Panther Pause
26 years of Pride at Colleyville Heritage High School
08.27.21
Dear Panther Family,
I hope this message finds you safe and well! As we wrap up the end of week two here at CHHS, I am bursting with PRIDE! Our students and staff have done a wonderful job of transitioning back to the building and we are off to a tremendous start!
Tonight we face GHS in the Battle of The Red Rail at Mustang-Panther Stadium at 7:30pm. We are on the visitors side for the game. I can’t wait to see our young people compete tomorrow. Not long ago we had these opportunities ripped from our grasp and we realized, very quickly, that we have to cherish every moment we have and not take a single thing for granted.
Tonight you will see Panther Pride on FULL Display - from the pregame, to our Panther Choir leading us in the National Anthem, to the Pep Boys, Spirit Sisters, and Black Attack getting the Student Section going, to the Panther Cheerleaders and Panteras bringing the energy and exciting vibes, to the Football team marching up and down the field on the Mustangs, giving us so many reasons to cheer. And, speaking of marching, our phenomenal Panther Band and Diamonds showcasing their skills and abilities for an amazing Halftime Show. Every group works so hard to create an exciting and vibrant experience on these Friday nights and I am so grateful for them all! A huge thank you to our coaches, directors, and sponsors of these groups! They pour countless hours into these young people and go above and beyond to ensure they have an amazing experience under their care.
I’m so thankful for each day I get to serve the amazing people of the CHHS community! You are all so very special to me and I cannot wait to celebrate with you this evening! See you tonight!
With PRIDE,
Dr. James E. Whitfield
Highlights:
SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program Preview
The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions—difficulty for youths, their parents, and educators. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression—which is treatable—is the leading risk factor for suicide. To proactively address these issues, GCISD offers depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program.
The SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program is designed for all secondary students grades 6-12. The GCISD School Health Advisory Committee has previewed and recommended these programs for all GCISD secondary schools.
A parent preview of the program will be held this fall. Please contact CHHS or Robin Davis for more information.
For more information, including information about how to opt your student out of the program, please click here for English or Spanish.
Cafeteria Volunteers
The GCISD Nutrition Services Department is looking for volunteers! Come get to know the students while serving them a nutritious lunch in the school cafeteria. You can volunteer at your child's school or any school in the district. You must be registered as a volunteer in the district, or get signed up as a volunteer today so you can join the amazing kitchen staff serving the students. Please see the flyer for details and a link to sign up!
Cafeteria Menus
GCISD school cafeterias follow a calendar-cycle menu at breakfast and lunch. This menu begins on September 13th, 2021. During the first 4 weeks of school, all schools will follow a simplified lunch menu to allow all students to adjust to the new school year and to re-familiarize themselves with the cafeteria and their PIN number. The simplified menus can be viewed online using our menu system MealViewer. Printable copies of all menus can be downloaded here. If you have questions please contact child.nutrition@gcisd.net. GCISD Nutrition Services looks forward to serving your family in the upcoming school year!
Counselor Corner
8/31: Last day to level up (on level to Advanced, Advanced to AP)
9/13-15: First level down window (AP to Advanced, Advanced to on level)
Please join Canvas:
Lecture Hall Lunches
If your student is looking to meet some new people and have some fun, encourage them to join us in the Lecture Hall during their lunch period. If you have any questions, please reach out to Robin Davis in the counseling office.
Panther Events:
Red Rail Game ticket information
You can buy your ticket online using the link below:
CHHS is the visiting team and guests can ONLY enter at the north gate! GHS will be the home team this year and guests will enter the game through the main gate. The south gate will be closed to the public due to media staging.
Panther Tennis
Panther Volleyball
Panther volleyball is back in action this week and weekend! Check CHVB Twitter for updates: @VB_CHHS
Varsity:
08/26-08/28: Volleypalooza Tournament in Leander
08/31: CHVB vs. Flower Mound Marcus @ 6:30 at Marcus
JV:
08/31: CHVB vs. Flower Mound Marcus @ 5:30 at Marcus
Freshman Black:
08/31: CHVB vs. Flower Mound Marcus @ 5:30 at Marcus
Freshman Red:
08/31: CHVB vs. Flower Mound Marcus @ 6:30 at Marcus
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:
Tailgate tonight
CHHS Cheerfest 2021
September 11 Remembrance Contest
CHHS Homecoming Dance 2021
If you are bringing a date to the homecoming dance that does not attend CHHS, please make sure to fill out this date form and turn it in to Mrs. Byers in the front office by Friday, September 3rd at 4pm.
Live the suite life!
All raffle proceeds will benefit the CHHS Band and Diamonds Dance Guard. Drawing will take place 9/6/21 @ 9pm. Any questions, email chhs.band.vp@gmail.com.
Go Center
College Applications:
Seniors! College applications are open and the Go Center is available for appointments to assist you with your college process or answer any questions you might have. Click here to sign-up for an appointment! Or send an email to Emily.miller@gcisd.net. Please check your school email for follow-up communication.
Do you have general questions about what may be next after graduation? We are here to help you make a plan whether that is heading off to college, joining the military, or jumping into the workforce. Please come by so we can help you with your next steps!
Virtual College Visits:
Curious to how you can visit schools virtually and take advantage of their online opportunities? Check out this great resource that links you to each college's virtual experience page!
Scholarships:
Although many local scholarships are not open yet, we encourage you to begin checking the GCISD Scholarship website as this will be actively updated with new deadlines as soon as we receive them. If you have not obtained letters of recommendation, please request them now as most scholarships generally require a minimum of two letters.
Seniors also need to research scholarships that come directly from the colleges/universities to which they are applying.
Please reach out to the Go Center if you have any questions about scholarships!
GCISD College Visits:
This year we will be hosting college, military and job reps back in the Go Center! They will be hosted at the Go Center counter during lunches. The calendars, where you can see who is visiting each day, can be found on the Go Center website as pictured below.
Sign Up Today Class of 2022 Parents and Students
With Class of 22 Image included below, put the following text:
Class of 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025 Students & Parents ~ WE NEED YOU! We want to keep CHHS Project Graduation going for years to come and we need your help to start planning for our 2022 Seniors! Our goal is to have parents and students from ALL grade levels on the committee! Most positions are a minimum time commitment. More than one person can help with each position so get a friend or two and sign up together. Please use one space per name and note in the comments if you would like to work as a team. Students can also volunteer to help with any positions and earn service hours! Students would be perfect to help with website, social media, contacting businesses and more!
Click THIS LINK to go to the Sign Up Genius and Volunteer Today!
CHHS Panther Theatre Booster Club Kickoff Meeting
SAVE THE DATE:
Tuesday, September 14th
6:30pm in the Auditorium
Come be a part of the theatre - learn about what's happening this season, membership benefits, volunteer opportunities, and something sweet!
Community Membership Campaign
Our GCISD Council of PTAs is kicking off our Community Membership Campaign for the 21-22 year!
Support our local PTAs by joining all 17 campuses with a Community Membership.
Details of the program are on our GCISD Council of PTAs Website. A direct link to join as a Council Community member is linked here.
SCHOOL PICTURES
All grades 9-11 will have school pictures taken on Thursday, September 16th and Friday, September 17th during all English classes.
**All seniors that did not get their senior picture taken in June for the yearbook will have a final opportunity on Wednesday, October 6th from 8-4pm in Gym 1. Seniors can get this done before school at 8am, during their lunch, or during class with permission from their teacher. No appointment is needed.
Make sure to order your CHHS Yearbook!
Jr. Pantera Dance Clinic
Calling all 4 year olds to 8th Graders to join us on Saturday, October 9th, for our Annual Jr. Pantera Dance Clinic!!
Sponsored by: Ambition Dance Productions
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER YOUR JR. PANTERA!
Early Bird Registration Fee: $55 per participant or $45 per sibling
Runs from August 3 - September 17
Regular Registration Fee: $65 per participant or $55 per sibling
Runs from September 18 - October 9 (Day of Clinic)
*Register BY 9/29 to secure a T-shirt!!
CHHS PTSA 2021-2022 MEMBERSHIP
WELCOME BACK PANTHERS!!
IT IS TIME TO SIGN UP OR RENEW YOUR
CHHS PTSA 2021-2022 MEMBERSHIP
Sign-Up by going to Join | CHHS PTSA
Questions? Email Janeece Garlish at vpmembership@chhsptsa.org
SUMMER PARENT VOLUNTEER HOURS
If you did any volunteering for your favorite CHHS program this summer, please submit your volunteer hours for June, July, and August 2021 and encourage other volunteers to do the same. PTSA collects the number of volunteer hours so that GCISD can use them for applying for grants and other uses. This is only parent hours, not students’ Community Scholar hours (see CSAP program guidelines on the Counseling website about that). Submit your hours in 2 minutes at this link: Volunteer hours
CHHS Panther Theatre presents...
CHHS Panther Theatre upcoming attractions
Ongoing Important Information:
VOLUNTEER BACKGROUND CHECK
House Bill 4545
Given the disruptions of the 2020-2021 school year, the 87th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 4545, signed on June 16, 2021, which provides additional learning opportunities for students who did not meet standards on the STAAR exam in the form of extra tutoring.
For Families of Students Who Did Not Perform Satisfactorily on STAAR Exams
If a student does not perform satisfactorily on a STAAR, STAAR End of Course (EOC), or STAAR Alt exam, in any STAAR assessed grade levels and subjects, the District will provide accelerated instruction.
For a student who does not perform satisfactorily on the math or reading assessment in grades 3, 5, or 8, the District will establish an Accelerated Learning Committee (ALC), which includes the student’s parent, to develop an educational plan for accelerated instruction to enable the student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the next school year. Accelerated instruction entails delivering supplemental instruction (i.e., tutoring) before or after school, or embedded in the school day and meeting HB 4545 requirements.
For Families of Students Who Did Not Take STAAR Exams for the 2020-2021 School Year
For students who were absent or otherwise unable to take the STAAR or STAAR EOC for the 2020-2021 school year, the district may administer an assessment to determine student grade level proficiency on the state standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). If the student earns a passing score, then the student can be exempted from the House Bill 4545 tutoring requirement.
GCISD will also provide more information to parents as we work with and gather additional insight from TEA to support our students with HB 4545 requirements.
Additional information on HB 4545 can be found at https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/house-bill-4545-implementation-overview
2021-2022 Free Meals Update
For the 2021-2022 school year, students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade, and also at Collegiate Academy, will be eligible to receive a free healthy meal every day at school. Typically, a student’s household must meet income eligibility requirements to qualify for free or reduced-price meals; however, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued guidance that allows schools to offer meals to all students at no cost for the 2021-2022 school year. While a free and reduced application is not required for free meals, GCISD will process socioeconomic forms to determine student status which may provide other benefits such as discounts on bus services, academic testing fees, school fees, and college applications. In addition to these discounts, local community services and free hotspots for internet services are available.
For more information on the Seamless Summer option and the USDA Waiver #85, please click here.
Students that attend Colleyville Heritage High School and Grapevine High School must apply to determine eligibility to receive free or reduced-price meals. The application may be accessed at www.schoollunchapp.com. Questions may be emailed to child.nutrition@gcisd.net.
Student Fees and Parking Permits
Please log into your parent portal to check all student and course fees. Some courses do have fees associated with them, along with the $5 student photo id that is charged each year. Parking permits are $100 for the full year and additional fees do apply for the painted parking spaces that are sold through StuCo. The information below will show you the steps to view and make payments online:
Log in to the Skyward Parent Portal using the desktop version only
Click on Fee Management on the left hand side of the list of activities. (Fees can be viewed here)
Click on Make a Payment
Select the fees you want to add to your cart, you can also add the fee for parking at this time.
Click Checkout, which will direct you to the RevTrak page for payment.
Log into RevTrak and complete your payment
The $5 online processing fee will be waived from August 3rd - 11th. Should you wish to pay these fees in person, this can be done once school is back in session or payment can be mailed to the school with attention: Ashley Chaney.
For any questions or concerns regarding fees, please contact the CHHS Bookkeeper, Ashley Chaney at 817-305-4746 or ashley.chaney@gcisd.net.
CHHS to GHS Shuttles - Transportation Safety Protocols
Students riding shuttle buses between CHHS and GHS will be assigned to a specific bus this year. Once a bus is assigned, students will ride the same bus each time they shuttle between campuses. In the event we have a positive test, all passengers on the bus will be notified.
Standard Response Protocols
The GCISD Director of Emergency Management and School Security, Allen Smith, has asked that we provide you with information regarding Standard Response Protocols.
GCISD partners with the I Love U Guys Foundation and uses the Standard Response Protocols (SRP) to respond to any situation or emergency that takes place at school or in the district.
Each campus will conduct drills throughout the school year. These drills are based on the Standard Response Protocols of Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter, and Hold. GCISD developed one additional protocol known as Clear.
Completion of the drills is mandatory for each campus during the first two weeks of school, so that students and staff are prepared. Drills help us learn and know how to respond in the case of a real emergency at school. Our drills also help us to check certain equipment and responses. Our emergency management leaders on each campus will work with students and staff to complete our drills and document the results.
I have included the SRP Posters that are displayed in your student’s classrooms so that you can review with your student at home and discuss with them when they take part in the drills during the first two weeks. More information about Safety and Security in GCISD can be found at www.gcisd.net/our_district/safety_and_security. If you have any questions, Allen is very receptive to speaking with parents about our safety practices and may be reached at allen.smith@gcisd.net.
Panther Pause
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colleyville-Heritage-High-School/520058474676460?fref=ts
Twitter: @CHPantherPride