Dear CISD Families, 

I cannot believe how quickly the semester has flown by and that our Winter Break in upon us.  As we are in the midst of this holiday season, the talents of our students in and out of the classroom continues to amaze me. Our Holiday Greeting Card Winner this year is Averi Dunavan, an artistic and creative 4th grader from Cottonwood Creek Elementary. As she said in her winning design, “There’s Snowplace like CISD!” This motto is something I know to be true, as I consider myself blessed to be a part of a district with such wonderful educators, students and families who all want what is best for the children we serve. CISD is a pretty special place!

 This season is also a time for us to celebrate each other. CISD recently recognized our Teachers of the Year, who model our Great Teaching Core Value, and our Great Employees Matter or GEMS, for going above and beyond in serving our students each day.  I truly believe recognizing exceptional work is important, as what gets recognized gets repeated.  I congratulate these committed individuals for receiving these honors and thank them for the incredible work they do each day for our students. 

 As we head into Winter Break, I take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all of our CISD employees for their hard work this semester. I know that our students and their families have also worked hard this first half of the school year in school, and as well as engaged in the many extracurricular activities that occupy their time.  I hope you all take time to rest, rejuvenate and spend important quality time with your families and friends during this well-deserved break. 

Can you believe when we return it will be 2020?  This millennium is flying by!  As we head into the New Year, I wish you Happy Holidays, and I look forward to an amazing 2020!

 Sincerely, 

Dr. Brad Hunt

CISD values Great Teaching because we believe it is key to deep learning. Congratulations to our recently announced Teachers of the Year at our schools, who personify Great Teaching at their campus, and to our Great Employees Matter (GEMs) for going above and beyond in their role in CISD.

Austin Elementary: Fifth Grade Teacher Ashley Rhodes; Canyon Ranch Elementary: Third Grade Teacher Ashley Hernandez; Cottonwood Creek Elementary: Special Education Teacher Jamie Sever; Denton Creek Elementary: Special Education Teacher Kylen Sherrod; Lakeside Elementary: Kindergarten Teacher Kirby Leonard; R.J. Lee Elementary: Second Grade Designer Samantha Jensen; Mockingbird Elementary: PE Teacher Jason Gray; Pinkerton Elementary: Fifth Grade Teacher Erin Baker; Town Center Elementary: Fifth Grade Teacher Renee Foroodi; Valley Ranch Elementary: Special Education Teacher Catherine Brose; Wilson Elementary: First Grade Teacher Kelly Clay; CMS East: Social Studies Teacher Stephen Danby; CMS North: Special Education Teacher Keith Wright; CMS West: Math Teacher Sanela Pjetrovic; CHS9: GT/Honors English Teacher Summer Ward; Coppell High School: IB Diploma Program Coordinator Michael Brock; and New Tech High @ Coppell: English Teacher Zane Porter.

Canyon Ranch Elementary: Kindergarten Teacher Sarah Gooding and Third Grade Teacher Katie Cassidy; Cottonwood Creek Elementary: Fourth Grade Teacher Maddie Runyan, Art Teacher Rachel Milliken and Music Teacher Amy White; Lakeside Elementary: Librarian Skye Bryant, Pre-K Teacher Maci Nichols and PE Teacher Cindy Bladl; R.J. Lee Elementary: Third Grade Designer Megan Schlossstein, First Grade Designer Layne Dennis and Art Teacher Jessica Floyd; Valley Ranch Elementary: Third Grade Teacher Nadya Gulam; Wilson Elementary: Fifth Grade Educator Karen Clinkscales and Second Grade Teacher Jo LeBlanc; CMS North: Registrar Sara Sims; CHS9: Biology Teacher Laronna Doggett; CHS: English Teacher Courtney Orloff, Special Education Department Head Stephanie Fleischhauer and CISD Adaptive PE Teacher Angela Campbell.

Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt, along with Cottonwood Creek Principal Dr. Andra Penny and Art Teacher Rachel Milliken, surprised 4th grade student Averi Dunavan with the news her art was chosen as this year’s Coppell ISD Holiday Greeting Card on Dec. 9. As the winner of the contest, Averi’s work is featured as the cover of the official district Holiday Greeting Card. Four runners-up also are featured on the back of the card.

• Winner: 4th grader Averi Dunavan

• 1st Runners Up:  Lee Elementary 5th grader Nysa Nayak and Town Center Elementary 5th grader Suejin Kang 

• 2nd Runners Up:  Lee Elementary 5th grader Preeti Gandra and Cottonwood Creek Elementary 5th grader Oliver Campbell

CISD held its 1st Annual Spanish Spelling Bee on Dec. 11.  Bruno Castillo, a Dual Language Immersion (DLI) 5th grader at Denton Creek Elementary, won the Spelling Bee and, Eric Hall, also a DLI 5th grader from Denton Creek,  was the runner up. Bruno will represent CISD at the Regional Spanish Spelling Bee in Richardson in February. Eric is the alternate.

Led by Theatre Teacher Frances Hazleton, 15 students from the CMS West Junior Thespian Troupe recently competed at the Texas Junior Thespians Festival Dec. 14. Six of these students qualified to compete at the International Thespian Festival at Indiana University in June 2019 and will compete with Junior Thespians from 45 states and four countries. These theatre students are 8th grader Sarah Myers  — Monologue; 7th grader Ashia Agarwal — Monologue; 7th grader Aryan Dalal and 8th grader Jacob Hendricks — Duet Acting; 8th grader Akanksha Subbarrao — Theatre Marketing; and CMS North 8th grader Aria Juma (a former West student) who joined the West Troupe and qualified in Costume Construction. The CMS West Junior Thespian Troupe also was named the All Star Troupe at the Texas competition. Congratulations to CMS West Junior Thespians for this achievement!

The Coppell ISD Education Foundation’s Give for Grants campaign earlier this fall resulted in the funding of 37 educator grants totaling $60,200. Ten of these grants were fully funded directly by the community, near and far, through the Living Tree campaign, while the other recipients were determined by a the CEF grant committee.  On Dec. 17, educators learned their grants were funded by receiving a surprise visit from the CEF Board of Directors, also known as the Grant Patrol. These volunteers visited 13 schools and delivered a BIG check to 27 classroom grant recipients. Park Place Lexus of Grapevine supplied drivers and cars for the Board members to visit each of these campuses. Information about all the grants awarded in 2019, as well as those from past years, can be found on the CEF's website at www.coppellisdef.com.

Students at Valley Ranch Elementary collected more than 500 new stuffed animals for the learners at Dallas ISD’s Walnut Hill Elementary School, which had been damaged by the October tornadoes. They delivered the stuffed animals Dec. 19.  According to School Counselor Janet Nelson, when VRE Student Lighthouse members heard that the Walnut Hill Elementary school community was displaced because of the storms, they wanted to do something to help. “We talked about collecting school supplies, books, and various other school items, but when one of the team members mentioned that a stuffed animal may give them comfort during the holidays, that's when our ideas started to come together,” she said. 

VRE Student Lighthouse is a team of seven learners from grades 3 to 5 who work together to become better leaders, make school decisions to make VRE better, and give back to the community. 

“Our donation to the learners at Walnut Hill Elementary School was made possible by our entire community,” Nelson said. “When it looked like we were not going to reach our goal of 400 stuffed animals, our community responded.” According to Nelson, the Las Colinas Federal Credit Union collected and donated 30 stuffed animals. CISD administrators, the CISD technology department and staff donations all helped VRE reach its goal. The biggest donor was the owner of Kebab's To Go, who is also a parent of a 3rd grader at VRE. The family donated 200 stuffed animals. Nelson said, “We hope that our donations brighten the lives of the learners of Walnut Hill Elementary during the holidays.”

Friday, Dec. 20, 2019, is an Early Release Day for all CISD campuses prior to the Winter Break Holiday.  Elementary schools will dismiss at 12:15 p.m. and buses will leave at 12:30 p.m. Middle schools will release at 1:45 p.m. and buses will leave at 1:55 p.m.  High schools, including CHS9, will release at 1 p.m. and buses will leave at 1:15 p.m. The last day of school, Thursday, May 21, 2020, also will be an Early Release Day with the same schedule.

Reminder, Jan. 6 is the deadline for your feedback, as CISD considers academic calendar options for the 2020-2021 school year. You can share your preference between Option 1,  Option 2 or Option 3 by taking the district’s survey by Jan. 6, 2020. The CISD Board of Trustees is set to approve the 2020-2021 CISD Calendar at its Jan. 13, 2020, Board Meeting. The option selected for 2020-2021 will be duplicated for the 2021-2022 academic calendar. To see the calendar options and take the survey, visit www.coppellisd.com/calendaroptions.