CHS Newsletter

Bobcat Nation,

What an exciting week it has been at Celina High School! Our students showed up with incredible energy and spirit at our Friday early morning pep rally, as WFAA featured us as their Game of the Week. We are so proud of the way our Bobcats represented our school and community so early in the morning—truly a testament to their pride and dedication.

We have started pulling students for tutoring during CATs time. Please make sure your student is checking their email regularly and communicating with their teachers as needed. This is a great opportunity for students to receive extra support, ask questions, and strengthen their learning. Thank you for encouraging your student to take advantage of these opportunities as we continue to focus on their growth and success.

Looking ahead, next week will bring our Western-themed pep rally on Thursday due to students enjoying a well-deserved day off on Friday. As always, thank you for your continued support of our students, staff, and programs. We are blessed to have such a strong school community.

For Kids,

John

Each week, you will find the Athletics Calendar here and you can click on it to see what is going on for the week. We will advertise for other events in Academics, CTE, and Fine Arts.

• Our Varsity Football team took on Gunter at Melissa on Friday and brought home a 43-19 win.
• Our Varsity Volleyball team won their District opening match on Tuesday versus Lake Dallas 3-0. Join us in Van Alstyne this Tuesday to support them in District play!
• Our Cross Country team did not run this weekend, but they will run Friday in the McNeil Invitational at Old Settlers Park.
• Our Varsity Tennis team takes on Panther Creek at home this Tuesday. Come support them at the MMS Tennis Courts.

Photos by Ben (10) and Luke (12) Rothenbach

Photos by Ryder Phillips (12)

NMSC is proud to announce the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit® Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. To compete for National Merit Scholarships, Semifinalists must advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several additional requirements. A Semifinalist can become a Finalist and compete for a Merit Scholarship award in only one program year. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

G' 2024 PSAT/NMSQT qualified him as a National Merit Semifinalist! We are so proud of you!

Personal piece by Sophomore Journalism student Liv Higgins

Avery is a Senior Las Gatita. She is also a social committee officer in both Student Council and DECA, and Senior Class Co-Vice President. Her hobbies include dancing, reading, travelling, hiking, and being involved in her church. Avery has been to every continent except Australia; she’s been to 38 different states, and her dream is to visit every national park. Her most embarrassing moment was in her sophomore year when she fell down the stairs in front of the whole cafeteria. She has lived in Celina her whole life and hopes to attend the University of Tennessee and major in Sports Journalism. Avery says her mother shaped her to be who she is today, being joyful and happy and her good intentions. As amazing and wonderful of a mother she is, she aspires to be like her.

“God is my one true savior, my Father, and my one true goal is to glorify Him through everything I do.”

Journalism student Maggie Heggman (10) interviewed Senior FFA President, Ainsley Caughron.

Q: What is FFA?

A: A student organization where you have the opportunity to grow in leadership and prepare for a wide variety of careers.

Q: Why would someone want to join?

A: Anyone in an Ag class can become involved. If they want to show animals or participate in leadership development or career events, the FFA program truly offers opportunities for everyone even those that aren't necessarily thinking about a career in agriculture.

Q: How can they join FFA?

A: By joining one of our Ag classes, including: animal science, Ag mechanics, or floral pathways. They can also ask our Ag teachers or officers about teams to get involved in.

Q: What is your favorite memory in FFA?

A: Showing my pigs throughout the years and late night and early mornings at shows. I have loved traveling to competitions and having fun with my fellow FFA members and Ag teachers!

Q: What makes our program different than other schools'?

A: Our Ag teachers who care about us, not only as FFA members, but also as people and how our community always uplifts each of our members to be their best.

Please enjoy this Fall guide created by Junior Journalism student, Maya Moreles! Click the link, and you'll find plenty of Fall inspiration and cozy feels.

BIG NEWS Bobcat Nation! The *OFFICIAL* 2025 community HOCO shirt is here! This shirt is for every student, alum, and fan of the Bobcat community. Grab yours early to support our Bobcats because THIS is THE shirt for homecoming! All money raised goes back to the high school PTA.

Our 2025-2026 yearbooks are on sale now! https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A08128000

For entry into CISD events, we are using the HomeTown app to make it easy to purchase tickets. You can scan the QR code below to download the app.

Thank you for taking time to read some of the ways in which we connect and grow in order to Love Kids and Drive Rigor.

For Kids,

John

Join us for the 2025-2026 Lunch n Learn Series! Brittany Cortez is a College and Career Counselor from Collin College and will cover a variety of college related topics throughout the year. The sessions will start at 12pm via Zoom. No sign up is required, just grab your lunch and click on the Zoom link in the flyer. Each of these topics will also be offered to all students to attend throughout the school year.

Helping Hands of Celina

Community Action Team (CATS)

Our CATS is our parent organization that helps to support all 1500 students and 135 staff throughout the year with bake sales, selling the official Homecoming t-shirt, and providing goodies/luncheons for our staff. Please join to add a layer of support for our kids and our staff. You can join through your School Cafe account and look for CATS (HS PTO) Membership '25-'26.

If you do not have a School Cafe account, you can click here to set up one and this will allow you to join CATS, purchase the official Homecoming t-shirt designed and sold by our CATS, set up a lunch account, and order other items like paying for parking spots and dues for various classes.

School Lunch

Free and reduced lunch applications can be found in the following link: https://www.schoolcafe.com/CELINAISD The grace period will end September 26, 2025, so please take time to complete your application.

For our new families, you can create school cafe account using the link above, you can send money with your child, or you can have your child bring their lunch. In School Cafe, you can monitor your child's account and place restrictions on their meal accounts if you would like to do so (e.g., your child can only buy one ice cream).

For those who were in Celina ISD last year, any balance that you have in School Cafe rolls over from the previous school year. Please add funds to your account before the first day of school.

GPA Update beginning for Class of 2026

Please click this link for the GPA update for the Class of 2026.

GPA Update beginning for Class of 2029

Please click this link for the GPA update for the Class of 2029.

2025-2026 Attendance Goal = 98%

We achieved 95.1% attendance last year so 98% is a very bold and ambitious goal! Furthermore, the more students are here, the more connections and positive relationships that they have, and the more that they learn!

Attendance-Truancy Tribunal

Chapter 25 of the Texas Education Code details the attendance requirements for students in Texas. Students must be in attendance for 90% of their class in order to receive credit for the class (remember that our goal is 98%). In addition, there is language in this code that directs schools/school districts to take action when a student accumulates a certain number of unexcused absences (including tardies - 3 tardies = an unexcused absence) and this includes filing truancy charges on the parent. Celina ISD wants to partner with our parents in order to prevent truancy charges from being filed. Therefore, when a student accumulates 7 unexcused absences/tardies, we will send a summons to the parent and student to attend a Truancy Tribunal Hearing in order to develop a plan to improve the attendance of the student. The Truancy Tribunal process has proven to decrease unexcused absences, decrease failed classes, and decrease discipline incidents of students. We are proud to implement the Truancy Tribunal Hearings and we know that this will benefit our kids and our families. If you have questions about the Truancy Tribunal process, please reach out to me via email or phone call at the information in my signature

Student Code of Conduct

At CHS, we start with the knowledge that we have the best students and parents on the planet! As such, we hold the highest standards for our kids because we know that they will live up to these standards. Likewise, we hold ourselves the to the highest standards to support our kids and our parents. We want to make sure that you have all of the information needed regarding our dress code and the passage of the new "cell phone ban" HB 1481. The dress code and standards of conduct are contained in the link above. The dress code is addressed on pp. 58-59 so please take a moment to familiarize yourself with CISD standards of dress and decorum.

HB1481 Device Ban

The major change for this year is the passage of HB 1481 that prohibits personal communication devices. Celina High School will strictly enforce this law/policy between 8:45-4:10. Prior to 8:45, students should turn off and put any prohibited devices in their backpack. This will prevent any prohibited devices from being seen or heard and will allow students to form relationships with other students and teachers and focus on learning. If you need to contact your child, you can send a message to their school email account and if there is an emergency, you can contact our front desk and we will assist in getting the message to your child(ren).

Although HB 1481 does not go into effect until September 1, 2025, CISD has chosen to implement this law beginning Wednesday, August 13, 2025. Our staff will continue to only use their personal devices for professional use only during the work day and because we receive emergency notifications and we send emergency notifications through our personal devices.

Prohibited personal communication devices include, but are not limited to:

• Smartphones
  

• Laptops and tablets
  

• Smartwatches
  

• Earbuds and earphones
  

• Smart eyeglasses

• Portable gaming devices

Contact Information for Administrators and Counselors

Administrators

• Dr. John M. Burdett (Principal) - johnburdett@celinaisd.com
• Kristy Carr (Student last names A-Gan) - kristycarr@celinaisd.com
• Greg Sherwood-(Student last names Gar-N) - gregsherwood@celinaisd.com
• Dr. Adam Washburn (Student last names O-Z) - adamwashburn@celinaisd.com

Counselors

• Carrie Crane (Student last names A-Gan) carriecrane@celinaisd.com
• Denise Moore (Student last names Gar-N) denisemoore@celinaisd.com
• Karen Pelkey (Student last names O-Z) karenpelkey@celinaisd.com