Cache La Poudre Middle School

Cache La Poudre Middle School is an amazing little school located on the edge of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Our small size of 400 students and staff has allowed us to become a community of learners where every student is known and valued as an individual. Our dedicated staff has committed themselves to an innovative teaching style and spirit which embraces the future but still respects our past traditions.

Cache La Poudre Middle School is a school where respect, rigor, relevance, responsibility and relationships drive learning.

CLP is a safe, high performing school where students learn, work and grow with an experienced and dedicated staff.
Why should you choose CLP?

Schedule for Mach 8-12, 2010

Bell schedule for CSAP Week 1

Artist in Residence

The CLP Middle School Music Department in collaboration with the RMHS Music Department would like to announce this year's Artist in Residence, jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson with The Ken Walker Quartet on April 15, 2010, 7pm (Doors open @ 6:30pm) at the Lincoln Center.

This event brings professional musicians to Fort Collins to work with PSD students in clinics and workshops during the school day and then perform an evening concert for the community with student groups opening.

CLP Middle School Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the RMHS "Spotlight" will open this concert. Tickets will go on sale at the Lincoln Center Box Office on March 2, 2010 for only $10 each. More Info

Registration, Visitation and Curriculum Nights for current 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Grade students.

Parent please read - important dates and information

CLP News Flash

There is always something going on at CLP. Read about our students and staff as they make the news. Add your comments. Updated throughout the week. Click Here.

Poetry Cafe 2010

Adopt-A-Platoon -
Last Troop Shipment to Afghanistan

The last troop shipment to Afghanistan is March 1, 2010.
Please drop off donations to Ms. Chaney, Room 118.

Read letters and see pictures of CLP's adopted platoon.

Things we need for the shipment.
Information on Adopt-A-Platoon

Thankyou Target!

We just received an unexpected $1000 check from Target in continuing support of our WEB program! That is a total of $8,000 over the last two school years that we have received from Target for the WEB program.

Haiti Fundraiser Update

CLP participated in a school-wide Earthquake Relief fundraiser for the children of Haiti. Students were asked to bring in donations to help the children survivors of the Haiti earthquake. As a school we raised $614.57 and will be sending our donation to the UNICEF organization next week

Fuel Up To Play

Change in Lunch Payment Policy

In order to speed the lunch lines and enhance the "dining experience" for our students during lunch, we are requesting that students pay money into their school account in the morning or during the day at the front office, instead of making change during busy lunch time. We are also requesting that if students do wish to pay cash for lunch that they have exact change available.

Energy Committee Update

Leadership students are currently conducting an energy conservation program. These students will be inspecting classrooms throughout the school day. Leaders will be checking to see if the classrooms are following proper energy rules, such as usage of natural light or if appliances are off while not in use.

Small School Forums

Poudre School District is studying options for funding small schools and encourages ALL parents, PSD staff and community members—from small AND large schools—to attend and provide input at community forums in January and February.

With many elementary and middle schools under-enrolled and PSD facing major budget reductions, PSD is studying funding options for schools. Four Board of Education led community forums will be held to help PSD understand the community’s values about funding small schools.

PSD is asking the community to engage in a big picture discussion about options related to funding small schools:

Funding small schools through separate funding sources, or
Closing schools and combining students into larger schools.
All parents, PSD staff, and community members are invited to attend one of the following forums (information and format will be the same at each forum):

7 – 9 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23, Fort Collins High School’s auditorium

For more information, email info@psdschools.org or call 482-7420.

CLP Newsletter

The newsletter is published every quarter. We will be publishing the newsletter online this year. If you would like to receive the next newsletter via email please submit your information here.
2nd Quarter (Fall - Winter 2009) Newsletter

CLP Middle School WILL NOT CLOSE...

Below is an open letter from the Principal of CLPMS, Skip Caddoo to the students, parents, staff and all members of our community. The letter has been reviewed and approved for release by Dr. Jerry Wilson, Superintendent of Poudre School District and Manny Ortega, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools. PDF version of letter

Dear Cache La Poudre Middle School Community,

Last week, district administration shared several reports and next steps in the Facility Utilization process with the Board of Education, which is underway to develop recommendations for more efficient use of schools and to help balance enrollment across schools.

One of the reports presented, a Facility Study, exclusively considered optimal cost efficiency of facilities, and named several schools for possible consolidation or closure. Cache La Poudre Middle School was one of the schools named, along with several other schools.

Instead, Dr. Wilson and district administration are proposing several options that impact fewer schools and take into account neighborhood/community needs, educational programming, transportation, geographic location, and other considerations, along with cost efficiencies.

In order to consider the different studies and take into account these factors, the District is forming the Facility Design Feasibility Committee. This group will evaluate possible scenarios for fully utilizing CLPMS, including but not limited to the addition of the Lab School for Creative Learning to our site. With this in mind, we can say with complete confidence, Cache La Poudre Middle School will remain open. We welcome additional programs and continue to add new students to our school community.

Cache La Poudre Middle School is a high performing and safe place for all of your children. We focus on our community and are supported by our community. We look forward to this spring’s 60th anniversary of the first graduating class of seniors from Cache La Poudre High School and the first graduating class of eighth graders from Cache La Poudre Middle School.

Thank you all for your support and commitment to our neighborhood school. Please feel free to call me directly at 488-7402 if you have any questions or concerns.

Skip Caddoo

New Bell Schedule

After the past year of planning and discussion to transform to the middle school, our staff and the District have created our new schedule for next year. There are numerous changes based on varying needs. The first difference is our start time. We will be starting our day at 7:30 am in order to accommodate changing transportation needs. With the 9th graders being at the high school and their changing start times, we will need to adjust our day. Pick-up times for students will not change much if at all but the time that they are dropped off at school will be closer to the start of the day – less time waiting for their first class of the day.

The second new part of our schedule is the advisory period. This will be time during the day for the students to meet is small groups with one of their grade level teachers. Activities will be varied and will include study skills, organizational strategies, assemblies, team competitions and building protocols to name a few.

The other main change is the Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) time at the end of the day. Tailored to each student’s needs, we will be providing both intervention time to support students in their learning and enrichment activities to extend their interests and abilities. The first quarter this fall, all students will start with a guided study period during this time in order for the staff to assess student needs and interests.

With all of last year’s planning and organization, the CLP Middle School staff is excited and optimistic for the fall. Have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you all in August.

Student Attire (Dress Code)

We expect students to wear clothing that promotes a positive, safe, productive, and learning-focused school environment. With this in mind, please adhere to the following requirements when choosing how to dress each day:

1. No pajamas, lounge wear, slippers, or other bedroom attire may be worn to school.
2. Under clothing cannot be visible, including underwear, bra straps, and shorts worn under pants. (Sagging pants will not be allowed. Pants must be worn at the student’s waistline.)
3. Shoulders, stomachs, and chests must be covered. Students cannot wear spaghetti straps, tank tops, open-mesh, see-through clothing, or low cut tops.
4. Students may not wear ripped or torn clothing.
5. Short shorts or skirts are not allowed. Shorts and skirts must extend to mid-thigh, or the student’s fingertips when arms are hung straight down with relaxed shoulders (whichever is lower).
6. Clothing advertising or promoting tobacco, alcohol, drugs, violence, or gang related activities, or which offends, threatens or demeans others is not allowed. (This includes gang tattoos on the skin.)
7. No hats or sunglasses may be worn during school hours.
8. Metal chains on wallets are not allowed.

*Students wearing clothing that violates any of these requirements will be asked to call their parents to bring them appropriate clothing.

*For students who violate CLP’s dress code multiple times, a parent conference may be scheduled and/or detention and suspension will be assigned.

New Policies

Lockers – This year we will allow students to bring in their own combination lock, in addition to the regular school lock, to place on their locker. We are allowing this for safety reasons. If a student brings in their own lock, they must give the combination to the front office before placing the lock on the locker. Only combination locks will be allowed.

Honors Classes – We will be offering Honors classes to 7th and 8th graders this year. Our Social Studies and English curriculum will offer the Honors classes using the pull-out model, while our Science curriculum will continue with the differentiation model. Students must have appropriate test scores and a teacher recommendation prior to being placed into the Honors classes. All teachers will continue to implement Pre-AP instructional strategies to all students in all classes in order to maintain the highest learning levels.

Lunch Detention and ISS – Students will be reminded of our updated policy during study hall the first week of school.

Electronic Equipment – We strongly encourage students not to bring Ipods, cell phones, or any other electronic equipment to school. We do not allow students to use these during the school day at any time. Equipment will be confiscated if seen. This equipment is small and is easily stolen and very rarely retrieved. Therefore, we ask that you do not bring this equipment to school; if you do so it is at your own risk.

Attendance

It is extremely vital that your student be at school. Colorado school law requires that students attend and that it is the parents’ responsibility to have their student attend school until the age of 17. Colorado law states that secondary students must attend school for 1056 hours out of 1080 hours. This equals four days of absences. You will be notified if your student has more than four days of absences. Students must have all absences excused through the attendance office. You may call our 24-hour attendance line at 490-3087 or our attendance clerk at 488-7405. If the parent does not notify the school of their students’ absence, then the school will contact the parent to verify the students’ absence.