Panther Pause
26 years of Pride at Colleyville Heritage High School
9.17.21
Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Open House on Monday night. It was great to see and visit with a number of you. I hope you see the passion and commitment our amazing staff has in working with your students each and every day. If you were unable to attend and have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your student’s teachers. If you did not get a chance, please take a moment to join our PTSA. Information can be found in this newsletter. Our PTSA is an integral part of our community and we would love to have your support.
Please remember that Monday, September 20, 2021, will be a student holiday while our staff participates in a Professional Day of learning.
Big Congratulations to our 10 National Merit Semifinalists:
Reagan Brown
Sunehra Chowdhury
Dylan Council
Jiho Lee
Moid Meghani
Alissa Park
Nhi Quach
Andrew WInter
Cindey Xiao
Judy Zhu
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition for recognition and scholarships that is open to all U.S. high school students who meet published entry requirements. Of the over 1.5 million students who take the PSAT/NMSQT, only 16,000 become semifinalists. These students show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. In addition, the students each write an essay, provides information about activities/volunteer service, leadership positions, honors or awards, and employment. We are very proud of our students and wish them luck as they work to advance towards becoming Finalists.
Also, we have been made aware of a viral “bathroom challenge” or “Devious Lick” circulating on Tik Tok, where students are encouraged to vandalize school property and steal random items from their campus. This challenge is impacting neighboring districts and schools across the state, creating thousands of dollars of damage and sometimes closing bathroom facilities for repairs.
We ask that you please take time to speak with your student about the impact of this destructive trend on our campus, staff, and our facilities. Please encourage your student that if they “see something, say something.” We fully recognize that this can be intimidating socially, but please assure your student that campus administrators are available discretely via email if they do not feel comfortable coming to the office to make a report.
Please reiterate that students caught engaging in behavior such as this can face serious disciplinary consequences as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, as well as be financially responsible for property damage and/or theft.
Thank you for your collective efforts in speaking with your student about the importance of respecting school property and/or reporting vandalism as we work together to foster pride in our schools.
CHHS PRIDE,
Mr. Denning
Highlights from GCISD:
DFW Airport Teen Volunteers
DFW Airport is looking for high school students interested in joining its Navigator volunteer program. Shifts are usually 2-4 hours long and are a great way for high school students to earn community service hours. Additionally, DFW Airport would love to welcome students who have some foreign language skills or an interest in an international audience! More information can be found online at https://volunteer.dfwairport.com/teen-navigators.
GCISD Support Staff Job Fair
GCISD is hosting a Support Staff Job Fair on Wednesday, September 22, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Professional Development and Education Center (5800 Colleyville Blvd.). If you are interested in joining a Dallas Morning News Top 100 Workplace in any of a variety of support staff roles, this is the event for you. On-site interviews will be held.
GCISD is looking for applicants for all of the following positions...
Cafeteria Food Service Workers
Bus Drivers
Bus Driver Trainee (no experience required)
Custodians
Grounds - Field Maintenance
After School Care Assistants
Childcare Teachers Assistants
Irrigation Technician
Substitute Teachers
Apply online today at www.GCISD.net/Careers.
Trinity River Authority Art Contest
The Trinity River Authority's (TRA) annual art contest calls on 1st-grade through 8th-grade students who live in the Trinity River basin to create original artwork depicting this year's theme, "Save Your Pipes, Don't Flush the Wipes". The contest aims to raise awareness about the importance of conserving and protecting our water supplies from potential pollution.
A winner from each grade is selected and an overall grand-prize winner is selected from among the winning entries. The winners are invited to attend the October TRA Board of Directors meeting where they are individually recognized and receive prizes.
More information and rules can be found here. The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2021.
Highlights from counseling:
Counselor Corner
ASVAB Career Exploration Program
Out of the Darkness Walk
"Out of the Darkness Walk" with GCISD Hope Squads Oct. 30th - click HERE to register.
Panther Events:
Panther Volleyball
Panther volleyball has started district play and we would love to see you at our next home game on Tuesday, September 21st vs. Denton High!
Follow us on Twitter - @VB_CHHS - for updates on our season.
Varsity:
09/17 - CHHS vs. Richland @ Richland at 6:30
09/21 - CHHS vs. Denton @ HOME at 6:30
JV:
09/17 - CHHS vs. Richland @ Richland at 5:30
09/18 - Tournament @ Grapevine (games at 9, 10:30, and 12:00)
09/21 - CHHS vs. Denton @ HOME at 5:30
Freshman Black:
09/17 - CHHS vs. Richland @ Richland at 5:30
09/21 - CHHS vs. Denton @ HOME at 5:30
Freshman Red:
09/17 - CHHS vs. Richland @ Richland at 6:30
09/21 - CHHS vs. Denton @ HOME at 6:30
Panther Tennis
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT - Alex Palmer
Alex is a member of Ovation Choir, Panther Chorale, Chamber Choir, church choir and Leadership. He also enjoys playing piano and guitar, hiking and working out. He plans to attend the University of Arkansas or Oklahoma State University and major in music education.
Alex thinks Project Graduation is a great last celebration in a safe environment. It's a chance to reconnect with friends and recognize all of our hard work.
Project Graduation is a program designed to keep students off the roads on graduation night in a safe, overnight lock-in event which is alcohol and drug free. The event will be 11pm - 5am at Dave and Buster’s in Euless on Graduation night, May 26th and include tons of food and fun activities like games, karaoke, a hypnotist, comedian or magician, plus prizes and giveaways.
We are looking for students to help us promote CHHS Project Graduation! Being involved will also promote your sport, club or organization! If you are interested, we will coordinate with you to determine which date you will be featured as our Senior Spotlight Student. Only a certain number of applicants will be accepted so apply quickly to get a spot. Please fill out the following Google Form or contact Rhonda Byers if you are interested in being featured in the
Senior Spotlight: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13wQPJ8tJHmROnDEDTBaxyh5fliQ8MmazzyiSCBpGaIs/edit
SCHOOL PICTURES and retakes
All grades 9-11 will have school pictures taken on Thursday, September 16th and Friday, September 17th during all English classes. If you forgot to turn in your order when pictures were taken, you can still order by going here and using code 7022F22.
**All picture retakes (including seniors) will be on Wednesday, October 6th from 8-4pm. All seniors that did not get their senior picture taken in June for the yearbook will have a final opportunity on this final day. All students can get this done before school at 8am, during their lunch, or during class with permission from their teacher. No appointment is needed.
Jr. Pantera Dance Clinic
Calling all 4 year olds to 8th Graders to join us on Saturday, October 9th, for our Annual Jr. Pantera Dance Clinic!!
Sponsored by: Ambition Dance Productions
USE THIS LINK TO REGISTER YOUR JR. PANTERA!
Early Bird Registration Fee: $55 per participant or $45 per sibling
Runs from August 3 - September 17
Regular Registration Fee: $65 per participant or $55 per sibling
Runs from September 18 - October 9 (Day of Clinic)
*Register BY 9/29 to secure a T-shirt!!
SPIRIT WEAR FUNDRAISER SUPPORTING CHHS SWIM & DIVE
Anyone else excited to be sitting IN the stands this year IN their awesome CHHS spirit wear while cheering ON their favorite Panther? CHHS Swim & Dive is excited to offer you the opportunity to purchase some awesome CHHS Spirit Wear items through our current fundraising campaign. Please visit fancloth.shop/1TCVU to see the over 40 products available for purchase. Great selection for any school event or as Christmas gifts - tees, hoodies, pajama pants, sweatpants - even youth sizes for the future Panther! Orders ship directly to you - do not delay, last day to order is 9/21!
Feel free to reach out to the GCISD Swim & Dive Booster Club with any questions: gcisdswim@gmail.com
GCISD College Visits
This year we will be hosting college, military and job reps back in the Go Center! They will be hosted at the Go Center counter during lunches. The calendars, where you can see who is visiting each day, can be found on the Go Center website as pictured.
Baylor University
Wednesday, September 22
University of Arkansas
Thursday, September 23
Austin College
Thursday, September 23
Thursday, September 23
CHHS PREP Services ‘21-’22
Project Graduation Information and Kick Off Meeting
Please join us for a Zoom meeting to learn all about Project Graduation and how to throw the ultimate party for seniors! All grade levels are welcome to attend and help because someday everyone will have a senior! We will be going over dates, volunteer spots needed, and what it takes to throw a PG party.
Meeting: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 7 PM on Zoom
To Join the Zoom Meeting, use this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7835732962?pwd=cm1zN0VjUWNsUC9odnAyeTVjZFBXUT09
Meeting ID: 783 573 29623
Passcode: Panthers
Title: Panther Choir Car Wash
Stop by Worthington National Bank (Colleyville Blvd & Glade Rd) on Saturday, September 25th from 10am to 2pm for a car wash by Panther Choir. The Car Wash Fundraiser is FREE and donations are greatly appreciated. Visit www.chhspantherchoir.com for more information.
SENIOR ad in the CHHS YEARBOOK
You can pay and create your Senior Ad TODAY! Senior ads in the yearbook are a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. To purchase and create your ad, follow the instructions found here. Jostens is managing your school's yearbook ad sales so please do not contact or send materials to the school. All ads must be paid for and submitted online before the price increase on Friday, November 12th. Senior ads are for seniors only.
GCISD Fishing Team
The Roaring Red
Sign Up Today Class of 2022 Parents and Students
With Class of 22 Image included below, put the following text:
Class of 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025 Students & Parents ~ WE NEED YOU! We want to keep CHHS Project Graduation going for years to come and we need your help to start planning for our 2022 Seniors! Our goal is to have parents and students from ALL grade levels on the committee! Most positions are a minimum time commitment. More than one person can help with each position so get a friend or two and sign up together. Please use one space per name and note in the comments if you would like to work as a team. Students can also volunteer to help with any positions and earn service hours! Students would be perfect to help with website, social media, contacting businesses and more!
Click THIS LINK to go to the Sign Up Genius and Volunteer Today!
CHHS PTSA 2021-2022 MEMBERSHIP
WELCOME BACK PANTHERS!!
IT IS TIME TO SIGN UP OR RENEW YOUR
CHHS PTSA 2021-2022 MEMBERSHIP
Sign-Up by going to Join | CHHS PTSA
Questions? Email Janeece Garlish at vpmembership@chhsptsa.org
SUMMER PARENT VOLUNTEER HOURS
If you did any volunteering for your favorite CHHS program this summer, please submit your volunteer hours for June, July, and August 2021 and encourage other volunteers to do the same. PTSA collects the number of volunteer hours so that GCISD can use them for applying for grants and other uses. This is only parent hours, not students’ Community Scholar hours (see CSAP program guidelines on the Counseling website about that). Submit your hours in 2 minutes at this link: Volunteer hours
CHHS Panther Theatre presents...
Community Membership Campaign
Our GCISD Council of PTAs is kicking off our Community Membership Campaign for the 21-22 year!
Support our local PTAs by joining all 17 campuses with a Community Membership.
Details of the program are on our GCISD Council of PTAs Website. A direct link to join as a Council Community member is linked here.
Senior Cookout
Part of the fun of the Senior Cook-Out is the posters that we ask all parents to create and turn in for their seniors. These posters will be taped up around the perimeter of the gym or courtyard where we will be hosting this event. Use your craft skills and creativity or keep them simple, it's up to you! Some use photos from the last 18 years and some stick to high school-only. Anything is great, as our goal is simply to have a poster present for every CHHS senior! You can go big or go small, but please keep in mind that they will be TAPED to the walls, so no frames and no tri-folds. Please include a parent's name and phone number on the backs of the posters and bring them to the main office any time between October 25th and 9:00 am on the 29th. All posters will need to be picked up immediately following the event or from the main office by Monday of the following week. Thank you!
CHHS Panther Theatre upcoming attractions
Order your CHHS Yearbook
Ongoing Important Information:
COVID-19 Protocol Information
Please visit www.GCISD.net/COVID19 for lots of resources from the District pertaining to COVID-19. There you can find all of the following information, plus more:
Go Center
College Applications:
Seniors! College applications are open and the Go Center is available for appointments to assist you with your college process or answer any questions you might have. Click here to sign-up for an appointment! Or send an email to Emily.miller@gcisd.net. Please check your school email for follow-up communication.
Do you have general questions about what may be next after graduation? We are here to help you make a plan whether that is heading off to college, joining the military, or jumping into the workforce. Please come by so we can help you with your next steps!
Virtual College Visits:
Curious to how you can visit schools virtually and take advantage of their online opportunities? Check out this great resource that links you to each college's virtual experience page!
Scholarships:
Although many local scholarships are not open yet, we encourage you to begin checking the GCISD Scholarship website as this will be actively updated with new deadlines as soon as we receive them. If you have not obtained letters of recommendation, please request them now as most scholarships generally require a minimum of two letters.
Seniors also need to research scholarships that come directly from the colleges/universities to which they are applying.
Please reach out to the Go Center if you have any questions about scholarships!
GCISD College Visits:
This year we will be hosting college, military and job reps back in the Go Center! They will be hosted at the Go Center counter during lunches. The calendars, where you can see who is visiting each day, can be found on the Go Center website as pictured below.
Cafeteria Volunteers
The GCISD Nutrition Services Department is looking for volunteers! Come get to know the students while serving them a nutritious lunch in the school cafeteria. You can volunteer at your child's school or any school in the district. You must be registered as a volunteer in the district, or get signed up as a volunteer today so you can join the amazing kitchen staff serving the students. Please see the flyer for details and a link to sign up!
Cafeteria Menus
GCISD school cafeterias follow a calendar-cycle menu at breakfast and lunch. This menu begins on September 13th, 2021. During the first 4 weeks of school, all schools will follow a simplified lunch menu to allow all students to adjust to the new school year and to re-familiarize themselves with the cafeteria and their PIN number. The simplified menus can be viewed online using our menu system MealViewer. Printable copies of all menus can be downloaded here. If you have questions please contact child.nutrition@gcisd.net. GCISD Nutrition Services looks forward to serving your family in the upcoming school year!
VOLUNTEER BACKGROUND CHECK
House Bill 4545
Given the disruptions of the 2020-2021 school year, the 87th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 4545, signed on June 16, 2021, which provides additional learning opportunities for students who did not meet standards on the STAAR exam in the form of extra tutoring.
For Families of Students Who Did Not Perform Satisfactorily on STAAR Exams
If a student does not perform satisfactorily on a STAAR, STAAR End of Course (EOC), or STAAR Alt exam, in any STAAR assessed grade levels and subjects, the District will provide accelerated instruction.
For a student who does not perform satisfactorily on the math or reading assessment in grades 3, 5, or 8, the District will establish an Accelerated Learning Committee (ALC), which includes the student’s parent, to develop an educational plan for accelerated instruction to enable the student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the next school year. Accelerated instruction entails delivering supplemental instruction (i.e., tutoring) before or after school, or embedded in the school day and meeting HB 4545 requirements.
For Families of Students Who Did Not Take STAAR Exams for the 2020-2021 School Year
For students who were absent or otherwise unable to take the STAAR or STAAR EOC for the 2020-2021 school year, the district may administer an assessment to determine student grade level proficiency on the state standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). If the student earns a passing score, then the student can be exempted from the House Bill 4545 tutoring requirement.
GCISD will also provide more information to parents as we work with and gather additional insight from TEA to support our students with HB 4545 requirements.
Additional information on HB 4545 can be found at https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/house-bill-4545-implementation-overview
Student Fees and Parking Permits
Please log into your parent portal to check all student and course fees. Some courses do have fees associated with them, along with the $5 student photo id that is charged each year. Parking permits are $100 for the full year and additional fees do apply for the painted parking spaces that are sold through StuCo. The information below will show you the steps to view and make payments online:
Log in to the Skyward Parent Portal using the desktop version only
Click on Fee Management on the left hand side of the list of activities. (Fees can be viewed here)
Click on Make a Payment
Select the fees you want to add to your cart, you can also add the fee for parking at this time.
Click Checkout, which will direct you to the RevTrak page for payment.
Log into RevTrak and complete your payment
The $5 online processing fee will be waived from August 3rd - 11th. Should you wish to pay these fees in person, this can be done once school is back in session or payment can be mailed to the school with attention: Ashley Chaney.
For any questions or concerns regarding fees, please contact the CHHS Bookkeeper, Ashley Chaney at 817-305-4746 or ashley.chaney@gcisd.net.
CHHS to GHS Shuttles - Transportation Safety Protocols
Students riding shuttle buses between CHHS and GHS will be assigned to a specific bus this year. Once a bus is assigned, students will ride the same bus each time they shuttle between campuses. In the event we have a positive test, all passengers on the bus will be notified.
Standard Response Protocols
The GCISD Director of Emergency Management and School Security, Allen Smith, has asked that we provide you with information regarding Standard Response Protocols.
GCISD partners with the I Love U Guys Foundation and uses the Standard Response Protocols (SRP) to respond to any situation or emergency that takes place at school or in the district.
Each campus will conduct drills throughout the school year. These drills are based on the Standard Response Protocols of Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter, and Hold. GCISD developed one additional protocol known as Clear.
Completion of the drills is mandatory for each campus during the first two weeks of school, so that students and staff are prepared. Drills help us learn and know how to respond in the case of a real emergency at school. Our drills also help us to check certain equipment and responses. Our emergency management leaders on each campus will work with students and staff to complete our drills and document the results.
I have included the SRP Posters that are displayed in your student’s classrooms so that you can review with your student at home and discuss with them when they take part in the drills during the first two weeks. More information about Safety and Security in GCISD can be found at www.gcisd.net/our_district/safety_and_security. If you have any questions, Allen is very receptive to speaking with parents about our safety practices and may be reached at allen.smith@gcisd.net.
Panther Pause
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colleyville-Heritage-High-School/520058474676460?fref=ts
Twitter: @CHPantherPride