From the Principal's Desk: 

School is moving right along. We will finish the first quarter on Oct 9. That day we will release students at 12:30pm. We will hold parent teacher conferences on Tuesday Oct 30 and Thurs Nov 1 from 3:30 to 6:45pm. Please call the school to make an appointment with your teacher.

We will also have an early release on Monday, Oct 15 at 11:45am so staff can attend a seminar in Pueblo.

You will be receiving your child's CSAP scores in the mail soon. If you have questions about the results - call the school.

Thank you,

Chuck Scott

 From the Office: 

If your student is absent from school for any reason, you must call the office.  If  we do not get a phone call or note from the parent/guardian, your child will be marked as unexcused.  Also, if your child has a change in bus schedule, they must bring a note to the office.  Phone calls are not acceptable.   If you have any questions please call the office at 676-3030.

Remember that when your child is here, they are in class.  Please do not ask to have them taken from class to come to the phone.  We will be glad to take a message and have them call you back when they get a break for brunch or lunch.   

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

October Calendar

1              Volleyball @ Skyview - 3:15pm

3              Volleyball @ Heaton - 3:15pm                       

                8th JV Volleyball @ Beulah - 3:15pm

4              Football vs. Rocky Ford @ Craver - 4:00pm

                Vision and Hearing Screening,

8              No School for Students; Teacher Professional              Development

9 -11       District 70 Volleyball Tournament - TBA

12           Football @ Custer County - 3:00pm

15           Early Release - 11:45am; Teacher Professional  Development

16           PTO meeting - 6:30pm

19           Early Release - 12:30pm; Quarter Ends

23           9News Health Fair

25           National Junior Honor Society Induction - 6:30pm

30           Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30pm - 6:45pm

                7th Basketball vs. PV @ Craver - 3:15pm

November

1              Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30pm - 6:45pm

5              No School

6              No School for Students; Teacher Professional  Development

School Closings

Check Pueblo radio and television stations or the link on the Craver home page for school closings or delayed starts due to inclement weather or any unforeseen event.

MEDIA CENTER NEWS

Reading is a skill that is developed over time and in order to get better at it, one must practice.  If one finds it enjoyable, one will be apt to do it more often.  In the hopes of enhancing the students’ desire to read, I will be holding a Read-Aloud session with any interested students each Monday morning starting at 7:45a.m. in the library.  Being read to is a pleasure for young children as well as for older ones.  Not only is it a delightful experience but through most of middle school, children are capable of understanding more complicated material than what they are able to read.  With that in mind, I hope to see more and more students in the library on Monday mornings.  Each session will begin with a brief author profile and then an excerpt from one of his or her book, a poem, or a short story.  Other authors and books will be recommended to the students based on what they like.  The readings and authors for the month of October will include the following:

Monday, October 1 -

Ellery Queen (author); excerpt from Object Lesson

Monday, October 15 -

Jon Hassler; excerpt from Four Miles to Pinecone

Monday, October 22 -

Robert Newton Peck; excerpt from A Day No Pigs Would Die

Monday, October 29 -

Ray Bradbury; The Ravine from Dandelion Wine

* * * * *

The books in the Craver library are divided into two sections:  youth and adult.  If a student from Craver wishes to check out a book from the adult section, he or she must have a note from his or her parent or guardian.  The note can cover the entire adult section in which case a student would be able to check out any of the adult books for the entire year or the note can cover a specific title in which case a separate note would be required for each book that is checked out from the adult section.  Your cooperation with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Craver Middle School is participating in a great new program with patronbooks.com.  Patronbooks.com is a new online bookstore that is dedicated to assisting school libraries with their expenses.  They carry over 1,000,000 titles and ship directly from their distribution centers to their customers’ homes or offices. 

Patronbooks.com sells their books at list price and allocates 20% of every book purchase to support school libraries.  Each customer is asked to designate a school they support when they create an account.  This step is very important in order for Craver to collect a portion of the sales.  Be sure to complete this step when you create your account to ensure that the Craver library benefits from your purchases. 

We hope all our students, parents, staff, local teachers, alumni and supporters will purchase their books from patronbooks.com to help our library purchase new books and expand our services. Thank you for all you do to support Craver Middle School.

* * * * *

Library Hours:

Monday:  8:30a.m. - 7:30p.m.

Tuesday and Wednesday:  8:30a.m. - 5:30p.m.

Thursday and Friday:  8:30a.m. - 3:30p.m.

If the school is closed, the library is closed.

Mrs. Day

Teachers Corner

The Pueblo City-County Library District sponsors its 15th Annual Scary Story Contest

Once again, the Pueblo City-County Library District is holding its Scary Story Contest.  Write a mystery, a suspenseful thriller, or a humorous scary tale of a non-violent nature.  Winners will be chosen from various age groups.

Contest Rules:

          Stories should be less than 1,000 words.

         One entry per person.

        Entries will not be returned.  Please be sure to make a copy for yourself.

        Participants must be residents of Pueblo County.

        The deadline for entries is Friday, Oct. 5, 2007.

Entries may be hand delivered to Barkman, Lamb, Rawlings or White Public Libraries, e-mailed to contests@pueblolibrary.org, or mailed to

 
Pueblo City-County Library District                                              

Att’n:  Tabitha Davis                            

100 E. Abriendo Ave.                           

Pueblo, CO  81004

Prizes are provided by the Friends of the PCCLD.  Entry forms are available at the Craver Library.

Craver Middle School

Students with Special Needs

Parents of Special Education transfer students are reminded to let the school know if their students were receiving special services in the past.  School records do not always indicate this, and if students do not receive the help they were accustomed to, there is a danger of their becoming very frustrated and getting off to a difficult start. 

Changing schools at this age is difficult, and we want to give the students all the help available if they are eligible to receive special education services.  Please contact Helen Haley (676-3030) if you have questions about this.

We currently have 24 students staffed into special education programs in grades six through eight.  Our staff includes Helen Haley -- teacher, Becky DeHerera, Darlene Smith, and Linda Volentine -- para-professionals; Carey Martellaro -- school psychologist; and Karen Davis -- speech/language specialist.

As in the past, community volunteers and substitute aides are needed to work with us in this department. Extra help is always beneficial to these students.  Volunteers need to come into the school to complete some paperwork and talk to Mr. Scott and Ms. Haley.  Parents are also encouraged to visit the Resource Room to see first hand what a great program we have.

7th Grade Basketball

The 7th grade basketball season will begin on Monday, October 15th.  If your son or daughter wants to participate, he or she needs to pick up the necessary paperwork.  If they participated in volleyball or football most of the paperwork has already been completed.  Fees to participate are $50.00 if this is their first sport and $40.00 if it is their second sport.

9News Health Fair

On Tuesday, October 23rd, Craver will be hosting a student health fair.  We are very excited about this event.  9News has trained 24 of our students in a variety of health related activities.  These students will then put the remainder of the Craver students and the Rye elementary students through these activities.  We would like to invite parents to attend that day and also encourage anyone who works in a health related field who would like to participate in the fair to contact the school.  The elementary students will attend in the morning and the middle school students in the afternoon.

Operation Christmas Child “The Power of a Simple Gift”

The Fellowship of Christian Thunderbolts will be sponsoring Operation Christmas Child again this year.  This project sends shoeboxes full of gifts to needy children across the world!  This year we will only be collecting the items that are packed inside the boxes.  We are able to get pre-made boxes; so, we do NOT need any shoe boxes.  Items we are collecting include:  school supplies, small toys, hygiene items, hard candy, T-shirts, socks, sunglasses and flashlights (with extra batteries).  All items can be brought to the office.  We will be packing the boxes the week of November 5th, so please have all items to the office by that date.  You may also donate cash to cover the cost of shipping the boxes.  There are brochures in the office with a list of items you can donate.  All items do need to be new.  Thank you for supporting this project.

2nd Annual Pueblo Mall 4 Schools!

Craver will be participating in the 2nd Annual “Pueblo Mall 4 Schools” program.  The program is designed to support area schools by encouraging families and friends to show their school spirit by shopping at the Pueblo Mall.  Starting September 1, 2007 - April 30, 2008 customers who shop the Pueblo Mall will earn “points” and cash prizes for the school of their choice.

Here’s how it works…Beginning September 1, each dollar that customers spend can be turned into a point for the school of their choice.  $1 = 1 point towards the school of your choice.  Shoppers can redeem their receipts for points at the Customer Service Center. 

Rankings are based on a point-per-student ratio, creating an even playing field for both small and large schools.  At the end of the promotion, the top five schools will be awarded cash prizes of $5000, $2500, $1500, $1000, and $500.  In addition to the cash prizes, the first place winner will also receive an ice cream celebration at the mall.

Shoppers have until April 30, 2008 to turn in their receipts at the Pueblo Mall Customer Service Center and earn points for their school.  Please note though that  receipts must be redeemed within two weeks of purchase.  Throughout the school year, updates from the top five schools will be posted for everyone to view.

So, the next time you are shopping at the Mall, be sure to turn your receipts in at the Service Center and earn points for Craver Middle School.  Your support is always appreciated.

 MAPS Test Administered

All Craver Middle School students took the MAP (measure of academic progress) test on the computer the week of September 17th.  The test was mathematics based and each student answered 52 questions with no time limit for the test.  The difficulty of the test is adjusted to each student’s performance.  That is, the difficulty of each question is based on how well the student has answered all the questions up to that point.  As the students answer correctly, the questions become more difficult.  If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier.  At the end, the students were given a score between 150-300.  The math department will be trained the first of October on how to interpret the data and help the student grow and improve mathematically.  The students will be tested two more times, once in January and then again in May.