Dear CRMS Parents, 

What a great start to another promising year.  I first want to say thank you to our wonderful staff and PTC (Parent Teacher Club) for another successful Open House.  Our student and parent attendance shows how much you care, and we thank you for taking the time to be here.  If you missed us please feel free to stop by anytime. Your child's education is our #1 priority.  We are working very hard to assure that we create a safe and positive learning environment for all students.  Cedar Ridge is dedicated to growing every student.  Our vision is very clear: We are encouraging all students to be successful here at Cedar Ridge as well as preparing them for the rigors of high school.  

I appreciate this opportunity to serve as the Principal of Cedar Ridge.  I believe that we are the best kept secret in Sandy, Oregon.  Cedar Ridge is a wonderful place to be a student, staff member, and principal.  We thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to another great year.  

Sincerely

Mr. Newell

Principal, CRMS 

We began this year with a traditional week that included a Welcome Back Assembly, picture day and a rotation of behavior expectations.  Our volleyball team is preparing for their first match, band students have picked up their instruments and our first dance is this coming Friday after school (parent permission slips are required).  Remember, students who have already paid for an ASB sticker will get in for free.  This is just the beginning of a great year.  Please continue to follow us by signing up for email alerts on our schools website. Please use the link above access our homepage.

Garet Luebbert is returning to the CRMS staff this year, this time as the new Oregon Trail Middle School Athletic Director and the Dean of Students at CRMS and BMS.  Mr. Luebbert will be helping with discipline and behavioral interventions at both schools, spending Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday afternoons at CRMS.  Mr. Luebbert is excited to be back at Cedar Ridge, and he will be a great addition to the team!

We are off and running.  Literally, the annual Jog-a-thon is right around the corner on Sept. 27^th.  This is a wonderful activity that raises money for the school and lets our students get out and exercise while building unity throughout the school as we work towards one goal.  This fundraiser helps pay for end of the year field trips.

 $30 per family will allow you to Opt-Out  of all PTC fundraisers this year. The advantage is that 100% of the money stays at Cedar Ridge and you will not have to sell cookie dough, magazines, or participate in any other fundraisers! With your donation, you will receive a CRMS Booster Sticker and your donation is 100% tax deductible. 

We have many volunteer opportunities at Cedar Ridge and would love to have you join us. From the jog-a-thon in September straight through to the Cedar Ridge Olympics in May, on to the 8th grade banquet in June with many other events in between. If you are interested, remember to fill out the Volunteer forms located on our web site or available in the school office. If you have filled out the forms this year at another OTSD school you will not have to fill them out again at our school. 

You might notice a few little changes taking place around campus.  The District is helping all Oregon Trail School District Schools with some much needed safety upgrades.  Here at Cedar Ridge they have already started with a perimeter fence.  This fence is intended to help keep our students and staff safe.  Construction has also begun as we change the lobby space.  We will be adding a second set of safety doors along with rearranging the front office and adding a new window.  The good news is you will still get the same great service just with a different look to the lobby.  As we progress through the construction we ask for your patience.  The end result is a safe school for all.

We have made some improvements to our schedule including alternating band and choir classes, and we have added another class to our talented Project Lead the Way program.  This program focuses on engineering and robotics.  We are also offering orienteering, ESPN, media arts, mock trial, journalism, typing, and computers just to name a few.  We are able to continue to offer advanced classes in Mathematics and Science.  Several support classes include Language Arts Sheltered classes, a Social Studies sheltered class, and three Literature Lab classes along with three Math Lab classes will definitely help support all of our student's needs. The improvements focus on helping all our student do their very best and find success here at Cedar Ridge. 

 Our focus this year is on improving our ability to integrate technology into our curriculum which includes a school-wide push for our students to continue to use a web-based learning program called Moby Max.  Moby Max places a focus on assessing and identifying areas of improvement for individual students in the areas of Math, Math facts, Language, Vocabulary, Reading, and Writing.  Our students have already completed 790 standards, 356 tests, 853 lessons just in Math alone.  Our goal is important:  We want your student to improve and find success.  We would encourage all parents to use this free and effective tool at home.  Every single student already has logged on and used Moby Max so they are set to go.  Please feel free to support us and encourage your student to log on at home and use this effective tool.  Just click on the link to access the login page http://www.mobymax.com/signin.

As another school year gets off to a great start, I'd like to take the opportunity to reintroduce myself to all parents and let you know what I do as a counselor.  As the counselor at Cedar Ridge my goal is to help students to become successful in all areas of their lives.  I work with students individually and in groups on many different issues including: academics and study skills; friendship issues; bullying and harassment; family problems; and any other issues that may come up in a student's life.  I am also here to work with parents and provide resources for families in need. 

I will be beginning my small counseling groups soon.  The groups that I facilitate cover topics such as: divorce/family changes, coping with stress, conflict management, friendship, girls group, study skills, and grief/death of a loved one.  I often receive referrals from teachers as to which students might benefit from participating in a group.  However, I would love to get referrals from parents as well.  If you would like your student to participate in a small counseling group with me, please contact me.

I want to invite all parents to call me or email me whenever you have academic, behavioral, or social concerns regarding your student. I am happy to provide referrals for services and resources, as well as help problem solve.  Please let me know if I can be of service to you, your student, or your family.

Becky Curry

becky.curry@ortrail.k12.or.us