Don't forget to fill out your ballot before 7:00 PM November 7th. 21 Ballot Drop Box locations across Douglas County will be open for the Coordinated Election 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, from October 16, 2023 through 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 7, 2023. Each secure Ballot Drop Box location is under 24-hour video surveillance.CLICK HERE to find a location drop off near you!

When we all vote our community only gets stronger. Remind your family and friends to fill out their ballots too!

• Movie Night Tonight! With a pumpkin contest! (see flyers below)

• Next PTO Meeting Nov. 14 at 6pm

• Culver’s Spirit Night Nov. 15

• Festival of Trees Dec. 2

Help decorate for the Veterans Day Celebration!

We need help all week, Nov. 6-9, to make the school look amazing for this special event. Please click here to let us know you can help.

Honoring All Who Served

Cimarron Middle School is hosting our annual Veterans Day Celebration to honor

those in our community who selflessly serve our country.

Please invite your veteran to join us on Friday, November 10th at 8:15 am at Cimarron. Your veteran, student, and other family members will be able to join us for this fantastic event. The celebration will last approximately 45 minutes and there will be a reception for veterans immediately following the ceremony.

Please RSVP here or to Stephany Hoff at 720-433-1368 by November 3rd.

Youth vaping is on the rise and parents need to be equipped with e-cigarette knowledge. This video covers four facts about youth vaping and how your child might be impacted by the epidemic.

The Foundation for Douglas County Schools is proud to honor exceptional educators and staff who are inspiring a love of learning in students and are trailblazing extraordinary innovation in our schools. Over the years, the Apple Awards has grown to engage the entire community, bringing in thousands of nominations every year for teachers and staff members across the district. Please visit our Cimarron website today to nominate staff members that you appreciate prior to November 12th.

Save the Date!! Cimarron Middle School will be hosting its 10th annual Festival of Trees on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023 from 9am to 12pm. Follow our event on Facebook for updates:

In order to make this event successful, the school relies on you, for support!

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Donate a decorated tree (any size) with products from your own business or sponsored by your family. The trees are on display during the event where they are viewed by over 500 attendees in our community, eagerly hoping to win your tree. This is a great way for us to promote our families' own businesses or to show our school spirit!

If you or your business would like to participate, please fill out this quick form before November 17th.

We thank our many wonderful families who have participated in the past! You have truly helped our school raise funds for our students’ education and learning. We couldn't do it without you!!

Taming Technology

Issues involving technology often baffle many parents and cause them to wonder what limits are appropriate, how to hold their children accountable for misuse of technology, and how to help kids learn the decision-making skills required to make healthy technology choices when they leave home.

Do you ever feel like your child’s cell phone, game console, or computer has taken over your home? Here are some signs that technology use might be a problem for your kids:

• Do your kids become defiant and refuse to take a break from their phone or computer?

• Even if they are willing to take a break, do they become exceptionally irritable, sad, or bored during that time?

• Do they lie to you about their technology use and sneak time during their break?

Technology can be a wonderful tool for communication, learning, and healthy enjoyment. However it can also become a negative influence in the absence of limits. Below are a few examples of enforceable limits adults can provide:

• You may have your computer in the living room, not in your room.

• You may be on the internet if I’m allowed to review your internet history.

• You may be on social media if I can have access to your pages.

• Feel free to have a cell phone if you can pay for the service.

• You may keep your cell phone if you are not using it during meals or during school.

• I allow kids to use technology in my home if I feel that they are being respectful and responsible.

Although we can’t control what our kids do when they are away from home, we can guide them with loving limits, and increase the odds of them becoming responsible decision makers with technology.

If your student wants to participate in school sports, more information can be found on our Athletics Website with details for season dates, FAQs, copy of the sports physical form, and more. We must have proof of a current physical before they can participate. If you have any questions about athletics please contact the sport’s coach or Mr. Barnes at tbarnes@dcsdk12.org.

Our next sport is 6th & 7th grade girls basketball. Registration opens on November 6th and the season begins on December 4th.

GO COLTS!

Please help support these local businesses who have decided to become sponsors for Cimarron’s Athletic Department. Click on each image to visit their website today. Thank you so much!

Donations Needed: Please drop off all donations at the front office. We appreciate you!

We are always looking for gift card donations of $5 gift cards to support our Be Red card Friday Drawings. Students love Fika, McDonalds, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Berry Blendz, Swirls, Target gift cards.

7th grade is also looking for various small item donations (fidget toys, play dough, other dollar store fun items, silly objects, etc.) for our Friday red card drawing prize bin. Please mention "The 7th grade prize bin," when you drop off.

8th grade is hoping for some additional BeRed Friday drawing donations. We would love any of the items listed here. Thank you so much for your support!

Be RED Store!

In an effort to continue to encourage our students to demonstrate the Be RED characteristics (Respect, Excellence, and Determination), Cimarron is going to open a Be RED store! To achieve this, we have created an Amazon Wish List filled with a variety of options for kids to purchase with their RED cards. No real money will be involved.

The store is going to be open once a week during all three lunches to start, beginning after fall break. Teachers will be encouraged to continue to hand out even more RED cards to students who are consistently going the extra mile, are kind, and are demonstrating the qualities of a RED student!

We kindly request your support in making this initiative a success. If you are able and willing, please consider visiting our Amazon Wish List and selecting an item or two to contribute. This list is not exhaustive, so if you think of something that your student might be interested in, please feel free to send it as well. Your support will make a significant difference in our ability to recognize and motivate our students who are excelling academically, working diligently, and demonstrating positive behavior. With your help, we can encourage a positive school culture that encourages all students to strive for success, knowing that their hard work and commitment will be acknowledged and appreciated when they earn RED cards.

The state test, CMAS, is very important to Cimarron Middle School. When families look to move into our community, the first consideration before buying a house is the performance of the schools. Cimarron MIddle School is scored on the growth and achievement of the state assessment. When our enrollment is up, we get better funding to provide our students with the best experiences possible. Our staff uses these scores to guide curricular resources and programming for our students.

We are proud of the 92% of students that took this assessment last year. We are grateful for the way our community prioritizes education and hope to continue to have an outstanding high rate of participation. This prepares students for standardized testing in their future, including college readiness assessments or a standardized assessment for the career students choose.

If you choose to not have your student take this assessment, you will need to first set up a meeting with the grade level assistant principal. At this meeting we want to gain understanding of the reason, as well as talk about the importance of this assessment. This process for excusal is available until December 1st to opt out of the state assessment (CMAS). This means that meetings with the grade level AP will need to take place before this deadline date.