Crofton Middle School Families,

I hope you all are enjoying some relaxation and fun this summer!  As I enter my fourth year as principal at CMS, I am excited at the opportunity to continue to grow as a principal and work with amazing students, staff, and families!   

Our students have no doubt enjoyed their summer break, and I know they are looking to this coming year with emotions ranging from nervousness to excitement.  We are prepared to welcome them with open arms, support them as much as we can, and work with them to prepare them to be amazing scholars.   

We will be hosting our Back to School Night for 6th grade on August 20th from 4:00-5:30 and August 21st from 4:00-5:30 for our 7th and 8th graders. Teachers will be available at their door with one pagers to give some information to parents/guardians.  We will also have a Google Slides up in the classrooms introducing the teacher.  We will have some tables with information from our PTA, library, PE team, and many other experiences as well. 

This year’s event will be more of a community gathering than a “sit and get” experience.  We have secured the Kona Ice snowball truck if you would like to purchase a snowball (a donation will be made to our PTA from Kona Ice), and we are hoping to partner with our local police and fire department to have them on sight as well.  Our plan is to allow families to walk the building during this event and get to know your child’s teachers, school staff, and other parents. 

Like last year, we are allowing students to carry backpacks as long as they aren’t too big.  We are looking at the dimensions of 18x14x14 as a general rule of thumb.  We have to be mindful of our hallways and classrooms when it comes to this.  Each student will be assigned a locker if they choose to have one, so they are always able to place their book bags in their lockers, particularly if they are large.  Students will have time between classes to access their locker when needed.  Otherwise, we want students to go directly from one class to the next.  Standing in the hallways and meeting up with friends is not a preferred habit for this coming year.  Our hallways are just too crowded to allow students to hang out between classes.  Just as we have done in the past, the first few days of school will be to acclimate your child to the building and to welcome them back.  We are excited to see them back in the building for the 2024-25 school year!

We will be using our weekly Parent Blast communication as the common form of notifying parents of what is coming and/or what has happened at CMS.  Please get in the habit of looking at this communique consistently.  There is a new platform for notifying parents and communicating with parents/guardians.  More information to come on this process.  All schools in AACPS will also have new websites. Remember to also sign up for our Parent Portal.  This is the main method to check in on your child’s grades.  Please make sure to get in the habit of checking it consistently.  You can download an app on your cell phone and get updates for your child regarding attendance and grades in almost real time. We will have information on this and many more items at Back to School Night and on our website. 

Crofton Middle School was under construction for the 2023-24 school year.  We now have a new expanded cafeteria and 5 classroom additions as we start the 2024-25 school year!  We are excited to have more space for students and more classrooms for teachers.  We are also in the process of being approved for a new digital marquee thanks to the amazing support of our PTA.  Please join and partner with us throughout your child’s time here in middle school. For now, have fun, relax and enjoy your summer! 

Adam Zetwick, Principal