Box Tops Round 2

Round 2 of our box tops for education contest is underway.  Our current standings are:  1st place - Mr. Stephan's class  2nd - Ms. Getz' class  3rd - Mrs. Urbassik's class  4th - Mrs. Petre's class  5th - Mrs. Dziack's class.  We have some new names atop the leaderboard right now, but as round 1 proved, things can change as we get closer to the end of round 2.  We will find out who has been hoarding their box tops until the end, who has been embellishing their amount collected, and separate the contenders from the pretenders over the next month.  One thing that is certain is that each box top collected allows us to purchase new reading materials to benefit our students, so please keep sending them in.

School Store

The Devil’s Den, Central Cambria Middle School's new school store, is ready to open on Monday.  Mrs. Niebauer's 6th grade enrichment/language arts class has been worked during the first marking period on creating a school store to serve our students.  The class developed and administered a market research survey to determine products and price points our students would be most interested in, researched and selected vendors to provide products, and completed other tasks to get the store set up and ready for its grand opening on Monday.  The store will be located in the cafeteria during lunch period on designated days.  Initial products available are pencils, pens, erasers, locker scents, gum, and other items of interest.  We will also have t-shirts and sweatshirts developed by the Central Cambria Education Foundation available for order.  New products will be added as the year progresses.  Thanks in advance to Mrs. Niebauer and her class for making the new store a reality!

Reading Competition Team Dominates!

Congratulations to our CCMS Reading Competition teams.  Team 1 brought home a third place ribbon by earning 51 points, while team 2 brought home the grand prize trophy by earning 75 points and placing first among the 43 teams in the competition.  Congratulations also go to Danika Polka and Tyler Toth for reading all 42 books required for the competition.  Yes, you read that correctly, 42 books!  Thank you to Mrs. Dziack, Ms. Minor, Mrs. Kemock, and Mrs. Farabaugh for helping with both teams in the competition!

Supply Bus for Hurricane Victims

Help the Central Cambria School District "pack the bus" this week!

The East Coast and its residents have been hit very hard by Hurricane Sandy and they need our help.  Our Central Cambria School District family will be “packing a bus” with needed supplies starting Wednesday, November 7^th through Friday November 9^th.  The bus will be parked in front of the High School on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 to 4:30.  Even though the students do not have school on Friday, the bus will still be parked in front of the HS for any additional drop-offs.  Supplies from Jackson Elementary will be picked up Thursday afternoon. We will be taking our “packed bus” to the East Coast on Sunday, November 11^th.   Please read the list below for recommended items. We thank you for your generosity.

Diapers, Baby Wipes

Heavy Duty Trash Liners

Latex Gloves

Coats for men and women

Socks for men, women and children

Toiletries:  soap, razors, shaving cream, toothbrushes, toothpaste

Boots

Bottled Water

Laundry Detergent

First Aid Supplies

Styrofoam cups 8 ounce size

Drinking cups 12-16 ounce size

Decaffeinated beverages

Ground coffee

Chips/pretzels in individual serving bags

Desserts, individually wrapped

Board games – checks, chess, puzzle books

PTSO Meeting

Our Central Cambria Middle School PTSO will be holding a meeting Tuesday, November 13th at 6:00 p.m. at the Middle School.  Any interested parent is welcome to attend the meeting.

Box Tops for Education - Round 1 Results

The results from the first round of our Box Tops for Education contest are in.  Mr. Dziack's class won round 1 by collecting 1,685 box tops.  Mr. Moore's class was 2nd with 1,282, and Ms. Vescovi's class finished 3rd with 1,065 box tops turned in.  In total, we had 15 first period classes collect 7,264 box tops in our first round.  The top three finishers will enjoy being the first three classes dismissed to the lunch line during the month of November.  Thank you to everyone who collected.  Round 2 has already begun, so please keep those collections coming!

Report Cards

Report cards were sent home with all students yesterday.  If you did not receive your child's report card, please contact the Middle School at 472-6505.

Box Tops Update

The deadline for round 1 of our Box Tops for Education contest is Monday, October 29th.  The 1st period class with the most box tops collected by Monday will be permitted to get in the lunch line first for the entire month of November.  At last count, Mr. Dziack's class held the lead, but there were several classes within striking distance. 

Why is this box top collection important?  So far, we have collected about $650 worth of box tops.  This money will be used to enhance our middle school library resources.  With new Common Core State Standards that will take effect in the 2013-14 school year, our middle school reading collection is in need of an update and upgrade.  Each box top collected gets us closer to that goal.  We thank you and your children for participating in the contest each marking period and wish each class good luck as they push toward victory.

PDE Officials Visit Central Cambria

On Thursday, October 25th, Dr. Carolyn Dumaresq, Deputy Secretary of Education, and two other PA Department of Education consultants visited Central Cambria to learn about and receive feedback on the new teacher evaluation system that is being piloted this year.  As you may be aware, all teachers will be evaluated starting in the 2013-14 school year using a new rubric developed by PDE.  The rubric contains 4 broad domains containing a total of 22 components of effective teaching.  Through evidence collected during classroom observations, pre- and post-conferences to discuss performance, and ratings based on a detailed rubric, the new system will provide opportunities to acknowledge each teacher's strengths and identify specific areas for improvement. The overall goal of the new system is to provide meaningful feedback to improve classroom instruction, and thereby increase learning for every student in the Commonwealth.  As the year progresses, we will update our blog readers on the progress of our teacher evaluation pilot program at Central Cambria Middle School.  To watch the news segment from Dr. Dumaresq's visit, follow this link:  http://wearecentralpa.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=408472

Halloween Dance = Great Success

Last evening over 300 of our students gathered for the annual Halloween Dance sponsored by student council.  The evening was successful for a number of reasons.  First, our student council co-advisors put in the time to plan a quality event.  Second, our students were very well-behaved and handled the evening in a mature and controlled manner.  Third, our students were excited and enthusiastic throughout the event.  It was certainly enjoyable to see our kids having a good time to wrap up the last week of the first marking period.