Parents, Students, and Staff, Not only have all the gifts been tucked away: all TVs

plugged in, clothing hanged, I-Tunes gift cards redeemed, and Wii Us taken away due to bedtime enforcement, but weve been back to school for almost one month! Time seems to fly by over the holidays, we returned in the midst of the second marking period of first semester and weve now reached the third marking period of the second semester! Up to this point, for the most part, weve managed to avoid the snow and other hassles of winter. Hopefully, Old Man Winter is vacationing in Florida and has forgotten about us so that we can have just a few more months of peaceful weather in order to focus on that which we do best: learning! The winter months are always an exciting time for everyone at CTMS. The athletics program is in full swing, extra-curricular activities are perking along, and classes have delved deep into their subject matter. Theres no other word to describe our students and staff: BUSY! These last few months have been an exciting time at CTMS and the next several months are sure to rival those that have already flown by. Wed like to take this space to give you an update on what weve been up to and give you an idea of whats coming down the pike in the coming months! The CTMS basketball players have been busy on the court, racking up victories for our school! We couldnt be more proud of our players and the dedication they show not only to the sport but to their academics as well. These students are asked to spend practically all of their free time in practice, improving on their individual skills and more importantly, what it means to be part of a team and using their individual skills to work together. In addition to so many hours spent practicing an equal amount of time must spent on school work to ensure their academics remain first place as well! And now for an update on some past news: the Fight 93 presentation93 Cents for Flight 93organized by Crystal Muia (one of our seventh-grade Science teachers) made the local news in both The Journal and on NBC25s Evening News. Footage of this event and pictures from it, with all of our students and staff sporting Flight 93 tee shirts have also made their way to Channel One (the news broadcast for students by students that is aired every morning). CTMS is the only West Virginia school that has participated in this initiative and accordingly we will be the only WV school with a banner at the memorial in Shanksville, PA. To go along with our update on old news, heres some new news at CTMS: Weve elected our first SGA (Student Government) in two years! Dustin Weaver (one of our eighth-grade English teachers) will be advising the group. Elections have already been held for school-wide representatives and officers within the group. Adam Stilley (8th Grader) was elected to the office of President just last week! The group is looking forward to organizing various charitable initiatives, helping out around the school, and of course, sponsoring the Farewell Dance at the end of the year! The group will head up these events while learning about government and its role in our community and our country. Were looking forward to a great second half of the year, here at CTMS!! GO PANTHERS!!

Chuck Hampton Principal

Ann Workman Asst. Principal

Bettina Sperry Asst. Principal

Dustin Weaver Faculty Senate President

Parent teacher conferences Tuesday January 29th 6-8 PM

Correction

The NAEP is scheduled for February 1th

Details will be sent home with student participants. NAEP Information for Parents Explore NAEP Questions

Students enter our building at 7:45 AM. Please do not drop off your students before 7:40. Students are released for the day at 2:53 PM. Students should be picked up by 3:10 PM. In order to enter the building you will be asked your name, how we may assist you and you will be reminded that you need a photo ID. When a student is signing in late, or is being released early you will be required to present a photo ID. In order to gain a visitor's pass you will be asked to present a photo ID. When signing a student out for early dismissal please provide an excuse the following day. Excuses for absences are required and should be placed in our excuses basket at the Attendance Window. Every student is provided a student handbook at no individual cost. These are funded by our PTSO. The school handbook is provided at the front section of the student handbook.

**All rehearsals and performances are mandatory**

February 5, 12, 19, 26 After-School Jazz Band 3-4:30pm

19

Music Booster Meeting 7pm CTMS

Solo and Ensemble Festival at Shepherd University Frank Creative Arts Center

16

Hedgesville Jazz Festival

23 March 5, 12, 19, 26

Eastern Regional Jazz Festival -Jefferson High School

After-School Jazz Band 3-4:30pm

19

Music Booster Meeting 7pm CTMS

19

Region IX Concert Band Festival at Musselman High School (during school day)

6th grade - Courtney Lang & Walter Moreland 7th grade - Eddie Carlos & Corbin Stottlemyer 8th - Destanie Neal & Jordan Berry

Ms. Mackey, coordinator of the Box Top fund raiser program at CTMS, is encouraging everyone to snip, save, and send! Your students can turn their Box Tops in to their first period teacher. Our school will earn cash for our end of the year student awards program with every Box Top you send. Additional support for our end of the year awards program can come through ebox tops when you visit the Marketplace. Over 250 retailers give eBox Tops to your school when you shop online. Its as easy as 1-2-3.
http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/marketplace/Default.aspx?nicam2=Email&nichn2=Oth er&niseg2=BTFE&nicreatID2=BTFEMkplc_01_14_2013

Ms. Diamond, 6th grade science teacher at CTMS recently completed her course hours to become certified as a Master Naturalist, and wanted to do a project for the school. Earlier this school year she asked the Charles Town Middle FFA chapter if they could help her with this project. At the November FFA officer meeting, Ms. Diamond gave a presentation on bluebirds and the importance of providing a habitat for them as urban sprawl increases. The FFA officers then learned how to build the birdhouses from Mrs. Friend during their December officer meeting. The officers were responsible for teaching several groups of members how to build the boxes during their December chapter meeting. The chapter had 28 members, 5 community volunteers, and Ms. Diamond and Mrs. Friend involved in building 12 boxes total. Eighth grade agriculture students made use of their shop skills by predrilling pilot holes in the wood to make assembly easier. Members used various clamps and power drills to build the boxes and put in over 2 hours of time afterschool to complete the project. The wood, Trex lumber, and hardware for the bluebird boxes were donated by fellow bird enthusiasts Diane and Gary Sylvester. Gary cut out all of the many pieces in his woodshop at his home and took the time to drop off the materials at the school and explain the project. A big THANK YOU to the Sylvesters and the Charles Town Middle FFA for helping our school and community with this project! The 6th grade science students will be monitoring the bluebird boxes throughout the winter and spring. Bluebirds begin looking for a nesting site in February, and everyone is looking forward to watching their activities.

Visit Ms. Diamonds website for More Photos and updates: http://boe.jeff.k12.wv.us// cms/Workspace/Site/Site.a spx?DomainId=18

The Charles Town Middle FFA has been quite busy this winter season. The chapter kicked off the month of December by building a float for the Charles Town Christmas parade. Over half of the Chapter was involved with building the float, and almost every member road on the float. Everyone had a great time! At the December Chapter meeting 28 students, 5 community volunteers, and Mrs. Friend helped Ms. Diamond build 12 Blue Bird Boxes. These boxes will be placed around the school grounds to increase blue bird habitat, and hopefully increase their population as well. On Tuesday, January 8th, 27 members and guests visited the Pennsylvania Farm Show. They walked around and explored different shops, shows, and saw the animals. Everyone that participated had a wonderful time! Three members of our chapter, Lindsay Heflin, Kaylee Ruffner, and MaKenzie Ring, had the opportunity to attend the WV FFA Winter Leadership Conference held at Cedar Lakes in Ripley on January 11th and 12th. Students were involved in many leadership training classes, and gained valuable communication, social, and organizational skills. Currently, students are looking forward to National FFA week that is held February 16th 23rd. During that week the CTMS FFA is planning several activities within the chapter, throughout the school

and community, including: building picnic tables for the Jefferson County Fair, serving the staff breakfast, and educating the student population about agriculture.

Thank you to all my Parents and Guardians for a great year! In Language Arts we have begun working on how to write a bibliography. We will begin writing our expository paper in about two to three weeks. We will learn to site in research and how to express that information in a useful way. Tentative due date: February 21, 2013. After this paper we will begin a Persuasive write. Look for more details in the February newsletter. I have a classroom wish list: Tissues and College Ruled notebook paper Thank You, Ms. Hollcroft

8th grade students in Mrs. Ervine's classes are reading "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. They are also reviewing literary elements and taking benchmark tests on Acuity. The project for January will be creating a PowerPoint movie review. Copies of the February and March projects will be sent via Live Grades by January 25. 6th grade students are beginning to read the novel Hatchet. The project for January will be based on vocabulary development. Students are also taking benchmark tests and using the WV Writes program to improve writing skills.

Wow! It is hard to believe that the year is half over and we are on the downhill slide! This quarter in science we will be studying biology with units on disease causing organisms, populations, plants, and body systems. We have a lot to cover in the next 9 weeks! Students are currently working on a Wanted Poster project in which they have to create a wanted poster about a disease causing organism. Many students are moving on with their science fair projects to represent Charles Town Middle School at the Jefferson County Science Fair on January 26. We wish them the best of luck and know that they will represent us well! I am looking forward to an exciting quarter as biology is my favorite branch of science!

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My math classes are rolling smoothly. A classroom PAWs drawing of prizes reinforces good academics and behavior. Please check with your son/daughter every Mon-Thurs evening about math homework. Also, please check LiveGrades for Quiz Announcements. The Flight 93 Assembly on November 27th was a success! Please visit http://your4state.com/fulltext?nxd_id=284142 to see more. Ms. Muia

Happy New Year! Term #2 has come to a close. All of my classes are halfway through their various novels. Currently, my classes are writing historical fiction! Each child is picking a time period and an important event and injecting themselves as a participant. This is all part of the TechStep called: Fact and Fiction. Top AR Readers for term #2 are: Rahsaan Edwards with 54.2 AR Pts., Brook Brown with 57.1 AR Pts., Mackenzie Smith with 57.6 AR Pts., Parker Jackson with 78.4 AR Pts., Erin Jackson with 84.3 AR pts., Liam Mahony with 86.8 AR Pts., Matteo Cerasoli with 89.1 AR Pts., and Kendra Scott with 116.9 AR Pts. Anyone over 75 AR points has earned a $5.00 gift card from McDonald's. "Let your hungry mind feast on a book!" Go Ravens!!!

Students are currently working on sentence and paragraph revision and identification and interpretation of literary elements. Also, were really concentrating on essay writing and revision based upon given prompts. In terms of literature, were reading Richard Mathesons I Am Legend. Please check my page of the school website for assignment updates and announcements. Dont hesitate to contact me with any questions and concerns: jwday@access.k12.wv.us . --Day

HONORS Mr. Weavers Honors class has been buy learning about the Victorian era. An important literary moment in history, this era is home to such classics as Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray, Robert Lewis Stevensons The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Charles Dickens Bleak House, and the novel that we will be tackling in the coming weeks, Bram Stokers Dracula. An epistolary novel (one written entirely by way of letters, journal entries, and newspaper clippings), not only will this book give students a chance to evaluate literature in terms of social and political criticism but also to read a text that is not narratively conventional. Im looking forward to studying this complex text with this bright group of students. GENERAL Mr. Weavers General classes have been spending their time learning about the 1930s and 1940s, especially WWII, the Holocaust, and the Nazis. We will be starting John Boynes The Boy in the Striped Pajamas in the approaching days. This novel tells the story of an impossible friendship between a German child and a Jewish child, set against the backdrop of a Nazi concentration camp. The boys share opposite sides of the fence, learning about one another, their differences and similarities, and eventually the unforgiving situation they find themselves in. This novel deals with interesting themes and this time period is generally of great interest to eighth graders. This novel is a solid alternative to the increasingly familiar Diary of Ann Frank. Im looking forward to beginning this novel with my students; I believe they will enjoy it a great deal!