Dear Parents and Guardians, Briggs Chaney Middle School 1901 Rainbow Drive Silver Spring, Maryland 20905 (301)989-6000 October, 2015 Briggs Chaney Middle School takes pride in offering activities and sports programs that allow students to showcase their abilities, exercise good citizenship and develop teamwork skills. Beginning in October, our after-school activities program will offer students the opportunity to participate in clubs such as Audio Visual, Yearbook, and Newspaper Club, to name a few. Intramural and interscholastic sports programs will also be offered. All activities will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday from 3:10 p.m. to 4:35 p.m. All activities and sports programs will end by May 12, 2015. Permission slips are to be turned into the activity sponsor. Students must complete a separate permission form for each activity they wish to join. A separate form, provided by the Intramural Director, must be completed for intramurals. Additional forms are available in the main office during lunch. Students participating in an after-school activity will need to report to the cafeteria by 3:10pm. Any student who exits the school building and chooses not to report to the cafeteria, will be expected to ride the regular bus home, walk or be picked up by a parent. Students will be able to receive a hot meal in the cafeteria from 3:10-3:20 p.m. Then students will be picked up from the cafeteria by their activity sponsor. Transportation will be provided for students who stay for a supervised after-school activity. Bus routes are listed on the back of this letter. If your child is not taking the activity bus, please pick up your child at the parent pick-up side of the school by 4:35 p.m. Attendance will be monitored by each activity sponsor. All students participating in a MCPS extracurricular program are required to pay a student activity fee. Forms were mailed to students prior to the beginning of the school year. If you did not receive a form, additional forms are online at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/accounting/payeca.aspx. Please note: the activity fee is not required for students who wish to stay after school for instructional support. If you have any questions regarding Briggs Chaney Middle School clubs and organizations, please contact me. Thank you for supporting our continued effort to provide your child with a well-rounded and diverse educational experience. Sincerely, Shawn Krasa Assistant Principal *Please note: In order for a student to participate on a MCPS sports team, it is mandatory that he/she receives a complete physical exam by your family physician prior to participating in any interscholastic sports programs. Student physical exam forms are available in the health room.
INTERSCHOLASTIC SPORTS BCMS offers four interscholastic sports. If you love softball, basketball, soccer or cross country, be sure to listen for the announcements about tryouts. In order to tryout, students MUST have all necessary paperwork (parent permission, medical card, and a physical within the past 2 years) turned in to the coach prior to tryouts. Students CAN NOT attend tryouts until those items are completed. Participation in these activities is available to 7 th and 8 th grade students only. Softball (Ms. Johnson boys and Ms. Bet girls) Boys and Girls: Tuesday, September 29, 2015 to Wednesday, November 5, 2015 Co-Ed Cross Country (Ms. Madan) Boys and Girls: Tuesday, September 30, 2015 to Wednesday, November 5, 2015 Basketball (Mr. Broderick boys and Ms. Connors girls) Boys and Girls: December 15, 2015 to February 11, 2016 Soccer (TBD boys and Ms. Connors girls) Boys and Girls: April 6, 2016 to Thursday, May 19, 2016 INTRAMURALS The Intramural program is designed to be an extension of the Physical Education curriculum. It offers the student an opportunity to participate in physical activities in a relaxed and non-competitive environment. In order to play, students MUST see the activity sponsor for a permission slip, return the signed permission form, and pay an ECA Fee for the school year. The following is a short description of fall, winter, and spring activities that will be offered. Other activities may be offered throughout the year. STEP TEAM - (Ms. Bromell) As part of the Step Team, students will learn the history of step. They will practice techniques, routines and will perform at different events. They will also compete with other middle schools at competition venues. This activity runs from November to March. BASKETBALL - (Mr. Broderick) Open to all 6 th, 7 th and 8 th grade students. Students will play half court games with substitutes. The activity will be outside and meet on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Space is limited to 60 eligible students (permission slip & paid ECA fee) so they can participate both days. The activity will run from late September to early November.
AFTER SCHOOL FITNESS - (Ms. Tolley) Open to all grade levels. Students, who are interested in and committed to improving their fitness levels will engage in individual and group exercises to include cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscular strength and endurance. Students will learn basic weight training and fitness concepts while learning to monitor their progress. This activity will run from January to March. ART CLUB - (Ms. Madan) CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS Students will have the opportunity to engage in extracurricular art lessons and activities that will aim at improving students art abilities while beautifying the school. Student artwork will also be displayed in the Spring Art show. AUDIO VISUAL CLUB - (Ms. Justice) AV club members will learn to use the camcorder, cameras, lights, microphones and editing equipment in the T.V. Studio. Club members will also learn to use the sound systems in the school. CHEERLEADING - (Ms. Chapman) Students will learn basic basketball cheers/chants, as well as basic to intermediate stunt work. Students will learn a performance routine which includes a cheer, chant, dance and multiple stunts that will be performed during select boys and girls basketball games. CHESS AND BOARD GAMES - (Ms. Bet) Students play and learn a variety of board/card games. They also learn sportsmanship and problem-solving as they work through disagreements with each other. CLASS LEADERSHIP PROGRAM - (Ms. Putman) CLASS is a leadership mentoring program designed for 7 th grade girls to improve leadership and communication skills. The five tenets of CLASS are character, leadership, academics, style and service. Students will attend workshops about the five foci of the program. Guest speakers will be invited to share leadership experiences with students and students will be given the opportunity to earn Student Service Learning hours by completing a service program. GIRLS ON THE RUN - (Ms. Madan)
HISPANIC CULTURE CLUB - (Ms. Cardona) The Hispanic Culture Club is a new organization open to students of all races, nationalities and ethnicities who are interested in Hispanic culture and history. Students will have the opportunity to practice their Spanish and share information about costumes and traditions in Spanish speaking countries. JUNIOR NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY - (TBD) The Junior National Honor Society (JNHS) has been recognizing outstanding student achievement since 1921. More than just an honor roll, NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character (and Citizenship for NJHS). Being a member of JNHS is a distinction that holds significance throughout a student s academic life and beyond. LG4COMMUNITY - (Ms. Hartman) Latin & Greek for Community explores different career options and real-world scenarios in which Latin and Greek terms, roots, prefixes, and suffixes are used. Students will participate in role-playing scenarios, problem-solving exercise, and will create their own real-world scenarios in which Latin and Greek might be used. LG4ME - (Ms. Hartman) Latin & Greek for Me will be available as a lunch lab course late in the spring semester for 6 th grade students only. MATH OLYMPIAD - (Ms. Deshler) The Math Olympiad Club helps build confidence in students of all abilities and interest levels by giving them the opportunity to engage in unique math activities in a relaxed, social setting. We will play math games, complete weekly Math Count challenges and work together to explore math concepts. Students will also solidify and strengthen their math skills. In the end, we will compete in the national Math Counts competition against other schools across the State! NEWSPAPER - (Ms. Carbine) Students who participate in the Newspaper Club work together as a team to produce an issue of The Paw Press every marking period, including sections for student and teacher interviews, opinion editorials; reviews of school events, like sports, plays and field trips; and humor. Artwork is also welcome. As a club, we improve our writing and editing skills. We also learn about the ethics of journalism, as well as print and online journalism today.
PAW PRIDE AMBASSADORS - (Ms. Beru) These students represent PAW PRIDE and embody Pride, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Expecting the Best! Ambassadors are made up of all three grade levels and participate as volunteers for school-wide events such as Back to School Night, BCMS Open House and our College & Career Expo Week. They serve as tour guide for newly-enrolled students and leaders among their peers. All students are welcomed to apply, contingent on the following qualifications: They must be eligible (a GPA of 2.0 or better with no more than one E for a letter grade); recommended by a teacher (except for current 6 th grade students); and they must be able to attend/volunteer for at least 75% of the scheduled PAW PRIDE Ambassador events. RUBIK S CUBE CLUB - (Ms. Roland) Students will learn how to solve the Rubik s Cube and prepare for a local competition with a team of other like-minded Briggs Chaney students. Learning how to solve the cube, improving your times and solving as a team are the goal of this group, as we prepare to compete against other local and possibly national teams. SPELLING BEE - (Ms. Wallace) Students will be given work lists from 5 th through 8 th grade and they will meet each week to study and participate in practice bees. In February, students will participate in the School Spelling Bee, which takes place in the morning at the Media Center. The winner of this bee will go to the local Spelling Bee in Bethesda. Then the winner of that bee goes on to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION SGA - (Ms. King) All students at Briggs Chaney Middle School are members of the SGA. Students will create, plan and execute events to promote school spirit and support local charities. Students will meet with various school personnel in their planning. STUDENT PRIDE CLUB - (Ms. Madan) Students will have the opportunity to earn Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for their service to the school s Positive Behavioral Interventions Supports (PBIS) program.
STUDENT SERVICE LEARNING HOURS (SSL) CLUB - Ms. Showman Eighth grade students will be selected according to those who have few to no SSL hours accrued before entering high school. They will be selected based on the criteria that they are responsible, trustworthy and will take the group seriously. Duties will include helping the counselor with new civility activities around the school. This can be, but is not limited to, creating posters, creating a video for small groups and classroom lessons and preparing materials for small groups. Also, these students will assist in the changing of the BCMS sign at the main entrance to the school s parking lot. YEARBOOK - (Ms. Carbine and Ms. Chapman) Open to all Briggs Chaney students. Students who participate in yearbook work together as a team to produce the school s yearbook, making decisions about theme, headings and pictures. We learn how to take and pick the best pictures to capture the excellence of Briggs Chaney Middle School. Students learn how to combine the powers of words and images to tell the story of our time here in middle school. Students also learn more about the publishing business, including how to design a yearbook and how to market and sell the book we produce.
Briggs Chaney Middle School Extra-curricular Activity Program Registration/Permission Form 2015-2016 Student s Name: Grade: Team: Regular Bus Route # Transportation from extracurricular activity or sport please choose one of the following: I plan to ride the Activity Bus. I will walk home I will be picked up Print the name of the activity that you will be participating in: I give my child permission to participate in the activity listed above. I realize there may be a time when I need to provide transportation for my child. I have read the parent letter at the beginning of the Activity Packet and agree to the terms stated in the letter. Date: Parent/Guardian Signature: Parent Name (PRINTED) My work telephone number: Home Phone: Cell Phone: E-mail/s: ****Students MUST turn in a signed permission slip in order to stay after school. Each activity requires a separate permission slip.****