The Collegiate Connection

It's a GREAT day to be a Longhorn! It is my hopes this message finds you all well, and all of our scholars safe.

Our staff is working hard to ensure we are providing the best educational experience for your scholars. I have made several changes this year to prioritize our staff providing high quality first time instruction. A part of the plan is all teachers planning time has increased. In the past our teachers have had 450 minutes to plan over two weeks. This year I have increased planning time to 770 minutes a week. I have also decreased the amount of time I spend completing paperwork during the school day, to me staying after work and completing. This gives me more time to spend in the classrooms coaching teachers. Our campus instructional leadership team is spending extra time reviewing lesson plans for classes, doing grade book checks, and coaching teachers to ensure 100% of our scholars are receiving the BEST educational experience possible.

We have developed a flex schedule that we will use for days that we have clubs, and events that do not disrupt the instruction of core content. We have extracurricular opportunities as well this year! A majority of them will occur during school on Fridays from 8:05am - 9:05am. We have a few that will occur after school.

Each week all parents should receive an email from your scholars teacher letting you know what they are teaching that week.

I am looking forward to having our fundraiser kickoff next week!

This year I have spent many hours training my staff in customer service, our campus practices/procedures, and handling information at the lowest level possible. When you have a concern we are encouraging our parents to reach out to the classroom teacher first. They are eager to address your concerns and provide you the BEST customer service possible.

In return we are asking our parents to please be respectful when reaching out to our teachers. ALL of our staff have the best intentions for your child at heart. I know that at times some circumstances can be very upsetting, but I encourage you to wait until you are calm before reaching out to your child's educator.

If your situation is not handled accordingly by the teacher, your next step is to contact Myisha Palmer-McKinney, our AMAZING Assistant Principal. She will work with you and the teacher to resolve your concerns. If your concerns are not resolved at the 2nd level with Mrs. Palmer-McKinney then contact my Executive Assistant, Brenda Mason-Dyess to schedule a meeting with me.

Thank you for respecting this chain of command when having issues/concerns addressed. I LOVE our partnership and value you as a parent.

We are excited to start many new initiatives this year and continue what we started last year. This year we will do our Blackout Card Fundraiser again. Those who participate in the fundraiser will have cool incentives to earn.

Our fundraiser is what will fund our clubs, incentives for scholars, field day events, student of the month, STEM fair, STEM night, Winter events, meals for events, Principal Prize Patrol, campus culture, and buses for trips. We need all of our families to participate to ensure we can do all of these things for our scholars.

Dr. Lewis will send a separate email with information on the fundraiser kick off. To ensure all families know how to participate this year, I will record a kickoff video and send to the parents as well. We are looking at having a fun run for parents and scholars during the school day for all who participate.

A sample of the Blackout Card is below. There is no need to print this, as this is just an example. The way the card works is this is a donation board. The scholar would ask a trusted adult to pick a square and which square they select is how much money they are donating. I usually have the person put their name on the board so I can remember that spot has been taken. When my kids would get this board I would post it on Facebook or Twitter to help get the word out to more people. More information will come in my video message.

***THIS IS FOR 2nd - 5th GRADE SCHOLARS ONLY***

This summer Dr. Lewis worked with the staff to develop better clubs for our Friday Flex Schedule. Every Friday from 8:05 am - 9:05am our scholars will participate in a club. Scholars will need to be at school on time on Friday's to ensure they get to participate in the fun.

We will have a campus fundraiser in September to help us pay for our clubs and other campus events. Click here to view our clubs.

Please speak with your scholar and select their top three choices. - https://forms.gle/uHqcBKwwribzcWob6

****We have activities planned in the classroom for PK - 1st Grade Scholars****

This year Dr. Lewis will open the building from 7am - 8am for parent informational meetings. This meeting will be face to face in the Cafeteria. In order to be able to participate you must arrive by 7:15am. The first Pastries with the Principal will be Thursday, September 1, 2022.

If you are interested in attending please pre-register. You are welcome to bring your scholars with you. All guest will enter through the cafeteria doors, not the front.

This event is sponsored by the PTA.

We are excited to welcome our families back into the building! We are inviting our grandparents, or grandparent figures to come eat breakfast with their grandkids and do a small activity. The event will begin at 7am and will end at 8am. In order to attend the parent must register the grandparents. In order to enter the building through the cafeteria the grandparents should arrive no later than 7:15am.

To register click here. - Registration ends August 31.

The National Elementary Honor Society has already begin their work on this years yearbook. The yearbooks will be printed and delivered at the end of May. I am VERY proud of our scholar leaders for the hardwork they did last year on the yearbook. We are hoping to make it bigger and better this year! Our new NEHS President has set high expectations for the organization this year. Last year we had several parents ask for a yearbook after the deadline to order. We are asking that parents please order early. Thank you for supporting our yearbook!

To order visit: ybpay.com

Yearbook ID Code: 12022023

Gear Up. Go Get It Week. - September 26 - 30

Monday: Dream Big

Dress for your future career

Tuesday: Mickey Goes to College

Wear your favorite Mickey or Minnie attire.

Wednesday: World Peace Day (Wear blue)

Thursday: We're on the Hunt for a successful Future (wear camo)

Friday: Longhorn Swag

Unity Day (Wednesday, October 19, 2022) - Wear Orange

Red Ribbon Week October 24-28

Celebrate Life, Live Drug Free

Monday: Pink Out Day

Tuesday: Dress as a superhero

Wednesday: Commitment Day. Dress for Success

Thursday: Hip Hip Hooray! It's the 50th Day!

Friday: Book Character

Dress up as your favorite book character

The winter to remember dress up days will be released later.

Breakfast 7:45 - 8:05

Breakfast will free to all scholars. We will serve breakfast in the classrooms.

Lunch

***For families that are choosing for their scholars to not pay for lunch in the cafeteria we are asking that you please send your scholar to school with their food. We are working to minimize disruptions to instruction.

Classroom teachers will communicate lunch times. If you have not already please fill out the free/reduced lunch application to see if your scholar qualifies for free or reduced lunch.

If you are picking up your scholar early from school, you will need to do so prior to 3:00pm each day. This is due to safety of our students.

Friendly Reminder Concerning Attendance- Anytime your scholar leaves school early or arrives after 8:35 a.m. they will need a Dr excuse note to be considered excused. Partial unexcused days are only excused with a Dr excuse note. If your scholar is absent, please send a Dr or parent note within 3 days of the absence. You may also choose to create an absence on your Family Access or email, Olivia.Lozano@chisd.net directly. If NO excuse is presented, it will be considered UNEXCUSED and will count toward truancy. If you call in, you MUST still send a paper PARENT or DR note.

This year, classrooms will be able to celebrate birthdays every Friday. If you are interested in sending up goodie bags, or purchased treats in their original wrapping, then you can on Fridays. We are minimizing distractions from instruction, but do not want to lose the opportunity to celebrate birthdays. Please coordinate this with your scholars teachers.

All scholars are required to wear the school uniform with a patch. We will release our dress up calendar for the entire school year soon! This includes Red Ribbon Week, Gear Up Week, Winter Dress up, and any other week during the year. Hopefully this helps our families plan in advance.

We are also planning on having something special weekly for scholars that have perfect attendance for the week.

Monday - Uniform with patch

Tuesday - Uniform with patch

Wednesday - College Tshirt Day with Uniform bottoms

Thursday - Uniform with patch

Friday - Spirit shirt day with Jeans

We will strictly enforce our dress code. If you need financial assistance with purchasing patches please email Tangie.Smith@chisd.net

Parents please take the opportunity to submit the information for the Title I lunch form. This form is used for more than free/reduced lunch, it offers additional benefits for our campus. Our families at Collegiate Prep are usually great about completing paperwork and i GREATLY appreciate this. https://frapps.horizonsolana.com/CEDH01

MEMBERSHIP

Have you signed up to be a member of PTA yet? Annual membership dues for adults are $10.00. New this year, we are offering a student membership for just $5.00! Enroll by September 1st to help us win the Head Start Award and for your opportunity to win 2 FREE ADMISSION tickets to Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark!

Also, please join us for our first membership meeting on Monday, September 12th at 6:00 PM in the cafeteria. Learn about all the great things we have planned for this year, bring your suggestions, and vote on how PTA funds are spent. Please note, membership is required to participate in votes.

SALES

All orders placed by Thursday, August at 8:00 PM were delivered to your scholars at the end of last week. ***If you do not have your order, please check your scholars belongs and with their homeroom teacher to see if the items were left behind. If further assistance is needed, please contact sales@chcppta.org. **

If you have not had the chance to place an order for spirit wear or uniform patches, you can still do so by clicking here. Going forward, all orders placed will be delivered to the school approximately 1 week after the order has been submitted and payment received.

FUNDRAISING

Our first Spirit Night of the school year will take place on Tuesday, September 13th from 5pm – 10pm at McAllister’s Deli in Cedar Hill (379 E FM 1382, Cedar Hill, TX). We invite you to take a night off from cooking and bring your families for some fun, fellowship, and food as a school community!

McAllister’s will donate 20% back to CHCPPTA when you tell them you are with Collegiate Prep. Funds raised will be put into our Scholar Relief Fund.

Don’t forget to COMMIT TO EAT by clicking here. Thank You!

VOLUNTEER

We encourage our entire community to get involved and provide additional support as we PREPare our scholars to RISE! Visit our website for information on how to complete your application, submit your background check, and become a fan of Collegiate Prep Elementary.

We are always in need of general volunteers but don’t forget to check out the list of committee member opportunities! Email volunteer@chcppta.org for more information.

PROGRAMS

We are again participating in the National PTA Reflections program. This year's theme is "Show Your Voice!" Scholars can submit entries in any of six different artistic categories, and have their work recognized and celebrated on a local, state, and national level! Click here for more information, and email vp@chcppta.org if you have any questions. Submissions will be due in late October. We can't wait to see what our scholars create!

HOSPITALITY

We are excited to bring back the Faculty & Staff Snack Pantry this year! Show your appreciation for our dedicated and hardworking professionals by providing healthy and energizing snacks for them to grab when they need a little extra fuel. Keep an eye out for your opportunity to donate!

Interested in sending your teacher a special thank you? Check out the Faculty & Staff Favorites page for some extra inspiration.

We look forward to making this another great year and making every child’s potential a reality. Stay informed about all things PTA by visiting our website and following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Greetings Prep Family,

My name is Mrs. Tyler-Johnson and I serve as the campus Instructional Facilitator. In my role I'm tasked with supporting teachers and scholars. I will be collaborating with our teachers this school year to help develop effective plans and provide engaging classroom experiences to help all scholars THRIVE. I will also support in the area of small group RLA intervention in grades 3-5. I'm a servant at heart so my desire is to help in assisting all that I serve reach their fullest potential.

Please feel free to contact me at any time! It is my pleasure to serve.

Email: Xavier.Lewis@chisd.net
Website: www.chisd.net/prep
Location: 975 Pickard Drive, Cedar Hill, TX, USA
Phone: 9722934502
Twitter: @CHISDCP