Blood Drive

Every two seconds someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion with the demand for blood increasing over holidays. To assist with the demands of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Cambria Elementary school will be sponsoring a blood drive.

Cambria Elementary students will be soliciting family members and friends to donate blood. The School’s blood drive will be held on May 10 from 2:00 to 7:00 in the Cambria Elementary gymnasium. Anyone who is interested in donating blood or volunteering may sign up with any elementary student after April 21st.

CCMS Students Are "Pint Size Heroes"

Every two seconds, someone somewhere needs a blood transfusion, and with the harsh winter weather that we have been experiencing this year, the Red Cross' blood supply is extremely low. Adults have around ten pints of blood in their bodies and one pint is given during a donation. This single pint of blood can save up to three lives. To help meet this need, the Red Cross holds more than 200,000 blood drives every year, and at Central Cambria Middle School we tried our best to do our part by holding our own Pint Size Heroes Blood Drive on Tuesday, February 22 from 2:30 to 6:30 P.M. in the cafeteria.  Since CCMS students are too young to be able to donate blood themselves, their job was to recruit adult donors to help meet the need. Students were asked to talk to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and anyone over the age of 16 who were willing to help us out. As always, our amazing students rose to the occasion. With their help and the help of community members we were able to donate 42 pints of blood to the Red Cross in only four short hours!  This year's Blood Drive was our most successful one yet and special thanks go out to the Red Cross staff, students, donors, and everyone who helped to make Pint Size Heroes a success.

CCMS Continues Bullying Prevention Efforts

Bullying is a painfully prevalent issue at schools across the country, and it seems that the most trouble comes when students are in their adolescent years. Young girls often find themselves wrapped up in a form known as relational aggression – an under-the-table method of social isolation and rejection which has serious consequences for the victim. Self-worth and self-esteem come at a premium during these formative years, and this camouflaged mode of bullying diminishes both. By partnering up with the Women’s Help Center, Central Cambria Middle School continues to combat this trend and keep the anti-bullying efforts in the forefront of their extracurricular programming.

On Friday, January 28th, Prevention Specialist Lauren Spangler from the Women’s Help Center visited 7th and 8th grade girls’ physical education classes with a presentation on relational aggression and cliques. The program is based upon the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman and aims “to open the eyes of adolescent females and to promote empathy and unity among girls.”

After reviewing the reflections of students who sat through the presentation, it seems the message that the speaker was trying to convey came through loud and clear. Most students especially appreciated how the program was conducted in a way that they could relate to both the speaker and the material.  One eighth grade student remarked, “The presentation was good because it showed us that we all know how it feels to be bullied and none of us like it. The information was very important. It showed us things that can help us or help stop bullying.” Another commented, “After the presentation I wanted to apologize to every girl I might have said something mean to. You have the power and you can help change someone else’s life.” We hope to invite the Women’s Help Center back next year to continue to spread their powerful message.

Science It's Elementary Program

As mentioned at the beginning of the school year, Jackson Elementary School received money through Title 1 to participate in the "Science It's Elementary" Program, a state-of-the-art, research-based curriculum. This includes K-5 teachers receiving professional development training on inquiry based learning and hands-on experiments to teach our children to be 21st Century Learners. The teacher trainings will take place in January and February and the "Science It's Elementary" lessons will be taught the last nine weeks in every classroom K-5. These lessons correlate with the Pennsylvania Science Standards. There are different modules presented at different grade levels. Module 1 consists of Kindergarten - Fabric, 1st grade - Weather, 2nd grade - Changes, 3rd grade - Rocks and Minerals, 4th grade - Electric Circuits, and 5th grade - Levers and Pulleys. If you have questions about this curriculum, please contact the school.

CAMBRIA ELEMENTARY RECEIVES $541,190.00 INVESTING IN INNOVATION i3 GRANT

On January 11, 2011 the Central Cambria School District received an official letter from ASSET Inc., Pittsburgh, PA notifying them that the Investing In Innovation i3 Grant application submitted by Dr. Luke Lansberry was accepted and approved! Achieving Student Success Through Excellence in Teaching (ASSET Inc.) obtained $26 Million in Grant Money from the U.S. Department of Education to be used for creating a National Model for teaching in Pennsylvania Schools. “The Cambria Elementary faculty is committed to working closely with Dr. Lansberry and ASSET Inc. to develop a model for the nation at Cambria Elementary,” said Jo-Ann Semko, Central Cambria Education Association President. The value of this five year i3 Grant opportunity is estimated to be worth approximately $20,815.00 per teacher. Total estimated i3 Grant value: $541,190.00.

As part of ASSET’s Investing in Innovation i3 Grant initiative, Dr. Lansberry and teachers at Cambria Elementary will engage in a five-year journey to enhance teacher effectiveness and student achievement.  All costs associated with the Advanced Professional Development Program will be paid for through the i3 Grant.  Advanced Professional Development (PD) Program Benefits that Cambria Elementary will receive include:

• Ongoing, higher level PD for all science teachers at Cambria Elementary
• Curriculum Alignment Planning Services (CAPS)
• Development of lead teachers and coaches who can facilitate PD within the Central Cambria School District
• Teacher participation in Institutes for Inquiry, Assessment, Science & Literacy and Foundations for Teaching Inquiry-Based Mathematics
• Increased teacher confidence and effectiveness
• Improved student achievement and self-confidence
• Access to ASSET membership for Jackson Elementary and Central Cambria Middle School

“It is an outstanding honor for us to receive the i3 grant, but it is also a tremendous responsibility because we know, quite literally, that the nation is watching,” said Dr. Lansberry, Principal and Elementary Curriculum Director at Cambria Elementary.