Cougar Connection
December 2020
Thank you for your kindness
Thank you so much for your generous support of our Paw Pledge-A-Thon fundraiser. Our PTO is using the money raised to support the awesome programs they sponsor here at Keith, such as the garden program, field trips, and student incentives. We are also saving money for shade canopies for our playground in the future. Your donation to Keith is appreciated more than ever. Thank you for sharing the love during our virtual fundraiser.
Friday, December 11th is our next remote learning day (all students work from home)
- Learn through pre-recorded lessons and posted assignments
- Not have check-ins by their teachers or participate in live instruction.
- Have attendance taken by showing evidence of completing assignments and/or logging into Schoology.
Our on-campus learning students (who will be learning from home on these days) will:
- Receive paper packets and assignments to be completed and turned in.
- Not need devices in order to complete assignments.
- Have attendance taken by showing evidence of completing assignments.
Families may request on-campus learning at school on these designated remote days from home. Students attending in-person on Friday, Dec. 11th, will:
- Be supervised by a non-teaching staff member (they will not be in class with their teacher)
- Work independently to complete the assignments
- Have the option of riding the bus to/from school and eat breakfast/lunch in the cafeteria.
- Have attendance taken.
****We will send another online survey in December to get an accurate count of students who will be on campus that day.
To our parents of connect students, we are aware of the internet and Schoology outages that sometimes occur, just stay in communication with the teacher after so she knows what is happening and do not let this add undo stress to you or your student. The option to change back to face to face will be open for the 3rd nine week from Monday, Jan 11-Sunday, Jan. 17. We will not be making changes between now and then. Also, please continue to share pictures of our Cougars with me via social media.
To our parents of face to face students, while our class numbers are growing back to normal sizes, we will still be using masks and shields to separate students and when feasible will keep them socially distanced. We will still be in zones at recess and sit every other seat in the cafeteria. Thank you for helping us by sending students in masks. They are doing a great job wearing them throughout the day.
Dear Keith Families,
Although we are not permitted to invite outside guests into the building this year, we still want to continue our tradition of hosting a Holiday Party for ALL of our students - both those who are coming to Keith face-to-face and those working remotely via Connect. Classroom parties are not required, however we value this time for our students to celebrate with their classroom community the day before the holiday break!
Just as in years past, students will not follow their regular instructional schedule on Holiday Party day. Lunch, recess, and large group times will be adjusted for all grade levels after the holiday parties, and classes will log off of Zoom for the remainder of the day. We feel it is important to keep this fun elementary school tradition in place and as similar as we have done in the past despite the fact that parents cannot physically join us in the building this year.
Connect Students: To include our Connect learners, we will hold a “Party Bag Pick Up” on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, from 4:45-5:30 in the front parking lot of Keith. Please hold onto the party supplies for your student, and don’t let them open them until the class party on Friday so they can all participate together as a class! The same party supplies will be provided in class for all of our face-to-face students. If you choose to spoil your child's teacher with a holiday gift, please label it with the teacher's name and child's name and drop it off when you pick up your virtual child's party bag. Our face-to-face students can choose to deliver their teacher gifts any time in December.
Face-to-Face Students: We recognize that in years past many parents chose to check their student(s) out early following the holiday party, therefore, we would like to offer a “Courtesy Car Rider” option beginning at 10:45 after the holiday parties. If you would like to pick your child up at 10:45 AM on December 18, you can do so by completing the electronic RSVP link by Tuesday, December 15 . Your student(s) will be delivered to the car rider line and dismissed directly to you if you select this option. Please know our school day will continue until 4:10 PM as usual, and you may choose for your child to remain at school to complete the day. We simply want to provide an easy option for checking your child out early on this day just as we have in years past. If you do not already have a car rider tag for your windshield, please indicate this on the electronic RSVP, and we will create a car tag for you and send it home with your child before December 18th.
*If someone other than the guardian is picking up your child, you will need to provide them your car tag.
Parents/Guardians interested in checking their child(ren) out of school early on December 18 that do NOT return the form below and do not have a car rider tag to utilize the Courtesy Car Rider option must follow our usual campus/district procedures for picking up their students - park, get out to ring the bell, and wait for your child to be called to the front. Depending on the amount of early pick-ups, this may take extra time, so please plan accordingly. You can contact the school at 281-213-1744 with any questions.
Warmly,
Mrs. Tryon
Parents, be on the lookout....
The link to the electronic RSVP will be sent to your email when we
return from our Thanksgiving break.
December Calendar
Counselor's Corner
We’ve completed our first round of guidance lessons and have now begun our second round! To review, our first lesson was about the concept of Mindfulness, and what students can do for themselves when they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Because we feel this is such an important life-long skill, we will continue to teach new strategies with every lesson in hopes that students will add these skills to their toolbox of calming techniques. In the first lesson we practiced “Breathing Ball Breaths” (PK-2nd) and “Take Five Breathing” (3rd -5th). Mindfulness techniques are also being incorporated into our weekly advisory lessons for additional practice.
Additionally, All CFISD schools are participants in a program called “No Place for Hate.” The goal of this program is to promote a school-wide respect for individual and group differences. There are certain requirements to be a “No Place for Hate” school, and we are proud to say that Keith Elementary has earned the NPFH designation for the last eight years! Way to go Cougars!
The focus for this round of lessons is “You Matter”. To begin, we are introducing the “Resolution of Respect” pledge, that is part of “No Place for Hate,” promising that all students will do their part to be kind and respectful to all students, no matter how different they may be from one another. We will be reading the picture book You Matter by Christian Robinson. We will also be cutting out our handprints to make a No Place for Hate display in the library. Be looking for a copy of the NPFH pledge to come home with your child. Please read and sign the pledge with your child and then return to school.
Virtual students will have the opportunity to commit to the promise by tracing, cutting out and signing their handprint and then posting a picture of their handprint on our KeithCougarsCFISD Facebook page on Nov. 30th. We are so proud that Keith Elementary is No Place for Hate!
Mrs. Sudtelgte and Mrs. Carroll
2020 Keith Angel Tree
Throughout the next several weeks, our students and staff will continue in the tradition of helping some of our Cougar families prepare for the upcoming holiday season. This tradition is such a great way for us to teach our own children the meaning of the season through acts of kindness and giving. Our generous donations each year assist these families in fulfilling the holiday wishes of their children, and it is truly a blessing and appreciated by them. Please review the flyer below if you are interested in helping a family this holiday season.
THANK YOU PTO!
5th Grade Fundraiser
Notes from the Registrar
When a student is absent, a signed parent/guardian note or physician's note must be
submitted to the campus attendance office within 3 days of the student's return to school. The parent/guardian note is to include the student's full name, date of absence, reason for absence, and signature of parent/legal guardian.
Acceptable excuse notes by email must include student's full name, date of absence, reason for absence, along with an attached copy of the guardian's ID or an attachment of a doctor's note, court letter, or handwritten note signed and dated by the guardian. Email address catherine.slusher@cfisd.net.
If a note is not provided, the absence will be counted as unexcused.
Keith Elementary
Website: https://keith.cfisd.net/en
Location: 20550 Fairfield Green, Cypress, TX, USA
Phone: 281-213-1744
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeithCougarsCFISD
Twitter: @CFISDKeith
Credit by Exam Information
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 Nicole.Carroll@cfisd.net