Colt Corner
#TeamCMS
February 15, 2019
Colts,
We definitely had a full week this past week at CMS with another one coming up as we continue in the busy month of February. This Monday we have a student holiday while our staff engage in continued professional development to add to their teaching toolboxes. Professional development days are just one of the many ways that our staff engage behind the scenes to stay current with best practices in education, which directly impact the campus and classrooms.
On Thursday we will be hosting our annual showcase (open house) starting promptly at 6:45pm in the North Gym (Coltiseum). I hope to see you all that evening as we will have various performances and student-led presentations in the gym followed by a come-and-go setting within the school. Enjoy your weekend and have a great week ahead!
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
CMS Principal
Facebook: Colleyville Middle School
Twitter: @CmsColts
#TeamCMS - #cmscelebrates - #CMSstrengths
UPCOMING Events
February 18 - Student Holiday
February 19 & 20 - Girls Basketball Tournament: 7th Grade (A-Team) at GMS - Schedule here
February 19 & 20 - Girls Basketball Tournament: 8th Grade (A-Team) at Carroll- Schedule here
February 19 - Tennis: CMS vs Dawson at Grapevine High School - 3:00 - 6:00 pm
February 21 - CMS Incoming 6th Grade 5:15pm/Current Students Showcase 6:45 pm
February 25 - Tennis at Carroll Senior High 3:00 - 6:00 pm
February 25 - CMS Dance Team Practice - CMS Library 6:30 pm
February 26 - Choir - Spring Formal - Colleyville Heritage High School 7:00 pm
February 27 - Band - Honor's Band clinic CMS Band Hall 4:00 6:00 pm
February 28 - Track - CTMS - 4:00 - 8:00 pm
Save the Date
February 21 - Incoming 6th Grade Information Meeting -CMS Cafeteria- 5:15 - 6:15
CMS Showcase (Open House for all Grades) - 6:45 - 7:45 pm (North gym then in academic building)
Chromebooks KIOSK mode
Attn. 7th grade families and teachers:
All district issued Chromebooks will be placed in KIOSK mode to accommodate testing for a two week period beginning February 15th and concluding March 1, 2019.
***To bypass KIOSK mode on Chromebooks during non-testing times, students will need to press CTRL-ALT-S as soon as you see the STAAR testing window. This keystroke will allow the student to utilize their Chromebook in a normal manner.
Social Studies Student of the Week
This week Mr. Robinson recognized 8th grader Amie.
She is an outstanding student that takes each assignment as a challenge and rises up to it! She was able to ‘teach’ the whole class and do a great job!
Cotillion Update
Destination Imagination
Week of Feb. 18 - Feb. 22
COURSE SELECTION: Counselors will be meeting with current 6th graders and 7th graders in the next few weeks to go over their course selections for the 2019-2020 school year. Course selection sheets will be sent home with students to review with parents at that time. These meetings will occur on the following dates:
6th Grade - February 26th through PE classes (Green Course Selection Sheets )
7th Grade - March 6th through Texas History classes (Blue Course Selection Sheets)
* ALL COURSES MUST BE ENTERED IN SKYWARD AND COURSE SELECTION SHEETS MUST BE RETURNED BY MARCH 22nd.
ARENA SCHEDULING: 8TH Graders will participate in Arena Scheduling April 29-May 1. CMS counselors will meet with students in early April to help them understand the arena scheduling process and teach them how to create their high school scheduling options. Here is the district website with information about the Arena Scheduling process. Arena Scheduling
CMS OPEN HOUSE & SHOWCASE: Our annual Open House for incoming 6th graders and Showcase for our current students will be February 21. See the flyer in this week’s newsletter for more information.
PLAY IT SAFE VIDEOS for 6th and 7th – The Play It Safe program is presented by the Women’s Center.
CMS Dates for Students:
March 1 - 6th Grade - Play It Safe - Survivors of Abuse
Below is the district information about the Play It Safe program. If you do not wish for your child to participate in the program, please print out the opt out form, complete it, and return it before the presentation date.
Click here for the Opt Out form
Duke TIP
The Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented youth. Duke TIP's talent searches serve as the entry point to academic benefits and programs for gifted and talented students in grades 4-12. For more information and deadlines, click here:
GT/ASPIRE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS: Nomination forms for Gifted & Talented/ASPIRE identification will be accepted by middle school counselors Feb. 22-March 8. Testing will take place on campus between March 18 and April 5. Letters will be mailed home and postmarked no later than April 15. Qualified students will be eligible to enroll in GT courses for the 2019-2020 school year. Nomination forms can be obtained from your child’s counselor.
REMINDER – Please make sure that you are checking grades in Skyward. You can download the Skyward app for your phone or for your child’s phone so you can monitor grades.
Krystal McCure – Counselor A-K – 817-305-4916
Amy Bouchelle – Counselor L-Z – 817-305-4917
Repeated Information
Chromebooks will be placed in KIOSK mode
All district issued Chromebooks will be placed in KIOSK mode to accommodate testing for a two week period beginning February 15th and concluding March 1, 2019.
***To bypass KIOSK mode on Chromebooks during non-testing times, students will need to press CTRL-ALT-S as soon as you see the STAAR testing window. This keystroke will allow the student to utilize their Chromebook in a normal manner.
Stars Tryout information for 2019 - 2020
For current 5th, 6th and 7th graders interested in learning details about Stars Dance Team and tryouts
* Mar. 4-6: Tryout clinic - 3:45-5:30 CMS South gym
* Mar. 7: Mock Tryout - 3:35 - 5:30 CMS North Gym
Cheer Tryout information for 2019 - 2020:
* Mar. 4-7: Tryout clinic
3:45-5:30
CMS North gym
* Mar. 8: Cheer tryouts - CMS cafeteria and South gym
6th grade tryouts (for the 7th grade team) 4:00pm
7th grade tryouts (for the 8th grade team) 6:00 pm
Math Course Selection Guidance
As students are entering course selection, please refer to the math course selection guidance website for information, including answers to frequently asked questions:
https://www.gcisd.net/departments/mathematics/parent_student/course_selection_guidance
Bus Rider Information
SUBSTITUTE TEACH IN GCISD
GCISD is Hiring!
Do you love working with students and have a desire to impact the GCISD family?
GCISD is looking for dedicated community members to work in our schools as substitute teachers.
For more information and to apply, visit www.gcisd.net.
You Art What You Eat Contest
You Art What You Eat Contest The Texas Department of Agriculture's (TDA) annual You Art What You Eat statewide student art contest is here! The student art contest offers Texas students a chance to earn statewide recognition for themselves and their school. Student winners receive a custom prize package and their artwork will inspire the design for TDA's National School Lunch Week and School Breakfast Week campaigns!
To enter the art contest, students w ill create artwork highlighting good nutrition and TDA's theme for National School Lunch Week 2019 / School Breakfast Week 2020. The new theme is "Save the Day with a Healthy School Lunch/ Breakfast" This year TDA provides teachers with a new , easy way to upload and submit student entries.
The Submission Packet and Guidelines can be found online at www.SquareMeals.org/artcontest. The submissions deadline is April 12, 2019. Please join TDA in encouraging students to focus their artistic talents on healthy school meals by entering the You Art What You Eat statewide student art contest.
Attention 8th Grade Parents
Celebrate your 8th grader by creating a recognition ad in this years yearbook! To get started, go to Jostens.com and select "Yearbook Recognition Ads." Space is limited and all ads are due by Friday, February 15th."
Spring Parent Technology Academy Sessions
GCISD Technology is excited to announce our Spring Session line up with several new sessions. Stay tuned as more will be added to our list as we keep receiving the request from the community.
February 26th - Understanding Minecraft ( Presented by Microsoft) -SIGN UP HERE
Come and learn about the power of Minecraft in education, get tips directly for Microsoft on parental settings for use at home.
March 21st - Internet Addiction " Gaming"--SIGN UP HERE
More than 5 million kids may be addicted to video games. 31% of males and 12 % of females report that have felt addicted to gaming. Come to hear from Dr Kay Trotter, PhD, LPC-s, RPT-S from local Kaleidoscope Behavioral Health as she discusses the signs and symptoms of this growing addiction. Learn some tips and be a part of the discussion around online gaming and internet addiction.
April 16th - Apps Parents Need to Know -SIGN UP HERE
Take part in this interactive discussion around the growing world of apps that students are using. Go being the scenes to hear the truth behind the apps and what dangers there are to those who use them
Virtual Session Coming Soon - Fortnite ( a Parents Guide ) - SIGN UP HERE
Many have asked so come and experience Fortnite for parents. Hear about details of the game and dive into parental settings for the various gaming systems students use to play online.