Staff Newsletter
Week of October 12, 2015
What 8th graders might say Wednesday!!
Make positive communication home for each of our students!
Colt Champions
Athletic:
CMS Football vs Heritage Middle School
7th Grade:
A Team win 19-14
B Team win 12-0
C Team win 26-6
8th Grade:
A Team loss 22-14
B Team win 19-13
CMS Volleyball vs Coppell West Middle School
7th Grade:
A team win in 2 (25-6, 25-7)
B team win in 2 (25-10, 25-9)
C team win in 2 (25-9, 25-16)
8th Grade:
A team win in 3 (25-18, 21-25, 15-9)
B team win in 2 (25-17, 25-8)
C team win in 3 (19-25, 25-18, 15-4)
Girl's Athletic Newsletter
Boy's Athletic Newsletter
Teacher Update and To Do List:
Jeans and orange on Unity Day on October 21:
http://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/unity-day.asp
This is the National Bullying Prevention Center's program. We can send one large ORANGE message of support, hope, and unity to show that we are united against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Please get the word out as we want everyone to participate. Take pictures and send them to Emberly.Spillman@gcisd.net for this event as well.
Update from the District Excellence Committee (DEC):
GCISD has formed a Facility Innovation and Readiness Stakeholder Team (FIRST) to study and prioritize ways to create the best possible learning environment for GCISD students. This facility planning team comprised of parents, community constituents, and campus and district staff will be brought together to consider the district’s financial position and strategic plan as it relates to programs for students, facilities, infrastructure, technology, security, etc. This is all being done in preparation for a future bond election.
Follow their progress at http://www.gcisdfirst.net/ There is a button on the entitled "Let's Talk" that allows you a place to add your thoughts.
To Do:
1. Call parents of failing students. Personal contact is a must and is the first thing you
need to do. Once initial contact is established, talk to the parents about how they prefer to be contacted. Email will be fine after initial contact.
2. Double-check your paperwork on all of your students. Do you have everything you need? How do you know if someone is 504, Special Education, or has a health impairment? Do the following:
In Skyward>Teacher Access>My Classes>Class Options
This will print a roster of your students with alert information. Crosscheck it with the information you have in your folders. If you are missing something, then notify the appropriate people: Sophia Martin – Health; Jeannie Guajardo – Special Education; Angela Stock – 504s.
3. Complete your FLEX classes. http://www.gcisd-k12.org/domain/3804
4. Complete and share your PLP with your appraiser.
5. October 9: Have you done TELPAS training at any time in the past? The Texas Training Center website is going down forever after October 16. In order to prove you have taken classes in the past, you must retrieve records and certificates before the Training Center goes down.
7. Key Inventory Form. If you haven't yet completed the key inventory form, please do so this week. http://goo.gl/forms/kT63OxSDaC
Do you need information on DMAC and iStation? Login to School Wires and go to the link below that will lead you to the Assessment and Accountability page. There are a lot of good “how to’s” here.
Digital Citizenship Week
Hour of Code
Texas TrainingCenter
Learning From Your Liaison
October 12 Learning Day
Don't forget to sign up for the sessions you would like to attend on Monday by going to https://docs.google.com/a/gcisd.net/document/d/1VMfHbb_IunOsPJaIKT9HzweqEJ01UhNdKXm_PiX6u8I/edit?usp=sharing
Check back Monday for room details!
This Week During Advisory
Monday- Learning Day
Tuesday- Math
Wednesday- Science
Thursday- ELA
Friday- Social Studies
Advisory Note
When requesting students on the Advisory list, remember to add your name in lower case letters. This is a signal not to override. If a teacher's name is written in all capitals, the student can be pulled. We used the same system last year, but for those new or those that may have forgotten.
Remember to take attendance daily during Advisory.
This is key to making sure all students go to the correct room. If you need help figuring out how best to do this, Travis can give you a few suggestions.
New to DMAC!
AVID Update
Please don't forget to use the AVID strategy of the month. You can upload evidence to the CMS AVID folder https://drive.google.com/a/gcisd.net/folderview?id=0B4EkHhMa_YaBZC1vMFpSNkkxSlk&usp=sharing (which is also linked in Classroom). Every piece of evidence teachers provide helps make AVID documentation for Sean Clary easier and improves our AVID ratings. CMS is taking AVID campus wide!
If you need support on any of these strategies, please see the AVID site team member for your content, an AVID elective teacher or Suzanne Barker
October WICOR Strategy of the Month
Math- Quick Write
ELA- Cornell Way
Science- Levels of Questioning
SS- Graphic Organizer/Thinking Map
Electives- Marking the Text
Note from the Nurse
See the link below to read about vitamin C.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1It-4tOSrcaPe0tzi8fQ6xezPL54CqlGMGnrWBnJV-Pw/edit
Nurse Martin
Want to get CPR or First Aid Certified?
Amy Howard, Director of Health Services and our own GCISD Nurse Guru, is training any staff that is interested in becoming CPR and First Aid Certified. This certification is a bonus for your students and coworkers and for your own personal activities and needs(coaches, scout leaders, church group leaders)! These classes are being offered for FREE!
CPR
October 19th
5pm to 8pm
Bronco Bowl (PDEC)
FIRST AID
October 20th
5pm to 8pm
Bronco Bowl (PDEC)
* YOU ONLY NEED TO ATTEND ONE OF EACH OF THE CLASSES
Upcoming Events of the Week
Monday, October 12th
Student Holiday - NO Students
Professional Development Day
Tuesday, October 13th
7th Grade Football vs Coppell West Middle School at Coppell West
C Team 4:30 pm
B Team 5:30 pm
A Team 7 pm
Wednesday, October 14th
8th Grade PSAT Test in the morning.
7th and 8th grade switch lunches.
8th Grade Football vs Coppell West Middle School at Colleyville Middle School
B Team 5:30 pm
A Team 6:45 pm
Thursday, October 15th
Friday, October 16th
End of the First 9 weeks
3 Cheers!
3 Cheers to Mary Spencer-Huber for supporting us when we need help and for making me laugh. (Angela)
3 Cheers to Mandy Alexander for being so positive when you speak to students, staff, and parents. (Angela)
3 Cheers to Katie Chapa for working so diligently to provide the best learning opportunities with your students. (Angela)
3 Cheers for allowing students to complete a PBL AND have the opportunity to speak to college grad students about their learning. (Angela)
3 Cheers to Sue Plorin for having the patience of a saint with several of our ZAP kids. (Angela)
3 Cheers to Shari Vanderwork for having to filter through all of the Math CSRs. (Angela)
3 Cheers to Sue Plorin, Jessica Talbott, and Max Miller for helping reinforce good behavior in the cafeteria. (Angela)
3 Cheers to Sarah Eichberger, for teaching my Essential Reading and Creative Writing class when my sub canceled last minute. You are awesome! (Jeannie Guajardo)
3 Cheers to Katie Chapa for our 6:30 morning meetings, you make my day with your laughter and support. (Jeannie Guajardo)
3 Cheers to Deborah Morgan for sharing your passion for reading with all students. I love my inclusion in your class. (Jeannie Guajardo)
3 Cheers to Jennifer Foster for all the awesome things she does for all students and for taking my 1st period class so I could attend an ARD. (Jeannie Guajardo)
3 Cheers to CMS General education teachers and Administrators who give up their time to attend ARDs, thank you! (Jeannie Guajardo)
3 Cheers to CMS SPED teachers and para-professionals for remembering the ultimate goal is the success of each student. Thank you for your tireless dedication. (Jeannie Guajardo)
3 Cheers to Sherry David for Monday!! (Ryan Martin)
3 Cheers to Max Miller for putting together the announcements on the monitors throughout the building. (Ryan Martin)
3 Cheers to Mary Spencer-Huber for helping parents and students. (Ryan Martin)
3 Cheers to Jessica Talbott for all her hard work on our website. (Ryan Martin)
3 Cheers to the Counseling Department for all they do for CMS!! (Ryan Martin)
3 Cheers to Kelly Croak, Carole Ruckle, Kim Haley, Brent Fee, Christina Moy, and Karen Boyse for coming in early for UDCA training!! (Ryan Martin)
3 Cheers to Amy Howard and Sophia Martin for doing the UDCA training!! (Ryan Martin)
Quote of the Week
Albert Einstein
Principal Points
Another great week!! Got some really good feedback from our new staff to help ensure an easy and smooth start. Thank you to all of our new staff for the honest feedback!!
Very excited about Red Ribbon Week and what the students have planned. The students did a great job of presenting their ideas and very excited about the week.
Looking forward to a great day on Monday!
Colt PRIDE,
Ryan