Colt Corner
Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence
January 6, 2017
Dear Colt Parents,
The second semester is off and running! Our school weeks are always filled with excitement and today was no different. As 8th grader Ria Frenzel told me "I loved being able to go outside in the snow while we were recycling for PALS. Going around and being able to recycle for the teachers and classes is great for the environment and we had a lot of fun doing it today!" In her excitement came a lot of behind the scenes decision making by many campus and district stakeholders. Safety is always our number one priority and with that came our evening cancellations. Today's weather is a great reminder for us as parents to check our emergency contact information to make sure that it is updated with individuals that can pick up our children in case of bad weather or any other type of early release days. As always, I want to thank you for your continued support of CMS and wish you a relaxing weekend.
BEST,
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
CMS Principal
Facebook: Colleyville Middle School
Twitter: @CmsColts
#cmscolts - #cmscelebrates
Snow! Were you ready?
If you need to make any changes you can email or call Laurie Denny at laurie.denny@gcisd.net or 817-305-4904 in attendance to update who is authorized to pick up your student in the event of bad weather or impromptu early release day.
TEA's Provisional A-F Ratings
On Thursday, as part of House Bill 2804, the Texas Education Agency released the provisional A-F ratings for every school and district in the state. These official ratings will not be released until August 2018, but the provisional ratings attempt to provide schools and districts an estimate of how campuses could rank under the new accountability system.
Commissioner of Education Mike Morath has said “the provisional ratings are for informational purposes to meet legislative requirements. No inferences about district or campus performance in the 2015-2016 school year should be drawn from these ratings, and these ratings should not be considered predictors of future district or campus performance ratings. Campus and district ratings for 2017-2018 will use different data and different indicators.”
As a district, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD will comply with all State accountability and assessment requirements; however, this is not the only indicator that we use to measure our success. We celebrate our number of National Merit Semifinalists, the number of links on a Rachel’s Challenge chain, the emphasis placed on college and career readiness for all students, personalized learning plans and student-led conferences and the integration of technology in the classroom. As a campus, we are celebrating 40 years of excellence, which continues this year with accomplishments such as our Counseling department receiving the Texas CREST award, 7 former Colts recognized as National Merit Semifinalists, district athletic champions in Football & Cross Country, 37 All-District band members & 23 All-Region band member honors, 7 All-Region Choir and the list goes on.
In an attempt to help parents understand the A-F ratings, the district has created a webpage with more information about A-F. That page may be found here.
Join your fellow GCISD PTA members
WE WANT AND NEED YOUR VOICE! Please join your fellow GCISD PTA members on January 26th for a Legislative Advocacy Roundtable Discussion hosted by the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Council of PTAs.
MEET and TALK with YOUR area legislators and staff and pick up advocacy tips to use throughout the current 85th Texas Legislative Session.
· Thursday, January 26, 2017
· 6:30-8:00pm (childcare not provided)
· Light refreshments provided
· PDEC (Professional Development and Education Center): 5800 Colleyville Blvd., Colleyville, TX 76034
We will give a brief overview of our district PTA's top 5 issues for our legislators to address: 1) Reduce STAAR emphasis, 2) Oppose vouchers and ESA programs, 3) Adequate school funding, 4) Pursue a new accountability system that is valid, reliable and balanced and 5) Clarify the role of school districts on cyber-bullying. (Handouts with more information on each issue will be available at the event.)
Pre-registration is not required, but is highly recommended so we can get a headcount and plan appropriately. To register, scroll down to find your school and RSVP at the following site: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d45a9a72ca46-legislative.
For questions, please contact your local PTA Legislative Advocacy Chair or President or Doug Noell, GCISD Council of PTAs Legislative Chair (doug_noell@yahoo.com).
Reminder when excusing your child from Pre-Athletics/Athletics.
Excuses from Activity:
Notes from parents, due to illness or injuries, requesting that your child be excused from participation will be required for EACH DAY MISSED. If a student needs to be excused more than TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS, a doctor’s note for non-participation will be required. Students will still be required to dress out daily unless this will complicate the illness or injury. Students unable to participate will be given an alternate assignment for completion.
100% NON participation notes are not accepted in most cases.
If they are sick, it would be best if they stayed home.
If they have an upper body injury, they typically can do lower body workouts. If it is a lower body injury, then an upper body workout.
If there is a back injury that prevents movement, then we will accommodate as such.
Per school board policy and our campus practice:
Any athlete missing 2 days of activity is required to be seen by a physician and return with the following:
Diagnosis
Treatment of injury
- Timetable for return
Parents, please request that your doctor include the above information on your student's note for the coach. Thank you for your help!
Collegiate Academy Open House
Collegiate Academy Frequently Asked Questions
CMS receives top counseling award!
Thanks to our counselors, Krystal McCure and Leslie Walden, CMS has been recognized with the Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas (CREST) award. CMS received the honor for commitment to continuously improving within our CMS counseling program.
“In GCISD, our counselors aim to build relationships, foster positive differences and encourage students to strive for success,” said GCISD Director of Counseling Services Emberly Hill. “We are incredibly proud of what our counselors have achieved to provide the support and encouragement our students need in order to be successful in and out of the classroom.”
For more information on the CREST award, click here.
Counselors Corner
Week of January 9 – January 13, 2017
January 17 – PTA Program – Beyond Middle School
Come join us at 6:30 for a program about Endorsements in high school, House Bill 5, and High School Basics. High School counselors and the Director of Counseling will be presenting.
Report Cards
Report Cards have been posted in Skyward Family Access.
To view Report Card:
* Visit GCISD's webpage and click 'Skyward Family Access' in the upper right hand corner
* Click the 'Log In Here' box in the middle of the page
* Log in using your Skyward Family Access ID and password
* Click 'Progress Reports/Report Cards' on the menu on the left
* Choose 2016-2017 Second Nine Weeks Report Card
Please contact the counseling department if you have any questions.
TECC FIELD TRIP
On February 9 we will be taking all 7th graders to Grapevine High School to visit the TECC center. While at the TECC center, students will get to see the various career and technology electives that GCISD has to offer when students are in high school. Several of the 8th grade courses that are offered at CMS lead into these great courses offered at the high school level. Permission slips will be sent home on Tuesday, January 17th through your 7th grade student’s Language Arts class. Permission slips are due back on Friday, January 27. Students will be gone only 2nd, 3rd, and 4th period. Please let counseling know if you have any questions.
PLAY IT SAFE DATES
February 17 – 7th Grade – Abuse of Power
March 10 – 6th Grade – Survivors of Abuse
UPCOMING DATES
January 17 – PTA Program – Beyond Middle School – presented by high school counselors
January 18 – High School Counselors meet with 8th grade– Career Cruising Part 2
End of January 8th graders enter high school courses in Skyward
February 7 – High School Counselors come to visit and go over courses with 8th graders
February 9 – CMS 7th Grade visits TECC at Grapevine High School
February 16 – Kindness Day
February 21 – CMS Counselors go to OCT to meet with 5th graders
February 21 – CMS Showcase for 5th graders/Open House
February 22 – CMS Counselors go to CES to meet with 5th graders
February 23 – CMS Counselors go to HES to meet with 5th graders
February 24 – CMS Counselors go to BES to meet with 5th graders
February 28 – CMS Counselors meet with 6th graders for 7th grade course selection
March 1 – CMS Counselors meet with 7th graders for 8th grade course selection
MATH and SCIENCE TRAJECTORY
Please take a moment to review the math and science trajectory attachment as we are moving to course selection second semester. This information will be discussed with students during course selection. If you have questions, please contact the counseling department. Here is a link to the district website as well.
http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Page/42468
DUKE TIP – ATTENTION SEVENTH GRADE
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, click here: https://tip.duke.edu/programs/7th-grade-talent-search/enroll-now
Parents may directly enroll their child online at https://tip.duke.edu/programs/7th-grade-talent-search/enroll-now or via paper applications at any time during the enrollment period, October 1-March 31. Fees are paid only once, and need-based financial aid is available. Students must have attained a qualifying test score at or above the 95th percentile on at least one accepted subtest area of a grade-level standardized achievement test (Stanford or Iowa Test of Basic Skills), or achieved a score of a 125 or above on an aptitude test (OLSAT, CoGAT, NNAT) or mental ability test (IQ test such as WISC), or met the Duke approved score on a state criterion-referenced test (STAAR). A school code will be provided on the Duke Tip website during the enrollment process.
Krystal McCure – Counselor A-K – 817-305-4916
Leslie Walden – Counselor L-Z – 817-305-4917
Shari Vanderwork – Registrar – 817-305-4955
Play it Safe Parent Letter
Nurse Martin's Tip Newsletter
Top CMS TWEETS from the WEEK
Follow us at @CmsColts #cmscelebrates
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'96-'97 Yearbook Cover
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Looking back at 1996-1997
This Weeks Upcoming Events
Monday, January 9
Boys Basketball (click here for schedule details)
7th Grade Boys Basketball vs Heritage Middle School at HMS
8th Grade Boys Basketball vs Heritage Middle School at CMS
Thursday, January 12
Girls Basketball (click here for schedule details)
7th Grade Girls Basketball at Coppell North Middle School
8th Grade Girls Basketball vs Coppell North at CMS
Friday, January 13
8th Grade Girls Basketball Tournament at HMS
6th Grade Cotillion - 6:30 - 9:00 pm - CMS Cafeteria
Saturday, January 14
8th Grade Girls Basketball Tournament at HMS