The Quest for Excellence: February 2019

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Week of March 4

Celebrate Excellence - Pathways to Excellence

FFA Students opened car doors for kids last week.
Good luck to the students at the Panola Co. Livestock Show.

This past week 8th grade students were exposed to a multitude of opportunities they can pursue in
high school. These opportunities are called pathways, and they provide students the opportunities to explore various options in high school and take a sequence of courses that prepares them for college.

Please watch the video below to see the great things that Carthage HS offers students, and CLICK HERE to go to the HS homepage for endorsements.

Black History Month

Carthage JH students made topographic maps using
equipment that was provided by grant funding
from the Carthage Education Foundation!

This past Tuesday, I had the privilege to attend the Black History Assembly at Carthage Junior High. It was an amazing program organized by the Excellent Teen Choice program which is led by Eric Love and Sharon Roberson-Jones. The theme of the program was "First", and the program highlighted Panola County residents who were the first for their community.

The students recognized the following individuals: Otis Amy, Wanda Gaines, Sandra King, Bonnie McMillian, Hubert Owens, Peggy Pope, Welton Sanders, and James Wall, Sr. The students did an outstanding job, and we applaud their efforts to celebrate the greatness of the Carthage community. CLICK HERE to see images from the program.

Upcoming Events

The Carthage Primary Patriotic Extravaganza was
outstanding. Thank you to Debbie Miller and all of the
teachers and staff for preparing our students for a fantastic
performance.

Fri, Mar 1 - CHS Belles Tryouts
Fri, Mar 1 - Tennis at SFA vs Hudson
Fri, Mar 1 - Soccer at Diboll
Sat, Mar 2 - Girls Powerlifting at Fairfield
Sat, Mar 2- Varsity Track at Pine Tree
Mar 4 - 8 - Texas Public Schools Week
Mon, Mar 4 - TSA Regional Competition
Mon, Mar 4 - Boys Golf at Diboll
Mon, Mar 4 - JH Track at Carthage HS
Mon, Mar 4 - Read Across America at Libby
Tue, Mar 5 - Community Breakfast at CHS at 8 a.m. (Community is Invited)
Tue, Mar 5 - Baseball at Atlanta
Tue, Mar 5 - Softball vs Henderson
Tue, Mar 5 - Soccer at Jasper
Wed, Mar 6 - FFA at Houston Livestock Show through Sunday
Wed, Mar 6 - Bring a Buddy to Breakfast at Primary & Libby
Thu, Mar 7 - JV BB at Hudson, V BB at Jasper
Thu, Mar 7 - HS Track at Texas High
Fri, Mar 8 - UIL One Act Play District Competition at CHS
Sat, Mar 9 - Boys Regional Powerlifting at Malakoff
Mar 11 - 15 - Spring Break
Mon, Mar 18 - School Board Meeting

Baker Koonce students learned about new technology at
the TAFY (Tech Adventures for Youth) program

Click Links below to each School Calendar
Carthage HS Calendar
Carthage JH Calendar
Baker-Koonce Calendar
Libby Elementary Calendar
Carthage Primary Calendar

Your Input Matters
If you have a question, suggestion, or comment, please leave a comment below. Comments are not published immediately. Please do not leave negative comments about individual people. If you have a negative comment, please email the principal, superintendent or call 903-693-3806.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Week of February 25

Celebrate Excellence - #TxEdTuesday

Carthage Primary students put on an amazing Valentines
Variety show. Thank you students and staff for your hard work.

#TxEdTuesday is a state-wide initiative that Texas public schools use to tell their story about public education. Every Tuesday, school around the state highlight what they are proud of in their schools. In my 4 weeks here, I have found and shared multiple stories about the excellence in our district.

Are you proud of Carthage ISD? If so, I invite you to join us in praising our teachers, students, and staff members who go above and beyond to make Carthage an outstanding district. Our story is being written every day, but it is only know by story-tellers. Will you join us in telling that story?

Carthage ISD Legislative Priorities
With the legislature in session, it is important to inform you of legislative priorities that affect Carthage ISD. Below are the district's priorities and why they are important to CISD.

Reduce amount of recapture funds taken from CISD (Robin Hood).

CISD sends an average of $7M - $10M every year to the state.
This amount represents 1/3 to 1/4 of the CISD budget.
44% or 450 of 1031 Texas schools districts pay recapture every year.

Increase state funding to ALL TEXAS SCHOOLS.

With the loss of ASATR (Additional State Aid for Tax Relief), CISD lost an additional $7M in state funding. (This is in addition to recapture)
ASATR was the sole reason so many positions in CISD were eliminated in 2016-18.

Increase funds to benefit all educator salaries and benefits.

Teacher salaries have not kept up with the cost of living and inflation.
Health insurance premiums have increased, and benefits have decreased, which has resulted in increased costs on all state employees, thus a loss to their paychecks.

Take care of retired teachers and future retired educators

TRS (Texas Retirement System) has decreased its commitment to health insurance by doubling costs for retired teachers.
TRS lowered the rate of return assumptions which negatively affected the future cost of living raises for ALL TEXAS TEACHERS.
Changes to TRS negatively impacts all teachers including those who are not yet retired but are currently paying into the system.

If you would like to see changes made in Austin, please contact your representatives in Austin.

CLICK HERE to contact Senator Bryan Hughes
CLICK HERE to contact Representative Chris Paddie
CLICK HERE to contact any Texas Senator
CLICK HERE to contact any Texas Representative

Panola County Day

Truman Shirey, Dr. Donna Porter, Mary Ella Sherman,
and Kathy Worley represented Carthage ISD at Panola
County Day in Austin.

This past Monday and Tuesday, members of the City, Chamber of Commerce, Panola College, and Carthage ISD went to Austin to meet with legislators. The legislative session is currently meeting to pass legislation that impacts all of Texas.

We thank Panola College for providing the transportation, the Chamber of Commerce for arranging the dates and the community members including CISD Board Members, Mary Ella Sherman and Truman Shirey for taking time out of their day to advocate for the constituents of Panola County.

Upcoming Events

Fri, Feb 22 - HS Cheer Tryouts

Representative Chris Paddie (center) recognized
Steve Williams, John Wink, Dr. Greg Powell,
Lynn Joffrion and Jerry Hanszen on the
House floor this past week.
Fri, Feb 22 - Boys Golf at Lindale
Fri, Feb 22 - Tennis at Center
Fri, Feb 22 - Soccer vs Henderson
Sat, Feb 23 - UIL Academics at Center
Sat, Feb 23 - JV Boys Soccer vs. Hudson
Mon, Feb 25 - FFA Area VI Convention - Sulphur Springs
Tue, Feb 26 - Soccer at Center
Tue, Feb 26 - Softball at Hallsville
Tue, Feb 26 - JV/V BB at Liberty Eylau, F BB at Hallsville
Wed, Feb 27 - Panola Co. Jr. Livestock Show begins
Thu, Feb 28 - NAEP test in grades 4, 8, 12
Thu, Feb 28 - SB at Hallsville Tournament
Thu, Feb 28 - BB at Marshall Tournament
Fri, Mar 1 - CHS Belles Tryouts
Fri, Mar 1 - Tennis at SFA vs Hudson
Fri, Mar 1 - Soccer at Diboll
Mar 4 - 8 - Texas Public Schools Week

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Week of February 18

Celebrate Excellence
The end of the 4th 6 weeks is here, and that means we have completed 2/3 of the year. With that
being said, the last third of the year is upon us, and now is the time push hard to the end. A strong start is nothing without a stronger finish. As parents you can help your student with words of encouragement to work hard in class every day, and you can also increase the motivation to finish strong by asking questions about their progress in the classroom and by monitoring grades in their classes. If you don't have access to the online gradebook or if you would like to know more about your child's progress, please contact your child's campus office or teacher.

2019-2020 School Calendar Approved
Click the link above to view the school calendar for next year.

In the Board Meeting
At the February 11 Board Meeting the board considered the following items:

Approved the Consent Agenda as presented

State Representative Chris Paddie visited Carthage ISD
on Friday, 2/8/. We appreciate his commitment to Texas
public schools.
Recognized Taylor Kenderdine for her success Texas Art Education Association Youth for being selected to present her work at the All-State Exhibit at State Capitol.
Held the first reading on TASB Initiated Localized Policies – Policy Update 112: Affecting Local Policies: BJA, CCG, CCGA, CCGB, CH, CQ, CV, DCB, DH, DIA, FMA, FNG, GF, GKA, GKB
Approved the school calendar for the 2019-2020 school year.
Approved a Waiver for Professional Development Days that would convert 5 student days into 5 professional development days
Reviewed the State School Report Card for all campuses and the district.
Approved contract extensions for campus and district administrators as presented.

Upcoming Events

Thu-Mon, Feb 14 - 18 - FFA at San Antonio Livestock Show
Fri, Feb 15 - Staff Development Day (STUDENT HOLIDAY
Our CHS Welders represented us well at the

Panola College Welding Contest last week.
Fri, Feb 15 - Sat, Feb 16 - Carthage Softball Tournament
Fri, Feb 15 - V Baseball vs Hallsville
Fri, Feb 15 - JV/F Baseball at Hallsville
Fri, Feb 15 - Soccer vs Jasper
Sat, Feb 15 - Service League Prom Dress Sale
Sat, Feb 15 - JV Boys Soccer at Hudson
Mon, Feb 18 - 5th Six Weeks Begin
Tue, Feb 18 - BB at Rusk for Playoff Game against Madisonville
Tue, Feb 19 - Soccer at Hudson
Tue, Feb 19 - Softball at Central
Thu, Feb 21 - Softball at Whitehouse Tourney
Thu, Feb 21 - V Baseball at Pine Tree Tourney
Thu, Feb 21 - JV Baseball at Lufkin Tourney
Thu, Feb 21 - F Baseball at Hallsville Tourney
Thu, Feb 21 - HS Track at Marshall
Thu, Feb 21 - Powerlifting at Lufkin
Fri, Feb 22 - HS Cheer Tryouts
Fri, Feb 22 - Boys Golf at Lindale
Fri, Feb 22 - Tennis at Center
Fri, Feb 22 - Soccer vs Henderson
Sat, Feb 23 - UIL Academics at Center
Sat, Feb 23 - JV Boys Soccer vs. Hudson

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Week of February 11

Congratulations to our seniors who signed
their letters of intent for college.

Celebrate Excellence -
Where Champions are Educated
On the front of our website, you will see this motto at the top of our page. So what does this motto really mean? Well for starters, it means that we as a district believe that every child has a champion inside them, and second it means that we as a united community are deeply committed to educating all students in such a manner that they know they are a champion as well. Every student at Carthage ISD is a champion, and it is our mission to ensure that each child reaches his potential as a champion.

Basketball Success
Congratulations to Coach Charlie Tucker and the Bulldog basketball team for winning the district championship on Tuesday night. Last year the boys reached the Regional tournament for the 1st time in 50 years, and this is their first district championship since 2001. Congratulations to the boys. Also, the Lady Bulldog basketball team earned a spot in the playoffs and we are very proud of Coach Kevin Smith and the ladies for their hard work.