Kirk Elementary
September Tiger Tales
School Information
Email: Kirk@cfisd.net
Website: https://kirk.cfisd.net/en/
Location: 12421 Tanner Road, Houston, TX, USA
Phone: 713-849-8250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirkElementary/
Twitter: @KirkElementary
Principal's Corner
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we learn to navigate this new learning path with students online as well as in person. Our Tigers wasted no time jumping in to help problem solve and learn. It has been so great to have all of our Tigers back, regardless of learning mode, bringing the classrooms to life with the magic of curiosity, exploration, and learning.
Thank you for supporting your student by attending the virtual meet the teacher and open house. If you missed open house this evening, there is a repeat on Thursday from 9am- 10am. Also, each session was recorded and you can access those recordings will be shared later this week.
This school year we are continuing our tradition of giving birthday books to all of our students, at home or in person, but it will look a little different as we will be following safety protocols during book selection. We love our Tiger Thursday tradition and we are so excited to see student smiles as they receive a new book. We know that readers are leaders, and at Kirk Elementary we are learning today to lead tomorrow.
I want to personally thank all of you for working with us to ensure that Kirk remains a safe learning environment for our students and staff. Here’s how you can partner with us to keep our staff and students safe.
Be sure to screen your student each day and keep them home if they are ill.
Be sure your student has their mask each day and that both the mouth + nose are covered.
Be sure that your child has his/her ID every day as he/she is walking out the door. Knowing that we can account for each child daily will help us tremendously. ID badges are needed for breakfast and lunch, access to the bus, as well as for checking in/out books in the library and visiting the nurse.
We are looking for a parent to give Kirk a voice at the district level as a member of the Superintendent’s Parent Leadership Committee and community members + local business leaders to serve on our campus performance objective committee. If you are interested or know someone who we should contact please contact Katherine Isea.
Thank you for welcoming Beth May, retired CFISD Principal, as the interim principal while I am on leave with baby Hayley. I am enjoying seeing the parent side of things with my CFISD Connect kinder student.
Lastly, I want to encourage each of you to support our PTO this year. Our PTO is such an important part of the work we do to support students and staff. It only costs $10 to join the PTO, so please consider joining to receive PTO updates and find out ways that you can support them as they support your children and our staff.
Dr. Jennifer Bell
Principal
Parent’s Corner
This year we have gone digital with our title 1 meeting. To learn more about Title 1 at Kirk Elementary, please watch this short video (https://youtu.be/F0bl34aCIrM). Turn on closed captioning for Spanish.
If you would like to give feedback on the parent involvement program or the home-school agreement for Kirk, please view the documents and input any suggested revisions on this google form.
We want to hear your feedback! At any time during the year if you have feedback to help us improve or review our practices please share it here.
Notice to Parents
2020 - 2021 Campus Performance Objective Council (CPOC)
2020 ‑ 2021 Superintendent’s Parent Leadership Committee (SPLC) Representative
If you would like to represent Kirk Elementary for the 2020 - 2021 Superintendent’s Parent Leadership Committee (SPLC), please contact Katherine Isea at 713-849-8250.
Parents will have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Henry and other CFISD administrators at the SPLC meetings to discuss districtwide issues and acquire useful district and community information.
School Messenger: Text Message Sign Up
The directions for adding text messages to your School Messenger account are in the link below. All parents need to update their School Messenger Information:
http://www.cfisd.net/en/parents-students/contacts-communications/schoolmessenger/
October Calendar
Birthday Celebration
Counselor's Corner
Counselor Corner ( Ms. Campbell & Ms. Colon)
Monthly Character Trait: Friendship - Using your words and actions to show others you care.
By the time kids hit upper elementary, they begin to realize their first major crisis: Friendship.
This isn’t just something that happens to our fourth and fifth graders. Believe it or not, research is beginning to show that by kindergarten many kids are testing the power of their influence and seeking connections with friends at any cost.
Meaning, as soon as they become aware there are other people in the world besides them, they start making decisions based on the sort of friends they want to attract.
Here are a few ways you can help your elementary kids develop friendships.
• Help them develop self-confidence.
• Widen the circle of people around them to include adults you
trust.
• Ask questions about what’s happening in their friendships.
• Don’t freak out! Every Phase is new for your child and you as a
parent, so there will be some bumps in the road.
So don’t miss it. Developing friendships is a part of being a kid, and each one is learning as they go.
Nurse’s Corner (Nurse Smith)
Hi Mighty Kirk Tigers!
I wanted to say thank you for social distancing, wearing your mask appropriately, and washing/sanitizing your hands here at school. Pretty proud of our Tigers! Keep encouraging them to continue the good work through your praise and demonstration. I am looking forward to a great year!!!
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
Childhood obesity can be harmful to children in several ways, such as:
*High blood pressure and high cholesterol
*Increased risk of glucose impairment, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
*Breathing problems like sleep apnea and asthma
*Greater risk of social and psychological problems, such as poor self-esteem
*Higher chance of obesity as an adult
Here are some ways we can help combat childhood obesity
Make a Favorite Dish Healthier: Instead of spaghetti and meatballs with regular noodles, try whole-wheat pasta or even get creative and use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
Drink Water: It's important to stay hydrated throughout the day. Drinking water can also make you feel full and less tempted to eat that sugary, fatty snack.
Incorporate Healthy Snack: If kids are hungry between meals, offer a fruit or veggie instead of ice cream or chips. Ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins) and Greek yogurt with berries are yummy alternatives.
Teach Kids about Serving Size: It's OK to have a snack-size bag of chips. These foods are delicious, but should be consumed in the smallest serving size.
Get 60 Minutes of Physical Activity Per Day: It's important for children to get up and move around, as it benefits both their physical and mental health. When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called endorphins, which can help improve your mood.
Please contact me if there are any health issues I should know about your Tiger. I want to keep everyone safe and healthy!
Nurse Smith
713-849-8270
Title: Library Corner (Mrs. Gallegos)
🎉📚Library Books📚🎉
All students have had an opportunity to check-out library books. They will be able to keep them for a week. Then they will return them and check out new ones. Here are some tips below.
Tips for Taking Care Of Library Books
🎒 Have students keep the library books in their backpack. They can take it out when they are reading them.
🚫Keep food and drinks away from library books! Sticky fingers and spills can make pages dirty and cause permanent damage.
🔖 Use a bookmark to keep your place. Don't fold the corner to mark your place!
⌛ Encourage your child to bring books back on time. It's fun to get new books!
Tips for Reading To Your Child
📰 Read books, newspapers, and magazines and share snippets of information which may appeal to your child.
📖 Make reading a natural part of the day's activities. If your child sees you reading, they will be encouraged to read as well.
✍🏽 If your child likes an author, read several books by that author.
🛋️ Sit next to your child so you can share the illustrations in a picture book. Take time to enjoy the pictures.
Tiger Technobytes
Primary Practices
Kirk Tigers, we are super excited to introduce you to the One school, One Book campus-wide project. We believe that reading at home is essential for preparing students to be effective readers. With the One School, One Book program our goal is to build a community of readers. Everyone on campus should have received a copy of the book - Jacqueline Davies’ The Lemonade War. For the next three months, Kirk students and their families will be engaging in thought-provoking discussions and participating in fun activities related to the chapters read in the book. The following link will take you to a calendar with the assigned chapters/pages for the week.
Look for more information to come home with your student or on Schoology for Connect Students.
Upcoming Events
October 14th-15th 1st Grade Math DPM
October 15th 2nd Grade Math Checkpoint
October 22nd 2nd Grade Science Unit Test
October 26th-30th Kindergarten Math DPM
Math Magic
Use the link below to find information and resources for home.
https://sites.google.com/a/cfisd.net/elementaryscience/home
Digital Library
Digital Experiments with Gizmo
National Geographic Resources
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS
Take a peek into various zoo exhibits with these live cameras from the San Diego Zoo! There's also an archive of old footage, if you're looking for more animal fun.
Loving Literacy
Kirk Tigers, we are super excited to introduce you to the One school, One Book campus-wide project. We believe that reading at home is essential for preparing students to be effective readers. With the One School, One Book program our goal is to build a community of readers. Everyone on campus should have received a copy of the book - Jacqueline Davies’ The Lemonade War. For the next four months, Kirk students and their families will be engaging in thought-provoking discussions and participating in fun activities related to the chapters read in the book. The following link will take you to a calendar with the assigned chapters/pages for the week.
Look for more information to come home with your student or on Schoology for Connect Students.
Family & Community Engagement
Lone Star College is offering the following classes to improve your English.
Continuing Education (CE)
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Adult Education and Literacy (AEL)
For More Information https://www.lonestar.edu/esol.htm
Contact Information: English for Speakers of Other Languages Department.
Future students: Ready to apply to Lone Star College? Apply for Admission today!
Current Students: Ready to register for credit courses? Register now
CE Adult Education and Literacy Students Contact: gcadulted@LoneStar.edu or 281.260.3576
Google Translate
Have you ever wished you had a personal translator with you when you’re trying to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak English? Google Translate has the capacity to translate English to many languages. You can quickly get the free app from your phone App Store. To see the tutorial (1:31 minutes) Google Translate
What’s happening in Large Group?
Musical Magic
Hello Kirk Mighty Tigers,
Music has gotten off to a great start. The music room looks different, but in a great way! Everyone is adjusting and we are still moving forward and having a great time in music.
At this time we are establishing routines and kicking off with notes and the voice. September will find us learning note names, their value, and the four types of voices. So, take care and I’ll see you during music time!
Ms. Craig
PE
Hello again Kirk Mighty Tigers.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we are still trying to adapt to the new school year format. I know the first couple of weeks looked a little different as we are establishing routines and still trying to adjust, but things will look better as we move into the next months. Looking forward to having more fun and interesting activities in the future.
We are going to have a GREAT year!
Coach Mati
Art
Hello Kirk Tiger Family!!
I am so excited to be with you this year as the new Art teacher! We have gotten off to a great start. We celebrated International Dot Day that focuses on the story “The Dot” by Peter Renyolds. This is a wonderful story about finding your inner artist and never giving up!! We took some time to create Dots of our own.
We also created artwork with a Positive Affirmation theme. We have so much to learn and create. It is going to be a FABULOUS year!!
Ms. Smith
PTO Corner
Please take a moment to join the PTO! It only cost $10 for a family to join and these funds go to support all students at Kirk Elementary. Join by going here: https://kirkpto.square.site/
We are selling Kirk shirts on our website. Take a moment to check out our online store and make a purchase to show your support for Kirk. Purchase items by going to this website: https://www.idscreenprint.com/sr/1877959
Help Desk Information
If you need assistance finding your student’s CFISD log in or logging into any resources, please contact the Help Desk via email isupport@cfisd.net or call 281-897-4357.