Middle School Monthly Letter – February 2012

“Walk In The Light” 1 John 1:7

Because of forever

“This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.”  – 1 John 2:17 NLT

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and cards and kind words you all gave me and my family during the passing of my Mom. I really never experienced anything like the support I felt from all of you.
My mother is in heaven and all I could think of was the word forever; what a beautiful word, when our reference point is God and His Kingdom. Everything takes on an eternal perspective. Life is filled with meaning and packed with purpose. Those who have this world as their reference point see only those things which are temporary, short-lived and passing away.
I will see my mom again because of His promises. I was able to share with my family everything that God is; He is eternally, He is love and He loves us all the time. He is good and He is good to all of us all the time. There are no ups and downs, highs and lows, or comes and goes with God.
What He was to us yesterday when He showed us mercy and grace, He will show us all today. Again thank you my Calvary family. I love being a part of this family,

Pastor Joe Mendez
Middle School Principal

 ACSI Spelling Bee
Congratulations to seventeen of our best spellers from 1st – 8th grades that represented our school at the ACSI District Spelling Bee in January. These students who were winners of their respective grade levels competed with eight other schools.  Six students have received special recognition, namely:

1st place – Isaiah Saavedra (2nd grade)

2nd place – Colton Reynolds (3rd grade )

4th place – Carina Constancio (5th grade)

3rd place – Harmony Buffington (8th grade)

4th place – Eleshea Goff (8th grade)

Thank you to these students who represented our school in this event.

Box Tops for Education
We have already received many box tops. Way to go parents! Please continue to bring them in. Every box top counts.

Parent Fundraiser Meeting
This Thursday during our Science Fair, we will be hosting an “all-school” IPad information meeting. Please join us in the Main Sanctuary, February 2 at 7pm.  Our Apple representative will be there to present the new technology we are going to implement in the coming school year.

After the Apple presentation, we will talk about the plans we have and how you can come alongside us to attain this goal. We know there are many questions you may have and we hope this meeting will answer them.  Afterwards, Pastor Yuri and Pastor Joe will also be available to answer any additional questions about the program.

Please come join us for this informative meeting.  We look forward to your involvement and are excited about how this new technology will impact our students. You may also visit the Science Fair this evening located in the Fellowship Hall before this informative meeting! The Science Fair time is from 3-8pm.

CCCS Science Fair 2012!
The CCCS Science Fair for grades Preschool-9th will be Thursday, February, 2. Parents are welcome to visit their child’s display in the Fellowship Hall from 3:00pm-8:00pm. Check out the flyer that was sent home with your child and posted on our school website. This is going to be an exciting and hands-on event! In order to make this event a success, we need parent volunteers. If you are able to help with this event, please contact Nicole Jones via email at njones@calvarydowney.org.

CCCS Middle School Face Book!
Check out CCCS Middle School on Face Book. You can see all of the Middle School current events and information. Go to Face Book and type in http://www.facebook.com/pages/CCCS-Downey-Middle-School/285763611437207

Attention All 8th Grade Girls  – CCCS Cheer for 2012/2013
Mrs. Kravig is now taking names of those 8th girls interested in trying out for Cheer next year.   A parent meeting is being planned soon.  Please sign-up in the Middle School Office and Mrs. Kravig will contact you shortly.

Awards Assembly
The Middle School Awards Assembly is Friday, February 3, beginning at 9:40am in the Main Sanctuary. If your child has a GPA 3.0-3.49, they will be receiving an “Honor Roll” award. If your child has a GPA of 3.50-4.0, they will be receiving a “Principal’s” award (refer to the Parent /Student Handbook).

Valentine’s Day Grams
Please help support ASB while blessing your child. ASB will be selling cards and bears for Valentine’s Day. You may stop by the Activities Office or call to place your order beginning February 6 thru February 10. We have many items ranging from $3 – $20. Please contact Julie Garcia at 562.299.9111 or jgarcia@calvarydowney.org for additional information.  Thank you!

Fresh and Easy Update
We’ve counted up all of our receipts, had our Shopping Night, and calculated our earnings.  We will receive a check from Fresh & Easy in the amount of $1,070; $537 from the receipt collection and $533 from the Shopping Night proceeds!  We had a great time together on our Shopping Night and collecting the receipts was easy for everyone.  7th grade won the Spirit Points contest for Middle School and 11th grade won for High School.  Mrs. Kemblowski’s class won the ice cream party for Elementary.  Great job everyone!

Recycle Gently Used School Uniforms
Got school uniforms your child(ren) no longer need? Or need more uniforms? Come see us on Thursday, February 2, between 8:00am and 9:30am in front of the Mission Grill. You can pick up a used uniform even if you don’t have any uniforms to give. It is all free.

No School Days
Monday, February 20-President’s Day
Friday, February 24
Please note that there will not be School or Daycare on these days.

Open House-February 23
Come join us for our annual Open House on Thursday, February 23, at 6:30pm in the Main Sanctuary.  We’ll tell you all about some really exciting things that are coming up in 2012/2013!  Classrooms will be open for you to see what your student has been working on so far this school year and to see what’s available to them next year! Invite your friends and family to come visit along with you to experience the tremendous things our school has to offer. We look forward to seeing you there!

Middle School Washington DC/New York Trip
It’s not too late to sign-up for next school year’s Washington DC/NY trip. Send Pastor Joe an email for further information at jmendez@calvarydowney.org.

Parent Portal Password Resets      
The automated reset function is now operating properly.  You can change your password, or reset a forgotten one, anytime…day or night.  Follow these simple steps:

  • Click on “Forgot Password” just underneath where you typically sign in on the Parent Portal.
  • Enter your username and follow the prompts
  • Click “Submit”
  • An email will be sent to your primary email (the one you gave us on your re-enrollment or enrollment application)
  • In the email, click on the link for resetting your password and follow the remaining prompts

If you forgot your “user name”, you must contact us via our school website.

  • Click on “Contact us” and in the comment section, let us know you forgot your “user name.
  • We will need the email address that you originally gave us when you first enrolled in our school.

Christmas Tree Fundraiser Update
Thank you to all who participated in helping to make this year’s Christmas tree fundraiser a success. With the help of nearly 25% of our families, together we raised just a little over $9,000.00! WOW, imagine what we could have raised if we would have had 100% of our families participating.

We would like to congratulate our top selling student Samuel Vergel from Pre-School who, with the help of his family sold $550.00 in products. Samuel and his family will be awarded the $250.00 tuition credit as well as receive a $50 American Express Gift Card for being the Early Bird Incentive winner. Thank you Samuel!

A special thank you to Mrs. Cross’ Homeroom class! Together 14 students brought in $2,235.00 in product sales and will be enjoying a day off of school work at Knott’s Berry Farm. Thank you Mrs. Cross for your enthusiasm towards this year’s Grizzly Christmas Tree Lot!

We’re planning for the upcoming Spring Fundraiser where our goal is to raise $60,000 to purchase iPads for our teachers and supply them with the in-depth training they will need to use these remarkable tools effectively in our classrooms.

CCCS Dinner Theater
The High School Drama Class, with cameo appearances by Middle School Drama students, will perform: “A Little Piece of Heaven” on Friday, March 2 in the Main Sanctuary.  Tickets are $8, and may be purchased in the High School Office from February 6 through February 28.  The Culinary Arts Department will be serving beverages with a variety of appetizers prior to the drama, as well as a selection of desserts afterwards, in the foyer.  Tickets will also be available at the door the evening of the event.