Phoenix News

Phoenix Family,

Congratulations, Phoenixes, on completing your first two weeks of college! Your hard work and enthusiasm are inspiring!

Parents, we’re excited to share that our school day includes built-in tutorials to support your student’s success. Additionally, Collegiate Academy offers twelve Friday Schools throughout the year from 1:30 - 4:30 PM. These sessions are a fantastic opportunity for intervention, TSIA assessment preparation and testing, and support for the STAAR EOCs, which are crucial for graduation.

This Friday, September 6th, we will kick off our Friday School with the following activities:

• Juniors: US History TEKS Check
  • For questions, contact Travis Plotkowski at travis.plotkowski@gcisd.net
• TSIA Testing for Math and ELA
  • For information, reach out to Kristinia Haney at kristinia.haney@gcisd.net
• Teacher-Requested Tutorials
  • Please contact your student’s teacher for details.

We are thrilled to offer these opportunities and look forward to supporting your students this Friday! For more details, please read Mrs. Heaton's information below.

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend! Both Collegiate Academy and TCC will be closed on Monday. We can’t wait to welcome our Phoenixes back on Tuesday, September 3rd!

All In, All Together,

Mrs. Jackson

Last Thursday, 18 CA juniors and seniors visited Texas Woman’s University in Denton to receive an official guided tour from two TWU tour ambassadors. CA students visited the library (pictured above), the gym, campus cafeteria and dining, athletic complex, and a layout of a dorm room. The tour ambassadors, both first-generation college students, spoke about how TWU has been a transformational college in their lives and how they are fortunate to have received an education at a university that values and believes in first-generation born college students.

For more information about Texas Woman’s University, please visit https://twu.edu/

Check out our own teacher, Joseph Indelicato, being featured in this week's GCISD Newsletter:

Joseph Indelicato, teacher and boys soccer coach at Collegiate Academy, loves being a part of the GCISD family! Check out this episode of "Why I Teach" to learn his favorite part of being an educator and listen to his story of how he found a passion for teaching through his coaching experience. More “Why I Teach” episodes will be shared throughout the school year to highlight GCISD’s outstanding teaching professionals!

Our clubs are off to a great start! Thursday was the first day for our clubs to meet. From Volleyball and Weightlifting to Robotics and UIL Academics to Crochet and Cooking, we have something for all our Phoenixes to engage and build community. Clubs meet every Thursday.

September 2nd - No School (Student & Teacher Holiday)

September 6th - Phoenix Talks / Friday School

September 9th - Open House @ CA

September 13th - Senior Portraits @ CA / NHS Applications Due

September 27th - UT-Arlington College Visit

Next Friday, September 6, 2024, during first period, we will host Phoenix Talks for freshmen and sophomores. This is a time at the beginning of the year when we talk about Collegiate Academy expectations for academics, attendance, behavior, and more. During Open House, a portion of this presentation will be shared with parents. Parents, thank you for partnering with us to support your students with our high expectations at CA. High expectations elicit high performance, and we have the best students in GCISD.

Please reach out to jessica.heaton@gcisd.net if you have any questions. Thank you!

At CA, we are fortunate to have extra time on Friday afternoons. If students are assigned Friday school, parents and students will receive a notification from their teacher(s). It is important for students to attend on Friday if they are assigned so they can catch up on work and review important course concepts. Light snacks will be provided at no cost to students who attend Friday School. Students being picked up by cars should be picked up at 4:30pm. For students needing to ride a bus, we will have one bus (Bus 321) that drops students off at Mustang Panther Stadium.

Please reach out to jessica.heaton@gcisd.net for any questions about Friday School.

On Friday, Sept. 27th, 50 CA Juniors and Seniors have the opportunity to visit UT-Arlington to receive a guided tour of the campus. A bus will pick up CA students at 10:45 in order to be on time for the 60-minute tour at 11:30 and will drop off students back at CA in time for a 1:30 Friday dismissal.

If you are interested in attending this college visit, please fill out the UT-Arlington College Visit interest form.

If you are a parent or guardian interested and available to chaperone, please email Mr. Geer at aaron.geer@gcisd.net. You must complete this volunteer background check and be approved in order to attend as a chaperone.

About UT-Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research, teaching, and public service institution whose mission is the advancement of knowledge and the pursuit of excellence. UT-A’s campus spans 420 acres and includes more than 100 buildings and state-of-the-art facilities. Located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, UT-A offers flexible, innovative educational opportunities. Through academic, internship, and research programs, UT-A students receive real-world experiences that help them contribute to their community and, ultimately, the world. Each year, over 41,000 students engage in in-person and online coursework as they pursue studies in the 180-plus baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs UT-A offers.

If you would like to opt-out your student out of the SOS program, please click here: English Spanish

Please turn in the Opt Out form to Mrs. Gardner in the front office.

At Collegiate Academy, student presentations will occur during all Pathway classes on:

September 9, 2024

September 10, 2024

I am excited to introduce our Pathways teachers and provide an overview of how Pathways supports our students. Pathways is a class designed to help students succeed in college. Our teachers assist students in learning how to navigate college life, including checking grades and attendance, providing support for any concerns in college classes, helping with registration for college classes, and assisting with book purchases. By junior year, Pathway teachers help schedule college visits, explore colleges or certification programs, and narrow down the students' school of choice. By senior year, students should have a clear idea of their next steps. Pathway 4 teachers provide support with college applications, recommendation letters, brag sheets, and much more!

The National Honor Society is reviewing candidates for the 2024-2025 school year. The criteria for membership involve the four pillars of NHS: Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character.

SCHOLARSHIP

• Minimum 4.375 (weighted) GPA

LEADERSHIP

• Active member/officer of a club or organization

SERVICE (Volunteer)

• Sophomores 20+

• Juniors 50+

• Seniors 80+

CHARACTER

• Respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship

If you meet most of these requirements, we invite you to fill out the four-part candidate selection form. All parts are due by Friday, September 13, 2024.

Please reach out to sarah.roberts@gcisd for any questions.

Collegiate Academy’s Robotics Team the “Phoenix Mechs” are back at it! This year we will be competing in UIL BEST Robotics! We are looking for members to join our programming engineers, construction crew, and marketing team! We meet Tuesdays and/or Thursdays during 3rd period to learn, plan, create, and improve our robot. This year’s theme is “LOW G” - going to the moon!

Our kick-off event is September 7th in Lake Worth. If interested, please contact sarah.roberts@gcisd.net

Volleyball meets every Thursday 11:00-11:50 in the TCC gym (building NHPE). When you arrive at the gym, check in at the desk downstairs and show them your TCC ID to get a wristband. You must check in every time you use the gym. Make sure that you are wearing the proper attire to play (tennis shoes, athletic clothes in dress code, knee pads or leggings). If you are not wearing proper attire or do not have your TCC ID, then you will not be allowed to play.

If you have any questions, please email avery.jones@gcisd.net for more information.

This summer four recent CA graduates were awarded Texas Interscholastic League Foundation Scholarships. Requirements to apply involve advancing to and competing at UIL State during high school. Applications open at the end of senior year.

Interested in joining UIL Academics, UIL One Act Play (Theater), or UIL Speech/Debate?

Please contact sarah.roberts@gcisd.net for more information.

Door Dash deliveries are not allowed.

Please help us remind your student of this expectation, which helps us streamline visitors to our building and, ultimately, ensure our student's overall safety.

On September 16, the district will activate fee notifications in Skyward for the 2024-2025 school year. These fees support classes they are assigned to by providing funds for materials used by the students and to enhance and enrich their learning experience. Fees may be paid with a credit or debit card through Skyward. To pay by cash or check, please bring your payment to the front office and turn it into the campus bookkeeper. Ensure your child’s name and the class fee you are paying are attached to your payment. If you have questions regarding a class fee, please contact the teacher of that class.

At its August 12 meeting, the GCISD Board of Trustees was presented results of an Efficiency Audit, which is required by the Texas Education Code prior to a school district conducting a voter-approved tax ratification election (VATRE).

The audit analyzed GCISD's academic, financial and operational performance in comparison to similar districts. Auditors highlighted that GCISD received an "A" in the state’s accountability ratings, an "A" in the state’s financial ratings, and demonstrated an average daily attendance higher than both peer districts and the state average.

According to the auditors, “When all of the data was pulled together for the report, we concluded that, with respect to all of the eight peer districts, GCISD efficiently uses its resources and would be good stewards of increased tax revenue as a result of this M&O tax rate increase, but that would be for voters to decide in November.”

Read the full story here and learn more about the VATRE at www.GCISD.net/VATRE.

El GCISD recibe altas calificaciones en la auditoría de eficiencia requerida para el VATRE

En su reunión del 12 de agosto, se les presentó a la Junta Directiva del Distrito de GCISD los resultados de una auditoría de eficiencia (Efficiency Audit), la cual es requerida por el Código de Educación de Texas, antes de que un distrito escolar lleve a cabo una elección de aprobación de ratificación de impuestos (VATRE, por sus siglas en inglés: voter-approved tax ratification election).

La auditoría analizó el rendimiento académico, financiero y operativo de GCISD en comparación con otros distritos similares. Los auditores destacaron que GCISD recibió una calificación de "A" en responsabilidad estatal, una calificación de "A" en gestión financiera, y mostró un promedio de asistencia diaria superior tanto a la de los distritos similares como al promedio estatal.

De acuerdo a los auditores, “Cuando se compilaron todos los datos para el informe, concluimos que, con respecto a los ocho distritos similares, GCISD utiliza sus recursos de manera eficiente y sería un buen administrador del aumento en los ingresos fiscales, como resultado de este incremento en la tasa total de impuestos de MO (mantenimiento y operaciones), pero esto lo decidirán los votantes en noviembre.”

Para leer la historia completa y aprender más sobre el VATRE puede visitar la página www.GCISD.net/VATRE.

It is a GCISD expectation and a TCC expectation that students wear their IDs at all times. I want to share a big thank you to our Phoenixes for doing such an incredible job wearing their IDS the first two weeks of school. This helps with safety and security of our students.

Starting September 3, any students who do not have a yellow TCC ID will be charged $1 for a temporary sticker ID. TCC has asked that our early college high school students wear yellow IDs because this helps identify our minor students and differentiate them from adult students for safety purposes. Students with multiple ID infractions will face consequences.

If students need to purchase a new TCC ID, the cost is $10. Pathways teachers can helps students with any questions on where or how to get a new TCC ID. Some students need to purchase a replacement lanyard to be in compliance. Every student received a free lanyard when they received their ID.

Let's continue to work hard meeting these expectations and demonstrating our appreciation to TCC for their partnership.

Please reach out to jessica.heaton@gcisd.net with any questions. Thank you!

Students have ten minutes on Monday through Thursday for passing periods. On Fridays, since we only have high school classes, students have five minute passing periods. Phoenixes are expected to be on time to class. Students who are continually late and/or who skip class will face disciplinary consequences. Please reach out to jessica.heaton@gcisd.net with any questions. Thank you.

Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/2203
Location: 828 W Harwood Rd, North Richland Hills, TX 76180
Phone: 817-515-6775
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Grapevine-Colleyville-ISD-Collegiate-Academy
Twitter: @GCCA_PHX