I've taken a bit of a break from blogging (like several years) and have begun a blog for our community at https://athenscommunityofreaders.blogspot.com/.  Please consider following that blog to hear about what our community is reading during this time of distanced learning! 

Thanks,
Mrs. Hinger

News from the CMS Media Center--letter to parents

Celebrate International Literacy Day with CMS by having a 'turn off the TV and read night' at your home this evening!

OWLS Read Poster Contest--As another way to celebrate literacy at CMS, we are hosting a Read Poster contest.  We will select a winner for each of the following categories:  student, faculty and parent/guardian.  Snap a picture of yourself or your child reading, and if you like, edit the picture in photo editing software, and then send the picture to Mrs. Hinger at CMS.  We will print these in posters to hang outside the media center, and a winner will be selected from all entries received by September 19th.  Winners will receive Jittery Joe's Gift Cards (thanks JJ for the donations)!

Owls Read Program--Once again this year we are using the Owls Read program to promote reading both at CMS and at home! Students are encouraged to get 'caught reading' at school when they have any downtime, to read at home and report back their at-home-reading to their ELA teacher and to do a good job on reading assignments during class.  When we see students doing these things CMS faculty will reward students with Reading Talons.  Once students have earned 35 Reading Talons, they can turn them in for a free OWLS READ long sleeve t-shirt.  This shirt is very special because it may be worn on Fridays, on special OWLS READ Days AND can be worn any day of the week over a uniform shirt. The only way students can get this shirt is by earning it through reading.  Students cannot purchase the shirt.  So, please encourage your child to read, read, read and earn a shirt ASAP!

Personal Learning Device Updates (student computers, laptops, Chromebooks, netbooks, etc.)

If you have not already done so, consider coming in for one of our parent orientations for the personal learning device so that your child can take theirs home from CMS soon.  Here are a few opportunities for you to get this quick orientation.  

Tuesday, September 9th 4:00 p.m. CMS Media Center

Friday, September 12th at the end of the parent coffee in the CMS Media Center 

Saturday, September 13th at the Parent University (for more info cavinli@clarke.k12.ga.us)

If you cannot make one of these orientations, just let Mrs. Hinger know a time that you are available, and she will schedule a personal orientation for you then.

CMS Media Center's MakerBot 3D Printer--Our brand new MakerBot 3D printer has arrived (thanks to Mr. Simpson and all the donors on DonorsChoose.org) Students are already submitting designs to be printed. We've printed several student created 3D objects today! We are hoping to begin using it for classroom projects in the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I am challenging the students to play in 3D design software and MAKE whatever they like so that they can begin experiencing what can be done with the MakerBot and 3D design.  I will print the most unique and exciting 3D designs that are sent to me!  A super user friendly and free online software is TinkerCad  Tell your child to check it out, or feel free to help them explore other 3D design products.  Students should share any designs with Mrs. Hinger via email or Google Drive.

CMS Family Literacy Night is this Tuesday!

Please join us for the CMS Family Literacy Night this Tuesday from 6-7 p.m.  We will have the book fair open for your shopping pleasure and will have literacy sessions for parents, middle school students, as well as the younger siblings. 

Students will lead sessions for parents on Digital Literacy, Writing 6 Word Memoirs, Book Talks, and Information Literacy. CMS Middle Schoolers will be able to participate in exciting activities provided by Mrs. Lauren, Teen Services Librarian, who will be visiting CMS from next door at the Athens Regional Library.  AND the elementary and preschool age children will be have a chance to participate in foreign language literacy activities with the CMS Foreign Language Staff, so bring the whole family for this ultra engaging night of learning and fun!   

For our entertainment during Family Literacy Night, we will have performances by the fantastic CMS Orchestra Ensembles and the world famous CMS Step Team.  The Books for Keeps Staff will be at CMS collecting donations of new or used books to support this very important local charity.  Students who bring in books to donate will be rewarded with one OWLS Read Talon for each book they donate up to five (of course we will take as many books as you bring).  Books for Keeps will take book donations of any type.  

Tuesday will be an OWLS Read t-shirt day at CMS, so if your child has earned an OWLS Read shirt, they may wear it to school with uniform bottoms this Tuesday to help us celebrate literacy. If your child hasn't earned their OWLS Read shirt yet, encourage them to read at school and home to earn the 35 Owls Read Talons soon!

We can’t wait to see you on Tuesday night, so grab the whole family, and maybe a stack of books to donate, and come on out to the CMS Family Literacy Night!      

Google OnAir Hangout with NASA Chief Technology Officer at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley

CMS 6th Graders are participating in a Google OnAir Hangout with Ray Gilstrap from NASA today to discuss jobs in STEM.

Geek Squad at Clarke Middle School--Guest Post on the CCSD Technology Blog

Over sixty Clarke Middle 6th, 7th and 8th graders attended a special technology training in the Clarke Middle School Media Center last week.  They will become technology experts in order to help their classmates and teachers use 21st century skills and devices at CMS.  This student technology squad is a huge asset with over 300 new netbooks at Clarke Middle School as well as the upcoming bring your own technology initiative that will begin very soon at Clarke Middle.  Twice a month the CMS "Geek Squad" will come together for technology session conducted by Clint Winter, CCSD Technology Integration Specialist, and Shawn Hinger, Clarke Middle School Media Specialist.

With a focus on collaboration, positive attitude, and teamwork, the CMS tech squad members learn skills such as: technical troubleshooting, working within the Google Apps for Education Suite with tools like Google Drive and Blogger, as well as using the screencasting tool Screenr to create video tutorials for others.  We hope to provide our "Geek Squad" with the skills necessary to assist our school community and beyond.  Our vision would be that one day these students could not only help their classmates and teachers, but could also conduct training sessions for new CCSD teachers or maybe even hold webinars or training sessions for other school districts around the world.  

6th Grade Digital Citizenship

What do you think it takes to be a good Digital Citizen?   The CMS 6th graders will be studying Digital Citizenship this week.

We will watch this video from NetSmartz and then students will use inquiry style learning in order to find out more about this important topic!

Use the search terms below or think of keywords you may feel are relevant to this topic. Search for reliable resources using Web Path Express which can be found on the media center website.  Some keywords: Internet Safety, Digital Citizenship, Cyberbullying, cyberstalking, online predator, digital footprint

Work with your group to write a 2-4 sentence response to this blog post.  So, what does it mean to be a good digital citizen? Post your response below.

Clarke Middle School Summer Reading Challenge!

Join the Clarke Middle School Community of Readers Summer Reading Challenge! Visit the CMS Media Center Website for the Summer Reading Log and information sheet. The CMS family has set a goal to read 10,000 books and we need your help. Each CMS student, including rising 6th graders, is asked to become the cheerleaders for reading at their home. The family will log the books they read this summer (parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, cousins, anyone that may live in your home). Any book counts: books read alone or together, story books, chapter books, novels, graphic novels, picture books, whole magazines, etc., etc., etc.

Fitness ELT Research

Currently the 8th grade Fitness ELT is studying the benefits of regular exercise and the benefits of a weight training program.  On Digital Literacy Day this class will use Web Path Express to investigate websites with information on these topics.  Students will then share the name of the website and a summary of the information they found in the website by responding to this post.


Students: Please make sure you use the anonymous option and only share your first name.

Internet Safety 101

The CMS students, 6th graders in particular, are currently learning about Internet Safety and Digital Citizenship.

  After doing a little research using Destiny Web Path Express, students should post a reply below with at least three Internet Safety tips for their peers.

Rising 8th Grader Summer Reading

Hi guys! Welcome to 8th grade at CMS. You can click on the response link below to write your response to at least four of your summer reading books.

Your books should include: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and at least one book from the 8th Grade College Bound Reading List.

Each response should not summarize the book, but should instead, tell us what the book made you think about. Please write 2-3 paragraphs and be sure to use proper spelling and grammar. Feel free to email me if you have questions at hingers@clarke.k12.ga.us

Remember, the CMS Media Center will be open from 4-6 p.m. this summer every other Thursday starting June 2nd.

Rising 7th Grader Summer Reading

Hi guys! Welcome to 7th grade at CMS. You can click on the response link below to write your response to at least two of your summer reading books.

Each response should not summarize the book, but should instead, tell us what the book made you think about. Please write 2-3 paragraphs and be sure to use proper spelling and grammar. Feel free to email me if you have questions at hingers@clarke.k12.ga.us

Remember, the CMS Media Center will be open from 4-6 p.m. this summer every other Thursday starting June 2nd.

Summer Reading Rising 6th Graders

Hi guys! Welcome to CMS. You can click on the response link below to write your response to at least two of your summer reading books.

Each response should not summarize the book, but should instead, tell us what the book made you think about. Please write 2-3 paragraphs and be sure to use proper spelling and grammar. Feel free to email me if you have questions at hingers@clarke.k12.ga.us

Remember, the CMS Media Center will be open from 4-6 p.m. this summer every other Thursday starting June 2nd.

Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day!

All students and faculty are encouraged to carry a poem in their pocket today to share with others. Students and faculty "caught" sharing their poem today will have their name entered into a drawing for a Jittery Joe's gift card! Which poem will you have in your pocket? See Mrs. Hinger in her pocket apron or the pocket sign outside the media center for a poem if you do not already have one. Thanks to all of our teachers that have helped promote this over the past few weeks!

Today is the CMS Georgia Exceptional Media Center Open House!

Today is our Georgia Exceptional Open House from 9-11 a.m. Come on out and see all the exciting things going on in the CMS Media Program! You can see our newly redesigned media center. Thanks to the efforts of several teachers, students and parents the CMS Media Center has been updated and transformed. We will have Jittery Joe's Coffee (thanks to the donation from the Googe's) and brunch type snacks as many of our students will present about our ongoing collaborative information literacy projects. I'll post highlights from these projects soon!

Elizabethan Faire-research, info literacy, students to UGA for research day

--Elizabethan Faire 2011--



The CMS Media Center is hosting the Elizabethan Faire this week. We will be open for visitors Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Ms. McNeeley's 8th grade students have research topics relating to the Elizabethan Era during their study of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

During this collaborative project, the students learned about research and information literacy skills and created multi-genre research papers, three dimensional displays and presentations using both print and electronic resources. Students did their research in the CMS Media Center, online using Galileo and at the UGA Library on two Saturday research days. Please come in and see our AMAZING students present all they have learned on this exciting and interesting time in history.

Today, Gretchen and I went to The Thirteenth Summer book release party at Dog Eared Books. The author Elizabeth Thompson contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would help her find some girls to come to the party and read a copy of her book and pass it on to another girl. Several of our CMS students recieved the numbered copies of her book; Perrin, Mariah, Lydia, Essence, Talle, Gemma. Check out the pictures below!

6th Grade Invention Projects and New Books!

This week the students have been working on final exams Tuesday-Friday! Monday the 6th graders finished up their Invention Researh Projects we have been working on with an Invention Fair in the CMS Media Center. Check out the pictures...




We also recieved a HUGE Follett Order of new Fiction with a little new non-fiction. Last year I worked very hard (and spent a lot of money) to update the non-fiction. So, this year, we have spent a great deal of our budget on high-interest and mostly YA fiction titles to entice our readers as one of our goals is to promote leisure reading. Below are some pictures of the first classes to come in and check out the new books...




I did a lesson on writing a review using Destiny. So, once these kids finish reading the books, they will write reviews on them.

Reading Rocks Night and Book Fair

Thanks so much to everyone that came out for our Reading Rocks Family Night! We had over 300 student, teachers, parents and families in attendance. There were lots of games, performances and excitement going on that evening. We couldn't have done it without all the involvement of student and faculty! I am so proud to be part of such an awesome school family!

Our winning Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team will compete at the district HRRB Competition at CSHS on Thursday, January 27th!

Teen Read Week and Upcoming Events

We had a great time during Teen Read Week! I received lots of awesome Read posters. I'll be sure to post the winning poster picture next week.

The winner of the gummy worm contest was Zach Meyers. He guessed 65 worms and there were actually 66! We will announce the winners of the Jittery Joe's gift card for book checkouts and the movie tickets for Read Posters Monday!

We have three HUGE events coming up soon. The first week in November we will have round 1 of the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, the second week in November we will have our book fair, and the third week in November we will wrap up our book fair and HRRB Competition with the Reading Rocks Family Night at CMS! The evening will include music, fun, games, the final HRRB and a Reading Pep Rally! Bring the whole family for a night of excitement and fun to celebrate reading!

Way to go OWLS!

I am so proud of all the CMS students for the amazing job they did on summer reading! Over 100 students attended the Summer Reading Celebration last Thursday in the media center. We enjoyed pizza and ice cream and each other's company!

Check out these awesome book posters from the Summer Reading Assignments. These are for the books Dragon's Egg, Flush, and Invisible Man. Come look outside the media center to see all the cool book ads!