Message from the Principal
The first month of school has been very busy, extremely positive, and full of fun. We started off the school year with a well-attended Wolf Day (over 700 students) and rolled smoothly into our first week of school.
October is jam-packed with events and opportunities for you and your student to spend time at Cedar Park for learning and family events. We want everyone to feel values and welcome, so please check out the dates to know below. As always, we ask that you attend evening events with your student; please do not drop her/him off without parental or family supervision.
Finally, our annual 5K Fundraiser is October 3rd. This is a really fun day, and we would love every parent to come out and cheer on our students. The 6th graders will run first, at the beginning of the day, the 7th graders will run during the middle of the school day, and the 8th graders will run during the last part of the day. For specific times, please talk to your student.
Annual 5K Fundraiser
Cedar Park Middle School school is having a 5K to raise money for Art Literacy, Field Trips for all grades, Pack Store to reward student character, Staff Appreciation, Student Socials, Classroom enhancement including discretionary funds for teacher led programs, interactive white tables in math classrooms as well as new furniture in the library. We'd be thrilled if you could support our school!
Click here to read about the fundraiser and all the great things it has done for CPMS.
Check out the 5K comprehensive 5K newsletter or email the 5K team (5k@cedarparkptc.org).
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to make Thursday awesome!
6th Grade: 9-10:30am
Fun Stations (2 openings)
7th Grade: 11:50am- 1:20pm
Volunteer Table (1 opening)
Wristbands (11 openings)
Fun Stations (3 openings)
8th Grade: 2:15- 3:30pm
Food (1 opening)
Volunteer Table (2 openings)
Wristbands (11 openings)
Fun Stations (3 openings)
All volunteers must have a completed background check. More info at cedarparkptc.org/volunteering.
Important Dates for October
Sept 30 - Oct 4 - Spirit Week
October 3 - Cedar Park Annual 5K Fundraiser
Oct 10 @ 5:30 - Noche de Familia
Oct 10 @ 6:30 - 8:00 - Family Fun Night
Oct 11 - Statewide Professional Development day - No school for students
Oct 14 - 22 - Book Fair in the library
Oct 16 - P/T Conferences 5:40 - 8:00
Oct 17 - P/T Conferences 8:40 AM - 7:30 PM
Health Preview 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Oct 18 - No School
Oct 21 - PTC Meeting @ 6:30 PM - Canvas and ParentVue Instruction
Oct 24 - Whole School Empowerment Assembly
Oct 31 - Halloween (see guidance below)*
Nov 1 - Grading Day - No school
October is Anti-Bullying Month
We are also including some useful links to information below.
Parent Teacher Conferences 10/16-10/17
We believe that it's important to really connect with our students who may be struggling to develop a collaborative partnership with parents early on in the school year - we simply can't wait until February to support our most vulnerable students. This will be the focus for core teachers, but the elective teachers will be available on a drop-in basis throughout the conference hours.
Teachers will be contacting families regarding conference times and details this week, so watch your email, and talk to your student. If you have questions, please contact the school or your student's teachers.
Hours: Wednesday, 10/16 5:40 - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, 10/17 8:40 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. intermittently
NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, 10/18
MYP Corner
Teaching and learning in the Middle Years Program (MYP)
In the Middle Years Program students are engage in inquiry-based, concept-driven learning in 8 subject areas: Language and Literature and Individuals and Societies (Humanities), Mathematics, Sciences and Design (Science), Language Acquisition, (Spanish or English Language Development) Physical and Health Education, and Arts (Visual Arts, Drama, Band, Choir).
Teachers develop units that set the learning targets in a context that helps make the learning more relevant. Additionally, learning is connected to big conceptual ideas, such as change or relationships. This is intended to help students make connections between subjects. It is also important in MYP that students learn academic skills. These are referred to asApproaches to Learning (ATLs). Finally, MYP has a component of Action. We want students to see that they can learn by doing and that sometimes their learning makes them want to take action.
MYP Assessment and Grades
During the first few weeks of school teachers are using a variety to methods to understand where students are at and what progress they are making in their learning. Teachers have been giving feedback to student verbally, through conferencing, possibly though Canvas, and through Behavior Scores. Soon, you will begin to see scores on larger assessments through ParentVue.
Parents/Guardians can log in to ParentVue and students can log in to StudentVue to view current teacher grade books. https://parentvue.beaverton.k12.or.us/
At MYP Schools, we use scores 1-8, so that is a change if your student attended a Beaverton Elementary School. And, though teachers are addressing the Beaverton Targets, you will notice that we report on Criteria. The rubrics and criteria that we use come from the International Baccalaureate (IB), which oversees MYP. There is a strong focus not only on the final product, but the process of getting there. Now is a good time for students to start reflecting on their progress so far to see if they are on track to meet their goals. If you have more specific questions on grading or assessment, please reach out to the MYP Coordinator: heidi_vandenhooff@beaverton.k12.or.us
Month Specific Attribute -October
Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, October: Reflective: Reflective learners think carefully about how they learn through different experiences. By being able to recognize personal strengths and limitations, they are able to set goals for further learning and development.
School-Home Connection
We kicked off the year with Inquirer, because we think that developing strong questioning skills help us best understand the world. Once the school year is a few weeks old, it is already important to think about Reflection.
Encourage students to reflect on their school day, their learning, and their personal life by asking probing questions: “What do you hope to get out of this school year? Are you already on the right track? What else do you need to be doing to get there?”
Scholastic Book Fair
