The CMS Scoop

Dear Chapa Middle School Families,

It's Homecoming Week at Chapa Middle School! 💙💚🐾

We have an exciting week ahead filled with dress-up days, Homecoming festivities, and opportunities to celebrate our Cougar Pride!

Academic Success Starts with Good Habits!

We continue to emphasize the importance of students taking ownership of their learning. We encourage all students to check their Student Self-Serve at least twice a week to monitor their grades and assignments. Students should pay particular attention to grades below 75, especially on unit checks, Curriculum-Based Assessments (CBAs), and other major assignments.

We also encourage students to check their school email regularly. This newsletter is sent directly to students, making it a great opportunity for them to develop the habit of checking and reading their email. Students can also email their teachers with questions about assignments, grades, or additional support. These are important skills that will serve them well throughout their educational journey.

Many of our students have now completed their first CBA. These assessments provide valuable information about how well students have mastered the content they have been taught. If your child is struggling with a particular concept or assignment, please encourage them to attend Academic Coaching. We want students to understand that asking for help is a strength, and taking advantage of additional support is part of being a successful student!

Important Reminder: Student IDs and Bus Transportation

We strongly encourage students who ride the bus to have a backup student ID in case their original ID is lost or forgotten.

Effective today, students must purchase replacement IDs before 1:00 p.m. Students who wait until after 1:00 p.m. will not be able to purchase a replacement ID for bus transportation that afternoon.

We have experienced an increasing number of students waiting until dismissal to purchase IDs, which creates challenges for our ISS Monitor and our end-of-day procedures. This new deadline will help us maintain a smoother and more efficient dismissal process. We appreciate your support in reminding your child to be responsible and prepared each day.

Upcoming Extended Weekend!

Our students have an extended weekend coming up! There will be no school Friday, October 30th, through Tuesday, November 3rd. Students will return to school on Wednesday, November 4th.

As always, we appreciate your continued partnership in helping our students succeed. Please encourage your child to give their best effort, work hard, ask for help when needed, and take pride in their learning. The habits they develop today will help prepare them for success tomorrow.

We are proud of our Cougars and look forward to a wonderful Homecoming week!

Chapa Middle School — The BEST Middle School in the Universe! 💙💚🐾

Upcoming Events

CMS PTA is hosting concessions at Lehman HS for our Homecoming game. If you can volunteer, please help. All the money raised goes to directly back to our students. In November, we will have our Fall Family Fun Night and Thanksgiving lunch. See below for more information.

Please continue to review all information regarding upcoming events, campus activities, and important reminders. We truly appreciate your partnership and support of Chapa Middle School.

If you need to meet with me, please contact my secretary, Cynthia Rangel, to schedule an appointment.

Thank you for helping us support our students and ensure they have a successful school year.

¡VAMOS!

Dr. Lisa I. Walls, Principal

Chapa Middle School

#goalsgrindgrowth

#crosstheline

#handlehardbetter

Code Word: #handlehardbetter

We are Chapa Middle School! We are Cougar Pride!

Athletic Events

Students are able to attend CMS athletic events at no charge; however, students who are not passing their classes will not be permitted to attend football or volleyball games. An administrator will be on duty and will verify student grades through Student Self-Serve. Students attending games are also expected to remain seated and watch the event. Students who are repeatedly walking around or not following expectations may be asked to leave.

Minga

Please review the additional information provided regarding Minga. We strongly encourage parents to download the app and log in using their child’s information. Minga provides valuable information regarding student behavior, consequences, hall passes, and other campus information. This is another helpful way for families to stay informed and connected.

Attendance

If your child is absent due to illness, please send all attendance documentation to mary.nunez@hayscisd.net. For attendance questions or concerns, you may also contact Ms. Nunez at 512-268-8500, ext. 4783.

Late Bus, Academic Coaching, and Clubs

We have officially started our late bus service, academic coaching, and after-school clubs.

Late bus transportation will be available Monday through Wednesday for students who are eligible for bus transportation. Students will remain on campus after school and will be transported to designated neighborhood “hubs” for drop-off. Please review the information below for specific hub locations and stops.

Free Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Sack Meals

We continue to encourage our students to take advantage of the meals available to them at school. Students have the opportunity to receive breakfast, lunch, and a dinner sack meal each school day.

We often remind students how expensive groceries can be and that taking advantage of these meals can help families while also making sure students have food available later in the day. Please encourage your child to eat breakfast and lunch at school and take home a dinner sack meal.

Immediately after the dismissal bell, students will follow our regular dismissal procedures and may pick up a dinner sack meal before leaving campus. Students must have their student ID available to scan, just as they do during lunch.

Students participating in academic coaching, tutoring, or clubs will be dismissed last and will pick up their dinner sack meal before reporting to their after-school activity.

We are excited to provide this additional support for our students and families.

Hays CISD Campuses Closed to Meal Delivery Services - As part of enhanced safety at campuses, all Hays CISD campuses do not accept deliveries from meal delivery services or restaurants for student lunches. Parents may still bring outside food for their children if they plan to deliver the meals directly to their children during the child’s designated lunch period. All guests are required to follow existing safety protocols and check in with an ID at the front office. We will make sure that you know when your child’s lunch is so that if you do come to campus, you come during lunchtime.

Academic coaching will begin on Tuesday, September 15th. Teachers will only be available one day after school. Because of the budget cuts our campus is paying for the after school bus and we only have enough funds for the bus to run Tuesday - Thursday. Below is a list of teachers and the days they stay late. Students can stay and receive extra help, receive a brown bag dinner and catch the bus at 5:15 p.m. as long as they are bus eligible. We encourage all students to stay to keep up with their work and ensure they are mastering content. This is the last week for this academic coaching schedule. We will post the new one for November 3rd next week.

Family Recipe for Success

Chapa Middle School aims to engage with our community year-round by giving back to organizations, not just at certain times. Our Family Nights will remain free, but we will ask for a cash or non-perishable donation to support the Armando Chapa Memorial Scholarship. Thank you in advance for supporting our community and showing our students the many ways our school can give back.

Dance & Open Gym: Friday, October 23, 2026, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. CMS Cougars are invited to go CRAZY and spend a few hours dancing, playing in an open gym, and eating delicious food from our concessions. IDs must be worn at the event and remain on for the entire time. Students must be picked up within 15 minutes of the end time, or they will not be allowed to participate in the next event. This event has a fee.

Fall Family Fun Time - Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The whole family is invited for an evening of fun activities, holiday crafts, and information for parents about online programs, tutorials, and ways to get involved at CMS! We will give away turkeys and hams for door prizes, so enjoy the fun! Healthy snacks will be provided. We will also discuss Title I information. Cash donation/non-perishable item donation

Thanksgiving Lunch - Friday, November 20, 2026. CMS students and their families can purchase a special Thanksgiving meal. We will serve turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. We will reserve a special area on stage for you to eat together.

Hays CISD will have trained crossing guards at the location indicated in yellow. The area will be staffed during these hours:

• 6:45 a.m. - 8:10 a.m. and 3:10 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Please have your student cross only during these times to ensure their safety. Our goal is to staff this area to coincide with the school zone signage. These times coincide with the bell schedules of Chapa Middle School and Science Hall Elementary to provide adequate coverage. We need all students to cross with our crossing guard.

In the morning, please do NOT park along the curb as this is just to drop off your child. In order to keep traffic flowing, please use the curb side to drop off and leave. Please also move forward so that as many cars can get in line as possible.

We also want to introduce the new software that we are using this year to manage some things here at Chapa and to communicate to parents. This new program is called Minga. Please click on the attached link to get an introduction to Minga. Minga Family Guide Introduction This year, we will only be using Minga for Hall Passes, Tardies, Consequences/Progressive Discipline for classroom and common areas, and point system for positive behavior. Minga will communicate to parents via email to report progressive discipline for their student. Minga is set up to allow 2 restroom passes a day, along with another general pass for the campus. Students also have the opportunity for restroom visits at lunch and between classes. That is a total of 8 opportunities, plus a 9th opportunity during lunch, for a restroom visit. Along with the restroom passes, Minga will also track progressive discipline and will automatically re-set consequences to zero after each Cougar Time, which is about 3 times a semester.

See the video below as well as directions for how to access SMART Tag.

Please take a look at our teacher wish lists and purchase something to help them out.

We appreciate you!

Email: lisa.walls@hayscisd.net
Website: www.hayscisd.net/
Location: 3311 Dacy Lane, Kyle, TX, United States
Phone: (512) 268-8500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChapaMS/