Colt Corner
Colleyville Middle School
February 17, 2023
Colts,
Another busy week has come and gone. Beyond our regular day-to-day school practices, we had another full agenda filled with many events on and off campus. On Monday we welcomed next year's 6th-grade Colt families to campus to begin to get them acclimated on what’s to come. Thanks to our PTA and everyone that donated to feed our staff with a fruit bar, yogurt, snacks, and more that day as well. The end-of-season Sweet 16 Basketball tournament began and is still going on today and tomorrow. We had excellent performances by our Theatre students this week competing in the district One Act Play competition on Wednesday and again with their public performance last night. We have some talented thespians!
During the middle of the week, our Business students went on a field trip across the street to Look Cinema to speak with the General Manager about marketing, sales, and promotion. The students had an amazing time applying their class instruction to real-world applications. I was filled with pride hearing about how respectful and engaged our Colts were. The GM was completely blown away by the business students’ higher-level questions posed.
These are just a handful of the many events happening around CMS.
This coming Monday our staff will have a professional development day to gear up for the end of the third-nine weeks and the start of the last quarter of the school year. If you get a moment in the near future, please consider sending a quick thank you email to a teacher or staff member that has had a positive impact on you or your Colt recently. A quick note of encouragement from our amazing Colt community goes a long way for a positive campus culture and is a morale booster. Your words matter, and I am grateful that we continue to partner to Build an Excellent School Together!
Enjoy the three-day weekend!
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
Colleyville Middle School, Principal
School Twitter: @CmsColts - #TeamCMS - #ColtPride
B.E.S.T. - Building Excellent Schools Together
UPCOMING DATES/EVENTS
February 17 - Honors Band Master Class - 4:00 - 6:00pm CMS Band Room
February 17 - Theatre Auditions - 4:00 - 6:00pm - CMS Cafeteria
February 17 - & Possible 18 - Sweet 16 End-of-Season Basketball Tournament
February 20 - No School for students - Professional Development Day for Staff
February 21 - Theatre Audition Callbacks - 4:00 - 6:00pm - CMS Cafeteria
February 22 - AVID/College/Military Gear
February 24 -25 - CMS Dance - MA North Texas Regional Dance Competition
March 2 - Track Meet - CTMS - 4:00 - 6:00pm
March 4 - CMS Band 5th Grade Instrument Placement Interviews
March 6 & 7 - CMS Dance Tryouts - CMS South Gym - 3:45 - 5:30pm
March 7 - Track Meet - Central Junior High - 4:00 - 6:00pm
March 8 - CMS Dance Tryouts - CMS South Gym - 3:45 - 8:00pm
March 10 - Staff & Student pep rally. Staff vs. Student Basketball Game!
March 13 - 17 - Spring Break
In this Edition of the Colt Corner
* Social Studies Student of the Week
* Upcoming STAAR Interim Assessments at CMS
* CMS Dance Tryout Information
* Math Telescoping Exams
* CMS PTA Fundraisers - Birthday Shout-out on the School Marquee & Cane's
* PTA Interest Form
* Future Mustang-Panther Night - Soccer
Counselors Corner
* 8th Grade Transition to High School
* Collegiate Academy
* 6th & 7th Grade Course Selection for 7th & 8th Grade
* Preferred Participation Consent for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention
* DNA Kits
* Additional Resources
Repeated Information
* GCISD Update - February 15, 2023
* GCISD Loves Books
* GHS Cheer Tryouts
* PTA Hospitality
* PTA Birthday Shoutouts
* School Report Card
* Emergent Bilingual Parent and Family Engagement Event February 22
* Morning Drop-off Band Hall
* Colleyville Middle School Directory - Who To Contact
CMS Social Media Section
* CMS Portrait of a Graduate Video
* CMS on Twitter - @cmscolts
* CMS on Facebook
* CMS on Instagram
Social Studies Student of the Week
Upcoming STAAR Interim Assessments at CMS
On February 28th and March 1st, students will take their math and reading interim assessments; this is the altered bell schedule for those days. Interims for 8th grade Social Studies, 8th grade Science. (7th Accelerated), and Biology will be taken in classes on March 6th-7th; the campus bell schedule will not be impacted on these days.
These assessments will help us collect important check-in data to prepare students to maximize their success on STAAR state testing.
Please block these important dates on your calendars and help us plan for students to be at school these dates instead of out for appointments, etc. if at all possible. Specifically on February 28th and March 1st, CMS will be a closed campus, so parents should plan not to make deliveries for lunch, etc.
To prepare for these online assessments, students will have the opportunity to practice online tools for state testing during Colt Time beginning the week of February 13th.
Students can also practice the online tools at home using the practice testing site. To practice at home on this site, see instructions HERE.
Other Important Information:
It is very important that students bring their charged GCISD-issued device and charger in order to access the secure testing app and successfully login to take the assessments.
Please help us ensure your students' computer has the latest update required for testing by reminding your student to restart his/her device on the GCISD network (this needs to be done at school).
Please help us remind students with oral accommodations to bring their headphones.
Zero hour students will attend their zero hour classes on February 28th and March 1st as scheduled. On March 1st, they will be excused from "4th period" (8:10-8:55am) and will take the math interim once they arrive with everyone else.
CMS Dance
Tryout packets & Info.
Math Telescoping Testing
Testing opportunities for telescoping in Math for the 2023-2024 school year are available in the summer for GCISD students who are completing Grades K-7.
The Parent Information Packet will be available on the District website under the Parents tab by selecting the link for Acceleration Exams/Math Telescoping, Grades K-7.
The packet will contain the registration form. Payment is made online following the submission of the form.
Parents will also be able to view the TEKS on the TEA website, and download Study Guides for the exams purchased from University of Texas at Austin, UT High School.
Registration for the June exam administration is March 20-30, 2023.
Registration for the July exam administration is June 2-20, 2023.
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Las oportunidades de exámenes para “telescoping”(*El término 'Telescoping' se refiere a un proceso por el cual un estudiante puede avanzar en matemáticas más allá de su nivel del grado inscrito.) en matemáticas para el año escolar 2023-2024 están disponibles en el verano para los estudiantes de GCISD que están completando los grados K-7.
El paquete de información para padres estará disponible en el sitio web del distrito en la página de los Padres seleccionando el enlace para Exámenes de aceleración/Telescoping de matemáticas, grados K-7.
El paquete tendrá el formulario de registro. El pago se realiza en línea después del envío del formulario.
Los padres también podrán ver los TEKS en el sitio web de TEA y descargar guías de estudio para los exámenes comprados en la escuela secundaria de la Universidad de Texas en Austin, UT.
La inscripción para la administración del examen de junio es desde el 20 al 30 de marzo del 2023.
La inscripción para la administración del examen de julio es desde el 2 al 20 de junio del 2023.
CMS PTA Fundraiser
Future Mustang-Panther Night - Soccer
Counselors’ Corner - February 20- 24
6th & 7th Grade Course Selection for the 2023-2024 school year:
Mrs. Brizzi and Mrs. Bouchelle will be going through 6th grade PE/Pre-Athletics classes on Feb. 22nd and 7th grade social studies classes on Feb. 24th to talk to current students about course requests for the 23-24 school year. Both grade levels will be given access to a Google Form corresponding to courses offered in their grade levels to request courses and alternate elective choices for the 23-24 school year. Course requests for both grade levels will be due by midnight on Monday, March 6th.
6th Grade Guidance Lesson: Conflict Resolution
March 20th and March 21st
Preferred Participation Consent for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention
As required by federal and state law, we will soon begin presenting a personal safety curriculum to middle school students. GCISD uses the Play It Safe! ® program to teach this curriculum. Play It Safe! ® is a child abuse awareness and prevention program that incorporates age-appropriate scripts and movies to teach children how to reduce the risk of sexual and physical abuse, and sexual assault. It teaches them to recognize potentially abusive behavior, provides the tools to respond to threatening situations, and encourages them to report abuse to a trusted adult. It is presented by The Women’s Center of Tarrant County, Inc. which uses trained volunteers to present the program using videos and scripted discussions at an age-appropriate level. Play It Safe! ® meets the State and Federal guidelines for curriculum addressing personal safety issues, child sexual abuse and pedophiles. The GCISD School Health Advisory Committee has reviewed and recommended these programs for all GCISD schools.
Our schedule for showing the Play It Safe Curriculum this year is as follows:
6th grade “Sexual Harassment”- November 8th, 2022
6th grade “Survivors of Abuse- March 8th, 2023
7th grade “Healthy Relationships”- October 5th, 2022
7th grade “Can’t Take It Back” - November 30th, 2022
7th grade “Abuse of Power” - February 21st, 2023
Please complete the section below to indicate your preference for your child’s participation in any of the above programs. If you choose for your child not to participate, your child will be provided an alternate location while this program is being presented. If the form is not completed, and turned into the campus counselor prior to the date on your campus notification letter, your child will not participate in the program.
Please complete the following Play it Safe form and return to your campus Counselor prior to the date of the lesson!
6th and 7th grade students were also provided with a hard copy form which can be returned to Ms. Dumas (advocate counselor). There is a recording of the parent preview located on the CMS counseling webpage.
DNA Kits:
In compliance with Texas S.B. 2158, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD offers parents and legal guardians inkless fingerprint and DNA kits for their children upon request. This kit is designed to “help locate and return a missing or trafficked child,” according to S.B. 2158.
Parents and legal guardians may request these kits through the front office at your child's campus.
Additional Resources:
National Institute of Mental Health
In the GCISD Update - Past Edition
GMS Named STEM School of Excellence
“Why I Love GCISD”
Bransford Performs at Music Educators' Clinic and Convention
Inclement Weather Update
And More!
GCISD Loves Books
Colt Time
PTA Birthday Shoutouts
Birthday Marquee Messages are now available!! $15 per message, and we are requesting a 2-week lead time.
PTA HOSPITALITY
We wanted to share more opportunities this year for parents to express their love for our teachers and staff through sharing their own special talents or donating items for teachers to enjoy.
We will be having a staff appreciation day every month and have listed dates with items we invite you to make or donate (you are welcome to purchase your favorites if cooking/baking is not your thing). All donated items will be labeled with your family name or child's name so that the teachers will know you sent your love. Below is our scheduled list of events we have lined up for the teachers this year.
Thank you in advance for your help. Please feel free to contact me at (617)957-9665 or vp_hospitality@cmscoltspta.org if you have any questions or any ideas you would like to share.
Annie Dries, VP of Hospitality
Julie Sullins, VP of Hospitality Assistant
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10c0f4fa5af2ca7f4c70-teacher
School Report Card (SRC)
Per the Texas Education Agency (TEA), CMS is sending its School Report Card (SRC) for your knowledge.
GCISD also posts all campus SRCs on our accountability website; however, if anyone is in need of a printed copy (in color or black and white) there are copies in the front office for anyone who cannot access the electronic version.
Emergent Bilingual Parent and Family Engagement Event, February 22
EB Parent and Family Engagement Event February 22
GCISD is offering a district-wide event for parent, family, and community Emergent Bilingual Parent and Family Engagement Event. In partnership with TEA, we will host a watch party to address the Parent Engagement event for Emergent Bilingual Families. This event will focus on educating parents to increase their English skills and academic performance and become active participants in their children's education.
We will meet in the PDEC building near CMS in the Panther and Bronco Rooms. We will have multiple Chromebooks to ensure that families listen to the information in their native language. The languages that we will offer to our families are:
English
Spanish
Arabic
Vietnamese
Russian
*** Here is some additional information.***
Morning Drop Off by the Band Hall
February Parent Tech Academy
Are you a parent looking to stay informed about your child's technology use at school and at home? Look no further than the GCISD Parent Tech Academy! Our next session is at the PDEC on February 22nd, at 6:30pm. At the Parent Tech Academy, we will go over how to access parent weekly emails, your children’s internet history, and even how-to pause the internet on school issued devices after school hours. We will also have a Q&A about raising kids in a digital world.
Join us for the Parent Tech Academy and learn how to be better informed on your child's technology use.
Academia de tecnología para padres de febrero
¿Es usted un padre que busca mantenerse informado sobre el uso de la tecnología de su hijo en la escuela y en el hogar? ¡No busque más allá de la Academia de tecnología para padres de GCISD! Nuestra próxima sesión será en el PDEC el 22 de febrero a las 6:30pm. En la Academia de tecnología para padres , veremos cómo acceder a los correos electrónicos semanales de los padres, el historial de Internet de sus hijos e incluso cómo detener el Internet en los dispositivos proporcionados por la escuela después del horario escolar. También tendremos una sesión de preguntas y respuestas sobre la crianza de los niños en un mundo digital.
Únase a nosotros para la Academia de tecnología para padres y aprenda cómo estar mejor informado sobre el uso de la tecnología de su hijo.
COLLEYVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTORY - WHO TO CONTACT
*Note, the point of contact is the first level to answer and questions or concerns. They are usually able to resolve your question/concern, but in the event that you did not reach a resolution, your concern will be elevated to the subsequent level until a resolution is reached.
To email a CMS team member type the first name dot last name @gcisd.net (i.e. David Arencibia = david.arencibia@gcisd.net) unless different and noted under the name.