Ridge Relay

Good afternoon Eagles,

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support that has been shown since the message was sent on Friday of the unexpected passing of Mr. Harman. At this time, I do not have memorial service information to share yet, but some have asked if there is anything to do to help support the family. If you are inclined, a GoFundMe was just started to support his wife Ami and daughter Addison during this difficult time.

Wendy Sturdevant

Required form for all 6th graders to OPT-IN to the Puberty Lessons due by March 4th at 9:00am:

• Boys
  
• Girls
  

Leander ISD 6th grade students are about to study an important lesson on the early stages of puberty, including reproductive and sexual health, in alignment with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Health Education. On March 4th-March 6th students will have an opportunity to learn the following lessons.

6th grade Lessons will be done in PE/Pre-Athletics/Dance classes.

Our CRMS Choir has been invited to sing the National Anthem at the San Antonio Spurs game against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday March 17th at 6pm. The game is here in Austin at the Moody Center! If you will be in town that day, please consider attending the game and cheering on our students! This is a HUGE opportunity to perform at a NBA game. Use this link to purchase tickets if you are interested! Go Eagles!!!!

Please note: As always, Canyon Ridge Middle School is a Travis County Voting location. Therefore, CRMS will be hosting Voting on campus on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 from 7am to 7pm. We will have parking for voters noted in the parking lot by the track. No voters will be permitted to enter at the main entrance of the school. All voters will enter at the side gym entrance, vote in the main gym and exit the gym door.

Leander ISD Voting Information

The Texas Election Code (Sec. 43.031) specifies that an entity that owns or controls a public building shall make the building available for use as a polling place in any election that covers territory in which the building is located. Please be aware that Travis County has requested CRMS be used as a polling place on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. The polling place will be located in the main gym. To ensure the safety of our students and staff and minimize disruption to campus operations, we have made every effort to select an area that limits election workers and voter access to the campus. Additionally, staff will be monitoring the polling location area.

The ViperBots, Vandegrift High School’s award-winning robotics program, is now accepting New Member applications for the 2024-2025 season. Interested students should apply by clicking on the link below and following the detailed application instructions.

https://www.viperbots.org/apply-now

Applications are due 3/9/2022 by 4:00 pm

Required Parent/Applicant Meeting is on 3/5 in the VHS Lecture Hall
(See application page for complete details)

Providing a safe, welcoming and caring school environment while partnering with our families has positively impacted student learning and personal growth. As we continue to measure these attributes of our school climate, engaging our students and families will help us assess where we have been, and where we currently are and identify opportunities to improve and grow for the future.

On Wednesday, you should have received an email from Dr. Bruce Gearing asking you for feedback. This survey is important to us because it is not just district feedback - as a campus, it gives our team feedback specifically on CRMS. I would really appreciate it, if you would take the time to complete this survey. I did it for my own child's school and it is very short and completely anonymous but provides valuable feedback for the campus. If you did not get the email or want the quick link, here is the Parent survey link.

On Monday, April 8th, CRMS is prepared to provide an experience for all students and staff to safely watch the total solar eclipse at school. We have received a gracious donation of safety glasses from PTA Sponsor Steiner Eye Care for each person to have glasses. We will be adjusting our bell schedule so that all students will have classes, finish lunch, be escorted outside with grade level classes to experience this once-in-a-lifetime full solar eclipse and then return to regularly scheduled classes.

As well, in preparation of the event, all CRMS students will receive a follow-up solar eclipse lesson in Science classes on Tuesday, April 9th to expand on what every student witnessed on Monday.

We are excited for this learning opportunity for all of our Eagle students and staff!

If you wish to make a change to your child's requested courses for the 24/25 school year, parents should submit a course change request form. This form is located on the CRMS Counseling website. Parents will need to submit this form for each course you would like to change from the original submitted choice sheet. The last day for course change requests is May 24, 2024 at 12pm. Late requests will not be accepted due to staffing and master schedule constraints.

8th Grade Parents--save the dates! Information will be updated on the VHS Counseling Website as the dates get closer. Be sure to check there for all VHS related information!

February 22 // 8th Grade Parent/Guardian Info Webinar // Link will be posted here

• counselors will provide a high school academic planning overview to 8th grade families

• parents/guardians will learn about the course selection process and ask related questions

• 
  

February 26 - 27 // Four-Year Planning & Course Selection Overview with VHS Counselors (2 days at each school)

• VHS counselors will visit Four Points and Canyon Ridge Middle Schools to provide a high school academic planning overview to 8th grade students

• students will submit tentative course requests

• students and their parent/guardian will be emailed a PDF copy of these tentative requests

• choices are editable - a new PDF copy of updated courses will be emailed after each edit

February 29 - March 4 // 8th Grade Individual Student/Counselor Conferences (February 29 & March 1 - CRMS // March 4 - FPMS)

• VHS counselors will meet individually with 8th grade students to review four-year plans and course selections

March 4 @ 4pm

• deadline to lock in initial course selections for the 2024-25 school year

• while there will be additional change opportunities, finalizing your requests as early as possible provides the highest likelihood of being placed in the classes you want

April 10 // Viper Night (more details to come!) (Note: VHS moved from 4/3 to 4/10)

• students and families will have the opportunity to further explore course options

• Viper Night will include an elective fair, club & org fair, breakout sessions, and student panels

Parents, the fourth 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 4

March 2024

CRMS 5th to 6th Grade Transition Information Letter

• Tuesday, February 20th 2024 CRMS 5th to 6th gr transition Parent Webinar Recording

• Friday, February 23rd: 5th Grade student visited to CRMS

April 16th - 6th ELA

April 17th - 7/8 ELA

April 23rd - 8th Science

April 24th - 8th Social Studies

April 30th - 6th Math

May 1st - 7/8 Math/Algebra

*Some of the STAAR testing dates overlap with the religious days of Passover and Vesak. We can offer an alternative testing date if your student is not able to attend during one of those days. Please complete this form by Friday, March 22, 2023 so that we can connect with you to reschedule.

Swing into action and join VHS’s Viper Golf Classic Fundraising Tournament on April 1st, 2024! Tee off for a day of fun, friendly competition, and community support. Your participation or donation makes a difference! Sign up now for a memorable day on the greens, where every stroke counts towards a great cause, the Viper Golf program!

http://vipergolfclassic.com/

“QUEST” is an acronym for Quality Utilization and Enrichment of Student Talents. Leander ISD’s QUEST and Gifted & Talented (GT) Services are designed to meet the needs of identified gifted students who have demonstrated above-average ability in the following area of giftedness as defined by the Texas State Plan for the Gifted: high general-intellectual ability at the top 8-10% of the campus population. If you wish for your child to request QUEST testing, please email your grade level counselor by April 2, 2024 at noon.

The Canyon Ridge Yearbook is available for sale HERE! Yearbooks are currently $45 until May 10th. Pre-order yours today! (After May 10th, we will sell any remaining yearbooks for cash only until they are gone. We sell out almost every year, so it is best to preorder so you don't miss out.)

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.

We're excited to announce the spring dates for our Family Workshops! March Parent Events

Special Programs Spring Family Workshops Save-the-Dates

Learn about upcoming family events, 2024 Summer Camp Guide for students and adults with special needs, social studies at home activities, and community resources.

Please read over the 2024 - 2025 Dyami Dancers Auditions Information for our tryout requirements, and other important information about how to become a CRMS Dance Team Member.

• Mandatory Parent/Candidate Meeting: Feb 28, 2024 at 6:00 PM

• Dyami Dancers Audition Clinic

Date - March 7th - March 8th

Time: 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Location - CRMS main gym

What to wear- Black leggings, black t-shirt or tank, jazz shoes or tennis shoes.

• Mandatory Team Fitting Date

Date - April 10th

Time: 4:45 pm - 6:15 pm

Location- CRMS dance room

**Payment due at fitting

**The time will be divided by alpha last name to prevent overcrowding in the dance room.

A - M - 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm

N - Z - 5:30 pm - 6:15 pm

• Mandatory Summer Line Camp

Date- July 16th - July 19th

Time - 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Location - Rouse High School

Do you have an 8th-grade student who would benefit from obtaining their high school diploma while also earning an associate degree tuition free? Leander ISD’s Early College High School makes this possible through the district’s partnership with Austin Community College at the San Gabriel Campus.

ECHS combines high expectations, academic rigor through inquiry-based instruction, and individualized student supports to prepare our scholars for academic success.

In an effort to offer interested 8th-grade students and their families the opportunity to learn more about the Early College HS program, a series of town halls have been added to the calendar:

• Thursday, Feb. 1, from 6–7 p.m. in the ECHS Multipurpose Room at the ACC San Gabriel Campus
• Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10–11 a.m. on Zoom (password ECHS2024!)
• Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 6–7 p.m. in the Cedar Park MS library
• Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 6–7 p.m. in the Wiley MS library

LISD ECHS is now accepting applications for its third cohort, which will then be selected through a blind lottery process later in the spring for incoming 2024–25 9th-graders. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 8, 2024. Apply Here

More Information Here

During its consent agenda, Trustees approved the 2024–25 academic calendar, closing out a months long process of community feedback.

Key features of the calendar include:

• First day of school is Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, the same week as in 2023–24
• Last day of school is Friday, May 23, 2025, maintaining an end date before Memorial Day
• Preserves two dedicated teacher workdays incorporated into the schedule before school starts
• Student early release days for teacher work time: Dec. 20 and May 23
• Continuous Improvement Conference: Nov. 4–5, aligning with Tuesday’s student holiday for Election Day.
• Spring Break: March 17–21, aligning with Austin Community College
• Staff development days during the school year will balance new learning with teacher planning and collaboration time: Sept. 23, Oct. 7, Jan. 6, Feb. 17, March 24 and April 21

Leander ISD has shared a district-wide OCPE update for next school year. The Off-Campus Physical Education (OCPE) guidelines have been updated for the 24-25 school year. These updates have been made in order to align Leander ISD with other districts in our area and around the state.

It is important that any student interested in applying for OCPE for the 24-25 school year look over these guidelines and become familiar with the changes.

Parents: Here is an opportunity to recognize a Canyon Ridge Middle School teacher or staff member who has made a difference! Every week, a faculty member will be chosen as the Golden Eagle recipient. If the teacher or staff member you nominated is recognized for this award, you will be invited to come to campus and join us to present the award with the admin team. Please complete this brief form to honor a CRMS teacher or staff member.

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]

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 cannot allow 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, starting December 1: $20 for remainder of school year

High School Students: $60 per school year, starting December 1: $30 for remainder of 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

Click here for more information about mLISD, scholarships and access to sign-up and pay

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.

Beginning last 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/

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