Powell Publisher
July 24, 2020
A Note From Mrs. Mathe
Powell Family,
The beginning of a school year is always an exciting time, and we are looking forward to another successful year! This year brings a bit of a different feel for all of us, but rest assured, we are excited, ready, and anticipating the arrival of your child, virtual or in person! I want to thank you all for your patience as we navigate this seemingly, ever-changing environment. This, the first Powell Publisher Newsletter for the 2020-2021 school year, contains information regarding the start to the school year. While this is not a comprehensive plan, it is a start. Our leadership teams on campus and in the district continue to study the protocols in place to create our plans for Powell students and families. As decisions are made, you will be updated in a timely manner.
With COVID-19 still upon us, our community's safety and health remains our number one priority. There will be some other noticeable changes on campus, not just the change in leadership. One of the big changes this year will be arrival and dismissal. We are encouraging parents to drop off and pick up their children, if it is at all possible, in order to lessen the number of students on a bus. But with this decision comes an increase in the number of cars in our car rider line. We are working on a plan to service more cars in the line in a timely manner. More information to come soon about that, but I wanted to share that with you so you can begin to prepare for longer wait times in line.
Something that will not change is that at Powell Elementary, we believe in collaboration with parents and community members. Powell Elementary will provide a safe, caring, and positive learning environment that celebrates diversity and instills a desire for learning while meeting the individual needs of all students. Our goal is to build relationships that empower students, and develop responsible, patriotic citizens, and confident leaders.
I am looking forward to working together with you and your child(ren), and I feel certain that you will enjoy being a part of the Powell Panther family! If we haven't had the opportunity to meet in person yet, please come by and introduce yourself when on campus or virtually. The video below was sent out to the Powell families at the end of last year as my introduction. It contains a bit about my background in education, as well as, introduces my family. Again, I look forward to working alongside all of you this year!
Erin Mathe
Principal
Upcoming Dates
August 7: Teacher assignments emailed to families
August 10: Meet the Teacher
K-2: 4:00-4:30 pm ; 3-4: 4:30-5:00 pm
This year Meet the Teacher will be a virtual event. You will be provided with more information on how to access this event in an email from your child's teacher on August 7th.
August 11: Pre-ordered school supply pick up 8:30 am- 12:30 pm
August 12: FIRST DAY OF VIRTUAL SCHOOL
August 20: Virtual Open House 5:30 pm
September 8th: In-Person instruction begins
Technology Needs
Please complete the survey below by Friday, July 31st to indicate if your family is in need of technology for our virtual learning environment. These requests will be processed, then families will be contacted regarding pick up prior to the start of school.
COVID Moblie Markets
Dr. Null's Update
Selecting an Instructional Format and Class Placement
About two weeks ago, every parent in CISD, with a previously enrolled student, received an email with a code to login to our system, update information, and make their selection regarding virtual or in-person learning. As of today, we are still waiting for half of our families to make their decision. We kindly ask that you make your decision as soon as possible, so that we can create the classes for our virtual learners, before August 7.
If you are a newly enrolled family at Powell, you will be receiving an email this afternoon from Michelle Lutes, our registrar. This email will contain the opportunity for you to make a learning environment selection for your family starting September 8th.
Even though all students will begin instruction on August 12th virtually, we plan to assign students to teachers on the path that you select on the survey. So for example, if you select that your child will be taught in person beginning September 8th, then we will place your child in a classroom with a teacher that will be teaching in person starting September 8th, but that teacher will begin virtually with your child August 12th. And the same goes for virtual learners. If you choose the virtual learning path for your child, we will place your child in a classroom with a teacher that will stay virtual after September 8th.
With that being said, there will have to be changes to the current class placements and teacher assignments. I understand that sibling requests are something that is typically honored at Powell, and that tradition is treasured by both teachers and families. I want to let you all know that we will do our very best to honor those sibling requests, but it may not be possible based on the option your family chooses, and which teachers are assigned to virtual instruction.
Another note regarding class placements. As the school year progresses, if you decide at the nine week mark to alter your child's learning environment decision, their teacher will most likely change. I understand this is a big change to our normal practices of staying with one teacher for an entire year, but while running parallel programs, if a child changes from virtual school to in person school, they will need to move to a teacher in the selected setting. All of our teachers will be working together to plan instruction whether virtual or in-person, so if you elect to change your child's learning environment, they will not have an interruption in their academic experiences.
Remote/Online Learning
Every student, regardless of the selection your family made on the survey, will begin the school year with remote/online instruction through Labor Day.
We have received questions from parents regarding what Remote Learning will look like for the first 3 weeks of school. While the specific details are still being ironed out by our teachers and leadership teams here on campus, general information regarding the virtual learning environment can be found on the Conroe ISD Roadmap to Reopening website. https://www.conroeisd.net/roadmap-to-reopening/remote-online-instruction/
During remote/online instruction, students will have opportunities to engage in real-time learning with the teacher via the computer or other electronic devices. There will also be learning activities to complete each day. Lessons will consist of direct instruction as well as a combination of guided practice, independent work, collaborative group work, and formative assessments. Lessons could include video clips with guiding questions, graphic organizers, time to share, checks for understanding, and reflection opportunities. Students are expected to engage daily and participate in class following a daily schedule. The details of this daily schedule will be shared soon. We are anticipating approximately 3 hours of online work for your child (adjustments made for age appropriateness).
Students in grades K-2 will use Seesaw as a learning platform. Canvas will be used in grades 3-4.
School Supply Information
If your family ordered the pre-packaged school supplies at the end of the year last year, we will be hosting a "drive through" event on Tuesday, August 11th from 8:30 am- 12:30 pm to pick up your supplies. We have had the question asked if students will need the supplies during the virtual learning experience. The short answer to that is yes. Remote/Online instruction will mirror in person instructions, so students may still be expected to work in journals, write in notebooks, etc.
More specific information, including a "drive through" route, will be emailed to families in the coming weeks. Our plan is to distribute the school supply packs, student log in information for this school year, technology needs, etc. at this same time.
PTO News
Happy Friday Panthers! Your Powell PTO is busy putting on the finishing touches to our 2020-2021 family membership drive and how/when to pick up your yearbook if you were unable to in the spring. Please be sure to join the Powell Elementary PTO Facebook page to stay up to date on everything your PTO has coming up!
Our Mission
Powell Elementary School is committed to creating an environment that promotes academic excellence, and a love for learning. Our goal is to build relationships that empower students, and develop responsible, patriotic citizens, and confident leaders.
Email: lgarrison@conroeisd.net
Website: powell.conroeisd.net
Location: 7332 Cochrans Crossing Drive, Spring, TX, USA
Phone: 936-709-1700
Twitter: @PowellCISD