Colt Corner
Colleyville Middle School
January 19, 2022
Good afternoon Colt families,
I am sending this week's newsletter out early today in light of the information sent out from GCISD today regarding school closure titled “GCISD Closed Thursday and Friday (January 20-21)”. A copy of the letter is also found in the newsletter below.
As you have probably already read, tomorrow, Thursday the 19th and Friday the 20th, all campuses and facilities will be closed. The closure will be full closures with no remote conferencing or remote learning for staff and students. Regular in-person instruction will resume on Monday, January 24.
UIL games such as basketball games will continue as regularly scheduled, however, there will be no additional practices beyond the games played. This Friday's Cotillion has been cancelled, however, it has been rescheduled for next Thursday for back-to-back nights of Cotillion fun!
In order to make up the two school days, we will see adjustments made to all middle school calendars in the following ways:
1. Beginning on February 1st the school start time for all Middle Schools will begin at 8:08, adding two minutes to the beginning of the school day for the reminder of the school year.
2. Monday April 18th will now be a regular school day.
3. Wednesday, May 25 will now be a full school day, rather than an early dismissal.
Thank you for your flexibility and understanding during these challenging times. If you know of anyone that would possibly be willing to help out and substitute teach for our school district please have them consider the opportunity as we continue to face the state-wide shortage and high need across the district. Please stay safe and healthy as we navigate this COVID spike together.
David Arencibia, Ed.D.
Colleyville Middle School, Principal
Twitter: @CmsColts - #TeamCMS - #ColtPride
B.E.S.T. - Building Excellent Schools Together
UPCOMING DATES/EVENTS
January 20 - No School
January 20 - Girls & Boys 8th Grade A & B Basketball - Schedule linked here
January 21 - No School
January 21 - Cotillion Cancelled
January 24 - Girls & Boys 7th Grade A & B Basketball - Schedule linked here
January 24 - Panther Nation Night (8th grade) - Virtual - CHHS
January 25, 26 & 27 - CMS Theatre UIL Rehearsals 4:00 - 6:30 CMS Cafeteria/Theatre Room
January 27 - Girls & Boys 8th Grade A & B Basketball - Schedule linked here
January 27 - Makeup Cotillion CMS Cafeteria - 6th Grade 5:00 - 7:00pm, 7th Grade 7:30 - 9:30pm
January 28 - Cotillion CMS Cafeteria - 6th Grade 5:00 - 7:00pm, 7th Grade 7:30 - 9:30pm
January 31 - Girls & Boys 7th Grade A & B Basketball - Schedule linked here
February 1, 2 & 3 - CMS Theatre - UIL Rehearsals - 4 - 6:30pm CMS Cafeteria
February 3 - Girls & Boys 8th Grade A & B Basketball - Schedule linked here
February 4 - Cotillion - 7th Grade 6:30 - 9pm - Colleyville Center
In this Edition of the Colt Corner
* GCISD Update -GCISD Closed Thursday and Friday (January 20-21)
* STAAR Online
* GHS & CHHS Virtual Showcases - Updated information which was also emailed directly to 8th grade families on 1/19/22 included.
* High School Cheer Information
* "Dance For Athletes" - 8th graders, New Fine Arts class at GHS will be starting next year.
* Counselor Corner: 2022-2023 Course Selection, 8th grade Transition to High School, GHS & CHHS Virtual Showcases, David's Law Guidance Lessons, Play it Safe Parent Preview
Repeated Information
* 8th Grade Mustang Nation Night - Moving from in person to Virtual
* Students Planning to Take Algebra I or Biology I Prior to 9th Grade
* COVID-19 Testing Center Consent Forms
* GHS Art Song Festival
* 6th Grade: Determined to Succeed Program
* CMS Cheer Interest Meeting
* 8th Grade Baby Pictures for Yearbook
* Last chance to order a Yearbook
* Season Basketball Schedules
* Colleyville Middle School Directory - Who To Contact
UPDATE: GCISD Closed Thursday and Friday (January 20-21)
After a thorough review and discussion of the current state of COVID-19 in GCISD, all campuses and facilities will be closed Thursday, January 20 and Friday, January 21. We will resume in-person instruction on Monday, January 24. During this time additional cleaning and misting will take place at all campuses and facilities.
This decision was made to provide four days for students and staff members who are currently COVID positive to become well. Below are the latest statistics regarding COVID-19 in GCISD:
- 233 new positive student and staff cases yesterday
- Currently, 683 students are in isolation due to a positive test result
- Today, the District needed 169 substitutes and only 76 of those positions were filled for a fill rate of 44%.
While we have made every effort to continue in-person instruction, it has been negatively impacted for several days due to the increased number of student and staff cases.
Thursday, January 20 and Friday, January 21 will be closures and not days to transition to remote learning or remote conferencing. UIL activities may continue as scheduled; however, all other campus activities are canceled.
Upon review of the 2021-2022 instructional calendar, there are enough minutes in the calendar to cover one of the days for elementary and high school students. The other day will require use of an inclement weather day originally planned for Monday, April 18.
In order to achieve the necessary instructional minutes at middle school, Wednesday, May 25 will now be a full school day, rather than an early dismissal. Additionally, beginning February 1, minutes will be adjusted in the middle school bell schedules to add two minutes in each school day. More information about this adjustment will be communicated directly from the individual middle school campuses.
We understand that closing the District is difficult for the community; however, the District has exhausted other staffing options prior to making this decision. District leaders will continue to review the data over the next several days and weeks and will continue to provide updates to the community.
STAAR Online
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is transitioning all state assessments to be administered online by the 2022–2023 school year. To support this change, GCISD will be administering all state assessments online this Spring and is encouraging students to visit the practice tests site released by the TEA to prepare for online testing. For upcoming testing, students will be using district issued personal devices.
The online practice tests familiarize students with the general tools, designated supports, and accessibility features that may appear in online tests. In the practice site, there are features that may be turned on and off for students with identified accommodations such as text-to-speech and spelling assistance. Organized by grade level and subject, all 2018, 2019, and 2021 STAAR released tests are also available on the online practice site . Please visit this link for instructions on how to access the practice site.
To view upcoming online STAAR testing windows and dates, please visit our website.
More specific information about student testing days will be coming soon. Please submit a help desk ticket if you are having trouble launching a test.
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La Agencia de Educación de Texas (TEA, por sus siglas en inglés; Texas Education Agency) está efectuando la transición de la administración de todas sus evaluaciones estatales para tomarse en línea durante el ciclo escolar 2022-2023. Para apoyar este cambio, GCISD administrará todas las evaluaciones estatales en línea esta primavera, y alienta a los estudiantes a visitar el sitio web de exámenes de práctica publicado por la TEA para prepararse para las evaluaciones en línea. Para las próximas evaluaciones, los estudiantes utilizarán dispositivos proporcionados por el distrito.
Los exámenes de práctica en línea familiarizan a los estudiantes en las herramientas generales, apoyos designados, y herramientas de accesibilidad que se pueden encontrar en las evaluaciones en línea. En el sitio de práctica, hay muchas herramientas que se pueden activar o desactivar para estudiantes con adaptaciones identificadas, como texto-a-voz y asistencia ortográfica. Todas las evaluaciones publicadas por STAAR para 2018, 2019, y 2021 también están disponibles en el sitio web de práctica, organizadas según nivel de grado y materia. Por favor, visite este enlace para encontrar instrucciones sobre cómo acceder al sitio de práctica. Para ver las próximas fechas y períodos de evaluación STAAR en línea, visite nuestro sitio web. Próximamente se publicará información más específica sobre los días de evaluación para estudiantes.
High School Showcase Information
Both high schools have made the decision to move their events, Mustang Nation and Panther Showcase, online. You can access your future high school's Padlets here: GHS CHHS Both Padlets are full of information to help you learn about and plan for high school. Reminder- high school counselors will be back at CMS on Feb. 2nd to answer any remaining questions about course selection. We can't wait to see you very soon!
Update: Panther Showcase:
Panther Showcase:
Panther Showcase, originally scheduled for in-person, will now be a virtual event via WebEx on the same night, January 24, 2022. To begin the evening, parents of incoming freshmen are invited to a parent meeting hosted by the CHHS counselors at 6:00 followed by choice breakout sessions at 6:30 and 7:00 and Q&A at 7:30. Details of the virtual event, including links to join the WebEx meetings, can be found here
Mustang Nation Night
Welcome to Grapevine High School!
We have made the decision to move our Mustang Nation event online. You can access our high school's Padlets here: GHS The Padlet is full of information to help you learn about and plan for high school. Reminder- all high school counselors will be back on each middle school campus the last week of January to answer any remaining questions about course selection. We can't wait to see you very soon!Rah Rah Rah Mustangs Fight!
Mr. Fingers
High School Cheer Tryout Information
CHHS: Tryout Mtg: 6pm on Feb 21st.
Tumbling Certs: Feb 17th, 24th, & March 10th from 4:30-5:30.
Tryouts: Week after Spring Break
GHS: Tryout Mtg: January 31st (Time TBD)
Tumbling Certs: Middle of February & 2 weeks before Spring Break. (No times/dates given)
Tryouts: Week before Spring Break
For BOTH: Students who plan on requesting a transfer will still need to try out at their zoned school as transfer requests are not guaranteed to be approved. Athletes are only required to come certify for tumbling once.
HS - Dance for Athletes Class
Counselors’ Corner (January 24 - 28)
2022-2023 Course Selection:
Mrs. Brizzi and Mrs. Bouchelle will be meeting with current 6th grade students on February 16 through PE/Pre-Athletics and with current 7th grade students through Social Studies on February 18th to talk to them about course selections for the 2022-2023 school year. Course selection sheets will be shared with students on those dates and will be due back on February 28th.
8th Transition to High School:
Counselors from both high schools met with CMS 8th graders on Wednesday, Jan. 12th to discuss transitioning to high school and freshman elective options. Please watch this short video with your child to help them understand the elective selection process and review this Padlet which has links to videos and other resources that you will find helpful. Students were also given the forms linked below to assist them in course selection.
High school counselors will return to CMS on February 2nd to meet with students one-on-one. At that time, the GHS/CHHS Course Requests/ Alternate Electives form is due with a parent signature. Both forms are linked here. Students will not be scheduled for their freshman classes until both sides of this form are completed and returned.
22-23 Freshman Course Selection Sheet
GHS & CHHS Virtual Showcases:
Both high schools made the decision to move their events, Mustang Nation and Panther Showcase, online this year. You can access your future high school's Padlets here: GHS CHHS Both Padlets are full of information to help you learn about and plan for high school. Reminder- high school counselors will be back at CMS on February 2nd to meet with every 8th grader one-on-one and answer any remaining questions about course selection.
Panther Showcase
Panther Showcase, originally scheduled for in-person, will now be a virtual event via WebEx on the same night, January 24, 2022. To begin the evening, parents of incoming freshmen are invited to a parent meeting hosted by the CHHS counselors at 6:00 followed by choice breakout sessions at 6:30 and 7:00 and Q&A at 7:30. Details of the virtual event, including links to join the WebEx meetings, can be found here
David’s Law Guidance Lessons:
This week Ms. Dumas and Officer Beregszaszy spoke to our 8th graders about David’s Law and Bullying. Students learned the differences between bullying or peer conflict. For more information on bullying, please visit GCISD’s website here.
Play it Safe Parent Preview
The Play it Safe! Middle School Parent Preview was held virtually through Zoom on September 23rd at 10 a.m. and was recorded for parents to watch at their convenience--you can click HERE to view it.
For CMS campus-specific dates for the upcoming 6th and 7th grade Play It Safe presentations, please see the English Flyer or Spanish Flyer. If you do NOT want your child to participate, please fill out the linked form and send/bring to school with your child or email Sarah Dumas at sarah.dumas@gcisd.net BEFORE the presentation date to let us know that you would like to opt your child out. Otherwise, all students will participate in the program.
Our schedule for showing the Play It Safe Curriculum this year is as follows:
6th grade “Survivors of Abuse March 2, 2022
7th grade “Abuse of Power” February 9, 2021
Additional Resources:
Out Came the Sun: Helping Children as they Grieve https://cbcst.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CBCST-Grief-Booklet-051617-flipbook.pdf
Students Planning to Take Algebra I or Biology I Prior to 9th Grade
Please read this message if your student is planning to take Algebra I or Biology I while in middle school.
Students who successfully complete a STAAR EOC assessment prior to 9th grade must also take a corresponding subject area SAT (Algebra I only) or ACT (Algebra I and/or Biology I) while in high school. These national assessment results are included in the high school's federal participation requirements, as well as, the high school's state accountability rating calculations.
Currently, the SAT is offered at school with no charge to students once between the spring of the junior year and high school graduation. For students needing the ACT instead, a reimbursement option is planned. The funding is provided by House Bill 3 and the Texas Education Agency.
COVID-19 Testing Center Consent Forms
GCISD Performance
6th Grade: Determined to Succeed program
This year GCISD is continuing to use Determined to Succeed for the 6th graders.
Determined to Succeed focuses on “recognizing social/peer, technology,
and media related pressures”. The program briefly outlines the
problems of teen pregnancies and STDs, and then addresses the issues
of how to resist pressure to become sexually active. This includes
recognizing healthy relationships, sexual abuse, emotional hurts, and
resisting peer pressure (refusal skills), the media, and pornography.
ALL STUDENTS in 6th grade need to turn in a signed form with parent signature indicating whether or not their child may attend the program or not. Due to changes in State Law, a student must have a signed form with a parent's permission in order to attend the program.
There is a Parent Preview meeting for anyone interested thru WebEx
to hear about the curriculum on January 27, 2022.
Parent Preview will be on Webex
Thurs., Jan. 27 at 10AM-11AM or 6PM-7PM
Here is the parent preview info for the 27th:
10AM Meeting:
JOIN WEBEX MEETING https://gcisd.webex.com/gcisd/j.php?MTID=mf5109caecac1d942338d0a6ad8d9825d Meeting number (access code): 2622 387 1336 Meeting password: MAmcmPeF426 (62626733 from phones) TAP TO JOIN FROM A MOBILE DEVICE (ATTENDEES ONLY) +1-408-418-9388,,26223871336#62626733# tel:%2B1-408-418-9388,,*01*26223871336%2362626733%23*01* United States Toll Some mobile devices may ask attendees to enter a numeric password. JOIN BY PHONE +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
6PM Meeting info:
JOIN WEBEX MEETING https://gcisd.webex.com/gcisd/j.php?MTID=m444e940fb8918d4d436d10d339642f32 Meeting number (access code): 2621 757 7673 Meeting password: DmypzGAb523 (36979422 from phones) TAP TO JOIN FROM A MOBILE DEVICE (ATTENDEES ONLY) +1-408-418-9388,,26217577673#36979422# tel:%2B1-408-418-9388,,*01*26217577673%2336979422%23*01* United States Toll Some mobile devices may ask attendees to enter a numeric password. JOIN BY PHONE +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
In-Person presentation will be February 23
All students who wish to attend must return a signed form attached here. Attached you will find the form along with a version in Spanish.
'22-'23 - Cheer Tryouts
Yearbook
8th Grade Baby Pictures
8th grade parents, please send 1 baby photo of your child for the yearbook. Send to lindy.morris@gcisd.net or scan the QR code. Due date 1/21.
Basketball Schedules
8th Boys Basketball
7th Grade boys basketball
8th Grade girls basketball
7th Grade girls basketball
CMS Who To Contact Directory
Remembering 1999-2000 (Year 23 at CMS)
'99-'00 YEARBOOK COVER
Celebrating 45 Years
Looking back at 1999-2000
CMS LIFE IN '99-'00
Celebrating 45 Years
Looking back at 1999-2000
CMS LIFE IN '99-'00
Celebrating 45 Years
Looking back at 1999-2000