Hello Eagle Families!

If you did not watch the school board meeting Thursday night, there was a phase-in plan proposed, voted on and approved where some students who selected in-person will begin attending classes at school on September 8th. You can watch the August 27 board meeting here and I have included some key information slides below for your reference.

Need-to-Know information right now:

• Starting Sept 8th, only 6th graders, staff students (in any grade-level), & students who have a Special Education IEP who previously selected "in-person" may return to campus.

• If you previously selected in-person and have changed your mind (want your student to remain virtual), you may email your grade-level counselor to make that change.

• If you previously selected virtual and have changed your mind (want to change your student to "in-person"), we will be sharing a form next week to switch to “in-person” during your grade-level phase for the beginning of the second cycle grading period (Sept 21st).

• Beginning Sept 21st, 7th graders and students who receive direct services for dyslexia through 504 who have selected "in-person" may return to campus.

• Beginning Sept 28th, 8th graders who have selected "in-person" may return to campus.

• Early this week, we will provide more details on the phase-in plans for athletics, fine arts, extracurriculars, etc.

• If you currently do not have access to the internet for virtual learning, please call 512-570-3500 to be connected with your AP. You must have pre-arranged approval to begin attending "in-person" prior to your grade-level's phased timeframe.

We know that there are still questions about what in-person and this phase-in plan will look like, so we will be hosting a webinar for CRMS parents and students on Sept 2nd at 4:30 to address your questions. And here is another tip as you may be preparing for your student to return in-person: all students will need a set of headphones in class (preferably with a built in microphone). Students in classrooms will be at times on Zoom or doing small group activities with students at home virtually, so the students in person will need headphones to be able to hear clearly and participate while at school. If you are unable to provide your student with headphones, we will have some available for use in the classroom.

As well, we also know there are mixed feelings across the community on students returning to the school building in-person. We are doing our best to follow guidelines and safety protocols, but please know that many of our social distancing protocols are only going to be effective if those who are electing to remain virtual continue to do so. The more students who attend in-person, the less likely it will be for us to fully and effectively socially distance. Students will be wearing masks at all times except while eating in the cafeteria. Students will not get to congregate in the hallways during passing periods, and passing periods will be shortened. Lockers will not be used. Restroom procedures will be different. Students will move between classes, but in the classroom, the teacher will be teaching to both virtual and in-person students simultaneously. We want to be as transparent as we can be about what "in-person" will look like and will share more details with you at the webinar on Wednesday. In the meantime, if you have changed your mind and want your student to remain virtual, you may email your grade-level counselor to make that change. If you are sticking with your prior selection, there is NO need to email or complete a form.

We are so grateful for all the community encouragement of our teachers and students! If we can help support your student or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to myself, your AP, or your counselor.

Go Eagles

Mrs. Wendy Sturdevant

Instagram: Canyon_Ridge_MS

Twitter: @Sturdevant_CRMS

Regular In-Person Bell Schedule 2020-21:

1st/5th period 8:10 - 9:40

2nd/6th period 9:45-11:15

3rd/7th period 11:20-1:50 (*includes 6 lunches for in-person instruction)

4th/8th period 1:55-3:25

Please note as we transition to having students both in-person and virtual, here is our bell schedule. The times for 1st/5th, 2nd/6th and 4th/8th will NOT change for virtual students. But the lunch and synchronous time for virtual students may vary some depending on your 3rd/7th period teacher.

Lunch Groups determined by your 3rd/7th period Teacher/Class. Please note: Students may be in Blue lunch group on A day and Gold lunch group on B day or vice versa. More details coming this week!

Join our CRMS Site-Based Committee! This campus advisory committee consists of parents, staff, community members and business owners. We meet approximately 4 times throughout the school year to review campus plans and needs, activities, staff development, etc.

If you are wanting to participate, and available to be on the campus committee this year, will you please complete this sign-up form by September 4th. Part of the form and sign-up process is to determine the best time to meet for the most amount of people.

The input of our parents, staff and community is so critical as we work together to support all of our Eagle stakeholders.

Students receiving the accommodation of oral administration of passages/reading text can receive that accommodation at home for material presented digitally. Students can access Read&Write for Google Chrome from their device. With this feature, students can highlight the text and have it read through text to speech using the little purple puzzle piece icon near the search bar. It also includes a dictionary feature so students can see definitions and pictures of words they do not know. Follow the link for a video on how to use Read&Write.

Students receiving the accommodation of agenda checks/due dates provided can have access to that accommodation at home through Google Classroom. You can use the To Do List or Google Calendar feature on Google Classroom to keep track of all incoming and missing assignments with their respective due dates. Please watch the video on how to access these features. (starting at the 4:45 min mark)

Please join us in subscribing to the Canyon Ridge Middle School PTA for the 2020-2021 school year. To be a voting member, you must renew your membership each year.

Each grade-level has a letter with contact information here for your reference:

6th Grade Letter from Mrs. Dean

7th Grade Letter from Mrs. Cote

8th Grade Letter from Mrs. Gripentrog

We are so grateful to the Viper Nation Academic Booster Club who provided a grant last week for our CRMS Math teachers to utilize Go Formative during this school year. Our teachers and students are now even more prepared for Virtual Empowered Learning.

As we approach the Fall school picture day, we want to be certain that we have communicated our plans to photograph the students in attendance and the students who have chosen virtual learning. As in the past, in-school students will be photographed with adjustments for physical distancing and protective wear on the part of the photographers. (Photo Texas school photos plan for 2020-21 including safety protocols.)

Arrangements are also being made to photograph your virtual students. Here is a Photo Texas Video of school photos plan outlining the process for outdoor photos. When photo dates are confirmed, a sign-up link and link for on-line prepayment for photos will be provided for these virtual families. Parents will bring students to an outdoor location at their scheduled time. Safety protocols will remain the same for outdoor and indoor photos.

• Students are required to attend all synchronous learning opportunities. Attendance will be taken during the first 10 minutes of the period. If a student is not in attendance during live instruction, the student will be counted absent for the class period.
• For Advisory period, students are REQUIRED to attend a brief check-in during Virtual Empowered Learning with their teacher for attendance. Advisory is required so that we may distribute necessary updates and students are assigned on their schedule to one of their teachers for attendance during Advisory class period.
• During Virtual Empowered Learning, Homeroom time on the bell-schedule has no required attendance. Students may request tutoring, work on assignments, take a longer lunch break, etc.
• If your child has technical/internet difficulties during the synchronous class time, please contact the teacher that day so he or she can assist your child.
• If your child is ill or unable to attend synchronous instruction for the class period/day, please submit a parent note/doctor note within 2 days of the absence through email to crmsattendance@leanderisd.org.

Required information:
Student’s First & Last Name
ID Number & Grade
Reason for Absence
Parent Signature & Phone Number
Current Date

While at home, we still have technical support for you! Here are some options:

Technology Help resources

Need a laptop, District device is broken or needs to be replaced or a password reset? Call 512-570-3500 and if necessary, we can help arrange for a replacement at the campus.

Zoom or Webpages (Including Google) Not Loading– Content Keeper Issue

• I’m very sorry, but we are having multiple content-keeper (school internet filtering) issues at the moment. This is the same thing that caused high schools to delay school starting this week. Unfortunately, this seems to be impacting our students ability to get into Zoom or Google on district devices, it should still work fine on personal devices (including cell phones). Our central technology team is working around the clock on a resolution to the problem and we are seeing improvements. Please accept our apologies for these technical issues and please hang in there, once the issue is resolved it should just start working for you again.

Parents and students! If you missed out on ordering a yearbook last year and you would like to purchase the 2019-2020 yearbook, now is your chance! Books can be purchased online through September 30, 2020 for $50. After purchase, please keep your receipt. Pick up will be at reception once school is back in person." Please email Jared.Lichtenberger@leanderisd.org with any questions.

As the upcoming school year takes shape, we want to ensure the information families need to make important decisions is easy to access in our Launch to Learning 2020-21 guides.

• COVID-19 Health Response

• Teaching and Learning Guide

• Special Programs Guide

We know that our community still has questions, so we’ve worked hard at cultivating an expansive, updated FAQ section of the Launch to Learning site. The latest additions will be highlighted green for a few days and then moved into a queue under the appropriate heading.

AP/Counselor by grade-level:

• 6th: Cassandra Ricks/Shirley Dean
• 7th: Mandi Vogel/Staci Cote
• 8th: Monica Diaz Carle/Lauren Gripentrog

Instagram: Canyon_Ridge_MS

Email: wendy.sturdevant@leanderisd.org
Website: https://crms.leanderisd.org/
Phone: 512-570-3500
Twitter: @Sturdevant_CRMS