Huellas de Gleason
Excellence Begins Here
Visión de Gleason
Mission de Gleason
Gleason Elementary
Email: gleason@cfisd.net
Website: https://gleason.cfisd.net
Location: 9203 Willowbridge Park Boulevard, Houston, TX, USA
Phone: 281-517-6800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gleasontigers/
Twitter: @gleasontigers
November 6, 2020
Mensaje de la directora
I want to thank you for the amazing support you have shown during September and October. It's evident by how each student and parent has partnered with our Gleason staff as they continue to teach in such unprecedented times. This has not been easy and we thank you parents for your support and encouragement.
We are so excited to welcome some of our CFISD Connect students back to campus! If your child is moving from connect to face-to-face on Nov. 9th, we are thrilled and ready to make their transition a smooth one. Parents can send their child’s school supplies, warm-ups, handwriting book, study guides, laptops, etc. over the course of the week. We do not expect our students to have all items day one. We do ask they bring their district laptop assigned to them on Monday, November 9th.
The district has informed us that there could be a delay in Schoology based on the experience of our middle and high school students had when they returned to campus. We appreciate your patience as we all work through the transition time.
Breakfast and Lunch Application
In order to continuing receiving additional funds for our campus we must continue to show a need. We are asking for ALL CFISD Connect and face 2 face students' parents to fill out this application. Please click here to complete a lunch application.
We also wanted to make sure all our families are aware of the breakfast and lunch programs. CFISD does have breakfast and lunch available for all students (on campus or CFISD connect).
Families that are on-campus or CFISD Connect
- We encourage families that are eating CFISD breakfast and lunch to sign up through school cafe at https://www.schoolcafe.com/CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS%20ISD where you can:
- Make Payments
- Set Purchase Restrictions
- Submit Meal Applications to see if your family qualifies for free or reduced meal prices
- View Purchases
- Set up Auto Pay
- Get Low Balance Alerts
- View Letters
- View Menus
For more information on CFISD breakfast and lunch Information visit our district website at CFISD.net. Click the tab for parents & students and there are many resources under nutritional services.
CFISD Connect Families
- Curbside Connect Meals: https://www.cfisd.net/en/parents-students/food-service/curbside-meals
- CFISD Connect students still have access to school breakfasts and lunches. Please click the above link to find out locations and procedures.
Please reach out to us if you have any questions or need additional resources.
STUDENT RETRIEVAL OF ITEMS CFISD CONNECT STUDENTS
Grade Level News
Pre-Kindergarten
Our little ones have had a great time this month investigating the fall season! We will continue becoming more independent and responsible. In language arts, we are continuing to learn letters and sounds also learning how to write our names. In reading, we will be learning how to read print from left to right and top to bottom. We are learning beginning comprehension such as answering questions and participating in shared reading. In writing, we are learning that letters can represent ideas. In math, we have been working on counting 10 objects correctly, recognizing up to 5 objects instantly and continuing to review shapes and patterns. Thank you so much for your continued support at home!
Kinder
We are so excited that we made it through our first nine weeks of virtual and face to face merged classrooms in Kinder! We are looking forward to celebrating the 50th day of school with lots of “shake, rattle, and roll” activities. In Reading Workshop, we will begin our first genre study-folktales and fables. The students will learn about and understand literary elements such as; setting, characters, plot, problem and resolution. For Writing Workshop, we will work through our show and tell unit. The students will be moving toward writing multiple sentences per page, labeling 3 items per page, and writing endings with a big idea. In Math, we will be working with numbers to 20, and composing (joining) and decomposing (separating) numbers 6-10. Fall is bringing in some cooler weather. Please update your student’s change of clothes to pants and a long sleeve shirt (underwear and socks too). Also, don’t forget to send a jacket because we go outside daily for recess. Please remember to send a dry, healthy snack and water bottle with your student every day. As always, thank you for your continued support of the Kindergarten team!
First Grade
First Grade is looking forward to the hatching of our chicks! In math the students will continue to practice counting by 10s. Please have them practice adding 10 more/10 less to random numbers (ex: 23). Students will also begin to learn and apply place value up to 120.
In reading, we will also begin a new unit. We will be focusing on word decoding and will teach the students multiple strategies on how to break apart unknown words to solve them.
In writing, we will reinforce all previously learned writing skills to continue to improve our stories. This will include our writing process: think of an idea, plan, sketch, write. We will also reinforce punctuation, elaboration, stretching out and spelling words, and capitalization.
Second Grade
We are continuing to interact with our books in deeper ways by responding to texts and making personal connections. We will be exploring fictional texts and discussing character traits and plot elements. Our self-selected writing has been getting stronger as we revise and edit for complete sentences. We are also learning illustration techniques. In our next unit, we will use the writing process to compose fiction stories.
During Math, we will continue working on addition and subtraction story problems. We will also begin our Money Unit. Please begin counting change up to a dollar with your child. We will begin our measurement unit including length and time. In Science, our second graders will be studying magnets and then will begin understanding the effects of light, heat, and sound energy. Please discuss with your child the many uses of magnets in everyday life.
Third Grade
We are cruising along in third grade as readers and writers! This month, we are diving into our poetry unit and exploring all the different poetic devices such as rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, lines, stanzas, and line breaks. Students will have the opportunity to read different poetry from different poets. In writing, students will get the opportunity to explore different writing crafts by writing different types of poetry. Students will be inspired by different objects to brainstorm different writing ideas. We are SO excited for this fun unit!
We have been busy mathematicians! We have just begun exploring division and how it relates to multiplication. We will start solving word problems using all four operations in the next few weeks and will continue working on this for the rest of the month. Students will be learning how to determine the action and operations described in each word problem, so that they can correctly solve for what the question is asking. In Science, we have been enjoying our discussions about forces and motion. We will begin gravity and magnetism next week. As scientists, we will also be exploring tools that affect motion such as levers, inclined planes, and pulleys.
Fourth Grade
In Reading we are wrapping up our fiction unit. We've had great class discussions on the characters in our books and the lessons we can learn from them. We'll end our unit by learning how to summarize fiction texts. Ask your child what CPER stands for and how they can use it to create a well written summary. Our next unit will be focused on drama. We'll begin by naming the characteristics of plays. Students will become familiar with how plays are structured.
In Writing we are getting ready to publish our informational paragraphs. Students have worked hard creating topic sentences, adding supporting details, and a closing sentence. After this unit, we'll begin writing essays. Essays are a big focus in 4th grade due to the Writing STAAR. We'll start by exploring different examples of essay writing and learning how to format an essay. It would be great for parents to brainstorm different essay topics with their students. Have them think of people, places, and things they know a lot about.
In Math we finished up our addition and subtracting unit including decimals. We are now starting our multiplication and division unit which goes through Thanksgiving up until Christmas. At the end of this unit, we will multiply 2 digit by 2 digit numbers using different multiplication strategies. It is important that students are practicing their math facts every night for at least 20 minutes. This is foundational for many of the math concepts as we move forward in the school year, to the next school year and for the rest of their educational life.
We are finishing up our Life Science unit in Science by the end of November. We are finishing up life cycles and will move on to food chains and food webs. On November 19th we will have a cumulative science test for our Life Science unit. It will be treated like a test but it will go into the gradebook as a daily grade. Keep our young scientists explore our world.
Fifth Grade
5th grade readers and writers will be exploring Fiction by analyzing author’s purpose and craft and practicing comprehension processes and response skills. Students will use their knowledge of fiction to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish their own stories.
In Math, we will be working on Unit 5, Multiplying and Dividing Decimals. We will be multiplying whole numbers by decimal numbers and decimal numbers by decimal numbers. We will also practice dividing whole numbers by decimal numbers using models and algorithms.
In Science, we are starting our Geology Unit. We will be learning about changes to Earth’s surface through weathering, erosion, and deposition, and how caves are formed. We will also be exploring the formation of sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels.
A Note from the Nurse....Mrs. Compton
· A few reminders:
· If your child has had any changes in his/her health please email sarah.compton@cfisd.net, or call the clinic 281-517-6808 and inform the nurse.
· Please be aware that if your child needs medication, including over-the-counter medication, cough drops, or ointment during the school day, a parent/guardian must bring it to the clinic and complete a “Request to Administer Medication” form. Medication cannot be transported in a student's backpack.
· If you have a younger student at Gleason, please remember to keep a change of clothes in their backpack.. The clinic is very limited in resources.
· Parents should screen their student daily for the below symptoms and questions. If "yes" to any, please let the nurse know.
If you have any questions, please let me know how I can help! Sarah Compton, RN sarah.compton@cfisd.net or 281-517-6808
Parents must screen students daily (prior to entering a school bus or school) for the following signs and symptoms of COVID-19:
1. Are you experiencing any of the following in a way that is not normal to you?
• Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.00 F
• Loss of taste or smell
• Cough • Difficulty breathing
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Shaking or exaggerated shivering
• Significant muscle pain or ache
• Diarrhea
• Nausea or vomiting
From the Library....Mrs. Jones
Spelling Bee
As with many events this year, the class and school Spelling Bee will look very different. We are determined to provide a safe opportunity for your child to participate in the spelling bee. The bee is open to all students whether in school or Connect.
Class Bee: The link below is to the 2020-21 Class Spelling Study list of 100 words. Students will study the words to prepare for the spelling bee quiz scheduled for November 18. Students qualifying for the School Bee will be notified by November 20 and provided with an electronic copy of the School Bee study guide.
2020-2021 District Classroom Bee Study List.pdf
The Class bee quiz will be given orally by the Reading Teacher to both online and face to face students. The online students will write the words on a sheet of paper. After the last word is given, online student will have 3 minutes to take a snapshot of the words and upload to the teacher.
The School Spelling Bee will be held January 5, 2021 at Gleason Elementary.
From Library
The week of October 19 I visited PreK, Kindergarten, and First Grade with the book bus. Check out was a great success! Beginning in November, 2nd through 5th grade face to face students will “order” books from the Gleason library. I will deliver them to the classrooms. Unfortunately, we do not have a curbside pickup option for our Connect students at this time.
Our Connect students have books available online with a new app called Sora. All students can access this app through classlink.
PBIS NEWS
We have had an amazing first 9 weeks, and we are looking forward to welcoming more students on campus this second 9 weeks. This month, we will be reviewing our ROAR expectations and behaviors for all of our students as well as the district’s Remote Learning Etiquette and Expectations found in the Student Code of Conduct for our connect students. We are excited to announce that we will now be using Class Dojo campus wide. Class Dojo is an online behavior management system that will help develop positive student behaviors and classroom culture in a fun way for our students both online and face to face.
November Core Value-Gratitude
Letting others know you see how they've helped you.
From the Counselor....Mrs. Salazar
This month we are focusing on the word gratitude. We want our students to understand the importance of being grateful for others help, no matter how big or small the act. How can you support your child in letting others know how they've helped him/her? The most important way is to model it. As a family, sit together and think of some people that you can thank. It may be the garbage person, mail person or another community helper. It might be your child's teachers, babysitter, or someone that does a lot to support your family. Brainstorm some ideas with your child on ways to thank someone. Think of the 5 Love Languages as you're coming up with ideas: Words of Affirmation (verbal or written appreciation), Acts of Service (do something for the person to take something off their plate), Receiving Gifts (make or buy a gift), Quality Time (spend uninterrupted time together) or Physical Touch (this is harder with Covid, but a big hug). Please take this opportunity to show gratitude towards the important people in your lives. We are fortunate to have you help us make the values come alive each month by modeling, talking, and pointing out when they happen. At school, if your child is demonstrating the monthly value that we're focusing on, they may earn ClassDojo points, a positive office referral or a spirit stick from a staff member. Again, we appreciate you being a part of our team by participating in building these inward attitudes into outward behaviors.
Gifted and Talented Information
The school counselor is accepting screening referrals for Gifted and Talented testing for kindergarten through 5th grade students. To be considered for the 2020-2021 mid-year testing cycle all screening referral forms must be received by November 30, 2020. If received after November 30th, the student will be considered for the 2021-2022 mid-year testing. You can find the program overview and parent information on the district website, https://www.cfisd.net/en/parents-students/academics/gifted-talented . Please discuss the appropriateness of referring your child with your child's teachers. The screening referral form may be requested by contacting the school counselor, Liz Salazar, at elizabethr.salazar@cfisd.net or 281-517-6800.
Credit-By-Exam
Students in grades K-5 will have four opportunities during the school year to use “credit-by-exam” to accelerate to another grade level. Students will only have one opportunity to test for each grade level considered. To apply to take the test to skip kindergarten, a student must be 5 by September 1, and registered in a CFISD school. To apply to take the test to skip grade 1, a student must be 6 by September 1, and enrolled in a CFISD school. Students who earn scores of 80% or better on each component of the credit-by-exam will qualify to advance one grade. Only one grade level may be “skipped” each year. No retests will be given. If you are interested in getting more information about credit-by-exam, please contact the school counselor.
Food & Toy Drive
Gleason will be hosting a food & toy drive. We will be collecting canned/dry food items and new toys to support families in need around our community the week of November 16th.
Face-to-face students that are able to bring donations will have the opportunity to drop off the items at arrival from 8:25-8:40 on November 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th.
Connect students that are able to bring donations will have the opportunity to drop off the items after dismissal from 4:30-5:00 November 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th. The box will be placed outside by the main entrance doors at 4:30 and will be brought back inside at 5:00 pm.
Upcoming Events
November 10- Picture retake face-to-face students only
November 20- Spirit Night Orange Leaf ALL DAY
November 23-27 Thanksgiving Break
December 11- Remote Learning
December 20- Spirit Night Hickory Hollow ALL DAY
December 21-January 1- Winter Break
January 4- Classes resume