Colt Courier
Week of March 7, 2016
Principal Points
It looks as if Spring is here to stay! With Spring Break just 5 days away, the Spring weather will be awesome! If you have plans to travel, may you have a safe trip and if not, like the Martin's, may the weather in Texas continue!
Tuesday, March 8th, we are having our Spring Showcase and hope to see everyone here with the PTA meeting beginning at 6:30 pm and the Spring Showcase beginning from 7 - 8 pm. Additionally, we will be announcing Teacher and Paraprofessional of the Year for CMS at the PTA meeting.
Students were able to witness a primary election with 31.1% voter turnout for Tarrant County. With such an amazing turnout for a primary, May 7th could be even more exciting. As a former Social Studies teacher, election years enable for great conversation within the classroom and at the dinner table allowing all Americans to have a voice.
Colt PRIDE,
Ryan Martin
CMS Principal
THANK YOU THURSDAY, MARCH 10TH
Math Telescoping Exam Information
Counselor Corner Week of March 7 – 11, 2016
UPCOMING DATES
Tuesday, March 8 – Open House
Thursday, March 10 – Drug Survey
Friday, March 11 – Play It Safe for 6th Grade – Survivors
SIXTH and SEVENTH GRADE
Courses need to be entered by Friday, March 11th and course sheets need to be returned to your social studies/history teacher. 6th graders have a green course sheet for 7th grade, and 7th graders have a blue course sheet for 8th grade. Students have to use their own login to sign up for courses. A parent login will not work.
A reminder to 7th graders going to 8th – Latin I, German I, French I, and Chinese I are taught on the high school campuses during zero hour. Your parent will have to take you to the high school by 7:30-7:40 every morning. A bus will bring you back to the campus in time for 2nd period at CMS. Please make sure that your parents are willing to take on this commitment before signing up for on of these courses.
Anything that has a # beside it on the 8th grade course sheet indicates that it is a high school credit. Students have to have 26 credits to graduate from high school – 4 credits of math, 4 credits of science, 4 credits of social studies/history, 4 credits of English, 2 credits of LOTE (Language Other Than English), 1 PE credit, 1 Fine Arts Credit, 1 Technical Credit, 0.5 Speech credit, 0.5 Health credit, and 4 elective credits.
QUESTIONS WE HAVE BEEN ASKED
Middle School Fine Arts Course Requirement - All students who are in middle school must take at least one fine arts COURSE before leaving middle school. This is not the same as the high school fine arts graduation requirement. In high school you must take one fine arts CREDIT to graduate. These are two different requirements for two different school levels. We do not offer fine arts courses in middle school for high school credits to fulfill high school graduation requirements. Please contact us if you have more questions. A Fine Arts course is either Band, Choir, Art, or Theatre.
High School Credits that Middle School Students Can Take in Summer School - The only course offered in summer school for students going 6th to 7th and 7th to 8th is Touch System Data Entry. There is a fee to take a summer school course. Summer school registration will not begin until April. Please keep checking the district website http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Page/32272 This link will take you straight to the home page for all of your information. Please keep in mind that summer school has a money commitment and a time commitment. You must make plans to attend class everyday.
Moving from Math or PAP Math to Accelerated Math – Please be aware that in the new Program of Studies there is now a prerequisite for Accelerated 7th grade math and Accelerated 8th grade math (PAP Algebra I). The prerequisite for Accelerated 7thgrade math is the successful completion of Accelerated Math grade 6 or its equivalent. The prerequisite for Accelerated 8th grade math (PAP Algebra I) is successful completion of Accelerated Math grade 7 or its equivalent. For students entering 7thgrade - With this prerequisite in place, students must either (a) be exposed to the curriculum from grade 6 Accelerated MATH that was not a part of their curriculum in grade 6 MATH or Pre-Advanced Placement MATH through a summer bridge course called "Math for 7th Grade" or (b) demonstrate mastery via the 7th grade math telescoping test in May or August in order to enroll in grade 7 Accelerated MATH. For students entering 8th grade - With this prerequisite in place, students must either (a) be exposed to the curriculum from grade 8 mathematics through a summer bridge course called "Algebra Readiness" or (b) demonstrate mastery via the 8th grade math telescoping test in May or August in order to enroll in Accelerated Pre-Advanced Placement ALGEBRA I.
At this time, we have not received information regarding the bridge class or the telescoping test. When we receive the information we will share it through the update. You can also check the GCISD website for information. The bridge class information can be found on the Summer Programs page, and the telescoping test information can be found on the Assessment and Accountability page. Both of these pages can be found under Departments and Programs.
DRUG SURVEY
On March 10th, CMS will be participating in the Texas School Survey of Drug and Alcohol Use. This voluntary, confidential survey is conducted every other year in GCISD and is used to guide substance abuse prevention programming in the district. Attached, you will find the parent information/permission forms. If you would like your son/daughter to NOT participate in this survey, please complete the attached form and return to your child’s 6th period teacher.
EXCITING PARTICIPATION EVENTS
April 6th is our second annual Kindness Day in GCISD! Wear your jeans and Rachel's Challenge shirt and join us in committing to spread kindness each and every day. There are acts of kindness happening all over GCISD and we want to celebrate them. One simple act of kindness may start a chain reaction. Will you join in this chain reaction?
If you do not have a shirt you can buy a Rachel's Challenge shirt for only $7. See the attached form.
April 16 - Rachel’s Challenge Rally
http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Page/32352
PARENTS
Join Remind 101 to receive deadlines and updates for course selection.
Text to 81010
Text message based on grade level
@couns6
@couns7
@couns8
Krystal McCure – Counselor A-K – 817-305-4916
Stefanie Chapman – Counselor L-Z – 817-305-4917
Shari Vanderwork – Registrar – 817-305-4955
House Bill 2610 FAQ’s
What is House Bill 2610?
HB 2610, passed by the 84th Texas Legislature, requires school districts to provide at least 75,600 minutes of instruction, rather than 180 days of instruction. By changing the way the school year is measured, it is meant to give districts more flexibility in how they make up for missed instructional days.
What does this mean for GCISD?
Due to the new legislation passed by the State, there will be some changes made to the student-teacher calendar in GCISD. Currently, our elementary school students have 72,840 minutes of instruction, which does not meet the new requirements. By adding fifteen minutes to each elementary school day, this will allow GCISD to meet the state standard of instructional minutes. Additionally, GCISD will be extending the high school day by 5-minutes to meet the new requirements. The middle schools already receive the required instructional minutes so their day will not require an extension. The new start and dismissal times are impacted not only by the change in the required instructional minutes but also by the resulting shift in the transportation schedules. The new times may be found below:
Elementary School 7:40 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.
Middle School 8:10 a.m. - 3:25 p.m.
High School 8:40 a.m. - 3:55 p.m.
In an effort to minimize the impact of HB 2610 to the elementary schools, the district will also reduce the number of early dismissal days from 6 to 4 days.. Instead of the elementary schools having two early dismissal days in each semester for student-led conferences, there will now be one per semester.
How did the district come up with the calendar?
The GCISD District Excellence Committee, comprised of teachers, staff, parents and community members, as well as district and campus leadership, reviewed possible calendar options for the 2016-2017 school year. After several months of gathering their feedback, a recommendation was made to the Board of Trustees.
What are the breaks for 2016-2017?
Student holidays for 2016-2017 are Labor Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day/Washington’s Birthday and Memorial Day. Breaks reflect traditional community preferences of a week at Thanksgiving and Spring Break, and two weeks for Winter Break. The last day of school for students is Thursday, June 1, 2016.
Colt Champions
Lady Colt's Newsletter
Math Club 1st Place as a Team
2nd Place Individually
3rd Place Individually
GCISD To Host Bond Election Information Meetings
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is hosting four bond election meetings starting March 10 to provide voters and community members with information on the proposed package. On February 18, GCISD Trustees voted to call a $248.975 million bond election for Saturday, May 7, 2016.
“We are holding informational meetings at each of our middle schools to give members of the community the opportunity to choose the most convenient time or location to learn more about the bond proposition,” said Dr. Robin Ryan, GCISD Superintendent.
Quadrant meetings will be held:
March 10 at Grapevine Middle School, 301 Pony Parkway, Grapevine
March 22 at Heritage Middle School, 5300 Heritage Avenue, Colleyville
March 31 at Colleyville Middle School, 1100 Bogart Drive, Colleyville
April 5 at Cross Timbers MIddle School, 2301 Pool Rd, Grapevine
The one hour meetings begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in the campus cafeteria. During the meeting, district leaders will give an overview of the proposed projects, explain the community-led selection process, where and how to find specific information about each campus and facility, discuss the tax rate, and answer questions from community members.
Early voting is April 25 - May 3. GCISD residents age 18 and up can register to vote through April 7. Detailed information on the bond proposal can be found at GCISDBond2016.com.
CMS Fundraiser for Special Olympics
CMS will be hosting a Track Meet on Tuesday, March 22nd and will run a concession stand to benefit Special Olympics. We need both students and parents to help set up and run the stand. Set up will begin at noon and the meet will begin after school. We are also in need of ice chests, so please notify Christina Moy if you are able to loan us your ice chest.
Here is the Sign up Genius link.
Rachel's Challenge 5K and Community Fair
CMS Book Fair
Upcoming Events
March 8
- PTA Meeting 6:30 pm
- Spring Showcase (Open House) 7pm - 8pm
March 14 - 18
- Spring Break
~M4W Save the Date~
The CHHS PALS and the Panther Band invite you and your family to be a part of the 2nd annual MARCH 4 WATER (M4W) 1mile/5k onSaturday, April 2nd at Colleyville Heritage High School.
Did you know that 1 out of 8 people in the world don’t have access to clean water? Be a part of the SOLUTION and help raise money to build clean water wells in South Sudan with Water is Basic!
Nominations for March Teacher of the Month
Nurse Martin Tips
Counselor Newsletter
Counselor Newsletter
School Survey for Drug and Alcohol Use
Rachel's Challenge Information
GCISD Determining Community Interest in Tuition-based Pre-K
In an effort to continually serve the families of Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, the district is investigating the feasibility of a tuition-based Pre-K program, beginning in the Fall of 2016. Those families who have a child who will be four-years old, on or before September 1, 2016, may participate in the program, depending on community interest.
As with any of the district’s special programs, families must enter into a lottery to be selected. If there is enough interest in the tuition-based program, then the lottery will be held for spots at pre-determined campuses. The proposed site locations are Bear Creek Elementary, Bransford Elementary, Colleyville Elementary and OC Taylor Elementary. These campuses were selected based on current and projected student enrollment and building capacity.
Families who are interested in learning more about the tuition-based Pre-K program are invited to attend the GCISD Special Programs Expo on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at Cross Timbers Middle School at 6 p.m. At the Expo, district representatives will be available to answer questions about the proposed program. If you would like more information about the proposed tuition-based Pre-K program, click here for a list of frequently asked questions.
Follow us on Twitter: @CMSColts and #CMSColts
Spring Testing
March 29, Writing, Grade 7
March 29, Math, Grade 8
March 30, Reading, Grade 8
May 2-6, Algebra I, Grade 8
May 9, Math, Grades 6,7
May 10, Reading, Grades 6,7
May 11, Science, Grade 8
May 12, Social Studies, Grade 8
Colleyville Middle School
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=1
Location: 1100 Bogart Drive, Colleyville, TX, United States
Phone: (817) 305-4900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColleyvilleColts
Twitter: @cmscolts