Human Resources

• Ensuring the district has your correct address and phone number is very important for your safety and security. You can update an address or phone number in Employee Self Service. If you need to make a name change, please contact HR.
• Coppell ISD values all of its more than 1,200 employees, and we love to share their stories! We recently learned that Ashley Minton, Principal for Canyon Ranch Elementary, was honored by her alma mater as this year’s recipient of the Baylor School of Education’s Centennial Young Alumni of the Year Award.

Ashley Minton with Dr. Krys Goree, Director of Baylor School of Education’s Office of Professional Practice, 
who nominated her for the award 

Benefits Update 

• Remember! Coppell ISD Flu Vaccine Clinics will again be offered to all staff by Old Town Family Practice starting Monday, Oct. 7. Come prepared! Click here for details and schedule.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - Taking care of yourself is especially important! Self-care is the mindset, activities, practices and habits we bring to bear against stress, unhappiness, illness, depression and many more negative emotions that we all experience from time to time. Keep your self-care in check with Coppell ISD’s EAP! This program offers some free and confidential support in these areas and can help you resolve a broad range of daily challenges in life that can affect your physical and mental health and well being. For more info. visit https://benefits.ffga.com/coppellisd/Benefits.
  
• 7 Salsas is the newest business partner to participate in the CISD Employee Discount Program. The district offers the robust and growing discount program free to all employees. Click the following link to learn more www.coppellisd.com/employeediscounts. 

Safety & Security Update 

• Enjoy tonight’s Home football game and the Community Tailgate! Remember: New stadium no large bag rule, bag check and wanding procedures are in effect this year so “Know Before You Go!" Click for details https://coppellathletics.net/splash.aspx?id=splash_15.
• The upcoming Parent University presentation, “Keeping Your Kids Safe Online,” is designed for parents of elementary students prior to childeren getting a cell phone. (Please honor the District’s "For Parents Only" recommendation based on inappropriate content for young eyes.) Rachael Freeman, CISD Safety and Security Coordinator, will headline the cyber security event on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 6-7:30 p.m., at the CHS Auditorium. According to Freeman, “This is a ‘must-see’ presentation before any parent decides to equip their child with a cell phone!”

Student Attendance Reminder

This year, CISD student attendance practices were revised to mirror neighboring districts and to be in more alignment with the two state laws that govern student attendance. Please take a moment to review the complete standards in the CISD Student Handbook at www.coppellisd.com/policies. District employees should be aware of the following:

• Absences such as non-school related vacations and trips, babysitting, working (including acting, modeling or voice over work), and non-school sponsored athletic events and programs shall be considered unexcused. Texas Education Code prohibits a student from being withdrawn by CISD after 10 consecutive absences if the whereabouts of the student is known. The student shall remain enrolled in CISD and truancy may be filed based upon standard truancy procedures.
• To receive credit in a class, a student must attend at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered. If a student does not attend a class 90 percent of the time, it is the policy of CISD to allow the student to make up the missed time in a variety of ways prior to the end of the semester in which the time was missed in order to come into compliance with the law and gain credit for the class in question. Students who are in violation of the attendance code and who fail to make up the amount of time required to be in compliance with the law will be denied credit for that class for that semester.

Curriculum Connection 

• The ESL/BIL department invites everyone to enjoy its bi-monthly newsletters. In every edition find: important dates and deadlines, strategies and approaches on getting to know your EL learners, a spotlight from the EL digital toolbox and ways to support your EL learner in the classroom. You will also find the ESL/BIL department twitter handles.
• Dyslexia is a common learning issue and a complex problem that has its roots in the very basic brain systems that allow man to understand and express language. It is not defined by a lack of intelligence, or impaired vision, or laziness, and it IS treatable with the proper interventions. Learn ways to help and find out who are among the many success stories.
  

Did You Know?

• Oct. 7 is the last day to register to vote for the Nov. 5, 2019 General Election. For more information, visit https://www.votetexas.gov/.
• CCE’s Krixia Funa and her Family played the Family Feud! Survey says they are big winners! Congratulations to Cottonwood Creek 4th grade teacher Krixia Funa and her family, who appeared on the Family Feud on Channel 27 Sept. 24-Sept. 30. Mrs. Funa and her family won each of their five appearances, the maximum allowed on the show. Their final winnings totaled more than $40,000 plus a new jeep!

• Elementary counselors, including Dr. Kaylyn Hickey from Wilson Elementary, work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of their students. What’s more, they are not only teaching young learners about their brain and how to self-regulate in fight, fright, or flight response modes, they’re also engaging the rest of the staff, parents and community members in social emotional learning as well. Can you spell the part of the brain that controls your emotions? Well, this Wilson Ranger can.

Important Dates

• Coppell ISD will be closed for the Columbus Day Holiday, Monday, Oct. 14. It is also CISD's Fair Day. "Celebrate Texas Creativity” is this year’s theme for the State Fair of Texas. Use your free State Fair ticket and watch our very own Chef Helen prepare her famous fall comfort food, 'Wicked Good Grilled Cheese' on Oct. 14, at 4:30 p.m. in the Creative Arts Building on the fair grounds.

• Red Ribbon Week "Life is Your Journey: Travel Drug Free" - all across CISD - will be Oct. 21-25.

Look who the latest Sonic drink winners are!

All they had to do was wear their CEF t-shirt and tweet their picture to #coppellisdef. Congrats to these Valley Ranch Elementary educators: Amy Watson, Tammee Henderson, Sandra Braden and Shari Gulam. Your next chance to win is on Oct. 15!