Ridge Relay

Mark your calendars:

• This Friday, September 22nd is the end of the 1st grading period. At the end of the grading cycle, it may be a more heightened stress time for some students if they have late or make-up work to be completed. We are here to support our students! And this is a great time for you to follow-up with a talk with your student about procrastination and make a plan for next grading period to not feel behind. Report cards will be live in HAC for students/parents after grades have been completed next week.
• VHS Homecoming is next week! We will have many CRMS groups in the VHS Homecoming Parade and the whole community is invited to the parade and pep rally on Wednesday, September 27th at 6pm.
• Buy your tickets now - PTA is hosting our first ever CRMS Masquerade Ball. The Masquerade Ball is on October 13th, 6:30-8:30pm, and is for all 6th-8th grade CRMS students. Masks are optional. If you choose to wear a mask, it cannot be a full face covering. Tickets are $15 until 10/6/23 and then become $20. Please see your school counselor for financial assistance. This is a semi-formal event or wear your Sunday best. There is no need to buy a formal dress or suit, but we are hoping for a step up from our student hoodies and workout shorts. :)

Go Eagles!

Mrs. Wendy Sturdevant

In the Spring, CRMS will compete in the yearly National Tournament. On Tournament Day, our Eagles will compete with students from other schools, playing the math games they have practiced all year, to earn individual and team awards!

Apply Here! Deadline 9/29/23

1. We have been fortunate enough to have a few mentors here on campus to encourage and support our students, and we are in need of some more! We are currently looking for additional male mentors to work with our boys. We are happy to have more female mentors sign-up as well, but our biggest current need is male mentors. If you are interested in becoming a mentor for Canyon Ridge, please contact Cheryl Kleffner, cheryl.kleffner@leanderisd.org.
2. Join us, as we host Canyon Ridge Middle School's, first ever, Masquerade Ball on Friday, October 13th. Volunteers are needed for set-up, tear-down, and everything in between. Please consider signing up for a shift (or two, or three) and bringing a food or beverage item to be sold at the concession stand. Requests for donations are at the bottom of this sign-up and will be collected the week of Oct. 6th. Don't let your kids dissuade you from volunteering; put on a mask and come witness this magical middle school milestone!

~ As always, for any of these opportunities, volunteers must be approved through LISD. Click here for instructions.~

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]

Parents, the first grading cycle newsletter from the CRMS counseling office is available via the link below. The newsletter serves to highlight CRMS students, provide an overview of guidance lessons, insights from the counselor’s book study, middle school tips, and upcoming dates. Enjoy!

Counseling Newsletter – The Echo

Reflecting Positivity through CRMS Counseling Services

Volume 6 Issue 1

September 2023

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of this stigmatized, and often taboo, topic. Suicidal thoughts, much like mental health conditions, can affect anyone regardless of age, gender or background. It’s important to be aware of warning signs that someone may be considering suicide, such as:

• Loss of interest in usual activities
• Increased or decreased sleep
• Increased alcohol and drug use
• Aggressive behavior
• Withdrawal from friends, family and community
• Dramatic mood swings
• Impulsive or reckless behavior
• Giving away possessions
• Tying up loose ends, like organizing personal papers or paying off debts
• Saying goodbye to friends and family

If you suspect that someone is having suicidal thoughts, it’s OK to ask them directly if they are thinking about suicide. If you or someone you know needs support, please seek help from a professional.

The Leander ISD Student and Family Support Team is a program available to students (with guardian consent) that provides mental health support to students such as school-based therapy and connection to community resources. The Student and Family Support Team is composed of Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Master Social Workers and Licensed Professional Counselors. To access these services please speak with your assigned student’s counselor or assistant principal and request an SFST referral.

Bluebonnet Trails Community Services Crisis Hotline: 1 (800) 841-1255 24 hour assistance for mental health emergencies in Williamson County

Integral Care Crisis Hotline: (512) 472-HELP (4357) 24 hour assistance for mental health emergencies in Travis County

The national suicide hotline can now be accessed by calling or texting 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. There is also a live chat feature at www.988lifeline.org.

To learn more about mental health support, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Forms due to Mrs. Seema George by October 2nd

Check out the latest edition of the Special Education newsletter, with information about how to stay connected throughout the school year, the Special Programs Parent Advisory Council (PAC), 18+ services, National Deaf Awareness month, and reading at home fun.

This monthly newsletter includes ways to support your student at home, links to resources, upcoming family education events. If you are not enrolled in a Special Programs Remind class and would like to be, follow the instructions inside the newsletter to join.

Joining the CRMS PTA does not require you to volunteer; we would love to have you volunteer, but it is not required.

Please see the image below of our amazing PTA in action planning the Masquerade Ball and providing teachers with classroom gifts to directly impact CRMS students!

Yearbook Recognition Ads are also available to purchase for 8th Graders ONLY; they cost $25.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jared.Lichtenberger@leanderisd.org

Please note that we have a new yearbook vendor for this year, so please make sure you are purchasing with our link for Jostens Canyon Ridge Middle School Yearbook.

This year, to give more kids an opportunity to learn more about STEM, VHE team 4545 is offering a STEM opportunity to kids in Elementary, Middle School, and High school students. They are calling it Innovation Station and will host it every first Saturday of the month (except February) from 10am-12pm. The kids can explore everything from CAD to coding to other STEM related activities!

The first Innovation Station will be held on September 2nd at the VHS robot room. Attached is a flyer and there's a QR code that leads to a RSVP form and there's more information on the form too!

In April and May 2023, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests were administered to students. The state released final performance level results to parents this week on Wednesday, August 16th. Please see below for information on how to access your child’s scores using the STAAR Parent Portal.

Here are Steps to Access Your Child's STAAR Scores

On the STAAR Parent Portal, a screen will prompt you for a portal access code. Enter your student’s unique access code (not their school lunch/ID number. Portal access codes can be found on previous STAAR communications or in HAC following the linked steps).

If you need assistance, please contact Larissa Baggett, CRMS Testing Coordinator.

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.

• 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 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 almost 1100 students so it will take 1-2 business days to show the update. We appreciate your patience and understanding that our team is working tirelessly to support all of our Eagles!

At CRMS, we are a 1-to-1 device campus. All students are required to have a device with a keyboard each day at school. Students may bring their own device or get a device from mLISD.

This coming school year, all 6th graders will begin receiving new devices as part of the technology rollout from the last bond election.

The payment window is now open for families to secure their students’ district-provided laptops for the 2023-2024 school year. Plans to distribute laptops will be communicated at a later date. This program is optional. A non-refundable security deposit will be required for participation. The security deposit will be waived for students who qualify for Free and Reduced meals.

Price:

Middle School Students: $40 per school year

High School Students: $60 per school year

Students who qualify for Free and Reduced meals: $0.00

(Registration through our online store, currently EdPay, or submission of a signed acceptance form is required.)

Payment methods:

A) Debit/credit cards through the mLISD website

B) Scholarship opportunities are available. Please contact mlisd@leanderisd.org or your counselor for more information. Please include the following information in your email:

• The student’s name

• Campus

• Student ID number

• Parent phone number

The Leander ISD Transportation Department uses SMART Tag – a system that provides accurate, near real-time monitoring of where and when students load onto and unload off of their school bus – to help promote student safety and security, keeping parents, school administrators and the district’s transportation department more informed.

Returning bus riders are asked to continue to use the SMART Tag card they were issued last year. If they do not have a card, the student will punch in using their lunch number (student ID) when getting on and off the bus. Bus drivers will begin to issue cards in September for new bus riders.

The online parent portal allows parents and guardians to register to receive alerts for when the bus will arrive at their child’s stop; see a live map of their child’s bus; and view a riding history for their child. Be sure to register if you have never done so.

By Wednesday, Aug. 9, 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 2023–24 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.

During the 2023–24 school year, Leander ISD will welcome back Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) as its food-services provider. That’s right – that means Crispitos are coming back!

All students who qualify for free meals during the 2023–24 school year will receive breakfast and lunch at no cost. In 2023–24, students who qualify for reduced-price meals will receive free breakfast meals and lunch for $0.40.

For elementary students who do not qualify for F&R meals, prices will remain the same from last year. At elementary school, the cost of breakfast is $1.50 and lunch is $2.90. For secondary students, the cost of breakfast is $1.75 and lunch is $3.15.

Parents who would like to apply to find out if they are eligible for F&R meals for their children can visit our Child Nutrition Services website for more information.

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

AP/Counselor by grade-level for 2023-2024:

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

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