Welcome back to a great new year! 2012 is bound to be full of academic opportunities, enrichment, and Castle Dome events. As we proceed into the third quarter of school, there are many changes to look forward to. Quality education is at the forefront this year, with emphasis placed on the effective integration of math, reading, and writing within all classes and throughout campus. As always, we will continue to expect all of our students, staff, and visitors to Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe. Without these three expectations, learning can not occur.  

We will open our math computer lab on Monday, January 16, 2012. All math classes will rotate through the math lab at least weekly to work on math skills and math enrichment via Plato and Free Throw Math. We have realigned our math interventions classes to meet needs of specific individuals as well as lowering class sizes in both seventh grade Math III and sixth grade Language Arts. A section of Reading Lab will be opened in eighth grade for students to engage in the reading process and work toward meeting grade level standards as they move toward high school. 

I am excited to announce the hire of a full time, highly qualified special education teacher. Wanda Gilmer will be joining us by January 23, 201 and will be teaching special education language arts grades 6-8. As many know, Mrs. Dianne Sullivan has retired from teaching seventh grade math. At this time, we are thankful to have Mrs. Renee Smith filling in as a long-term sub. She is working closely with our CDMS math department to ensure high quality math education for our students.

Watch for educational scavenger hunts throughout campus, student presentations on the television in the office, and many, many more enrichment activities to boost the academics of all of our students at CDMS.

Sincerely,