Colt Corner
Colleyville Middle School
October 21, 2022
Colts,
I hope you have had a great week! With the help of PTA, we celebrated our students during lunch today for their hard work during the first nine weeks of the school year. Over 96% of our students passed all of their classes. We are so proud of our Colts, what a great accomplishment!
Along with academics, students in our fine arts programs delivered some incredible performances this week. I had the opportunity to see our Playbill theater class perform the reading of Oz. The students performed in front of an audience for two nights, showcasing their hard work and preparation. Our Colt bands also sounded amazing last night in front of a packed house in the North Gym.
In addition to our academics and fine arts, several of our athletic teams became District Champions this week, including our 8th grade “A” football team and 7th grade “B” and 8th grade “A and “B” Volleyball teams! We wish our student-athletes well as they move on to playoffs and their next tournaments in the upcoming weeks.
It’s always great to see the hard work of our teachers and students pay off. So much work goes on behind the scenes and that work and effort is evident in our Colts performances both inside and outside of the classroom.
Next week, we will celebrate being drug free with Red Ribbon Week. Please see the calendar that includes fun dress up days for each day of the week and encourage your Colt to participate. On Friday, we will end the week on a high note with our Blackout Pep Rally. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
Colleyville Middle School, Principal
School Twitter: @CmsColts - #TeamCMS - #ColtPride
B.E.S.T. - Building Excellent Schools Together
UPCOMING DATES/EVENTS
October 22 - All-District Band Auditions at HMS - 8:30am - 1:00pm
October 24 - 28 - Red Ribbon Week
October 24 - 7th & 8th Grade A & B Volleyball - Schedule linked here
October 24 - 7th Grade A & B Football - Schedule linked here
October 25 - 8th Grade Football Semi Finals here
October 28 - Black Out Pep Rally - 2:50pm
October 31 - No School - Professional Development Day
November 1 - No School - Professional Development Day
November 2 - 7th & 8th Grade A & B Volleyball - Schedule linked here
November 8 - PTA Coffee Talk & Executive Meeting - 8:45 CMS Learning Commons
In this Edition of the Colt Corner
* Red Ribbon Week Dress & Info
* Pep Rally Schedule (for Friday)
* Parent Tech Academy
* Social Studies Student of the Week
* Parent Tech Academy
* Lightspeed Relay Parent Portal
Counselors Corner
* College, Career, & Military Readiness (CCMR)
* Collegiate Academy
* 8th Grade Parent Meeting
* Preferred Participation Consent for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention
* Current Drug Trends: Parent Presentation
* Additional Resources
Repeated Information
* GCISD Update - October 13, 2022
* PTA Halloween Shout-Outs
* 6th Grade Cotillion
* Reflection Contest Information
* GCISD Council of PTAs Exceptional Children Committee Parent Coffee Chat
* Save the Date: GCISD Emergent Bilingual Parent Engagement Event
* Parent Tech Academy
* Athletics Fall Season Sports Schedules
* Colleyville Middle School Directory - Who To Contact
CMS Social Media Section
* CMS on Twitter - @cmscolts
* CMS on Facebook
* CMS on Instagram
Red Ribbon Week Dress
Monday: Pajama Day
Tuesday: Western Day
Wednesday: Jersey/Hat Day
Thursday: Decade Day
Friday: Costume Day*
Hats are allowed as long it is a part of that themed days outfit.
*Friday: Costumes must be in dress code compliance. Full face costume masks or full face paint is NOT permitted.
Social Studies Student of the Week
Mr. Barker selected Jacob as his Social Studies Student of the Week! He is a great tablemate who works well with others and is willing to try his best every day. Congrats to this excellent student leader - keep up the good work!
Lost & Found
Parent Tech Academy
Attend the Parent Tech academy that started it all and has been featured on all local news stations across DFW.
Did you know for the first time, teenagers have surpassed Senior citizens in money lost and falling for scams online?
Learn about the leading apps that teens are using online and the dangers that lie within. For example, what do you know about the prevalent Gas app or BeReal?
Hear about the dangerous viral trends leading to deaths around the country.
Get insight into the growing scams that are targeting not only teens as well as those targeting Adults.
You don't want to miss this as we help share what you need to know, from your and your kids' phones to social media dangers.
This session is appropriate for all parents and 6th -12th-grade students.
October 26th, 2022
6:30 p.m.
GCISD Professional Development Center
5800 Colleyville Blvd
Colleyville, Texas 76034
Presented by GCISD Chief Technology Officer
A CTO for public education in Texas, Kyle Berger, has over 22 years of K-12 technology leadership spread across various districts of various sizes and demographics. With multiple awards, such as Technology Director of the year for Texas, 2020 National Edtech Leadership winner, and Institutional Leadership award for interoperability. In 2022 Kyle was named one of the Top 100 Influencers in Edtech by Edtechdigest. His work is featured in several educational technology magazines, industry case studies, and other published books on Educational Technology. Kyle is known as a transformer of educational technology. His more than 22 years of service are full of vast experiences in one-to-one deployment, complete district revitalization and overseeing of bond programs, redefining technology in several districts, and development of State Championship Esports programs for High School Competitions. Kyle is currently a member of several corporate advisory boards and a guest speaker for educational technology transformation to corporations and school systems around the country.
Lightspeed Relay Parent Portal
Parents should be receiving a weekly email for each of your students from Lightspeed Relay. This email contains a weekly report of your student’s internet activity. The body of the email contains the Top 10 websites visited. If you log in, you will have access to a more detailed, daily, time stamped web activity report. For more information, please visit the GCISD Lightspeed Parent Portal Website.
If you have not received an email from do_not_reply@lightspeedsystems.com please check your Spam.
Counselors’ Corner (October 24 - 28)
College, Career, & Military Readiness (CCMR):
Collegiate Academy:
Collegiate Academy representatives were on campus Wednesday, Oct. 19th during Colt Time to visit with 8th grade students interested in attending CA in high school. CA students can earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree by the time they graduate from high school. Any student wishing to apply to Collegiate Academy can do so by following this link:
Collegiate Academy application
8th Grade Parent Meeting:
If you were unable to attend our 4 Year Planning Meeting on Thursday night, the Powerpoint and resources shared that night are linked below. Counselors met with 8th graders through social studies classes on Tuesday, Oct. 18th, to go over the same information that was covered at the parent meeting. Please sit down with your student this weekend and complete the High School 4 Year Plan Document linked below. We are asking that all students return the document with a parent signature to their counselor by Tuesday, Oct. 25th. On Wednesday, Oct. 26th, counselors will begin meeting with 8th grade students on-one-one to review each 4 year plan before high school counselors come to CMS in January. All of the resources shared at the parent meeting are linked below to assist you in completing your student’s 4 year plan.
8th Grade Parent Meeting Powerpoint
High School 4 Year Planning Document
Preferred Participation Consent for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention
As required by federal and state law, we will soon begin presenting a personal safety curriculum to middle school students. GCISD uses the Play It Safe! ® program to teach this curriculum. Play It Safe! ® is a child abuse awareness and prevention program that incorporates age-appropriate scripts and movies to teach children how to reduce the risk of sexual and physical abuse, and sexual assault. It teaches them to recognize potentially abusive behavior, provides the tools to respond to threatening situations, and encourages them to report abuse to a trusted adult. It is presented by The Women’s Center of Tarrant County, Inc. which uses trained volunteers to present the program using videos and scripted discussions at an age-appropriate level. Play It Safe! ® meets the State and Federal guidelines for curriculum addressing personal safety issues, child sexual abuse and pedophiles. The GCISD School Health Advisory Committee has reviewed and recommended these programs for all GCISD schools.
Our schedule for showing the Play It Safe Curriculum this year is as follows:
6th grade “Sexual Harassment”- November 8th, 2022
6th grade “Survivors of Abuse- March 8th, 2023
7th grade “Healthy Relationships”- October 5th, 2022
7th grade “Can’t Take It Back” - November 30th, 2022
7th grade “Abuse of Power” - February 21st, 2023
The purpose of this personal safety presentation is to provide the students with information and practical skills to reduce their risk of being in dangerous and/or abusive situations. They will learn how to recognize, react to, and report those situations. This one-hour program is presented in an age-appropriate, non-threatening manner through the use of stories, group discussions, and an age-appropriate movie.
Please complete the section below to indicate your preference for your child’s participation in any of the above programs. If you choose for your child not to participate, your child will be provided an alternate location while this program is being presented. If the form is not completed, and turned into the campus counselor prior to the date on your campus notification letter, your child will not participate in the program. There is a recording of the parent preview located on the CMS counseling web page.
Please complete the following Play it Safe form and return to your campus Counselor prior to the date of the lesson! Play it Safe Form
6th and 7th grade students were also provided with a hard copy form which can be returned to Ms. Dumas (advocate counselor).
Current Drug Trends: Parent Presentation
On October 25th at 6:00 PM in the GCISD board Room John Haenes from Challenge of Tarrant County will be providing a presentation to parents on current drug trends. Stay on Track is a community coalition through Challenge of Tarrant County. Stay on Track's mission is to increase awareness in Keller and its surrounding communities about the risks of substance use and engage residents in education that provides youth with the knowledge, confidence, skills, and environmental support needed to live a healthy, substance-free life.
Having a strong, open relationship with their parents is one of the most influential factors during a child’s adolescence. Communicating with children about drugs can protect them from many of the high-risk behaviors associated with drug usage.Parents being actively involved and supportive is critical to prevention of youth substance abuse.
Additional Resources:
National Institute of Mental Health
- CHHS and GHS Choirs to Perform with Internationally-Recognized Ensemble
Parent Tech Academy: Dangers of Leading Teen Apps & Scams
National Bus Safety Week Video
Math Fun Comes to Elementary and Middle School Cafeterias
Athletics and Fine Arts Updates
Upcoming Events and more!
PTA Fundraiser
Halloween Shout-Outs are Live
Treat your student or CMS Staff members to a Halloween-themed Shout-Out!!
It's like a Smartie Gram, but spookier!!
ONLY $5!
DEADLINE to order is October 24th!
Click the link below!
https://colleyvillemspta.membershiptoolkit.com/allthingsfall
6th Grade Cotillion
CMS is excited to be hosting the 2023 6th Grade Cotillion! Please Save the Dates:
Week One: Friday, January 20th - Western (CMS)
Week Two: Friday, January 27th - Sock Hop (CMS)
Week Three: Friday, February 3rd - Disco (CMS)
Finale: Friday, February 10th - Roaring Twenties (Colleyville Center)
Cotillion will be held from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. each week. A website will be available soon for updates!
We'd love to have parent volunteers! Please click here to let us know how you would like to assist! We are planning a volunteer meeting on Friday, November 4th. Click here for details and to RSVP.
Thank you!
Cotillion Chairs,
Tamaron Hunt + Stephanie Wilkerson
Tamaron Hunt tamaron.hunt@gmail.com214-226-6993
Stephanie Wilkerson stephanie@wilkersontx.com 817-721-3288
Reflections Contest
GCISD Council of PTAs Exceptional Children Committee Parent Coffee Talk
Save the Date: GCISD Emergent Bilingual Parent Engagement Event
There will be multiple Chromebooks to ensure that families listen to the information in their native language. The languages that we will offer to our families are:
English
Spanish
Arabic
Vietnamese
Russian
Friday, November 11th. (see flyers below)
8th Grade Football Schedule
7th Grade Football Schedule
8th Grade Volleyball Schedule
7th Grade volleyball schedule
COLLEYVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL DIRECTORY - WHO TO CONTACT
*Note, the point of contact is the first level to answer and questions or concerns. They are usually able to resolve your question/concern, but in the event that you did not reach a resolution, your concern will be elevated to the subsequent level until a resolution is reached.
To email a CMS team member type the first name dot last name @gcisd.net (i.e. David Arencibia = david.arencibia@gcisd.net) unless different and noted under the name.