Coppell ISD

We invite you to join Chris and Martha Thomas of The Defensive Line for a Parent University from 6 to 7 p.m. on March 27 in the Boardroom of the CISD Vonita White Administration Building. Hear about the Thomas family’s journey of turning pain into purpose by sharing their story. Chris and Martha will share components of the Suicide Prevention Workshop that show ways to be a bridge between the people in need and the resources that exist to support their mental health and intervene in crisis. Parents and adults will learn how to recognize warning signs of a mental health crisis and hold difficult but crucial conversations and leave with an informed plan of action. There will be time for questions and discussion at the end of the presentation.

🌟 Don't miss out on our weekly updates! 🌟 Tune into YouTube every week to #CatchupWithHunt, where Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt brings you all the latest stories from our district. 📺 This week is extra special as Dr. Hunt takes you along on a recent Board Walk at CMS West! 🏫 Join Dr. Hunt as he chats with CISD Trustees, Principal Dr. Sarah Balarin, and some incredible student members of the CMS West Principal’s Leadership Advisory Council: Maya Mathew, Aarnav Munji, and Jordan Podval. 🎓 Get an exclusive look behind the scenes and hear firsthand about the exciting happenings at CMS West. Mark your calendars and join us for this insightful episode! 🎉 #CMSWest #Leadership #CommunityEngagement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0gyVxOBc7c

167 CISD students were accepted to engage with future career opportunities of their interest. Through this job shadow experience, students could network, gain connections, enhance their communication skills, and create experiences to supplement their future careers. Some companies assisting our students range from companies as big as Amazon, Microsoft, and the Department of Justice, to local businesses such as the Coppell Fire Department, Coppell administration buildings, and even small businesses. -By:Suhani Ghuznavi and Rashim Bajaj

Richard J. Lee Elementary fourth grader Arjun Monja earned a place as a regional finalist in the National Geography Bee Central Texas Regional Finals on March 2 in Austin. The young geography genius breezed through three preliminary rounds of buzzer-based competition before the final lightning round. Manoj’s success earned him a “golden ticket” to the Elementary and Middle School National Championships, which will take place May 23-27 in Orlando, Florida. The National Geography Bee — hosted by International Academic Competitions — is a quiz competition for individual students, testing knowledge of the political, human, cultural, and physical geography of all parts of the world. #CISDMissionPossible

Congratulations to the Coppell High School Chess Team for winning its second consecutive State Championship. Senior Sharvesh Deviprasath is the individual State Champion. Congratulations to the chess team members Sharvesh Deviprasath, Amay Babel, Aniruddha Kumar, Matthew Xie, Lorenzo Rodriguez, Dhruvesh Ravishankar, Liam Li and Satyam Sood. The team’s adviser is CHS teacher Ray Pool. #CISDMissionPossible

CISD had four teams winning medals at the Destination Imagination Regional Tournament held on Feb. 24. Two of these teams are qualified to advance to the Lone Star Finals to be held at the University of Texas at Arlington on April 12-13. Congratulations to the Small-Eyed Owls team from CMS East and the Fermented Forks CISD High School team who will join approximately 475 Texas Destination Imagination regional winners at the 2024 Lone Star Finals. The Regional Tournament Medalists are: Team "Small-Eyed Owls" representing CMS East — 1st Place in Middle-Level Fine Arts Challenge (Advancing to Lone Star Finals) William Crawford Reid Dodd Anna Olougouna Macy Rogerson Team "Fermented Forks" representing CHS, CHS9 and 2 other schools — 1st Place in Secondary-Level Engineering Challenge (Advancing to Lone Star Finals) Daniel Devasia (CHS) Jarvis Li (CHS) Moukthika Palli (CHS9) Sujay Rao (CHS) James Veliyathumally (CHS) Sai Sidharth Kanyaboena (The Humanist Academy) Aamir Tinwala (St. Mark's School of Texas) Team "Dumpster Divers" representing CMSN, New Tech, CHS9 and Lewisville ISD — 2nd Place in Secondary-Level Improvisational Challenge Naisha Dey (CHS9) Maxwell Hall (CMS East) Virginia Hall (New Tech High @ Coppell) Sahana Iyer (New Tech High @ Coppell) Rohan Jain (CMS East) Pranamya Shrikant (CMS East) Anika Varadharajan (Lewisville ISD) Team "Animal Allies" representing CMS North — 2nd Place in Middle-Level Service Learning Challenge Triya Akula Kamalesh Laya Prakash Maheera Prakash Nithyla Prakash Anupama K Raman Olivia Rebello Texas Destination Imagination is a school-based program devoted to helping students gain practical life skills through interesting, entertaining and mind-boggling challenges. The program is created and guided by parents, educators and community volunteers who support the art and skill of creative problem-solving. Destination Imagination has affiliates in 48 states and in 50 nations. Texas is the largest of the sixty-three global Destination Imagination affiliates. Approximately 20,000 students in Texas participated in Destination Imagination this school year.

The Coppell High School Varsity Winter Color Guard triumphed at the WGI Austin Regional held the first March 2 - March 3, emerging victorious in both Prelims and Finals. This milestone victory represents the first time the Varsity Winter Guard has claimed the top spot in a WGI Regional competition, a significant achievement for the student performers and their director, Matthew Rummel. Congratulations to the Coppell High School Varsity Winter Guard for this well-earned and historic win!

Tune into YouTube each week to #CatchupWithHunt as Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt shares stories from our district. This week, you can catch Dr. Hunt at the recent CISD Professional Learning Conference as he speaks with New Tech High @ Coppell Principal Joseph Smith, Assistant Principal Garret Voelker and Counselor Mimi Robb; Director of Professional Learning Nancy Garvey, CHS9 Health Sciences and Principles of Education teacher Amber Fragosa Deck and CMS East English Teacher Meredith Fiveash. https://youtu.be/eYcCQ1hLCsA

Congratulations to Piper Carrell, a junior at CHS, who had a top 10 finish at the recent State Wrestling Meet by placing 8th in her weight class. #CISDMissionPossible

Reminder: Tomorrow is an Early Release day for all schools in CISD

Swimming her way to the medal stand — CHS Senior Katy Jost took 3rd place in the 500 freestyle at the State Swim Meet held at UT Austin on Feb. 24. Jost also beat her school record time at the meet.

Join Coppell ISD Director of Career and Technical Education Josh Howard for a Lunch Bites Facebook Live overview of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Coppell ISD. Tune in live at www.facebook.com/coppellisd on Wednesday, March 6, at 11:30 a.m. to gain a better understanding of what CTE is, how it benefits students, CISD CTE programs of study and more. Can’t make it? You can also view the event at any time after the live presentation on Facebook or YouTube.

Tune into YouTube each week to #CatchupWithHunt as Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt shares stories from our district. This week, you can catch Dr. Hunt talking with CHS Mandarin Chinese Teacher Andrea Voelker and her students, as they brought a Lunar New Year celebration and explorations of traditions to Cottonwood Creek Elementary on Feb. 23. Joining them in this video are Cottonwood Creek 5th Grader Wyatt Synowicki and CHS students Laura Liao, Kaelyn Liu and Alex Zhang. https://youtu.be/cENc85ViqAw

Embarking on a creative journey, members of Coppell High School’s digital art classes paint color back into Coppell Nature Park’s identity. The Friends of Coppell Nature is an environmental conservation organization promoting the preservation of the Coppell Nature Park. Collaborating with CHS digital art students, Friends of Coppell board members selected sophomore Arshia Joshi’s design. “We have oceans of incredible talent in CISD and it was manifested through a variety of different logos,” Friends of Coppell Nature Park board member Teri Keith said. Keith reached out to CHS art teacher Bennan Fruge, asking if students would be interested in designing a logo to increase marketing efforts. “I was excited, and I thought it was a great opportunity to have our students create art that could help the community,” Fruge said.

On Saturday, Feb. 10, Valley Ranch Elementary Principal Cynthia Arterbery and Coppell High School Special Education Teacher and Department Chair Laura Hynson were recognized for their above-and-beyond service to students and families by the Baha'is of Coppell during its second annual Service to CommUNITY Luncheon. This event celebrates individuals and organizations for their dedication and service to the wider Coppell Community. The Baha'is of Coppell is a faith-based, service-focused organization whose purpose is to "promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men."

CISD is proud to celebrate the eight Coppell High School students who recently achieved the highest possible composite score on a single SAT or ACT exam. Each year, millions of students take the SAT and ACT, and less than 1% achieve the top scores. Congratulations to: CHS Seniors: Prerith Arunkumar (SAT) Ryan Booker (ACT) Sua Cho (ACT) Aromi Han (ACT) Dhroov Pathare (ACT) (SAT) Varun Ravilla (SAT) CHS Juniors: Raj Pradyun Reddy Gaddam (ACT) Andrew Shi (SAT) These well-rounded CHS students also participate in programs such as the fine arts, athletics, Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, as well as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Dual Credit courses.

Tune into YouTube each week to #CatchupWithHunt as Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt shares stories from our district. This week, you can catch Dr. Hunt at the Fairy Tale Parade at Richard J. Lee Elementary with Principal Chantel Kastrounis and first graders Ryan Nazeri, Alisha Rajput, Jairice Palmer and Oliver McConnell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9IsyFtd1iQ

The Region 31 UIL Solo contest was held at Coppell High School on Feb. 3 with 169 CISD singers competing. A total of 161 singers received the rating of I (highest possible) and 53 singers were selected for state. We "aria" so proud of these amazing singers.

Leadership and Life Skills at VRE Inspire Young Students to Become Future-Ready Leaders with the Leader in Me Model Valley Ranch Elementary was notified on Feb. 1 that the school has been certified as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School by FranklinCovey Education — a distinction that only 700 schools in the world, 62 schools in Texas and eight schools in North Texas have achieved. “We are honored to have been certified as a Leader in Me Lighthouse School,” said Valley Ranch Principal Cynthia Arterbery. “We have seen amazing results from implementing the Leader in Me model at our school, as our students are stepping up as leaders in the classroom and beyond.” CISD Superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt said, “I am immensely proud of Mrs. Arterbery and Valley Ranch Elementary for achieving this incredible recognition, which is evidence that the school has produced outstanding results in school and student outcomes, and because of the extraordinary impact the school is having on staff, students, parents and the greater community.”

Saturday, Feb. 10, is School Crossing Guard Appreciation Day. CISD would like to thank our school crossing guards, who work each day, rain or shine, to ensure our students can walk and bike safely to school. Thank you to CISD crossing guards: Kathy Banks, Deborah Miles and Elsa Rojas at Austin; City of Irving Lieutenant Chris Summers at Canyon Ranch; Nancy Leahy and Consuelo Stevens at Cottonwood Creek; Krystal Mayes at Denton Creek; Linda Allgood, Judy Darnell and Jocelyn McKenzie at Lakeside; Gloria Alonzo, Jeanne Estes and Maria Sandoval at Mockingbird and East; Sandy Edwards, Laurie Johnson and Brenda Layton at Town Center; Rosa Quinonez at Wilson; Marita Angulo at North; and Dona Head, Raymond Jones and Mary Moore as floaters.