January 2014

Main Office
303-387-1800

A note from the principal . . .

Fax
303-387-801
Attendance
303-387-1802
Athletics/Activities
303-387-1812
Bookkeeper
303-387-1808
Registrar
303-387-1820

Advertising in this newsletter does not imply endorsement by Douglas County School District.

Transportation
303-387-0415
Weather Hotline
303-387-7669
Twitter
follow@mountainridgems
Online Payments
dcsdk12.revetrak.net

As the year continues

I am reminded about what amazing students, families and staff
members we have at Mountain Ridge. As I look around the
building on a daily basis, I see students working hard to impact
our society. I am in awe of the passion and purpose that our
students are putting into their work. I see every 7th grader
beginning to tackle iLab projects to make a difference. I have
talked with students who are working on ways to save pandas,
help out devastation in other countries, create sustainable food
options for the hungry, just to name a few. I see students
working together and not being afraid to ask each other hard
questions to push critical thinking and creativity. I see teachers
pushing every student to find an area that they truly believe in to
get behind and create real-life solutions. It is absolutely
incredible to see the growth of these 7th graders since the
beginning of the year. These are now students who believe in
their ability to make change. These are now students who know
that easy is not usually best. These are now students who know
what resiliency and hard work can really do. I am so proud!
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Mountain Ridge Middle School

PAGE 2

A note from the principal . . .

continued
Then I go upstairs and am no less impressed. I see 8th graders who are
writing business proposals. I see 8th graders who are looking at the
impact of fossil fuels on our world and proposing ways to manage this.
I see 8th graders who are giving up their time to work with our SSN
students in Unified Basketball and Make a Child Smile Club. Who says
that middle schoolers only care about themselves? Not THESE middle
schoolers, for sure!
These are just a couple of the amazing ways that Mountain Ridge is
working to help students create passion and make a difference
through their learning. Wish Week is going to be another great
opportunity for this! These are great examples of what is possible
when you lay some groundwork and then let students and teachers
fly. Thank you all for supporting our school as we try some of these
projects that go beyond traditional learning. Thank you for supporting
us as we work to make sure that learning is transcendent, related, and
relevant. Thank you all for trusting us with your students, knowing
that we care about their well-being and success and will do whatever
we can to support them.
I am a proud principal when I see the amazing stuff that is
happening throughout this school. Just like everything, we will
evaluate at the end of the year and tweak things to continue to
improve and positively impact students. As always, thank you for
sending us amazing kids that make it easy to do amazing things.
Shannon Clarke, Principal

Mountain Ridge Middle School

PAGE 3

General Announcements

Wish Week 2015 Support Asher

We are excited to join with Mountain Vista and support Wish Week
2015! Vista has adopted a four year old, Asher, who has some severe
health issues as well as being blind. Asher wants to go to Disney
World! During the week of February 2-6, we will be participating in
several events to raise money to help make this wish come true. Vista
Student Leadership came to our school to talk with our students about
Wish Week. Below is the communication from Vista that includes the
daily activities that they will be hosting, the link to purchase shirts, and
local restaurants that have agreed to participate in this community
event. More information about the high school events can be found on
the Mountain Vista Website. This is a great way to bring our community
together for a great cause!

Wish Week shirts that were ordered will be delivered Monday Feb. 2nd
for MVHS and Thursday Feb. 5th to feeder schools to be worn Friday Feb.
6th.
Monday 2/2
Vista Leadership students will be coming around to cars during afternoon
pick up to collect donations

Dress-up: White out (support blindness awareness)

Community Partner for the Day: Chick-fil-a 11am-7 pm

(Vista Wish Week gets 20% back)

Silent Auction

Harlem Wizards vs. STAFF Basketball game main gym @ 7:00

$10 Student $12 Adult (click here to buy tickets)
(MRMS Staff will be participating in this game!)
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Mountain Ridge Middle School

PAGE 4

General Announcements

continued

Tuesday 2/3
Dress-up: Tacky Tourist

Community Partner for the Day: Which Wich 4-8 pm

(Vista Wish Week gets 10% back)

Silent Auction

Boys Basketball vs. Castle View (Miracle Minute at the half)

FREE entry with Wristband

Wednesday 2/4
Dress-up: Peace, Love, Hippieness (Spread love not hate)

Community Partner for the Day: Five Guys 11am-9pm

(Vista Wish Week gets 15% back)

Hockey Game (TBD)

Silent Auction

Thursday 2/5
Dress-up: Snow Bum

Community Partner for the Day: Dickeys BBQ 11am-4pm

(Vista Wish Week gets 10% back)

Community Partner for the Day: Lil Riccis all day

(Vista Wish Week gets 20% back)

Hike-a-thon @ 3-5pm - Info is on the link below

(https://docs.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/document/d/1Uwv2s4ll5gtPRYViUAFGlTtHVf7EKA_xaO1tgzbI2E/edit?usp=sharing)

Unified Basketball (Vista) Game @ 6-7pm FREE entry, cookies,

cakepops with Wristband

Silent Auction

Wrestling in the main gym @ 7

Mountain Ridge Middle School

PAGE 5

General Announcements

continued

Friday 2/6
Dress-up: Wish Week Tshirt Asher Out

Community Partner for the Day: Lil Riccis all day

(Vista Wish Week gets 20% back)

Silent Auction

Spaghetti Dinner 5-7 Commons FREE with Wristband $5 without

Girls (5:30) and Boys (7) Vista Basketball Games vs. Rock Canyon

Saturday 2/7
Community Partner for the Day: Lil Riccis all day
(Vista Wish Week gets 20% back)

Mountain Ridge Middle School

PAGE 6

General Announcements

continued

The MASIV Project strikes again

Recently Mr. Vincellette, Ms. Myer, Ms. Montague and 7 students from
Mountain Ridge, took two of the panels from the MASIV project to Clare
Bridge Crossings- a that campus provides comfortable, home-like settings
with programs and services designed specifically for individuals with Alzheimers disease and related dementias.
At Clare Bridge, students interviewed a variety of residents for an hour or
so regarding their thoughts on what was beautiful. The conversations
were lively, and steeped in fond memories of family, friends, and important events. After the interviews, students wrote down the memories of
the people interviewed, and posted them on the panels of the MASIV project-an incredibly powerful addition to the pieces already there.
On the way home, students were asked, How have you changed since
you walked out your door this morning? One student responded, You
know this really was a life changing event for me. I was thinking my GoPro camera was pretty much the most beautiful think in my life. After
talking to those old people, I realized that not one of them said anything
material was beautiful. It was all about their families and friends. It
made me thinka lot. I know this sounds hoaky but this really was a life
changing event for me.
Enough said.

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Mountain Ridge Middle School

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Mountain Ridge Middle School

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General Announcements

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Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 10

General Announcements

continued

A Tony Award winner at Mountain Ridge? Seriously?

Seriously! Lets come together and put our pens on
the paper and make this happen! Who would be more
qualified for this award than Ms. Laurilea McDaniel?
These are some of the questions on the nomination
form:
Tell us why this teacher deserves this award.
Well, lets see. Some of the most amazing productions she has produced
include: Beauty and Beast, where at one point she has 116 students
on stage at the same time. And Mulan Jr.-did you check out the
costumes? Or how about Seussical the Musical that received an A
rating from the Colorado Thespians?
Another question on the nomination form is:
Demonstrate why the nominee has a compelling story, how he/
she has gone above and beyond in the field of theatre education.
For example, you might describe how he/she is working to
advance and champion theatre education.
There are one hundred ten students in the Thespian Troupe at
Mountain Ridge which was started and is sponsored by Ms. McDaniel.
Of those one hundred and ten students, fifty have qualified for the
National Junior Thespian Festival and seven have qualified for the
International Thespian Festival. She also brought a community theatre
to Highlands Ranch.
Ms. McDaniel also gives students an additional opportunity to explore
and discover their passions by taking a group to New York City. During
their stay the students attend productions and take classes. Its a
theatre experience that students never forget.
I challenge anyone to find a candidate more deserving of this award.
Put your pen on the paper (or your cursor on the Link ) and make it
happen! In order to place your nomination, you will need to include the
headshot above and Laurileas address.
2004 Bellavista Street Castle Rock, Colorado 80109
303-884-5301

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 11

General Announcements continued

Exploring World Cultures

Twelve former students enrolled in Exploring World Cultures, welcomed
incoming 6th grade parents to Mountain Ridge Middle School on Tuesday,
January 13, 2015. They were there to promote and answer questions in
regarding our exciting new class that helps to shape the way you see
the world, others and yourself.
This week, students have been working with the prompt, Your deeds
are your monuments. Who are you? How do you act? How do you
care or not care for others? Those things are what we will be
remembered for.
Conversations like these, and others, have given these students an
opportunity to discover who they are in the world, in our community and
in our school in addition to the role they play at home. I hope that you
have an opportunity to come in contact with these kids.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 12

Counseling Corner

January Parent Corner

Measuring Up.
I love the way our school calendars are
structured! Unlike those who follow
other calendars, twice a year, we get the
chance to start off fresh. We begin in
August with the opening of school, and then again in January we get a
new start.
Its a brand new year, a brand new semester, a brand new chance to
apply those skills of resiliency we have been working so hard to cultivate.
Unlike August, when we are all new to the year, the teachers, the team
and the routine, January gives us a chance to begin again, only smarter.
We already know the expectations and the process, now we are working
to refine what we started.
Its important to take some time to reflect and think about where we are
in relation to where we want or need to be. Its also important to think
about measuring our performances against a standard. This
measurement allows us to take stock of our status, to review our areas
of strength, and to refine our goals as we move forward.
So what does all this have to do with our recurring topic, resiliency and
grit? Well, measuring ourselves against a standard, reviewing our
current status, and setting or refining a goal based on that reflection
takes hard work. Without grit, we can tend to dwell on the I didnt
measure up instead of the this is the progress Ive made so far, lets
build on that. Students, especially, can fall into the trap of thinking they
are not measuring up so why keep trying?
As we work with students, we need to keep reminding them that
measuring ourselves against a standard gives us important information
about progress that is needed for growth. We also need to keep
modeling this for them by being lifelong learners. Our students will
certainly be faced with those situations as they go through life, from
standardized testing to drivers licenses to college boards.
Teaching them to be as prepared as possible, to do their best on each
assessment and to learn from their experiences is a key lesson in the
successful transition from adolescence to young adulthood.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 13

Athletics And Activities

The highlight for the month of January was celebrating 7 amazing young
ladies at the Douglas County School District, Girls and Women in Sports
Luncheon. MRMS honored 8th graders: Julia Chambers, Katherine
Jacobsen, Quinn Kamberos, Amanda Marlow, Lauren Repella, Zoe
Simmons, and Emilee Sloan. The luncheon was hosted at Chaparral
High School and celebrated the athletic and academic accomplishments
of 5 high school girls and 8 eighth grade girls from each school in
Douglas County.
The 7th grade girls basketball team ended
their undefeated season by taking first place
at the District Tournament, January 23, 2015.
It was also a very successful season for the B
and C teams. The girls and coaches had lots
of fun. They all worked very hard, laughed a
lot, and exemplified sportsmanship the
whole season.
Eighth grade boys started their basketball
season January 26th, 2015. Their tournament
will be February 28, 2015. The 7th grade
boys basketball season will start March 2,
2015.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 14

Team 7-1

7-1ders Gear Up for International Towne

In social studies Mr. DiGiorgio is
preparing students for International
Towne. It is a one-of-a-kind
educational program offered to 6th, 7th
and 8th grade teachers to help teach
students about global economics
through fun, hands-on, experiential
learning. Teachers use a specific
curriculum to teach concepts in the
classroom, which in turn prepares
students for the most crucial (and fun)
part of the program a day running
International Towne. International
Towne is a life-like simulation of a
global marketplace where students
physically apply concepts theyve
learned as they step into roles as world
citizens. All this takes place on-site at
Young Americans Center in a 5,000
square foot space architected to be a
16-country mini-world.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 15

Team 7-2

Are You Aware?

It is amazing to realize that your child/ children are over halfway through
7th grade. Before you know it, they will be transitioning to 8th grade.
However, prior to that happening, there is so much more to do and learn
as 7th graders. International Towne is one of those amazing and exciting
opportunities that is coming up. The first week of February is the actual
field trip, but they have been preparing throughout their classes. As
preparation, the students have been working very hard on creating
resumes, cover letters, and learning interview skills in Language Arts.
Social Studies has focused on economics and supply/ demand to help
prepare for IT. In addition to all of the other work, Math has incorporated
currency exchange, interest rates, and the value of money in the
real-world.
Many things will be coming up in
the next couple of months. This
school year brings a new state test
to each school. TCAP will no longer
be the state test, as PARCC
(Partnership for Assessment and
Readiness for College and Careers)
is now replacing it. PARCC is a test
that is used in 14 states and is
aligned to the Common Core
Standards. March 10-12 and again May 4-5 will be the testing dates for
team 72. The tests are completely online and the students have the
opportunity to access practice tests from home. Since the format is so
different than what we have used previously, the practice tests allow the
students time to become familiar with and understand the different tools
that are available during testing. If your child would like to practice at
home, they may go to the following website:
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/ .
April 15 will also be state testing days for Social Studies. This test is called
CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success). It is also computer
based and last year the current 8th graders took a pilot (example) test.
Please understand that the new tests will take a couple of years to
provide reliable data and have all of the kinks worked out. You will be
hearing more about testing soon.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 16

Team 7-4
One of the top 6 teams at Mountain Ridge Middle School!

Congratulations to Kara Lucyk

Change Agent of the Month for January
We are honored to have Kara as our Change Agent for January. She is a
quiet leader who approaches every situation with grace and confidence.
Kara is giving and empathetic. She welcomes learning with enthusiasm
and a desire to better herself and others around her. She goes above and
beyond in any experience she is in and couldnt be more pleased she is
Team 74s Change Agent for January.

Weve had a great start to the second Semester. Our focus this semester,
as a team, will be on active listening, self advocacy, collaboration, and following directions. We will be starting a new No Talk Friday activity next
week. Stay tuned for details.
We look forward to the second semester and seeing the growth within
our pod.
Dates to remember:
February 12th- SLC- Student led conferences - 4:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.
February 13th- PLC day- No students/No school
February 16th- Presidents Day- No school

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 17

Team 8-1
Starting the second week in January the students got their first real taste
of high school. As you already know, the students had to register for high
school and pick their classes. This is an exciting time and many students
also felt some anxiety. They are just figuring out middle school and now
they have to start thinking about how to be a high schooler! Some of the
teachers feel some anxiety also as they prepare the students for transition
to high school.
All classes on Team 81 are preparing students not only for high school,
but more importantly, for life as a responsible, resilient, critically and
creatively thinking member of the world community. It is very easy to see
what students are doing by going to the MRMS website and following the
links to each teachers website. The Parent Portal is a great resource but
it is reactionary. The grades are not real time as it takes time to grade and
log all the assignments into Infinite Campus. Try asking your child, What
was the most interesting thing you learned today?, or What question
didnt get answered today? These questions might get you more than,
fine and nothing.
The teachers on 81 are dedicated to creating opportunities for students to
think critically and creatively, and work collaboratively to communicate
what they have learned. I hope your child talked to you about the Poop
to Power field trip to the Denver Zoo last month. This was an amazing
opportunity for them to learn about sustainability and conservation. The
students ran their own experiment and created syngas. There was also
plenty of time to walk around and visit the animals. Thank you to all the
parents who braved the cold to make the fieldtrip such a success. In
STEM the students are delving
into the engineering world by
utilizing the engineering
process to create, critically
think, problem solve, and
overcome frustration. STEM is
preparing them for life as a
thinker and learner. In Science the students are exploring waves! They
will soon take a field trip to Hawaiis North Shore and tow in to some big
surf.Just seeing if anyone really reads this. Actually, students are
exploring light and sound waves, and conducting experiments to learn
about them. Soon students will start to discover how weather works
using the physical and chemical science concepts that explain this
complex system

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Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 18

Team 8-1

continued

In Math, students designed their own assessments to show their learning.

They did everything from game shows to human graph, to books, to
videos...it was awesome! In Health students are learning about an
extremely important subject, violence prevention. In January and
February students will learn about sexual harassment, dating violence,
bullying, and signs of suicide. In PE, students collaborate to stay fit! Mr.
Lopez has the students working and playing hard to develop their critical
thinking strategy skills. In Social Studies the students are studying the
complex issues that led to the Civil War. This is an amazing opportunity
for kids to explore different perspectives and critically think about
government, economy, and civil rights. In Language Arts, students just
finished their book project and presentations. It is so important for our
students to be readers and writers
who can synthesize information
and use it to communicate
creative thinking. In Language
Arts, students will continue to
grapple with material that will
push their thinking and prepare
them for the challenges of high
school and beyond.
There is a lot of hard work happening on Team 84. The gift of struggle is
given with the intent of teaching our students how to be resilient and
amazing!

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 19

Team 8-3
Welcome back! Wow, the first half of the year sure flew by. Can you
believe that your child/children are closer to the end of 8th grade than
the beginning? Obviously we have been working on high school
registration the last couple of weeks. The students are so excited and are
really getting into the high school mode. Our goal is to remind them that
we still have a few months left of 8th grade.
Many things will be coming up in the next couple of months. This school
year brings a new state test to each school. TCAP will no longer be the
state test, as PARCC (Partnership for Assessment and Readiness for
College and Careers) is now replacing it. PARCC is a test that is used in 14
states and is aligned to the Common Core Standards. March 10-12 and
again May 4-5 will be the testing dates for team 83. The tests are
completely online and the students were given a chance to practice
during Math a few weeks ago. Since the format is so different than what
we have used previously, the goal is to allow the students time to practice
and understand the different tools that are available during the test. If
your child would like to practice at home, they may go to the following
website: http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/ .
April 15 will also be state testing days for Science. This test is called CMAS
(Colorado Measures of Academic Success). It is also computer based and
last year the students took a pilot (example) test. Please understand that
the new tests will take a couple of years to provide reliable data and have
all of the kinks worked out.
Here is what you should hear about from our classes. LA is working on
literature circles and are working with fiction texts. Social Studies just
finished law school and are
venturing into Supreme
Court cases. Chemistry is
the focus in Science, while
Math and Algebra classes
are working on algebraic
patterns and functions.
Linear functions are the key
to this quarter in Math 8
and quadratic functions are
our focus in Algebra. Geometry is moving into transformations very soon.
STEM is wrapping up round 1 of level 2, while PE is beginning a new
project. Make sure to ask them about our classes and what new things
they are venturing into lately.

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 20

Team 8-4 News

All The News Thats Swagworthy!
Starting the second week in January the students got their first real taste
of high school. As you already know, the students had to register for
high school and pick their classes. This is an exciting time and many
students also feel some anxiety. They are just figuring out middle school
and now they have start thinking about how to be a high schooler! Some
of the teachers feel some anxiety also as they prepare the students for
transition to high school.
All the classes on Team 84 are preparing your student(s) not only for high
school, but more importantly, for life as a responsible, resilient, critically
and creatively thinking member of the world community. It is very easy
to see what your student is doing by going to the MRMS website and
following the links to each teachers website. The Parent Portal is a great
resource but it is reactionary. The grades are not real time as it takes
time to grade and log all the assignments into Infinite Campus. Try
asking your child, What was the most interesting thing you learned
today?, or What question didnt get answered today? These
questions might get you more than, fine and nothing.
The teachers on 84 are dedicated to creating opportunities for students
to think critically and creatively, and work collaboratively to
communicate what they have learned. They also strive to connect
learning to the real world and incorporate 21st century skills like problem
solving, resiliency, systems thinking, and global awareness. Students in
STEM are creating battle bots and logos for 2020. These students are
delving into the engineering world by utilizing the engineering process to
create, critically think, problem solve, and overcome frustration. STEM is
preparing them for life as a thinker and
learner. Science has been an uplifting
experience for the students. They
have to demonstrate their
understanding of density, buoyancy,
chemical reactions, weather, and
kinetic particle theory by designing a
hot air balloon. This is an engaging
way to teach students so many
valuable scientific concepts and ensure that they are collaborating and
critically thinking. The students are very excited to launch their balloons!
In Health, students are exploring the complex issues of violence
prevention, bullying, sexual harassment, and suicide. Please check in
with your student, as these are difficult and extremely important
discussions.

continue on the next page

Mountain Ridge Middle School

P A G E 21

Team 8-4 News

continued

In Language Arts students are reading Nothing But the Truth. It is about
honesty, character, misperceptions, lies and the consequences, good and
bad, of choices. Students are always learning life skills and having
relevant conversations in Language Arts. There is additional critical
thinking going on in Social Studies. Students have been looking at the
function of government, civil and individual rights, and the Constitution.
They have dissected Supreme Court Cases and used their knowledge of
the Bill of Rights to formulate their own judgments. The class holds court
and the students defend their conclusions. Watch out, they might tell
you it violates their rights to clean their room! In Math the students are
engaged in the critically important work around patterns. Not only are
they using patterns to understand math, but also students are able to
explain how this knowledge helps them understand patterns is science
and technology.
There is a lot of hard work happening on Team 84. The gift of struggle is
given with the intent of teaching our students how to be resilient and
amazing!