The Wolf Weekly

Wonderful Wolf Families,

The time between Thanksgiving and the end of the semester are always busy and full of learning and fun! See the Upcoming Dates section for dress up days for the pack. Thank you for reading our newsletter to find out about all the happenings through the next two weeks as we put a bow on the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year.

The pack is engaged in two ways to give back this holiday season:

1. NJHS Holiday Toy Drive benefiting Santa Cops & GRACE
2. Basketball Toy Drive benefiting GRACE

Continue reading this newsletter to see the flyers for more information.

Have a wonderful week!

Howl,

Jamie Halliburton

CTMS Principal

CTMS Cheer and Silver Dancers participated in the Grapevine Parade of Lights on Thursday night! They represented the pack well while bringing holiday spirit to the crowds adorning Main Street!

We are THRILLED to introduce Lache Nealy as our new Attendance Clerk! Lache has been an instructional para with us since last year and is working on her teaching certification. We are excited to have her in this role in our Wolfpack. For all attendance issues, please make sure you are emailing lache.nealy@gcisd.net.

Each day, in every class period, we take attendance. We know and understand that our wolves will be off campus for a variety of reasons, excused and unexcused. CTMS will communicate with parents and guardians when wolves miss school. After three missed days, Skyward will generate an automated email to alert to parents/guardians. After five days, counselors from CTMS will reach out so you're up to date on how many days your wolf has missed. We love it when our wolves are in class and truly miss them when they're gone! Thank you for being aware of your wolf's attendance!

The last meeting of the semester will take place Monday 12/9 in Ms. Billman's room. You may attend either at 7:45 or 3:35. It is important to bring your updated Volunteer Hours Tracker paper so you can submit your hours from the fall semester and pick up your new form for the spring.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Planning on attending the CTMS basketball game on Monday night? Bring a new, unwrapped toy for free admittance. All toys will be donated to the GRACE Christmas Cottage.

GCISD is partnering with Recovery Resource Council to bring Drug and Alcohol prevention curriculum to middle school students during the 2024-25 Spring semester. As approved by the GCISD Student Health Advisory Committee, sixth graders will receive eight lessons using the Positive Action curriculum during PE/Pre-Athletics, and seventh and eighth graders will each receive one Drug & Alcohol Prevention lesson. All students will participate in this program unless a Parent Opt Out is received. If you need a paper copy of this, please contact your Student Advocate. We will be providing a virtual Parent Preview via Zoom link on Dec. 11th at 10:00 AM. (Meeting ID: 883 4600 2092) Please see the flyer below with more details. If you have any questions/concerns, you can reach out to Allyiah Daniels at allyiah.daniels@gcisd.net or 817-251-5323.

CTMS Dates (these are subject to change)

• 6th Grade - 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/20, 2/25

• 7th Grade - 1/13

• 8th Grade - 1/15

As we approach the end of the semester, we would like to inform you about the upcoming mid-year assessments for GCISD middle schools. These assessments are a crucial part of gauging our wolves' progress and ensuring they meet the educational standards set by the district.

This semester, the mid-year assessments will include:

1. District Assessments (TEKS Checks): These assessments will cover the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to ensure students are meeting the required learning objectives.

2. Algebra District Assessment: A comprehensive exam to evaluate students' understanding and proficiency in Algebra.

3. Biology District Assessment: An in-depth assessment focusing on key concepts and knowledge in Biology.

4. In addition, high school courses will have semester exams that may include hands-on projects, written assessments, or group projects.

All mid-year assessments and semester exams will be given in a two week window from December 9-20, 2024. We encourage you to support your children in their preparation for these assessments by ensuring they have a quiet place to study, a consistent study schedule, and all the necessary materials. Additionally, please remind your children to get plenty of rest and maintain a healthy diet during this period.

We are unable to give district assessments early. If your wolf is absent for any exams, they will have an opportunity to take them on January 7, 2025. Please contact your wolf's school counselor if this applies to your wolf, and they will get them scheduled to make up their tests on January 7.

This year, we will be following our traditional schedule for assessments. This will keep routines in place as we close out the semester.

If you have any questions or need further information about the exams, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or the school administration.

CTMS will reset dress code expectations upon our return in January. During the first semester, we primarily provided warnings, reminders, and opportunities for wolves to self-correct. Moving forward, CTMS will adhere to GCISD's established dress code guidelines and apply appropriate consequences for non-compliance. We ask families to partner with us in ensuring wolves follow the dress code to minimize disruptions to the school day and maintain a focus on learning.

Our most common infraction during the first semester was inappropriate length of shorts and IDs. As a reminder of expectations the GCISD Dress Code is linked below.

GCISD Dress Code

Any infraction addressed will be documented in Skyward using the following parameters:

● First infraction: Warning, wolf makes a change to meet dress code standards, and then may return to class.

● Second infraction: Consequence given (detention or similar), wolf makes a change to meet dress code standards, and then may return to class.

● Third infraction: Consequence given (1 day of ISS), wolf makes a change to meet dress code standards, and then may return to class.

● Subsequent infractions may be addressed as persistent misbehavior pursuant to the GCISD Student Code of Conduct.

CTMS PTA Spirit Shop is OPEN! Check out the available items HERE.

Don't forget to purchase a Candy Cane Gram with a specialized message and yummy treat for your favorite student(s) and teacher(s)! Sold online HERE until the 13th and in person in the cafeteria the 9th, 10th, and 11th.

Candy Cane Grams will be delivered on the 20th.

Get your early bird tickets for sixth grade cotillion! Early bird tickets are $55 from now until December 15. After that day, ticket prices go up to $75. For more information and to register, visit: https://www.ctmspta.org/cotillion

Cotillion is a sixth grade only event focused on fun, etiquette, and dancing.

• January 17: Hip Hop
• January 24: Western
• January 31: Disco
• February 7: Winter Wonderland

Your kind words of encouragement truly uplift our teachers and staff! If you have a positive experience to share, we’d love to hear about it! Use this form to leave a shout out for our amazing wolf staff!

Click here for the official district calendar for the 2024-2025 school year

• December 9-11 ~ In person Candy Gram sales during lunch (see above)

• December 12 ~ Girls basketball games at CTMS

• December 15 ~ End of early bird pricing for cotillion (see above)

• December 20 ~ Pep Rally at 8:20 a.m./Early release at 12:10 p.m.

• January 8 ~ Students Return to School

• School Hours: 8:10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Doors Open: 7:45 a.m.
• Wolves enter the building through the C hall doors or the SAC doors. 6th & 8th grade wolves wait in the SAC and 7th grade wolves wait in the lecture hall for the bell to walk to first period.
• Bell Schedule
• Campus Map (click present for easier viewing)
• Front Office: 817-251-5320
• Mascot: Wolf
• School Colors: Silver & Black
• Planners: All wolves use a planner at CTMS. This is to assist with organizing, prioritizing, and planning. You can purchase a CTMS planner for $5 on the first day of school or use one of your choosing. Wolves use their planners daily.
• Student IDs: All wolves who did not attend Wolf Camp or Registration will be issued a temporary CTMS ID on the first day of school. The first IDs are free and replacement IDs are $5 and $1 for replacement lanyard. Per the student code of conduct, IDs are to be worn daily by all CTMS students and staff.
• Lost & Found: The Front Office currently has several pieces of jewelry, keys, glasses and phones that are lost and have found their way to the office! Come by to check to see if your item was found!

Attendance

Lache Nealy

817-251-5326

lache.nealy@gcisd.net

Counselors

Molly Brown (last names A-K)

817-251-5315

molly.brown@gcisd.net

Rachel Smith (last names L-Z)

817-251-5312

rachel.smith@gcisd.net

Student Advocate

Allyiah Daniels

817-251-5323

Allyiah.Daniels@gcisd.net

Registrar

Ilia Kaku

817-251-5314

ilia.kaku@gcisd.net

Nurse

Riley Heimuli

817-251-5337

riley.heimuli@gcisd.net

Assistant Principals

Alishia Ilic (last names A-K)

817-251-5313

alishia.ilic@gcisd.net

Cinthia Morales (last names L-Z)

817-251-5317

cinthia.morales@gcisd.net

Principal

Jamie Halliburton

817-251-5320

jamie.halliburton@gcisd.net

In need of a new charger for a school issued Chromebook, click here for information on how to order a new one.

Thank you for helping our wolves be prepared for school each day by ensuring their Chromebooks are charged nightly!

Click here to see the updated secondary grading policy from GCISD. All wolf pack teachers will be following this policy this school year to communicate the progress of each wolf.

Grades are a method of communicating the progress each wolf is making at CTMS. If you ever have questions or concerns over a grade, please reach out directly to the teacher.

Here is the link for the 2024-2025 GCISD Student/Parent Handbook and Code of Conduct :https://www.gcisd.net/o/gcisd/page/studentparent-handbook.

GCISD's Student-Parent Handbook contains information that students, parents and staff are likely to need during the school year. In addition, both students and parents need to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct. Both students and parents should become familiar with the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District Student Code of Conduct, which is a document adopted by the board and intended to promote school safety and an atmosphere for learning.

Middle school students may use telecommunications devices before and after school, and during

lunch. They may not use telecommunications devices during passing periods or classes.

What does this mean for the wolves?

• Devices can be used before 8:00 a.m., during lunch, and after 3:30 p.m.
• Smartwatches can be worn as long as they are used for telling time.
• Earbud, airpods, and the like will not be used in the hallway or during class time.

Starting Wednesday, November 6th, we will implement a new CTMS practice for forgotten wolf IDs. As a reminder, the wearing of student IDs is part of the GCISD dress codes and outlined in the student code of conduct. We want to ensure consistency and encourage responsibility among our wolves, so each wolf will begin with a fresh start on this date.

The updated practice is as follows:

1. First forgotten ID: Verbal warning.
2. Second forgotten ID: Lunch detention.
3. Third forgotten ID: Two lunch detentions.
4. Fourth forgotten ID: Parent phone call, and a replacement ID will be automatically charged to the wolf's Skyward account.
5. Fifth forgotten ID: In-school suspension (ISS) for repeated dress code offenses.

Additionally, please note that failure to return temporary IDs will result in lunch detention.

All wolves receive IDs, free of charge, on picture day. For those wolves who join the pack after picture day, they receive IDs when registering. Replacement IDs can be purchased from Ms. Richards in the front office before school or during lunch daily.

Thank you for your support in helping our wolves build good habits and follow GCISD expectations!

Exciting News! CTMS Now Offers a New Online Purchase Option for Student ID's and Wolf Lanyards!

We are excited to announce that CTMS has added a new, convenient way for students and parents to complete your ID purchase needs online! This new payment option makes it easier and faster than ever before. You will find this payment option on the CTMS web page under the Quick Links heading where you can create your personal Web Store account. Once your account is created, click on the Middle Schools square and choose Cross Timbers Middle School. Complete your purchase through the Security/Dress Code option. Students will be able to finalize their order in Mrs. Richards office the following day once ID is personalized with the students' photo download. We hope this will be a helpful addition to preparing you student for a successful day at school everyday!

Student-Parent Handbook page 55: Except in emergencies, delivery of messages or packages to students will not be allowed during instructional time. A parent may leave a message or a package such as a forgotten lunch, for the student to pick up from the front office during a passing period or lunch. Students are not permitted to order food using delivery services such as UberEats, DoorDash, etc.

What this means for the pack: Wolf pack family members may drop items off items to the vestibule for wolves. Delivery services are not permitted. Wolves will visit the vestibule during passing periods to pick up items dropped off by parents.

For the protection of students and staff, all volunteer applicants must read the Volunteer Handbook (in Español) and are asked to apply online authorizing the district to obtain a criminal history background check.

Note: All volunteers are required to reapply each year.

Apply Online

GCISD utilizes Volunteer Tracker for volunteer applications and signing up for volunteer opportunities. Please follow the steps provided to sign up. If you have any questions about registration, please contact App-Garden at support@app-garden.com or submit a help ticket.

Email: ctms.info@gcisd.net
Website: https://ctms.gcisd.net/
Location: 2301 Pool Rd, Grapevine, TX 76051
Phone: 817-251-5320
Twitter: @CTMSWolfWay