Interested in the #boysandgirlsclubofamerica? Check out the after school program registration information for our local program.

Sheila McCord, Troup County School System (TCSS) transportation employee, knew working with kids and helping people was for her. That’s why she considers being a bus monitor a calling, not a job, “I volunteer at Hospice and the local nursing homes, but it’s something about being around kids. I love young people and children. I work with them at my church with youth bible study and the choir. It’s a calling.”

She joined the school system after her previous employer moved their headquarters to Texas. She was in the job market and a friend recommended the school system’s transportation department. McCord applied and has been a bus monitor for eight years. 

“Working with special needs students has given me a new perspective of what children need. I get to understand their character and learn to communicate with them one-on-one each day. Each child is different so each need is different. You really have to have that calling to look past the visual and look deeper into their needs and what they want,” stated McCord.

Read entire story here. 

Four years ago while Jameel Dixon was an Assistant Manager at Buddy Home Furniture, he decided to do something to help lead kids on the right path. He was already a scout leader with Boy Scouts of America, but he wanted to do more. “I do a lot of camps during the summer time and I’m active with children throughout the year. I was riding around Troup County and I saw an advertisement for bus drivers so I applied. The next day, I got a phone call. I’ve been here ever since.”

“The best part about what I do every day is the joy in seeing the kids grow over time,” he laughed as he remembered when, “they were younger, some of them were trying to jump over the seats and you had to teach them how to behave on a school bus. It’s different from riding in a car. Now, we have meaningful conversations that we won’t forget. It stays with us and we help each other.”

Read entire story here.

The Troup County School System (TCSS) Transportation department has been keeping safety at the forefront even before school started. October 19-23, 2020 is National School Bus Safety Week, and with # students transported to and from school each day, TCSS understand this as a week to publicly promote school bus safety, recognize transportation staff members, and highlight the work they do all year.

Chip Giles, Transportation Director said, “Our employees take safety seriously. We have safety checks at the beginning of routes, we disinfect school buses after each route, and we offer masks and hand sanitizer to our students. Our main job is to transport kids safely to and from school, but you gotta love kids to do the job effectively. We work hard to do our part.”

Read entire story here.

Don't forget that you can download the app, "Here Comes the Bus", to assist you with your student's whereabouts, travel times, and so much more! Check out the image below for our special code and sign up information. 

LifeTouch will be taking school pictures for the yearbook this coming Thursday, October 15, for traditional students. Virtual students will have their picture day on Monday, October 19, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Please contact Ms. Dorman at dormaneb@troup.org if you have any further questions or concerns. 

The Troup County School System is hosting an OPTIONAL writing contest for Kindergarten thru 12^th Graders. The topics for elementary, middle, and high school students are listed on this flyer.  Each topic focuses on FAMILY!

Contest Due Date: Friday, October 30 @ at the end of the school day. Virtual learners may email their teachers their entries. In school learners may take their entries to the front desk.

• Elementary Student Writing Topic: A favorite memory I have with my family is...
• Middle School Student Writing Topic: My family influences me in many ways. Here's how. 
• High School Student Writing Topic: Describe an unusual family tradition of yours that continues today. Why is it important to your family? 

Contest Entry Details are available: HERE

Congratulations to Camille C. and Ms. Deneshia Norman, winners of our recent PBIS raffle at Callaway Middle School. We hope those gift cards come in handy! It turns out that being #cooperative, #mindful, and #successful can really pay off! 

CMS loves our nurse, Bernice Strozier, and all she does on a daily basis to support our students and staff! Recently, the TCSS nurses conducted a First Aid and CPR course; big thanks to Ms. Strozier, who was instrumental in supporting staff as they worked to be certified in First Aid & CPR.

Callaway Middle School is pleased to remind parents that all CMS students currently are eligible to receive a free breakfast and a free lunch. Your in-person student only needs to arrive at the apppropriate meal time and input their student ID number. 

Further, TCSS schools are distributing meals via bus routes every Monday between 9:30 and 11:30.  Some of these routes will be located in areas zoned for our school.  All meals are free and will contain 5 days of breakfast and lunch meals.  

Any child under the age of 18 will be able to receive these meals.  This is especially beneficial for parents with toddlers.  Parents just need to be at the bus stop during the times listed to receive a meal. 

See the attachment here for bus routes and times. 

Also, please view our updated School - Family Compact, along with the concurrent cover letter, in the Parents section of our website. We are proud of the wonderful team that we have working to connect families and schools -- find out how to be a part!

TCSS will provide a weekly dashboard update. This Covid-19 Dashboard update is effective as of Tuesday, October 20, 2020 @ 9:00 am.

Printable Covid-19 Dashboard

Please tune in to our CMS Facebook page at 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 10 for our Callaway Middle Annual Title I Parent Meeting. There will be a Google Form to fill out after listening to the presentation. Thank you for all you do to support your student at CMS!

All parents, take note: PSAT application and information is below if you would like your student to take the test. Deadline for the PSAT money and signed slip is August 31, 2020. #Cooperative #Mindful #Successful

Attached is the official CMS Virtual Instruction Schedule. As a parent of a virtual student, it is most helpful for me to plan the week ahead of time so my student knows when to get online. Other than the live session, work is more flexible, and they can work up to deadlines on their own timetable. Let us know if you have any questions by emailing askcms@troup.org.

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens, are you looking for Canvas information? Check the top navigation bar, all the way to the left...great information is linked there. But, just for ease of use, you can use the following page to hop on and see how to help your student and navigate this year! Feel free to email us at askcms@troup.org if you have any questions or concerns. 

http://www.troup.k12.ga.us/4/Content/canvas

Here is the completed information (both pieces) on the virtual meal process.  The information sheet provides a general overview of ordering timelines, pricing, pick up, etc.  The second sheet is a "how to" for setting up a PayPAMS account and ordering meals. 

Here is our Sixth Grade Orientation Video. It shares important information about Callaway Middle School, as well as highlights some special faces from our faculty. Get to know Callaway Middle today! Click here to watch the video. 

First, on behalf of all Callaway Middle School staff, we want to send our warmest thoughts and prayers to every student and their families during this unprecedented time. The school year did not turn out how we planned it, but we still have a lot to celebrate!

Now that Spring Break is over, we wanted to share a few updates:

1.  Beginning Monday, April 20th, the Troup County School System will begin distributing meals on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only. The meal pick-ups will be available at our school drive-thru locations sites from 11:00 am – 12:00 noon.  Callaway Elementary will have drive-thru service at Callaway Middle. Long Cane Elementary will have drive-thru service at Long Cane Middle. Parents do not have to go to CMS for meal distribution, parents can go to the school closest to their location. Those who pick up on Monday will receive meals for Monday and Tuesday. Those picking up on Wednesday, will receive meals for Wednesday and Thursday. Those picking up on Friday will receive meals for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 

2. As per district guidelines, TCSS is now entering Phase III of curriculum rollout which focuses on grade repair opportunities. Students have the opportunity for grade repair ONLY in year long classes or classes that were active in Term 3. For year long classes, grade replacement can take place in Term 1, 2 or 3. Below is a list of classes where grade replacement applies:

Parents, please take note: forwarded information--

In these uncertain times, we want to do all we can to provide resources to families who are looking for alternative child care options. As a reminder, our Quality Rated Child Care website, www.qualityrated.org houses up-to-date information about open child care facilities across the state. Additionally, our partners at Quality Care for Children provide this same service year-round through a helpline that can be reached by calling 1-877-ALL-GA-KIDS (1-877-255-4254).
 
At this critical moment, we’re asking for your help in disseminating the message to your contacts and key audiences via your email, social media, and website platforms that any family can find child care programs that are open and best meet their needs by utilizing www.qualityrated.org or by calling 1-877-ALL-GA-KIDS (1-877-255-4254).

To limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the public, DFCS encourages families to access self-service options online during this period.

Self-service options include:

CDC Information
Coronavirus Resource Center for Schools—at this time, these are the only available languages. Please share with family and friends. 

English:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Spanish: 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-sp.html

Chinese: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-Chinese.html

Fact Sheets on Coronavirus: What You Need to Know

English: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet.pdf

Spanish:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet-sp.pdf

Simplified Chinese: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet-chinese.pdf

Congratulations to Coach Andre Johnson’s homeroom class at Callaway Middle School! They were the winners of our recent canned goods drive competition. Pictured are: Jaylen Johnson, Joseph Shuman, D’Arcy Harris, Emmetrion Smith, and Cameron Tucker, enjoying the pizza party reward.

Congratulations to our Lexile #GoalGetters at Callaway Middle School! All students took the Reading Inventory test in fall and winter 2019, and CMS students who received the Highest Lexile Score Achieved are as follows: 6th Grade: Jim Brown (not pictured), 7th Grade: Quentin Prickett, 8th Grade: Jaxon Redden. CMS students who were recognized for Highest Lexile Score Growth: 6th Grade: Anthony Eskew and 8th Grade: Minkyung Kim. Need more great news? An entire CMS class raised their Lexile scores by an average of 76 points from fall to winter! Well done, Mrs. Brewer’s A Block Class!

CMSclasslexile.jpg -- Pictured is Mrs. Brewer’s A Block English/Language Arts class, who raised their collective Lexile scores by an average of 76 points. Congratulations for a job well read! 

CMSgoalgetterlexile.jpg -- Pictured (L to R): Minkyung Kim (Highest Growth, 8th), Jaxon Redden (Highest Lexile, 8th), Quentin Prickett (Highest Lexile, 7th), and Anthony Eskew (Highest Growth, 6th). Not pictured: Jim Brown (Highest Lexile, 6th).