
At CMS, 7th grade students have been working on research projects and presentations highlighting significant events and people from Colonial America in Mrs. Crome's class. This standards-based project has allowed for student voice and choice while promoting critical thinking, analysis of historical information and evaluation of primary sources.
Below are examples of two students who focused on Colonial Women and the struggles they faced for rights and equality.
Jacey Smith's project highlights the struggles of Mary Aggie, an African-America slave who went to trial for her freedom on the ground of her religious beliefs.
Alex Matheny's project includes Phyllis Wheatley, a person enslaved and brought to North America at the age of seven or eight, who learned to read and write and published books of poetry.
Christine Pschirrer researched the Atlantic Slave Trade and the life story of Olaudah Equiano. Equiano came to these continents enslaved, traveled the world and wrote an autobiography. Christine's class activity was to guess the number of Skittles in the jar. This jar represents the average number of people who traveled across the Atlantic enslaved on ships from Africa. The number Skittles in the jar was 400.





Here are more collections of some of the many lessons we have done this year to elevate Black voices and to honor Black history and culure.





Student Council
Student Council at CMS is selling flowers for Valentine's Day. Send your special Valentine a flower with a personal note or message. Surprise a friend, teacher, or someone special. Flowers are $2 each and will be delivered on Friday, February 12th. Look for a student council member at lunch to purchase yours.

Charleston Middle School Musical rehearsal is cancelled for today, Wednesday, Jan 27th.

Hello Charleston Middle School sport's fans. We are excited to offer you a chance to watch all of our home indoor sporting events this year. Below, you will find a link to our CMS Athletics YouTube page. You can click on this link on the day of the contest and it will stream live. Hopefully, many of you will be able to take advantage of this opportunity and support our athletes as they represent CMS Athletics.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgjjRt3OD1jq21xNbIXOzEQ

Good morning. With the new information being released late on Friday, we have learned that CMS boys basketball may officially begin their season. We know this is short notice, but below is the schedule for tomorrow's try-out. Remember, the boys must have a current physical on file in order to try- out. We are very excited about this opportunity for the kids to compete. Please email Mr. Mayhall with any questions. mayhallb@charleston.k12.il.us
Here is information from the coaches.
Here are the tryout times for both groups:
Monday (1/25/21)
7th Grade: 3:30-5:15
8th Grade: 5:15-7:00
Please be aware that after the tryout has ended, we will meet with each player individually to inform them on whether or not they made the team. It will take a little bit of time for us to get through each player. Once their meeting is over they will be free to go. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you and we are looking forward to getting to play.

Great news, Charleston Middle School girls interested in Volleyball!!! Practice begins tomorrow. You MUST have a current physical on file to participate. Please email Mr. Mayhall with any questions. mayhallb@charleston.k12.il.us
Thursday- 2:00-3:30. 8th grade tryouts 3:45-5:15. 7th grade tryouts
Friday- 2:00-3:30 8th grade tryouts 3:45-5:15 7th grade tryouts
Saturday- 7-8:30. 7th grade practice;
8:30-10 8th grade practice

Hello. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. The IESA and Governor's office have made a decision on the upcoming athletic seasons. CMS boys basketball, (along with CMS cheer and dance,) will not be allowed to begin on January 4th. Volleyball will not be able to begin on January 11th. We are again in a "pause" for these seasons. We are also not allowed to resume open gyms. As far as the possibility of any sort of season, we will keep you updated if/when we receive any further information from the IESA. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at mayhallb@charleston.k12.il.us
Have a great New Year.

Charleston Middle School teacher, Mrs. Sherwood and her students (Alexis Goddard, Aly Winnett, Erikah Ballinger, Ruthie Okrasinski, Koliatra Phillips not pictured) recently created a bulletin board called, "What Brings You Joy?". The bulletin board was an opportunity for students to express and share what brings each of them joy this time of year.


As part of our district's Leader in Me initiative, one of the staff action teams put together a COVID-19 awareness poster contest for all students at CMS to compete in through their EPIC classes. Several dozen posters were turned in, but only a handful were chosen as winners (4 not shown in picture). These posters were judged not only on their creativity and artistic ability, but also the concept and facts they presented about various topics related to COVID-19 (masks, handwashing, etc.). All student posters will be hung around the CMS or Central Office for our students and community to see.


CMS Spirit Week (Week of December 14-18)
CMS Student Council has organized a spirit week for Charleston Middle School. Each day is listed below:
Monday: Dress as your favorite character
Tuesday: Christmas Hat Day
Wednesday: Crazy Sock Day
Thursday: PJ Day
Friday: Ugly Sweater Day

Pictures at Charleston Middle School
Picture Day is coming to CMS on December 10th and December 11th. There will be a flier sent out to parents through email that will allow you to order pictures online.
Remote students will have the opportunity to come into Charleston Middle School on December 10th from 2PM-3:30PM to get there pictures taken. Parents and students will need to check in at the front office for directions. If you have any questions, please feel free to call 639-6000.

Attention all 7th, and 8th Graders: Do you like to answer trivia questions? Are you full of useless and useful information? Then Scholastic Bowl is for you! There will be an informational meeting for any 7th or 8th grader interested in joining the CMS Scholastic Bowl Team this Friday, Dec. 4 from 8:15-8:30 AM. in the CMS Media Center. Any remote students interested and anyone with questions should contact Mr. Pitcher or Mr. Spear.

Shopping for Thanksgiving? Don't forget to scan your receipt with the Box Top app and earn money for CMS!


Thank you to CMS principal and Veteran, Mr. Lynn, for being a guest speaker in Mrs. Morgan's EPIC class today! 7Red remote learners had a chance to hear about Mr. Lynn's military experience. Thank Mr. Lynn and all Veterans for your service! 🇺🇸





We are proud to present, The 2020 CMS Veterans Day Program. You can access the program with these links to stream the video. The links are public and accessible to anyone. Please be aware that streaming speeds may vary depending on your device. https://charlestoncusd1-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/pitcherm_charleston_k12_il_us/Ee0-Bk1nAaVNtgLVd7wNzJsB62XQn5k0C_1Bt9esYV7pXg?e=GlDNr4
or
https://www.wevideo.com/view/1915471295
Thank you to the countless individuals who helped make this possible and most of all thank you to all the service women and men who have served or are serving our country. Happy Veterans Day!


We are proud to present, The 2020 CMS Veterans Day Program. You can access the program with these links to stream the video. The links are public and accessible to anyone. Please be aware that streaming speeds may vary depending on your device. https://charlestoncusd1-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/pitcherm_charleston_k12_il_us/Ee0-Bk1nAaVNtgLVd7wNzJsB62XQn5k0C_1Bt9esYV7pXg?e=GlDNr4
or
https://www.wevideo.com/view/1915471295
Thank you to the countless individuals who helped make this possible and most of all thank you to all the service women and men who have served or are serving our country. Happy Veterans Day!

Pop up Book Fair. Three days only! CMS is hosting a mini fall book fair this week. The book fair is open before and after school through Thursday, November 12! Be sure to stop by before it's gone!

A huge congrats to Blair Ritchey and Grace Edwards for being named the 2020 CMS John Dively Award winners. Both of these young ladies are perfect examples of what it takes to be an outstanding student athlete on and off the field. Great job, ladies 🥎🥎🥎💪💪💪


With the schedule changes, students in classes with pre-scheduled meetings will need to update their Teams calendar. Here is a set of directions to help: https://5il.co/mtk1.