Welcome to the 2016-17 school year! The sounds of helmets hitting, whistles blowing, and the marching band practicing mean that the start of school is right around the corner. The fantastic teaching staff of Central Cambria Middle School will be returning this Thursday for three days of training and preparation leading up to the start of school on Wednesday, August 24th.
When students return on the 24th, they will report to the auditorium and be seated by grade level, as directed by the teachers on duty. Our teachers will meet them in the auditorium, call out the students on their roster, and escort them to their classroom. Students will receive their schedules in their first period class. If there are any scheduling issues, we will resolve them during the first few days of school. Although we check, double check, and check again, there are always some scheduling holes that we miss.
All students, including sixth graders, will receive lockers with combinations. While this will be an easy transition for our 7th and 8th graders, it will likely take our 6th graders a few days to get the hang of opening their lockers. Our teachers and P.J., our very patient custodian, will be available to assist students as they master this skill.
Over the summer, a renovation project was started on our high school gymnasium. A new floor, lighting, and paint is being installed and applied. The goal was for this project to be completed by the start of school, but it is looking like it may extend into September before it is finished. The project will be worth the wait, and our physical education teachers will prepare activities accordingly.
We have enhanced our technology available to students over the summer, adding an additional Chromebook cart as well as an iPad cart to our arsenal of digital tools students can use during the day. We will start the school year with over 260 devices three years old or less for student use, which will allow our teachers to incorporate digital tools into their instruction on a consistent basis. Each core subject will have at least one Chromebook or iPad cart assigned to it. All three grades of social studies will be 1:1 with Chromebooks in 6th grade and laptops in grades 7 & 8. This will enable students to access digital textbook materials during class. We are very excited about the great leaps forward we continue to take with instructional technology at the middle school.
One of our foremost goals for the 2016-17 school year is to increase our use of hands-on activities in all three grade levels of science. While there is always room for improvement across the board, this is one of the last remaining areas that stands out as a critical need to enhance our students' learning.
We are welcoming two new teachers to the middle school for the start of the year. Jessica Scott will be replacing Kelly Lashinsky in 6th grade English language arts, while Jason Zaffuto replaces Amanda Shaheen in 8th grade English language arts. Haily Moody will serve as a reading intern in our language arts classes through a graduate assistant partnership with Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Rita Tinik will greet visitors as our new secretary, replacing Kim Bednar after her promotion to the position of transportation coordinator.
We are excited to get this new school year started, and look forward to the return of students on August 24th. If you have any questions, please call or email at any time. Stay tuned to the blog and our Twitter page for the latest updates throughout the school year.
