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The Vanguard Voice Volume 17, Issue 1 www.cmca12.com

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In this Issue: College Kindergarteners Walk the Red Carpet…2

Warm Welcomes to Students & Staff…………..3

Vanguard Students Receive RYLA….…...…….4

AP Scores Surpass International Standards…….5

2010-2011 4th Quarter Honor Roll …..……...…6

2010-2011 4th Quarter Principal’s List…………7

CMCA Partners with StarFit Kids………………8

Students Score in Soccer Tourneys……………..8

The Retreat……………………………………...9

Nurse’s Note…………………………………...10

Support PTO…………….……………………..11

Vanguard’s Boys’ State Attendees…………….11

Register for the Coursers Stampede…………...12

Dates to Remember:

September 13

PTO Meeting

September 14

Substitute Training

School Board Meeting

September 15

Progress Reports

September 19

Picture Day

September 30

Count Day

Progress Reports

Dear CMCA Friends and Families,

The recent change in weather reminds us that we’re suddenly in September and

summer vacation seems like such a distant memory. We’ve been in school three

weeks now and have had an outstanding start to our year. Our enrollment for

2011-12 is very strong, which helps offset some of the funding reductions we

have had to absorb from the last few state budgets. Even more importantly, the

increased numbers give us the opportunity to reach even more students, which

we are very excited about.

Over the past two weeks our staff at the various buildings have put on Back to

School Nights to reconnect with parents and discuss with them how to team up

to make their children successful. Thank you to all who were able to attend.

These are very important opportunities to set students up for success. Among

many things covered were some changes we’re making in our effort to

continually improve. Those changes include better alignment of our programs

and procedures, additional ways in which we are putting emphasis on character

and critical thinking, and new structures we’re putting in place to better support

our students and hold them accountable.

One thing that sets our school apart from other schools is that we hit the ground

running. Having completed just three weeks of school, we are fully into the

swing of things. Groups began the second day of classes. We have nearly

completed the required MAPS testing for first through eighth grades, and our

courses are already deep into the curriculum. By making the most of every day,

we help our students get more out of the year.

Our extra-curricular programs are also well underway. Our high school Girls

Cross Country Team set a record at the annual Rocky Ford meet by taking the

top six places among all 2A schools and the top three places among all schools.

Our gentlemen took third in the men’s race. Boys soccer and girls volleyball are

also underway at the junior high and high school, and handball is in season for

our fifth grade boys. In addition to sports, our arts programs are fully warmed

up, and this year’s musical has already been announced.

It’s very good to be back in school. The new year offers such promise of

learning new skills and information, gaining new experiences, developing new

friendships while strengthening old ones, growing in character and academic

potential, and achieving in pursuit of our dreams. I’m excited for this year, and

I look forward to sharing its successes with our students, our staff, and our

families.

Sincerely,

Colin T. Mullaney

Executive Director

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On August 17th, 126

precious kindergarten

students made a grand

entrance into CMCA’s College

Kindergarten! Each student was

photographed as he entered the building

on the red carpet walkway. Excitement was in the air

as the students said goodbye to their sad parents.

The day started off with The Pledge of Allegiance and

Star Spangled Banner…then got busy with the morning routine.

Quickly it was quiet as the new students were hard at work

learning. Please come over and see these wonderful kindergarten

students at work. You will be amazed!

CMCA’s College Kindergarteners Walk the Red Carpet

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Warm Welcomes

Welcoming our K-6 Staff On August 1, CMCA welcomed seventeen new staff members to the K-6 buildings. Instructional coaches Patricia Schierholz and Kayla Matos, with help from Kindergarten Team Leader Lili Mueh, spent an intensive week training CMCA’s newest staff members in Direct Instruction (D.I.) and CMCA’s Direct Instruction reading, math, and spelling curricula. These staff members also practiced applying the D.I. methodology to core subjects such as history, science, and grammar. During the intense, fast-paced week, new staff members worked with great diligence and commitment, and their hard work is now paying dividends with our students. A special thanks to all the parents who brought their children in for a couple of days during training so that new staff members could practice their newly acquired D.I. skills on real kids. After a week of practicing with adults, it was an opportunity to go “live” with students, and it proved to be one of the most beneficial training sessions of the week. Students, thank you for sacrificing some of your summer to help our teachers become successful! When you see the following people, please make sure you take time to welcome them to the CMCA family:

3rd

Grade Crystal Kossow Hannah Rivas

4

th Grade

Andrea McKinley Matt Steenson

5th

Grade Brian Johnson Lindsay Millis

Donna Neumann

6th

Grade Lee Bell

Brianna Burroughs Angela DeGasero

Kindergarten Shela Jacobs

Dawn Khederian Angela LongWing

Kim Teel

1st

Grade Ruth Olson Liz Wilson

Jr. High Open House The Jr. High Open House is a great opportunity to help ease the transition from 6

th grade to Jr. High. It gave the 7

th grade students a

chance to meet their teachers and get their schedules and locker assignments. This year’s Open House was on August 15

th and was a

great success again. Thank you to the PTO for supplying snacks and refreshments for the students and parents. Also thank you to all the parents and students who took advantage of the day.

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Taking the Lead

Vanguard Students Receive Rotary Youth Leadership Award by Aaron Schreck (Senior) The 2011 Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) conference at Colorado Mountain College was a great adventure for all involved. It began with a quite long but also extremely beautiful drive from Colorado Springs to Glenwood Springs. Emily Lathen, Aaron Schreck, and Thomas Luckett braved the long but gorgeous journey with incredible vitality and vigor, all ready to meet many exceptional youths from all over Colorado. Our hopes were not disappointed in the least. We found ourselves in immediate fellowship with approximately seventy-five other teens from all over Colorado. It was an indispensible experience just to meet so many great people, even if we had not had valuable leadership instruction. We were, however, provided with informative classes that made an already great experience even better. The people who structured the RYLA, however, knew that leadership is an art very seldom perfected in a classroom. As such, the main focus of the conference was various, mostly-outdoor, community activities. We were challenged with a low ropes course that required us to learn to interact in many different ways which were typically non-vocal. This stretched our way of thinking and caused us to choose new methods of communication and interaction. Later we were tested on a high ropes course. This was less about communication and more about conquering fear and trusting our fellows. Feeling secure hanging on a wire is contrary to human instinct but is quite possible if one trusts his peers to protect him. Still later we were thrust into the woods with only a compass and rather shaky coordinates and told to find all the markers. Due to undeniable amounts of user error, the course gradually turned from effective orienteering to wandering through the woods. Still we learned to work effectively with other people in stressful situations, probably more-so than if the course had gone according to plan. Finally, there were many nondescript little games and exercises incorporated into the free time of the program, such that nearly every moment was spent learning something. The learning was not always easy to see; sometimes we were learning while we were quite convinced we were having fun. All this was complimented by group discussion every night after dinner. We would form a smaller group and have a very broad-based discussion on an open topic for a considerable amount of time. With the slight guidance of the provided instructions, we delved into many questions that gave us a much fuller grasp of the leadership we were trying to understand. The night before departure, a great number of plastic coins were dumped in the middle of a room, and we were to grab as many as we liked and give them to people who had impacted our lives over the weekend. The pile of coins I received is still sitting proudly atop my desk. Overall, RYLA was simply a great program enhanced by fantastic people.

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Coursers AP Scores Surpass International Standards Advanced Placement classes have been a critical aspect of achieving academic excellence at The Vanguard School for the last three years. These classes offer students a chance to earn college credit while receiving instruction that is even more in-depth and ambitious than our already rigorous Honors-level offerings. Every spring the College Board, the same international organization that administers the SAT, tests AP students for subject mastery in a variety of disciplines. Not only is enrollment in Advanced Placement classes traditionally an honor reserved for the highest achieving students, but most schools, unlike Vanguard, go further and encourage only those students most likely to succeed to actually take the test. This means that our scores are measured against the best and brightest students from around the country and around the world. Last year twenty-three Vanguard students took a total of forty-six AP classes which included United States History, United States Government and Politics, Microeconomics, English Literature and Composition, Calculus BC, and Biology. As the school in Colorado ranked highest with respect to academic prowess, it is no surprise that The Vanguard School boasts a wide variety of Advanced Placement classes and great student successes on each of their respective tests. What might be news to you, however, is the fact that the percentage of Vanguard students receiving a score of 3 or higher on an AP test is 28% higher than the global average. A student scoring a 3 an AP test is considered to be “qualified” for receiving college credit for that class. Vanguard AP students, all of whom were required to take the exams for their respective classes, were not only much more likely than students around the globe to achieve a qualifying score, but 48% of 2011 AP tests from our school received a score of 5, the highest possible. This year we’re offering even more AP classes with the highest enrollment rates we’ve seen yet. These students are excited to delve deeply into their favorite subjects and to work hard now in order to earn their 5’s next spring.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do

more, and become more, you are a leader.”

-John Quincy Adams

The percentage

of Vanguard

students

receiving a score

of 3 or higher on

an AP test is

28% higher

than the global

average.

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4th Grade Matthew Chavez

Erika Chien Alizabeth Clay Del Rio

Ivy Clough Mitchell Daly

Kaitlyn DiMarino Leah Hagen

Preston Hartman Carolyn Jones Madison Jones

James Le Mikaela McLean J. Adam Novak Hannah O'Dea

Madeline Palmer Colin Park

Culin Peddada Maxwell Stieglitz Annalee Tenbrink Alixandir Walters Alexandra Wolff

Leo Xiao Konrad Ziegler

5

th Grade

Lola Agboola Olivia Bolton

Elizabeth Clinger Isabella Fincher Dakota Hartzler Lydia Henline

Eric Le Lakia Rose-King

Jailynn Underwood

6th

Grade Madison Brown

Emma Card Grace Corry Krista Davis

Katherine Hall Jabarhi Hill

Jaymison Johnson Lexie Kwak

Sydney Mobley Westin Stieglitz

Juliana Wall Tristan Ziegler

7th Grade Logan Bye

Eoin Doherty Jacquelyn Drosendahl

Ryan Hughes Slade Kelling Reily Mienert

Aidan Mullaney Samson Rao Hannah Reed

8th Grade

Alyxandra Callahan Mariah Doom Rachel Hough

Gabrielle Schuck Julie Snively

9th grade Nicole Daly

Madilyn Drosendahl Amanda Jesse

Justin Luu Maddison Ratzlaff

10th grade

Savannah Baron Lydia Blondin

Austyn Callahan Tim Force

Zaynib Hassan Thomas Hetherington

Taylor Jones Claris Park

Jessy Sweet

11th grade Daniel Doherty Aaron Schreck

12th grade

David Alexander Joe Christensen

4th Quarter Principal’s List

The Principal’s List recognizes students who receive all A’s.

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4th Grade Seth Adams Raelynn Blair

Michayla Bounds Josh Breford

Kaylee Cochran Sara Courduff

Pasqual DeLuna Allysen Duysen Connor Engen Joshua Fowles Bridger Frazee Hayden Frear

William Geoffroy Cloe Gomez-Osterbuhr

Alejandra Gutierrez Aden Hatton

Vasilisa Hebert Brandon Herd

Allison Hetherington Calvin Hodges

Harrison Huthoerfer Kya Johnson

Alana Khederian Caleb Knierim

Camryn LaCombe Cameron Lang Emily Ledbetter Duncan Lewis Joey Mathis

Haleye Meierhenry-Intemann

Tyler Morris Hans Mueh

Connor Nelson Darian Nguyen Vivian Nguyen Annaliese Ortiz Reina Padilla

Savanna Padilla Molly Quesnell

Mia Sells Grant Shandy Hannah Sours Arianna Strong Charles Suggs

Narumi Taico-Urrutia Kayla Teel Kirk Toland Gabriel Vigil

Thomas Walsh Lilly West

Brooke Williams Korey Winter

5th Grade

Nicole Alderman Jeremy Allgood

Elizabeth Anderson Steven Bell Aila Benz

Antonio Briggs Jessica Bye

Madeline Campbell Janine Coderre

Dylan Cross Fletcher Erskine

Seth Fuqua Krysten Gard

Eric Geist Julian Guerrero Idalia Jackson Mia Jackson

Anna Jelderks Jared Kazee KJ Kearns

Sam Kilimann Nikelle Kirkes Lauren Lee

Veronica Malkin Shelby Mathis

Hannah McReavy

Casey Meinert Caolinn Mullaney

Prisila Munoz Kinsey Neuner Kenny Nguyen

Lyn Nguyen Tyler Northcutt Amiya Peddada Heston Proctor

Eric Ryan Summer Simmons

Eden Sykes Alexa Tartaglini

Michael Tromara Hunter Umana

Kelsey Van Demarr Mikayla Vasquez

Ezykiel Vigil Amanda Wilson

6th Grade

Max Anderson Megan Donovan

Laura Green Rachel Leasure Destiny Morgan Jia Ying Peng Ethan Ratzlaff

Bethany Rowland Nichole Suarez

Mary Walsh Taryn Wingett

7th Grade

Brittany Bargers Victoria Beutel Macee Carson William Chaney

Sean Clark Alexander Eccles

Tyler Gard

Alexis Haak Arianna Hartzler

Henderson Heussner Rebecca Hurlbert Audra Ketchum Kaiden Kimball Quentin Knierim

Avery Kurtz Miramani Lenzini

Darby Linn Dakota Martin

Kaylah Samuelson Jenny Smith

Morgan Suggs Andrea Vasquez

Anthony Vo Mikayla Williams

8th Grade Ashley Ames

Zachary Donovan Leslie Duggin

Alexander Hawkins Danielle Herd Susie Kwak

Joshua Leasure Andrew Lee Riley Nelson Kailey Nickel Lilia Strigerie Noah Taase

Sophia Wilson

9th grade Jordyn Arcuri

Larry Gill Kory Hagen

Chantel Ledbetter Anna Mohr

Johnathan Nies Rachael Smith

Victor Torres Ashlyn Williams

Hannah Yu

10th grade Tim Alexander Cooper Benson

Austin Board Zach Doom David Flack

Jaqueline Gutierrez Rachel Hatton Walter Prentice Addy Reddish

Robert Stephens Cassie Sulski

Peri Rose Sykes Gracie Williams

11th grade Kelsey Gloss

Anrea Kirkpatrick Nate Lane

Thomas Luckett Patrick Murray

Carlo Sangalang April Snively

12th grade Tim Blondin Greg Bolotin

Jacky Brenton Ally Callahan

Katie Kurschner Barrett Muth

4th Quarter Honor Roll

The Honor Roll recognizes students who receive

an equal or greater number of A’s than B’s.

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Athletics

CMCA Partners with

StarFit Kids (SFK) is a local 501c (3) non- profit organization that was founded in October 2009 to combat the rise in childhood obesity and educate local kids on fitness, nutrition, and wellness. One of the first schools in the area to pilot the SFK program, CMCA has incorpo-rated parts of the SMK program into its K-4 physical education curriculum the past two years. The SFK program engages students by immersing them in interactive lessons that include seeing colorful visuals, hearing a spoken education component, and doing physi-cally-active games that reinforce the education topics. It is the goal of StarFit Kids that all children be empowered to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle. The SFK program is free of charge to schools in our community. In order to continue to have the program be available to schools like CMCA, please consider supporting the StarFit Kids annual fundraiser at America the Beautiful Park on September 24, 2011. There will be a 5K and a kid’s fun run, as well as a bike rodeo, rock wall, booths, prizes, aerial gymnastics, and more. To register for the Starfit Kids Super Nova 5K & Kid’s Run, please visit active.com or check out the SFK website at www.starfitkids.org.

CMCA Students Score in Soccer Tourneys The team took part in a the "Pride of the Rockies" soccer tournament held at the Air Force Academy this past weekend and achieved 2nd place for their competitive division. These boys are not only excellent students at CMCA, but are also noteworthy highly-achieving athletes. Their commitment, dedication to excellence, and teamwork reflects highly upon themselves, their team, school (CMCA), and their community.

This same team (Cheeze, coached by a dedicated CMCA parent, Jim Stieglitz) also achieved 2nd place in the "Pride Prodigy Cup" in May after an entire season of being undefeated. The CMCA students on the Rush "Cheeze" team, coached by CMCA parent Jim Stieglitz are: Jeremy Allgood #13 (6th grade), Julian Guerrrero #8 (6th grade), Jaymison Johnson #12 (7th grade), Kevin (KJ) Kearns #20 (6th grade), Maxwell Stieglitz #10 (5th grade), Westin Stieglitz #7 (7th grade), Christopher Sudduth #99 (6th grade). Congratulations!

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On August 10-12, The Vanguard School students participated in the annual retreat at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je to properly start the 2011 academic year. It was the school's third year at Id-Ra-Ha-Je and the first with split retreats for seniors and underclassmen. The class of 2012 assembled at the school early on Wednesday morning for the journey up to the camp for senior-only activities such as high rappel, power pole, and breath taker (a giant swing). The seniors much appreciated their unique experiences and opportunities to bond as a class, and the next day welcomed the rest of the school to Id-Ra-Ha-Je. With the school's increased attendance this year, the students were split into two sections of seven groups with a teacher and senior mentor in each. After all were settled, the activities began cycling through the rotation, such as high ropes, rappelling, survival, boulder house, and climbing tower which provided new opportunities for students to move beyond their comfort zones and trust and bond with others. The various classes taught new students different skills while allowing returning students to polish their performances from last year.

As the first day drew to a close, the sections played capture-the-flag until dusk before reconvening at the bonfire overlooking much of the camp and surrounding area to tell jokes and demonstrate their creative sides. On Friday morning after everyone had completed his final rotations, the retreat drew to a close with the cook-out during which students prepared their own food using the skills taught during the survival seminar. By the time the buses pulled into the parking lot, the entire student body was thoroughly tired yet invigorated for the start of a new year and already looking forward to more retreats in the years to come.

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by Daniel Doherty (Senior)

The Retreat

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Nurse’s Note

The back-to-school season can arouse anxiety in parents and

kids alike, especially when it comes to sickness and health.

Aside from marking the end of summer's lazy days, "back to

school" signals the start of a crazy time for many families, a

time during which we scramble to update immunizations, re-

establish more structured eating, television, and bedtime

routines, and keep our kids healthy.

1.How do I decrease my child's anxiety about starting

school?

For a happier, healthier transition, don't wait until the night

before school starts to set up sleep and nutrition routines that

might not have been strictly enforced over the summer. Try

setting bed and wake-up times a few weeks before school

starts and gradually adjusting them to be earlier as the first

day approaches.

Immunizations, which are a very necessary part of the back-to

-school routine, can be a little scary for kids. Ease kids'

worries by talking with them about the health benefits of

vaccines so they understand why the shots are important and

are less anxious about getting them. Make sure

immunizations are current and ask your health care provider

about other immunizations that might be recommended but

not required, such as the flu vaccine. The CDC recommends

the flu vaccine for kids ages 6 months and older.

2. How do illnesses spread among school children?

Colds and flu are typically spread from person to person from

respiratory droplets. Viruses enter the body through the eyes,

mouth, or nose. A sneeze can spray thousands of infectious

particles into the air at 200 miles per hour, and they can travel

3 feet. If children don't cover their mouths and spray other

children or an object, such as a doorknob, and other children

touch it and wipe their noses or mouths, they're more likely to

get sick.

3. What's the best way to help my child prevent picking

up an illness at school?

It's important to teach kids to wash their hands before eating

and after playing outside and using the restroom. Hand

washing is one of the best ways to prevent illness. If parents

enforce that at home, we'll reinforce it at school. Teach your

child to rub his hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and

warm water before eating and after using the restroom and

playing outside Also, the CDC recommends the flu vaccine for

kids ages 6 months and older.

4. Healthy lunches for kids

Primary colors. Load up their lunchboxes with a colorful mix of

fruits and vegetables to keep them energized and ready to

learn. Apples, pears, berries, dried fruit, baby carrots,

cauliflower, and edamame are easy to pack -- and fun to eat.

Fluid motion. Drinking plenty of fluids helps active children

stay hydrated. But not all drinks are created equal. According

to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids who drink one

can of soda a day increase their obesity risk by 60%. Offer

water and limit soft drinks (some can pack 150 calories per 12

-ounce can).

The whole truth. Whole grains are an important part of a

healthy diet for kids. Offer whole grain, low-sugar cereals at

breakfast and low-sodium whole grain snack bars or crackers

in their lunch box. Try making sandwiches with whole grain

bread (look for "100 percent whole wheat" on labels to get the

most grains).

Dairy queen. Strengthen their bones and brains with nonfat or

low-fat dairy foods, including yogurt and flavored milk (choose

products with no more than 30 grams of sugar).

5. Exercise for children

Power hour. Make sure your kids run around for at least an

hour each day. Don't have a full hour for exercise? Try short

15-minute bursts of running, jumping, or games that

encourage these activities to keep them interested and active.

6. A good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast

Parents must also be sure the child has sufficient sleep,

usually eight hours for a growing child and even more for a

teen. Your child should go off with a good breakfast to start

the day. Have a supply of portable breakfast foods on hand

for those days that you may be running late. A nutritious

breakfast with a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates

helps your child to focus and concentrate.

Margie Miller, RN MS

CMCA School Nurse

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Support CMCA

Two Vanguard seniors, Aaron Schreck and Carlo Sangalang, were chosen to attend Boys' State at CSU Pueblo, where a 51

st state emerges from a select group of top students. The American

Legion hosts Boys' State, a gathering of male high school juniors from across the state of Colorado, for the purpose of teaching the system of American government to and instilling a love of country in some of the brightest young men in the state with the added incentive of possible college credit. It is a week long program in which students are grouped together with others from across the state in order to create the 51

st state in the nation. Students are divided among eight

“cities”, and are also given a political party. They then elect officials, much in the way it is actually done, and pass bills to be debated and turned into law. Two students are even given the chance to become an elected “U.S. Senator” to represent the state of Colorado at Boys' Nation in Washington D.C. After this once in a lifetime chance, many pursue a career in politics and some related areas. Some prominent Boys' State alumni include Tom Brokaw, Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee, Rush Limbaugh, and Harry Reid. Others include the graduated senior Tim Blondin and our own Principal, Colin Mullaney.

Support our PTO

The Mission: The PTO at CMCA/Vanguard School strives to capture the positive spirit of parent volunteering through engaging in meaningful fundraising and enrichment activities. PTO Meetings: PTO meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at 3:30 in "The Box” at the Corona Campus, which is located adjacent to the school gymnasium. Meetings are currently scheduled for: September 13, October 11, November 8, January 10, February 14, April 10, and May 8.

PTO Members

Visit the PTO at http://www.cmca12.com/parents/PTO/

President Lori Huthoefer

lorih@patriot-technologies.com

Classroom Volunteer Coordinator Sylvia Eccles

shawn_sylvia@msn.com

Vice-President Trudy Hackenberg

trudy.hackenberg@yahoo.com

Secretary Taylor Fry-Van DeMarr

tvandemarr@gmail.com

Treasurer Brooke Bolton

docsags@aol.com

Booster Club Lisa Villanueva and Terri Cain

Lvillanueva09@gmail.com

teresa.cain@comcast.net

Boys’ State Attendees

by Carlo Sangalang (Senior)

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Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy 1605 S. Corona Ave Colorado Springs, CO 80905

1st Annual 5K, 2K and 800m

Fun Run/Walk

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Fountain Creek Regional Park

CMCA & The Vanguard School

fun and fitness event to raise funds for

the Cross Country and Track Programs

Registration information available at

www.cmca12.com.

Forms are available in each building’s front office.