Manatee Musings

Week of June 9, 2025

Author

Rick Mohrien
June 08, 2025

The Week Ahead

**Note** : Wednesday & Thursday (June 11 & June 12) are both CMS Required Workdays. On June 11, we will meet as a staff at 10 AM (until about 12 PM). Lunch will be on your own. There are no scheduled events for staff on June 12. This will be a day for you to finish closing out your classrooms/spaces. Staff are expected to be on campus both days and check-in via Red Rover. Teacher Assistants may work on June 11 and June 12 to support close out activities. If Teacher Assistants plan to work on June 11 & 12, please let admin and Odessia know.

Table of Contents

OutTeach Construction Begins!

It’s been a long journey, but construction on our outdoor learning area has officially begun! You may see work being done over the next two days (see picture below). An official tour for staff members will take place on Wednesday, June 11 at 11:30 AM. We can’t wait to see the final product!

Summer PD Options

Summer professional learning opportunities are available for all staff on the CMS Professional Learning Dashboard. To see summer professional learning opportunities, go to the CMS Professional Learning Dashboard and click on the District Calendar View to see all events or use the dropdowns to navigate to the PD calendar specific to your role. Click on the event title to see details regarding the training location, PD description, PD contact, stipends, and registration.

Summer Curriculum Learning PD

Professional learning sessions will be offered from July 7–10, 2025, to support K-5 teachers in strengthening their implementation of district-provisioned literacy and math curricular resources. Click here for more information. Please note that these sessions are intended only for non-teaching Camp CMS staff. Professional learning for Camp CMS instructional staff on July 7-10 will be communicated directly by site coordinators.

Literacy and Math Summer Professional Learning Outcome

Master Teachers and teachers will internalize grade-level standards, identify targeted acceleration strategies, apply evidence-based instructional practices, and utilize a structured planning protocol to deeply unpack content from district-provisioned curricular resources.

TLP Talent Pool Closing Date

The Teacher Leader Pathway talent pool will close to internal applicants on June 16th. The talent pool will remain open for external applicants and those applying for the ECEIT2 and MLEIT2 positions. More information is available at the TLP Website.

ParentSquare Summer Camp!

ParentSquare is offering learning opportunities over the summer. Parent Square Summer camp registration is now open! This fan favorite now offers more flexibility: access the activities anytime from June 9-September 12, and earn a certificate for five PD hours! More information here.

Action Needed: CKH End of Year Survey

CMS is asking all staff of CKH schools to complete the End of Year CKH Survey. This will provide us with key information as we head into the summer and plan for the 2025-2026 SY, with a goal of continuing to be a National Showcase School for CKH! Use the button below to take your survey.

PD Opportunity: NBCT Summer Institute

Calling all new and prospective candidates! Join CMS for the 2025 National Board Summer Institute on July 15-17. They will share the most important information in your pursuit of National Board certification. Presenters will focus on an overview of the National Board certification process, assist candidates with making a plan for success and determining an effective timeline. Visit MyTalent course #426746 for more information and reach out to Christina Roth ([email protected]) with any questions.

Reminder: Active Survival Training

All CMS employees who have not attended the ABCs of Active Survival training are required to participate. Employees who have not attended since July 1, 2023, must complete the training next year. The upcoming training sessions are scheduled for: 

Wednesday, June 11, and Thursday, June 12. 

Registration in MyTalent: Course #425839 (ABCs of Active Survival).

Information: Payroll Deductions over Summer

Employees who are currently contributing to a supplemental retirement plan account will have contributions taken out of their summer pay unless action is taken. If you work during the summer, regularly scheduled deductions will be taken out of your summer pay unless you elect to either stop or change the amount of your contribution. If you do not wish to contribute during the summer months, or if you wish to reduce the amount of your contribution, you are required to take action. If you are paying back a loan, deductions must be paid from all available payrolls. If you would like to stop or change contribution(s) to your North Carolina Supplemental Plan 401(k) or 457(b) account(s) during the summer months, please log on to their website NC State Plans or contact NCPlans/Empower directly at 1-866-627-5267. As a reminder, at the end of the summer, you will need to take action again if you would like to update your contributions following the same process outlined above.

AM Carpool Updates

As we approach the end of the school year, let's make these final weeks count by ensuring our carpool runs smoothly and safely. Your role in the morning drop-off is crucial, and here's how we can all contribute:

  • Be outside at 7:15 AM: Arriving at 7:10 AM gives you a few minutes to settle in and prepare to greet our students with a smile. If you are unable to attend carpool, please let me know. 

  • Safety First: With many students arriving, it's important to be alert and attentive, especially in the early morning when visibility is low.

  • Welcome Every Student: Greet each child warmly, regardless of their grade. Our goal is to provide the crown experience for all families.

  • Stay at Your Assigned Spot: Please avoid clustering with colleagues. Stand at your designated cone to ensure all car doors are attended to promptly.

  • Flexibility is Key: If we're short-staffed, be prepared to assist with opening multiple doors to keep the flow moving.

Thank you for your dedication and teamwork. Together, we can finish the year strong and continue to make a positive impact on our students and families.

CMS AI Updates

CMS is excited to share an update on the effort to create our vision for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education. We gathered input from more than 10,000 families, educators and community members through surveys, focus groups and interviews. 

We invite you to read the CMS AI Vision Report, now available at cmsk12.org/ai. This report shares themes in what we heard and outlines some of our next steps. We want to continue taking time to develop a thoughtful vision, which we are excited to complete and share in July.

Thank you for being part of this effort as we work together to ensure that AI is a tool for empowerment and excellence for all CMS students and staff.

Payroll Changes for 25-26 SY

The CMS Payroll department is committed to keeping you informed about changes to pay dates in 2025. Starting in the 2025-26 school year, employees who are paid monthly will see a shift in their pay dates in November and December. This notice is being provided more than one year in advance to allow for proper planning and budgeting.

November: The pay date will move to Nov. 28, reflecting the last business day of the month in 2025.

December: The pay date will move to Dec. 31.

Pay schedules will remain the same for biweekly employees, with paydays every other Friday. There was only one exception to this during the 2024-25 school year when there was a minor adjustment of one day during spring break.

Why is this change happening? Historically, the earlier pay dates before the holidays were necessary when payroll was handled manually, and employees needed to receive their checks before breaks when banks and couriers were not operational. However, with modern banking technology, especially direct deposit, these logistical issues no longer apply. Funds will be deposited to your account on the pay date, even if it falls on a holiday. Please note that direct deposit is a condition of employment, ensuring your pay is deposited on time regardless of holidays or closures. For monthly-paid employees, this change also helps address the unusually long gap of up to six weeks between December and January paychecks under the current system. Moving the December pay date to the end of the month ensures more consistency and compliance with North Carolina General Statutes, which mandate regular, predictable pay intervals. The decision to adjust the pay schedule was made to ensure legal compliance and fairness across the board. Please rest assured that we have considered the impact on employees and are providing more than a year's notice for proper planning. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our payroll team or your supervisor.

This legal alert provides information impacting every CMS employee when they create, share, and destroy records. Public records policy and law affects everything from emails, to text messages, to lesson plans, and beyond. Because records management is a part of North Carolina law, make sure you are aware of the following wildly important facts that are linked below.

Clothing Support For Students (MHES PTA)

The PTA understands the importance of having clothing items readily available in classrooms to address students’ needs quickly and discreetly. This ensures that if a student has an accident and needs a change of clothes, they won’t have to walk to the front office in wet or soiled clothing to access the Manatee Care Closet.

The MHES PTA is committed to minimizing classroom interruptions and supporting you in addressing these situations effectively. To help, we will help provide essential 2-4 sets of clothing items that can be kept in your classrooms. To request clothing for your class, please complete the form linked below:

You can use this form to restock as needed throughout the school year. Since this is a work in progress, we may adjust the form based on your needs and feedback. While the MHES PTA will do its best to fulfill all requests, please understand that our ability to gather and distribute these items depends on donations, volunteer support, and available funding. We respectfully ask for your patience as we work to meet these needs.

We also strongly encourage you to remind families to include a change of clothes in their child’s backpack, regardless of grade level. The PTA will share this reminder in our weekly updates to help ensure students are prepared for unexpected situations. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to our students. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or if you have additional needs.

CMS Good News Submissions

Share good news with CMS Communications!  Did you win an award? Have a colleague you'd like to give a shout-out to? Or maybe you have a classroom strategy you think is unique? Let us know! We'd love to hear from you.

Reminder: Atrium Clinic for Staff 

As a reminder, our Atrium Virtual Health Clinic isn’t just for students—staff can utilize it as well! If you need to see a provider, please reach out to Rick and/or Nurse Haley.

FAC Notes & Updates

Updates & Information

MHES Resources
CMS Resources