CANNON LEGACY
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2017-2018
Principal Points - 4/9-4/13
Lottery day for GCISD's Personalized Programs was held on 3/29. Because more applications for STEM K-5 at Cannon were received than spaces are available for the 2018-2019 school year, it was necessary to lottery off seats in all grade levels and there is currently a waiting list for each grade level as well. A total of 69 applications were accepted for K-5 STEM for next year and approximately 45 students are currently on waiting lists. Additionally, it was VERY exciting to see that 62 of our existing 5th graders put in applications to continue in the STEM program as 6th graders at GMS! This speaks VOLUMES about the high level of interest Cannon's staff has created to keep students engaged in STEM, even after they leave Cannon!! Great job!!
It is always so exciting to welcome new families to Cannon as part of the lottery process, because these are families that have intentionally sought out opportunities for their child to attend Cannon, because they want their child to truly have a "unique" experience within our STEM program! I am so proud of the outstanding reputation our school has earned, as a result of the hard work and dedication of Cannon staff, students, and parents!
Being part of something special like this can provide one of the richest and most rewarding career challenges for new or veteran teachers. In order for us to truly be a school where students, staff, and parents are beating down the doors to get in, we need staff members that have accepted the challenge and share a passion to be part of an innovative program that exemplifies GCISD's strategic plan, LEAD 2021. As we start to seek candidates for open teaching positions at our campus next year, it is so exciting to see the high level of interest of candidates who are seeking this type of professional challenge and expressing a desire to be part of our school!
This week, we will host a site visit for several TEPSA (Texas Elementary Principal & Supervisors Association) representatives from Austin on Friday, 4/13. This will be our final "tour" of the school year AND in our current building! Since it is a Friday, we will still have a jeans day, but please plan on wearing your"legacy" school t-shirt from this year, so that we can show this group our collective team spirit!
Our campus tours and classroom visits provide the perfect opportunity for others to get a glimpse of "what's different" about Cannon and how our scholars learn. I'm so excited for them to visit classrooms and "experience us"! Thank you for all you do to make our campus such a special place to be!!
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
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Lisa's Coaching Corner
The month of April is National Poetry month. I think poetry writing easily aligns with the Engineer Design Process because a writer has to play around with words and how the words flow together to compose poem. This is definitely an iterative process!
One idea is to write your students poems! The best way to inspire poetry writing is to show your students your passion, sense of humor or connections to curriculum through your own creative writing. Create a "beatnik speakeasy" style of sharing poems in your classroom. Even reluctant writers could choose a poem to read. If you have any personal memories of writing poetry in school, be sure to share those with your students too! Take a look at 30 ways to celebrate national poetry in the classroom.
Here is poem I found below about ENGINEERS.
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DATES TO REMEMBER
4/09 PLC Week B - 5th grade 2:15-3:45 (date change due to STAAR testing on 4/10)
4/10 STAAR testing - 4th grade writing & 5th grade math
4/11 STAAR testing - 5th grade reading
4/11 PLC Week B - 4th grade 2:15-3:45
4/12 Parent Safety & Security Information meeting - 8:00-9:00 - library
4/12 PLC Week B - 3rd grade 2:15-3:45
4/13 Campus site visit - TEPSA team
4/13 Deadline to upload photos for yearbook - see info below!
4/14 Cannon Country Family BBQ @ Nash Farms - 4:00 pm-6:00 pm
4/16 UCAN - 3:00-3:45
4/17 PLC Week A - Kindergarten - 2:15-3:45
4/18 Author Visit - Shelley Brown - 3rd - 5th only - 8:00-9:00 am cafeteria
4/18 4th grade field trip to Parr Park - 9:20-12:30
4/18 PLC Week A - 1st grade - 2:15 - 3:45
4/19 Early Release - 11:45 am
4/20 5th grade field trip to Arboretum 9:00-2:00
4/20 PLC Week A - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45 (date change due to early release on 4/19)
4/23-27 Kindergarten Registration!
4/23 STEM Leadership 3:00- pm in library
4/23 Kinder Meet & Greet - 4:00-6:00 0m
4/24 PLC Week B - 5th grade 2:15-3:45
4/24 Cubs Night Out @ Spring Creek BBQ
4/25 PLC Week B - 4th grade 2:15 - 3:45
4/26 Principal Panel Lunch 11:45-12:30
4/26 PLC Week B - 3rd grade 2:15-3:45
4/27 Student Holiday - inclement weather make-up day
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SPOTLIGHT ON LEARNING!
This week's SPOTLIGHT is on our 4th & 5th grade teachers, as well as Special Ed and other staff that serve these grades! They have worked tirelessly to ensure that our scholars are prepared for their first round of STAAR assessments this week! The kids are SO ready to conquer these tests!! Please don't forget to encourage these staff members with positive acknowledgements, hugs, & high-fives - as this can be a VERY stressful time!
During this first round of STAAR testing for the year, 4th graders will take the STAAR Writing exam on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, our 5th graders will join in for Math testing and then 5th graders will take their Reading exam on Wednesday.
Our Cannon scholars are so incredibly lucky to have such amazing and dedicated teachers, Kindergarten - 5th grade that have helped them build the foundation for success on these exams!!
Check out the fun video below that 3rd-5th teams created to share with their students to encourage them and remind them to just "shake off "their nerves, stay positive and "happy", and to just "ignite their light and let it shine" on STAAR day!!
HUGE thanks to Addi Freiner for taking the lead on organizing this video effort and for doing some impressive editing, in order to produce this final product! The scholars are going to love that their teachers created this just for them! :) #KidsDeserveIt
STAAR REMINDERS & SPECIALS SCHEDULE
As a reminder, on STAAR dates, we need the help of ALL staff to ensure that our scholars have the best possible testing environment, in order to be successful on their assessments. Please help us keep the hallways silent by reminding your scholars that there is no talking in the hallways. Only 4th grade scholars will be allowed to use the restrooms in the E hallway. Only 5th graders will be using the restrooms by the cafeteria during testing. K-3 students should plan to use the restrooms in the B hallway during testing, or in the gym while in Specials.
Construction will continue during STAAR testing this week, as it is very important for the crews to continue to stay on timeline. We have communicated with the construction managers about testing days/times, so that they can try to ensure as little disruption as possible.
Below is the specials' schedule for STAAR testing days:
Tuesday:
8:20-9:05: 1st grade
9:10-9:55: Kindergarten
10:00-10:50 3rd grade
10:55-11:45 2nd grade
1:00-1:50 4th grade
1:55-2:45 5th grade
Wednesday:
8:20-9:05: 4th grade
9:10-9:55: Kindergarten
10:00-10:50 3rd grade
10:55-11:45 2nd grade
12:25-1:15 1st grade
1:20-2:10 5th grade
2:10- PLC - 4th grade
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STAFF CELEBRATIONS
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CAMPUS REMINDERS AND UPDATES
GCISD LEARNING INSTITUTE -CALL FOR PROPOSALS The Curriculum and Instruction department is gearing up for the 2nd annual GCISD PK-12 Learning Institute which will be held on August 9th at Grapevine High School. The C&I leadership team is planning to launch registration for Institute sessions in late May before teachers leave for the summer break. To accommodate this timeline, all presentation proposals must be received by May 1st! Please consider a session proposal to share your unique perspective and great work with colleagues from across the district. Please read the proposal form carefully before completing it, and please be sure to submit it prior to May 1st. We have several staff members that would be excellent presenters at this event! Please talk to Lisa or I if you plan to submit a proposal, so that we can help you in any way possible!!
TYPING CLUB-DISTRICT TRIAL We are participating in a district trial program for a keyboarding resource called TypingClub. During the trial period, all students K-12 have access to TypingClub via Classlink. The trial period begins now and ends July 15 at which time we will evaluate TypingClub and determine the need for purchasing a keyboarding resource for specific grade levels in 2018-2019.
TEXTBOOK INVENTORY Please make sure you carefully read Anne's recent email to staff about textbook inventory and complete the inventory spreadsheet using the link she provided. Thanks!
YEARBOOK PHOTOS NEEDED ASAP It is yearbook time and Mandy needs help from the staff to make sure there are some GREAT photos from every grade level AND clubs (choir, Design Club, Tech Team, FLL, STEMbassadors, etc...) and events throughout the year! Please help her out by uploading some quality photos by April 13th. It is important for all grade levels & organizations to be represented in the yearbook. Please follow the directions below from Mandy to upload photos into this GOOGLE FOLDER FOR YEARBOOK PHOTOS.
1. UPLOAD PICTURES! I need good pics of your students so please put them in the appropriate folder. Parents get frustrated when there are only pics of a few classes in grade level collages.
2. DO NOT upload every picture you have! It is a very daunting task to try and sort through everyone's pictures.
3. UPLOAD a class group pic. You can take a pic of your class pic from picture day or take a candid pic. Either is fine with me.
I need pictures by Friday, April 13th! If you would like to buy a yearbook the link is below. https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014520263794913
READY ROSIE is a wonderful new parent engagement tool that will be utilized by Kindergarten-3rd grade staff and families for the remainder of the year. Thanks to our K-3 teachers who attended training last week! Please continue communicating to your parents about Ready Rosie and share information about how to get started accessing this great resource, in English & Spanish!
SHARE WEBSITE INFORMATION THROUGHOUT APRIL The district has asked all school staff for their help in continuing to communicate about the new website! Please share this information in your newsletters/communication with parents through the month of April. Note that the URL has changed for all websites and if a parent or community member bookmarked the page on the old site, it no longer works.. Please help us communicate this change to our families!
GCISD - http://www.gcisd.net/
Cannon - http://can.gcisd.net/
VOYA TEACHERS GRANT: VOYA is offering teacher grants for projects that are innovative creative and positively influence students. Each year, 100 finalists receive a $2,000 grant and three are selected for additional grants. Check out the information here and apply today! You will notice that a LARGE percentage of the projects that have received grants are STEM related!!
Safety & Security Parent Meeting
Cannon will host an informal parent meeting to provide information, answer questions, and explain the safety and security measures we currently have in place. The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 12th at 8:00 a.m. in the Cannon library. Cannon administration and district representatives look forward to discussing our current safety procedures, as well as answering any questions that parents might have.
Safety and Security Parent Meeting
Thursday, April 12th 8:00 a.m.
Cannon Elementary Library
Cannon Country Cookout @ Nash Farm
Saturday, Apr 14, 2018, 04:00 PM
Nash Farm, Grapevine Texas 626 Ball St, Grapevine, Texas 76051
Staff of the Past Event @ Cannon!
A Facebook page has been created for this group that now has over 250 members!! It is a closed group, so let Michelle know if you would like to be invited to join this group. As the oldest elementary school in GCISD, there are many district employees who worked at Cannon at some point in their career, so it will be so fun to offer an opportunity for these folks to gather together for fellowship and a final walk, to reminisce in the halls of Cannon, before the demolition this summer.
We would love to invite current Cannon staff to join us for this fun event and to share this information with anyone you know that used to work at Cannon.
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NEWS FROM THE LEARNING COMMONS
Reminders From Mrs. Wagner
GCISD Reading Challenge
The 2017-2018 GCISD Reading Challenge is drawing to a close. We hope all our scholars have been working on the challenge and enjoying fabulous books along the way. Finishers’ names are due to the district no later than May 1st to allow time for certificates to be printed. Please make sure you have given your record sheet to Mrs. Wagner by Friday, April 27th so she can turn your name in.
Library Books Due
All library books need to be turned in by May 1st so Mrs. Wagner can start the BIG task of packing the library for our move to the NEW SCHOOL. Please start looking around your house and in your cars for any Cannon library books. The first class to have all their books turned in will win a prize!
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WORTH A READ...OR A LISTEN!
USPS NOW HAS STEM STAMPS!! On Friday, April 6th, The United States Postal Service held a First-Day-of-Issue Dedication Ceremony during the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, DC as a salute to STEM education! Check out these stamps here - they are beautiful!!
GREAT BLOGPOST & REMINDERS FOR THE REMAINING DAYS OF SCHOOL are shared in this post, We Must Maslow Before We Bloom. Sometimes at this time in the school year, we can take for granted our relationships and each other. We get focused on content and curriculum, but we must remember that positive relationships always come first! This is a great read AND there is a wonderful video embedded that is a MUST-SEE! :)
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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION CORNER
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TWITTER REMINDERS FOR @canSTEM
Please help us reach our campus goal for all staff to participate in a 5-minute a day communication plan, as stated in George Couros's quote shown here. It's truly a simple way to SHARE & LEARN from the best minds in GCISD! I am going to be highlighting our school twitter account HEAVILY with parents & our school community, to help create our own "outward culture of celebration"!!
As a reminder, please include our school's handle, @canSTEM, in all of your tweets, so that they can be automatically retweeted on our school account. At the end of the day, simply go to @canSTEM and scroll through our school's tweets for 5 minutes and see what your colleagues are sharing! If you want to learn more from them about an idea they shared....you will only have to walk across the building to get more information firsthand!
Please click here to see our staff list of social media accounts. Please add/update any information so that we can make sure we follow each other!
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About This Background Image...
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TO-DO LIST
- Set a timer and complete daily attendance ON TIME!
- Don't forget to show daily KCAN announcements every Monday-Thursday!!
- Review all emergency drill procedures with scholars & be prepared!
- Give High Fives & Hugs to all 4th/5th and other staff & students involved in STAAR testing this week!
- Remind parents to attend the Safety & Security meeting on Thursday in library.
- Prepare to welcome our guests from TEPSA on Friday! Show your school spirit and wear your Legacy school shirt and jeans!
- Upload photos to Mandy's Google folder for yearbook by Friday, 4/13.
- Complete textbook inventory form sent out by Anne.
- Make plans to attend the Cannon Country Cookout @ Nash Farms on Saturday!
- Share information about Cannon Staff of the Past event and plan to attend if interested!
- Communicate to parents about our new campus/district websites.
- K-3 teachers - continue to communicate to your parents about Ready Rosie!
- K-5 teachers - please communicate that NO PARENTS can be on campus to volunteer or have lunch during upcoming STAAR testing dates on 4/10 & 4/11.
- Share the March/April Book of the Month information with your scholars!
- Take your scholars out to the back of the school to see the construction progress!
- Review the information in this newsletter about the 5-minute a day communication plan. Tweet & blog about all of the great things you are doing in your classroom/grade!
- Update teacher website, blog and other social media.