Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Student Speakers for the Round Rock World Class Summit

Round Rock ISD district and campus administrators gathered together for the RRISD's World Class Summit. Dr. Flores shared his vision for the future and shared steps that will be implemented as a result of the Strategic Planning Initiative this year. Ryan Smith, the district's Professional Development Director, provided great opportunities for administrators to learn and collaborate together.

My favorite things from the summit were the student panels. Mr. Smith arranged for students from elementary, middle, and high schools, to share their experiences being in Round Rock schools, as well as their opinions on what's going right and what they would like improved in their schools. They were all articulate and gave us important things to ponder.

I want to thank the Cedar Ridge student representatives on the panel, Wesley Dickerson and Uttam Eamani. Wesley is going to be a junior this coming school year. He is a leader in DECA and also served on one of the district's Strategic Planning Committees this past year. Uttam graduated this year and is going to be attending UT in the fall in the Honors Business Program. Both are outstanding young men with amazing futures ahead! Thank you, guys!







Cedar Ridge Food Drive Delivery

The Cedar Ridge Food Drive ended up being very successful! Andrew Jezisek, a Cedar Ridge Junior (2015-16) contacted me May 31 requesting to be able to have a Cedar Ridge food drive to benefit the local flood victims. Although it was the last week of school, the Raider Nation stepped up and we collected quite a bit of food in just one week. Andrew and his mother, Mrs Jezisek, recently delivered the food to the Round Rock Serving Center in the name of Cedar Ridge High School. Please enjoy the pictures of their delivery.

I want to thank Andrew for being a Raider who cares about others and makes a positive impact on his community! Andrew is very humble and doesn't seek attention for himself, but I just wanted to brag on him for advocating for such a selfless cause. Andrew also serves as the Cedar Ridge High School German Club President. When I was in high school, believe it or not, I, too, served as German Club President. And, no, that does not mean I can speak German now! But, Andrew, "Das ist sehr gut! Danke sehr!"







Saturday, June 6, 2015

Cedar Ridge High School Graduation 2015 Highlights

Cedar Ridge had a wonderful graduation ceremony yesterday at Cedar Park Center! Our student speakers did an outstanding job with their speeches, sharing words of wisdom and funny anectdotes. A true highlight during the ceremony was the performance of Fanfare. an original composition by one of our graduating seniors- Charles Nicholas Winkel. Nick collaborated with Hannah Keefer and Kyrie Rooch on the lyrics. Their music was absolutely gorgeous and was a wonderful gift to the graduating class of 2015! I have shared a link to the performance below- thanks to Mike Rooch, Kyrie's father, who recorded it.

https://youtu.be/LVbRYSUGpY4

The following link is to the Round Rock ISD Home Page, where they have featured the Top 10 students from each high school.-

https://roundrockisd.org/

I also want to thank the graduating class of 2015 for their generous gesture during graduation. As students came forward to receive their diplomas, many of them gave various amounts of cash to be donated to the victims of the recent floods. This was planned and organized by the class of 2015. Very, very classy last act of R.A.I.N., compassion, generosity, and caring! Thank you, class of 2015!  We wish you the best in your future and we will miss you!

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Last Week of School and Graduation

Dear Raider Family,

It's hard to believe, but this is our last week for the 2014-2015 school year. Thank you for a wonderful year on the Ridge! I want to wish all of our students the very best as they wrap up their finals and head towards summer vacation.

Congratulations to the Class of 2015! We hope you have a fantastic "last week" of high school and we look forward to celebrating with you at your graduation ceremonies at 12:00 pm on Friday, June 5 at Cedar Park Center. Students will meet at Cedar Ridge High School at 9:00 am, Friday, June 5 and ride to Cedar Park Center together on school buses. Students need to ride to graduation with the school, but are welcome to leave graduation with family or friends. Please be aware that parking at Cedar Park Center is $5 per car and they only take cash. Seniors are encouraged to bring a snack with them, as it will be a long morning.

The address for Cedar Park Center is 2100 Avenue of the Stars, Cedar Park, Texas, 78613.

For those of you who have family members and friends who would like to watch graduation, but can't be here in person, the district will have live streaming available.

The link to the 2015 Graduation page on the district website is: https://roundrockisd.org/students/graduation-2015/


The direct link to the lives streaming is: http://livestream.com/accounts/13738327/CedarRidge

We hope to see all of the seniors Friday night at the Main Event for Project Graduation!

It has been my pleasure to serve as the principal of Cedar Ridge High School this year! Thank you for a great year!

Best Wishes!

Lynette Thomas



Monday, June 1, 2015

Last Week Was Busy! CR Library of the Future at Dell, Partner Appreciation Ceremony, French Banquet, & Stock Market Team News

A team of Cedar Ridge students gave an amazingly professional, articulate, and innovative presentation about their Library of the Future Project, last Tuesday, in one of Dell's Executive Board Rooms. The students presented to Dell executives, local community members, and Round Rock ISD board of trustees and district administrators. The students made an incredible impression and I think several of them are already on Dell's list of future recruits. I'll share pictures I took at the presentation, as well as some links to articles about the project. Congratulations to our students who did an outstanding job! I also want to thank and congratulate the teachers and staff members who participated in the project and helped facilitate the students' work.

 Dr. Flores and the Cedar Ridge Students-

k
The Technology Team


                                                                                                The Interior Design Team













The Business and Marketing Team


The Architecture and Engineering Team 















Ms. Sotelo, our Academy Coordinator, shared the following link to more pictures:
 http://roundrockisd.smugmug.com/Schools/Cedar-Ridge/52615-Library-of-the-Future-Pr/i-K4pQZ89

Here is a link to an article Round Rock ISD posted:

We've also been told that Dell is sharing the information about the project with Dell team members worldwide through blogs, Twitter, and other social media sites. We are so excited for our students and their accomplishments! We also want to thank Dell for being wonderful partners and for giving our students such a unique opportunity!
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To add to our CR Stock Market Team news, The Texas Council on Economic Education featured our students in one of their newsletters. The link to the article is:
http://economicstexas.org/?p=7284

It's great to see our students gaining such widespread recognition!
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Ms. Douglass shared that the French Club had a special banquet at The Hollow in Georgetown. The staff was so pleased with our students and especially how well behaved, respectful and well-mannered they all were.  Ms. Douglass shared that she was very proud that evening to be their teacher!








Thursday morning was the Round Rock Partner Appreciation Ceremony. We want to thank all of you who volunteer your time to support us!  The following were nominated by Cedar Ridge to receive a special recognition:
Outstanding Campus Partner of the Year- The Contemporary Austin
CR Business and Industry Academy Partner of the Year- John Smith
CR Public Service Academy Partner of the Year- Gattis Elementary
CR STEM Academy Partner of the Year- Tiffany Dudley
CR VPA Academy Partner of the Year- Adele Taveras

CR Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year- Rachel Ogle
Our own, Rhianna Cartwright was chosen by Gattis Elementary as their Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year!

CR Outstanding STARS Mentor of the Year- David DeLeon

CR Outstanding Volunteer of the Year- Niamh Fogarty

Thank you so much for contributing your wonderful time and efforts to Cedar Ridge! 

Ms. Fogarty and I-