Author: Heather Braswell-Ho

The Cabin John Book Fair wrapped up last Friday and raised more than $1300 for the CJMS Media Center! We were thrilled by the new vendor — Bookworm Central — for the quality and variety of books provided. Thanks to everyone who shopped the book fair, particularly those who bought items for teachers off their wishlists. Mark your calendars for April 2026 for our spring book fair! 

We would like to shout out Alex Downey, Dawn Bowman, and Amanda Klueger for organizing this year’s fair! And thank you to the PTSA board members and parent volunteers who helped staff the fair throughout the week. 

On the last half day before Thanksgiving break, Cabin John MS will be doing their annual Pie giveaway for staff. Staff write down what they are grateful for, and throughout the day, staff names are called and their gratitude is shared on the intercom. The staff who are selected, get to take home a pie. In previous years, we have been able to give staff over 40 pies as everyone begins their break. If you can donate a pie for this annual event, we would be very appreciative! Cabin John MS will accept pie donations on Monday, November 24th, and in the morning on Tuesday, November 25th. Thank you in advance for donating a pie!

Recently, two local families with children at Cabin John Middle School and Bells Mill Elementary School were severely affected by a devastating fire and have been displaced from their homes.

Our school communities are joining forces to support these families. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has already donated or offered assistance. As recovery continues, these families still need our help. If you’re able, please consider contributing items or gift cards—every donation, big or small, makes a meaningful difference.

For details on needed items and drop-off locations, please visit the sign up Genius link.

Winston Churchill High School Performing Arts brings us “Once Upon a One More Time”—a Britney Spears Musical that promises to entertain. The group is putting on multiple shows all this month; get your tickets here.

MCPS is inviting the community to participate in a Q&A engagement session on the boundary studies and the secondary academic programs analysis efforts. The session will be held Thursday, 11/13, at Winston Churchill High School in-person from 7:00-8:00 pm. Click the link to find out more about the engagement session and the secondary academic programs analysis.

Understanding the New Boundary Changes

Recently, MCPS released revised boundary study options for its opening of the new Crown High School in Gaithersburg. These options impact which middle school some of our Cabin John communities would attend. Please use the Interactive Map Tool to enter your home address and understand the impact of the options on your assignments. We want our community to be aware of the following changes:

• Two of the proposed options would split students from Bells Mill ES between CJMS and Hoover MS, then all move onto Churchill
• All of the proposed options would send students from Stone Mill ES to Frost MS and then onto Wootton
• All of the proposed options would send students from Cold Spring ES to Hoover MS and then onto Wootton
• All of the proposed options keep students from Seven Locks going to CJMS then onto Churchill

In addition, on October 30th, the Board of Education voted to allow MCPS to explore additional options that may include using Crown as a holding school while it completes renovations to Damascus, Magruder, and Wootton High schools. These options will be available in early December for public comment.

What can you do

• PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE BORDER STUDY OPTIONS TO MCPS USING THIS SURVEY. It is important to share which options you prefer and what you like and do not like about them. You may wish to comment again after additional options are released.
• Attend the upcoming engagement session (November 13, 7-8pm at Churchill) to learn more and provide feedback
• Share this information with your friends and neighbors
• Engage with the PTAs of your local Elementary Schools to learn more about their advocacy efforts
• Join the 11/18, Wootton Cluster Town Hall Meeting and Become a Wootton CIP Task Force Volunteer
• Information will be shared in Cougar Clips as it becomes available. Reach out to Debbie Fleischer at president@cabinjohnptsa.org if you have questions or would like to speak to the impact on the CJMS community.

Hi parents- the Bookworm Book Fair runs through Friday, November 14 at 3:15pm. Parents, stop in during the school day to shop for your student and buy a book for a teacher from their wish list posted in the Media Center. Please be sure to check in at the front office before heading down to the fair.

If your child is shopping themselves and you prefer not to send them to school with cash or a credit card, you can also fund an eWallet for your student here. You can set the maximum spending limit, but your card only gets charged for what is actually spent.

We’d love your help -whether you can work a shift or more during the fair, or help with cleanup, your time and support make a big difference. Sign Up to Volunteer

Thank you for supporting the Book Fair — it is an amazing fundraiser that supports the Media Center and directly benefits all our students.

Wootton Cluster Town Hall

The Wootton Cluster Town Hall will be held at 7pm in the Wootton Cafeteria. It will be focused on the boundary study and Wootton Rebuild. Everyone from the cluster is welcome to attend. Before the town hall, they will also have facility tours and small group discussions. Below is the schedule:

• 5:30PM  Wootton Facility Tours for elected officials led by SGA
• 6:00PM  Cluster PTA leaders and Wootton SGA leaders discussion with elected leaders (facilitated by Norean). The goal here is to share the problems (focused on health and safety) and have the elected leaders discuss their ideas
• 7:00-9:00PM  Wootton Cluster Town Hall–Sally McCarthy from MCCPTA will present on the boundary study and CIP and then EACH PTA president or designee will have two minutes to share any concerns/challenges that they are facing. Natalie Zimmerman who is the BOE representative for the Wootton cluster, will be there. It is possible that other elected leaders and MCPS leaders could stay. 

Wootton CIP Task Force – Volunteers Needed

The exclusion of Wootton from the latest CIP has prompted the Wootton PTSA to form a CIP Task Force, a coordinated effort to advocate for the long-overdue renovation of Wootton.

Several subcommittees have been established to help drive this work:

• PR, Media & Communications Subcommittee
• Advocacy & Government Engagement Subcommittee
• Data Analysis Subcommittee
• Architectural & Facilities Subcommittee
• Legal Affairs Subcommittee
• Fundraising Subcommittee

The Wootton PTSA is seeking volunteers with expertise in areas such as structural or mechanical engineering (HVAC, electrical, plumbing), environmental health (air quality, mold, asbestos), ADA accessibility, data analysis, policy research, education/civil rights law, communications, or photography. Wootton alumni and community advocates are also welcome!

Interested? Please fill out this short form to join:
Call for Volunteers – Join the Wootton CIP  Task Force

The Cabin John Middle School PTSA is proud to participate in the 2025-2026 National PTA Reflections Program. 

We are now accepting submissions for this year’s theme: “I Belong!” 

Display your creativity via Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, or Visual Arts.

For details, submission forms, contest rules, and questions, please visit: https://cabinjohnptsa.org/reflections-arts-program/.  

Submission Deadline: Friday, December 5, 2025.

We did it! We reached our goal of 450 members! Thank you to everyone who joined and helped us get there! Your support makes it possible for us to fund programs, events, and resources that make our school community shine. But we’re not stopping now – every new member strengthens our impact and helps us do even more for our students, families, and school staff. Plus, members get access to our online PTSA Directory. If you haven’t joined yet, there’s still time – become a PTSA member today and be part of something great!

Join and Donate HERE!