CANNON CONNECTION
A newsletter for Cannon Elementary families - 2018-2019
WEEK OF OCTOBER 1, 2018
Hi Cannon Parents!
I have shared information in this newsletter about our plans for the Red Carpet Welcome for our students' first day in our brand new school, as well as some other important information you need to know about our first days in the new building!
As you know, we are planning to use the upcoming 4-day weekend (October 5th - 8th) to move into the new school. While students are enjoying the student holidays on Friday, October 5th and Monday, October 8th, our staff and lots of folks from the GCISD district offices will be busy at work moving, unpacking materials, getting classrooms set up, and preparing to welcome students to our new school on Tuesday, October 9th!
The rain has NOT been our friend at Cannon lately, resulting in us having to cancel one of our favorite family events of the year, our Back 2 School Family Picnic - three times, in fact! Also, due to the heavy amount of rain we have received, some of our construction and demolition plans have also been impacted. At this time, we are being told that the demolition plans (originally scheduled to begin on October 15th) are being delayed until a later date. We expect that it will be closer to the beginning of November. As a result of this:
- We will continue to use the school parking lot that currently exists on our school property.
- We will be changing our bus drop-off to a new temporary bus lane that has been created at the new school.
- Since the existing bus lane at our current building will NO LONGER be utilized for buses, beginning the week of October 9th, we will be shifting our parent car drop-off and pick-up lane to this area, in order to allow students to safely arrive and dismiss closer to our new school. Beginning Tuesday, October 9th, there will be cones set up and school/district personnel outside to help direct parents to use this temporary drop-off/pick-up route. Parents will enter this lane from College St. and will pull through the car lane until their student is dropped off/loaded into the car at an area near where new sidewalks will be available. All cars will need to exit the parking lot and turn right onto Pebblebrook Drive. After a demolition date is confirmed for November, it will be necessary for us to re-route parent car lanes to the residential street on the west side of the school.
- Completion of the outdoor areas at the new school have been delayed due to all of the MUD from the rain! Until our new courtyard is completed, followed by our new playground areas, we will continue to use the front drive area of our old school for outdoor recess. We are hopeful that our outdoor courtyard will be completed very soon, at which time, we will shift recess to this area, until the playground is finished.
Thank you in advance for realizing that while this is a VERY exciting time, it is also a time that will require patience & flexibility from all of our Cannon families as we work to make this HUGE transition as seamless as possible.
Please take a moment to read below about our plans for a grand Red Carpet Welcome we have planned for our students as they arrive at school on October 9th. This will be a BIG and historical event and we want to make it super special for all of our Cubs!
Proud to be your principal,
Mrs. Blizzard
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RED CARPET WELCOME TO OUR NEW SCHOOL - TUESDAY 10/9
We are planning to make this a VERY special event for our Cannon students by literally, rolling out a Red Carpet Welcome! As students arrive at school on this date, we are planning to have LOTS of community helpers (Grapevine Fire Department & Grapevine Police), along with administrators from our GCISD central offices, lining red carpets at the entrances of our new school! In addition to welcoming our Cubs at the entrances, these community/district volunteers will also be escorting students inside to their new classrooms, to ensure everyone arrives safely.
We know that our parents are VERY anxious to see the new building as soon as possible and we can't wait to show it off to all of you! ! However, our staff and students have a LOT of new routines & procedures to learn and adjust to in our new school. In order to do this in the most efficient and productive manner, please make note of the following:
Students ONLY on Tuesday, October 9th All of our Cannon Cubs have successfully been declared "Independent" in our current building and are able to walk to class on their own each morning! This procedure will remain in place when we move into our new building, effective the first day, 10/9. Parents will be asked to drop off students, and/or say goodbye outside of the front doors! Community volunteers will be stationed around the building to escort students safely to their designated spaces! This will be very important, in order for us to carefully monitor ALL students and ensure that everyone gets to where they need to be in an efficient and safe manner. Thanks for your help to encourage courageous independence in our Cubs!
Lunch Visits We ask that parents/grandparents not come eat with their child during the first week in our new school. This allows us to teach our students new lunch time procedures and the expectations in our new cafeteria. The design of our new cafeteria and kitchen/serving line are VERY different than our current school and our staff and students need time to adjust to new procedures. Thank you for your support! Lunch visits will start the week October 15th.
Parent Tours Will Be Provided ASAP! We understand that our Cannon parents are anxious to see our new school and we can't wait to show it off to all of you! We want to make sure this is done in a manner that allows plenty of time for our Cannon parents to see the entire school, learn about the concept behind our school design, and allow enough time to get all of their questions answered. So, we will be offering grade level parent tours shortly after our transition into the new school. We hope that you will take advantage of these opportunities to visit and learn all about our new school home! More information about these tour dates will be provided soon!
SEEN @ CANNON LAST WEEK!
Grapevine Police Visit Classrooms
5th Graders Create Earth Models
Final Friday Assembly!
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Mark Your Calendars.....
UPCOMING EVENTS
10/1- National World Day of Bullying Prevention - wear jeans, blue shirts & boots to school!
10/1- WatchDOGS Kickoff & Parent Involvement Fair 6:00 pm - Cannon cafeteria. PTA will be serving pizza & bottled water!
10/3 - Candidate Forum - Colleyville Center 6:30 - 9:00 pm -Come hear from Texas State Legislators about important issues in education!
10/5- Student Holiday - No School - Professional Learning Day for teachers
10/8 - Columbus Day Holiday - No School!
10/9 - Red Carpet Welcome To The New Cannon 1st day in our new school!
10/10 - Cub Night Out Spring Creek BBQ 5:00-9:00 pm - Some of our Cannon Staff will be servers!
10/16 - Butterfly Flutterby Art Contest Entries Due to Mrs. Mattox See information in this newsletter about this great opportunity for your child!
10/24 - Unity Day - Wear Orange - Everyone Matters!
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Did you know that your GCISD School Board Trustees were just named as the 2018 Texas Outstanding Honor Board?
As a district, we have had a LOT to celebrate this year, with having Cannon teacher, Mr. Joe Parthemore, selected as the Region 11 Elementary Teacher of the year and as a finalist for Texas Teacher of the Year; our Superintendent, Dr. Robin Ryan, selected as Region 11 Superintendent of the Year, and now, our School Board Trustees, also Region 11's School Board of the Year, were just named as the 2018 Outstanding Honor Board for the state of Texas!!
The School Board Awards Program was created in 1971 to recognize school boards that have demonstrated outstanding dedication and rendered ethical service to the children of Texas. The criteria to receive this award emphasizes evidence of support for educational performance improvement and school transformation initiatives.
We are so fortunate to have such a supportive and innovative Board of Trustees leading our wonderful district! They truly believe in the work we are doing and encourage us to continue pushing and moving forward, to create outstanding educational opportunities for ALL of our students in GCISD! Congratulations to our deserving GCISD Board of Trustees!
To read more about each of our School Board Trustees that are leading GCISD, click here.
CONGRATS GCISD SCHOOL BOARD!!
2018 Texas Outstanding Honor Board
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UPDATES & REMINDERS
Wear Blue & Boots To School On Monday, 10/1!
WATCHDOGS PIZZA KICK-OFF HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, 10/1!!
WatchD.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is an innovative program being used by schools across America which helps them to be positively impacted by the committed involvement of fathers and father-figures in their student's life. Our goal is to have you spend at least one day this year at the school to be a positive male role model and to provide an extra set of eyes and ears. There are also may other opportunities for both moms and dads to get involved in our school this year and we are excited to share them with everyone!
Parent Preview for Growth and Development Film For 4th & 5th Graders Is Tuesday!
Click here to read parent letter in English
Haga clic aquí para leer la letra del padre en Español
In order to be proactive in our delivery of education concerning human sexuality, our district uses several resources and programs for the elementary school health curriculum for 4th grade girls & 5th grade boys and girls only. These programs and resources will be presented throughout the school year. Parents may preview these programs during parent preview sessions. District staff will be available at the parent preview sessions to answer questions regarding the human sexuality program.
PARENT PREVIEW DATES ARE THIS WEEK ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2nd @ THE GCISD ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. Use links above to see the schedule for these previews.
Butterfly Flutterby Art Contest For Cannon Students!
Ask your child about the upcoming Butterfly Flutterby Art contest! Mrs. Mattox, our art teacher, has been sharing information with all of our Cubs about this and we hope to have LOTS of students participate! MANY of our former Cannon Cubs have had their artwork selected for special recognition in the past!!
Butterfly Flutterby Art Contest entries are due to Mrs. Mattox by Oct. 16th at 3:00pm. Please check your email from Peachjar or Grapevine Garden Club's website at www.grapevinegardenclub.org for entry forms and more information.
The event will be held on Saturday, October 20, at the Grapevine Botanical Garden on Ball Street. The 2018 theme is "Adventures of the Monarch." Artwork will be judged by local artists and each grade level will be awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize ribbons. Three grand prizes which include a $25 gift card per category will be presented for Sprouting Artist (K-1st), Budding Artist (2nd-3rd) and Blooming Artist (4th-5th).
Here Comes The Bus
GCISD is happy to announce the adoption of an innovative mobile device app and website entitled, Here Comes the Bus®. This app allows you to view the real-time location of your child’s school bus on your smartphone, tablet or computer. The app is free!
Getting started:
Available in three languages (English, Spanish and French), the Here Comes the Bus app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
- Download the Here Comes the Bus app* or visit herecomesthebus.com
- Click the Sign Up button
- Enter school code 79915 and click “Next” followed by “Confirm”
- Complete the User Profile information
- Click “Students” and enter your child’s last name and student ID number when prompted
- Once you confirm your information, you’re ready to begin using Here Comes the Bus!
To sign up on the website, or to learn more about this service, visit the Here Comes the Bus website.
Star-Telegram Stock Show Art Contest
The competition, open to ALL students ages 5-19 that are enrolled in a Texas public, private or accredited home school, presents an opportunity to showcase artistic abilities and offers a great chance to win awards, college scholarships or cash prizes in excess of $20,000. Belt buckles will be presented to the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion along with official Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo rosettes to the 1st–7th placings.
A panel of local art professionals will judge the competition and placing entries will be displayed during the Fort Worth Stock & Rodeo, January 18–February 9. Additionally, select qualifying non-placing entries will be showcased as a special exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. The contest has something for everyone: five (5) age divisions for individual entries, three (3) classroom divisions for two-dimensional entries and a three-dimensional division, for high school students. For more information contact Jordan Simons at 817.877.2534 or email Art Contest.
DAVID'S LAW PRESENTATION
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NEWS FROM CANNON PTA
PTA QUICK PICKS!
Check out these "quick picks" of reminders & information from PTA:
- REFLECTIONS ART CONTEST Calling All Cannon Cubs! Enter into the Reflections contest and represent Cannon Elementary! Show GCISD the extraordinary talent we have here at Cannon! Contest Theme: “Heroes Around Me”. Submission Categories: (All submissions must be original works in the following areas)
· Film Production
· Literature
· Music Composition
· Photography
· Visual Arts
Submissions Due to Cannon Front Office by Wednesday, November 7, 2018. Pick up your student packet from the Cannon Elementary Front Office or CLICK HERE to download today!
All submissions must be turned in with:
· Completed Student Entry Form.
· Student Name on the back of the submission
· Placed in an Envelope. Attention: PTA Reflections
Questions: Email Kaye.Rogers@gcisd.net
UPCOMING PTA EVENTS:
October 1 - WatchDOGS & Involvement Fair
October 10 - Cubs' Night Out: Spring Creek BBQ
October 15 - Cannon Cubs' Moms' Night Out
October 22 - Spooky Skate at Skatetown
Additional events at cannonpta.com/calendar
Stay connected by following Cannon PTA on social media. Click here to "like" the PTA Facebook page. Follow them on Twitter @CannonPTA.
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QUICK LINKS FOR PARENTS
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I want to make you aware of where you can see information and resources, specifically about the Cannon construction project. Also, check out the awesome exterior renderings of our new school below!!
Please reach out to me to let me know of any questions you may have about this project. This is a VERY exciting time for our Cannon school community and I want to make sure all of our Cannon families stay informed!
Click here to see project updates on all GCISD Bond programs
Click here to sign up for construction updates by email about the Cannon project!
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Cannon Elementary: A GCISD STEM School
Email: tona.blizzard@gcisd.net
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/1428
Location: 1300 W College St, Grapevine, TX, United States
Phone: 817-251-5680
Facebook: facebook.com/CannonSTEM
Twitter: @canSTEM