Here is a summary of the May 20th live video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: May 20
To every parent, caregiver, student and teacher, thank you times infinity! Celeste ISD sends out a huge thank you for your partnership during the Covid-19 school closure. We appreciate your cooperation and support. Together, we feel that our students accomplished great things under uncertain, difficult circumstances. Plans are underway to be more prepared should a similar situation arise in the next school year.
The senior luncheon held at the First Baptist Church had a good turnout. Graduates that attended the luncheon received tickets and a letter giving instructions on arrival, dismissal and seating charts. Those not attending will receive this information by email. It is also located on the CISD website and Facebook page. Pods have been determined, so students will be notified soon where their pods are located. A seating chart for the graduates was also included.
According to CDC guidelines, the tickets must be for families only. If a graduate does not use all the tickets, he/she will have empty seats. Please do not give leftover tickets to non-family members. Everyone attending must have a ticket. Alternating the wait time to be seated, there will be three different waves of family members allowed in the stadium at a time. Please let us know the name of the family member that will be handing out the diploma. Chairs will be provided at the graduation. Contact the school if a family member will be needing accommodations such as wheelchair seating. Pictures will be taken by faculty members, and will be given to students. Please do not leave your seat to take pictures. The graduation will be streamed live from Celeste High School Facebook page.
Parents, please call the high school or email communication@celesteisd.org with questions.
Remember to return devices to the school. If you were unable to return a device (computer, hotspot, calculator) on May 18th, we will be contacting you soon to make arrangement to pickup that device.
We have been working diligently to prepare the 2020-2021 calendar with minimal changes. Information will be forthcoming as to any changes that might be made such as a ten day prep time before school starts in August for students that can benefit from remediation in core subject areas. TEA has posted end of year assessments on their site. You may be interested in having your student complete this EOY in addition to the EOY tests that were placed in the student packets. The TEA assessment will give you scored data and analysis that will also be shared with Celeste ISD.
Summer feeding will start next Tuesday, May 26th. No home deliveries will be made. Beginning Tuesday, May 26th, students eighteen and under can come pickup breakfast and lunch at 9 a.m. at the high school. Meals will be handed out Monday-Thursday for the week. If you are unable to pickup at 9 a.m., Hunt County will setup starting on June 9th at Celeste Elementary at 11 a.m. to serve lunch. If you are planning on participating in the summer meal program, please call/email your campus, so we can know how much food to prepare.
Report cards will be mailed out on Thursday, May 28, 2020. Pre-K and kindergarten registration forms can be found online on the CISD website. Summer hours will start next week on Tuesday, May 26th. There will be someone on each campus Monday-Thursday to assist you through the month of June.
Have a safe and fabulous summer Blue Devils!
Here is a summary of the May 11th live video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: May 11
We have worked very hard to maximize our space on the football field, and we are proud to have finalized the following details for Graduation 2020. The graduation ceremony will be held on Friday, May 29, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. at Blue Devil Stadium. We will be following all CDC guidelines, so we have decided to place families in pods of six. There will be room to have 90 pods with six people per pod and still allow for social distancing in Blue Devil Stadium. Moving forward, we will be communicating with the graduates and their families. Each graduate will be allowed two pods, so graduates can invite twelve family members. Graduation will not be open to everyone. To attend, you must be a family member and have a ticket. Graduates will draw for two pods. One pod containing six chairs will be on the football field and the other pod will be in the stadium on the home side. There will be a map to indicate where family members of each graduate will sit. There will be a live stream of the graduation for everyone to view. Parents or family members of the graduate’s choosing will actually hand out the diploma. Please be vigilant about checking the Celeste ISD/CHS Facebook page, CISD website, emails and possible phone calls for information on graduation. There will not be a practice for graduation, so graduates and family members must check these platforms for information regarding the ceremony.
We would like to remind you to work on end of year assessments. Administrators and teachers will spend much time this summer evaluating these assessments to evaluate growth, strengths and weaknesses. Encourage your students to take their time and work hard on these assessments. The assessments are due Monday, May 18th, and shall be dropped off at 11-12 or from 6-7 p.m. All EOY assessments, library books, textbooks, and any electronic devices including computers, hotspots or calculators are due on Monday, May 18.
Summer meals (breakfast and lunch) will be offered again. Beginning Tuesday, May 26th, students eighteen and under can come pickup breakfast and lunch at 9 a.m. at the high school. Meals will be handed out Monday-Thursday for the week. If you are unable to pickup at 9 a.m., Hunt County will setup (starting June 9th) at Celeste Elementary at 11 a.m. to serve lunch. If you are planning on participating in the summer meal program, please call/email your campus, so we can know how much food to prepare.
Celeste ISD is proud to announce that Dr. Ray will be our new district director of curriculum and assessment. We are excited to have Dr. Ray oversee the district instruction and assessment data! Also, we are thrilled to announce that Lindsay Walker will be our new elementary principal. Lindsay is an experienced educator and principal and is from Celeste! She also previously taught at Celeste Elementary, so we are so proud to have her back as principal.
Look for some modifications on the 2020-2021 school calendar. We are being told by TEA that we should expect layoff time next year in the event of illnesses such as Covid-19. The calendar will reflect possible days that we are out of school by adding flex days towards the end of the year. In the event that we experience school closures again next year, the days will have to be made up, so be aware that school may have to be extended at the end of the year to make up those days. More information to come on the 2020-2021 calendar soon.
Here is a summary of the May 6th live video:
Facebook Live with Dr. Ray: May 6
Dr. Beth Ray filled in for Superintendent Brad Connelly on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. This is a special week for Celeste ISD because of Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you to all the students, parents, families and community members who have shown the teachers how much they are appreciated through the Facebook posts, emails and treats that have been shared. Thank you for uplifting our teachers!
Graduation details are being finalized. It looks like the focus is on an outside graduation ceremony. Mr. Connelly will be announcing the details very soon. Please make sure to drive by the high school to view the senior photo posters that are posted along the driveway to honor our graduates.
Monday, May 11th is the next scheduled packet pickup/drop off. There will be an assessment in the new student packet. Encourage your student to do their best and show their work on the assessment because it will guide us with instructional planning for the coming 2020-2021 school year. We need as much feedback as possible to plan for the education of our students for the upcoming year.
May 18th will be the day to turn in all your assessments, library books, textbooks, and any electronic devices including computers, hotspots or calculators.
Here is a summary of the April 29th live video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: April 29
Governor Greg Abbott has been slowly opening businesses up. That does not affect our school closure plans; however, it will give us some different options as we move forward with graduation plans. We are continuing talks to see what will be the best plan for gathering for graduation. We are looking at possibly having it on May 22 with 50% occupancy. We are in the process of gathering information on having it in the gym, and how many would be able to attend. Hopefully, we will have specific graduation details to pass along next Wednesday on our Facebook Live.
Remember that this coming Monday, May 4th will be our next packet pickup and drop off. Please remember to return the senior graduation surveys on May 4. Please note that there will be a change in schedule of the next packet pickup and drop off. This week there will only be one week of work to complete in the student packet. This work will need to be returned on Monday, May 11th. This will be the last set of work your students will turn in to be graded. Then, the packet pickup on May 11 will contain an End of Year (EOC) Assessment for certain classes. These EOY assessments not be used for a grade, but it will serve as a diagnostic tool moving into the 2020-2021 school year. Students should work hard and do their very best on the EOC assessments. The EOC assessment tool will be used to measure where students are academically to begin the new school year. Drop off for the EOC assessments will be on May 18th.
Seniors will not have EOY assessments in their packets. Seniors need to be working on your online classes, so you can credit for your classes!
Technology devices (computers, hotspots, calculators) are due on May 18.
For the next three Mondays, (May 4th, 11th, 18th) there will be packet pickup and drop off. Pickup/drop off times will be 11-12pm and 6-7pm.
Junior high and high school students that need to clean lockers out, the following times are available for you to come to school to gather your belongings. Beginning May 4th, you may come to school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-2 to clean out your locker. Social distancing will be respected, so there will only be a certain number allowed in the school at a time. Athletic equipment will need to be dropped off to Coach Rector at this time.
Dates for athletic physicals will be released soon. All incoming 7th, 9th or 11th graders are required to have a physical, or if you had a significant injury this past year. Stay tuned next week for more information on athletic physicals.
Here is a summary of the April 22nd live video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: April 22
As many of you know, Governor Greg Abott has closed our schools for the rest of the year. This news is difficult for us to hear, but we know that saving lives is most important. Our school buildings may be closed, but school is still going on at Celeste ISD. Moving forward, we want to continue to partner with you for home learning for the remainder of the school year. Parents, grandparents and care-givers have been doing an amazing job bridging the gap between school and home. Thank you for your partnership! It is our hope that you feel comfortable in what we are doing as well as having a voice in this new platform for education. We want you to reach out to us with questions or concerns. Email us at communication@celesteisd.org with questions or concerns.
Next packet pickup will be on May 4th. Students should continue working hard on core subjects and working online on programs such as accelerated Reader, iStation, GradPoint and Rosetta Stone. High school students need to make sure that you are getting the required percentage for completion on GradPoint and Rosetta Stone to get credit for these classes. Parents, please inquire with your high school students to make sure they are making progress. The parent portal is a good place to check on grades. GradPoint/Rosetta Stone grades and completed percentages have been placed in the packets as those grades will not appear on the parent portal. All other grades can be viewed on the portal. Teacher graded work will be returned to students for corrections. Each campus has specific times available for teacher assistance. If students have questions, they can contact teachers during their online time or by phone call.
Graduation planning is still a priority, and we are exploring various options. Presenty, Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner of Education, has stated that a virtual graduation ceremony is the only acceptable event. We are awaiting additional information from Commissioner Morath which will be available towards the middle of May. In the meantime, we have some very exciting announcements regarding ways to honor our 2020 graduates which will be revealed soon. Senior parents, please look for the graduation survey in student packets that were passed out on Monday. Be sure to fill them out and return the surveys on May 4th. We will use the information gained from the surveys along with Commissioner Morath’s guidance to make final plans for graduation.
Here is a summary of the April 15th live video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: April 15
Governor Greg Abbott will come out with an announcement later this week regarding upcoming plans for school. Once we hear from Governor Abbott, we will proceed with school planning for Celeste ISD, so tune in next Wednesday to Facebook live and we will address those plans. As of right now, Celeste ISD is scheduled to reopen on May 4th. Once again, this is pending on Governor Abbott’s announcement, so stay tuned.
Graduation and prom surveys will go out soon. Participation for a June prom and June graduation are being assessed, so please make plans to complete the survey either online on the CISD Covid19 Webpage, or look for the survey in your high school student packet.
There is exciting news from the Accelerated Reader program! Home testing is going very well with growing participation. Last week, many elementary and junior high students read and took AR tests! Also, a big shout out to our elementary students for taking over 84 iStation tests! Thank you parents for encouraging reading at home and thank you students for your participation. Keep reading Blue Devils!!
We miss you Blue Devils! Let us know how you are doing with home learning. Send us pictures of your students participating in Zoom class meetings, doing homework, or just spending time outside in the sunshine! We want to share how are students are doing on our Celeste ISD Facebook page.
Meals are still going out on Monday and Wednesday of each week. Let us know if you are in need during this challenging time. Please email us with meal requests or other needs at communication@celesteisd.org.
Big reminder of the next packet pickup day on Monday, April 20th! Times for pickup and drop off of completed student work from last pickup will be from 11 am -12 pm and 6-7 pm.
Remember to email questions to communication@celesteisd.org. We want you to stay informed and never to feel frustrated with uncertainty.
Here is a summary of the April 7th live video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: April 7
Thank you to parents, care-givers and students for picking up packets. Across the district, 518 packets have been picked up and distributed. We appreciate the good partnership between school and families on working through these challenging times. Next packet pickup/drop off will be April 20th.
High School, eighth grade and kindergarten graduation as well as high school prom plans are being discussed. We are requesting feedback from families on extending dates for these events. There will be surveys sent out to get feedback regarding these special events, so be looking for the surveys online.
Accelerated Reader home testing is going well! We have had numerous students reading at home! On day one that AR testing opened, we had over 25 junior high students take tests. Numerous elementary students are testing as well! Way to READ Blue Devils!
Please contact us if you need a new library book. We will work out a time for you to drive through and we will get a book in your hands! (We don’t want you to wait two weeks.)
New Covid19 webpage will be a centralized location for you to access information such as student meals, surveys, FAQs, 2020-2021 registration, social media posts, etc. during the Covid19 school closure. The link can be found on the CISD homepage and under the district information drop down menu.
We want you to enjoy your Good Friday and April 13th holiday. Take time off from packet work and have a great holiday. Resume your studies on Tuesday, April 14th.
Here is a summary of the April 1st video:
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: April 1
-Schools are closed until May 4 per Governor Abbott.
-Starting 4/6, packets will only be picked up and dropped off every two weeks. So please put two weeks worth of assignments in them this week. Next pickup and drop off (after Monday, 4/6) will not be until 4/20.
-There is a new statewide initiative from TEA to help the public stay well. Be looking for info on this moving forward.
-Parents and students can email questions to communication@celesteisd.org
-Lunches will still be handed out or delivered every Monday and Wednesday.
-Encourage your students to read!
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly will be each Wednesday at 1:00 PM
Facebook Live with Mr. Connelly: March 19th
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