As you may have heard on Friday, we have had to move all of our 6th graders to Remote Conferencing for this week. This is not what we want for any of our students. I know that students not being able to attend school causes an imposition on our families, and we do not take this decision lightly. In order to maintain safety and keep our school doors open, we needed to do this due to the cluster of confirmed, positive cases spreading within our 6th grade classes. Currently, remote conferencing from home is only for our 6th graders. 7th and 8th graders remain in-person.

In working with the health department, we are doing our very best to keep Canyon Ridge open to our students, but we need your help! Thus far, the clusters of positive cases have been in 6th grade, but we are keeping a watchful eye on cases in 7th and 8th grades, as well. For many of our students, they are preparing for performances (cheerleading, dance, band, choir) and athletic seasons (volleyball, football, cross country), and if we have to close, those opportunities will all have to stop for 10 days. I do not want to close our doors for classroom instruction or for the activities that mean so much to our students and their families. Please read the updated F.A.Q. below. We must all work together to keep our students, staff, and community safe and healthy!

There are so many wonderful things happening across campus both in and outside of our classrooms...Eagle News is debuting this week, One Act Play rehearsals are starting, the first football games of the season will be played, 8th grade night for band and choir will take place, and so much more! Let’s unite together so we can continue to move forward as one Eagle family and Soar to Success!

Follow us on social media:

Twitter: @Sturdevant_CRMS

Instagram: Canyon_Ridge_MS

• Beginning Monday, Aug. 30, indoor extracurricular events in Leander ISD will be limited to 50% capacity. This will remain in effect while LISD is in the “red stage.” Masks are required at indoor LISD events. More info

• Effective Monday, August 30th, STUDENT SPECTATORS must be accompanied and supervised by their parent/guardian to attend indoor events. In order to ensure family members of our student athletes and performers are able to attend and support them, student spectators will be required to be accompanied and supervised by a parent/guardian at indoor events. We recognize that our students are eager and proud to support their peers at games and performances. When LISD returns to the Yellow Stage we will adjust this policy.

• And don't forget that beginning this school year, 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/

Join our CRMS Site-Based Committee!

Sign-up here by September 1st

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

Library Parent Volunteer Info Meeting:

RESCHEDULED for Sept 8 at 10AM on Zoom with your CRMS Librarian

Join us for a virtual tour and overview of our exciting library program and see how you can bring your time and skills to support reading and learning at the CRMS Library. If you love reading and books, THIS is the place for you!

If interested in attending Sept. 8, please fill out the Library Volunteer Form below by Sept 6. We will send you a Zoom link the week of the event. Also, take a peek at our current Wish List ! For more information on the CRMS Library, visit the library website or email Mary Virginia Illingworth, CRMS Librarian.

Library Volunteer Form

Library Needs List

• Crossing Guards - volunteer for particular day(s) of the week or can do a daily paid position

• Substitutes - can be intermittent when you are available or regularly here on our own campus

• The following are paid, full-time positions with benefits:

• Instructional Assistants

• Cafeteria staff

• Bus drivers

For more information on any of these opportunities, please contact Megan Prata at CRMS.

Leander ISD updated our Health Response Protocols and on August 17th, elevated to a new Red Stage. Please review and partner with us to keep people healthy and schools open:

• COVID-19 Update: New Health Response Protocols
• August 6th Update to COVID Notifications, Contact Tracing and Dashboard data
• August 17th Update: Mask Requirement for All
• Leander ISD COVID dashboard

F.A.Q.:

Is there a mask requirement at CRMS? Or why am I being asked to wear a mask at CRMS?

We will continue to distribute masks at our school doors each morning; however, fewer and fewer students are taking them and/or wearing them while at school. This is where we must plead for your assistance to please ask your children to wear masks. If you think your child is wearing a mask, please reiterate this to them because you may be surprised to find out that some are not actually wearing it during the day. I will not get into a back and forth or political discussion with anyone about a mask right now, but what I will tell you is that we had to send home all of 6th grade for 10 days. If we don’t try to do something more at CRMS, we are in danger of having to close our doors to all learners for a brief period of time. Last year, all of our in-person learners were required to wear masks, and we ended the school year having quarantined 36 total positive COVID-19 cases, 0 total clusters, and 0 days of school closure. Within the last 13 days of school, we are sitting at 18 positive COVID-19 cases, 6 clusters, and 5 days of remote conferencing for one entire grade level. While there may not be definitive proof behind masks preventing the spread of COVID-19 on campus, our experiences and data show that masks help mitigate the transmission of the virus. We are asking for your cooperation in encouraging your children to wear a mask (whether vaccinated or not) so that we can continue to provide our students with the best, most enriching, in-person educational experiences possible.

Do I have to wear a mask at indoor extracurricular events at CRMS?

Yes. This past week, we had our first home volleyball game, and very few parents and guests were following the district’s mask requirement, so our students followed suit. At CRMS, we put students first, and we want our students to be able to participate in the indoor extracurricular opportunities that they pour so much time and passion into. The school doors must be open for indoor extracurricular events to take place, so we must slow the spread of COVID-19 on our campus and protect others and ourselves by wearing a mask at indoor events.

Do I have to wear a mask at outdoor events at CRMS?

No. It is not currently required to wear a mask at outdoor events.

What are you doing to mitigate the spread during lunches?

When we moved to Stage Red, we began giving students the option to spread out outside at lunchtime. While we sadly don’t have seating for all students outside, they are taking advantage of this opportunity to eat outside, even if it means sitting on the ground to try to help us slow the spread.

Will CRMS adjust their transition practice to a staggered release schedule or A/B block schedule?

No. Our bell schedule and passing periods will currently remain the same.

• Due to our mixed grade level courses and 6th-8th grade elective classes, implementing a staggered release schedule would result in students gathering outside of classrooms that have not yet been released and lost instructional time.

• The A/B day bell schedule created for the 20-21 school year was to address the "Asynchronous/Synchronous" learning model.

• The A/B day bell schedule was designed to support our students learning both in-person and virtually, for our campus it was not sustainable for several reasons which includes staffing and campus space.

How can students help prevent the spread of COVID?

• Wear a mask

• Keep their hands to themselves in the hallway and while playing outside

• Practice thorough hand washing and remind students to wash their hands as often as possible for 20 seconds

• Stay home if they experience any COVID related symptoms until they are symptom free for at least 24 hours

• Use hand sanitizer when hand washing is not feasible.

Will parents and other visitors be allowed on campus?

No. Only essential visitors are allowed at campus/district facilities. Volunteers will be limited and allowed to come by appointment only (to help/do specific planned activities such as one at a time in the library). In order to be a volunteer, you have to be approved by Leander ISD. Volunteering information can be found on the LISD website.

Will my child be able to visit the library?

Yes. Currently, normal library procedures will continue.

How will this affect students’ access to restrooms and water fountains?

• Students will have access to restrooms throughout the day.

• Water fountains will be covered and closed, with the exception of water bottle filling stations located in the hallways

• Students are encouraged to bring a refillable water bottle to school everyday

What is being done with Contact Tracing/Self-Quarantine/Attendance?

Since we’ve had positive cases on campus, we have had some questions about close contact, contact tracing and quarantines. When we have had a positive case (student or staff) that has been on campus, the case will be reported on the Leander ISD Dashboard for your reference and a notice will be sent out to all of CRMS through Remind. The district office also takes the seating charts and sends contact tracing information to those in close contact. With the number of cases districtwide, limited staff and dependent on the timing of the report of the positive case, it may take a little time to get all the information fully pushed out to those in close contact. As well, the contact tracing information does not necessarily go to the whole class because it is dependent on seating, so if you don’t get a notice, your student may not have been in close contact. Also, I would like to share that I have heard from other families that the information sometimes went to their spam folder (it comes from lisdcontacttracing@leanderisd.org), so you may want to also check your spam folder.

If your student was determined to be in close contact, you should monitor for symptoms and do not send your child to school if they have a fever or symptoms. During that time, if your child has no symptoms, then you as a family have the choice to self-quarantine or not.

Unfortunately, if you do test positive or choose to self-quarantine, there is NO virtual option to switch to. Currently, the state did not fund that for our schools this year. But our teachers are working hard to keep work and resources posted in their google classrooms so if your student is feeling up to it, they can keep up with the work through google classroom. If your child is not feeling well, we want them to focus on getting better and then the teachers will work to support them when they return.

If your student does test positive, you should immediately notify the school nurse, Rachael Kristoff. If you send in the positive test, your student’s absences during required isolation will be excused. If you receive notification of close contact and choose to self-quarantine, you should forward your notice with a note from the parent on the email to crmsattendance@leanderisd.org so that your attendance may be excused.

Thanks so much to our PTA who started granting teacher gifts this week like this one to our growing Art department.

This week, they also gifted ALL of our 6th graders with a complimentary CRMS Agenda/Planner for this school year. If any 7th or 8th graders would like to purchase a 2021-2022 Agenda, you can get one on the PTA website.

Many have generously reached out and asked how you can donate or support the teachers/school during this time. If you are wanting to donate and unsure how, we will gladly accept donations on campus of the following:

• bottled water
• masks
• paper towels
• hand sanitizer
• Clorox wipes

Currently, there is no state funding for PPE this year, so donations will be accepted and very appreciated! You can drop off in the school front office at your convenience during school hours.

Sign up today to represent CRMS. We could win a prize if we have more from CRMS to participate on Saturday, September 18 at Vista Ridge High School:

leeftx.org/mudstacle

In Leander ISD, students in Grades 7–9 are taught Human Sexuality Curriculum through presentations by LifeGuard, an independent organization. The topics covered in this abstinence-based curriculum the Texas Health TEKS. All content has been reviewed by the Leander ISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) and is grade-level specific and developmentally appropriate. This material will be taught in 2-3-day windows at every LISD middle and high school campus from Sept 14 – April 21.

CRMS Student Presentation Dates

• 7th Grade: October 18-20th
• 8th Grade: October 21-22nd, 25th

Opt-In Google Form

**For your child to be able to attend the presentations, you must submit this OPT-IN form:

• 7th Grade Opt-in form

• 8th Grade Opt-in form

Curriculum Preview

If you wish to preview the curriculum, you may do so at your home campus library. Parents/Guardians may stop by or contact their school librarian to schedule an appointment for viewing. You may also request an electronic parent preview via the LifeGuard website.

Parent Workshop Information

We will host virtual parent workshops via Zoom throughout the year; future times are listed below. Parent workshops are designed to give parents helpful tips for communicating with their children (grades 7-9) about human sexuality, allow them to review the district curriculum, explore statistics from health officials, and ask questions of LifeGuard and LISD staff.

To register for a parent workshop and to access additional LifeGuard information, please visit the LISD Human Sexuality Curriculum website.

Parent Workshops Dates

September 2, 2021 6:00 - 7:30 registration link

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 2021/2022 testing. Testing date for fall 2021 is September 23rd on the CRMS campus. The deadline to register for fall testing is September 7th.

In case you missed the recent emails directly from your child’s teacher, here is the current book club info...

7th Grade

In an effort to match the right book to the right child, we are sharing the book options with you ahead of time. Feel free to preview books, browsing for content/interest. You will notice this list is extremely varied in both maturity and reading level, just like our students. If there are any books you don’t want your child reading, please fill out this form. When you fill this form out, it will alert our 7th grade team and we will pass your concerns along to the district ELA team.

Students will book shop (read summaries, etc) and choose their top THREE books this Monday, 8/30, and will receive their book club groups later next week. We do have copies of the books in the classroom, but they cannot leave the room and will be shared across all classes. If you prefer that your child has their own book, there are Amazon links included in the list, but please do not purchase a book until you hear from your student the book they were assigned.

8th Grade

We support parent involvement in book choice and appreciate when families are sharing their literacy lives. For book clubs, students, teachers, and parents work together to make sure the choice is a good fit for the student and their family. The titles are included on the attached list (Advanced ELA: link here or on-level ELA: link here). Prior to your child submitting titles of interest to the teacher, please review the attached document to preview the choice selections. For additional book reviews, parents and students might consider visiting commonsensemedia.org, Goodreads, and Amazon. It is our goal for each student and their family to feel comfortable reading and analyzing in this unit, and for open lines of communication to exist. If there is a specific book club title(s) that you do not want your child to choose, please e-mail the ELA teacher by Monday, August 23rd.

Just a reminder that CRMS will not be proctoring the PSAT 8/9 for our 8th graders this year. We are partnering with More Than A Teacher to host 2 options for students to take a practice PSAT test either on November 2nd or November 6th. Here is the link to the information (registration link is embedded).

Leander ISD, in partnership with Community Action, Inc. of Central Texas, offers adult ESL, English and Spanish GED-prep classes, in the evenings at Wiley Middle School, 1526 Raider Way, Leander 78641, Tues./Thurs., 6:00pm – 8:30pm. **Classes will start in-person Tues., Sept. 14 for those adult students who have registered online and attended a virtual orientation via ZOOM. (In-person orientations have been cancelled.) Classes follow the LISD school calendar, ending in May 2022. Please check out our web page to start the online registration form: https://www.leanderisd.org/adulteducation/

In addition, Community Action partners with other organizations in the Cedar Park/Leander area to offer day time and evening ESL, GED, and career-training classes. See link below for information.

https://sites.google.com/communityaction.com/wcadulted/home Questions may be sent to Nancy Powell, Adult Education Coordinator, nancy.powell@leanderisd.org

Principals, please include in your campus newsletters: Full story with Spanish translation.

Home Access Center (HAC) provides families with an online tool where they can view helpful student information to support and guide their children through the educational process. From home or work, at any time of the day or night, parents can access the web portal to track academic achievement.

Features include:

• Grade notifications,

• Class schedules

• Attendance records.

Visit the Home Access Center page to learn more. Please allow time for our campuses to complete schedule and teacher assignments in the coming days prior to the start of the school year.

Beginning Aug. 5, Leander ISD parents can enter their home address into Infofinder to look up their child’s bus route number, pick-up/drop-off times, and bus stop locations for the 2021-22 school year. Bus routes are subject to change, so LISD parents are strongly encouraged to confirm their child’s bus information again the week prior to the start of school.

The Transportation Department will continue to use the Remind platform to communicate delay notifications and other important updates. Bus riders and their guardians will be added to a Remind “class” for their assigned bus route.

All students at CRMS must have a working computer/device with a keyboard. If you do not have your own device, that is okay! Click on this link to sign-up/re-enroll and pay the 2021-2022 mLISD non-refundable security deposit so you can get your computer as soon as possible!

Our schools and teachers use Remind to send text messages and emails to our parents. Make sure you log into Remind to set up your notification preferences, see archived messages, and send messages directly to your teachers and school staff. Download the mobile app (Google Play, Apple) for the best user experience.

Click here to learn more about Remind.

As Leander ISD Child Nutrition Services will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch meals to all students for the 2021–22 school year, low-cost meals are not being served at this time. To manage your student’s meal balance for snacks or extras beyond the meal service, please create your Titan Family Connect account (formerly MealTime). Leander ISD school menus, along with complete nutrition information, are available through Nutrislice.

School start and end times for elementary, middle and high school are listed below.

• Elementary School: 7:40 a.m.–2:55 p.m.
• Middle School: 8:10 a.m.–3:25 p.m.
• High School: 8:40 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

90-minute Early Release Schedule for 2021–22 School Year

• Elementary School: 7:40 a.m.–1:25 p.m.
• Middle School: 8:10 a.m.–1:55 p.m.
• High School: 8:40 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

*District Calendar linked below

We still have a limited number of yearbooks for sale. Please stop by the school starting July 12th to purchase or pick up your pre-ordered yearbook. If you are purchasing a yearbook, the current cost is $50 and we are only accepting cash. Please reach out to Jared.Lichtenberger@leanderisd.org if you have any questions!

Turn your sound on and please watch this video from CRMS students!

*Randall's will donate to CRMS PTA if you select us as your Good Neighbor Program just because you shop there! Complete this form and then e-mail to good.neighbor@randalls.com or take to any store customer service location..

*Did you know you can buy all your Amazon purchases through Amazon Smile, and they will donate to our PTA all year long?!?! It doesn’t cost you anything and you order the same way. Just set up your Amazon Smile profile to donate to PTA Texas Congress Canyon Ridge Middle School PTA.

*CRMS PTA: If you have not yet, please consider joining the CRMS PTA. Memberships start as low as $10.

*SPIRIT WEAR: Spirit Wear is restocked. Porch pickup is very close to CRMS.

Be sure to follow Canyon Ridge Middle School PTA on Facebook and join the Facebook group for your child's grade level. Thank you for your time and all of your support for our Eagles!

AP/Counselor by grade-level for 2021-22:

• 6th: Monica Diaz Carle/Sabrina Anderson
• 7th: Cassandra Ricks/Katie Young
• 8th: Mandi Vogel/Staci Cote

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