The Wolf Weekly
December 22, 2024
CTMS Family Newsletter
Wonderful Wolf Families,
That's a wrap for the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year! The pack finished the semester strong with their TEKS checks and assessments. Makeups are on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Come to the front entrance with a fully charged Chromebook.
During our pep rally, PTA announced the newest wolf to join the pack in the new year...a bronze wolf statue for the front of the school! HOWL to CTMS PTA for creating a legacy for the pack. Stay tuned to the newsletter in the coming weeks for information on the statue.
Looking ahead to January, ensure your wolf has a planner to use daily at school. This is a great communication tool between school and home as well as a method to assist the pack in the art of taking ownership of their time and learning.
Enjoy the semester break! We look forward to seeing all wolves back at CTMS on Wednesday, January 8, 2025!
Howl,
Jamie Halliburton
CTMS Principal
Wolf Spotlights
CTMS Wrestling
The CTMS wrestling team is off to a great start on the mat! Their next meet is the Carroll Invitational on January 14.
PTA Reflections Reception
Howl to the 27 wolves who entered the PTA Reflections contest. Six pieces moved on to the council level. Stay tuned for results in the new year.
Wolf Way Winners
HOWL to the Wolf Way Winners for the week! Thank you for exemplifying the Wolf Way!
Friday Fun
We celebrated the end of the semester with the last pep rally of the semester hosted by the CTMS PALS and grade-level celebrations. HOWL to the CTMS PTA and all the volunteers who made Friday possible!
Nurse Notes
Spinal Screenings
Spinal Screening for 7th grade girls and 8th grade boys will be Friday, January 10, 2025. Parents will receive an email over the break with more information if they have a 7th grade girl or 8th grade boy. Please reach out to Nurse Riley if you have any questions!
CTMS PTA
CTMS PTA Spirit Shop is OPEN! Check out the available items HERE.
Shout Out the PACK!
Your kind words of encouragement truly uplift our teachers and staff! If you have a positive experience to share, we’d love to hear about it! Use this form to leave a shout out for our amazing wolf staff!
Upcoming Dates & Events
January 8 ~ Students Return to School
January 10 ~ Spinal Screening for Students 8 - 11:30 am (see above)
January 13 ~ PTA General Meeting
February 5 ~ 5th grade information night at CTMS
Repeated Information
CTMS will reset dress code expectations upon our return in January. During the first semester, we primarily provided warnings, reminders, and opportunities for wolves to self-correct. Moving forward, CTMS will adhere to GCISD's established dress code guidelines and apply appropriate consequences for non-compliance. We ask families to partner with us in ensuring wolves follow the dress code to minimize disruptions to the school day and maintain a focus on learning.
Our most common infraction during the first semester was inappropriate length of shorts and IDs. As a reminder of expectations the GCISD Dress Code is linked below.
Any infraction addressed will be documented in Skyward using the following parameters:
● First infraction: Warning, wolf makes a change to meet dress code standards, and then may return to class.
● Second infraction: Consequence given (detention or similar), wolf makes a change to meet dress code standards, and then may return to class.
● Third infraction: Consequence given (1 day of ISS), wolf makes a change to meet dress code standards, and then may return to class.
● Subsequent infractions may be addressed as persistent misbehavior pursuant to the GCISD Student Code of Conduct.
GCISD Student Health Advisory Committee
GCISD is partnering with Recovery Resource Council to bring Drug and Alcohol prevention curriculum to middle school students during the 2024-25 Spring semester. As approved by the GCISD Student Health Advisory Committee, sixth graders will receive eight lessons using the Positive Action curriculum during PE/Pre-Athletics, and seventh and eighth graders will each receive one Drug & Alcohol Prevention lesson. All students will participate in this program unless a Parent Opt Out is received. If you need a paper copy of this, please contact your Student Advocate. We will be providing a virtual Parent Preview via Zoom link on Dec. 11th at 10:00 AM. (Meeting ID: 883 4600 2092) Please see the flyer below with more details. If you have any questions/concerns, you can reach out to Allyiah Daniels at allyiah.daniels@gcisd.net or 817-251-5323.
CTMS Dates (these are subject to change)
6th Grade - 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/20, 2/25
7th Grade - 1/13
8th Grade - 1/15
Cross Timbers Information
- School Hours: 8:10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Doors Open: 7:45 a.m.
- Wolves enter the building through the C hall doors or the SAC doors. 6th & 8th grade wolves wait in the SAC and 7th grade wolves wait in the lecture hall for the bell to walk to first period.
- Bell Schedule
- Campus Map (click present for easier viewing)
- Front Office: 817-251-5320
- Mascot: Wolf
- School Colors: Silver & Black
- Planners: All wolves use a planner at CTMS. This is to assist with organizing, prioritizing, and planning. You can purchase a CTMS planner for $5 on the first day of school or use one of your choosing. Wolves use their planners daily.
- Student IDs: All wolves who did not attend Wolf Camp or Registration will be issued a temporary CTMS ID on the first day of school. The first IDs are free and replacement IDs are $5 and $1 for replacement lanyard. Per the student code of conduct, IDs are to be worn daily by all CTMS students and staff.
- Lost & Found: The Front Office currently has several pieces of jewelry, keys, glasses and phones that are lost and have found their way to the office! Come by to check to see if your item was found!
Who to Contact
Attendance
Lache Nealy
817-251-5326
Counselors
Molly Brown (last names A-K)
817-251-5315
Rachel Smith (last names L-Z)
817-251-5312
Student Advocate
Allyiah Daniels
817-251-5323
Registrar
Ilia Kaku
817-251-5314
Nurse
Riley Heimuli
817-251-5337
Assistant Principals
Alishia Ilic (last names A-K)
817-251-5313
Cinthia Morales (last names L-Z)
817-251-5317
Principal
Jamie Halliburton
817-251-5320
Need a Charger
In need of a new charger for a school issued Chromebook, click here for information on how to order a new one.
Thank you for helping our wolves be prepared for school each day by ensuring their Chromebooks are charged nightly!
Secondary Grading Policy
Click here to see the updated secondary grading policy from GCISD. All wolf pack teachers will be following this policy this school year to communicate the progress of each wolf.
Grades are a method of communicating the progress each wolf is making at CTMS. If you ever have questions or concerns over a grade, please reach out directly to the teacher.
Here is the link for the 2024-2025 GCISD Student/Parent Handbook and Code of Conduct :https://www.gcisd.net/o/gcisd/page/studentparent-handbook.
GCISD's Student-Parent Handbook contains information that students, parents and staff are likely to need during the school year. In addition, both students and parents need to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct. Both students and parents should become familiar with the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District Student Code of Conduct, which is a document adopted by the board and intended to promote school safety and an atmosphere for learning.
Cell Phone Policy
Middle school students may use telecommunications devices before and after school, and during
lunch. They may not use telecommunications devices during passing periods or classes.
What does this mean for the wolves?
- Devices can be used before 8:00 a.m., during lunch, and after 3:30 p.m.
- Smartwatches can be worn as long as they are used for telling time.
- Earbud, airpods, and the like will not be used in the hallway or during class time.
Updated ID Practice
Starting Wednesday, November 6th, we will implement a new CTMS practice for forgotten wolf IDs. As a reminder, the wearing of student IDs is part of the GCISD dress codes and outlined in the student code of conduct. We want to ensure consistency and encourage responsibility among our wolves, so each wolf will begin with a fresh start on this date.
The updated practice is as follows:
- First forgotten ID: Verbal warning.
- Second forgotten ID: Lunch detention.
- Third forgotten ID: Two lunch detentions.
- Fourth forgotten ID: Parent phone call, and a replacement ID will be automatically charged to the wolf's Skyward account.
- Fifth forgotten ID: In-school suspension (ISS) for repeated dress code offenses.
Additionally, please note that failure to return temporary IDs will result in lunch detention.
All wolves receive IDs, free of charge, on picture day. For those wolves who join the pack after picture day, they receive IDs when registering. Replacement IDs can be purchased from Ms. Richards in the front office before school or during lunch daily.
Thank you for your support in helping our wolves build good habits and follow GCISD expectations!
Buy Your Student I.D. Online ANYTIME!
Exciting News! CTMS Now Offers a New Online Purchase Option for Student ID's and Wolf Lanyards!
We are excited to announce that CTMS has added a new, convenient way for students and parents to complete your ID purchase needs online! This new payment option makes it easier and faster than ever before. You will find this payment option on the CTMS web page under the Quick Links heading where you can create your personal Web Store account. Once your account is created, click on the Middle Schools square and choose Cross Timbers Middle School. Complete your purchase through the Security/Dress Code option. Students will be able to finalize their order in Mrs. Richards office the following day once ID is personalized with the students' photo download. We hope this will be a helpful addition to preparing you student for a successful day at school everyday!
Student-Parent Handbook: Food Deliveries
Student-Parent Handbook page 55: Except in emergencies, delivery of messages or packages to students will not be allowed during instructional time. A parent may leave a message or a package such as a forgotten lunch, for the student to pick up from the front office during a passing period or lunch. Students are not permitted to order food using delivery services such as UberEats, DoorDash, etc.
What this means for the pack: Wolf pack family members may drop items off items to the vestibule for wolves. Delivery services are not permitted. Wolves will visit the vestibule during passing periods to pick up items dropped off by parents.
Volunteer Background Check
For the protection of students and staff, all volunteer applicants must read the Volunteer Handbook (in Español) and are asked to apply online authorizing the district to obtain a criminal history background check.
Note: All volunteers are required to reapply each year.
GCISD utilizes Volunteer Tracker for volunteer applications and signing up for volunteer opportunities. Please follow the steps provided to sign up. If you have any questions about registration, please contact App-Garden at support@app-garden.com or submit a help ticket.
Cross Timbers Middle School
Email: ctms.info@gcisd.net
Website: https://ctms.gcisd.net/
Location: 2301 Pool Rd, Grapevine, TX 76051
Phone: 817-251-5320
Twitter: @CTMSWolfWay