Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are thrilled to welcome you to a new school year at THE Charles E. Patterson Middle School! Whether this is your student’s first year with us or they are a returning scholar, we want to express our gratitude for your partnership and support during the upcoming year.

Middle school is a time of exploration and growth for your student. We are committed to providing a positive environment where our students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Our dedicated teachers and paraprofessionals have been collaborating to plan engaging lessons and activities for our students.

It is a tradition here at CPMS to have a theme every year, and this year’s theme is "Make It Count." This theme reflects our commitment to making the most of every moment that we have with our students. “Make It Count” encourages students to engage fully in their education, take responsibility for their choices, and strive for personal growth. We want our middle schoolers to understand the importance of their actions and decisions, not just in academics, but in their relationships and extracurricular activities as well.

We will be exploring this theme and all of our Cavalier values during our advisory period, which is called Cav Connection. This theme aligns with our values in many ways. We will encourage students to be leaders and embrace challenges, to put in extra effort where needed, to be resilient and learn from mistakes, and to celebrate their achievements (academic and extracurricular), no matter how small. Our mission and values are at the core of who we are as a school and it’s important to us that you know about them. We have included them in the newsletter below.

The staff at Charles E. Patterson Middle School is excited and ready to welcome our students back to our building! Throughout the year, we encourage you to stay involved and engaged in our school community. Whether it’s attending parent night events, joining our PTA, or volunteering for school events, your participation makes a significant difference in your student’s experience and helps us make it count for all students. If you have any questions along the way, please feel free to reach out to us at any time!

Have a Cav-tastic week!

Christina Harris

Morning - 6th Grade Students

• Doors open at 7:30 AM
• Orange stars (see map below) - All 6th grade students will enter the building either through the front entrance or the left side entrance
• 6th grade students will head to the cafeteria
• Students may get breakfast and their official schedule*
• First period teachers will be present in the cafeteria to welcome students and help them get situated prior to taking them to 1st period

Morning - 7th & 8th Grade Students

• Doors open at 7:30 AM
• Orange star (see map below) - All 7th and 8th grade students will enter the building eitherthrough the front entrance or the left side entrance
• Students who want breakfast will be directed to the cafeteria
• All 7th and 8th grade students will pick up official schedules* in the gym
• 7th and 8th grade students will head to their 1st period class immediately after picking up their schedules

After School - All Students

• The last bell rings at 3:30 PM
• Walkers and car riders will exit the building first
• Bus riders will remain in their 9th period classroom until their bus number is announced
• Bus Transportation will pick students up behind the building
• Car Riders will wait for parents along the sidewalk in front of the school

*Schedules might have changed since Readiness Days, so students will need to pick up a new schedule on Wednesday.

Cavalier families should be able to access your student's schedule in Home Access Center (HAC) this week. HAC is a valuable resource and is one way that teachers communicate your student's progress throughout the year (see attachment below for information about HAC). If you need assistance with it, please reach out to our parent liaison, Twila Hill (twila.hill@killeenisd.org).

I have attached a copy of our Parent/Student Handbook below as well. Please take some time to read through it and talk with your student about it as well.

Wednesday, August 14th –

1st day of school!

Thursday, August 15th –

Volleyball Tryouts 7th Grade (6:00AM-7:15AM)

Volleyball Tryouts 8th Grade (3:45PM-5:30PM)

Friday, August 16th –

Volleyball Tryouts 7th Grade (6:00AM-7:15AM)

Volleyball Tryouts 8th Grade (3:45PM-5:30PM)

Bus Route information was made available to parents/guardians via Home Access Center last week for those who are eligible and requested transportation.

Expect transportation delays the first few days of the school year. However, Killeen ISD provides the Edulog Parent Portal Lite smartphone app to help you receive information about your student's bus ride. The app allows you to see real-time information about the location of your student's bus and will alert you when the bus is getting close to the bus stop.

Please notice the drop off and pick up areas for cars at CPMS. For the safety of our students, please do not drop off in the bus loop.

Parents/Guardians should only be driving in the yellow area indicated on the map.

The red area is for buses only. Parents who enter the red area are putting students and staff at risk as there is limited visibility when buses are present.

We will talk with students about the Student Code of Conduct during CAV Connection on Monday, August 19th. They will watch the video linked below in order to ensure they know what the expectations are. We will be asking them to talk with you about the video as well. We believe that knowledge is power--knowing and understanding the rules helps them to be more successful.

Electronic Devices and Pouches – Secondary students will maintain their phone, and all communication devices, in a locked pouch during the school day.

E-cigarettes/Cigarettes

1st Offense Violation:

Students will be assigned one day of ISS and one day of Saturday School. Secondary Students will attend at their home campuses (the curriculum will be provided for all students who attend for cigarette/e-cigarette violations).

If the student fails to attend ISS, Saturday Detention and/or complete the lessons, a due process hearing will be held with a recommendation for DAEP placement for 10 days. Students will be allowed one make up opportunity to complete Saturday Detention.

2nd Offense Violation:

A due process hearing will be held with a recommendation for DAEP placement for 20 days.

Consequences for School Bus Violations:

For school bus safety violations, and for serious violations, as defined in this document, that happen on the bus, the 3rd bus offense shall invoke at least a temporary removal (possibly a permanent removal), and the 4th offense will invoke a bus suspension for the rest of the school year. For students attending a DAEP, the 2nd bus offense will result in permanent bus suspension for the time the student is placed in DAEP; any flagrant bus offense prior to the 2nd violation may result in immediate bus suspension. Students who fight on the bus will be suspended for three days. If after a thorough investigation, fighting is confirmed, then the students involved will be removed from the bus for 30 school days. Under severe circumstances the Director for Transportation Services reserves the right to implement temporary or permanent bus suspension at a date earlier than prescribed by this regulation.

Click below to view the 2024-2025 KISD Student Handbook and the 2024-2025 KISD Student Code of Conduct.

I highly recommend that you review these handbooks with your student prior to the first day of school.

All students will receive free breakfast!

Families must apply for free or reduced lunch.

Click the photo below to complete your application. Lunch will be $3.00 for secondary students.

Welcome to CAV Nation—where we are Cavalier Strong, there are No Excuses and we are Relentless because our future is Limitless. We will Rise above all challenges and Reach our goals because that's the Cavalier Way! We will strive every day to Do Better and Be Better in order to help our students find Success--Nothing Less. Through our actions and our words, we will Make It Count every day!