Cal Young Middle School - 4J School District

CAL YOUNG MIDDLE SCHOOL DECEMBER 2008
From the Assistant Principal
Hello from Brian Beard,
I am currently filling in for Sara Cramer who is away on family leave. We look forward
to her return as school starts up after the winter break.
Geography Awareness Week just ended with a lot of new geographical information,
guest speakers, and a fun homeroom challenge. This year’s homeroom winners were
Ms. Ketsche’s and Ms. Hohenemser’s classes. We focused on the countries of North,
Central, and South America. Homerooms competed to see who could use the other
homerooms’ clues to guess their countries. Students will be competing at the end of
December in our annual Geography Bee. I would like to thank Ms. Terri Simons for all the
work and effort she put into making Geography Week such a success.
Currently, we are gearing up for our annual Food Box project. Each year at Cal Young, students and staff
work together in homerooms to develop several menu plans along with the food to complete each menu.
The food and other needed items are collected in homeroom. The items are placed in decorated boxes for
needy families in the Bethel area and some of our own Cal Young families. Just prior to our Winter Break,
the boxes are delivered to the families. We held our first Activity Night this year and students brought in
food for the boxes. That night we collected more than 200 lbs. of food. If you would like to provide a gift
or item for the food boxes, please talk to your students. They will know the number and ages of those in
the family their homeroom is supporting.
OAKS (Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) will be an ongoing activity at Cal Young in the
coming months. These test results are one way of indicating student progress and help us to place students
in classes in the upcoming school year. Please ensure students get plenty of rest each night. Even with a
later school starting time, some students arrive quite late and miss valuable instruction. We all appreciate
your continued support with all attendance concerns.
I would like to welcome Ms. Leslie Maahs as our newest staff member. Leslie, as many of you might
know, has been a friendly face around here for many years. I’m are excited to have her here and the energy
and talents she brings. She will be filling in for Ms. Hillary McClintick, who, by the way, just had a baby.
Congratulations to Hillary and Ryan and their new baby girl.
I speak on behalf of all the Cal Young staff extending a heartfelt thank you for allowing us to be a part of
your children’s lives while here at school. We send our warmest regards for a wonderful holiday season for
all of our Cal Young families. See you at school!
Have a safe and happy holiday season,
Brian Beard
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