Jaguar Tales

Hello, Jaguar Family!

The first few days of school were a success! It is so nice to have students in the building again. Our students have been working hard to learn their schedules and get back into the swing of things and they are doing great! We have experienced some crowding in the hallways, but that will reduce in the coming days as students get more familiar with the building (where they are going and the quickest ways to get there).

If you missed last week's Jaguar Tales and are new to Cedar Valley, I recommend going back and taking a look at it. It contains some campus expectations and a lot of logistical information that helps our campus run smoothly.

We are looking forward to our first FULL week at school this coming week. We appreciate everyone's patience as we navigate chromebook distribution.

Have a great weekend! Go Jags!

Larissa Ortiz

Cedar Valley Middle School Principal

Larissa_ortiz@roundrockisd.org

512-428-2307

Last week, we shared our campus attendance policies and procedures listed below. Please note the timeline to turn in absence notes has now been updated from 2 days to 5 days.

• Students should bring their absence notes to the Attendance Office(in Jag Lobby) when they return to school from their absence(s).

• It is not necessary to call the school and report an absence.

• Students can communicate with their teachers and keep up with their assignments through Schoology.

• Absence notes are required to the Attendance Office no later than 5 days of return from absence (updated 24-25 school year)

• Absence notes should be from the parent/guardian and/or a medical provider if seen stating the student's name, specific date(s) missed, and reason for the absence.

• Late notes are still required to avoid possible truancy, but will remain coded as unexcused.

• Emails are not accepted as parent/guardian notes in middle or high school.

• However, we will take scanned medical notes.

• RRISD excuses student sickness and death in the immediate family.

• Please do not contact or send attendance notes for student absences to the teachers or school nurse.

• Filling out district covid reporting is recommended, but does not act as a campus absence note.

Please direct all attendance correspondence to the Attendance Office:
Dana Harrison

E-mail: dana_harrison@roundrockisd.org

Phone: 512-428-2305

Parents can view their child's bus assignment through the SMART Tag Parent App. More information on the SMART tag system can be found at https://transportation.roundrockisd.org/smart-tag/.

To find bus information, enter your address and click 'search.' It is not necessary to enter a zip code or campus.

Due to the increased number of SMART tag requests at the beginning of the school year, please expect longer processing times for the first couple weeks. Beginning Monday, August 26th students will be required to have a SMART tag OR a Round Rock ISD Transportation One-Day SMART tag Permit in order to ride the bus home. As a reminder, students may only ride their assigned bus to and from their assigned stop.

Bus Behavior Expectations can be found here.

Mr. Scott has served in public education for about 20 years and held administrative leadership roles at all levels of PreK - 12. The majority of his career has been at middle school, but he was most recently an AP at RRISD's alternative high school called Success. Before that, he was principal at the elementary level.

Personally, he has been married for 25 years. They have two daughters. Preslee just graduated from Baylor University and has begun her Interior Design career in Austin. Emerson is a Senior and Drum Major at Rouse High School in Leander ISD. His wife, Nannette, is a preschool teacher who mostly works with 2-year-olds.

He is excited to not only return to middle school but Cedar Valley, in particular, where he was an AP from 2017 to 2019. He enjoyed working with the staff and students at CeVMS and he looks forward to the opportunity to join the amazing team again. Go Jags!

Officer Hoggard was born and raised in the small, dusty town of Big Spring, TX. He began his law enforcement career with the Victoria, TX Police Department in January of 2004. While with the VPD, Officer Hoggard served in the capacity of Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Narcotic & Gang Investigator, SWAT Officer, and SWAT Team Leader.

In January of 2012, Officer Hoggard transferred to the Round Rock Police Department, where he remained until his retirement in January 2024. While employed with the RRPD, Officer Hoggard held the positions of Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Threat Liaison Officer, Gang Investigator, and SWAT Officer.

In his off-time, Officer Hoggard enjoys mountain biking, woodworking, and being assigned a plethora of various honey-do projects. He also takes out the trash, but never replaces the bag.

Native to Oregon, Mrs. Alayan came to Austin, TX in 2002 after graduating college to start a family and begin her career serving her community. After helping her husband open and run a dental practice in the Brushy Creek area, Mrs. Alayan pursued her passion in special education, working for the school district after the birth of her four children, three boys and a daughter, who all attended Brushy Creek Elementary. Mrs. Alayan received her teaching credentials in 2018 and taught special education both in Oregon where her extended family resides, and at Round Rock ISD. She is excited to be back home where her eldest son will be starting college. Mrs. Alayan and her family love football, traveling to Port A and is excited to be a Cedar Valley Jag, where her daughter will also be attending.

Coach Baeza joins Cedar Valley this year from the small (very small), rural community of Milano, TX (about an hour NW of College Station)! This is his 12th year in education, officially 10th year of teaching. Coach Baeza has taught 6-8 Math, Tech Apps, and Fundamentals of CS. Coach Baeza grew up in Round Rock and attended Stony Point, and has taught in RRISD and Pflugerville ISD! He enjoys spending time with his wife Briana, and their daughter Eloise (who turned two this summer)! He will be teaching Tech Apps 1 and coaching Football, Basketball and Track for Cedar Valley! He is super excited to get started, and very excited to return to his hometown for his second stint with RRISD!

Mrs. Bradley is from Belton, Texas. She graduated with her degree in Finance from A&M Central Texas, and went through Texas Teachers for her alternative certificate. She was an Educational Aide for 5 years at Belton ISD before seeking a teacher position at CTMS in Round Rock. She is excited about starting her 4th year teaching at Cedar Valley! She has been married to her husband, Thomas, for 13 years and they have 4 children (2 girls, 2 boys) aged 20,16,11, and 5. Her hobbies are movie nights with the kiddos, and comedy shows or tv series.

She is excited to be joining Cedar Valley Middle School. Go Jags!

Mrs. Davalos grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Her husband, Doug is a coach at Round Rock High School and they have 3 daughters. She has been in education for 20 years and has always wanted to be a teacher. She has been in Round Rock ISD for 11 years. Mrs. Davalos is so happy to be a Jaguar!

Ms. Dearing is from a small town in KS called Liberal. She graduated from KSU in Manhattan, KS and her nickname is Wendy Wildcat no matter where she may live. She is a super fan of any Wildcat sport. She has taught Tx/American Hist, and World Geography courses and coached at the following Tx Cities: Princeton, Irving,Cedar Hill, Corpus Christi. She has also created programs/taught ESL and/or Reading Intervention classes in Lockhart and Pflugerville. Nature is Ms. Dearing's happy place whether on a trail or at the ocean. She also enjoys promoting animal causes/reforms, hiking with her pups/swimming, watching/playing various sports, volunteering/promoting various causes, and cooking healthy meals. She is eager to teach Dyslexia and Intervention courses at Cedar Valley and getting to know everyone! :)

Coach Garcia was born and raised in the Austin area! He is joining Cedar Valley from Patsy Sommer Elementary where he has been for the last 4 years! At Sommer, he taught language arts and social studies. Coach Garcia graduated Texas State University in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science. He spends his weekends during the fall aggressively watching football, spending time with his fiance, lifting weights, or spending time with his animals. He is beyond excited to coach Football, Basketball, and Track at Cedar Valley!

Mrs. Lewis grew up a native of Fort Worth, Tx. She is a loving wife and mother of 3. Tylisha just recently celebrated her first year of marriage to her amazing husband Marcus. Mrs. Lewis left her job at Uplift Education and relocated to Round Rock, Tx with her family due to her husband’s job promotion. Mrs. Lewis' hobbies are cooking, being outdoors with nature, reading, gardening and crafting. She is looking forward to becoming a Jaguar!

Mrs. Marler is from Oak Hills, California and she gained a bachelor's degree in secondary math education from BYU-Idaho. Her husband is a software engineer at General Motors for the past 2 years. This will be her third year teaching after working in Idaho and at Dessau Middle School teaching 7th and 8th grade math.

She is very excited to join the Cedar Valley team!

Dr. Paswaters grew up in Hong Kong, China. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Clarks Summit University, his master’s degree at Azusa Pacific University, and his doctorate from Northcentral University. “Dr. P.” is beginning his 17th year teaching, having taught music courses in high school for ten years and middle school for six years. He is moving over from Pearson Ranch MS to teach choir at Cedar Valley. His wife, Denise, is a retired teacher and online tutor. They have six kids and ten grandkids. Dr. P. enjoys spending time with family and in the outdoors, and is always up for playing pickleball.

Mrs. Unverdi was born and raised in St. Louis, MO before moving to Dallas and later to Austin. She earned 2 undergraduate degrees and her Teaching Certification at UT Austin. She taught English as a Second Language at Cedar Valley MS for 5 years before taking a break to have her daughter Josephine with her husband James. They have 2 cats, enjoy riding bikes, scooters, and going swimming - preferably in the ocean. Mrs. Unverdi's happy place is in her garden where she grows tons of flowers, fruits, and vegetables that she shares with friends and neighbors. She loves to create things that grow, which is part of why she loves teaching too. She is very excited to return to Cedar Valley MS, her home away from home! Go Jags!

Mrs. Veselic was born in Belgrade, Serbia. She earned her Bachelor Degree in Serbian Literature and Language with General Literature at Belgrade University/ Philology Faculty . She was working in Middle and High School in Serbia as a Literature Teacher. She lived in Germany for 8 years and worked there as Language teacher in “Munich Sprachschule Aktiv”. Before coming to Austin last year she and her family spent five years in California. Together with her husband and her two kids lives now in beautiful Brushy Creek and is very excited to start working for Cedar Valley Middle school.

Ms. Yanez grew up in Moody, which is located just outside of Waco,Texas. She and her 4 children moved to Round Rock 16 years ago. Ms. Yanez went to school for Cosmetology, Dental Assistant, CNA, and some college at Temple College. She has 4 wonderful young adults who she loves dearly. With all of her children being raised here in the Brushy Creek Area all have attended Brushy Creek Elementary, then Cedar Valley MS, and her youngest will be the last to graduate from McNeil High School.

Ms. Yanez has the love to volunteer by coaching cheer/sports, helping other children/families with cancer fighters and special needs children. She could not be more excited to join The Jags!

We look forward to having a crowd to cheer on our sports teams this year!

Football Schedule

Volleyball Schedule

It's an exciting time to be able to attend extracurricular events in RRISD. We all love it when a crowd shows up to cheer on our teams. Please keep in mind that attending such events comes with expectations. We ask that parents review these expectations with their students before each event.

Be Safe:

• Stay SEATED in the bleachers unless going to the restroom or concession stand.

• Items prohibited on campus are prohibited at games.

• Unsafe behavior such as horseplay, fighting, and running could result in being removed from the event.

Be Responsible:

• Follow guidelines for food & drinks.

• Throw away all trash before leaving the stands/gym.

• Call for a ride at the end of halftime. If a student is picked up after 15 minutes of the game ending, it may result in loss of privilege to attend the next game/ event.

These expectations apply to all RRISD extracurricular events. We hold high expectations for students as a spectator at Cedar Valley, but even higher ones when you are visiting another gym or stadium in Round Rock ISD.

Please be aware that students may be asked to leave the event if these expectations are not met. This will also result in losing privileges to attend other events for the school year.

We'd love to see you get involved in a club this year! Take a look at the club offerings and consider joining!

Please keep in mind the list is still being updated for this school year. We should have everything updated over the next week.

Our teachers are here to help! In the event you need help with an assignment or understanding a concept better, please attend tutorials with your teacher. Please keep in mind, a pass is needed to attend tutorials in the morning.

CeVMS Tutorial Schedule

(posted in many areas at school, as well)

All events at Cedar Valley can be found on the Cedar Valley Master Calendar.

Did you know that you can add the Cedar Valley Master Calendar to your calendar? Simply click on this link to access it and add it to your calendar!

Visit our Cedar Valley PTA Online Store to make donations and purchase your Cedar Valley merchandise at our one stop shop! Merchandise will be back online shortly.

To join PTA, click here. We're happy to have you on board!

Vision: Fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners

Website: https://cedarvalley.roundrockisd.org/
Location: 8139 Racine Trail, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-428-2300
Facebook: facebook.com/rrisd.cedarvalley
Twitter: @cevmsjags

Front Office Staff

Administrative Associate - Principal's Office: Ms. Cristol Alvarez, 512-428-2316

Administrative Assistant - Counseling Office: Ms. Marilyn Beal, 512-428-2348

Attendance: Ms. Dana Harrison, 512-428-2305

Receptionist: Ms. Allison Samuelson, 512-428-2301

Registrar: Ms. Vicky Escruceria, 512-428-2315

Counselors

6th Grade Counselor: Ms. Gabrielle Kerr

7th Grade Counselor: Ms. Heather Mills

8th Grade Counselor: Ms. Elizabeth Guidry

Administration

Principal: Ms. Larissa Ortiz

6th Grade Assistant Principal: Ms. Jennifer Bingham

7th Grade Assistant Principal: Mr. Marc Scott

8th Grade Assistant Principal: Mr. Andrew Carroll

Nurse Clinic

Campus Nurse: Nurse Mina Shimomura

Records Specialist: Ms. Kristie_Rocheleau