Hour of Code!

On Tuesday, December 9, 2014, Central Cambria Middle School students participated in the international Hour of Code event.  The Hour of Code is an activity designed to give students a first taste of computer programming, and is conducted during Computer Science Week.  Last Tuesday, our math classes were taken over for the purpose of computer coding.  Students worked through coding tasks using a simplified format.  Students were then able to see what their lines of code would look like in Java format.  When students were done with their coding activity, they were able to complete extension activities and code in more complex formats.  Students genuinely seemed to enjoy the opportunity to code.  As a result of this activity, we had 25 students sign up for our Coding Club, which will begin after the holiday break.

If you would like your child to continue their exploration of coding, here are some web resources that will help:

http://code.org/

http://www.tynker.com/

http://www.codecademy.com/

https://www.khanacademy.org/

http://scratch.mit.edu/

http://thefoos.com/     

Thank you to Heather Niebauer and Joe Strittmatter for organizing Central Cambria’s Hour of Code event!

Ms. Minor's 6th grade students are coding!

Mr. Mazzarella's 7th grade coders!

Mr. Kochinsky and Mrs. Niebauer facilitating our Hour of Code event.

CCMS Employee of the Month

To recognize exemplary job performance by members of our CCMS faculty and staff this year, we have created an Employee of the Month award.  Each month we recognize a teacher or other staff member who has exhibited exemplary performance.  Please read below for a recap of this our employees of the month up to this point in the school year.

December Employee of the Month:  Mrs. Heather Niebauer, Gifted & Language Arts teacher

Mrs. Niebauer was chosen because she continually seeks new and exciting learning opportunities for her students.  The most recent example of this is the Hour of Code event that all Central Cambria students in grades K - 12 will be participating in next week.  Mrs. Niebauer organized this event and her students will be assisting with it.  This is one example of the initiative that Mrs. Niebauer takes to consistently improve her program.  Rather than resting on her laurels, she continues to go above and beyond to do a great job for our students.  For her consistent willingess to strive for "greatness" over "good enough," Mrs. Niebauer is our December Employee of the Month.

November Employee of the Month:  Ms. Gretchen Getz, Physical Education teacher

Ms. Getz was selected because she has been a positive contributor to our school through the first few months of the school year.  Ms. Getz has worked to adjust her curriculum to our new Exploratory rotation schedule, infusing new ideas and activities for her students.  Ms. Getz jumped headfirst into our Writing Across the Curriculum initiative by creating an informative writing prompt for her students.  She went further by incorporating the use of GoogleDocs to facilitate the writing process in her class.  In fact, she was the first CCMS teacher to have her students use GoogleDocs on a wide-scale basis.  In addition to her efforts in the classroom, Ms. Getz devoted a significant amount of time to planning our first annual Safe Halloween Night along with our other Student Council advisors.  For her willingness to take the lead of instructional initiatives that will enhance learning, Ms. Getz is our November Employee of the Month.

October Employee of the Month:  Ms. Jessie Minor, Math teacher

Ms. Minor was recognized as our October employee of the month due to the tremendous amount of growth and improvement she has exhibited so far in her second year of teaching.  Ms. Minor has devoted time and effort into honing her craft, evidenced by her attendance at a summer math institute at St. Francis this past summer.  By attending, she was able to secure grant money that we will use to enhance our math program.  For her perseverance and ability to seek opportunities for growth, Ms. Minor is our October Employee of the Month.

September Employee of the Month:  Ms. Robin Ribarich, Guidance Counselor

Ms. Ribarich was picked as our inaugural employee of the month due to her willingness to go above and beyond her job description to serve our students' needs at the highest possible level.  Ms. Ribarich put in a tremendous amount of time and effort during the scheduling process over the summer.  She serves as a Student Council advisor and is a member of several school committees.  Whenever a student needs to discuss a situation, Ms. Ribarich is always there to listen.  Ms. Ribarich organizes our Americorps program, our SAP team, and was a key player in securing a grant to provide the Botvin Life Skills curriculum in our Family & Consumer Science classes.  Ms. Ribarich conducts guidance lessons on a consistent basis and continually exceeds expectations in creating a positive and caring climate for students within our school.  For her dedication to CCMS, Ms. Ribarich is our September Employee of the Month.

American Education Week at CCMS!

In honor of American Education Week, taking place this week, I thought I would provide our blog readers with an update on some of the great things taking place here at CCMS.  

In the past month, we have had an exciting variety of activities taking place:

• Mike Hall came to CCMS to share his anti-bullying message, and encourage students to go from Zero to Hero by focusing on their own self-worth and qualities.  This is the third year in a row Mike has spoken to our students, and his message is always well-received.
• We hosted our first annual Safe Halloween Night on October 29th.  The event was a great success, as we had over 350 children show up for the festivities.  Thank you to all who helped make this event a success!
• Our teachers are working hard to use technology effectively in their classrooms under the direction and support of our new K-12 technology coach, Mr. Strittmatter.  Our laptop carts and computer lab are booked every day as teachers experiment with new technology resources to engage their students and enhance learning.
• Implementation of our new textbook resources in math and science continues to go well.  Our teachers are adjusting their curriculum as they proceed through the new PA Core standards for the first time in an effort to provide our students with the best education possible.  Our math and language arts teachers meet once per 6-day cycle in professional learning communities to talk about the curriculum, assessment, and instruction in those subjects.  Our science teachers are meeting each quarter to build their upcoming curriculum and come up with ideas for hands-on science activities to enhance student learning.  
• In language arts, we are continuing to work through the PA Core standards for the first time.  In 6th grade, our Collaborative Literacy class is making a significant impact on students' reading levels.  Were were able to offer this class due to the expansion of Title I funding to 6th grade at CCMS.  In 8th grade, we are working on building some cross-curricular content that will be taught in conjunction with our social studies class.  
• Student growth data from our 2013-14 PVAAS report showed that every language arts teacher at CCMS made at last one year's worth of growth with their students in reading, with several teachers exceeding the projection and moving students beyond one year's worth of learning.  This is a very positive indicator of effective instruction taking place in those classrooms.
• Due to teacher and student use of our laptops and computer lab, we will be adding a cart of Google Chromebooks to our tech resources in the coming weeks.  It is our hope that funding will become available to expand beyond this so that we can continue the positive momentum we have had with technology this year.
• We are exploring the idea of adding additional club opportunities for students during our 9th period.  Students will be surveyed next week about their interest in clubs, and teachers have already begun coming up with ideas for clubs they would like to offer.  We are excited about the possibility of offering a wider variety of options for our students.
• Our Box Tops for Education contest, round 2, is underway.  In round 1, three 6th grade classrooms took the top three spots.  We raised a significant amount of money from box tops in round 1, which will be used to purchase additional books for our middle school library.  Thank you for participating in this collection!
• Our girls' basketball team participated Lady Lions Education Day at Penn State this past Friday.  The girls went around to educational booths set up in the Bryce Jordan Center, watched the Lady Lions win their home opener, and got their picture taken with the Nittany Lion.  

Reading Competition Team

Congratulations to our CCMS Reading Competition Team on their second place finish at their competition last night.  Thank you Mrs. Dziack and Mrs. Urbassik for coaching the team!

Parent Conferences - 11/6 and 11/12

Parent conferences will take place on November 6th and 12th from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.  Each conference time slot is 15 minutes long.  To schedule a conference with any or all of your child's teachers, please call 472-6505 and talk to Janice Farabaugh, our school secretary.  She will enter your name in the schedule logbook.  Time slots are assigned on a first-call, first-served basis, so call and book your conferences soon!

If you are unable to come to the school for a face to face conference with your child's teachers, you can schedule a phone conference.  Please follow the same procedure as described above.

Although we set these times aside for our teachers to stay after school to meet with you, parents are encouraged to contact teachers and schedule a conference any time throughout the school year if there is a concern over a child's academic performance.  

We hope to see you in November!

Marking period 1 report cards

We are planning to send first marking period report cards home with students on Halloween - Friday, October 31st.  Please ask for them when your child arrives home that day.

Box Tops For Education Round 1 Deadline - Friday, 10/24

Round 1 of our Box Tops for Education contest is quickly coming to a close.  The deadline is this Friday!!  The race has heated up.  Mr. Moore's 1st period class had a commanding lead, but they have been overtaken by Mrs. Mazzarella's math class in the past week.  Moving into third place is Ms. Shaheen's language arts class.  Will a darkhorse contender emerge from the shadows?  Have some classes been hoarding their box tops until the final day?  We will soon find out.

Thank you for participating in our box tops collection and contest.  Every dollar we bring in from this collection is used to purchase new books for our middle school library.

Special thanks to Mrs. Criste, our librarian, for organizing this contest.

Box Tops For Education - Round 1

Our Box Tops For Education contest has begun.  Round 1 is well underway, with first period classes battling for supremacy and the right to be dismissed to lunch first during the month of November.  Please clip box tops from products that you buy and send them in with your child.  All proceeds from this initiative are used to add books to our middle school library collection.  Thank you in advance for your participation!

Volunteers Needed 10/29 for Safe Halloween Night!

We are in need of some parent volunteers to assist with our Safe Halloween Night event on October 29th.  The event will run from 6 - 8 p.m. with cleanup to follow.  There is a middle school dance at the same time.  If you would like to assist, please email csantini@cencam.org.  We could also use donations of Halloween candy if you can provide a bag.  Thank you!

Hoss's Red Devil Marching Band Fundraiser 10/21

Why cook dinner next Tuesday, October 21st when you can go to Hoss's and support the Red Devil Marching Band?  The marching band will receive 20 - 25% of all profits on that date from anybody who presents a Central Cambria Band Boosters slip when ordering your meal.  Slip is pictured below if you need to print it out.  The money that goes to the band boosters is used to offset costs for t-shirts, jackets, meals, transportation to away games, instrument repairs, and dry cleaning of uniforms.  Thank you in advance for considering a meal out to support the band!

Central Cambria Safe Halloween Night

Central Cambria Safe Halloween Night

When:  Wednesday, October 29^th    6-8 pm

What:  A spooktacular Halloween extravaganza for all Central Cambria K – 5 students and younger siblings.

Where:  Central Cambria Middle School.  Enter through the Middle School entrance.

Tentative Schedule of Events:

6:00 – 6:45:  Trick or Treat in Middle School classrooms.  Each room is sponsored by a club, athletic team, or other school organization.

6:45 – 7:30:  Spooktacular festivities in the Middle School Gym:

·         An appearance by the ghost of the old Middle School

·         Have your picture taken in your costume

·         Games, contests, prizes

7:30:  Costume Contest and closing festivities

8:00:  End of the event

Costume Guidelines:  Please do not bring any type of weapon or toy weapon that might accompany your costume.

Remember to wear your costume and bring a bag/container to collect your goodies!

We are looking for volunteers to assist. Any elementary PTO member willing to help please contact Mr. Santini

814-472-6505 ext 500 or csantini@cencam.org

Sponsored By:

CCMS Student Council, CCHS clubs and athletic teams, Jackson & Cambria Elementary PTO’s,

CCSD Principals & Teachers, Nutrition Group

Request for Pictures/Photos

If you have walked the halls of the new middle school, you have probably noticed that we are in need of some decoration in our hallways.  With the old middle school now torn down, we would like to create a tribute to the old building while solving our decoration problem.  We are planning to create some photo collages to mount above the lockers in both hallways, and we need your help.  If you or somebody you know have pictures taken in the old middle school from any time between 1929 and 2011, we would like to have a copy to consider for use on this project.  You can send scanned photographs to my email address at csantini@cencam.org or drop a hard copy off at the middle school.  If you want the hard copy back after we scan it, just include a note to that effect.  Thank you for considering a contribution to this project!

Breakfast Club

Through the Ready To Learn Block Grant, the Central Cambria Middle School has begun a Literacy Breakfast Club.  The purpose of the club is to provide students in grades 6 through 8 with extra practice in reading and writing in a fun environment.  Activities are designed and taught by Mrs. Lashinsky, 6th grade language arts teacher.  As our numbers increase we will add additional teachers.  

When is Literacy Breakfast Club held?

6:55 - 7:25 a.m. every Wednesday.  Students will need transportation to school at that time on designated LBC days.

What will students do during LBC?

Students will participate in activities that will build their reading and writing skills, regardless of the level they are starting from.

Who is invited?

Any student in 6th through 8th grade with an interest in or need for extra reading and writing practice is invited.

Where is LBC held?

Room H107

Who do I contact for more information?

Mrs. Lashinsky - klashinsky@cencam.org   

Fall Fundraiser

Our CCMS Fall Fundraiser has begun!  Students participated in a kickoff assembly this past Thursday, and received their order forms for the sale on Friday.  

What are students selling?  

Our Student Council advisors decided to change our fundraiser this year due to a need for something new and different.  Students will be selling Yankee Candles and Little Caesar's pizza kits.  We tried to find products that are different than other fundraisers being run within the school district during the year, and products that we thought would sell, and scented candles and pizza kits fit that description.

Where does the money go?

Money raised by our fall fundraiser is used to fund student field trips, dances, mini-thon, fit and fun day, student rewards and incentives, and other student activities throughout the school year.  All of the money raised is spent on activities that benefit the students and our school.  

Are there prizes for selling items?

Yes!  The more items a student sells, the more prizes they are eligible for in our prize drawings and awards later in the school year.  

Is there a consequence if a student does not sell anything?

No.  Participation is strictly voluntary.  We realize that selling fundraiser items is not possible for every student's family situation.  We do not penalize kids if they do not participate.  We do encourage students to participate by offering incentives and prizes for sales.  If every student in the building sells one item, we would have tremendous results.

How can I order if I do not have a student at CCMS?

For more information, please contact Ms. Asashon at lasashon@cencam.org. 

Mid-Term Progress Reports

Mid-term progress reports will be sent home with all students Friday, September 26th.  These reports will list grades from each class your child is currently enrolled in as of the end of school on Wednesday, 9/24.  Please ask to see the report when your child arrives home from school on Friday, and contact teachers next week with any questions or concerns you might have.

Picture Days at CCMS

All 8th grade students will have pictures taken on Wednesday, September 10th in the afternoon.  6th and 7th grade students will have pictures taken on Thursday, September 11th.  Please plan accordingly on these dates!

Employee of the Month for September - Ms. Ribarich

Ms. Robin Ribarich, guidance counselor at CCMS, is our Employee of the Month for September.  Ms. Ribarich excels at all aspects in her role as guidance counselor.  This past month she devoted significant time to entering students into our master schedule and making sure we were ready to start the 2014-15 school year.  Ms. Ribarich consistently goes above and beyond to serve our students at CCMS, and we are recognizing her work by naming her our September Employee of the Month!

Meet the Teacher Night

Our annual Meet the Teacher Night will be held this Wednesday, August 27th at the middle school.  There will be a meeting for parents in the auditorium beginning around 6:30 where Mr. Santini, the school principal, will talk about some of the initiatives taking place this school year.  We will have copies of your child's schedule available for you to pick up when you arrive.  You will follow their day 1 schedule.  At 7:00 p.m. parents will be released from the auditorium to go through their child's schedule and meet each of their teachers.  Each class period will run for about 8 minutes, with 3 minutes in between for travel time to the next class.  The event will end around 8:30 p.m.  We highly encourage you to attend, and hope to see you here tomorrow night!  

First Day of School - Monday, August 25th

This is a reminder to students and parents that the 2014-15 school year will kick off on Monday, August 25, 2014.  We are excited to see you back at school and hope you have had a great summer!

CPR & First Aid Course - Monday, May 12

There will be a CPR & First Aid Certification course for students in grade 7 and 8 held on Monday, May 12, 2014.  The cost is $10 and it will take place in the middle school gym from 3 - 7 p.m.  Students must sign up in the middle school office on Monday if they want to participate.  The first 30 students will be accepted.  Checks may be made payable to the Ebensburg Area Ambulance Association, who will be providing the training.  If you are interested in having your child take this training, please encourage them to sign up and attend on Monday. 

Teacher Appreciation Week

Tuesday, May 6th is Teacher Appreciation Day, part of a week of appreciation for America's teachers.  If you like the job that one or more of your child's teachers has done in the classroom this year, take a few minutes to write them an email, send or note, or give them a positive word of encouragement.  It means a lot to a good teacher to hear feedback from a satisfied customer.  Thank you!

Spirit Sale Orders

Back by popular demand, spirit wear orders are now being accepted through May 1st.  If you did not receive an order form, stop by the office tomorrow to fill one out.  We now have Central Cambria onesies for those of you with infants and toddlers.  You can begin to build the CC pride early!  Proceeds from the sale go to our student activities fund, which pays for field trips, dances, academic competitions, and many other items beneficial to our students.

Yearbook Pre-Orders

Middle School yearbooks may be pre-ordered by students during lunch this week.  The cost to pre-order a yearbook is $15 and must be paid at the time the pre-order is made.  If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Stephan.

Box Tops for Education - Round 3 Results

The third and final round of our Box Tops For Education collection competition came to a close on this past Friday.  It was the closest competition yet, with our top 3 classes separated by less than 200 box tops.  Mrs. Urbassik's first period class emerged victorious.  Overall, students collected over 6,000 box tops in this last round.  These box tops will turn into a pile of new books that will be added to our library and used to enhance our collection.  This will bring added variety and diversity to the books our students can use with our Accelerated Reader program.  Thank you to all of our students, teachers, and parents who have consistently participated in this contest over the past two years.  

PSSA Testing

While we will not know how our students performed on this year's PSSA tests until later in the summer, I can report that testing week was a tremendous success.  Thank you to our parents for getting your kids to school during testing.  We ran at about 98% attendance during testing, which was our highest attendance rate since the first week of school.  Our students worked hard and put a solid effort into completing their tests.  I am eager to see what the results show when we receive our scores back from the state in July.

Testing week began with a PSSA pep rally on March 24th.  Students joined in singing a PSSA song, and also participated in a Jeopardy-style review game.  A student-made video asked students what they would like as a reward if they performed well on the test.  There were many ideas proposed, from painting Mrs. Ball's classroom pink to having an all-night lock-in.  The following day, testing began.  We tested in the mornings on six consecutive school days, culminating with a pajama day on the Friday after testing.  

Eighth-grade students are currently taking the Writing PSSA this Tuesday and Wednesday, and will take the Science PSSA later this month.  Fortunately for 8th grade students, these will be the last PSSA tests that they will take in their school career.  They will have three Keystone exams before they graduate, starting with Algebra in either 8th or 9th grade.  

Again, thank you to our students, teachers, and parents for helping to make our PSSA testing go smoothly.

Report Cards

If all goes according to plan tomorrow, report cards will be coming home with all CCMS students.  We apologize for the delay.  PSSA testing and illness going around the office set us back a couple of days.  Please ask your child for their report card when they come home tomorrow, and be sure to read the newsletter on the back of the report card.  Additionally, there will be a letter regarding our new School Resource Officer attached to report cards.  

Science Olympiad Competition

This past Wednesday, the CCMS Science Olympiad team competed for the first time in its brief history.  The team, consisting of 15 students in grades 6, 7 and 8, traveled to California University of Pennsylvania in the early hours of Wednesday morning.  Team members competed in a variety of events at the competition, against schools from all over southwestern Pennsylvania.  A majority of the schools were from the Pittsburgh area, and most of them were larger than CCMS.  To add to this, our team was the only one which was new to the competition.  Against these odds, our students posted a 12th place finish in a field of 23 teams, putting us squarely in the middle of the pack against some of the biggest and best schools in the Pittsburgh area.  In addition, individual team members posted top 5 finishes in a few specific events.  The team represented themselves and our school well.  Our thanks go to Ms. Gillin, CCMS AmeriCorps worker and Science Olympiad coach, our team members, and the Central Cambria Education Foundation, who provided startup funds for the team.  

THON THURSDAY

This past Thursday night, Central Cambria Middle School students and staff came together for THON Thursday.  This event, organized by CCMS Student Council and its advisors, was organized with the purpose of raising money for a charitable cause chosen by the council.  The event began with a brief assembly in the gym, where students were able to make reservations at the Sweet Treats restaurant and discover where their dodgeball teams were placed in the tournament bracket.  At this point, the festivities began.

The dodgeball tournament saw some fierce competition in both the boys' and girls' bracket.  In the boys' bracket, an upstart band of 6th graders made it all the way to the finals before falling to a team stacked full of 8th graders.  It was a valiant effort indeed.  On the girls' side, the outcome was similar, with a team of 6th grade girls making it to the finals before falling to a group of 8th grade ladies.  While the dodgeball tournament was happening in the gym, there were several other activities taking place within the school.

A game room and a craft room were available throughout the event for students to enjoy.  There were some intense board game battles taking place.  Periodically throughout the evening, students were called to the Sweet Treats restaurant based on their reservations.  The restaurant was fully staffed with some excellent high school students who were servers for the night.  As students entered the restaurant, menus were available at their tables and they were waited on by our excellent wait staff.  The restaurant was a great way for students to break up the evening and gather with their friends while planning for other activities during the night.

The night ended with a talent show, featuring 12 student acts in a variety of performances.  Our students' performances were impressive, and brought the crowd to their feet multiple times.  

Thon Thursday was a great experience for our kids.  They behaved well, had fun participating in a number of activities, and raised money for a good cause.  Our thanks go to them, our teachers and volunteers who came together to make this event a resounding success.

These guys clearly need to hit the weight room

 Getting ready for some dodgeball

She's got talent!

Next up: Piano players with presidential first names

Was that Steve Perry from Journey?

Big talkers 

Strategizing before the game starts 

Hanging out at the restuarant 

Scenes from a middle school restaurant

Game room 

Our high school students became great wait staff 

These two are excited about food!

Boys' dodgeball champions

Girls' dodgeball champions

  

Read Across America Week CCMS Statistics

In celebration of Read Across America Week, here are some statistics about our students:

CCMS students have tested on over 2,200 books up to this point in the school year.  They have read over 78,600,000 words.  Yes, that is 78 million!

Box Tops for Education - Round 3

The third and final round of our Box Tops for Education collection competition is underway.  The deadline for this final round is April 4th.  If you purchase products that contain box tops on their packaging, please clip them and send them to school with your child.  For a list of participating products, please view the following link:  http://www.boxtops4education.com/products/participating-products

The proceeds from these box tops are used to purchase new books for our library.  Last year, we were able to buy a large number of books with these funds.  Thank you in advance for participating!

Mid-Term Progress Reports

Mid-term progress reports will be sent home with students this Thursday.  Please ask your child to see their progress report when they get home.  It will contain updated grades for all classes, and a newsletter on the back.  An informational letter regarding PSSA testing will also be sent home Thursday with progress reports.  If you have any questions about PSSA testing or your child's grades, feel free to contact Mr. Santini at csantini@cencam.org or 472-6505 ext. 500.    

Thon Thursday & Pajama Day

Thon Thursday, originally scheduled for January, then February, will finally be taking place this Thursday evening from 6 - 9 p.m.  Festivities will include a variety of activities, including a dodgeball tournament and talent show.  Cost is $5 at the door.

As a reward for the outstanding fundraising effort and exemplary behavior displayed by our students throughout our Hoops for Heart campaign, we will be having a Pajama Day this Thursday as well.  Students may wear pajamas to school this Thursday providing they conform to our school dress code.  

Please continue to collect box tops for education, as our third and final round of the collection will take place this month.

CCMS Hoops for Heart

Written by:  Ms. Getz - CCMS Physical Education Teacher

Once again the students at Central Cambria showed that they have heart! For the third consecutive year, students at CCMS participated in the Hoops for Heart program in association with the American Heart Association. This program teaches students the importance of keeping their heart healthy, while also giving them the opportunity to participate in basketball activities. The students raise money for the American Heart Association by collecting donations and taking part in various events during the program.  Our varsity boys’ basketball team also got in on the event by holding a Red Out game February 10^th, with proceeds from their 50/50, basket raffle, and t-shirt sales being donated to the event. Our goal this year was to raise $5,000 – a seemingly daunting task to some – but the students were up for the challenge!

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States. The American Heart Association uses the money collected to help those affected by heart disease and to try to decrease the number of deaths every year. They use the money in various ways, such as for research, medical equipment, and to help alleviate costs associated with medications and medical procedures.

The Hoops for Heart program culminated with a final event held on February 27^th. The main attraction was a basketball game between groups of students in 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade and some of our basketball all-star staff - Mr. Gilkey, Mr. Moore, Mr. Dziack, Mrs. Klezek, Miss Sedlock, Miss Sossong, Miss Dziack, and Miss Getz.  Thank you to Mr. Corrente for coaching the students; Mr. Stephan for refereeing the game; Mrs. Ball, Mrs. Lashinksy, and Mrs. Urbassik for leading the cheering section; and Mrs. Gochnour and Miss Asahon for being the photographers!

When the final tabulations were in and the total was revealed, the students realized that they had not only met, but succeeded the goal of $5,000. $6,460 is being donated to the American Heart Association from the students at Central Cambria! Many people will benefit from the efforts of our students and they are to be commended for all of their hard work! 

Coach Corrente leading the student teams

Mrs. Ball - the cheerleader

 6th Grade vs Teachers

 The cheering squad

 The student teams

 Ohm vs. Ms. Sossong on the tip-off

 7th grade vs Teachers

 Relentless defensive pressure by Mrs. Klezek and the teachers

 Who is boxing out who?

 Three-point competition

 Some of our top fundraisers

 Enjoying themselves

 The unveiling!

 A new CCMS record: $6,460 for the AHA!! 

First Lego League Robotics Competition

This past Saturday, students in Mrs. Niebauer's classes competed in the First Lego League robotics competition held at the Greater Johnstown Career & Technical Center.  The competition requires students to program a Lego robotics kit to perform a variety of tasks on a pre-determined course.  The course and tasks are the same for all teams, but they may design their robots in a variety of configurations.  Our three teams from CCMS improved on their finishes from last year, which was their first year participating in the competition.  Mrs. Niebauer was honored as the coach of the year.  Overall, it was a successful event for our kids.  For more information, visit the First Lego League sites: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/ or http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll

6th grade team

CC Devil Dominators

More CC Devil Dominators 

CC Robo Devils at FLL Competition

Team Photo 

Trophies!

Thank you to our donors for supporting DonorsChoose projects at CCMS

Earlier this school year, our teachers were presented with information on the Donors Choose program.  This program allows teachers to post projects to solicit funds for supplies or classroom equipment, field trips, and other items.  Anybody wishing to donate to the site can do so by visiting it, searching projects by zip code, and choosing which projects to donate to.  So far, our teachers at CCMS are 4 for 4 with getting projects funded through the site.  The latest example was a project created by Ms. Sossong for some specialized science equipment for her classroom.  Several donors contributed to the project, and the Walt Disney Company provided matching funds.  On behalf of Central Cambria Middle School, I want to thank all of those who have contributed to these projects to enhance learning for our students.

Schedule Changes Due To Weather

We hope you made it through the "early spring break" caused by the weather over the past week.  This disruption has caused a number of changes to events that we have scheduled at CCMS:

Thon Thursday will now take place on Thursday, March 6th from 6 - 9 p.m.

The Hoops for Heart event will take place during 9th period on Thursday, February 27th.

Our internal Science Olympiad competition takes place tomorrow, 2/21.  The competition is open to all members of the club.  The top 15 finishers will be chosen to compete in the regional tournament in March.

The Book Fair will now take place according to the following schedule:

Today - 6th grade
Friday 2/21 - 7th grade
Monday 2/24 - 8th grade
Tuesday 2/25 - Make-up day for anybody who forgot their money or was absent

Parent Night at the Book Fair will be held on Tuesday, 2/25 from 6 - 8 p.m.

PSSA testing will now begin on March 25th rather than March 18th.  Keystone Algebra exam remains May 14 & 15.

Please stay tuned to the blog and our Twitter account @CCMSPrincipal for the latest news and updates.

Teens for Jeans Deadline Extended

The deadline for our Teens For Jeans drive has been extended.  We will be accepting donations of jeans through Thursday, 2/13/2014.  So, clean out those closets and bring your unwanted jeans to the Middle School!

Thon Thursday - 3/6/2014

Our Thon Thursday event, including a dodgeball tournament and talent show, has been moved to Thursday, March 6, 2014.  

Teens for Jeans

Hi Everyone,

CCMS Student Council members are gearing up for their 3^rd annual “Teens for Jeans” project.  As part of an initiative started by DoSomething.org and Aeropostale, CCMS students are seeking slightly worn jeans to donate to this project.  The jeans will be collected and provided to Aeropostale who will  then collaborate with DoSomething.org and donate them to homeless youth.

In Need of:

Slightly worn jeans of all sizes – boy’s/girl’s/men’s/women’s

Drop-off Locations:

·       Middle School:   Guidance Office

·       High School:   Guidance Office

·       Jackson Elementary:  Main Office

·       Cambria Elementary:  Main Office

*Please be sure to write your name on the donation sheet at each location.  Once the jeans are dropped off at Aeropostale, Aeropostale will provide me with coupons to provide to you.  The coupon will be for a percentage off of a future purchase of jeans at their store.

For more information, please visit:   http://www.dosomething.org/teensforjeans

Thank you for your participation!!!!! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Team Council Advisors –

Carleen Ball, Lisa Asashon, Barri Dziack, Elise Dziack, Gretchen Getz, Robin Ribarich

Dress Code Clarification

Parents,

The following letter was given to all students today, to be taken home and shared with you.  On the back of the letter is a copy of our school dress code.  

Parents/Guardians of Central Cambria Middle School students,

On Friday, January 3^rd, 2014 a meeting was held with students to discuss and clarify expectations regarding our school dress code.  The dress code is a Central Cambria School District School Board Policy (Policy #221) and is also printed in the student handbook on page #18.  Additionally, it is printed on the back of this letter for your reference.  From time to time there is a need to clarify aspects of the dress code expectations with students based on what we are observing within the school.  The specific issue that was addressed with students this past Friday was in regard to yoga pants and tight leggings being worn in place of pants.  The dress code sets restrictions on clothing which is revealingly or excessively tight.  By their nature and design, most yoga pants and leggings fall into this category.  We recognize that these garments are a common item in many students’ wardrobes, and for that reason we have not banned yoga pants or leggings from being worn.  However, we are requiring students to wear additional garments that will cover their front and backside to the length of their fingertips when their arms are held at their sides as required by the dress code.  This could be in the form of a skirt, shorts, long sweater, or other type of shirt or covering that is appropriate for school. 

In general, the purpose of the dress code is to assist in maintaining a safe and positive school climate that is free of distractions and conducive to learning for all students.  If you have any questions or need further clarification as to the expectations of our students on this topic, please call or email me directly using the information below.

Sincerely,

Chris Santini

Phone:  814-472-6505 ext. 500

Email:  csantini@cencam.org   

CENTRAL CAMBRIA MIDDLE SCHOOL DRESS CODE

All students should be dressed and groomed so as not to distract the attention of others or to cause disruption with the educational process or orderly operation of the school.  Since fashion trends change quickly, the administration reserves the right to deem certain articles of clothing inappropriate even if not outlined in this student handbook.  When a student is recognized as not being in compliance with the stated practices, the principal shall meet with the student to discuss the reasons and render a decision following their discussion.  If a student is in noncompliance with the regulations, disciplinary action will be taken and the student will be required to make appropriate modifications before re-entering class and/or school.

Clothing that is not permitted:

*Shorts and skirts shorter than your fingertips when standing with arms at the sides.

*Cut off sweats, frayed, cut off jeans, jeans or shorts with worn/torn holes.

*Clothing that allows your stomach/midriff to show.

*Muscle shirts, tank tops/spaghetti straps or see-through clothing.

*Clothing with obscene or suggestive pictures, or clothing displaying or promoting drug use, alcohol, tobacco, violence, sexual innuendos, profane gestures or profanity.

*Clothing which is revealingly or excessively tattered, such as ripped or torn jeans.

*Clothing which is excessively tight.  Clothes must fit and pants must be worn around the waist.

*Pajama pants or sleepwear

*No visible external body piercing of any kind other than ears.

*Chains, exposed safety pins, needles, or other ornamental jewelry that could be potentially dangerous.

*Colored hair other than natural hair colors, and/or spiked hair longer than two and a half inches. 

ALSO:

*Hats or head coverings may not be worn in the building.

*No hoods may be worn in the building.  Hooded sweatshirts may only be worn if the hood is not used.

*Coats, overcoats and jackets may not be worn in the building.

First Offense:  Student will be asked to change or modify attire to conform with dress code.  Refusal to do so will result in removal from class until alternate clothes can be provided. 

Second Offense:  Student will be asked to change or modify attire to conform with dress code.  Refusal to do so will result in removal from class until alternate clothes can be provided.  One hour of after-school detention will be assigned.

Subsequent Offenses:  Procedures from first offense will be followed.  Additionally, in-school suspension will be assigned for failure to conform to the school dress code.