Curtis eNewsletter

CMS CUSTODIAN

MR. JAMES WEAVER

CONGRATULATIONS ON

YOUR RETIREMENT!

WE WILL ALL MISS YOU!

Best wishes for the future from the Faculty and Staff of Curtis MS

The Curtis Middle School PTA is looking for a few good
people to join the PTA Board for the school year
2006-2007.?  If you would like to be involved, please
e-mail Cheryl Lawson at cheryllawson@sbcglobal.net or
Louise Master at lmaster720@sbcglobal.net.
If you have been on an elementary school PTA board,
you will find this to be much less of a time
committment.?  The board meets monthly for about an
hour and there are fewer committees.?  We would like to
have our executive board determined by mid-March.

GIFTED AND TALENTED SPRING SCREENING PROCESS

* Gifted and Talented Parent Informational meeting for secondary students in grades 6-11 will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at Curtis Middle School cafeteria at 6:30pm. Aptitude Screening applications and Nomination packets will be available.

* Gifted and Talented Aptitude screening for interested students in grades 7-11 will be March 4, 2006 at Curtis Middle School 9:00am. Must submit application for screening.

* Gifted and Talented Aptitude Screening application located on web site: http://www.allenisd.org/web/Learner_Services/index.html(click on Gifted and Talented)

Gifted and Talented Contact Information:

Barbara Myer, District Coordinator,

Lone Star Leadership Academy for Outstanding Texas 5^th-8^th Graders

The Lone Star Leadership Academy is a Monday-Friday experiential learning leadership development program for outstanding 5^th-8^th graders from across the state of Texas.?  Participants experience curriculum taught in Texas classrooms through visits to historically, politically, scientifically and environmentally significant sites.?  Programs take place in Dallas/Fort Worth (5^th/6^th graders), Austin (6^th/7^th graders) and Houston/Galveston (7^th/8^th graders).?  Career speakers introduce participants to a wide variety of career and internship opportunities.?  Texas teachers facilitate leadership groups, simulations and leadership activities.?  Early application deadline for summer 2006 programs is April 1, 2006.?  For more information, including an informational video, or to download a program application, visit www.educationinaction.org.

PTA DANCE CHANGED FROM FEBRUARY 3RD TO APRIL 28TH.

(Refer to Quick Link Calendar - April)

ALL SPECIAL OCCASION DELIVERIES

PARENTS - ALL special occasion deliveries for students will be delivered at the end of the school day.

MEETING REMINDERS

7th Grade Parents Meeting - Thursday, February 2, 2006 @ 6:30pm in the Curtis Cafeteria.

8th Grade Parents Meeting - Tuesday, February 7, 2006 @ 6:30pm in the Curtis Cafeteria.

CONGRATULATIONS ALLEN MIDDLE SCHOOL WRESTLERS

Allen Middle School Wrestling Team competed in the Middle School State Wrestling Championships last month and won! They defeated 3 teams, including 2 time defending champion Houston West Briar 51-20.

WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!

MORE CURTIS CHOIR WINNERS!

Students from the Choir Department, under the direction of Suzanne White, competed in the All-Region Auditions. The following students were selected to represent Curtis in the All-Region III Choir and will be performing on February 25, 2006 at Poteet HS in Mesquite:

Erin McInerney - 8th Grade
Alex Himan - 8th Grade
Michael Brown - 8th Grade
Crystal Cunningham - 8th Grade

SCIENCE FAIR 2006

Winners have been announced for the 2006 School Year. Check them out on our Science Fair 2006 webpage listed under Quick Links - Information

Congratulations to everyone involved who made this year's Science Fair a success!

TAKS Dates

February 21 - 7th WRITING
February 28 - TAKS Review
March 7 - TAKS Review
March 21 - TAKS Review
April 4 - TAKS Review
April 4 - TAKS Academy
April 6 - TAKS Academy
April 11 - TAKS Academy
April 18 - MATH TAKS
April 19 - READING TAKS
April 20 - 8th SCIENCE TAKS
April 21 - 8th SOCIAL STUDIES TAKS

PayPams.com Online Lunch Website

Parents please be aware that, when you are adding your child to a PayPams online account and you are using the Student ID number for your child, the PayPams program requires a 10-digit number in the Student ID number field. You will need to add enough "zero's" before the Student ID number to make a 10-digit number for the PayPams website to recognize your child. You must also use your child's first name that is on the school records. Do not use nicknames.

CMS eNewsletter

To subscribe to the Curtis PTA eNewsletter, click Subscribe and send a blank email. To Unsubscribe, click Unsubscribe and send a blank email. If you have any questions concerning Curtis's eNewsletter, please feel free to contact Winona Clark by email CurtisPTA@hotmail.com.

AllenISD.org Newsletter

To better communicate with the Curtis parents, a direct link has been provided for a copy of the current month's AllenISD.org Newsletter.

ATTENTION TARGET SHOPPERS

Target donates money each month to Curtis through it's "Take Charge of Education" program. You can help by opening a Target Visa account and designating Curtis as your school. Afterwards, 1% of your Target purchases will be donated, as well as, 1/2% for purchases at other places, besides Target. Sign up is easy - you can go by any Target or get online at target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142. Happy Shopping!

IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM SCHOOL NURSE

Students with asthma may carry an inhaler with them at all times while at school. Please see the nurse for the necessary paperwork.

A Reminder to Parents

All absences must be documented in writing by a parent or doctor note to be considered excused. Please refer to page 17 of the Student Handbook.

Please remind your children of the Acceptable Use Guidelines that each of you signed at the start of the year. We are experiencing some problems with our District Networking, which is effecting everyone. ANY unauthorized file downloading is prohibited, not to mention use of fellow students' id numbers or passwords. PLEASE STRESS THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS PROBLEM TO YOUR CHILDREN. We want the CMS environment to run as smooth as possible for our students and staff. Thank you.

PREMIER discoverworks

Parents interested in the monthly family newsletter, get registered by simply selecting your child's grade level and logging in: Click here.

Parents interested in the PREMIER discoverzone.

82226/118082_Parent.pdf arent.pdf">Click here.

Information about ParentConnect from the Principal

Parent Connect is an awesome informational tool for parents to use to keep abreast of student??™s grades and attendance. We have had some inquiries from parents asking for further explanation from teachers concerning grades and when grades are posted. I would like to go over some of the attributes of Parent Connect and how it functions so that we have a clearer understanding of expectations.

●Teachers are required to update grades every 2 weeks.

●When teachers update grades, there is a 24 hour lag time for the program to update the data.

●Because of flexibility in classroom teaching, due dates may be changed. Parent Connect is not the vehicle to use to keep up with upcoming assignments. The agenda book is designed for that purpose. Please check your student??™s agenda book daily for assignments and project due dates.

●In order to download and print report cards, at the end of each 6 weeks, Parent Connect will not be updated the first few days of the next 6 week period.

We hope that you have found Parent Connect to be a valuable tool this year. You can check the Allen ISD website for the Parent Connect orientation and also check the Curtis website for more tips on navigating Parent Connect. We want to continue to work with you as a team for your student??™s success.

Becky Kennedy, Principal

What is ParentConnectxp?

ParentConnectxp is a convenient home-to-school collaboration tool that allows you to keep track of your child??™s academic progress online via an easy-to-use web site. You may visit the password-protected site to view school program announcements as well as your student's schedule, grades, assignments, daily and period attendance, and course history. In addition, parents can also easily communicate with teachers via e-mail or receive automatic e-mail notification of unexcused absences, missing assignments, or failing grades. Go to ParentConnectxp to register now!

Click here for a click sheet on using ParentConnectxp

Cougars in Action

Make sure to check out the students of CMS in on our Cougars in Action page. This page is updated regularly with pictures of the faculty, staff and students of CMS taken by our yearbook staff.

Fast-Track Allen ISD

Allen ISD is pleased to introduce a new e-mail service for parents and patrons called Fast-Track Allen ISD. This free service will provide e-mails direct to your home or office with important notices and news from Allen ISD.

Follow three easy steps to subscribe:
1) Log on to www.allenisd.org2) Choose Fast-Track Allen ISD from the "Hot Topics" menu.
3) Register to receive Fast-Track e-mails.

E-mail addresses are maintained on a secure server and will not be shared with a third party.?  You may also remove your e-mail address from the subscription list at any time. Fast-Track is offered by the Allen ISD Public Information Office.?  For more information visit the Fast-Track web site or call 972-727-0510.

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Important Note to Parents:

Due to new Texas Department of Agriculture regulations, parents may bring food to school only for their own child. For example,we won't be able to bring pizza or even birthday cake for a group of students. Thanks you for your understanding.

Notice from the City of Allen Traffic Engineer:

Allen Schools have been notified that the Allen Police Department will be issuing tickets to students for "jaywalking" or crossing the street anywhere other than in the designated crosswalk. ? Also, drivers of cars parking on the side of the street opposite the campus for the purposes of dropping off or picking up students may be ticketed as well. ? In addition, students walking home after school must cross the street in the designated crosswalks. ? Again, violators will be subject to being ticketed.

The Allen Police Department is very concerned about student safety and potential accidents when students cross streets in un designated areas. ? A city official has stated that "they are currently remarking all crosswalks so that the areas are apparent" .

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