CTMS ASPIRE Info

Next month, Glenhope 5th grade will travel to CTMS during the school day. This middle school field trip was designed by the district in order to help your child feel more prepared and ready for their transition to middle school. CTMS counselors as well as other CTMS staff will speak to students and then send home course selection sheets for you to fill out with your child. We know that many of you have questions about what your child's middle school experience will be like next year. We thought it would be helpful to give you these tips:

1. ASPIRE in middle school continues at CTMS.

2. Your child will have an eight-period day that are 45 minutes each. We have put a picture of this year's bell schedule below for your reference. **Please note that times will be adjusted slightly, as the school day will be longer next year** 

3. Fifth period for students is an extremely long block because it includes lunch and "Wolf Time." Wolf Time is an advisory time and study hall combined and lasts for around 1 hour daily. In 6th grade, advisory time focuses heavily on organization, study skills, time management, and other skills that are required to be successful in middle school. During study hall, your child will be able to catch up on work, get a start on homework, or have opportunities to get more individualized help from their teachers. Wolf Time is like a homeroom, and ASPIRE students are with ASPIRE teachers during that time.

4. Four out of eight periods will be ASPIRE classes. Math, Science, Social Studies, and Humanities (reading + writing) are your child's ASPIRE classes. Wolf Time will also be with other ASPIRE students.

5. The remaining three classes will be non-ASPIRE and therefore mixed with the CTMS 6th grade population.

6. Out of the remaining three classes, only one is not "chosen" by the sixth-graders, which is Athletics (PE). All sixth-grade students will take Athletics unless special circumstances dictate some sort of alternate plan. The other two classes are chosen by you and your child. One must be a fine arts elective and one must be a language arts elective.

-Fine Arts Elective (art, music, theatre, or band)

-Language Arts Elective (GT Independent Study or AVID)

**more info about the electives will come after CTMS counselors visit

7. Math at the middle school is accelerated. 6th-grade math is actually all of the 6th-grade content and half of the 7th-grade. 7th-grade math is the remaining half of 7th grade and all of the 8th grade. 6th-grade students take the 6th-grade math STAAR, and 7th-grade students take the 8th-grade math STAAR. 8th-grade math is Algebra I, and those students take the Algebra EOC at the end of 8th grade. (Students who telescope beyond Algebra I in middle school are required to take their grade-level math STAAR in middle school.) Because the Algebra I EOC is the highest-level state test in math, students must take either the SAT or the ACT at some point in high school to meet the federal requirements for math testing in high school.

8. Science at the middle school is also accelerated. 6th and 7th-grade science contain all of the 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade science TEKS plus the IPC TEKS. Students take the 8th-grade science STAAR at the end of 7th grade. The IPC credit is awarded based on the student passing both 6th and 7th-grade ASPIRE science. (Students who enter ASPIRE in 7th grade won’t get the IPC credit on their high school transcript.) 8th-grade science is all of Biology with some AP Bio added to it for greater depth. The students take the Biology EOC at the end of 8th grade. Because that is the last state test in science, students must take the ACT at some point in high school to meet the federal requirements for science testing in high school.

5th Grade Community Service Initiative

We have a goal this year for all 5th-grade students (and teachers) to complete 12 hours of community service outside of the school day by the end of the year (6 hours per semester). Students who achieve 6 hours by December 13, 2024, and an additional 6 hours by May 9, 2025, will receive a party to celebrate their achievements. When your child completes community service, please be sure they are logging their time in the Google Form linked below. We have hung a tracker poster (pictured here to the left) in the 5th-grade hallway to track the hours completed as the school year progresses. We cannot wait to see the tracker fill up! 

SO FAR, 5TH GRADE STUDENTS ARE OVER 510 HOURS FOR THIS SEMESTER!

Also, if you snap photos of your child during their community service, please send them our way! We would love to see the work they are doing. We have included some of the photos we have received so far (to the right). It makes our hearts so happy to see students volunteering in their community!

Hayes/Weinstein Community Service Log