Colt Corner
Colleyville Middle School
February 24, 2023
Colts,
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to celebrate our Teacher and Paraprofessional of the Year. Mr. Thomason and Mrs. Barber are exceptional educators, chosen by their colleagues, as our Colleyville Middle School representatives for this school year. These two educators are great examples of individuals that find ways to connect with our Colts, beyond their regular duties, contributing to our overall positive environment at CMS.
This week, our Fine Arts team was on the move, offering students opportunities to shine. The Honors band traveled to Texas Christian University (TCU) to record for their national performance submission. Our theater students had auditions and callbacks for the spring show The Audition and our students in choir will be performing at the UIL Concert tonight at Grapevine High School.
In athletics, the Tennis and Track & Field teams began their competitive seasons. The tennis team came away with a clean sweep in their first match.
Finally, let me take this opportunity to wish the STARS Dance team good luck as they compete tomorrow at the MA North Texas Regional Dance Competition.
We have so many talented Colts and we look forward to watching all of them represent our school through their various performances. Enjoy the 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
February 24 -25 - CMS Dance - MA North Texas Regional Dance Competition
February 24 - All Choirs - UIL concert - Grapevine High School - 7:00pm - 8:30pm
February 28 - 8th Grade Panoramic Picture Day during Colt Time
March 2 - Track Meet - CTMS - 4:00pm
March 4 - CMS Band 5th Grade Instrument Placement Interviews
March 6 & 7 - CMS Dance Tryouts - CMS South Gym - 3:45 - 5:30pm
March 8 - PTA ShoutOuts during lunches
March 7 - Track Meet - Central Junior High - 4:00pm
March 8 - CMS Dance Tryouts - CMS South Gym - 3:45 - 8:00pm
March 10 - Staff vs. Student Basketball Game!
March 13 - 17 - Spring Break
In this Edition of the Colt Corner
* Chromebooks
* Upcoming STAAR Interim Assessments at CMS
* Upcoming CMS Grading Deadlines
* Understanding Attendance
* March 10th (Friday before Spring Break)
* PTA - Student Shoutouts - Purchase your student shoutouts today!
* PTA Fundraising - Shoes, Clothing, and more Bin
Counselors Corner
* 6th & 7th Grade Course Selection for 2023-2024 school year
* Preferred Participation Consent for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention
* DNA Kits
* Additional Resources
Repeated Information
* GCISD Update February 22, 2023
* Upcoming STAAR Interim Assessments at CMS
* CMS Dance Tryout Information
* Math Telescoping Exams
PTA News
* PTA Interest Form
* PTA Hospitality
* PTA Birthday Shoutouts
* Colleyville Middle School Directory - Who To Contact
CMS Social Media Section
* CMS Portrait of a Graduate Video
* CMS on Twitter - @cmscolts
* CMS on Facebook
* CMS on Instagram
Chromebooks
Upcoming STAAR Interim Assessments at CMS
On February 28th and March 1st, students will take their math and reading interim assessments; this is the altered bell schedule for those days.
Please block these important dates on your calendars and help us plan for students to be at school these dates instead of out for appointments, etc. if at all possible. Specifically on February 28th and March 1st, CMS will be a closed campus, so parents should plan not to make deliveries for lunch, etc.
Upcoming CMS Grading Deadlines
Understanding Attendance
Your child's attendance is important and can affect their performance in school. Understanding the difference between what makes an absence excused or unexcused can be confusing. The district explanation for the attendance laws can be found in the GCISD Student/Parent handbook on pages 37-42.
Per the Student/Parent handbook, an absence will be excused for the following reasons:
Religious holy days
Required court appearances
Activities related to obtaining US citizenship
Documented health-care appointments - a note from the health care provider must be submitted upon the student’s return to campus
Absences resulting from a serious or life-threatening illness with certification by a physician
Students in custody of the state who have an activity required by a court-ordered service plan
If a student is absent from school for any other reason, it is considered an unexcused absence. When a student has 3 or more unexcused absences, the school will send a note to the parent letting them know and allowing for the parent to provide any notes that would then make the absence excused.
According to Texas mandatory attendance laws, students must be in attendance 90 percent of the time in order to receive credit for each class. Students who have absences, excused or unexcused, in excess of 10% for all or part of a day must complete a seat time plan to recover credit.
March 10th Activities
We also have fun events planned prior to our Spring bad weather days (April 6th), including our annual Color Run. Your Colts won't want to miss this fun event.
We need all of our Colts in attendance on these important days!
Annual Staff vs. Student BBALL day! - Friday, March 10th
PTA - Student Shoutouts!
PTA Fundraising - Shoes, Clothing, and more Donation Bin
Counselors’ Corner - February 27 - March 3
6th & 7th Grade Course Selection for the 2023-2024 school year:
CMS Counselors met with current 6th grade and 7th grade students this week to talk to them about course selections for the 23-24 school year. Both grade levels now have access to Google Forms corresponding to courses offered in their grade levels to request courses and alternate elective choices for the 23-24 school year. Course requests for both grade levels need to be submitted through the Google Form linked below that corresponds to the grade level of your student for the 2023-2024 school year and will be due by midnight on Monday, March 6th.
The blue (for current 6th graders) or green (for current 7th graders) course selection sheets that were sent home with students do not need to be returned. They are only provided as a resource to help you with the course selection process. Your Google Form responses will serve as your student’s official course requests and will be used for scheduling purposes.
The Google Forms linked below can also be found in Canvas announcements. Please use your student’s school issued Chromebook to access the Google Forms as they are only available to GCISD students and please assist your student in course selection as the Google Forms do require an e-signature from a parent.
7th Grade Course Selection Google Form (for current 6th grade students)
8th Grade Course Selection Google Form (for current 7th grade students)
6th Grade Guidance Lesson: Conflict Resolution
March 20th and March 21st
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
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.
Please complete the following Play it Safe form and return to your campus Counselor prior to the date of the lesson!
6th and 7th grade students were also provided with a hard copy form which can be returned to Ms. Dumas (advocate counselor). There is a recording of the parent preview located on the CMS counseling webpage.
DNA Kits:
In compliance with Texas S.B. 2158, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD offers parents and legal guardians inkless fingerprint and DNA kits for their children upon request. This kit is designed to “help locate and return a missing or trafficked child,” according to S.B. 2158.
Parents and legal guardians may request these kits through the front office at your child's campus.
Additional Resources:
National Institute of Mental Health
In the GCISD Update - Past Edition
16 Seniors Named National Merit Finalists
GHS Wrestler Wins State Championship
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Teacher Honored with State Award
Meet Star of GCISD Juana White
And More!
CMS Dance
Tryout packets & Info.
Math Telescoping Testing
Testing opportunities for telescoping in Math for the 2023-2024 school year are available in the summer for GCISD students who are completing Grades K-7.
The Parent Information Packet will be available on the District website under the Parents tab by selecting the link for Acceleration Exams/Math Telescoping, Grades K-7.
The packet will contain the registration form. Payment is made online following the submission of the form.
Parents will also be able to view the TEKS on the TEA website, and download Study Guides for the exams purchased from University of Texas at Austin, UT High School.
Registration for the June exam administration is March 20-30, 2023.
Registration for the July exam administration is June 2-20, 2023.
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Las oportunidades de exámenes para “telescoping”(*El término 'Telescoping' se refiere a un proceso por el cual un estudiante puede avanzar en matemáticas más allá de su nivel del grado inscrito.) en matemáticas para el año escolar 2023-2024 están disponibles en el verano para los estudiantes de GCISD que están completando los grados K-7.
El paquete de información para padres estará disponible en el sitio web del distrito en la página de los Padres seleccionando el enlace para Exámenes de aceleración/Telescoping de matemáticas, grados K-7.
El paquete tendrá el formulario de registro. El pago se realiza en línea después del envío del formulario.
Los padres también podrán ver los TEKS en el sitio web de TEA y descargar guías de estudio para los exámenes comprados en la escuela secundaria de la Universidad de Texas en Austin, UT.
La inscripción para la administración del examen de junio es desde el 20 al 30 de marzo del 2023.
La inscripción para la administración del examen de julio es desde el 2 al 20 de junio del 2023.
PTA HOSPITALITY
We wanted to share more opportunities this year for parents to express their love for our teachers and staff through sharing their own special talents or donating items for teachers to enjoy.
We will be having a staff appreciation day every month and have listed dates with items we invite you to make or donate (you are welcome to purchase your favorites if cooking/baking is not your thing). All donated items will be labeled with your family name or child's name so that the teachers will know you sent your love. Below is our scheduled list of events we have lined up for the teachers this year.
Thank you in advance for your help. Please feel free to contact me at (617)957-9665 or vp_hospitality@cmscoltspta.org if you have any questions or any ideas you would like to share.
Annie Dries, VP of Hospitality
Julie Sullins, VP of Hospitality Assistant
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10c0f4fa5af2ca7f4c70-teacher
PTA Birthday Shoutouts
Birthday Marquee Messages are now available!! $15 per message, and we are requesting a 2-week lead time.
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.