Crossroads Middle School Courage, Commitment, Character January 2016

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1 Crossroads Middle School Courage, Commitment, Character January 2016 Principal s Perspective Karen Harr Greetings Parents and Guardians! I hope you had a wonderful time over the holiday break. Everything is running smoothly at Crossroads and I am constantly amazed with the hard work and dedication I am seeing in our students. A few upcoming items to note: 1. End of Course Tests: End of Course semester testing will begin on January 14 th. 2. Awards Assembly: Please plan on joining us for our first semester Awards Assembly on January 29. We will begin at 8:30 a.m. Awards will be handed out for Perfect Attendance, Honor Roll, and outstanding behavior will be recognized. Winter weather is upon us, and we need to stress safety. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately (coats and footwear) for the weather conditions. Coats are a must as students will be going outside for lunch unless the temperature drops drastically. The CMS staff is committed to providing your child with the best education possible. Our focus this year is Courage Up, and we are working with our students on overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of success. We have seen tremendous growth already this year in academic achievement, behavior, and improved student accountability. Attendance in class is a critical factor in your child s success. If you have any concerns or positives about your child s grades, please contact the teacher. Thank you so much for your support and teamwork on this endeavor. Best wishes and enjoy the New Year! Karen Harr AWARDS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 29 TH 8:30 AM HONOR ROLL PERFECT ATTENDANCE STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

2 Counselors Corner Beth Vawter & Natalie Dalos The school year has really flown by! Although we are not quite to the halfway point of this year we are already beginning to think about next school year. Here is some very important information for you and your CMS student about next school year so please read carefully! Current 7 th graders: All CMS 7 th graders will receive their registration forms in their advisory class on February 5 th. All current CMS 7 th graders will be automatically enrolled in 8 th grade (no interview necessary) unless the counselors are notified otherwise. 7 th graders will receive information with registration about elective selections available. 8 th graders: Parents/guardians: Please mark your calendars for CMS Get Ready for High School Night on Thursday, February 4 5:30 PM! If you are unsure about the high school options, want to know the pros/cons of each option and ask general questions, please plan to attend and bring your student with you! We will also have Meridian Academy Principal Dustin Barrett available at this event to speak about MA and answer your questions. At Get Ready for High School Night you will also have the opportunity to hear from a panel of former CMS students who are currently attending high school (we aim for a good representation of academy, charter and traditional school students). There are also a list of Important Dates for High School Registration that is posted to the Counselor s Corner (click on Counseling Resources) of the CMS website. The Open Houses for Meridian Technical Charter HS, Renaissance HS and Meridian Medical Arts HS are all before the CMS Get Ready for High School Night so if you are interested in what these schools offer please check out this document as well as the schools websites. If you have any questions about this process for either your 7 th or 8 th grader please do not hesitate to contact the CMS counselors! Thank You A Big Thank You to the students and families who donated to our Treasure Trove Project. With the over $900 we raised our Builders Club was able to buy Christmas presents for 5 families in need! Clothing Assistance If you are struggling to provide clothing, shoes or hygiene products for your CMS student there are several resources available. Please speak with Counselors Natalie Dalos or Beth Vawter for more information. Drama Production January 20 at 5:30 pm Attendance Students attending Crossroads are allowed three absences per class period during the semester. Students who receive four absences in any class will lose credit unless the absences are excused. For an excused absence the student/parent must bring a doctor note that states the student name and the dates that the student should be excused for illness. If you have questions please call the school office at

3 Nurse s Corner Medication at School When a student needs to take medicine at school, whether daily all school year or just a few days, the following guidelines must be followed: 1) Any medication brought to school must come in the original container. a. Prescription medication must be in the prescription bottle with the correct label that includes the student s name, name and dose of the medicine, directions for taking the medicine, doctor s name, pharmacy s name, and current date. Most pharmacies will give you 2 bottles, one for home and one for school. b. When medication doses change the current prescription bottle needs to reflect that new dose. c. Over the counter medicine must be in the original container with a note from the parent/guardian giving directions that include what the medicine is for, when, and how much is to be given. If parent directions do not follow the guidelines written on the label regarding frequency and dose, the medicine will not be given without a written note from a doctor. 2) Written consent for giving medication from a parent/guardian must accompany any medicine brought to school. a. For long-term medications (those given at school for longer than a week) a parent/guardian must complete the Medication Consent Form and it must be returned to the nurse before any medication is given to the student. b. Short term medications, like antibiotics given for just a few days at school, must come with a written note from a parent/guardian that includes consent for the School Nurse or their designee to give the medicine to the student and directions for when and how much is given. For the safety of your student, no medication of any kind will be given to a student unless it comes in its original container. Medicine that comes in baggies, envelopes or any improperly labeled container will be sent home without being given. Most medications that are taken 3 times per day or less can be administered at times outside of school hours. Unless specifically directed by your doctor, give it before school, as soon as the student arrives home, and at bedtime. If you have any questions please call Sue Ropski RN, CMS School Hello from the Storyteller Hey, this is Madison and Iyla reporting from Mr. Zumbrun s Digital Publication Class. Early this fall, our classroom learned the steps of producing videos and we are now student storytellers. Some of our projects included: October s Natural High Videos, November s Veteran s Day Videos, and our last video project was on Tablet Safety. Our current project is Why CMS is a Good School and it is sure to be fantabulous. All four student production teams are working on videos that highlight the staff, students, fun activities in our school, and finally our CMS motto... Courage, Commitment and Character. The final project will be published on our CMS website, and we hope future students will get to see how great Crossroads Middle School really is. Every month we create new projects, so stay tuned for more of our amazingly great updates on the stories of CMS.

4 Courage, Commitment, Character CROSSROADS MIDDLE SCHOOL 650 N. Nola * Meridian, ID * Phone: (208) * Fax: (208) CROSSROADS MIDDLE SCHOOL recognized as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and technology, has recognized Crossroads Middle School as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School. Crossroads Middle School has demonstrated its commitment to taking a wholecommunity approach to preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. "We applaud the faculty and staff of Crossroads Middle School for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students' education," said Rebecca Randall, vice president of education programs for Common Sense Education. Crossroads Middle School deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large." Crossroads Middle School has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to Internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. The free resources are currently used in more than 90,000 classrooms nationwide. "We're honored to be recognized as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School," said Karen Harr. "By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them unlimited opportunities to maximize and personalize their learning." For more information about Crossroads Middle School, go to Westada.org. To learn more about the criteria Crossroads Middle School met to become certified as a Common Sense Certified School, visit

5 Do you have questions about High School Honors, Advanced Placement, Concurrent Credit and/or Tech Prep credit courses? Is your student registering for a High School Honors, Advanced Placement, Concurrent Credit or Tech Prep course? Is this your student s first High School Honors, Advanced Placement, Concurrent Credit or Tech Prep course? If so, please plan to attend the important Advanced Opportunities Parent Information Night at West Ada School District 1303 E. Central Drive Meridian, ID Thursday, February 4, 2016 Time: 6:30 8:00 pm Location: Auditorium (Please park and enter at the east end of the building.) -

6 January 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Bully Awareness/ Kindness Week MAP Math 14 EOC- Science Art/Drama 15 EOC Art/Drama No School Human Rights Day 19 EOC WCiv/Geo 20 EOC WCiv/Geo 5:30 21 EOC-Health Science 22 EOC- Science Cougar Time End of Semester Semester Awards Assembly February 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 National School Counselor s Week High School Night 6: No School Presidents Day