Curtis Chronicles

Cougar Parents,

Happy New Year! It was so great seeing your children again after break and we are very excited to welcome so many virtual students back to campus this semester! Everyone has done a great job jumping back into the swing of things wearing masks, foaming in, having their ID badges, working hard, etc. We are so proud of them and look forward to a strong semester.

We are doing something new this semester to help recognize our teachers. We have created a link on our website where parents or students can send a shout out to any staff member they have been impacted by in a positive way. We know many parents email teachers to say thank you and that is certainly great to continue to do, but we wanted to make it easy and quick for you to send a note to our staff to recognize them. Here is the link and it is on our website as well for you to use any time! Recognize a Teacher

We will start our conversations with students about next year very soon! 8th grade started last week already! Communication will come regularly to each grade level as we get close to each information session. Here is the Class of 2025 Academic Planning Guide for your reference: Academic Planning Guide

Just a reminder for all parents that we are still not accepting any item drop offs for safety reasons. We know students sometimes forget things they need during the day and we understand you wanting to bring those up, however, we cannot accept them. We ask that you help kids plan the night before to make sure they have all their things ready to go in the morning so they don’t forget them. Thanks for your help and support with this.

Thank you to everyone for kicking off our holiday break with the delicious pies! Everyone had such a hard time deciding which one to pick because of how much variety there was! We truly felt the appreciation from everyone!

Sincerely,

Sonya Pitcock

Principal

Curtis Middle School

January 15: PTA Membership Meeting

January 18: MLK Day, Student Holiday

BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

January 11: 7th grade girls @ Wylie Cooper; boys v. Wylie Cooper

January 14: 8th grade girls @ Wylie Cooper; boys v. Wylie Cooper

January 20: 7th grade girls @ Rockwall Utley; boys v. Rockwall Utley

January 21: 8th grade girls @Rockwall Utley; boys v. Rockwall Utley

January 25: 7th grade girls v. McMillan; boys @ McMillan

January 28: 8th grade girls v. McMillan; boys @ McMillan

An email was sent last week with information about freshman course selection for current 8th grade students. There are several resources available to families to familiarize themselves with this process.

If there are specific questions about course selection, please contact your student's current counselor at Curtis.

CLICK HERE for a copy of the letter that was sent out last week.

Parents,

We are looking for ways to communicate with you more about what is happening in Tracks class on a regular basis so you can see how our class is impacting your child’s future. We will begin putting information out biweekly in the campus newsletter about our areas of focus and give you some talking points for conversations with your child. We will also be reporting conduct on the progress reports and report card so you can see how your child is performing behaviorally in our class. Our expectations will continue to be high in our classes and we will be supporting students with a system where they can be successful. We have gone over this communication system with students and have put it in Canvas as a reference. We hope this improves communication and this additional information will be helpful as we partner together to support the academic, social and emotional progress of your child.

Character Trait of the Month - Determination

7th Grade Topics

• 2020 Written Reflection - A Year in Review
• Creating a vision for 2021 [Following Areas - Family, Friendships, Academics, Physical and Mental Health, Extracurriculars]
• Goals for 3rd 9 Weeks [Prioritization and Organization, Time Management]
• Perseverance to achieve goals
• Benefits of physical health in achieving goals
• Positive mental health in achieving goals

8th grade topics

• Your Future Self
• 9th Grade course registration (please see attached info from our counselors)
• Organization tips to increase productivity (including organization of Google Drives)
• Creating 2021 vision boards and goals
• Practicing self-advocacy through effective communication
• Kicking off our college and career unit with budgeting skills

Potential Dinner Table Discussion Questions

1. What is the best thing that happened in 2020?
2. What challenges did you overcome in 2020?
3. How are you different than a year ago?
4. What is your vision for yourself in 2021?
5. What personal qualities do you want to strengthen?
6. How will perseverance, physical health and mental health help you accomplish your goals for 2021?

Thank you,

CMS Tracks Team

Now in its 13th year, this annual Allen event benefits the Foundation For Allen Schools, and all proceeds directly fund classroom grants, teacher and student scholarships, Allen PTA programs and campus projects.

The 2021 event involves your choice of a:

1. Virtual 1 mile fun run/walk
2. Virtual 5K or
3. Sleep in registration

You will have the choice to walk around your neighborhood with family and friends or you can come walk a course we've put together on the RaceJoy APP. The course will have some great photo ops along the way too!

The 2021 course will start at the Allen High School tennis courts. You can complete your fun run/walk or 5K anytime between Saturday, February 27, 2021 and March 3, 2021. You can also upload your time through the RaceJoy APP and will still qualify for the 5K finisher medals!

It's going to be an event the whole family will enjoy, and you can feel good knowing that your participation has a direct impact on students and teachers in all Allen ISD Schools!

Register now!

Allen Council of PTAs honored our Reflections participants who moved on to Council last week. We are proud of all our artists!

PTA is so appreciative of the extreme generosity of our community. We have been able to show our love for our CMS staff at their monthly staff meetings with snacks, pizzas and pies during the first semester. This is all thanks to your continued support and generosity!

We are in the process of collecting snacks for the second semester. You can easily purchase on Amazon and have it shipped directly to our staff appreciation coordinator, Jennifer Adams. Just select her name for shipping when you check out.

THANK YOU!

CLICK HERE for the list

Do you shop on Amazon? Use Amazon's Smile and support Curtis PTA!

AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your purchase to Curtis PTA when shopping Amazon.

1. Go here: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/

2. Select your charity: PTA Texas Congress 201 Curtis Middle School

3. Bookmark smile.amazon.com

4. Start using smile.amazon.com whenever you want to shop at Amazon!
   

   
   

Be sure to shop through AmazonSmile the next time you shop online. You’re still shopping with Amazon — you’re just doing good while buying what you need!

Please encourage grandparents, neighbors, and friends to support Curtis PTA by shopping through AmazonSmile too.

CMS PTA is pleased to once again offer our business sponsorship program. Curtis PTA would like to invite community businesses to show support for our staff, students and community by making a financial contribution to our PTA for the 2020-21 school year. PTA strives to make every child’s potential a reality.

There are two contributions levels for you to consider.

Red Level, $100

• Your logo and link to your website on CurtisCougarPTA.org from now through June 30, 2021.
• Included in end-of-year thank you email.

Black Level, $250

• Your logo and link to your website on CurtisCougarPTA.org from now through June 30, 2021.
• Included in end-of-year thank you email.
• 1 Thank you in our campus-wide newsletter that goes out to all families.
• 1 thank you and shout out with link to your website on our Curtis PTA Facebook page.

CLICK HERE for more details or email Jennifer.

If you are interested in CMS Announcements, you can access them directly on the CMS website.

Be sure to check back often! CLICK HERE

Annually, volunteers are required to fill out the Allen ISD Volunteer Application form. While currently volunteers are not able to be on campus, we encourage those interested to fill out the application now. The application resets each year on July 1 and takes about 2 weeks to process. Please click this link below to fill out yours.

PTA Facebook Page

PTA Website

Email: ptacommunications.curtis@gmail.com
Website: https://www.allenisd.org/curtisms
Location: 1530 Rivercrest Boulevard, Allen, TX, USA
Phone: 972-727-0340
Twitter: @CurtisCougars