Ridge Relay

Reminder: this Monday, September 2nd is a holiday so the campus will be closed.

At Canyon Ridge Middle School, we believe in continuous improvement. We would love to have your feedback! Please provide your feedback (good or improvements) here for the first week of school, Open House, Eagle Camp and our Back-to-School Webinar.

Go Eagles!

Mrs. Wendy Sturdevant

We have recently had a few questions about the process for dropping off items for students during the school day, so we wanted to remind everyone of the process that was shared at the beginning of year webinar:

• At middle school, our processes are different than in elementary because we have 1000 students. We are unable to deliver all items to students due to the number of students/items that we have. When parents bring in an item, there is a table with labels for parents to utilize.
• Our office staff & student aides place dropped-off items on a cart outside the front office labeled with names where students can grab them on their way to lunch or during passing periods.
• Each day students follow this process and typically by 8th period there is only an item or two remaining that students may have forgotten to pick up and that is when the aides may deliver it to students so that they are not left here overnight. If we deliver all items all throughout the day, there would be constant interruption to the learning environment so instead it is much less disruptive and convenient for students to pick up the items on their way to the cafeteria.
• Student lunch deliveries will only be accepted if delivered by a parent or guardian for their individual child. You are not allowed to bring lunch/any food items for students other than your own child(ren).
• Deliveries will not be accepted for students from any delivery services such as DoorDash, GrubHub, pizza stores, etc. Please see pg. 48 of the LISD Handbook.

Last call! The popular Secret Pal program is back! Sign up to be paired with a staff member who you will anonymously treat 4 times throughout the year. We need lots of volunteers!!! Please sign up by Friday, August 30.

Sign-up here

Save the date and join us Wednesday, September 4th at 11:30 for our 1st CRMS PTA meeting of the year. We will have a lot to discuss with the upcoming 20th celebration on September 13th and planning for events for the school year. Join us to meet the PTA board and hear from Principal Sturdevant on how to get involved at CRMS.

On behalf of the administration of both Canyon Ridge Middle School and Laura W. Bush Elementary School, we would like to remind you that the driveway on the north side of LWBE is NOT a pick-up spot for CRMS students.

The curb is painted red for a fire-lane and you are not allowed to just be stopped/waiting or pick-up in the exit lane or in the middle of a street.

Safety is our #1 priority so students have been given specific instructions NOT to run across the street in the middle of the road. They are required to use the crosswalk.

There is a pick-up circle on the CRMS campus, but if you prefer to pick up your student in the afternoon utilizing the LWBE campus, please do so at the south entrance where there is a crosswalk so students can safely cross and where staff are assisting students.

Our student-led clubs and activities are starting to kick-off for the 2024-2025 school year such as Library/Book Club, Creative Writing Club, Art, Destination Imagination and Student Council.

We continue to update our CRMS Clubs & Organizations page as students get their clubs started for the year but here is current information from our Library on many activities happening around campus, and where you can sign up for Library Club and Creative Writing Club too.

And if you have a club that you want to start that isn't listed on our website, please speak to a staff member about being your interest and they can assist you with the new club form to help you get it started!

Join us on our CRMS Campus-based Site Committee

Sign-up Here for more information by September 12th.

The input of our parents, staff and community is so critical as we work together to support all of our stakeholders. We will meet quarterly on Thursday at 4:40pm. Meetings are held on Zoom so you can join from anywhere. Please note: as part of the committee, there is no prep or time commitment for you outside of our meeting times. The committee shall meet at least 4 times throughout the school year to serve exclusively in an advisory role such as approve staff development, review campus needs and improvement plan, activities, etc.

CRMS families, if your child is proficient in a language and would like to pursue testing opportunities to earn high school credit for this language, please contact your school counselor for information on 2024/2025 testing. The testing date for fall 2024 is October 11, 2024 on the CRMS campus. The deadline to register for fall testing is September 20, 2024 or when all slots are filled. Testing slots are limited due to the nature of the test and classroom capacity. Once the slots are full, your child can be added to the spring 2025 list. Testing is open to all grade levels, but recommended for grade 7/8 students.

Join us Wednesday, September 11th at 6:30pm for a Volunteer Webinar meeting to learn more about volunteer opportunities.

We are so excited to welcome lots of volunteers to the CRMS Library again this year - it takes a big team to make all these dreams work! We need help with several events, including decoration set-up and take-down, helping at the event, item donations, as well as special projects (painting, wrangling the 3D printer or Cricut, sewing), display designs and mini-contests, on-site support (book covering, maker days, morning circ desk, and more.

• Library events this year include Trivia Night & Film Festival, Academic and Project Showcases, Game-A-Palooza, Read-A-Thon, Reading Rumble, and Book Fair - see the library website for dates.
• Our library has the absolute best volunteers, and there are lots of ways and different times of year you can help. It's a great way to get involved on campus and get to know other families and staff, and the support makes our library programs the best they can possibly be for all different kinds of students.
• Please contact Jamie Wright for the virtual Meet link, and feel free to share with interested CRMS community members.

Destination Imagination (DI) is an extracurricular, school-sponsored program that fosters students' creativity, team-based problem-solving skills, and life skills. Each team must have a team manager to facilitate team practices. More information will be found on the CRMS Clubs Page. Deadline to turn in applications is October 2, 2024.

All Pro Dads starting at CRMS! This new opportunity is for dads to spend time with their children at school, strengthen their relationship, connect with other CRMS dads 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 starting September 27th at 8:05am to learn more.

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

Referrals for G/T services are accepted year-round. Students referred for testing by October 1, 2024 will be screened to determine the need for additional GT Assessment and Identification. Those who qualify for additional assessments will be notified in October for the Winter Testing Window. Notification of results will be sent before the end of the fall semester to schedule for the spring semester based on availability. Contact your grade level counselor for the referral 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