Oh, the Spring! There are so many reminders of renewal and rejuvenation that come with the Spring season. We are happily anticipating Spring Break at Canyon Crest; everyone is ready for a little break from schoolwork and masks! It will be a well-deserved rest for students and school staff.

Over the past few weeks we have enjoyed watching our third through sixth graders participate in the Battle of the Books. This has been the first year in Canyon Crest history that 100% of our students participated! We want to thank these students, and all who encouraged and supported them, for their great efforts. It takes A LOT of reading to put their skills and knowledge to the test in the competitions. Our teams who will continue on to the District Battle of the Books on April 21st are “Cheese Raiders the Sequel” (5/6 grades), and “Flaming Flamingos” (3/4 grades). We appreciate Launa Naylor, our Media Specialist, for supporting literacy through Battle of the Books at Canyon Crest. The new book list for next year’s Battle of the Books has been released, so please encourage your children to read, read, read this summer!

We are also swinging into the weeks of year-end RISE testing, so please encourage your student to get some good rest and a good breakfast before coming to school. We want students to be able to demonstrate the good skills they have learned this year. The testing window will continue through May 14th. Your child’s teacher will keep you informed of specific class test dates.

With the departure of our facilitator, Jayme Gandara, an interview committee of district and school administrators, parent and school staff has completed the interview process and selected a new facilitator for the upcoming school year. I am pleased to introduce Desiree Olsen as Canyon Crest’s new facilitator. She comes to us from Sunset View where she is currently the facilitator there and is completing her master’s degree in educational administration this summer.  Please help us welcome Mrs. Olsen, and watch for more about her on our website.

We will be hosting several fun end-of-year events, while keeping with the Covid guidelines for schools. We plan on celebrating our awesome 6th grade graduates with an outdoor graduation ceremony and barbeque. Other school-wide celebrations will include Dios del Ninos, and Field Day. Please watch for information that will be coming about each of these events.

We will be holding Summer School during the month of June. The purpose of summer school this year is to close pandemic achievement gaps and prepare students for next year’s rigor. A letter of invitation will be sent to families in the next week or two for students who qualify for Summer School opportunities. If you have questions, please contact the school.

We wish you all a wonderful and safe Spring Break, and we look forward to returning to a very busy and productive rest of our school year. Thank you, again, for your great support of students and staff. We are all thrilled to be part of this big, marvelous Canyon Crest team!

Sincerely,

Rene Cunningham