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.