Roadrunner Review

November 2017 Principal Newsletter by Erika Krohn

Principal's Message

Dear Canyon Rim Families,

Happy November! November is a month to focus on thankfulness. I am so thankful to be leader of such an amazing school with kind, hard-working students and staff, and supportive parents.

First of all, I'm very thankful that we made it through a successful, safe evacuation during the Canyon 2 Fire. I'm thankful for the tireless efforts of the firefighters, police, and first responders, and the calm, capable response of the entire staff. I'm also thankful for the staff at Canyon High School-from the cheerleader greeting to feeding our kids and a smooth check out procedure-they were great! The whole situation made me very proud to live and work in a community where everyone came together to help.

During Red Ribbon Week, we focused on making healthy choices by pledging to live a drug-free life in order to achieve our dreams. In addition, we reached our goal of collecting 700 pounds of pennies to use for drug, alcohol, and tobacco prevention.

I'm still smiling from our wonderful Canyon Rim 20th Anniversary which we celebrated on October 27. It is my hope that all of the students feel as proud as I do to be a Roadrunner. Gratitude and thanks go to Tammy Pinkerton, Tammy Dunst, Jenny Ciriza, Renae Bradley, Melanie Smith, Jennifer Wener, Christina Earle, Liane Jennings, Heather Coulter, Cindy Augustine, Ashley Peake, Camille Ricupito and ALL of our amazing PTA and parent volunteers for their hard work to make the 20th Anniversary a huge success.

We also had great fun at our Canyon Rim tradition of the Fall Parade. Thank you to Mr. Paul Dean Martin for his comical emcee/DJ skills! I'm thankful for the joy and laughter of the students as the entire school paraded around in their costumes.

We are continuing to focus on building our Culture of Kindness and Respect by instilling Big R with a Kind Heart. Certain classes have participated in anti-bullying lessons from me and our mental health counselor. More classes will be receiving these lessons as the year progresses. Our student council from last year ordered Buddy Benches to create a space at recess where kids could go if they needed a friend. They have just been installed on the playground, so we will be advertising their purpose this month.

Learning and kindness abound here at Canyon Rim!

Kindly,

Erika A. Krohn, Principal

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Student Council presented the time capsule contents

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T-K students share why they love Canyon Rim

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Why I Love Canyon Rim essay winners

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Special Guests

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Remaining founding teachers: Mrs. Augustine, Mrs. Botts, Mrs. Coulter, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Mar and Mrs. Mann (not pictured)

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Fun-filled PTA 20th Anniversary Festival

Thank you to our dedicated PTA for a GREAT 20th Anniversary Festival!

October Big R/Kind Heart Raffle Winners

6th Graders Loved Outdoor Science School!

Canyon Rim 6th graders had a blast at the Emerald Cove Outdoor Institute! They stayed at Cedar Crest Camp in Running Springs for 1 week October 16-20. The students learned about science while out on the hiking trails surrounded by fall colors. They also learned campfire songs and chants, line danced, performed in a skit, and created a keepsake necklace. Many of the students commented on how much they liked the food! They slept in cabins with their classmates. Everyone had a job at mealtimes. They returned to Canyon Rim happy, really bonded to their classmates, and tired.

During your child's 5th grade year, there will be multiple fundraisers with the sole purpose of raising money for the the 6th graders to attend camp. Some of the fundraisers go towards the General Fund (to offset the overall costs of the trip) and some of the fundraisers go to students' individual accounts (to offset the cost of each child's donation.) The bulk of the cost of the trip is funded by donations made by each child's family. If the overall fundraising and donations received do not cover the trip, it will be cancelled. So plan ahead-save a little each year so that you'll be ready for 6th grade! The overall cost is approximately $400 per child.

Check out this link to learn more about Emerald Cove Outdoor Institute:

http://ecosinstitute.com/

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Take the LCAP Survey

Mental Health counseling, Soccer/STEM recess pilot, and drop off process are all outcomes from parent feedback! The district and our school value your feedback. Please take a moment to take the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Survey by clicking on the attached link: http://bbyt.es/start/8M7NW

Wonders ELA Curriculum

OUSD elementary teachers have been participating in lots of professional development to learn about the new ELA adoption: McGraw Hill's Wonders. The professional topics covered so far have been a curriculum overview, link to Common Core State Standards, Readers/Writer's Workshop, Close Reading Companion, and the digital components. On Tuesday, November 7, teachers will be taking a deeper look at the leveled readers and honing the implementation of small group leveled instruction in their classroom. In addition, they will be learning tips and tricks from last year's pilot teachers.

Canyon Rim 4th graders who piloted the Wonders curriculum last year did very well on the SBAC state test. Their achievement is a great endorsement of this new curriculum!

Check out this link for a Wonders program overview: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ecommerce-prod.mheducation.com/unitas/school/explore/sites/reading-wonders/wonders-overview-brochure.pdf

Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Screening

All 3rd grade students at Canyon Rim will be screened for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) unless a parent chooses to opt out. GATE screening will take place in late January. If a parent would like their 2nd, 4th, 5th or 6th grade student screened for GATE, they will need to refer their child online using this link: http://www.orangeusd.org/gate/

The deadline for a parent referral is December 8, 2017.