THE GREEN PAGES WEB DIRECTORY - PROUD SUPPORTERS OF THE CARROLL DRAGONS

Posted August 9, 2007

Carroll Selected To Pilot The Phantom Of The Opera

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will come to Carroll Senior High School in the fall of 2007. R&H Theatricals, a division of The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, has selected CSHS as one of six pilot productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed musical in anticipation of its eventual release into the community, regional and school theatrical market.

"While there are no plans at this time to release PHANTOM to the stock and amateur market, we want to be fully prepared for when that great day arrives,” said Charlie Scatamacchia, Vice President for R&H Theatricals. “What we learn from the production at Carroll Senior High School and five other sites we've chosen will help us with the process of bringing the longest running musical in Broadway history to theaters across the country."

Working from the very same script and score that is currently being enacted every night on Broadway, in London's West End, and on U.S. National Tour, the production here at Carroll Senior High School along with the five other pilot productions will provide R&H Theatricals with the roadmap for future local stagings of PHANTOM across America.

Based on the novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. Its world premiere occurred at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, in October of 1986, where it is still playing. It subsequently opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theater in January 1988, where it is also still playing, making it the longest-running show in Broadway history.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has been produced in hundreds of cities in more than 20 countries around the world, and seen by an estimated worldwide audience of 80 million people to date. It has received more than 50 major theatre awards, among them seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. In 2004 it was made into a major feature film directed by Joel Schumacher. For more information on the history of the musical, visit the official website of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at www.thephantomoftheopera.com.

Roald and Stacie Martinsen, Carroll Theatre Department Co-Directors, will direct the Carroll Senior High School production, with musical direction by Chris Hutchison.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for both our school and our community," said Dr. Daniel B. Presley, CSHS Principal. "Carroll is honored to participate in this historic event. I am certain that R&H Theatricals and the authors of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA will be very proud of the Carroll production, and I know that the Southlake and Dallas-Fort Worth communities will embrace it."

The production will open Friday, November 30, 2007 at the Carroll Senior High School Auditorium. Production details will be announced soon.

SPECIAL NOTICES:

Audition Information Meeting – Singers, dancers and actors needed!
There will be an audition information meeting for students and parents on Sunday, August 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Carroll Senior High School Student Activity Center.

Actual Audition Dates - Monday, August 27 through Thursday, August 30 from 3:30 - 5 p.m. in the Carroll Senior High School Auditorium.

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School Board Calls Public Hearing To Consider 2007-2008 Budget, Tax Rate

Carroll School Board members have called a public hearing on the 2007-2008 School Budget & Tax Rate. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 30 in the Auditorium of Johnson Elementary School, 1301 N. Carroll Avenue in Southlake.

Trustees by law must adopt a school budget by the end of August. A budget presentation and public hearing will be held at the beginning of the meeting, with an agenda item to also act on the budget later in the evening. Trustees can adopt the tax rate at the same time or wait until mid-September, if they choose.

School officials have been working throughout the summer to project revenue per student based on the state’s new funding laws. The fact that CISD is a Chapter 41 property wealthy district and is part of a Tax Increment Finance Zone (TIF) complicates things somewhat. Superintendent David J. Faltys told Trustees Monday that the Administration is asking the Texas Education Agency for a number of clarifications to ensure accurate reporting for budget adoption. Robb Welch, the district’s new Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services, traveled to Austin as late as Tuesday of this week to meet with TEA officials to discuss Carroll’s outlook.

Districts across Texas will be required to drop their maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rates to at least $1per $100 assessed valuation with the possibility of only four additional cents approved locally by the Board of Trustees. To date, the CISD Administration expects to propose a $1.04 rate per $100 assessed valuation for the M&O side of the tax rate. The debt service rate is currently proposed to stay the same at .425 per $100 assessed valuation.

If approved by the School Board at these recommended rates, the 2007-2008 total tax rate would be $1.465 compared to $1.795 last year. Although the Legislature set a goal of lowering local property taxes, school officials warn that many CISD homeowners saw substantial increases in the taxable values of their home as announced by the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD). This news from TAD will affect their overall property tax bill.

“We not only have to look at what our budget looks like for the 2007-2008 school year, but we also have to forecast how things look in 2008-2009,” said Dr. Faltys. “Our proposed budget currently includes a three percent of the mid-point increase for all CISD employees, but we’d like to be able to do more if we could. The Board is committed to keeping our salaries competitive if the funds are available.”

The School Board will first meet for a workshop discussion on the budget and other school business at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 20. This meeting will also be held in the JES Auditorium. The discussion at the August 20 meeting will lay the groundwork and parameters for the public hearing on August 30.

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Trustees Reinstate Middle School Tennis, Add Soccer

Trustees approved the reinstatement of tennis at the middle school level during the August 6 School Board meeting. Tennis was previously offered to middle school students in the past, but had been cut due to budget restraints. The funding for this program will cost $6,750 for implementation at both middle school campuses.

In addition, School Board members also approved the addition of middle school soccer. The total cost for the implementation of soccer programs at Carroll and Dawson Middle Schools will total $15,000.

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In Other Business, The School Board. . .

In other business, the School board also:

  • approved a 1/2 time CARE Reading Specialist at Johnson Elementary School;
  • approved the retrofitting of nine school buses with security cameras and six buses with air conditioning systems, which will be purchased with proceeds from the February 2006 bond;
  • approved a change order for the Durham project to include a new extension for the current sewer lift station- to be purchased from Swaim Construction;
  • approved a change order for the purchase of network switches for Carroll High School from Swaim Construction;
  • approved an exclusive marketing agreement for home page web advertising with Purple Palm Marketing.

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Carroll Announces New Parent Notification System

Parents will no longer have to rely on e-mails and website postings from Carroll ISD to hear about timely emergency updates and safety alerts. The district plans to contract this month with The NTI Group for a fully hosted and managed parent notification system called Connect-ED.

School officials say the system utilizes technology called an application service provider (ASP), which requires no hardware, software or phone lines on the district’s part. The cost is $3.25 per student. Connect-ED enables school administrators to record, schedule, send and track personalized voice messages to thousands of students, parents and staff in minutes. The system can be accessed by administrators via the internet or by using a password on a telephone or cell phone.

“For less than two pennies per student per school day we can communicate more effectively with our parents,” said Superintendent David J. Faltys. “We think it will be money well spent as we work to improve school-to-home communications. The system sends targeted messages at an extremely fast rate, which will greatly improve our ability to contact parents and staff in an emergency situation.”

School officials say they could easily have used the system a dozen times or so just the last few weeks of school. During about a two-month period this spring, the district communicated to parents about a water line break, a bomb threat, the evacuation of an elementary school, smoke in a classroom, a home economics fire at a middle school and a safety alert about a suspicious vehicle near bus stops.

A committee of school employees led by the Communications & Marketing Department formed to study various types of parent notification systems, and a couple of tests were conducted to compare systems for price, customer service and ease of use.

While school officials say they were pleased with each of the systems they reviewed, Connect-ED had extensive experience in off-site ASP services. The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI) is a privately held California company that provides comprehensive communication systems designed specifically for local, regional, state, and federal government entities that enable rapid dissemination of critical information via voice and text devices.

The Connect-ED system will initially utilize emergency card contact information already in the CISD database, but parents will be able to use a new online Family Access program this fall to update their own directory information and add the numbers of their choice to the calling system. A family could virtually add up to six emergency telephone numbers for notification of district messages.

Guidelines and procedures for activating the system are currently being developed. School officials say the system can also be used for surveying parents and sending out event reminders and positive messages, but these uses will likely be minimized to ensure the effective use of the system during an emergency.

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District Poised To Provide Family Access To Online Grades, Student Information

Carroll ISD plans to unveil an online program giving Dragon families access to real-time student information via a secure internet connection. More information on these services will be provided to parents at Curriculum Night events this fall.

Called Family Access, the program allows parents to view grades, attendance, class schedules, emergency contact information, health records, fee management, discipline records and progress toward graduation requirements.

“We’re extremely excited about the opportunity to provide additional services and information to the families of our students,” said Superintendent David J. Faltys. “The program is voluntary for those parents hoping to increase home-to-school communications.”

CISD Chief Technology Officer Harry Ingalls said parents will be able to use the online system to notify the school of absences, e-mail school employees, print reports, submit student course requests, update personal directory information and retrieve forgotten logins and passwords.

School officials will initially implement this new service for parents of students in grades 7-12, with plans to add lower grades later in the year. Ingalls said the system is easy to understand and navigate on a secure site. Parents will now have access to information that was previously only available by personal appearance at the school building.

Plans are to share instructions with parents at Curriculum Night events. During the first six weeks, parents will not be able to access daily assignments and test grades, but this service will be activated and operational for the second six-week period. This will give the district time to communicate with teachers the guidelines and expectations for posting grades.

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Purchase Pre-Game Tickets To Miami Northwestern Match

Pre-game tickets for the greatly anticipated match up between the Carroll Dragons and Miami Northwestern will be available at the CISD Administration Center beginning Monday, August 13. The Administration Center is located at 3051 Dove Road in Grapevine. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. The Clash Of Champions game takes place Saturday, September 15 at Southern Methodist University's Ford Stadium. Kick off is at 6 p.m.

The District earns $1 for every adult pre-game ticket sold and $.50 for every student ticket sold at the Administration Center. For more information, call the Communications & Marketing Department at 817-949-7080.

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Dragon Football Media Day Approaching

A media day for Dragon Football takes place Friday, August 24 at 9 a.m. This event will be held at Dragon Stadium, 1085 S. Kimball Avenue in Southlake.

Dragon coaches and players will be available to members of the press for interviews and photographers.

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Save The Date: Indoor Complex Dedication

Please save the date for a building dedication ceremony honoring former Dragon Coach Charlie Stalcup.

Earlier this year, Trustees approved the District's first naming rights contract for the indoor workout facility. The official building dedication for the Performance Course Charlie Stalcup Indoor Complex takes place Sunday, September 9 at 3 p.m. The indoor complex is located behind Carroll Senior High School, 1501 W. Southlake Boulevard.

Stalcup lost his battle to cancer in 2004. His lasting legacy will be honored during this dedication ceremony as family, friends, colleagues and students gather to remember him in this special way.

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New Employees Saddling Up For Orientation Next Week

New Hire Orientation is August 15-17 at Dawson Middle School, 400 S. Kimball Avenue. This three-day event will welcome new employees to Carroll and prepare each of them for the coming school year. Carroll ISD expects about 100 new staff members.

Breakfast will be provided each day, courtesy of We Care, and a luncheon will take place during the first day of orientation. A special packet, including an invitation, schedule and map, was mailed earlier this week to all new staff members.

New Hire Orientation 2007: Employee Invitation

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Back To School Registration Info Available

Registration information is one of several topics as part of the 2007-2008 Back To School website.

To access a complete list of new student registration and orientation dates, click the link below. Registration and orientation for returning students is also listed on the Back To School website, which can be accessed by visiting the District's "Breaking News" link.

Back To School Website: Registration & Orientation Information

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Quest Information Night Is August 30 At CHS

CISD parents interested in learning more about the District's K-12 Gifted Program are invited to attend Quest Program Information Night. This event takes place Thursday, August 30 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the cafeteria of Carroll High School, 800 White Chapel Boulevard (note location change).

For more information, contact Quest Program Coordinator Pat Watts at 817-949-7070.

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Aquatic Center Closed For Annual Maintenance

The Carroll ISD Aquatic Center is closed for annual maintenance from August 11 through August 19. The building will reopen for normal business hours Monday, August 20.

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AP Booster Club Hosts Fall Fundraiser

The Carroll Advanced Placement Booster Club's fall fundraiser event offers two reserved seats and a reserved parking spot for the entire Dragon football home season. A drawing takes place Monday, September 3. Tickets are $10 each.

All proceeds directly benefit teachers and students through enrichment grants and scholarships. To obtain tickets, please send a check made payable to AP Boosters for the number of tickets desired, include your name, address and phone number and mail to:

Lynn Littleton
2721 Sandstone Drive
Grapevine, Texas 76051

Tickets will be sent via U.S. mail. For questions or more information, contact Lynn Littleton at l.a.littleton@verizon.net or by phone at 817-424-9739.

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Register For 15th Annual Carroll Craft Fair

The 15th Annual Carroll Craft Fair will take place November 3 and 4 at Carroll Senior High School. Interested vendors must complete a registration application by the August 17 deadline. For more information, or to download a registration form, click the link below.

2007 Craft Fair: Registration Application

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Dates Announced For Middle School Football

Below is information regarding middle school football.

Dawson Middle School

Equipment/Locker issue for the 2007-2008 football season is Monday, August 20. The following are dates and times for middle school students:

  • 7th grade: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • 8th grade: 8 to 10 a.m.

The first day of DMS football practice will be Monday, August 27. Tryouts will take place the first week of school and begin Tuesday, August 28. Seventh graders tryout at 7 a.m. and eighth graders tryout after school until 5:30 p.m.

Carroll Middle School

Equipment pick-up day is Monday, August 20 in the CMS field house. The field house is located by the football fields. The following are pick-up times for CMS students:

  • 7th grade: 10 a.m.
  • 8th grade: 8 a.m.

The first day of CMS football practice is Monday, August 27, and the first day of practice with full pads takes place Thursday, August 30.

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Posted To The Website

The following documents were recently posted to the District website:

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COMMUNITY NEWS


Girl Scouts To Host Back To School Festival

A back-to-school festival for girls ages 5-17 is being sponsored by the Girl Scout Community in Southlake. This free event takes place Saturday, August 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Bicentennial Park in Southlake. For more information, click the link below.

Press Release: Girl Scouts Host Back To School Festival

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