Dear Parents,

Several weeks ago you were asked to complete a parent survey for an important accreditation process involving all Amphitheater schools.

The systems accreditation process which is overseen by AdvancED will help us evaluate our effectiveness using research-based processes, determine how well we all work together to meet the needs of students, and make continuous school improvement.

I would like to thank the parents who have already completed the survey. However, we still need additional parents to complete the survey to clearly reflect your attitudes and opinions about CDO.  

Please consider taking the time to complete the survey. It should only take about 10-15 minutes. In order to complete the survey, please go to, or cut and paste, the following link into your browser:

http://www.advanc-ed.org/survey/public/section/response/begin?surveyConfigId=144617

Please be assured that your responses to this survey will be anonymous. Your honest opinion is appreciated. This parent survey will take the place of the longer Spring Climate Survey that you used to participate in.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely, 

Paul DeWeerdt Principal 

Canyon Del Oro Dance program is proud to announce our Winter Dance Concert Thursday, December 5th and Friday, December 6th at 7:00 pm.

Our own Dorado Dancers have created an evening of original works that include a wide variety of dance styles. These dancers have been working on learning the Fine Art of Choreography, which essentially is an art form that combines the ability to tell a story through movement and painting in three dimensions. This concert shows how the students have grown in their skills as dancers and choreographers. There are several dances that feature the beginning student, and this year we have a particularly talented group of beginning dancers.

The show will be in the Fine Arts Auditorium, and tickets are $ 5:00 at the door get there early to get a good seat.

On November 18^th the CDO Parent Organization hosted Meet your SROs Night. We hope to repeat this event in the spring, and there will be details to follow.

Topics discussed included: the SRO triad, topics presented to your children in the classroom, driver's license restrictions for first time drivers, the new drugs teenagers are getting into, and the rights of law enforcement officers inside the schools.

Parents who attended had a great opportunity to ask questions of the SROs in regards to specific issues they felt were occurring at CDO.

The benefits of being proactive regarding violations of the Student Code of Conduct were discussed, specifically, violations that require a long term suspension hearing and possible expulsion hearing. It is important to read and understand the school district's Student Code of Conduct.

We concluded the meeting with a presentation on safe driving programs. American Family Insurance offers a program called Drive-Cam, which has a video camera installed in your child's vehicle. The equipment is installed for free by Best Buy and your child's driving behaviors are analyzed by a third party and unsafe driving behaviors are sent to you as the parent. Please contact your insurance company to see if they offer the same program.

The SROs plan to bring a distracted driving program to CDO in the spring along with implementing a mass parent notification system so SROs can disseminate accurate information to parents as it pertains to a variety of emergency and non- emergency situations on campus.

We would like to thank those of you who attended and hope to see more of you in the spring. 

Officer Dan Horetski

dhoretski@amphi.com

The new issue of our student newspaper The Palantir is now available!  Click on the link or copy and paste into your browser.

http://enewspaper.makemynewspaper.com/marckaufman131/cdo-palantir-q2#.UpUZsqPn_cs      

Monday, December 9^th  at 7pm

Fine Arts Auditorium, CDO HS

Music to be performed:Overture to Messiah by Handel;

March and Trepak from the Nutcracker Ballet by Tchaikovsky;

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas; Christmas Eve/Sarajevo; and more. 

We hope that everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend (or, that you at least found some great black Friday deals!).

With two weeks of class left before final exams, we'd like to offer the following final exam study tips that you can share with your student:

• Don't wait until the last minute to start studying. Start at least a week or two ahead of time.
• Make sure you know what format your exams will be: multiple choice, true/false, essay, etc.
• Make a list of topics that will be covered on each exam.
• Use an active study strategy: flash cards, rewriting/summarizing notes, explaining the material to someone else, having someone quiz you on the material. Don't just reread your notes!!
• Don't stay up late the night before your exam cramming. Cramming leads to increased stress and may cause you to "blank out" when you take your test.
• Make sure you get a good night's sleep and that you eat a good breakfast the morning of your exam.
• When you take your test, make sure you read the directions carefully.
• Most of all, stay calm, relax, and know that you will do well on your exams if you put the time into studying that you need to. Best of luck to everyone on final exams!

A friendly reminder to seniors: As we enter the holiday season, we would like to remind you that your teachers and counselors are off the same days that you are. If you are in need of letters of recommendation, please plan accordingly so that they can be completed for you on time. Letters that are due on January 1, should be requested at least 2 weeks prior to the end of the semester. Letters requested on the last day of the semester will not be able to be completed in time for a January 1 deadline as many teachers and counselors travel during the winter break and will not be able to access their computers and/or the internet for you.

Parents of seniors, mark your calendar...College Goal Sunday & Saturday TOO! is coming in February

College Goal Sunday & Saturday TOO! is a statewide initiative for students and their family to get free, on-site professional assistance completing the FAFSA, the critical first step in paying for college. College Goal Sunday & Saturday TOO will be held on Saturday, February 22 and Sunday, February 23, 2014. Specific site and time information hasn't been released yet for the 2014 event, but as the event gets closer we will post specifics here or you can visit www.collegegoalsunday.com.

A note about 2^nd semester schedule changes:

Although most CDO classes are year-long classes and schedule changes are not needed at the semester break, occasionally a student may require a change in his/her schedule at semester. If this is the case for your student, please have him/her visit the counselor prior to winter break to have the change processed. Students only have 5 days into 2^nd semester to make any necessary changes and, due to the high volume of traffic in the counseling office at the start of the semester, it is best to make these changes prior to the break when possible and avoid the long lines that form after break.

Upcoming College Visits:

December 9, 9:30 am - Grand Canyon University

December 11, 9:00 am - Pima Community College

CDO's Winter Formal is Dec. 7^th at the TCC from 8-12.

We started selling tickets on Nov 12^th for $30, but the price goes up $5 each week with an additional $5 increase at the door (this week they will be $45).

Purchase your ticket in the Bookstore and make sure to bring your CDO ID. If you're planning to bring someone from another school, be sure to stop by the office and get a permission slip that must be filled out prior to purchasing your tickets. Tickets can be purchased before school and during both lunches.

Ticket prices pay for the facility, security, decorations, the DJ, and there will be water and cookies/brownies at the dance.

Webpages

Amphi Homepage

CDO Homepage

CDO Film

EZ pay for Cafeteria

Counseling 

Palantir Print Edition

Parent Portal

Project Grad

Tax Credit Info

CDO Silent Witness Hot Line

696-5564

Website

Officer Beauchamp:

Information

Regular Bell Schedule

MaxPreps

Facebook

Parent Organization

Amphi Project Grad

Athletics

Pom

Project Grad

Theatre

 SAT Test Dates @ CDO