PRINCIPAL’S CORNER by Karen Pugsley, Principal CVMS
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LEARNING!
This past week, I’ve been reminded about the power of relevant, authentic and student generated learning. We have a variety of exciting projects in play at CVMS - from our successful Kids Helping Kids campaign, to the CVlovesNepal project, the Beyond Google project and our annual 8th grade capstone project. These are diverse projects, with students in grades 6-8 participating. What they have in common is a commitment to student voice and a strong component of teacher coaching and support. The outcomes are real-life oriented and the student engagement is through the roof high. When I walk into these classrooms, I see students self-directed in their learning, making connections, communicating their ideas through writing and speaking in a variety of formats and collaborating with each other at high levels. The classrooms are alive with student ideas and creative solutions to real world problems. I am inspired by the passion of our middle school scholars and the teachers who support their growth. This is the environment I want to see @ CVMS on a regular basis – a place where student creativity is celebrated and teachers use their skills to stretch student thinking. We all benefit when ideas are celebrated and learning is meaningful.
Here are some project details from students and staff:
Kids Helping Kids Project: CVMS Leadership students spearheaded a fundraising campaign for Doernbechers Children’s Hospital – raising over $2000 through an assembly, daily activities and a culminating Carnival activity. This project was student led and organized.
CVlovesNepal Project: Students in 6th grade social studies and AVID classes are spearheading a fundraising project to support the people of Nepal as they recover from a devastating earthquake. The following is a press release that students wrote for local media:
Newberg, Oregon-- Sixth grade and AVID students at Chehalem Valley Middle School have launched a multi-media campaign to support the relief efforts of Medical Teams International following the 7.8 and 7.3 magnitude earthquakes in Nepal.
Plans to raise money were created, organized, and implemented entirely by students. The primary campaign includes manufacture and sales of individual pieces of fabric to create a large banner of peace flags. Additional fundraising efforts include development and marketing of privilege passes to use at school, coordination of a community partnership with Burgerville, creation and marketing of t-shirts, organization of a plant sale, community-wide public speaking events, and planning and implementation of a school-wide assembly to raise awareness. Funds raised are being donated to the relief efforts in Nepal through Medical Teams International, a Portland-based relief organization.
Students launched a coordinated campaign ustilizing multiple social media accounts to raise awareness for their campaign including Facebook groups, Twitter, Instagram, and a Gofundme page at gofundme.com/cvlovesnepal.
The campaign to raise support runs May 18 - May 22 including a school-wide assembly on May 18, and Burgerville community partnership night Monday, May 18 from 5:00 - 8:00 pm.
For more information contact Kim McDonough at 503-554-4953 (office), 503-537-8240 (evenings/weekends), and mcdonoughk@newberg.k12.or.us
For more information on sponsoring a peace flag visit http://gofundme.com/cvlovesnepal
For more information on Facebook visit https://www.facebook.com/cvlovesnepal
For more information on Instagram visit https://instagram.com/cvlovesnepal/
For more information on Twitter visit https://twitter.com/CVlovesNepal
Beyond Google Project:
From Mrs. Tofte - This week, all classes are working with Chromebooks on a project called “Beyond Google.” Mrs. Tofte received 12 Chromebooks through a George Fox University grant program and will be using technology regularly in her classroom with these new resources.
There are 4 strengths that are considered critical for 21st century learners (and future members of the workforce):
· Critical Thinking
· Communication
· Collaboration
· Creativity
Our Beyond Google Project addresses all of those. It begins with this thought, “What would you do if you had a question that was ‘ungoogleable?’ “Meaning, you are unable to just type in the question and have Google immediately give you the right answer on the first hit. It’s interesting; we get immediate answers (and gratification) from the ease of Google. BUT, many of the most interesting questions have answers Google can’t answer with one, two, or maybe 200 results. That means to determine the answer to an ungoogleable question, we need to be more creative than a basic Google search to get the answer. Also, we need to make sure the answers we find are reliable and correct.
To begin the project, I posed this question to the students:
"What are the 5 most critical things a 1800s pioneer family would need to bring in their wagon as they made their way across the country?"
You can see - there are potentially lots of answers, but the question asks for the 5 most critical. Luckily, our students live in Oregon and most spent a lot of time in 4th grade learning about the Oregon Trail. Therefore, they bring background knowledge to this question. That’s tremendously helpful. Additionally, students in my reading classes are reading a historical novel titled Weasel. It’s about a homestead family in the 1830s and the trouble that befalls them. Students love this book, by the way, and it connects nicely to this project.
To learn more about Mrs. Tofte’s Beyond Google project, follow her webpage at:
http://mrstofte.weebly.com/parentfamily-updates
8th Grade Capstone Project:
Students in Ms. Stoller’s and Mr. Allen’s 8th grade Language Arts classes are working on their 8th grade research projects by choosing an Essential Question, researching the answer and writing a 5-page research paper to share their research results. As a Wolf Reading teacher, I get to review the questions, the research and the writing our kids are producing. This highly rigorous project has been a wonder to behold – the level of student buy in and sophistication of thinking has been impressive Please join us on June 4th from 5:30-7 PM in the CVMS commons/gym for public presentations of these research projects. I am proud of our 8th graders and you will be too when you see what they are working toward.
Cheers,
Karen
CASEY’S CORNER by Casey Petrie, Assistant Principal CVMS
Week at a Glance: 5/18-5/22
Monday 5/18: Assembly Schedule: CV Loves Nepal
Wednesday 5/20: Late Start; Principal's Coffee 9:00 AM
Last Week of School:
6/10 - End of year grade-level celebrations (details below)
6/11 - Last day of school (full day); 8th grade promotion ceremony 1:15-2:45
End of Year Trips
End of year celebration activities for 6th, 7th and 8th graders will take place on Wednesday, June 10th. Students will be eligible to attend unless they have received a referral during the last quarter of school (April 13 - June 10).
6th Grade: Field day activities at CVMS after lunch
7th Grade: Movie field trip in McMinville
8th Grade: Camp Yamhill
Yearbooks:
Yearbooks are coming to CV! Yearbooks will be distributed on Tuesday, June 9th. Students will need to have all fines and fees paid to receive their yearbook. Please make sure your student has paid all library, classroom and lunchroom fines.
Yearbooks are still on sale for $20.00 if your student would like to purchase one.
8th Grade Projects
As a final requirement for 8th grade, students are creating, editing and presenting a research topic of their choice. The project will be completed both in class and at home. Students will write a research essay, present a speech and create a presentation display for the 8th grade showcase. The showcase will take place Thursday, June 4th from 5:30-7:00. Students need to be back at CV no later than 5:00 that evening.
In addition to their Reading/Writing Core teacher, Wolf Reading teachers will be checking in with students to help keep them on track. Important dates include:
· April 29th – Research question due
· May 6th – Outline due
· May 13th – Rough draft of essay due
· May 20th – Edited copy of research essay due
· May 27th – Practice speeches
· June 3rd – Tri-fold completed
· June 4th – 8th Grade showcase night
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We need YOU! Volunteers needed for our FUN end of the Year Activities!
Interested? Contact Amy Weiler ajweiler68@gmail.com or sign up on the links below.
Book Fair:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0c4ca4ad2ea31-cvbook
End of year celebrations:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0c4ca4ad2ea31-endofyear
CALENDAR
As we approach the end of the year we are planning and preparing for a variety of activities. Please note the following dates. More details about each event will be coming.
MAY
16 - Math 24 competition @ MVMS from 8:30-noon
20 – Principal’s Coffee 9am
PTO Meeting/Elections 6:30pm
25 – Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL
27 - All library books due
28 - Last day of homework club
Information meeting for 2016 Washington DC trip 5:30pm. Current 7th graders/parents only.
JUNE
8 - All fines and fees must be paid by this date
Final Concert – Strings/Choir/Int and Adv Bands 7pm
9 - Yearbook distribution for all grades
10 - End of year trips
6th Grade – Field Day
7th Grade – Movie
8th Grade – Camp Yamhill
11 - Last day of school – FULL DAY
8th Grade Celebration – 1:15 – 2:45pm
Attention current 8th graders: Register now for Fall sports at NHS! Football, Soccer, Water Polo, Volleyball, Cross Country. Click on the link below for electronic registration or print forms from the NHS Athletic webpage. You can also pick up forms in the athletic office. Contact Ronni Cook at cookr@newberg.k12.or.us for more information.
https://newbergsports.rankonesport.com/AthleticPortal/OnlineForms/Form.aspx?Type=3
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
TUTORING
The Welcome Center in collaboration with the Newberg Public Library is running a tutoring program for students that are struggling with math and science.
They at the library in the Austin room every Tuesday from 5-7pm. Junior high students are encouraged to attend. So far they have help in both English and Spanish.
Contact Keyla Almazan at 503-856-5467 if you are interested.
Comcast
Comcast offers a service for low-cost broadband service ($9.95 per month) as well as an option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under $150. In order to qualify, families must have at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch program (Free lunch). Informational FLYER
For more information, families may call 1-855-846-8376 English or 1-855-765-6995 Spanish
Peace Village Day Camp June 22-26
Applications for this summer's Peace Village Day Camp are available in the counseling office. The cost is $120; which includes lunches and snacks for the week plus all required materials for activities. Scholarships are available to families who can demonstrate need.
At Peace Village children will have the opportunity to learn a variety of practical skills including conflict resolution, multicultural awareness, effective communications and negotiation. The theme for this year will be, "Be The Change".
For further information, please pick up a brochure and application in the counseling office, visit their website at www.peacevillagenewberg.org or call Suzanne Miller (503)538-7949.
There are only 40 spaces available, so act quickly.
PARENTVUE
Newberg School District parents have password-protected, online access to their student's grades, class schedule, attendance, assignments and report card grades via ParentVUE. The ParentVUE portal can be accessed through the school district mobile app or the ParentVUE website.
http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/district/welcome-parentvue
HOMEWORK CLUB
HW club is in the library from 2:45-3:45 Monday – Thursday and open to any student wanting to stay after school to have extra time to do their school work.
• Students need to report to the library and sign in.
• Students may go work in a teacher's classroom after they have signed in to the library.
• Students need to report back to the library by 3:40 to sign out before heading out front to catch the bus.
Students leaving early, getting another ride or walking will still need to sign out in the library.
PARENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
Volunteers are always welcome and highly treasured! Come see where your gifts and talents can contribute to make this the best year ever!
For more information about the group, go to http://cvmsplc.blogspot.com
IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION and INFORMATION LINKS
Please visit our web page on a regular basis to keep up with current news and information your student may forget to tell you! http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/chehalemvalley
Visit the District’s E-Friday folder http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/district/e-friday-folder for additional school and community events, classes and opportunities.
PLEASE VISIT THIS WEBSITE FOR SCHOOL CLOSURE INFORMATION
http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/district/weather-and-emergency-closure-notification
See the Parent Group section of our Webpage:
http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/chehalemvalley/chehalem-valley-middle-school-pto
Download the Newberg School District Mobile App for Free!
The Newberg School District App connects parents, students, staff and community to our most sought-after information in a convenient format – your mobile device. The Newberg School District App is free for users and available for immediate download on iPhone and Android devices.
The NSD App features:
• Password protected access to student grades and information
• Push notifications for instant alerts from school
• District and school news
• Calendar information
• A tip line tool
• School directories and contact information
• Sports schedules and scores
• School safety protocols
• Message from the Superintendent
• Bus routes and transportation information
• Destiny Quest online school library
• And more!
http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/district/newberg-mobile-app
Download the ParentVue and StudentVue App to your phone
https://parent.cascadetech.org/nsd29J/
EFriday Folder
Many events can be found on the District’s EFriday Folder. Check them out!
http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/district/e-friday-folder
