
Days Off:
Hopefully everyone is enjoying the short break that we are having. After a very long October with no days off we have moved into a very short November. Next week will be shortened with two half days and Parent/Teacher conferences. Following with Thanksgiving Break the 25-27. Needless to say there are not many days in November which is all the more reason to capitalize on days off to make up work, get a head start on projects and read.
Oct.28,09 2:08PM
Running For FUNds!
Friday at 2:00 PM many of the CSS students will participate in a running/walking event that will promote personal goals and fitness as well as support the Charlotte Secondary School Parent Teacher Organization. This event is set up for both students and parents to enjoy, however it is very important that all students turn in their permission slips to participate in the event even if the individual student is not participating in raising funds for the PTO.
The student designed fun run t-shirts will be handed out to all students who have turned in their permission slips, so please turn in your slips ASAP. The shirt design is pretty cool. Congrats to ****** for your wonderful design!
JS
Oct. 20, 2009 10:06 AM
Why CSS WORKS!
When I think about how far we have come in the last three years the first thing that comes to mind is the time and effort that the staff and parents put into this school. In fact our new library has been built from the ground up and staffed entirely from parents. There has not been a single day of school that a parent has not come to work in the library. We are able to provide catered lunch three days a week due to the efforts of parents. Unfortunately our school cannot operate on hard work alone. We also need additional family support with our annual capital campaign. This year the theme of the capital campaign is "The Every Family Campaign" and the theme is a perfect fit! While many of our families make great sacrifices in getting their children to this school, they still manage to find a way to give a little more and help sustain the growth and expansion of CSS. Each year the challenges are different, however we manage to successfully provide a top notch education due to the support given by every family! In fact our staff and school board commit the same pledge form. We at CSS truly believe that this school is a family and the we all need to support each other.
If you have not had a chance to look at this years pledge information, please click on the Whats New link located at the top of the page.
If you have already completed your pledge form this year, thank you! We greatly appreciate your contribution. Your Friend of Charlotte Secondary School Decal will be arriving shortly!
Respectfully,
Jeremy
October 12, 2009 11:04 AM
MAP Matters:
For some of you the acronym MAP does not have a lot of meaning, for others you are well aware the MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) is a array of information that can help teachers and parents better understand how their children are developing in the academic areas of Reading, Language Usage, Math, and Science. This information can be very helpful as a formative assessment, however if it is only used as a quick check for a comparative score than it has lost the true purpose of the measure.
So parents I encourage you to use the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) website, the creators of MAP, http://www.nwea.org/ to research what these scores mean and how teachers can use them to assist in developing the full potential of your child at whatever level they may be at. This is also a great baseline for identification to participate in the testing for the Duke TIP Program. I will dedicate another blog to this. In the mean time I encourage you to do a little research: http://www.tip.duke.edu/
September 24, 2009 9:58 AM
The Power of Parent Teacher Conferences:
Every year after the first couple of weeks of school the parent,teacher, student and sometimes principal begin a working relationship. As a school our goal is build and grow these relationships so that all parties involved are working towards a common goal. While these goals may be and should be very different for every child they should have a few common threads. I am a firm believer in the power of goal setting and truly believe in the value of having a plan. It also helps to create a support network and allow for a little positive peer pressure to be applied.
A great way to look at the strength of a goal is by putting it to the S.M.A.R.T test!
Is the goal Specific?
Is the goal Measurable?
Is the goal Attainable?
Is the goal Realistic?
Is the goal Timely?
While conferencing next week please keep the S.M.A.R.T program in mind when setting goals as a team for a successful year.
Please remember to sign up for conferences online. The link is located on the left side of the homepage and also under the What's New tab. If you have any trouble please give us a call and we can assist you in setting up your conference times.
Respectfully,
JS
August 30, 2009 9:21 PM
1st Day Back For The Students:
3 long weeks of hard work has really paid off. After an amazing Meet The Teacher Night, I think everyone is truly excited for this school year to kick off. If you were unable to make the Meet The Teacher event please make sure to come by the school and see all of upgrades we have made. That being said it is very important to thank all of the staff,parents and board members who put in countless hours to make all of this come to fruition.
A few important notes about the beginning of the school. It is important to remember to that with three grades dismissal will need to go a little different. The right lane will be for 7th and 8th grade students who do not have 6th graders in their carpool. The left lane will be for 6th grade (or main building pick-up). 7th and 8th grade vehicles will pull up further to pick up students from the modular buildings.
Another important piece of information is the importance for all parents and visitors to check in at the office prior to heading into the modular buildings. This is an important security measure now that we have multiple buildings and entry points. Staff members have been directed to check to see if parents or visitors have checked in. We greatly appreciate your understanding with this additional measure of security.
I will post more information after our first official day has culminated.
Respectfully,
Jeremy Spielman
August 17, 2009 9:52 PM
1st Day Back For The Teachers:
After a wonderful staff retreat the entire staff returned today to begin working on preparing the school, classrooms and homerooms. We have been very busy cleaning and painting over the last week and are looking to continue painting in the new buildings over the course of the week. As we plan for the coming year all homeroom teachers crafted personalized welcome letters to their homeroom teachers. The letters were mailed this evening and should arrive by Wednesday.
In our meetings the hot topic has been has been Working on the Work the staff summer reading. The main focus of the book being the dedication of building in depth engaging curriculum, hence the name working on the work.
Just a couple of key dates as the summer comes to an end:
The beginning of prep camp begins Monday August 24th, the hours are from 8:45-3:45
There is also a meet the teacher night Friday August 28th beginning with 6th grade at 6:00 PM, 7th grade at 6:45, and 8th grade at 7:30. Make sure to come by and check out the new buildings and the main building makeover that has transpired over the summer!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call or stop by.
Best Regards,
Jeremy
July 21, 2009 4:38 PM
Summer Reading, Finding The Books!
When the Great Peacemakers book was first selected were not aware of it's popularity or how difficult it would be to track down. It appears that most of the local bookstores currently are out of copies. I believe they will order the book for you. If you must order it I encourage that you look online for a pre-read copy from one of the many used book vendors online. One parent was able to track down a paperback version for under 10 dollars. The funny thing is that that ISBN number is different.
See info below:
ISBN 10: 142432355X
ISBN 13: 9781424323555
Publisher: LTS Press
Also we have added a third option to the summer list for 7th grade. The book is Tangerine by Edward Bloor.
July 9, 2009 6:29 PM
The essence of summer!
Now that 4th of July has passed us and summer is in full stride I felt it was important to check in and share how things are progressing at the school. Our new buildings are all but complete and our staff is anxious to turn them into true CSS classrooms.
We are also beginning our summer program July 15th, this program runs each Wednesday and focus on skill development.
Hopefully you have seen the summer reading list and are beginning to read the two books needed prior to the start of school. The book Great Peacemakers has an optional companion journal to use to help keep pace and reflect. If is available for download for free at www.greatpeacemakers.com I suggest using it to help get the most out of the book. From what I have heard it is going to be difficult to check this book out from the library. So I am working on getting a few copies of it at the school, to be the first books available for check out from our new library that we are working on very hard this summer to bring to life.
If for any reason you cannot purchase this book please call me and we can loan you the book for two weeks.
Thanks for checking in. It is my goal this summer to post at least once a week. So if you happen to follow send me an e-mail if you do not see new postings.
Enjoy Life,
Jeremy
May 18, 2009 7:45 AM
Alright folks it's that time! We have officially begun our End of Grade Tests. Today we are taking the Reading portion of the test. Tomorrow we will be taking the Math Calculator Active test and then Wednesday we will take the Math Calculator In-Active test. Make-up tests will be offered Thursday and Friday of this week. If you have any questions about the test or the times that it will be administered please give us a call at the school. (704) 295-0137. Things will be back to the norm next week. In the mean time we are excited to show what we know during this time of state testing.
On a side note, we had an amazing book fair at Barnes & Noble last week. Our kids performed, or families and staff bought books, and we were able to get the word out about how cool CSS is!
May 11, 2009 8:09 PM
It is time to send out our intent to return forms. May 18th we will send out our intent forms to all rising 7th and 8th graders. It is very important that we get this information back as soon as possible so that we can let families who are on our wait list what their updated status is.
We now have a wait list in all three grades! Much of this success is from the wonderful job that the student ambassadors have done with hosting our guest students who shadow.
*Note: If you are a prospective parent who is interested in the school please give us a call to set up a time to shadow. Our available days for shadow appointments are going fast.
April Updates: Greetings All! April has come and gone and here we are reflecting on a month the moved pasted us entirely too fast. Here are just a few of the highlights: Spring MAP testing The start of the CSS Ultimate Football League 6th Grade Coffee House
The end of the 3rd quarter My School Rocks April edition comes out with CSS as it's 1st featured Charter School Prospective Parent Open House These are just a few of the many activities that we offered this Spring, there will be many more before the year comes to a close.
Jeremy
April 3rd-12th
Spring Break! Enjoy and Be SAFE.
March 28, 2009 8:31 AM Art Opportunity: We are hosting an Art Contest at Charlotte Secondary School. The theme is: "I Speak For The Trees" Please stop by the front desk and pick up more information. I am also going to post the details online for anyone else interested in joining the fun. That means little siblings are more than welcome! Stay tuned for more details. JS
March 24, 2009 9:16 PM
My School Does Rock!  
Make sure you get your hands on a copy of the April edition of "My School Rocks" magazine. We will be the first Charter School featured in this CMS sponsored magazine. We just finished up with our photo shoot and are super excited to see how it all turns out.
The magazine is distributed to all elementary students in CMS so if your child happens to be in a CMS elementary school right now you are in luck. If you are not a CMS family, things are a little trickier. I believe that the "My School Rocks" magazine can be picked up at participating retailers.
This great press comes at a perfect time with Spring recruitment and Spring Open House on April 15th.
If you need help getting your hands on a MSR magazine please give me a call and we will try to secure a copy for you.
Best,
Jeremy
March 18, 2009 11:08 PM
Who's Who of CSS Friends and Family:
One of our Board Members, Dr. Susan Flowers, was featured on a national program called the Daily Balance with Kim Jacobs. If you get an opportunity try to tune in, and look for it on PBS in April.
Congratulations on your accomplishments Dr. Flowers, we are proud to have you as a parent and member of our board!
Dr Susan Flowers (CSS Board Member) to appear as a guest on Daily Balance with Kim Jacobs, an informative and inspiring conversation with guests who balance careers, family, business and the daily nuances that come with everyday life. The show is hosted by motivational speaker and entrepreneur Kim Jacobs and is taped in front of a live studio audience. Kim and guests discuss how to strike balance in common battlefront areas such as health and fitness, workplace environment, finances, etc. Daily Balance with Kim Jacobs celebrates you on the journey of life; even the pit stops and detours. It’s like enjoying your morning cup of tea with an old friend. The show airs on The Word Network (Channel 373 - Direct TV) in 72 million households in the U.S. and 1 Billion households worldwide every Monday morning at 7:30 AM. You can also watch Daily Balance with Kim Jacobs on thewordnetwork.org .
In addition to airing on The Word Network, Daily Balance with Kim Jacobs will start airing on WTVI's Civic Channel ( PBS 232) beginning April 1, 2009. WTVI (local PBS) is distributed in 360,000 - 385,000 households locally. Below is the schedule to view Daily Balance with Kim Jacobs on WTVI's:
Mondays at 9:00 AM
Wednesdays at 7:30 PM & 10:00 PM
Fridays at 7:30 PM
Saturdays at 5:00 PM.
March 11, 2009 3:30 PM
Spring is in the air:
Although we are back in a cold spell there is no need to think that Spring in not here, or at least in our new indoor green house that was recently completed by the Honors Science Club. These 6th and 7th grade students are hard at work transforming an area near the school in to a beautiful raised bed garden with a variety of vegetables.
Make sure to take a look at the North Face of the School and see the garden transition project in action!
Best,
Jeremy
January 26, 2009 2:49 PM
A Showcase of Talent-
On Friday night we had a full house for our PTO Meeting and Performance. All of our classes prepared a short overview or performance to inform and entertain parents. We also kicked off our Capital Campaign. This annual fund drive is dedicated to securing donations that will help in the purchasing of items and equipment for the classrooms and the school as a whole.
A letter and information request were sent home with students two weeks ago. In the next few days a formal Capital Campaign support letter will be mailed to addresses that were listed on the information forms that were returned to the school.
JS
January 12, 2009 12:31 PM
Why I love my job!
Last week we hosted a "Prospective Parent" Open House and we had a wonderful turn out. In the short time that we shared with prospective parents the staff was able to showcase a few of the many things that makes Charlotte Secondary School such a great place to experience middle school. While the open house itself is enjoyable, the real reward comes with spending the extra time with a family and working together to gain insight into the educational journey that the child has begun and how CSS can provide the next level of scholastic, social, and extra curricular foundation. In fact there is no better feeling than seeing the moment when a family realizes that this school will be "the right fit".
This time if the year can be very challenging for families who have to make such an important decision when it comes to the future of their child's education. So I am most thankful to the students, teachers, and parents that are willing to talk with and show prospective families the education that we are collectively building.
So if you are a prospective parent reading this blog, please give us a call or stop by and introduce yourself if you have not already done so. And if you are a current parent who is reading, THANK YOU for all of your hard work and support. Charlotte Secondary is where it is today because of you.
Best,
Jeremy Spielman
PS. Our next "Prospective Parent" Open House is Thursday January 29th at 6:00 PM
January 5, 2009, 3:12 PM
Big Things For 2009!
Our first day back is almost done and it is hard not to smile when I see how happy we all are to be back in session. Even though the day started off a little slow, almost everyone was back to full stride by lunch.
Sometimes a break can do more than provide rest. In many cases students realize how connected they are to a school, their classmates, and even their teachers. Seeing how much a 6th or 7th grader can change in just a few short weeks makes all realize how important these middle school years are and the environment that we create for our kids to thrive and grow.
The new year also brings a busy time for applications and enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year, so if any of you have family friends that are rising 6th graders or transfer students then please let them know we have an Open House Jan. 8th at 6:00 PM and our 09-10 application is now available online.
Let's all make 2009 a year to remember!
JS
December 8, 2008 11:36 AM
Progress Report Time!
While there will be a field trip, and a dance this Friday there will also be progress reports. It is our goal to get them to students in their homerooms no later than Monday the 15th. Since many of our students will not actually be at the school on Friday (due to the drop off and pick up at Imaginon.
It is hard to believe that the second quarter is half over already. However it will be good to have the grades and missing assignments up to this point so that students will have the break to work on making up missing work.
Remember, if there is a grade that you are concerned about please contact that teacher as soon as possible to clear up.
We also have International Day coming up next Thursday the 18th.
December 4, 2008 9:30 PM
Enjoying the Show
Next Friday the school will be attending a performance of the Nutcracker at the Blumenthal Theater Uptown. We will also tour the theater and enjoy lunch uptown before returning back to the school for our second dance of the year. The very fitting theme is "Winter Wonderland".
Students will be dressed to impress all day due to the nature of the field trip, so it is a natural fit to have the dance right after school.
We will make sure to post a few of the pictures on the blog.
JS
December 1, 2008 12:34 PM
A Job Well Done!
The students, parents and staff teamed up last week to collect over 315 pounds of non-perishable food for the Charlotte Loaves and Fishes. We continuously needed to finds more boxes and receptacles to store the food due to our overwhelming generosity. Our cleaning company even joined in the giving and brought in a box of cans.
Now that our food drive is over and Beards BeCause is ending this Friday we will need to focus our philanthropist efforts in a new direction. In the mean time we can focus our attention towards school cleanliness and upkeep during the winter months. This area is crucial with the upcoming prospective parent open houses.
Right now the biggest challenge is the winter coats and sweaters that are being left around the school. If you could please ask your son or daughter to look though the lost and found if they are missing items that would help greatly. We will take the left over coats to a shelter after the holidays if items are left unclaimed.
JS
November 21, 2008 4:45 PM
With just a few weeks left of our beards because campaign some of us are really feeling the itch. It always helps when you get a little press for your efforts. Last week we were in the Mecklenburg Neighbors Section of the Observer for our efforts to involve the kids in creating awareness and opening dialog when it comes dealing with violence of any kind.
This photo was in The Observer on 11/16
Showcasing our efforts to support United Family Services!
October 20, 2008 11:04 AM
A call to support a cause!
It is funny how you start something with the idea of having fun and it turns into so much more. Some of you may have noticed that the male staff at CSS are a little more outdoorsy looking. Even though the fall growth of our facial hair is in full frolic, we are not adding a winter coat for just the fun of it. I was approached by my brother-in-law (who works at Hearst) about participating in a beard growing contest to fight domestic violence. www.BeardsBeCause.com. This event is a challenge that not only entertains the staff and students of Charlotte Secondary but it also promotes awareness and a call to action that few other charitable events can do. We will actually have one of the event founders as well as a representative from the United Family Services Shelter for Battered Women in Charlotte speak to the students to help them better understand our challenge as well as providing awareness, information, and support to our students and staff.
Please join us in the fight by logging on to www.BeardsBeCause.com and clicking on participants to donate to our cause.
Thank you!
Jeremy
September 25, 2008 5:36 PM
The first month of school is almost over and yet it seems like we have been here forever. I mean this in a good way! The students, parents, and staff are all working so well together it is hard to believe that this is only our second year, and our first quarter. That being said we will be hosting mid-quarter conferences next week on Monday the 29th and Tuesday the 30th. Please make sure that you sign up. I have put a link below to sign up.
Conference
Sign UP
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call.
JS
August 5, 2008 4:50 PM
Wow! It is August and the 08-09 school year is quickly approaching us. I know that having a little extra time to prepare and enjoy the beautiful Carolina sun has been great for me. We had a fabulous open house last week. Many new families came to check out the school and left with applications for this school year as well as for the next school year.
Because we have not yet hosted a school wide event, we will be hosting a multifaceted school kick off event Wednesday August 20th at 6:30 PM. If there are any parents that would be interested in helping organize this event please let me know and we can set up a time for all of us to meet.
This event should be a great time to meet teachers, pick up schedules, and talk with other parents to finalize car-pools.
Check the school calendar link in the coming weeks for more details.
Also please help get the word out. If you happen to read this blog please share this information with other families that you might be in contact with.
I just returned from a weekend at the beach, it was so much fun to ride some waves and soak up some sun! Hopefully all of you are enjoying your days.
JS
 July 28, 2008 8:44 PM I apologize it has been a few days since I last blogged. Things have been busy! We just got back from our staff retreat, it was amazing. We went to cedar grove retreat and spent the weekend playing paint ball, team building, swimming, roasting marshmallows and bonding as a staff. We were all able to attend except Mr. Sproul who was awaiting the new arrival of his son.
I wanted to share with anyone reading that we have adjusted our start date from August 18th to September 2nd in order to assure that our new 7th grade building will be ready.
If any of you have questions please don't hesitate to call me.
Thanks,
J
July 19, 2008 9:45 PM It is always so wonderful to see students out and about enjoying their summer while at the same time itching to get back to school. We have posted our supply list online as well as in the Wal-Mart near the school. So both parents and students can take advantage of some of the great deals running from week to week in addition to the tax free weekend that is coming up in a few weeks.
I am excitedly awaiting my daughter Riley's 1st birthday. We are having a nice little party on the 20th to celebrate. My wife is busy baking a cake and I am doing my best to cheer on the sidelines.
Before I finish this evenings posting, I wanted to mention that we have a few more 6th grade spots left. So if any of our families have friends and neighbors that are rising 6th graders that might be interested in the school please bring them to the picnic this Wednesday or the Open House next week. We will also be hosting a parent coffee in a few weeks. I will make sure to keep you all posted.
Goodnight,
J
July 14, 2008 10:17 PM It is amazing how fast the summer is flying by. I just received the rising 6th grade summer reading book and thought I would share it here first. That way I might have a better idea if anyone really reads this blog. Our rising 6th graders will be reading the book "Loser" by Jerry Spinelli a book that has received rave reviews for it's engaging content and discussion starters. I will post more details for all to see on Wednesday. In the meantime check out the book at your local library or book store.
I am picking this one up to read on the train back from Raleigh tomorrow.
Jeremy Spielman
July 9, 2008 1:25 PM I wanted to extend a personal thank you to all of the parents who have turned in their full enrollment packages. We are working very hard this summer to get all of the information on file and get records in the school as soon as possible.
For any new parents who did not receive the e-vite invitation to the Summer Picnic on the 23rd please send me an e-mail so I can forward the invitation to you. We are trying to stay as current as possible with e-mail addresses for ease of communication.
For any current parents who would like to attend please join us and assist in welcoming the new families to CSS.
See the calendar for more details JS
Charlotte Secondary School
8310 McAlpine Park Drive
Charlotte, NC 28211
(704) 295-0137 Fax: (704) 295-0156
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