Clayton Magnet-AAP Connection

                Colorado Buffaloes’ Updates

Welcome Letter 2021-2022

Dear Students, Parents, & Guardians:

Welcome to a new year at Clayton Middle School as a member of our Magnet-AAP team! At Clayton, each team is represented by a college and we are the Colorado Buffaloes. We are pleased and honored to be your child’s teachers for this next year and are truly looking forward to working with and getting to know each one of our students and their families.

This year, we have started piloting to not only provide our GATE Magnet program to gifted identified students, but also allow advanced accelerated placement (AAP) to students that have shown great academic success and could benefit from this program. As a Buffalo, students will have core classes with other students accepted into our Magnet-AAP program to allow for differentiation and a more rigorous and accelerated curriculum. Students should expect about 90 minutes of homework each night, mostly from English Language Arts and Mathematics.

More information about specific policies and procedures for our team and each classroom syllabi will be given to students during the first week of school.  

Upcoming Events:

• August 9^th – First Day of School
• September 6^th – Labor Day
• September 7^th – 10^th – Book Fair in Library
• October 4^th – 8^th – Fall Break
• October 15^th – Last day of Quarter 1

Sports:

Middle School Sports will be returning this year! More information about time commitment, tryouts, games/meets, etc. will be provided by the school and coaches.

Middle School Sports Timelines:

• Cross Country : August 19, 2021-September 16, 2021
• Girls Basketball: September 20, 2021-October 28, 2021
• Boys Soccer: September 20, 2021-October 28, 2021
• Boys Basketball: November 1, 2021-December 13, 2021 
• Girls Volleyball: January 3, 2022-February 7, 2022
• Wrestling: February 14, 2022-April 5, 2022
• Girls Soccer: February 14, 2022-April 7, 2022
• Track & Field: April 7, 2022-May, 3, 2022

*Please be aware that schedules are subject to change without notice. 

We have included brief introductions of your core teachers below. It is our hope that in getting to know us, you find your transition to the 2021-2022 school year a little easier.

Sharon Cabangon  (Mathematics)  scabangon@washoeschools.net 

Hello wonderful Clayton parents and students. I am extremely excited to continue with the Clayton GT team for my seventh year of teaching. I knew at the age of six years old that I wanted to be a teacher. My first and second grade teachers were a major reason for this desire. I realized in middle school that I had a knack for mathematics and I had some amazing middle school and high school math teachers that helped me to develop a love for this subject. I look back on those years as a time of challenge and growth. I became the second in my family to graduate from a four-year university exactly 55 years after my grandfather. I received my Bachelors of Science in Mathematics Education from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2015. 

My teaching career started at Swope Middle School as the GT math teacher for two years. I then had the opportunity to work at Wooster High School which helped to solidify my desire to continue my work with middle school students. In these past six years I have taught Accel Math 6, Integrated I and II, Algebra I, Geometry, Formal Geometry, Algebra II and Algebra II Honors.  

When I am not fulfilling my duties as an educator, I am home with my husband, Mark, of almost 16 years and our three children; Adam (almost 12), Claire (10), and Ethan (8). We added our first pup to the family two years ago, a Brittany Spaniel named Hunter Oliver.  We are expecting baby number four this September! 

Leah Martinez (Science)  leah.martinez@washoeschools.net 

 Hello! I am very excited to continue teaching for this amazing Clayton GT Team. When I started subbing and later teaching for this team, I fell in love with the incredible students, supportive parents, hardworking teachers, and the community at the school. I have a passion for science and being able to make sense of the world around us. This requires critical questioning and scientific inquiry, two of the many things we will explore in this upcoming school year. Science can be an overwhelming subject, but by harnessing students’ natural curiosity, I hope they will enjoy science as much or even more than I. 

I am a native Nevadan and was born and raised in Sparks, Nevada. I have a Bachelors of Science in Biology degree from the University of Nevada, Reno as well as a Masters of Arts in Secondary Science Education degree from Western Governors University. I spent three years as a substitute and had the opportunity to long-term substitute for four separate teachers, three of whom are GATE teachers here in Washoe County. I have spent the last three years teaching on this incredible team.  

I am married to an electrical lineman. We have an adorable labrador, lots of plants, and recently added an adorable little boy, Vincent who was born last October! In my free time I love hiking, swimming, camping, gardening, and napping in hammocks. I love exploring the world, especially the US National Parks.  

I can’t wait for the school year to begin! 

 Stacie Tiernay (English Language Arts) stiernay@washoeschools.net

Hello! I am excited to be joining the Clayton GT team this year! I cannot wait to get started working with the students, staff, and families at Clayton Middle School.

I moved to Reno to attend college at the University of Nevada where I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Information Systems and Accounting. My Master’s degree is in Education, and I have an ELL (English Language Learners) endorsement.

My teaching career began 16 years ago at Mamie Towles as a 5/6 grade teacher. Since that time, my career has taken me across the district teaching at the elementary and middle school levels. I have worked with every grade kindergarten through 8^th. Most recently I was at Traner Middle School where I taught Honors English and English Language Development to language learners. I have also taught math and science at the middle school level.

I have lived in Northern Nevada since 1993. I love this area with all there is to do! In my free time I am usually out on the trails with my dogs either hiking, running, or mountain biking. I also love to camp, backpack, and kayak.  

I am looking forward to this school year and cannot wait to meet all of you! It is going to be a fantastic year!

Craig Burkhouse (Social Studies)    cburkhouse@washoeschools.net 

Welcome Clayton families, I’m very excited to be joining the Magnet team this year! This year begins my 22nd year teaching, my 7th in WCSD. The first 15 years I taught in Sacramento.

I received my BA I from CSU Sacramento in international relations, my teaching credential from UC Davis and my MSEd from Walden University.

As a middle schooler I lived in Germany, my dad worked for the Air Force. That is where my love of Social Studies started to blossom. Hopefully through the exploration of history we can all come to better understand ourselves and  our place in bigger picture of things.

During my off time I love spending time with my kiddo, Eden(12) and our naughty dog Doc. We love camping, paddle boarding and exploring the lakes and trails that Nevada offers. However as a native Californian we are often drawn back to the Pacific Ocean and the redwoods.

I’m looking forward to seeing what we can discover and learn from one another this year!

Every student at Clayton Middle School will have the same supply list. This is different from previous years where each team had their own supply list. Please follow the school list and strive to have all supplies by Friday, August 13th.

We have some additional supplies that are specific for our team. These are all optional:

• Students will need a compass and a protractor. All grade levels will use these at various times during the year. We will have some for use during class; however, students may want one at home as well.

• 1-2 tubs of disinfecting wipes to donate to your enrichment teacher.

• If you would like to contribute to our class supply of general school materials, please donate as you feel you are able. We are particularly in need of hand sanitizer, glue sticks, and pencils.

Calculators: At times students will need to use scientific or graphing calculators at school. We have scientific Casio calculators, model fx-300ms and graphing calculators, model Casio fx-9750GII available for student use at school.  Students do not need to buy their own.

We understand that educating a child takes a group effort. We believe that without parent help we are less likely to be as successful in teaching your child. Therefore, we are implementing measures to make our expectations clear and keep the lines of communication open. We will gladly listen to input or concerns parents and students may have.

The following are ways we hope to better connect with students and parents: 

• Students will check grades weekly in Enrichment. 
• Parents will be given weekly updates via email. This year, weekly updates will be sent through a newsletter program called Smores. The email will come from leahmartinez6@users.smore.com and is not spam. You should expect to receive your first weekly update on August 13^th.
• Important school information will be posted in Enrichment Teams for students to reference.
• Students and Parents are encouraged to email teachers or talk to their teachers during class with any comments/concerns/questions. For emails, please allow us one school day for response time.
• Grades will be updated regularly in Infinite Campus. Please keep in mind additional grading time will be needed for missing work turned in late.

We look forward to a fun school year – Go Buffaloes!

Clayton Magnet-AAP Teachers