Curtis Chronicles

Love Week: February 10-14

Please help us support the Kirby family and a local service organization called EXPOW by bringing donations in the form of money or snacks! We are hoping to contribute $1 per student at CMS for a total of over $1400! Students will have an opportunity to contribute any day next week, but Tuesday with their donation of $1 they can wear PJs to school and on Wednesday with their donation of $1 they can wear a hat to school. We are encouraging all students to wear red on Thursday and/or Friday to support Love Week. In addition to our donations at school, local businesses are supporting Love Week with spirit nights each day of the week.

Monday - Liberty Burger

Tuesday – Cane’s

Wednesday – Chick Fil A

Thursday – Free Birds

Friday – Bahama Bucks

We hope to show our support from CMS for this family and organization!

Course Registration is upon us!

Here is the link for the Class of 2025 with application deadlines quickly approaching! If anyone has questions, please reach out to our counselors.

Link to Class of 2025 Page: https://www.allenisd.org/Page/55580

• Library Aide (Due Feb 14)
• PALS (Due Feb 14)
• Yearbook (Due Feb 21)
• Partners in PE (Due Feb 21)
• Office Aide (Due Feb 28 )
• Peer Helper (Due Feb 28)

Valentine’s Day

Our students will be able to purchase Valograms this week for their friends or teachers, but we ask that no Valentine deliveries are made on Friday the 14th. When we have giant stuffed animals and balloons delivered to students we can’t deliver those to classrooms as they are a distraction and difficult for students to carry around the building. They would have to wait and pick those up at the end of the day. If you’d like to buy a Valogram for your student, those are an awesome way to tell them you love them while they are at school! Thanks for your help with this!

Good Luck CMS Orchestra

We wish our Full Orchestra the best of luck as they perform at the Texas Music Educators Association Conference in San Antonio on Thursday for being recognized as the top Middle School Full Orchestra in the state.

As always, parents, we appreciate all your support and partnership. If you have questions, concerns, celebrations or thoughts please reach out and share those with teachers, staff, administrators, counselors, etc. We are seeing great growth from your students and are excited about their progress in all areas – not only academics. We are seeing growth in social emotional skills, organizational skills, growth mindset and determination! We will keep working hard on our end to support them!

Have a great week!

Sonya Pitcock, Principal

Feb. 10 -14: Spirit Week, Nothing Bundt Cakes

Feb. 10-14: Love Week

Feb. 10-13: Val-O-Grams are on sale

Feb. 17: Student/Staff Holiday

Feb. 25: Vaping Program, noon

Feb. 29: Allen Eagle Run

March 9-13: Spring Break

March 27: Save the Date - Spring Dance

CMS PTA is pleased to announce our business sponsorship program. We offer businesses an opportunity to support CMS students and staff with donation levels.

Red Level, $100

• 1 PTA Community membership
• Logo/website listed on PTA website for one year

Black Level, $250

• 1 PTA Community membership
• Logo/website listed on PTA website for one year
• 1 shout out in both our campus newsletter (1,400+ student families) and 1 shout out on the PTA FB page

CLICK HERE for a flyer with more details or email Jennifer.

Curtis PTA has several opportunities to help!

• Val-O-Grams
• Copy Room

For complete details or to sign up, visit www.CurtisCougarPTA.org

You will need to sign in to your account, select My Account in order to see the Volunteer opportunities. Thank you for your help!

SEL family info

7th grade: FAMILY LESSON SUMMARY

This week, your child will continue to learn about emotions and explore how remembering values can help him or her make good decisions when experiencing strong emotions, like being angry or upset.

FAMILY LESSON QUESTION

Ask your child what it feels like to experience a strong emotion. Talk about how it’s still possible to make good decisions even when feeling angry or upset.

8th grade: FAMILY LESSON SUMMARY

This week, your child will continue to learn about emotions and explore how remembering values can help him or her make good decisions when experiencing strong emotions, like being angry or upset.

FAMILY LESSON QUESTION

Ask your child what it feels like to have someone get angry at him or her. Talk about how it’s still possible to make good decisions even when someone is angry with you.

And next week…

7th grade: FAMILY LESSON SUMMARY

This week, your child will explore how thoughts affect decision making and how to recognize and handle the unhelpful thoughts that may lead your child to make bad decisions.

FAMILY LESSON QUESTION

Ask your child about a time he or she remembers having a negative thought that wouldn’t go away. Decide together what kinds of actions your child would like to take the next time he or she has an unhelpful thought.

8th grade: FAMILY LESSON SUMMARY

This week, your child will explore how his or her thoughts affect the decisions he or she makes, and how to recognize and handle the unhelpful thoughts that may lead to bad decisions.

FAMILY LESSON QUESTION

Ask your child about a time he or she felt rejected, and how that made him or her feel. Ask what kinds of unhelpful thoughts people can have when they feel rejected, and think of people your child can go to for help if he or she experiences thoughts like that.

The February teacher and staff meeting is on Wednesday, February 12th and this month's theme is "Trail Mix". That's right... we will be providing big bowls of snack items for the teachers and staff to create their own trail mix.

If you are able to donate it would be appreciated. Items can be dropped off at Curtis on February 12th between 8am and 1pm. Items can also be dropped off ahead of time at 1988 Verde Ct, Allen beginning the weekend of February 8th.

CLICK HERE to sign up! Thank you for spoiling our CMS Staff!

Nominations for the PTA Lifetime Membership award are being accepted now through March 6, 2020. You may nominate someone who you feel goes “above and beyond” for the Curtis students and community. Please CLICK HERE for the nomination form.

PTA in Texas works tirelessly to ensure the health and happiness of all students. With the U.S. vaping crisis now at a dangerous new high among teens, Texas PTA recognizes the urgency to address this critical situation well before the start of the 87th Legislative Session next year. Students as young as middle school are becoming sick because of this popular yet lethal trend, and much of this crisis is playing out every day in schools across the state.

On February 25, beginning at 12:00 pm, in collaboration with The American Heart Association, Texas PTA is hosting the first-ever Straight Talk at the Capitol: A Matter of Life and Breath. Two panels will give students, parents, and physicians an opportunity to share their stories and discuss what can be done – at home, in school, and at the state level.

Watch LIVE with Allen ISD Council of PTAs at Preston Elementary, 2455 Hilliard Drive, Allen, TX 7013. Optional lunch will be provided. Please click here to RSVP. Those who do not RSVP for lunch may bring their own to enjoy.

Learn about the important Attendance Credit Election. Three evening meetings will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m.:

• Feb. 18 at Ereckson Middle School
• Feb. 19 at Curtis Middle School
• Feb. 20 at Ford Middle School

A morning meeting will also be held at the AISD Service Center (1451 N. Watters Rd.) from 9-10 a.m. on March 2.

All community members are welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

The 12th Annual Allen Eagle Run will be held on Saturday, February 29 at Eagle Stadium. Hosted by the Foundation For Allen Schools and the Allen Council of PTAs, the event will feature a one-mile Fun Run, a certified 5K Run and a sleep-in option.

Our campus goal is 100 registrants. We are at 54 registered. The 7th and 8th grade homerooms with the highest percent of registrants will receive:

• A front-of-the-line lunch pass for each student in the homeroom.
• A restaurant gift card for the teacher of that class.

Every student who registers will be entered into a raffle for movie tickets.

Details about registration, fees and deadlines or information about becoming a sponsor are available here.

Proceeds from the Allen Eagle Run directly benefit Allen teachers and students through scholarships, teacher tuition reimbursements and classroom grants. Many of our Curtis teachers have been beneficiaries of these grants.

Thank you for your support!

All who join Curtis PTA by May 6, 2020 will be entered into a drawing for Apple Airpods!

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can join PTA? Anyone can join PTA: Students, Parents, Neighbors, Extended Family. Everyone who is a member as of 5/6/2020 will be entered into the drawing, students included.

What is the cost for a membership? $10 each

How do I join? Visit CurtisCougarPTA.org. You can pay online with a credit card.

When will you draw the winner? The winner will be drawn on May 6, 2020. The winner will be announced on Curtis announcements on May 8, 2020.

What are some other benefits for student members?

• Free slice of pizza at the spring dance
• First bell tardy pass
• One free service hour
• Front of lunch line pass
• Free Valogram

Questions? Email Jill, VP Membership, CurtisMS.Membership@gmail.com

This incentive is made possible by the Allen Council of PTAs.

CMS PTA is accepting applications from current high school seniors through March 25, 2020. Please click here for more details and the application.

Congratulations to our latest Citizenship Awards recipients. These awards are given out to our teachers, staff, and parent volunteers that give their time and effort to support our schools.

Congratulations to Mr. Ryan Thomasco. Coach Thomasco is an 8th grade science teacher who gives so much to our campus. He is involved in focus groups for campus improvement, works closely with our instructional coaches to improve his classroom for his students, and builds relationships with staff and students to create teamwork every day. He is no longer a coach, but you can’t take the coach out of him and he is looking at every student and every play and working on helping them get stronger! Thank you for all you do and thank you for doing it here at Curtis!

Congratulations to Ms. Leanna Biddle. Ms. Biddle is a 7th grade math teacher and team leader who has helped her team grow this year in the way they learn about and use data. Leanna has spent extra time with our staff learning the skills to lead an adult team and is doing an amazing job! We are very excited and appreciative of the work she does for not only her students, but all the Curtis students! Thank you for being such a great leader on our campus!

Congratulations to Ms. Christine Kless. Christine is this year's Communication Chair. She is responsible for making sure the newsletter is published every two weeks. In addition, she keeps tabs on the Facebook site. Christine is always willing to lend a hand, designing a flyer or updating Membership Toolkit. We are so thankful for all Christine does for the Curtis PTA!

Congratulations to Ms.Jennifer Adams. Jennifer has been an active member of the Curtis PTA Board. She jumped right in as the parent of a 7th grader. She did an amazing job overseeing the Reflections program at Curtis this year. In addition to her work on Arts in Education, Jennifer has also been an integral part of the Hospitality Team this year. Most recently, she helped coordinate the Cookie Exchange.

If you notice a teacher, staff member or parent volunteer going above and beyond what is expected and making a difference for our children at Curtis, please nominate them for our next Citizenship Awards by emailing their name and a brief description of their impact to ptacommunityrelations.curtis@gmail.com.

Allen ISD Council of PTAs is looking for leaders to join the board for 2020-2021. Nominations will be accepted until February 14, 2020. We are also looking for people to fill chairs positions. Remember that you do not need to know everything about PTA, the board (and Texas PTA) are very supportive and helpful and they will help you grow.

CLICK HERE for more info.

Thank you for your consideration,

Allen ISD Council of PTAs Nominating Committee

Helene St-Pierre- treasurer@allenisdcouncilpta.org

Terri Piorkowski- programs@allenisdcouncilpta.org

Allison Almand- Allison.almand@yahoo.com

The AHS & LFC PTSA Nominating Committee is currently accepting nominations for the 2020-2021 school year for the Executive Board and Standing Committee Chairs. If you are interested in nominating yourself for one of the board positions, please CLICK HERE to fill out the form below by 2/14/20.

The Executive Board is filled by the Nominating Committee and voted into their positions by the general membership in April. All positions are considered open, and nomination does not guarantee the position as an offer. For more information regarding the position duties, please email kathiptamom@yahoo.com. All nominations will be held confidential. Final candidates will be notified in March. The general membership will vote on the Executive Board in April.

The Standing Committees Chair positions are appointed by the incoming PTSA President and approved by the incoming officers. Final candidates will be contacted by the new PTSA President.

Submission of nomination forms are due on Friday 2/14/20.

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.

With feedback from campus counselors and nurses, AISD Council PTA has compiled a list of items that are needed at many of our AISD campuses.

Please consider donating and supporting students throughout AISD. These donations will be distributed to the campuses in the district that are in need.

Save a trip to the store and donate by ordering the district approved items via the Amazon wish lists below:

• Click here for Hygiene Products
• Click here for Snacks

Thank you for helping students in Allen!

Want to know what clubs and organizations are meeting? As well as other information that is shared with students? You can read about it by clicking here.

You can still order Curtis spirit wear! The t-shirt styles have limited quantities. Sizes and quantities available are updated online.

Orders will be delivered to your student's homeroom teacher approximately 4 weeks after purchase. Please be sure you enter your student's homeroom teacher for easy delivery.

To order, visit CurtisCougarPTA.org, login or set up an account to place your order.

Questions? Please email Jennifer

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