June 16, 2011
Three teams earn awards at FPS International
Three teams from Grapevine-Colleyville ISD used their critical and creative thinking skills to earn top honors in the Future Problem Solvers Program International Conference in June at University of Wisconsin in La Crosse. Teams are:

• 8th grade, Heritage Middle School -  International Grand Champion
• 6th grade, Cross Timbers Middle Schools -  first place in Community Problem Solving
• Bihan Jiang, 6th grade, Heritage Middle School - first place in Scenario Writing

HMS Coaches include Terie Wied and Sheri Hill from CTMS, and Emily Garetson and Vickie Ikner from HMS. Check out the photos on the GCISD @Our BEST section of the website.

Spring TAKS results show continued improvement in academic performance
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD students continue to show gains on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), according to preliminary results of the first administration of the test. Students in grades 3-11 throughout Texas took the TAKS in March and April with retests in May. Student performance improved over last year on 19 of the 27 tests administered. The percentage of students meeting the standard rose in seven areas and stayed the same as last year in 11 areas while commended rates increased on 16 of the tests administered overall. Read more.

In the Know

• The GCISD Board of Trustees will meet Monday, June 20, in the Administration building. Links to BoardBook for the meeting agenda and additional information are available on the Board section of the website.
• Extended Monday-Thursday summer hours are in effect for GCISD administrative offices, with offices closed on Friday. The district will be closed the week of July 4, with the exception of KidzU, ECDC (child care center), and Elementary Bilingual/ESL program at Timberline.
  
• Looking for summer reading suggestions? Students are required to read two books during the summer break. Check out the lists provided by the GCISD Language Arts Department.
  
• The 2011-12 Student-Teacher Calendar lists start and end dates of school and semesters, bad weather makeup days, holidays and other days off for students. 2011-2012 Early Release and Grading Periods Calendar shows early dismissal dates and times by grade level, as well as beginning and end dates of six and nine week grading periods.Download .pdf copies of these two calendars.
• School offices are not fully staffed throughout the summer months. During the month of July, elementary and middle school offices are not open, however, voice mail will be checked periodically. Back to school information is available online. If you need to get a TEA form to get a drivers license or a transcript copy from one of the high schools, please refer to the information listed in the Summer Contact Information .pdf.

• Timberline Elementary:  June 6 – July 15
• Cannon Elementary: June 6 – June 29
• Grapevine Middle: June 14 – July 29 (M-Th)
• Cross Timbers Middle: June 6 – August 5

GCISD provides these meals as part of the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option (SSO), which was created to ensure that children receive proper nourishment during the summer months when school is not in session. The SSO offers good, nutritious food that’s “in” when school is “out.” The Texas legislature mandates participation in the SSO for districts with schools that have 60 percent or greater of students who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the National School Lunch Program.