CHS Newsletter

Bobcat Nation,

This week has been a wonderful example of the incredible talent and dedication of our students across so many areas. From our students competing in FFA events and representing our school at the DECA District Competition, to our athletes giving their all in basketball and soccer, we are so proud of the way they continue to shine both in competition and in character.

We are also excited as softball and baseball seasons officially get underway—best of luck to our teams as they begin their schedules. A special congratulations goes to our cheerleaders, our 4 time (3peat) state champions. Your hard work, discipline, and school spirit represent us so well, and we are so proud of you all! Thank you to our families and staff who support our students and help make these opportunities possible.

Please remember that there will be no school on Monday. We hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and comes back ready for another great week.

For Kids,

John

Celina High School Cheer has done it again by claiming their third consecutive State Championship! This incredible achievement also marks four State Championships in the last five years for our cheer program and the 36th State Championship across all competitions in Celina High School history.

The power, precision, and undeniable energy of this performance were nothing short of extraordinary. Every stunt, motion, and cheer reflected the unwavering commitment, trust, and work ethic of this remarkable team. Their success is a true testament to the culture of excellence driven by talent, unity, and relentless effort.

Congratulations to Coach Hall, Coach Hogan, and our phenomenal Cheerleaders on this historic accomplishment. Bobcat Nation is proud beyond words!

We are very proud of all of our swimmers that competed in the District Swim Meet. Most of our team was fairly new to swimming, and almost everyone, if not all, swam a personal best.

Reagan Hix was named the girl swimmer of the meet.

Grace Waldschmidt was named the girl diver of the meet.

Akshat Pandey was named the boy swimmer of the meet.

Reagan got first in the 200 Free and the 500 Free.

Akshat got first in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly.

Grace placed first in girls' diving.

Allison Castanon advanced to the regional meet in the 100 back.

Daniel Kuznietsov advanced to the regional meet in the 500 Free and the 100 Fly.

Ahmed Ayub advanced to the regional meet in the 100 fly.

Both the boys' 200 Medley Relay and the 200 Free Relay advanced to the regional meet.

The boys' team placed third overall.

Tryouts for Las Gatitas are just around the corner! Don't miss your chance to be part of a legacy. There is a mandatory parent interest meeting on February 17, 6:00 pm in the CHS Cafeteria. A parent or guardian must attend this meeting for the candidate to be eligible for tryouts. We’ll cover important details regarding costs, schedules, and expectations.

CHS ASVAB Sign up - due January 30th

Are you interested in learning more about your skills and interests? Would you like to find out more about what you might want to do after high school?

Before choosing a career, it is helpful to spend some time finding out about yourself. Whether you are planning to go to college, a vocational school, or the military, or you're just not sure what you want to do yet, the ASVAB can provide you with great information to help you get on the right path toward a satisfying career.

If you are interested in taking the ASVAB on February 3rd, sign up using the link below or use the QR code on the flyer. Flyers are in the counseling office with Ms Windon. You must be logged into your school google account to fill out the form. Check your email for important instructions the week before the test.

*Must be in grades 10, 11 or 12 to sign up.

📣 Student Section Energy Calling all Bobcats 🐾📣 Theme night + basketball = electric atmosphere Girls & Boys tipping off at 🕔 5:00 | 🕡 6:15 | 🕢 7:30 Pack the stands. Rep the theme. Protect the Den 🔥

Our CHS Student Council took on Project Valentine for Cheyanna's Champions 4 Children. We selected 7 kids between age 11 and 14 that have rare medical conditions and made handmade Valentine's Cards for them to brighten their Valentine's Day.

This past week, Mind4Youth has collectively worked with its members to arrange cards making sessions! They were able to collect 147 cards in total! Thank you to everyone who has made time and contributed creatively to such a meaningful cause. The cards will be donated to local hospitals very soon. Mind4Youth is so proud to be a part of such an amazing community!

1/30 will be your LAST CHANCE to buy your yearbook on sale. Don't miss out on this opportunity to buy your yearbook!!!!

The deadline for senior and business ads is February 1st! The link will close after the deadline!!!

Click the link below to order from our Baseball team shop!

Volunteer, Accredited Speech & Debate Judges Needed! Must be 18 years of age or older. Let's help our Speech & Debate students argue their way to victory. Sign up now! Let's not lose this round! Thanks for your support of Speech & Debate

Debate T Shirts NOW on sale through Hometown App.

Inspirit AI is a 25-hour live online program taught by Stanford and MIT graduate students that introduces students to foundational artificial intelligence concepts by building impactful projects such as Safe autonomous vehicle navigation. Spring applications are due by January 31st.

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.

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