The Mustang Minute
Week of January 22th - 26th, 2024
Principal's Message
Mustang Family,
The month of January is fleeting but it is not to late to hit the restart button for the new year. It's essential that we establish healthy routines to start the semester off on the right foot. To ensure academic success, it's important to stay on top of your grades, attend tutorials when necessary, and stay organized with daily assignments, projects, and assessment dates. Being organized this semester will be paramount to your success. We're encouraging parents to help their children develop these organizational practices that will keep them ahead and on target for their new year's goals.
Yearbook sales end Friday, January 26th. More information about this below.
Thank you to all of you who came out to Mustang Nation on Wednesday night. We hope that your time with us was meaningful and you left more informed and excited about the upcoming school year.
Rah, Rah, Rah...Mustangs Fight!
Alex
GHS Theatre Presents
Welcome to the Renaissance and the outrageous, crowd-pleasing musical farce, Something Rotten. Set in the 1590s, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz. *This Show is Suitable for a Mature Audience. PG-13
Yearbooks on sale & Senior Tribute due by Friday, January 26th
Yearbook Announcement
It's not too late to reserve your '23-'24 GHS Yearbook! However, it will be after next Friday. If you would like to order a yearbook click on the link below.
Attention Seniors and Parents Thereof
Deadlines for Senior Tributes ( also known as Yearbook Recognition Ads) are due next Friday, January 26th as well. Visit the same link, scroll down, and click on "Yearbook Recognition Ads".
Link to Jostens' yearbook page for Grapevine High School here.
Mark Your Calendars
General PTSA Meeting & TX Dot Presentation- January 22nd
FAFSA Night - January 22nd
TECC (Across from the MAC @ GHS)
6:00 - 7:30 PM
FAFSA Nights Jan. 22nd or Feb. 12th
GCISD Emergent Bilingual Family Engagement Event - 1/23
As part of the Title III funds we receive for Emergent Bilingual (EB) / English Learners (EL), GCISD will offer a district-wide event for parent, family, and community engagement.
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
9 a.m.-11 a.m.
3050 Timberline Dr, Grapevine, TX 76051
We will host a watch party in partnership with TEA to address the community engagement event for emergent bilingual families. This event will focus on community participation programs: Participation is the action of taking part in an activity or an event. Under Title III, Part A, “community participation programs” are programs in which English learners, parents, and family members can take part.
We will meet at the JPS Building located at 3050 Timberline Dr, Grapevine, TX 76051, Room 1. We will have multiple Chromebooks to ensure families listen to the information in their native language. The languages that we will offer to our families are:
Course Requests and Preferred Scheduling Timeline
Preferred scheduling, using online arena scheduling in Skyward, is similar to the scheduling systems used by colleges. Students are given more voice in the creation of their schedules in an easier and more streamlined online venue. Preferred schedules that students put together in the spring through online arena scheduling are considered unofficial. Schedules are considered official on the first day of school.
Please be aware no course selection is guaranteed. Multiple variables are considered when placing students in courses including class size, number of course sections, and other mitigating factors.
See below for the timeline for course requests and online arena scheduling:
Course Selection for the 2024-2025 school year will be open January 16 - February 2.
During this window, students will have access to enter their course requests in Skyward through Student Access. GHS counselors will meet with all social studies classes beginning the week of January 16th to provide scheduling resources and to assist students with the course request process.
Students are expected to share and discuss their course requests with parents/guardians prior to February 2nd.
In April, current 9th-11th grade students will select their preferred time slot for classes using online arena scheduling through Skyward (Student Access) during their grade level's designated window. Click here for more information on online arena (preferred) scheduling including a detailed timeline.
The online arena scheduling windows are:
Current Juniors - April 1 - 3
Current Sophomores - April 17 - 19
Current Freshmen - April 29 - May 1
All online arena scheduling windows open at 7:30 am on the first day and close at midnight on the last day. Counselors will be available to assist students in the lecture hall before school and during all lunches on the first day of each window. For the remainder of each window, students may request to see their counselor for help by scanning their counselor’s QR code or by sending them an e-mail.
STAAR EOC Retests Result Available
Results for December STAAR EOC testing will be available on January 24, 2024 in the Student Data Portal, www.texasassessment.gov, which houses information from any state assessment your child has taken including STAAR and TELPAS. Directions are below.
Cambium Assessment
How to view your student's STAAR Scores
In Skyward Family Access, parents and guardians can change their phone number or email, as well as update communication notifications anytime throughout the school year.
1. Login to your Family Access account through www.gcisd.net. Click on the Skyward icon located at the top of the GCISD website.
GCISD Student Transfers
GCISD Student Transfers
The general and STEM student transfer application window for the 2024-2025 school year will open on Monday, February 5, 2024, at 8 am. Online applications will be accepted through Friday, February 16, 2024, at 4 pm.
Transfer Window Dates
Window 1: February 5 - February 16 - STEM/General Transfers
Window 2: March 4 - March 22 - STEM/General Transfers
Window 3: June 3 - June 14 - STEM/General Transfers
All students (including employee students) must apply for a transfer if they desire to attend a campus other than their zoned campus and/or when they are moving from the following grades/campuses:
Pre-K to Kindergarten
Elementary school to middle school
Middle school to high school
Students who are already approved on a transfer and are not moving to the next transition level do NOT need to submit a transfer request. For more information and to complete an online application on or after Monday, February 5, click here.
IMPORTANT: Please know that incomplete applications (e.g. missing residency documents) will NOT be processed during this round of student transfers. It is very important that families have all the needed documents when submitting transfer applications
Science Instructional Materials - Community Review and Feedback
GT/ ASPIRE Referral Window
The referral window for GT/ASPIRE testing for middle and high school students is open from January 8-31. Parents who are interested in testing, please sign your student(s) up for testing in Skyward.
Attention Students: No Personal Laptops
GCISD has a policy that prohibits students from bringing their personal laptops to campus. This is in place to ensure a secure and standardized computing environment for all students. Each student is provided with an assigned school laptop to use during their time on campus and homework. This policy helps us maintain a consistent and controlled digital infrastructure, facilitating efficient technical support and ensuring that all students have access to the same resources. This restriction on personal laptops aligns with our commitment to enhancing cybersecurity measures on campus. Over the coming weeks, we will be implementing security protocols that will prevent personal devices from connecting to the school network.
This proactive approach is aimed at safeguarding our digital infrastructure and protecting sensitive information. By using only the assigned school laptops, we can ensure that all devices adhere to the necessary security standards, minimizing potential vulnerabilities and creating a secure educational environment for everyone. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in contributing to the overall safety and integrity of our school's digital ecosystem.
Student Parking Fees - $50 for the remainder of the school year!
Parking for the spring semester is $50. Parking fee can be paid online through Skyward for a $5 fee or paid with cash, check or credit card in person at the school for no additional fee. You student will be required to fill out a form that is available in the front office. Be sure they know their license plate number.
AP Parents and Students,
There are several deadlines regarding AP testing this semester:
Feb 23, 2024- Students in second semester only courses need to be signed into the College Board and select “Yes” to indicate their decision to test, and for an exam to be ordered.
Mar 6, 2024- Final deadline for all students, full year or second semester only, to order a test with the mandatory College Board $40 late fee incurred. The fee is only incurred for exams for full year classes that missed the November deadline.
Apr 19, 2024- Final payment deadline for all AP exams.
**Remember, to have exams ordered, you MUST be registered in the College Board, AND in Total Registration. If your student was not registered in BOTH places by the end of day on November 10th, an exam HAS NOT been ordered for them.
Any questions or verifications of this process can be directed to laura.foutch@gcisd.net. Additionally, there is information and resource videos to help with this process on the school website under AP Exam Information.
Please reach out to Laura Foutch @ laura.foutch@gcisd.net with any questions.
TELPAS Testing Information
Students identified as emergent bilinguals and served through our English as a Second Language program will complete the two sections of TELPAS testing; Reading and Writing, and Listening and Speaking on the following dates in February. February 20th and 27th for freshmen and seniors and February 21st and 28th for sophomores and juniors. All students will receive a pass the day before testing to let them know which test they will be taking and where to report. Please reach out to Laura Foutch with any questions @ laura.foutch@gcisd.net
SAT Test for Juniors
GCISD will be offering the opportunity for all juniors to take the SAT, at no cost to the students, on Wednesday, March 6th, during the school day. Students who are juniors are automatically registered and do not need to sign up. Please reach out to Laura Foutch with any questions @ laura.foutch@gcisd.net.
2023 Federal School Report Cards
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires each state education agency to prepare and publish an annual report card. The Federal Report Card (FRC) for Texas Public Schools is a web-based system that generates the required federal report cards at the state, district, and campus levels for easy dissemination by school districts. Every district that receives Title I, Part A funding is responsible for distributing the FRCs to each of its campuses, the parents of all enrolled students, and the general public.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has released the 2023 Federal Report Cards at the State, District, and Campus level with information as required by federal law. The Federal Report Cards do not contain 2023 State Accountability Rating information.
To view our district and campus federal report cards, please visit our Accountability webpage for a link to search on TEA's site or click on the red "Archived State and Federal SRCs" button the bottom of our district's Accountability page.
Congratulations Katie Benson - Texas Dance Educators Association Scholarship
Katie Benson, GHS Senior and Fillies Dance Team Captain, was selected as the GHS All-State representative at the Texas Dance Educators Association convention. Out of all All-State dancers, Katie was selected as a top 5 finalist for the TDEA Scholarship. The night of her amazing All-State performance, Katie was awarded the TDEA Academic Scholarship for $2,500! We are so proud of her for this HUGE accomplishment and incredible leadership for the Fillies Dance Team!
DECA
The 2024 District VII Career Development Conference took place on January 16 at Irving Convention Center. Over 100 Grapevine DECA members went to take on over 4,000 students from across the DFW area. Grapevine DECA ended the day with 67 District Champions that will move on to the State Conference in Houston on February 16! Congratulations to these DECA members:
Mustang Soccer
This past weekend (January 18-20) both our Boys and Girls Soccer Teams
played host to the Mustang Cup tournament bringing in teams from across
the state for a weekend full of soccer. Stay tuned for highlights in our next
update from these games. And, we are excited to kick off District Play this
Tuesday, January 23rd against CHHS! Come on out to Mustang Panther
Stadium and cheer on all our Lady Mustangs. JV plays at 4:00 and Varsity
follows at 5:30.
Here are our Team Captions for this year:
Varsity Captains:
Junior Captains
Natalie Perez (Jr)
Emersen Denning (Soph)
Gracie SanJuan (Soph)
Georgetown Tournament Highlights
Here are some highlights of our girl’s hard at work over MLK weekend in
Georgetown. (Despite the bitter cold temps!)
Grapevine Chamber of Commerce Luncheon - Patrick Shukis, GHS Senior
Something Rotten Rehearsal - Show Opens Thursday!
Mustang Boys Soccer
Mustangs Swim & Dive
It's an exciting time for Swim & Dive! This week is "District Qualifiers" and in early February, 8th & 9th, they go on to compete at the Region Championships to determine which swimmers go to State Championships Feb 23-24th in Austin!
GHS vs. CHHS vs. Burleson Swim Meet Results:
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle
3rd place: Mohini Bhave
Girls 200 Yard IM (Individual Medley)
2nd Place: Ella Hallen
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle
3rd place: Adia Stull; 4 th place: Elizabeth Pauli; 5 th place: Alyssa Ackermann
Boys 50 Yard Freestyle
1st place: Hayden Carey; 2 nd place: Ryan Bradburry
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle
5th place: Elizabeth Pauli
Boys 100 Yard Freestyle
1st place: Ryan Bradburry; 2nd place: Hayden Carey
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle
2nd place: Sarah Drori
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke
1st place: Alyssa Ackermann
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke
1st place: Lily Spencer
District Dive Champion Margaux Wheat! (Click on pic to see one of her dives)
GHS Girls and Boys Finish 2nd @ District
Lady Mustang Basketball Seniors
Varsity
Junior Varsity
Freshman
Boys Mustang Basketball Seniors
Varsity
Junior Varsity
Freshman Red
GHS Robotics
GHS Speech & Debate - Clar/ Plano Winter Whirlwind Swing Tourney
Grapevine speech and debate added awards this weekend, January 19-20 at Clark High School
A swing tournament is 2 tournaments in one weekend time frame for Speech Events. Swings are tough, rigorous, and arduous x 2 of a regular weekend. Congratulations to all the Grapevine competitors!
Award Winners:
Debate
Benjamin Hu – 2nd place speaker award and Quarter finals - LD
Jack Hasper and Peyton Squires – Quarters – PFD
Speech
Clark tournament:
Davis Marino - 4th place – HI and Semis in POI
Safa Fatima – Semis – OO
Soumya Naguboina – Semis – OO
Plano Tournament
Pepper Sychitkokhong – semis – DI
Davis Marino – 3rd place HI and 7th place POI
Competitors who also competed but not pictured
Josephine Gomes - congress
Zachary Aigner- congress
Attention All Juniors!
The Spring application for the National Honor Society is now open! Visit the NHS page on the GHS website to view the application. The 4 main requirements are a 4.2 weighted gpa, 15 community service hours, involvement in extracurricular activities, and demonstration of leadership. Applications are due February 16th at 4pm to Mr. Bristow or Ms. Armstrong. Any student that did not attend the application information meeting on January 9th please see Mr. Bristow in room 704S.
Feel free to email Mr. Bristow at sterling.bristow@gcisd.net if you have any questions.
Singing Valentines
Cheer Tryout Meeting
Save the Date for Sports Physicals - Friday, April 5th 4 - 6PM GHS MAC
Senior Graduation Requirement - FAFSA/TASFA/Opt-Out Form
Seniors will be able to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) beginning in December 2023. An exact date is yet to be announced.
Completing the FAFSA (or TASFA) or an Opt-Out form is now a requirement for graduation. See below for details:
Beginning with the Class of 2022 and beyond, all Seniors must complete one of the following steps in order to comply with Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0256 in order to graduate:
Complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); or
Complete and submit a Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA); or
Submit a signed opt-out form.
As approved by the GCISD Board of Trustees, the District will accept the following as proof of completion:
Acknowledgment of receipt from an Institution of Higher Ed (IHE);
Copy of Signature page;
Screenshot of TASFA submission acknowledgment page (from those institutions that offer an electronic form);
Screenshot of FAFSA submission acknowledgment page; -OR-
Copy of a financial aid award letter
*Please do not send financial records to the school as proof.
After you have submitted your FAFSA/TASFA paperwork, please send one method of proof or your opt-out form to your high school counseling office no later than May 1, 2023.
The Texas OnCourse financial aid toolkit and StudentAid.gov provide additional information about applying for financial aid.
If you do not wish for your student to complete a FAFSA or TASFA, an opt-out form may be completed by a parent or guardian, a student age 18 years or older, or a school counselor who authorizes the student to decline to complete and submit the application for good cause.
If you wish to opt-out, please use one of the forms below and return it to your school counselor:
TEA Financial Aid Opt Out Form - English
Counselors- Students are assigned to by their last name.
The GHS counseling team consists of:
Marnie Pape (A-D) - marnie.pape@gcisd.net
Abbey King (E-Le) - abbey.king@gcisd.net
Moises Flores (Li-Ri) - moises.flores@gcisd.net
Katherine Partridge (Ro-Z) - katherine.partridge@gcisd.net
Mary Parsley (Lead Counselor) - mary.parsley@gcisd.net
Jennifer Lemke (Student Advocate) - jennifer.lemke@gcisd.net
Seniors who qualify for free/reduced lunch
Seniors who qualify for free/reduced lunch may contact our Student Advocate, Jennifer Lemke, to request to borrow a graduation cap and gown (based on availability). Mrs. Lemke can be reached at Jennifer.lemke@gcisd.net.
Counseling January Newsletter
- Course Requests and Preferred Scheduling Timeline
- Seniors - FAFSA is now open!
- Mustang Nation - January 17th (6-7:30pm)
- Dual Credit Mandatory Meeting - January 17th @ GHS (6:45 pm)
February 28th
Teen Driver Safety Program - TXDOT Presentation
GHS AMBASSADORS
FINAL DEADLINES for 2023-2024 school year as follows: (NO EXCEPTIONS!!!))
Class of 2024: March 1, 2024 - (No forms accepted from Senior class after March collection date).
Class of 2025, 2026, 2027: Last day of school- May 23, 2024 by noon (RED BOX will be removed at that time and no more forms accepted after that time).
Save the Date AABC Banquet
Grapevine High School PTSA needs you!
Membership dues are only $10 each school year! Students, remember that if you will be applying for any PTA/PTSA scholarships, you need to be a member of PTSA. Click here to join!
Donate a door prize for Project Graduation 2024!
Volunteer Background Check
We sincerely appreciate the investment of your time as a volunteer. Whether it is just volunteering with PTSA, a school field trip, or in any capacity in connection with our partnership with Big Brothers-Big Sisters, you must complete a background check.
All volunteers are required to reapply each year. Due to a large number of applicants, we will not notify you of your volunteer status. To get your status, please check with the school office for this information before you volunteer.
Click below to apply:
https://www.gcisd.net/o/gcisd/page/volunteer-background-check