We are well into our first full month of the 2014/15 school year and I am very pleased with the integration of our freshman class and staff and welcome all the new families to our school community. I hope you can join me at the Meet the Principal event on Friday, October 10th at the Pacific Highlands Ranch clubhouse to learn more about CCA and meet our Vice Principals and counseling staff.

The CCA Foundation provides funding for programs that support every student every day at CCA. While your donations to the CCA Foundation support general academic programs, science, sports and the arts, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the exciting new Foundation-sponsored enrichment programs that are happening on CCA's campus in October.

Last year, our teachers were given the opportunity to share their personal interests with students and the community outside normal classroom hours. Our first enrichment courses provided opportunities for our students to garden, create in 3D animation and game design, and explore issues and themes in Social Justice. This year, we have expanded our enrichment program to include options for students to learn about Japanese Culture, Surfboard Shaping, Positive Communication Skills, and Disc Golf in short seminar-style sessions. These enrichment programs provide many benefits to our students, their families and our teachers, including increased access within the school community, expanding their knowledge base and developing deeper relationships in our school community. Our fall enrichment courses are scheduled to begin next Monday, September 29th (information will be emailed home today and Friday)! I am excited to support this program that allows our teachers to share their interests and our students to learn new skills in a relaxed environment, without the pressure of grades and AP tests.

We are pleased to share that peer tutoring is now available at the College and Career Center each Monday through Thursday from 3:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you haven't had a chance to stop by our College and Career Center to meet CCA's College and Career Center counselor, Darlene Burton, please do so. She is a wonderful resource for parents and students as they navigate the application process and explore post-secondary options. Due to a generous donation from one CCA family, the College and Career Center is fully funded for the next four years!

In concert with our 'vigilance' campaign, and aligned with our commitment to support the physical and emotional health and safety of our school community, we are hosting our first day of wellness. Our Raven Wellness team is collaborating on an all-school 'CCA Wellness Day' to explore themes of community, health/balance, leadership, and student connectedness. More information on the 'CCA Wellness Day' will be shared with parents in early October.

During the 2014/15 school year, the CCA Prop AA projects include new fields for athletics, a stadium near the track, and technology infrastructure upgrades for increased bandwidth as well as wireless connectivity. Please visit the CCA website for more information on the Prop AA projects. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we deal with the traffic and parking issues associated with these projects, the Middle School #5 adjacent to campus and the build-out of the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch across the street. Your student's safety is our top priority. 

As always, thank you for supporting the Canyon Crest Academy Foundation. Your support defines the unique experience we are able to provide for our student body.

Go Ravens!

The CCAF newsletter is designed to provide parents with key information about important issues and events at the school as well as Foundation-sponsored programs. Our intent is to minimize the number of communications you receive from the Foundation. Our goal is to publish the newsletter twice a month during the school year, although you may receive individual e-blast communications on an as-needed basis. The newsletter typically includes an update from Principal Mueller, a listing of current events, important dates and reminders as well as information on our fundraising efforts.

Each newsletter will spotlight a specific Foundation-sponsored program or event. This month, our spotlight is on QUEST - the STEM experience at CCA designation, which covers Foundation-supported science, technology, engineering and math programs. In addition to supporting our QUEST day classes, robotics and various math programs, this year, both Robotics and Science Olympiad will become Foundation-sponsored programs. There are multiple benefits available to these programs which come about through working with the Foundation. For example, as a non-profit, donations to the CCAF are tax deductible as allowed by law, corporate matching programs are applicable and these programs can apply for appropriate grants. These programs will also benefit from access to our marketing efforts, such as the newsletter, graphics and public relations activities. Moreover, our professionally run Foundation office guarantees your donations are applied as directed. Our VP QUEST, Julia Yang, manages the QUEST designation. If anyone is interested in joining Julia on our QUEST team, or if you have any questions about our QUEST designation, please contact Julia at quest@ccafoundation.org. While we appreciate your financial donations, we are also looking to expand this program, so your time is valuable to us as well.

For more information on CCA's robotics programs, please visit their website here.

For more information on CCA's Science Olympiad program, please visit their website here.

NEWS FROM COUNSELING

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