CANNON LEGACY
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2017-2018
Principal Points - 12/18 -12/22
It's finally here!! The last week of school in 2017 - can you believe it?? This school year is flying by at lightning speed and it's sure to resume with a vengeance when we return in 2018. We have had MANY notable accomplishments and successes with scholars, staff & our parent community so far this year and I can't wait to experience all of the opportunities 2018 will hold for Cannon Elementary: A GCISD STEM School!
One of my favorite activities for this final week of 2017 will be celebrating the holiday with all of YOU!! Our staff holiday party is after school on Monday and all you need to do is show up! We know that the holiday season can be a stressful time, so we have planned a holiday party that will be provide you all the opportunity to just slow down, relax, and unwind, all while enjoying some food and fun with friends!
Happy Holidays to all and thank you for the GIFTS you offer our school community every day through your love, support & dedication to our amazing students & school!
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
We are in the final countdown! Check the staff holiday calendar for the fun planned for these final days!
Lisa's Coaching Corner
I know that as the winter holiday gets closer not only does your stress level rise due to your own to-do list but it also impacts our students. Here are a few highlights of their stresses:
- Changes in regular routines, especially bedtime.
- Lots of SUGAR.
- Juggling living in two households.
- Parent that are decease or not present.
- Financial issues.
- Mental health issues often escalate (family members too).
- Cultural differences.
Take a look at "Helping Students Cope with Holiday Stress" by Dr. James J. Crist, a psychologist, to help address specific issues within your classroom community. He gives great advice on how to validate students' feelings about the holidays.
DATES TO REMEMBER
12/18 Staff Holiday Party 3:15-4:15 - library
12/19 Spelling Bee Pre-test - 4th & 5th grades - 8:00 in cafeteria
12/21 Campus-wide Holiday Singalong 8:30-9:30; Holiday parties; 10:15-11:15; Early Release 11:45 am
12/22-1/7 Holiday Break for students & staff
1/08 - Staff returns to work - Teacher Work Day
1/09 - Students return to school
SPOTLIGHT ON LEARNING!
Congratulations To Katherine Pacas & Ben Olvera On Their Engagement!
CONGRATULATIONS TO CANNON ROBOTICS TEAMS!
The 5th grade team, Mission Impossibots, 1.0, is bringing home the trophy for the Best Project Award. WOW!! Due to the incredibly innovative project they planned, designed, and presented, the project judges selected their project as the 1st place winner out of all of the other 36 elementary & middle school teams at the tournament. There was some tough competition from these teams from all over the metroplex area! Congratulations!!
The 4th grade team, Mission Impossibots 2.0 earned the Referee's Award for the perseverance and growth their team displayed as they competed in each of the robot games. The robot missions were tough and each round, this team used the feedback they received to make adjustments and improve, in true Cannon STEM fashion! Great job!!
Participating in FLL offers a wonderful opportunity for our Cannon scholars, but it is also a BIG commitment for our Cannon staff that coaches these teams. BIG thank you to Joe, Chelsea & Julee for their hard work this season and congratulation on your team wins!
Also, a BIG thanks to the many Cannon staff members that volunteered at this event to make it a huge success! Melanie Gable & Patrick Lollis served as judges at this event. Jennifer Bryant, Lexi Rix, Alejandra Paniagua, Lisa Brown, and Anne Ricci also dedicated the day on Saturday to volunteer to help organize & run the scheduled events. Julie Brenegan did an outstanding job planning and organizing the entire event!! Teamwork really does WORK!
FINAL REMINDER ABOUT STAFF & STUDENT iPAD UPDATES! MUST BE COMPLETED THIS WEEK!
To do this open setting on your iPad, select general and then push software update. You will see it ask to check for update or to download and install. The update will take about 5 to 10 minutes based on what all you have loaded on your iPad. Here is a video from Apple that also walks through the process.
During this week, leading into the break, if you haven't already done so, please have the students follow this same process. Technology will push a forced iOS update out over the holidays so we can be sure to get all our devices to the latest software level. It's essential that we stay current so we can ensure that all our programs function as intended. Here is also a nice blog post by Kerissa about some of the new great features of iOS 11 .
Please use this document to place an X in the columns beside your name when you and/or your class has completed the update. This must be done NO LATER than Wednesday, December 20th. This information will be compiled and shared in a report on Wednesday afternoon. Please let Julee know if you need assistance.
JANUARY IS BOARD APPRECIATION MONTH!
Scholar work should be dropped off in my office by the end of the day on Thursday, January 18th. This year's theme is "Helping Kids Soar to Success." Please refer to the following link to read short bios on all GCISD trustees. Thank you!
REMINDERS & UPDATES
LAST DAY 2017 EXPECTATIONS FOR STAFF Prior to leaving for the holiday break, please make sure that you have taken down all holiday decorations, placed Christmas trees in their box in the hallway outside your classroom door & taped your completed & signed energy checklist on the outside of your classroom door. Jose will make sure that all trees are returned to the attic during the holiday break. Also, please note that hallway displays need to be freshened up throughout the building. We would like for you to take down old displays either before your leave or during your work day in January. We are anxious to start 2018 with some new & inspiring student work on display!
SPELLING BEE TEST 4th & 5th GRADERS The 4th & 5th grade scholars that signed up to take the Spelling Bee test will complete this in the cafeteria at the beginning of their Specials time on Tuesday, 12/19. Please send these students to the cafeteria when you leave to take your class to Specials. They will return to their Specials class asap when the test is complete. Cannon Spelling Bee participants will be announced on Wednesday, 12/20. Thank you!
HOLIDAY SINGALONG will begin in the cafeteria at 8:30 on Thursday morning! We will have some special presentations during this time, so be ready to sing, smile & celebrate!
CANNON PRESENTERS @ MINI-CAST I want to invite everyone to consider presenting at this year’s DFW Metroplex Mini-CAST. Other teachers in the area could very much benefit from all the great things we are implementing in our science classrooms. It’s easier than you might think….the sessions are just an hour for you to share some of the great things you do in your classroom!
This school year it will be hosted on the east side of the metroplex at West Mesquite HS in Mesquite ISD (2500 Memorial Blvd, Mesquite, TX 75149) on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Mini-CAST 2018 is now accepting presentation proposals. Follow the link HERE to submit a proposal! The deadline to submit is January 15. We are happy to help you with your proposals!!
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP WEEK Mark your calendars for Digital Citizenship Week January 8 - 19, 2018. All our GCISD Digital Citizenship resources may be found here.
HOLIDAY BREAK ENERGY CHECKLIST
UPDATES FROM THE LEARNING COMMONS
Just a few reminders from our librarian, Kristi Wagner:
GCISD Reads- I will submit the district google form for students (and teachers) who have completed the reading challenge. Just send me their completed recording sheet and make sure their first and last name as well as your name is on it. I will mark that the form has been submitted on their complete recording sheet and send it back with a new recording sheet. If you have already submitted the google form for any students, please let me know as I am keeping a master list of all finishers. Thanks so much for supporting this program!
Library Calendar for Second Semester- I have decided to leave the library calendar completely open for you to sign up on days and times that work best for you. I still would like to stick with the 45 minute time for a lesson and check out and 30 minute time for check out only. I will plan and teach one lesson per month for each grade level and I'll send an email at the beginning of the month to let you know the topic so you can decide if it's something you want for your class. As always, please let me know if there are specific lessons or topics you need/want me to teach to your grade level. I've checked with district technology people and I have the calendar settings correct to allow you to do this. If it doesn't work for you, just email me and I'll schedule your time. Here's how you do it:
- Make sure you have the Cannon Library Calendar added to your calendar choices
- Temporarily uncheck your other calendars so you can see the Can Library Calendar more clearly
- Click on a time spot you want. That brings up a scheduling window.
- Make sure you have the Can Library Calendar selected in the drop down menu
- Title the appointment with your last name and then either Lesson and Check Out or just Check out
- adjust the time to select either 45 minutes or 30 minutes
As always, we will all have to be flexible when special situations arise the necessitate changes to the calendar. It is really important that our library space be flexible both how we use it and when we use it.
Worth A Read...or a Listen!!
MAKEY-MAKEY GIVEAWAY! Click here to enter this giveaway to receive a Makey-Makey of your own for your classroom! Ends on 12/31!
THIS SHORT PODCAST IS PERFECT...to explain how to be an Evergreen Teacher! During this season, it offers a great reminder to all educators!
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!
TO-DO LIST
- Set a timer and complete daily attendance ON TIME!
- Don't forget to show daily KCAN announcements every Monday-Thursday!! #KidsDeserveIt
- Check out this week's staff activities on the 2017 Staff Holiday Calendar-be ready for some fun & treats!!
- Attend our staff party in the library on Monday! We can't wait to celebrate with YOU!
- Please send 4th & 5th Spelling Bee participants to cafeteria during specials on 12/19.
- Complete the require iOS update on staff & student iPads by Wednesday, 12/20.
- Review the reminders in this newsletter about tasks to complete before the break.
- Enjoy a relaxing & joyful holiday break with family & friends!
- Review Kristi's reminders in this newsletter for the 2nd semester.
- 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.