Ridge Relay

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 16th is Unity Day - we encourage all students and faculty to please join us in wearing Orange as we all encourage kindness, acceptance and inclusion as part of Bullying Awareness Month.

Reminder: Students have no school Monday and Tuesday, November 4-5th for a teacher professional learning days.

Go Eagles!

Mrs. Wendy Sturdevant

Friday, October 18th, 6-8pm

(Enter in the bus lane, doors by the cafeteria)

Fun activities, dance, concession stand, etc. for 6th-8th graders

Halloween theme, costumes encouraged for contest but not required, or neon colors (Costumes may include face paint or masquerade style masks, but no full face masks or props.)

CRMS Glow Party Admission Tickets - Glow Party Online Tickets are no longer available (as of 10/18 at 10:30am) - all tickets are now $10 cash at the door. Credit cards will not be accepted in person. Cash only at the event for tickets and concessions.

Do you like movies? Would you like to MAKE A MOVIE? What about a Short Film?
For anyone interested in making short films: CRMS Library is hosting a Student Film Festival and Trivia Night THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17TH 6:00 - 7:30.

• Join us for a fun family trivia night and support our student movie-makers! Answer questions, enjoy popcorn and short films in between trivia rounds, and have fun in teams of 2 to 6 people! We have prizes for winning teams, and look forward to seeing you Thursday, October 17th from 6:00 - 7:30.
  
• The team sign-up link is here.

See your Theatre Arts teacher, Mrs. Roth or your friendly neighborhood librarian, Mrs. Wright if you have questions!

State mandated spinal screens will be taking place at your child's campus on 10/29/2024. Trained screeners will check your child for signs of spinal problems like scoliosis.

• Girls will be screened two times, once in 5th grade and again in 7th grade.
• Boys will be screened one time in 8th grade.

Here is the letter explaining the process

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Rachael Kristoff RN, BSN

Canyon Ridge Middle School Nurse

512-570-3507

The CRMS PTA Reflections Arts Program encourages students to tap their inner creativity and express themselves through their artwork. CRMS submissions are due by October 20, 2025.

For the 2024-25 school year, students are invited to reflect on a common theme — "Accepting Imperfection" — and submit original artwork in one of six categories. Click on the links listed below for category rules:

• Dance Choreography. (Spanish)
• Film Production (Spanish)
• Literature (Spanish)
• Music Composition (Spanish)
• Photography (Spanish)
• Visual Arts (Spanish)
• Accessible Arts Division (Spanish) - option for students with disabilities

Reflections has been a staple arts program in many schools allowing students to find a creative outlet in many categories.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions to our CRMS PTA Reflections Chair Swati Shah at reflections2425@gmail.com.

All Pro Dads started at CRMS! This new opportunity this year is for dads (or any adult figure in the student's life) to spend time with their children (boy or girl) at school, strengthen their relationship, connect with other CRMS parents and learn more about our school. We will host the sessions about once a month for dads to connect at school and get involved at CRMS.

Join us for our next meeting October 25th at 8:05am to learn more and talk about what you want to do to get more connected as a parent at CRMS.

RSVP ahead of time so we have you checked-in to save time when you arrive.

Our annual CRMS book fair is a student favorite. All students will get to visit the book fair during their ELA classes during the school day, plus we have the family evening on Monday, October 21st, 4:20-7:00pm.

Scholastic CRMS Book Fair Page to set up eWallet

Here is the SignUpGenius page for Volunteers

Each year, the volleyball team does an annual skills camp which is super fun for the kids and also helps raise money to support Vandegrift volleyball.

This year it will be held on October 19th from 1-4pm (for K-6th grade)

Sign-up for Lil Diggers here

Leander ISD is seeking parents and teachers interested in participating on a committee to review current LISD instructional resources that have been formally challenged. Please complete the attached form by Monday, Oct. 30, if you would like to be considered for the 2024–25 Reconsideration Committee. Committee participants will read the challenged resource in its entirety and meet to determine whether it conforms to the principles of selection set out by Board Policies EFA (Local) and EFB (Local). Those who fill out the form will be selected at random to participate in the process.

Join the award-winning Legacies Dance Team for their 2024 Fall Dance Camp

(1st-6th grade)

and Dance Workshop

(7th-10th grade - a great opportunity for aspiring Legacies!)

November 5th, 2024

8:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Vandegrift High School

9500 McNeil Drive, Building 2

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION NOW OPEN UNTIL October 22!

We are excited to invite you to our Family Workshop Conference Day on Friday, October 25th from 10am - 1pm at LEO Center. Join us for a day filled with engaging learning and opportunities to connect with families in our community. RSVP today to explore our upcoming choice sessions

The Special Programs Parent Advisory Council invites you to join us for our upcoming October meetings! Open to all LISD families, this is a wonderful opportunity to connect with others in the community. You can RSVP here.

Hello families, the latest Special Programs newsletter is here! Learn about our upcoming events, disability awareness, Leander Lazers, SELF 18+ and community resources.

Each year, LISD offers students an opportunity to take an Exam for Acceleration (EA) at no cost to the family. LISD offers four EA testing windows each school year. Click this link for more information and dates. Students and parents can request the exam through their grade level counselor. The second testing window of 24/25 and the deadline to register is listed below.

Testing Window Two:

• Time: December 2-13, 2024

• Registration Deadline: November 1, 2024 by noon

• Location: CRMS

• Logistics: Arranged with student's counselor, LISD, & UTHS

• Additional Info: High school credit courses only; CRMS counselors recommend waiting until March or June for testing.

Note: Students who pass an Exam for Acceleration in the December 2024 testing window will complete the 2024-2025 school year in his/her current class. Students will receive their acceleration in the 2025-2026 school year.

Veterans Day is quickly approaching on November 11th! We want to take the time to recognize and honor Veteran's in our Eagle Community. We are creating a video to show our appreciation and give thanks to all who have served our country with grace and honor. The video will include various student pieces, and we would really love to feature our veteran community members. Please complete this Veteran's Day form if you are a veteran or have a veteran in your family that you would like to honor. Form submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, November 6th.

*In our next Ridge Relay newsletter, we will include more information on our Veteran's Day Ceremony. We look to wearing Red, White & Blue in honor of our Veteran's on Monday, November 11th.

CRMS Clubs and Organizations Site

• Running Club starts October 21st and is open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders. See Coach Lichtenberger for more information.

• FCA has kicked off. See Coach Woolery for more information. FCA is open to all students regardless of grade level or athletic involvement.

• Drama Club is starting! See Mrs. Roth or Mrs. Ball for more information.

• Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) Club has started too! Friday Mornings @ 8:15 am (Students must be at the Main Entrance by 8:15 to be met by Ms. Adams)
  

  
  

Students who finish coursework have the opportunity to complete projects that interest them - any school-appropriate topic, almost any format. So like a science fair, but the project could be anything - preventing animal abuse, demonstrating features of muscle cars, code-breaking, a timeline of shoe fashion, and more. We are hosting a share fair with Four Points Middle School for students who complete projects this fall and this spring. Participating students who are responsible to come and work in the library with a pass from class can do research and project development in the library - see Mrs. Wright for passes and Google Classroom code details.

Attention Parents! Has a teacher or staff member at CRMS made a difference that you believe merits recognition? If so, nominate him or her to receive the Golden Eagle Award. Each week, from the Eagle community's nominations, a worthy faculty or staff member will be awarded the Golden Eagle. Recipients of the Golden Eagle Award have the privilege of keeping the coveted Golden Eagle statue in their office or classroom until the next faculty or staff member is recognized. Please nominate someone today!

Golden Eagle Award Nomination Form

All tickets for all high school and middle school athletic events hosted at LISD facilities will be sold online only. There will be NO cash sales at the gate.

Tickets can be purchased through link on the athletics webpage:

https://www.leanderisd.org/athletics_ticketspasses/

Important Attendance Reminders:

• Absence notes should be emailed to crmsattendance@leanderisd.org within 48 hours of the absence.
  

• When you email the school, please include the student's first and last name and ID #. Student nicknames can cause confusion with attendance coding.Please note why the student was absent or what kind of appointment they had (medical/dental) otherwise it will be unexcused due to lack of info.

• If you will be picking up your child from school early, please call the school (512-570-3500) ahead of time to let the Receptionist know. This allows our Receptionist time to get a pass written ahead of time and helps to move the process along more quickly. The latest a student may be picked up early is 4pm due to our end-of-day dismissal.
  

• The only people who will be permitted to pick up a child will be parents/guardians and those individuals listed as an emergency contact in your Home Access Center (HAC). Due to safety reasons, we are no longer allowing a parent to call in and give permission for someone to pick up your child during the school day other than those listed in HAC.

  We do not allow early pick up after 4:00pm.

• If you feel like there is an error for a particular class period, please email the teacher directly first. For example, if your student was tardy and the teacher accidentally already marked the student absence, email the teacher because the attendance office has to have it in writing from the teacher before attendance can update anything

• There is a turn around time in updates if a student was with the nurse, AP, counselor, etc. It is not necessary to email the attendance office. Please remember that we have 1000 students so it will take 2-4 business days to show the update. We appreciate your patience and understanding that our team is working tirelessly to support all of our Eagles!

Leander ISD has partnered with MySchoolBucks as our new online store. You can easily pay online for school items and add money to your student's lunch account. We are adding new items to the store everyday.

Create your free MySchoolBucks account to conveniently and securely pay for your student’s school fees online or with the mobile app.

With MySchoolBucks you’ll be able to quickly browse school items in our School Store, be notified when fees are due, and make payments from anywhere!

Get Started Today:

1. Go to myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app
2. Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID or birthdate
3. Add school items or invoices to your cart
4. Check out using your credit / debit card or electronic check.

We appreciate you using this online option as a way to help reduce the amount of physical cash and checks that our staff would need to handle for these school fees.

If you need assistance with your account, you can find helpful how-to videos and answers to commonly asked questions by visiting myschoolbucks.com. Or, you can contact MySchoolBucks directly by logging into your account to start a chat conversation or give them a call at (855) 832-5226.

Thank you,

Leander ISD

Please Note:

• $$$ account for snacks, additional food
• Snacks may not always be available all year long due to staffing shortages
• For the 24/25 school year, students who qualify for reduced price, breakfast will be free and lunch will be reduced.
• You must apply each year for free/reduced lunch.

2024-25 Leander ISD Important Bus Information: Register to Ride

All eligible students will be required to REGISTER to RIDE the bus for the 2024-2025 school year. Please use the link provided to be sure that your student is registered to ride the bus if you are planning to utilize LISD transportation services.

Reminder: All Middle School students need a laptop/device for school. If you do not own your one, you can get one from the district:

Middle School Students: $40.00 per year

A non-refundable security deposit is required to participate in this program. Sign up and pay for your student's 2024-2025 non-refundable security deposit now. All students who pay, will be issued their device the first few days of the 2024-2025 school year. Students who qualify for Free and Reduced meals will not need to pay the annual deposit but will need to turn in a signed acceptance form or register through EdPay. Click on this website: mLISD Information and Payment Website for more information and to pay the security deposit.

Hardship Scholarship opportunities are available. Please contact your child’s counselor or send an email to mlisd@leanderisd.org for more information. Please include the following information in your email:

• The student’s name

• Campus

• Student ID number

• Parent phone number

Click here for more information regarding scholarships.

mLISD Quick View Information Brochure -English

mLISD Quick View Information Brochure -Spanish

Middle School Student’s spring 2024 STAAR score results should be available to parents on the Texas Education Agency Family Portal beginning June 14th.

Directions for Accessing your Child’s STAAR Report Card from TEA:

• Click on the TEA Family Portal Login
• If you know your child’s unique access code, found at the bottom of STAAR reports from previous administrations, enter that code in the Access Code box. Enter the date of birth using the drop-down menus. Click on the blue Go button to access results.

• If you do not know your child’s unique access code, you can still access STAAR results if you know your child’s social security number and date of birth. Click on “How do I look up my access code?” link below the Sign-On Button and enter the following information:
• TSDS ID or PEIMS ID (often same as social security number)
• Child’s date of birth
• Child’s legal first name
• Click “Search”

Additionally, results may be accessed through the Home Access Center (HAC) after June 14th:

• Log into your Home Access Center (HAC) account.
• Select the Grades tab
• Select Texas Test Scores
• Click on the link to STAAR English/Spanish – this will log you into the parent portal and you will see assessment results.

Randall's has agreed to add CRMS to the Good Neighbor Support program and it is SO easy! Email below, then do your regular shopping and Randall's will donate back to the CRMS PTA.

Simply copy/paste the below message to send an email to good.neighbor@randalls.com with the following:

Hello,

Please link my customer account connected to phone number [type your Randall's phone number] with Good Neighbor Charity #14216 for Canyon Ridge Middle School PTA.

Thank you,

[type your name]

AP/Counselor by grade-level for 2024-2025:

• 6th: Brian Bass / Staci Cote
• 7th: Dr. Ashley Thompson1 / Kimberly Mills
• 8th: Leah Cox / Jillian Baaklini

Email: Wendy.Sturdevant@leanderisd.orgg
Website: crms.leanderisd.org
Location: Canyon Ridge Middle School, Country Trails Lane, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-570-3500
Twitter: @Sturdevant_CRMS