Advisory/Homeroom
Advisory teachers have reached out to you to welcome you to Cockeysville this year. This person is your Cougar Connection to our building, so if you have not responded to their email or call, please reach back out to them ASAP to take advantage of them as a valuable resource for all things CMS.
Attendance Notes
We provide a uniform note that can be used for absence notes, early dismissal notes, and late arrival notes. Please click on the Attendance Note link below to print a copy.
Attendance Note - CMS Form
BCPS Calendar
A/B Day Calendar 2022-2023
Bus Loop Rules and Dismissal
The following rules are currently in place at CMS. Please contact the school if you have any questions or concerns.
MORNING ARRIVAL: This is just a reminder that students SHOULD NOT walk across the grass in front of the school as this means they must cross through the bus loop to get to the building. This is not safe. Please have your child walk to the crossing guard on Greenside Drive to ensure they can cross safely.
DISMISSAL: No one should pull in our bus loop after 2:15 PM for any reason. You will be stuck behind buses at dismissal if you do and it will cause a disruption to our dismissal procedures.
All students should be picked up on Greenside Drive by the crosswalk where there is a crossing guard to assist with helping students cross safely. Families picking up from after school activities that dismiss after 3:00 PM may use our bus loop for pick-up.
Keeping safety in our minds, please pay special attention to the Google Map image below.
Cars are not allowed to enter the back parking lot to drop off students in the morning. This has been a serious safety issue for both students and staff over the years. The bus loop and back parking lot will be open for buses and staff parking only. There are three designated student drop off locations along Greenside, see the marked locations, so that the children can cross safely under the supervision of the crossing guard. We have worked with our school improvement team (which includes parents) and the Baltimore County Traffic Engineering Office to determine the safest locations for student drop off.
Cell Phones/AirPods
Thank you to our families for supporting our new cell phone and AirPod rules. We are grateful as all data suggests that having students off phones and attentive in class results in a far more rigorous learning environment where students achieve at higher levels.
Some students have already received phone violations and these are in FOCUS. You can always check there to see; however, someone will contact you on their 3rd phone violation of the year directly.
We would like to reiterate that "talking to my <insert family member>" is NOT an acceptable excuse to have a phone out. Students will still be given a phone violation as we have been very clear with them, and with our families, that if they need to call home they can come to the Office and do so at any time.
Families can also text or call students before school (before 8:00 AM), during lunch (6th: 10:40-11:10 on M/F, 10:55-11:25 on Tu/W/Th; 7th: 12:30 - 1:00 all days, 8th: 11:35 - 12:05 on M/F, 11:45 - 12:15 on Tu/W/Th), and after school.
Staff are extremely pleased with how well students are complying thus far this year with these expectations - so thank YOU for your support as it means a great deal.
Homework Club
Teachers volunteer their time in the Library to provide a safe location for students to work on a variety of academic activities, such as work completion, organization, seeking teacher help, or reading. Students need to be prepared to work productively the entire time. See the clubs and activities page for dates and times.
Grading Policy
Skills and Conduct Indicators
Lockers
This
has been an adjustment for returning and new students alike. The bell
times and locker rules are actually a return to what CMS had in place
prior to COVID; however, none of our students were here during that time.
To clarify for families, students should be putting their bags in their
lockers and using a school-purchased lock to lock their belongings. If you
have not purchased your lock, please contact CMS ASAP so that we can help
you do so.
Students are able to go to their locker before school, before
and after lunch, and after school. In between, teachers may allow them to
go to their locker during class if needed. We did Advisory lessons in all
grades the first week of school on how to set themselves up for success with their
lockers, locks, and schedule to help them strategize the best way to
maneuver their day. Advisory teachers will continue to help our students
with this as the year progresses.
Locks
Every child MUST use their locker this year as backpacks will not be allowed. All children should purchase a school and gym lock to secure their belongings. They will keep these for their entire time at CMS. Locks can be purchased here with a credit card or you can have your child bring cash to school this week as they will be sold during the first 30 minutes of each day. Please bring exact change. If your child already has CMS locks, please have them bring them tomorrow. If they have forgotten their combination, we can look that up for them. It is important all students purchase their lock quickly as all belongings are expected to be secured in lockers.
Transportation and Schedule
PLEASE make sure that your child uses the most UP TO DATE schedule, which is in FOCUS. Both your child's transportation information and schedule are in FOCUS.
For directions on how to access the parent FOCUS portal please click: https://baltimore.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus
The directions for creating a parent account if you have not already done so can be found here:
https://www.bcps.org/tech_support/creating_a_parent_account_for_focus__schoology