Colt Corner
Colleyville Middle School
February 25, 2022
Colts,
Our Colts safety and academics are always our first priority and will remain our focus. Our staff and students are resilient and I am proud of the way that our Colt community pulls together for our students and school.
The end of February is upon us with spring break only two weeks away. I hope you have a good weekend and we look forward to the beginning of our spring sports and warmer weather ahead.
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
Colleyville Middle School, Principal
Twitter: @CmsColts - #TeamCMS - #ColtPride
B.E.S.T. - Building Excellent Schools Together
UPCOMING DATES/EVENTS
February 26 - CMS Dance - MA's - Birdville High School - 11:00 - 7:00pm
February 28 - High School Band Auditions
February 28 - CMS Tennis Match @ CHHS 5:00 -7:30pm
March 2 - Texas Independence Day
March 3 - CMS Track Meet - 7th/8th Grades. CTMS 5:00pm - 7:00pm
March 5 - Band: 5th Grade Instrument Drive 6:00am - 6:00pm CMS Band Hall
March 7 - CMS Track Meet - 7th/8th Grades. Richland High School 5:00pm - 7:00pm
March 8, 9 - CMS Cheer Tryout Clinic - CMS N. Gym 3:45 - 6:30
March 9 - CMS Dance Tryouts - CMS N. Gym 3:45 - 7:00pm
March 10 - CMS Cheer Tryouts - CMS 3:45 - 8:00pm
In this Edition of the Colt Corner
* End of School Time Adjustments Due to Bad Weather Day - Beginning March 7th.
* Skyward Communication: Updated
* Social Studies Student of the Week
* Regional Science Fair
* Track & Field Season Opener Flyer
* Cheer Tryout Dates
* Counselor Corner: 2022-2023 Course Selection, GT Referral Window, Kindness Challenge, Play it Safe Parent Preview, 6th Grade Guidance Lesson, Additional Resources
Repeated Information
* GCISD Update - February , 2023
* Texas Independence Day, March 2
* North Texas Teen Book Festival
* CMS Stars Dance Tryout
* Instructional Calendar Changes
* STAAR Online
* 6th Grade Parents - Immunization Records
* Track & Field Schedule
* Keeping the Crosswalk clear
* 8th Grade Celebration - Glow Party (PTA)
* 8th Grade Video - Share your photos (PTA)
* Apply to be a substitute
* CHHS Panteras & Pantherettes Dance Team Auditions
* GHS Cheer Tryout Information 2022-2023
* COVID-19 Testing Center Consent Forms
* Grapevine High School Cheer - open gym for middles school
* Updated CMS Tennis Schedule
* Colleyville Middle School Directory - Who To Contact
Skyward Communication: Updated
Progress reports will be available in Skyward this week. To view your student’s progress report, please follow the instructions below:
Visit www.GCISD.net and click the Skyward icon at the top of the page (or login here)
Click “Progress Reports/Report Cards” on the menu to the left
Select the report you would like to view
For tutorials and more information on Skyward, please visit the website. If you are having trouble accessing Skyward, please submit a Help Desk ticket.
Regional Science Fair
Track & Field Season Opener
CMS Cheer Tryouts
Yearbook Pictures needed!
Counselors’ Corner (Feb. 28 - March 4)
2022-2023 Course Selection:
Course selections for current 6th and 7th grade CMS students for the 2022-2023 school year are due by Monday, February 28th. Please use the Google Forms in Canvas announcements to submit your child’s course requests by that date.
GT Referral Window
The GT referral window is open for Secondary students starting on February 21 and runs through March 11. The parent referral form is linked below but will not open for submissions until February 21st.
Testing Window: March 21 - April 15
GT decision mailed on: April 29
ASPIRE decision mailed on: May 18
**During the referral window, your student can get a form from the campus counselor or you can fill out the Secondary online parent referral form.
Kindness Challenge:
During the month of February, we will be encouraging our students to engage in random acts of Kindness. Kindness is “giving attention, appreciation, and encouragement with words, gifts, or actions.”
Play it Safe Parent Preview
The Play it Safe! Middle School Parent Preview was held virtually through Zoom on September 23rd at 10 a.m. and was recorded for parents to watch at their convenience--you can click HERE to view it.
For CMS campus-specific dates for the upcoming 6th and 7th grade Play It Safe presentations, please see the English Flyer or Spanish Flyer. If you do NOT want your child to participate, please fill out the linked form and send/bring to school with your child or email Sarah Dumas at sarah.dumas@gcisd.net BEFORE the presentation date to let us know that you would like to opt your child out. Otherwise, all students will participate in the program.
Our schedule for showing the Play It Safe Curriculum this year is as follows:
6th grade “Survivors of Abuse March 2, 2022
6th Grade Guidance Lesson
“Coping with stress” March 29th and 30th
7 Ways to Respond to your Child’s Negative Self-Talk
Acknowledge The Feeling, Not The Words
If you can search out what your child is feeling, and name it, you can help your child to both identify what's actually bothering them and begin to separate that problem from their own self worth
Use Humor To Help Them See Things Differently
Use Specific PraiseTo Show Your Child How Great They’re Doing
Praising a child’s efforts is one of the best ways to focus both your and your child’s attention on the problem solving tools they are using to get through a situation. By telling your child what you noticed about their efforts or attitude, you’re allowing them to connect their own positivity to the situation.
Talk Openly About Negative Self-Talk
Realize that negative self talk is often a symptom of fear, and share that realization with your child, Think together about what your child might be afraid of when they say things like “I’m dumb.” By addressing the fear of being unintelligent, you can help your child to find useful strategies to deal with it.
Talk About Having a Growth Mindset
Practice a growth mindset by being resilient and pressing forward on a long term goal relentlessly. Let them see you make mistakes in reaching this goal while never losing sight of the end. Answer their questions about next steps, and celebrate your successes with them.
Discuss Your “Best Failures”
Ask everyone at the dinner table to share something they failed at that day. Empathize with each other openly and celebrate the combined learning that your family is achieving every day, despite setbacks and failures.
Create an Affectionate, Welcoming Home
When you give your children a strong, warm base to return to, they're able to explore and experiment because they accept that they’ll be loved no matter the results of their efforts.
Additional Resources:
Out Came the Sun: Helping Children as they Grieve https://cbcst.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CBCST-Grief-Booklet-051617-flipbook.pdf
In This Edition
National Merit Finalists: GCISD is proud to recognize the 17 members of the Class of 2022 who have been named National Merit Finalists.
Berger Named EdTech Top 100 Influencer: Kyle Berger, GCISD’s Chief Technology Officer, has been named a Top 100 Influencer in EdTech by EdTech Digest.
Accessing Progress Reports: Progress reports will be available in Skyward this week. For instructions on accessing these reports, please read below.
A Look Around GCISD: This week there are two big fine arts events happening, and GCISD has a new addition!
Reporting COVID-19 Cases: To report a student or staff COVID-19 case to GCISD, please complete this form.
Remote Conferencing: Remote conferencing is available for students who are unable to attend school in-person because they are in quarantine as the result of being a close contact or isolated as a test-positive for COVID-19. Families must sign up in Skyward.
Additional COVID-19 Information: GCISD has numerous COVID-19 resources available for the community, including information on the GCISD COVID-19 Testing Center, positive cases in GCISD, current protocols and more.
Texas Independence Day, March 2
CMS STARS Dance Tryouts
Keeping the Crosswalk Clear
North Texas Teen Book Festival
The North Texas Teen Book Festival is an event put on every year by the Irving Public Library where students have the opportunity to meet famous young adult authors and attend workshops about literature and writing. This year the festival is Saturday March 5 at the Irving Convention Center. Our librarian, Shannon Jones, will be taking a group of students to the festival. All CMS students are welcome to join the group. For more information see the festival website at http://www.northtexasteenbookfestival.com/
Students who want to attend need to turn in a permission form and $7 cash or check to CMS by Feb 28. Email shannon.jones@gcisd.net if you have any questions.
Permission Form linked here
Hey 6th grade parents!
We are on the fast track towards Spring Break and before you know it summer will be here! Please remember your student will need the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines before starting 7th grade. These are often given during 11 and 12 year old well visits. Turning your student's immunization records into the nurse now gets this off your list of "to dos" for summer and makes for an easier registration process! You can view and print your child's vaccine records on file with GCISD by logging in to your Skyward Family Access account. Pick your student's name and then click "Health Info" on the bottom of the left column. Then click "display options" at the top. A box will pop up and click "Show Vaccinations". You can take this record to CVS, Walgreens, CareNow, or any facility or pharmacy who offers vaccinations should you not have a primary care doctor.
Nurse Martin email: sophia.martin@gcisd.net
Instructional Calendar Changes
Due to GCISD’s recent closures because of winter weather and COVID-19, the following changes are being made to this year’s instructional calendar. NOTE: These changes do not affect the instructional calendars for Collegiate Academy or iUniversity Prep.
Friday, March 11 will no longer be an early release day. Students will attend school for the full day.
Students will be in school on Friday, April 15 and Monday, April 18 which were originally planned for inclement weather days.
Wednesday, May 25 and Thursday, May 26 will no longer be early release days, except for high school students. All elementary and middle school students will attend school for the full day.
Click here for an updated 2021-2022 GCISD Instructional Calendar.
STAAR Online
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is transitioning all state assessments to be administered online by the 2022–2023 school year. To support this change, GCISD will be administering all state assessments online this Spring and is encouraging students to visit the practice tests site released by the TEA to prepare for online testing. For upcoming testing, students will be using district-issued personal devices.
The online practice tests familiarize students with the general tools, designated supports, and accessibility features that may appear in online tests. In the practice site, there are features that may be turned on and off for students with identified accommodations such as text-to-speech and spelling assistance. Organized by grade level and subject, all 2018, 2019, and 2021 STAAR released tests are also available on the online practice site. Please visit this link for instructions on how to access the practice site.
To view upcoming online STAAR testing windows and dates, please visit our website.
More specific information about student testing days will be coming soon. Please submit a help desk ticket if you are having trouble launching a test.
CMS Track & Field Schedule
Updated Tennis Schedule
Reporting COVID-19 Cases
PTA 8th Grade Video
PTA 8th Grade Celebration
Students CHECKING OUT/LEAVING EARLY:
Reminders: Anyone picking up a student must be on the Skyward Family/Emergency List before signing out a student. Have your driver’s license with you as you will be required to provide identification at the outside intercom camera. Your student will be sent outside to you. Parents are asked to wait outside (or in their car) as the Vestibule is not an area for parents to meet their child. The vestibule is designed to be a secured area for safety measures.
Please allow plenty of time as students in Athletics or Lunch may take longer to come to Attendance quickly. Students will not be pulled from class until a parent arrives at school.
Any additional information can be found on the attendance page on the CMS website.
Thank you for working with our staff as we keep the overall safety and academics as the highest priority for our Colts.
GCISD Swim & Diving
Grapevine High School Cheer
CHHS High School Dance
CMS Who To Contact Directory
Remembering 2004-2005 (Year 29 at CMS)
'04-'05 YEARBOOK COVER
Celebrating 45 Years
Looking back at 2004-2005
CMS LIFE IN '04-'05
Celebrating 45 Years
Looking back at 2004-2005
CMS LIFE IN '04-'05
Celebrating 45 Years
Looking back at 2004-2005