First dance and Volleyball update

     It has been 3 years since my last 6th grade dance. I must say it has not changed much. A ton of smiles, LOUD music, food, candy, and energy. They never seem to run out of energy. I am sure the students could run, play, and dance all night if it lasted that long. Well, the first dance is over and I want to thank all the parents who gave up what could have been a quiet night at home to join us for a few hours of fun. Thank you to Mrs. Embry for organizing such a successful dance. The 7th and 8th grade dance will be held on October 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets will be sold in the cafeteria (the week of the dance) for five dollars or six dollars at the door. Mrs. Macharia will organize this dance. If you would like to help please e-mail her or call 428-2300.
      The 7th grade volleyball B team played in their first tournament this weekend at Ridgeview middle school and came home with a 3rd place trophy. They went 5 and 1 in pool play beating Hopewell, Chisholm, and splitting games with Grisham. Only 4 teams qualified for the tournament. In our first round match up against Walsh we fell short but came back strong against Chisholm to win the third place trophy. The 8th grader B team also played in a tournament this weekend. They went undefeated beating Grisham, Deerpark, Chisholm, Hopewell, Ridgeview, and Canyon Vista to win the Championship. Great job Ladies. Way to bring home some hardware. Be sure to tell Coach Philen, Petty, and Cook thanks for all they do.

Opportunities to serve and join in.

What a busy week it was last week. I found myself wanting to blog but never found the time. If you have not signed up for E-news please make sure you visit RRISD's website and sign up. I want to share with you ways you can serve our school and community as well as provide you with some information about good organizations you can join.

Ways to serve:
1. Special Olympics has a need for volunteers for upcoming events.  Contact Katie Bivens at 428-7632 if you are interested in helping. These events are well organized and wonderful to be a part of. 

2. I know it is not cold yet but I did enjoy those few days last week when it was 57 degrees in the morning. What a great reminder they were that winter is on the way.  Coats for Kids is having a coat distribution at the Dell Diamond on November 5, from 8 to 1. You need to preregister if you plan on helping with this event. Pre-registration is between October 20 and November 4 at the serving center (1099 East Main Street – 10 to 4 M-F and 9-12 Sat). Call Cynthia Flores at 244-2431 for more information.

3. The PTA at CeVMS is having a BACKPACK and BINDER drive for the victims of the Bastrop fires. Please bring any and all backpacks and or binders to the office at CeVMS between today and Friday September 16. If you have questions you can call the front office at 428-2302.

Join in:

1. The Girl Scouts are looking for young ladies interested in growing and working together as a team to serve the community. If you would like to join you can call Mrs. Stewart at 490-2346.

2. CeVMS is having a professional development day on Oct. 10. We are going to have several breakout sessions covering various topics such as school safety, quality of instruction, STAAR testing, and several others topics.  Please come join us and attend one or more of the breakout sessions.  If you would like to attend please call Mrs. Guillory at 428-2302 and she can answer any questions you have and share the schedule with you.  I look forward to seeing you.

3.  Join the PTA.  They do a lot of spectacular things for our school and the community.  Call Carolyn Lawrence at 245-8556 if you would like to become a member. 

Upcoming Events:

Football vs. Canyon Vista September 13

Living History – Theater Arts 6:30 in the cafeteria

Early Release – September 14 - Please remind students not to visit the elementary schools

Volleyball vs. Deerpark – September 15

School Pictures – September 15

6th grade dance - Friday September 16 (Constitution Day)

Volleyball tournament – Saturday September 17 at Ridgeview and Hopewell

7/8 grade dance – Friday October 7

Open House

    
What a fantastic night!  I had a wonderful time meeting and greeting everyone.  I wish we had more time to visit with each of you.  If you were unable to make it tonight and you have questions, please remember that my door is always open so feel free to stop by. 
     When I was hired to be the Principal of Cedar Valley MS I knew I was going to work at a special place.  Well tonight it went beyond knowing it, I saw it and felt it.  Thank you to all the parents for supporting your children by taking time to meet their teachers.  It is evident by the turn out tonight, that you value their education.  Please know that the teachers and the staff here at CeVMS have the same goals you do.  Thank you for sharing your time with us tonight.
     A common question that I heard tonight:  When will Home Access Center (HAC) be ready?  We are looking into that as a district and will hopefully have an answer for you soon.  As soon as it is up and running, I will send out an e-news.  If you have any questions about grades, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.

Letter to Parents

Dear Parents and Friends,

What an awesome first week of school.   That sounds a little bizarre since we are starting our third week of school, but this past week was my first official week at Cedar Valley Middle School.  Let me start by saying, I am so blessed to be here at CeVMS.  I cannot think of another community I would rather work with and for.  I would like to officially thank everyone who has supported me over the years and here recently.  Thank you to everyone who has stopped in to congratulate me and wish me their best.  I appreciate all the kind words.  If it was not for you I would not be here today.  It is nice to be back among so many familiar faces.  I am looking forward to reestablishing relationships with those of whom I already know and beginning lasting relationships with those of you who I will soon meet.

I want everyone to know that I have an open door policy.  Please feel free to come discuss anything and everything with me at anytime.  I believe in quality instruction, relationships, positive attitudes, and interdependency.  Thomas Guskey an educational leader talks about the importance of starting school off right.  In the attached article by Guskey he emphasizes the importance of celebrating success during the first two weeks.  I want to take the time to reflect on some of Cedar Valley’s successes this past year.  Cedar Valley is a TEA rated “Exemplary” school.  We are currently ranked the 40^th best middle school in Texas (out of 1889 schools) by School Digger. You can find their results on the following website: http://www.schooldigger.com.  We earned 5 TEA Gold Star performances: 

1.  Commended performance in Reading/English Language Arts  

2.  Commended in Mathematics  

3.  Commended in Social Studies  

4.  Commended in Science 

5.  Attendance Rate. 

              Greatschools.org awarded us a rating of 10 out of 10 and they take into account several academic and facility factors.  I know there are other successes worth mentioning and I look forward to hearing about them in the days and weeks to come.  One last thing you should celebrate is how well each of the staff and community members stepped up and got the job done during the transition without a school Principal.  I am proud to be a member of such a wonderful community, team, and family.

I am excited about continuing that level of success here at Cedar Valley and look forward to working with each of you to make our school a model for others to emulate.  My initiatives this year are to be the type of leader that will strive to meet the needs of every student, to insure that our teachers are providing the best tier 1 instruction, to encourage our students to be active lifelong learners, and to not only be visible but be a part of community. 

To reach these goals I intend to provide the leadership that will facilitate a school environment that focuses on meeting the needs of every student.  The educational program must be academically challenging, engage every student by linking the curriculum to prior knowledge and experiences, and also be stimulating enough to promote further exploration. I am confident that if we strive to build forward (continuously improve) and move in the same direction we can make Cedar Valley an even better learning environment than it already is.  

Article by Thomas Guskey on Celebrating Success early.

  https://kyp20nxgla.wikispaces.com/file/view/School+Admnistrator+Article+Guskey+SA+11+Starting+Year.pdf

Matthew Groff                                                                                                                                                                 Principal of Cedar Valley MS
An Exemplary School                                                                                                                                                              512-428-2307

Have you ever walked on walls?

Well, I went wall walking today at Cedar Valley.  If you have ever done this before then you know what I am talking about.  Basically when you visit a classroom and you look to see what the teachers and or students have posted on the walls, you are "Wall walking".  I am enjoying every minute of my new job and when I went into the classrooms today to see what kind of instruction was going on, I was reminded of why I love it here.  The teachers of Cedar Valley MS are doing a wonderful job educating the students.  Today I want to share with you some "Wall Walking" pictures.  I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful 3 day weekend.

Mr. Dehlar - Student work - Right Triangle exercise 

Word Wall in Mrs. Winn's room

Essential Questions

Learning Goal and a challenge question

Organizer for World Geography

KWL activity

Word Wall in Mrs. Johnson's room

Have you seen our new lobby area?

Hello,

     If you have had a chance to walk through the front doors of Cedar Valley this year, then you have seen one of our recent upgrades.  The new lobby and receptionist area is designed to help keep the students of Cedar Valley safe.  When you walk into the building on the west side (the side facing Horizon Bay) you will enter into what we are calling our lobby.  Once you are in the lobby you will need to sign (to your left) in using the security system (remember to bring your drivers license - first time users).  After signing in and checking with the receptionist, you may enter the building.  Mrs. Beal will buzz you in.  The door on the far side (furthest to the right) will unlock.  As soon as you walk into the building our new attendance office will be on your left.  Mrs. Johnson, our attendance secretary will assist you.  I have attached a series of pictures to help visualize the changes.  

Entrance

Lobby

Receptionist (Mrs. Beal)

Attendance (Mrs. Johnson)