Colt Corner
#TeamCMS
February 1, 2019
Colts,
February brings a full month of activities and events to CMS. One particular event that I invite you all to add to your calendars is our CMS Showcase night, which is Thursday, February 21st. The event will begin promptly in the North Gym (Coltiseum) at 6:45pm and will run for about a half hour and feature many of our Colts and campus activities. After the Showcase in the gym, families will be invited to a come-and-go inside the school building to have an opportunity to drop into classes, visit the AVID/Business Expo in the Learning Commons (library), partake in some treats from the 7th grade Heritage Project displays, and more. We look forward to an exciting month at CMS. Have a great weekend!
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
CMS Principal
Facebook: Colleyville Middle School
Twitter: @CmsColts
#TeamCMS - #cmscelebrates - #CMSstrengths
UPCOMING Events
February 4 - 8th Grade Girls Basketball at Coppell West - Schedule here
February 5 - PTA Coffee Talk & Executive Board Meeting - CMS Learning Commons 8:45 am
February 7 - 8 Grade Boys Basketball at CMS - Schedule here
February 7 - 7th Grade Girls Basketball at Coppell West - Schedule here
February 8 - Due date for 8th grade baby pictures
February 11 - 8th Grade Girls Basketball at GMS - Schedule here
February 12 - 7th Grade Girls Basketball at GMS - Schedule here
February 12 - 8th Grade Boys Basketball at CMS - Schedule here
February 18 - Student Holiday
February 19 & 20 - Girls Basketball Tournament: 7th Grade (A-Team) at GMS - Schedule here
February 19 & 20 - Girls Basketball Tournament: 8th Grade (A-Team) at Carroll- Schedule here
February 19 - Tennis: CMS vs Dawson at Grapevine High School - 3:00 - 6:00 pm
February 21 - CMS Showcase Incoming 6th Grade 5:15pm/Current Students 6:45pm
6th Grade Coltillion Schedule
February 1 - Disco Fever (CMS Cafeteria) 7:00 - 9:00 pm
February 8 - Grand Finale: Under the Big Top 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Save the Date
February 21 -CMS Showcase Night Incoming 6th Grade - 5:15 - 6:15 (Open House for all Grades) - 6:45 - 7:45 pm (North gym then in academic building)
Stars Tryout information for 2019 - 2020
For current 5th, 6th and 7th graders interested in learning details about Stars Dance Team and tryouts
* Mar. 4-6: Tryout clinic - 3:45-5:30 CMS South gym
* Mar. 7: Mock Tryout - 3:35 - 5:30 CMS North Gym
Library News
The North Texas Teen Book Festival is a one day event to celebrate young adult and middle grade literature. Authors sign books, meet their readers, and discuss their books in over 50 small breakout panels all at the new, state-of-the-art Irving Convention Center. Books will be sold for each author at the event.
This year the book festival is Saturday March 23. CMS students have the opportunity to attend the book festival with the CMS Library Council. For more information see the attached information sheet, or email Shannon Jones at shannon.jones@gcisd.net. All students wanting to attend must turn in the attached permission form by Feb. 15.
Chromebooks will be placed in KIOSK mode
All district issued Chromebooks will be placed in KIOSK mode to accommodate testing for a two week period beginning February 15th and concluding March 1, 2019.
***To bypass KIOSK mode on Chromebooks during non-testing times, students will need to press CTRL-ALT-S as soon as you see the STAAR testing window. This keystroke will allow the student to utilize their Chromebook in a normal manner.
Ensuring the Social and Emotional Wellness of our Teens A Program for Middle and High School Parents
February 11, 2019 | GHS Auditorium | 6:45-8:00 p.m.
Mandy Ozuna- Anxiety and Depression in Teens
Dr. Greg Hudnall - Hope Squad Model
Featured Speakers:
Mandy Ozuna, MA, LPC, is a former teacher and GHS school counselor who has extensive experience in the daily trials of today’s youth. She enjoys helping stressed teens find balance.
Dr. Greg Hudnall is the founder of “Hope Squads,” a school based suicide prevention program which was recently adopted at secondary schools in GCISD. The Hope Squad program is a peer-to-peer school-based curriculum created to address various factors that are linked to suicide in children and teens. Dr. Hudnall will present on the Hope Squad model and the importance of community collaboration in suicide prevention.
You Art What You Eat Contest
You Art What You Eat Contest The Texas Department of Agriculture's (TDA) annual You Art What You Eat statewide student art contest is here! The student art contest offers Texas students a chance to earn statewide recognition for themselves and their school. Student winners receive a custom prize package and their artwork will inspire the design for TDA's National School Lunch Week and School Breakfast Week campaigns!
To enter the art contest, students w ill create artwork highlighting good nutrition and TDA's theme for National School Lunch Week 2019 / School Breakfast Week 2020. The new theme is "Save the Day with a Healthy School Lunch/ Breakfast" This year TDA provides teachers with a new , easy way to upload and submit student entries.
The Submission Packet and Guidelines can be found online at www.SquareMeals.org/artcontest. The submissions deadline is April 12, 2019. Please join TDA in encouraging students to focus their artistic talents on healthy school meals by entering the You Art What You Eat statewide student art contest.
Girls Athletics Update
Cotillion Update
Week of Feb. 1 - Feb. 8
ENSURING THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL WELLNESS OF OUR TEENS: All middle school and high school parents are invited to come to GHS on February 11th from 6:45-8:00 p.m. to hear Mandy Ozuna (LPC) talk about anxiety and depression in teens and Dr. Greg Hudnall talk about the Hope Squad Model being implemented on secondary campuses in GCISD. Please see the flyer in this week’s newsletter for more information.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR 8TH GRADE PARENTS:
Any 8th grade student who was absent on Jan. 29th or who did not have their purple packet with them when high school counselors met with students that day needs to get their packet turned in to the counseling office. All sections of the packet need to be filled out and signed by a parent. Any changes to 4 year plans or endorsements will be made through high school counselors from this point on.
To learn more about the information shared with students when high school counselors came to CMS on January 15h, please use the links below:
Video shown to students that explains how to complete their lilac/purple packet:
2019-2020 High School Course Selection Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS_MRLNss5xQjA5bhB62iAKnjfgv_r2t_ZZ1UcHbk_A7cKJlhld_IVzqJMwl_D1pe46qqnPTz5TIjSf/pub
2019-2020 Freshman Course Selection Sheet:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9BDL8I8LvIEbE84MWltZFpUVnpfUmxTYUxlQXN0SThrbHZR
1) Career Plans (AKA 4 Year Plans) and Endorsements can be viewed by looking in Skyward
2) Teacher Recommendations - Teachers have talked to your student about their recommendations for their 9th grade year. If your student wants to take a higher or lower level course than what was recommended by the teacher, then you need to complete the change request form, sign it, and return it on January 29th. If a teacher recommends a lower level class than what the student has chosen in the Career Plan, the high school counselor will schedule what the teacher recommended unless the change request form is turned in with the proper override listed and parent signature.
3) Alternate elective choices - Alternates are important for scheduling purposes later in the year. Change forms will be due back to the high school counselors on Tuesday, January 29th. High school counselors will be back on this date to meet individually with all students and finalize what has been selected for freshman year in the Career Plan. Once everything is finalized on this date, the classes selected for freshman year will roll over to your student's course selection. These will be the classes (along with the alternates) that each student will have access to during Arena Scheduling, which happens at the end of April. CMS counselors will meet with students later in the year to help them through the Arena Scheduling process. Here is the district website about the Arena Scheduling process. Arena Scheduling
FEBRUARY 4th: Parents, please mark your calendars for parent night at Colleyville-Heritage High School (6:00-8:30 p.m.). More information below in the flyer below.
PLAY IT SAFE VIDEOS for 6th and 7th – The Play It Safe program is presented by the Women’s Center.
CMS Dates for Students:
February 15 – 7th Grade – Play It Safe – Abuse of Power
March 1 - 6th Grade - Play It Safe - Survivors of Abuse
Below is the district information about the Play It Safe program. If you do not wish for your child to participate in the program, please print out the opt out form, complete it, and return it before the presentation date.
Click here for the Opt Out form
Duke TIP
The Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth. Duke TIP's talent searches serve as the entry point to academic benefits and programs for gifted and talented students in grades 4-12. For more information and deadlines, click here:
GT/ASPIRE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS: Nomination forms for Gifted & Talented/ASPIRE identification will be accepted by middle school counselors Feb. 22-March 8. Testing will take place on campus between March 18 and April 5. Letters will be mailed home and postmarked no later than April 15. Qualified students will be eligible to enroll in GT courses for the 2019-2020 school year. Nomination forms can be obtained from your child’s counselor.
REMINDER – Please make sure that you are checking grades in Skyward. You can download the Skyward app for your phone or for your child’s phone so you can monitor grades.
Krystal McCure – Counselor A-K – 817-305-4916
Amy Bouchelle – Counselor L-Z – 817-305-4917
Repeated Information
Tips from Nurse Martin
Click here for the newsletter
Math Course Selection Guidance
As students are entering course selection, please refer to the math course selection guidance website for information, including answers to frequently asked questions:
https://www.gcisd.net/departments/mathematics/parent_student/course_selection_guidance
2018 - 2019 CMS Showcase
Spring Parent Technology Academy Sessions
GCISD Technology is excited to announce our Spring Session line up with several new sessions. Stay tuned as more will be added to our list as we keep receiving the request from the community.
February 12th - Hour of Code - Parent Edition -SIGN UP HERE
Come dive in and experience what students across GCISD do each day with hands-on activities around coding
February 26th - Understanding Minecraft ( Presented by Microsoft) -SIGN UP HERE
Come and learn about the power of Minecraft in education, get tips directly for Microsoft on parental settings for use at home.
March 21st - Internet Addiction " Gaming"--SIGN UP HERE
More than 5 million kids may be addicted to video games. 31% of males and 12 % of females report that have felt addicted to gaming. Come to hear from Dr Kay Trotter, PhD, LPC-s, RPT-S from local Kaleidoscope Behavioral Health as she discusses the signs and symptoms of this growing addiction. Learn some tips and be a part of the discussion around online gaming and internet addiction.
April 16th - Apps Parents Need to Know -SIGN UP HERE
Take part in this interactive discussion around the growing world of apps that students are using. Go being the scenes to hear the truth behind the apps and what dangers there are to those who use them
Virtual Session Coming Soon - Fortnite ( a Parents Guide ) - SIGN UP HERE
Many have asked so come and experience Fortnite for parents. Hear about details of the game and dive into parental settings for the various gaming systems students use to play online.
8th Grade Parents
This year there will be an 8th grade baby picture page in the yearbook! Please send a .jpg picture of your 8th grader to morgan.dulaney@gcisd.net by February 8th for them to be included on that yearbook page.