February 2006 PTSA Newsletter

Principal's Message

February is an exciting time at CHHS! Basketball, wrestling, and swimming and diving are getting closer to playoff time, soccer is underway, the theater production is happening, and we are steadily preparing for our TAKS and AP tests this spring!

In addition, our registration process for next year's classes is underway. We hope that you and your student are working together to choose the appropriate classes for next year. These are important decisions and the proper amount of thought and preparation at this time will make for a smooth start for students, parents, and CHHS staff next fall.

Some great news!  The ACT organization has identified 43 Texas schools that have significantly increased ACT Composite scores over the past five years, thus increasing college readiness while also increasing student participation." The ACT presented Colleyville Heritage with the School Academic Success Award! Congratulations to our students and staff on this outstanding accomplishment.

Speaking of testing... the TAKS test is just around the corner. Our teachers and students have been preparing all year long for this important assessment. Please join us in our efforts to support and prepare every student on campus for this test, which has local, state and national implications. I am confident that our students will perform very well this year.

Thanks for all you do to help us become "A Community of Excellence".

Dr. Robin Ryan
Principal
Colleyville Heritage High School
"A Community of Excellence"

PTSA President's Message

Seniors! The CHHS PTSA scholarship applications are available for students who are current members of the PTSA. Check out the details in this issue of the Newsletter.

Every year CHHS is ranked as one of the top schools in the nation for students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams. If your student is taking an AP exam this year, you should have received a letter recently with instructions for submitting the payment and a schedule of exam dates. Students can pay for their exams from February 7-17 in the Panther Den during lunch or from February 20-March 10 in the Counseling Office. The exam fee is $52 for each exam taken.

Because so many CHHS students elect to take AP and pre-AP courses, a new AP Booster Club is now being formed. For further details, see the attached article.

Nominations are now being accepted for PTSA officers for the next school year. The PTSA is an integral part of CHHS and we need a few parents who can contribute some of their time to this very worthy activity. See the following article for more details.

Go Panthers!

Judy Davisson
CHHS PTSA President

Thank you, CHHS Counselors for All You Do!

The week of February 6 - 10 is National School Counselors Week. The PTSA salutes the counselors and counseling support staff at CHHS for all you do at for all our students! Thank you.

Registration Dates for Incoming Students

Mark your calendar with a few of these important upcoming events! Visit the calendar section of the school website for a complete list of events

Scholarship Information Available On-line!

Become an Executive or Officer - CHHS PTSA!

The CHHS PTSA Nominating Committee invites all current PTSA members and incoming PTSA members to consider serving as officers or executive board members for the 2006 - 2007 school year. Please see the list of positions on the interest form in the newsletter and send the form back by February 26^th. You can contact Teri Ferney for more details at (817) 656-5850 or E-mail at dferney@sbcglobal.net

Telemarketers Targeting CHHS Students

During December, many CHHS families received unsolicited phone calls from a group purporting to work with CHHS organizations by selling plaques recognizing family members. This group is not associated with the school, any booster club organization at CHHS or the CHHS PTSA. This group, and many others, targets students who may not have developed the necessary skills to deal with telemarketers.

Now is a perfect time to talk with your student about those skills! Telemarketers continue soliciting in the spring, before Mother's Day and Father's Day, so advise your family on how to respond to these calls to determine if these are really products that they wish to purchase. Students and parents need to ask questions from the caller to determine if the group is a legitimate fundraising group at CHHS. Please remember that the PTSA's only fundraiser is "Greenback Night" at the start of school and students participating in fundraising for CHHS booster clubs and school activities will identify themselves and their organization. Purchases that are supposed to be "a surprise" or "a secret" for a family member are ones that need extra consideration from all consumers.

There's Still Time to Enter the Video Festival

The fourth annual GCISD Video Festival offers students and staff an opportunity to showcase and celebrate their creative talents in video, writing and art. The Video Contest is accepting entries between February 21 and March 3, 2006.

You can get more information from Mrs. Brown in the office or visit the district website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/vidfest/vidfest_info.html

You can complete the online entry form at http://dbase.gcisd.net/videofestival/entryform.html

GCISD Will Host National Forensic League Tournament In June

The GCISD will be hosting the National Forensic League tournament in June.

What an honor for us to have students, parents, coaches and judges visit our campuses for this unique tournament. The Debate Booster Club is in need of students and adults who wish to volunteer their time to make this event a success. The Debate Booster Club is in charge of the concessions.

Volunteer hours are available June 19th to June 22nd, hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you are in need of community hours, this is a great way to earn some. Please email Sandra Nasr at snasr41@hotmail.com  or call 817 424-3780 to sign up.

Panteras Host Spring Fling 2006 on Saturday, February 4

The Panteras announce that they are hosting their annual Spring Fling on Saturday, February 4, from 2:00 until 4:30 p.m. in the CHHS Main Gym. In addition to performers from several local dance studios, we will have performances by the Heritage Middle School and Grapevine Middle School Dance Teams. The Pantera Officers, Pantera Dance Team and Pantherette Junior Varsity Dance Team will be performing their contest routines. We would love to have you in the audience on Feb. 4! The cost of admission is only $5 - proceeds benefit the Panteras Dance Team. You may contact Eloise Sims at eloisesims@yahoo.com if you have any questions about Spring Fling.

Pantera Captain Wins TDEA Scholarship

Kelli Sims, Captain of the Panteras Varsity Dance Team, recently won a scholarship. In January, Kelli Woodruff, Terri Kitzmiller and Aubrey Wright attended the Texas Dance Educator's Association annual convention with Kelli Sims. All graduating seniors ( Dance Team Captains) who were planning to attend this convention were invited to apply for the TDEA Scholarship. Kelli Sims won the first place scholarship this year.

Congratulations to Kelli!

One More Week!

Directed by Jami Martin

Performance Dates: February 9, 10, 11
All performances @ 7:30 pm
$10 for students and $12 for adults.

Tickets are on sale at all lunches and after school from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. at the box office or call the Theatre Office at 817.305.4752 for reservations

CHHS Colorguard Hosts Winter Guard Contest on February 11

The Colleyville Heritage High School Colorguard Regiment will host the prestigious North Texas Colorguard Association Winter Guard contest on Saturday, February 11th at the CHHS Athletics Center. The contest will begin at 8:00 a.m. with Solo and Ensemble performances. The afternoon and evening will feature performances from 50 North Texas and Oklahoma regiments. An awards ceremony honoring those earning the highest scores from the judges will begin at 9:00 p.m.

Get in on the ground floor of the AP Booster Club

Based on the support from parents at Curriculum Night, plans for an AP Booster Club at CHHS are moving forward. The booster club would provide AP and pre-AP students with classroom and test support and provide families with important information on the opportunities available for their students engaged in AP study. An interest form is attached for those families who are looking for more information or would like to support this group's mission. We're still looking for a group of parents who are willing to help organize this effort. Contact Mary Alice Rippe at macrippe@comcast.net for more information.

AP Booster Club Interest?

Yes, I Am Interested In Belonging To A Booster Club
To Support Teachers And Students In AP / Pre-AP Classes At Colleyville Heritage High School!

Parent(s) Name(s): ______________________________________________

Student's Name: _________________________ Grade (05 - 06) _________

Student's Name: _________________________ Grade (05 - 06) _________

Student's Name: _________________________ Grade (05 - 06) _________

Home Address:__________________________________________________

Home Phone: ____________________ Other Phone: ___________________

Best E-mail address to reach you: __________________________________

I would like to help with the following projects:

________ steering committee for setting up organization

________ newsletter for parents

________ AP Exam registration

________ AP exam proctoring

________ publicity

________ membership

Enclosed is my donation of ______________ to help support this club. The steering committee will set dues for the organization, but a $10/family donation is suggested for the remaining portion of 2005-2006 school year.

Please make checks payable to "CHHS AP Booster Club"

Congratulations to CHHS Gymnastics Team!

The CHHS gymnastics team competed at Irving High School on January 13^th. Congratulations to Michael Anderson who placed first in the Boys' All-Around competition and to Chase Pennel for his second place finish.

Congratulations to Jennifer Thompson on her first place finish in the Girls' All-Around competition.

SENIORS: CHHS PTSA Scholarship Applications Available Soon at the Counselors' Office

Colleyville Heritage High School PTSA will once again be awarding scholarships to qualified seniors. Applicants must be members of the CHHS PTSA. The application includes one essay question and information about the student's academics performance, extra curricular activities, community service and leadership.

Applications will be available in the counselor's office in mid-February through March 29, 2006 and must be submitted no later than March 30, 2006 at 4:00 p.m. Please contact Ronda Poettcker at 817-283-5519 or jpoett@sbcglobal.net  for further information or questions.

Swim & Dive Teams Advance to Regionals on February 10

Congratulations to the Panther Swim and Dive Team on their award-winning swims and dives at District 5-5A Championships. Double gold-medalist Derek Ernst (50 and 100 freestyle), gold medalist Quinn Larwood (100 butterfly, silver in the 500 freestyle) and teammates Brent Rios and Travis Couch set a new school record in the 400 freestyle relay. Matt Cardell won the silver in diving and Harrison Arth placed fourth.

Gold medalist Gwen Blythe (100 breaststroke, silver in the 100 butterfly), silver medalist Carolyn Rippe, Molly Rippe and Kristin Rose earned the bronze in the 400 freestyle relay. Ally Feaster, Erin Springer, Mollee Reitz advanced to Regionals. Madison Luce continued to dominate the girls diving event and won the gold. Amber Hensel finished fifth and Katie Erhart finished seventh.

Spring Membership Drive Is Underway!

Join the CHHS PTSA during the spring membership drive by simply downloading the membership form

at http://www.gcisd-chhs.org/ptsa/membershipForm.html

Fill out the form and send it back with $6.00 per membership to:

Colleyville Heritage High School, Attn. PTA Membership,
5401 Heritage Avenue, Colleyville, TX 76034

Help the CHHS PTSA achieve its goals for 2005-2006!

CHHS calendar at your fingertips!

Need to know the date/time of the basketball game? choir concert? college visit? Senior Prom? Graduation? All those important dates (and so much more) are listed on the calendar on the school website. You can view a week at a time on the main webpage or scroll through the entire school year by clicking on the "Calendar" link on the top of the page.

Just visit the website at http://www.gcisd-chhs.org/for the calendar, daily announcements and the latest news at CHHS.

2006-2007 CHHS PTSA INTEREST FORM

Colleyville Heritage PTSA is already planning for the coming school year and invites you to become involved. If you are interested in serving as a CHHS PTSA Officer or would like to be on the Executive Board, please complete the following form and return it to the CHHS PTSA via the school office or send it to:

CHHS PTSA, 5401 Heritage Avenue, Colleyville, TX 76034

The DEADLINE is FEBRUARY 26^th for Officer Positions AND MARCH 12th for Executive Board/Committee Chairs. If you have any questions, please contact Teri Ferney at(817) 656-5850 or E-mail at dferney@sbcglobal.net

Your Name________________________ Phone Number__________________

Email_____________________________ Current School_________________

I am willing to serve as (Please check all interest areas that apply):

CHHS PTSA OFFICER POSITIONS

_____President _____Secretary

_____1st Vice-President (Aide to President) _____Treasurer

_____2nd Vice-President (Programs) _____Historian (Appointed)

_____3rd Vice-President (Membership) _____Parliamentarian (Appointed)

_____4th Vice-President (Ways & Means)

_____5th Vice-President (Communications)

CHHS PTSA EXECUTIVE BOARD POSITIONS

_____Awards

_____Campus Excellence Committee (CEC Rep)

_____Cultural Arts

_____Destination Imagination

_____FRIENDS

_____GCISD Council of PTAs Delegate

_____Hospitality

_____Legislative/Board of Ed

_____Parent Advisory Forum Rep

_____Publicity

_____Scholarships

_____School Enrichment

_____Student Bookstore

_____Student Directory

_____Student Rep Coordinator

_____Sunshine

_____Teacher Appreciation

_____Technical Support

_____Volunteer Coordinator

_____Volunteer Assistant

_____Youth Protection

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR TIME AND TALENTS WITH THE COLLEYVILLE HERITAGE PTSA!