Conrad Ball Middle School

2660 North Monroe Avenue Loveland, CO 80538 Office (970) 613-7300 Fax (970) 613-7341

Scott Elias, Ph.D. Principal

August 2012 Dear Parents & Families: On behalf of the faculty and staff at Conrad Ball Middle School, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the 2012-2013 school year. As we enter into the Conrad Ball Middle Schools 40th anniversary year, it is a privilege for me to continue to serve as your principal and to have the opportunity to work with the entire CBMS school community. First, I am pleased to share with you that our students have made significant gains in 40% of academic areas assessed on the state TCAP. We will continue our focus on student academic growth by supporting each students unique academic needs. It is also my pleasure to share with you that our school has been selected by the Erion Foundation to pilot an innovative, 1-to-1 iPad program. As part of this program, each student will have access to a district-owned iPad while at school and, for those who choose to opt in, students will be able to check them out as they would a textbook and take the devices home. More details on this will follow, but know that our staff is fully committed to helping each student leverage the power of these mobile devices to personalize their learning experience at Conrad Ball Middle School. Please plan to save the date for our iPad Family Night on Thursday, September 20, 2012, from 4:30 to 8:30PM. Each student will need to bring a parent to CBMS and participate in our iPad Bootcamp in order to check out an iPad. In our ongoing efforts to provide a robust learning environment and meet the needs of all of our learners, each student will continue to receive 90 minutes of math and 90 minutes of literacy instruction each and every day. We will also continue our daily sustained, silent reading (SSR) every morning. A copy of the bell schedule will available at the school and will be sent home with each student. Our goal at Conrad Ball is to meet each students individual needs in and outside of the classroom and to support them in becoming responsible, global citizens and world-class learners. I look forward to seeing each of you at our Back to School Night on Thursday, August 23, 2012, from 6:00 to 7:30. Student schedules will be available in Parent Portal on Wednesday, August 22, and we ask that you print your students schedule before coming to Back to School Night. A limited number of computers will be available with Portal access if the event you need to print your schedule that evening. As we did last year, Ms. Tiffany Miller, our assistant principal, will be the primary contact for students in grades 6 and 7 while I will continue working with students in grade 8. We are both looking forward to an exciting year at CBMS! Educationally,

Scott Elias, Ph.D. Principal

www.thompsonschools.org