BOOK FAIR EXTENDED

The book fair will be extended.  6th grade will visit on Monday, Feb. 23 and last day for all grades is Tuesday, Feb 24.

AA Coaches of the Year Award

On February 14th, Brian Reynolds and Ted Castel received  the AA Coaches of the Year Award for excellence with their wrestling program.  Our Jr. High wrestling team had 20 wins and only five losses.  The amazing fact is that they only had 13 wrestlers and there are 18 weight classes.  Both Coach Reynolds and Coach Castel used ingenious strategy in accomplishing this task.  They took 3rd at The Blairsville Tournament, 1st place at the Central Martinsburg Tournament, 3rd at The Penn Cambria Tournament, and 5th at the Bellwood Invitational.  The team chose to forfeit their chances for 3rd place at Bellwood because they wanted to wrestle a different team.  If they wrestled for 3rd, they would have matched up against Moshannon Valley, and they had wrestled them and won against them earlier in the season.  This choice was offered to the team by the coaching staff, and they had ownership in the decision.  Mr. Nikolishen is extremely proud of the Jr. High Program.  Brian and Ted are insuring that much more than wrestling is taking place with our sport.  They are great role models, and go way beyond their call of duty.  Having the opportunity to witness such perfection and being able to work with them is a gift.

Cupcakes for a Cure

Every year Central Cambria's National Honor Society students help raise money for their school's Relay for Life team.  This year, CC's NHS decided to promote a fundraiser that was sure to please anyone with a knack for baking or in possession of a sweet tooth.  Central Cambria's "1,000 Cupcakes for a Cure" provided NHS members with the opportunity to hone in our their baking skills as well as allowed the students at the high school and middle school a sweet treat to look forward to on Fridays.  Each week, NHS students would present information on two types of cancers and preventative measures.  They would color coordinate these cancers to the cupcakes provided on Friday.  At the end of their 15 weeks of baking, Central Cambria NHS members and students were astounded to find that not only had they meet their goal of 1,000 cupcakes, but they had actually ending up baking, selling, and eating over 3,000!  Our students combined efforts brought in over $3,333 dollars for the American Cancer Society!  

High School After - School Tutoring Available

CCHS will be offering after-school tutoring from 3:00 – 4:00 pm during the 3^rd 9-weeks.

Students who need assistance are encouraged to stay for the following support from CCHS teachers:

Monday  - Math

Tuesday – Math/Science

Wednesday – Spanish/English

Thursday – General for any subject area

There is no charge for the tutoring services.  Students must have a ride home when tutoring sessions end at 4:00. 

We hope many students will take advantage of this great opportunity to improve their academic performance as we begin the second half of the school year. If you need further information, please contact the main office or guidance office.  

Fourth Grade US State's at JE

Fourth Grade students at Jackson Elementary have been working very hard on their state projects. Students are each assigned a state and have to create a banner, relief map and report. Great job to all of our students!

100 Days of School at JE

First grades students at Jackson Elementary celebrated 100 days of school by dressing up like they were 100 years old!

CCHS Teachers Benefit From DonorsChoose Program:

 

Mrs. Shirk and Mr. Cirelli have been able to enhance their classroom instruction through the support of the

DonorsChoose Program. 

Mrs. Shirk describes the impact of the reading materials in her classroom:

The enhancement to my classroom through the opportunity of the Donors Choose grant has been tremendous.  Within the past years, I have had the opportunity to provide my students with an atmosphere and the resources to propagate the facilitation of reading in our classroom and throughout their lives.   Last year, students were inspired to see the zebra motif transform our classroom into a reading sanctuary.  Students can regularly be seen immersing themselves in a good book and a comfortable beanbag chair thanks to the generosity of donors who support the love of reading. 

Through the Donors Choose grant, I have been provided with the necessary resources to facilitate Literature Circles in my classroom.  Literature Circles, as developed by Harvey Daniels, delivers a scaffolded approach to literature for struggling or emerging readers.  To the untrained eye, this at first glance may seem to be just a book club; however, it is actually a very structured approach to understanding, appreciating, and discussing literature on an intellectual level. 

The inception of Literature Circles into our classroom has been met with rave reviews. Students’ overall AR scores and STAR reading levels have drastically improved demonstrating the success of this pedagogical approach to reading.  Students’ own feedback suggests the positive power of this approach as they have stated, "I understand the book that I'm reading so much more.”  "Lit Circles are fun!"

As the incorporation of Literature Circles continues within my classroom so will the want of new multiple copy texts.  Please join those who have already supported our classroom on Donors Choose and look for more projects to come.  Check out our classroom projects- http://www.donorschoose.org/Michelle.Shirk

Mr. Cirelli describes the impact of the iPad in his classroom:

My room is now outfitted with an iPad Mini, the presence of which has already enhanced student learning and will continue to do so for some time. I Immediately, I began to plot how this new resource could be used in my Economics classes. With the help of a few apps, I have been able to use the iPad as a way to display presentations to students through an overhead projector. I have also been able to use it for hands on lessons. As you can see in the photos uploaded to my project page, I have used the iPad to teach my students about Supply, Demand, and Equilibrium. In the photo examples, students gathered after a lesson on demand shifts and worked together to produce demand curves. These curves were drawn directly on the iPad! The students love it. They enjoy it even more when I use my wireless connection to broadcast the image from my iPad to the overhead projector, thus making for a larger and a more interactive experience. Moreover, I have used the iPad in conjunction with applications that allow me to track student participation, which can be displayed to the students so that they may receive real-time feedback. This has also been invaluable for students and has actually increased participation! Finally, I am in the process of developing ways to implement the iPad effectively in my US History courses. I see it being most useful when dealing with primary sources. The plan is to utilize the iPad so that students will be able to identify aspects of a primary source and display this to the class either in an intimate group setting or to the entire class when I stream the iPad. This will allow for real-time, collaborative-based, learning. As you can see, the potential for the iPad seems almost limitless.

The importance of this project cannot be understated. The addition of an iPad to my classroom has boosted my teaching by opening up new horizons that may have otherwise been closed. I have been inspired to find new ways to use the iPad so that my students can benefit to the highest degree. My quest to do so has enhanced student learning as they, too, have been further drawn into the learning process through the lure of technology. We as educators must embrace technology and use it to our advantage. Though we may have grown up in a world before email, this is all our students know. To be able to teach them concepts through mediums with which they relate has benefited not only them, but has made me a better teacher in the process.

Solopalooza -Thursday, February 12th at 7:00pm in the High School Auditorium

Dear Friends,

On Thursday, February 12th at 7:00pm in the High School Auditorium members of the Central Cambria Concert Choir will present Solopalooza.  This concert will feature 20 solo performances with music ranging from Broadway solos to Pop solos.  You will hear Stars from les Miserable, as well as Sweet Caroline presented by a wonderful quartet of singers.
I promise you that in 30 years of teaching this will be the best evening of music of this type that our auditorium has seen.  I am very excited about this concert and would like to extend an invitation for all of you to attend.

The purpose of our solopalooza concert is to raise money for the CCHS concert choir.  We are asking a $5 admission from everyone plus additional contributions if you are able. 
This will be an extraordinary night of music making for a great price and a great cause.  We hope to see you on Thursday.

Respectfully,


Paul Seymour

CE Music Videos

The students worked very hard to organize and perform their own “lip dub” videos. Each class was responsible for working together to pick a song, practice the lyrics, organize performance locations, costumes and props. Enjoy!

Maps

Dynamite

Hall of Fame

Misery

Counting Stars

Viva la Vida
Happy

Stay Warm with Hot Cocoa at JE!

Jackson Elementary students enjoyed a snack and some hot cocoa on Friday, January 30th as part of their annual Frolic in the Snow. Although some activities needed to be rescheduled because of the weather, students still got to enjoy a great time with friends. Sled riding has been schedule for a later date.

CCHS Spirit!

CCHS Senior Cheerleaders were selected as the grand-prize winner by PTO Today in the “Share Your Spirit” contest!  Their photo will be published in the February issue of the PTO Today Magazine.  Congratulations to these outstanding  young women who share their spirit with all CCHS students and staff!