CANNON TIMES
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2018-2019
Principal Points - Week of October 1, 2018
"We shape our buildings. Thereafter, they shape us."
- Winston Churchill
This time next week, we will be IN our new school building. Preparing for our students to come to their new school for the very first time. It's truly hard to believe that this time has finally arrived!!
While we still have several months of the next phase of construction ahead of us, we are about to embark on our first phase of NEW. Of CHANGE. Of OPPORTUNITY. Of POSSIBILITY!
One of the very first exercises our campus design team engaged in with the architects, over two years ago, was a visioning process called Battleship. This was an incredible process that resulted in deep conversations that were about much more than how we wanted our school to "look". This process allowed all of the participants to engage in thoughtful conversations about our hopes and dreams for our students. About deep, pedagogical shifts that impact student learning. From these conversations, our work began on intentionally designing spaces that could support the types of positive learning impacts our team was pursuing:
- flexible learning spaces of different shapes and sizes
- plenty of glass providing visual access to the outdoor environment, and to other learning spaces
- large common areas creating collaborative spaces for staff, students and the larger community
- spaces to support making, tinkering, creating, and exploration
- a building that allows a permeability of disciplines within the curriculum
- learning spaces that invite learning and allow for personal agency
It's amazing to realize how many of our initial ideas were captured by the architect team and actually exist in our new school! Our school mission and vision truly shines through the architecture of this beautiful building!
As we move into this new space and begin to write the next chapter in our school's history, it is critically important that our students truly understand that their education is important enough to deserve such an innovative and special building. This is a building to take great pride in, to be respectful of, and to be grateful to be part of.
I had the privilege to spend some 1:1 time with one of our school board trustees, Louie Sullins, last week, talking about our new school. His words at the end of our conversation were, "Tona, this new school will be setting a new standard for our district, as well as for other schools near and far. The staff and students at Cannon will be leading the way for how education CAN look and how learning SHOULD look for students everywhere!
Wow! While this statement underscores a high level of responsibility and expectation from our larger school community, it is also an enormous compliment to the work and dedication of our campus team to have successfully created a culture of learning that is ready to be elevated even more, through the use of this incredible new school that we are lucky enough to be part of!
Let's take learning to the next level in our new digs!! Bring.It.On!!
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
#BeCannonProud
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Lisa's Coaching Corner
Rome Was Not Built in a Day
As we are moving into our final week at Cannon, I know you (ALL OF US) are grappling with uncertainty. So I wanted to circle back to our TRUE COLORS that we began the year with. Everyone deals with uncertainty in different ways but be assured it is STRESSFUL for everyone and many will experience a range of emotions. So be patient and always assume positive intent. As stress levels rise, people often take things personally which is most likely not the intent. Take a look at the True Colors graphic to discover the 4 broad behavioral differences.
Give yourself permission to be vulnerable. We have many decisions to make to set up our new space and it will not be perfect nor permanent. We will have to make changes as we learn our needs. Think back to your first classroom and how you made adjustments multiple times throughout that year before you finally found a great fit.
You can adapt to anything! The fact that you went into the educational field proves that you are a master of adapting and accommodating on a moments notice. So knowing that "Rome wasn't built in a day" be prepared to go through this process with an open mind. We are the only STAFF that will experience THE POWER OF THESE MOMENTS hitting all four categories: elevation, pride, insight & connection. (The hidden Moment not mentioned in the book is exhaustion.)
#BeCannonProud #honoredtosharethisMOMENT
Lisa
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DATES TO REMEMBER
10/01 National World Day of Bullying Prevention - wear jeans, blue shirts & boots!
10/01 Fire Drill - 9:00 am
10/01 5th Grade Sky Ranch Chaperone meeting - 5:00-6:00
10/01 WatchDOG Dad's Pizza Kickoff & Family Involvement Fair - 6:00-7:00 - Cannon Cafeteria
10/02 Pizza Snacks for staff! Schroeder Orthodontics is sending over some pizzas for staff around 10:30 am. Be sure to pop in the teacher's lounge to grade a slice or two!
10/02 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
10/02 5th Grade Sky Ranch Chaperone meeting - 4:00-5:00
10/03 PLC Week B - 1st Grade 2:15-3:45
10/03 GCISD PTA Hosts Candidate Forum - Colleyville Center - 6:30-9:00 pm
10/04 PLC Week B - 2nd Grade 2:15-3:45
10/04 All items must be packed by 4:00 - Facilities will begin pick up at 4:00 pm
10/05 Student Holiday/Staff Moving Day - please remind parents there is NO school
10/08 Student Holiday- please remind parents there is NO school - New school will be open for staff to work as needed!
10/09 Red Carpet Welcome for students -1st day in new school!
10/09 PLC Week A - 3rd Grade - 2:15-3:45
10/10 PLC Week A - 4th Grade - 2:15-3:45
10/10 Cubs Night Out @ Spring Creek - 5:00-9:00
10/11 PLC Week A - 5th Grade - 2:15-3:45
10/15 Fire Safety Program - K-2 cafeteria 2:00-2:45
10/15 STEM Leadership 3:00-3:45 - library
10/16 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
10/17 5th grade leaves for Sky Ranch- return on Friday, 10/19
10/17 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:15-3:45
10/18 Author Visit - 3rd & 4th grade - 9:30-10:15
10/18 1st grade field trip to Meadows Farm - 9:15-2:00
10/18 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45
10/19 End of 1st Nine Weeks
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CONGRATULATIONS GCISD SCHOOL BOARD!!
2018 Texas Outstanding Honor Board
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CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
The following answers are in response to some of the questions submitted on the school community form provided for staff to submit questions & suggestions about our move. Please use this link to submit additional questions & suggestions!
Q & A (QUESTIONS & ANSWERS):
- UPDATE ON STAFF PARKING/ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL PROCEDURES/RECESS The rain has NOT been our friend during these last few weeks and as a result, there are some construction delays that have impacted some of our plans. Originally, the demolition of our current building was scheduled for the week of October 15th, but that has now been delayed. The new date for this process to begin is dependent on several other factors, however, it is anticipated to be delayed until possibly the beginning of November. As a result of this, there is some good news/bad news to share. Good News- staff will be able to continue to use the existing staff parking lot, rather than parking off-site, until a new demo date is scheduled! Kinda Good News - the new "temporary" bus circle at the new school will be utilized for all buses beginning immediately, October 9th, which will allow us to temporarily re-route our car riders to our old bus circle, rather than routing parents over to the Pebblebrook residential street arrival/dismissal. We will have cones/barriers out to route parents through the old/existing bus lane to drop off/pick up, as this will allow students to be closer to the entrance to the new school. Not Great But Could Be Worse News - the outdoor courtyard and playground areas at the new school are further delayed than anticipated, due to the extensive MUD everywhere from all the rain! However, we will be able to continue to use the front circle drive for outdoor recess, since the demo will also be delayed. As soon as the sidewalks are poured for the new school entrance, we will provide a "walking map" that we want all staff to use to take students out to this area for recess. Another option is also indoor recess, if you would like to plan to do this on some days and outdoors on other. One important consideration about outdoor recess that will need to be kept in mind is that NO students will be allowed to walk independently from the front drive area to the new school, due to the long distance. It will be critical that all students take restroom breaks prior to going outdoors. As soon as the courtyard is finished, we will be able to shift recess to this area. Hopefully, the new playground area will be completed shortly after the courtyard is complete.
- PACKING REMINDERS Packing boxes and tape are located on the stage! All items need to be packed in boxes provided, taped and LABELED CLEARLY with your last name and grade level and room number. Click here to find your room number. While you are on this document, please add your current phone extension. DO NOT USE YOUR CURRENT ROOM NUMBER ON THESE BOXES. MAKE SURE YOUR NEW ROOM NUMBER IS VERY EASY TO READ & LOCATE ON THE BOXES. If you are a grade level teacher and know that you want items from your classroom to be delivered to your grade level TPA (Teacher Prep Area) please use the appropriate TPA room number. While you will be responsible for moving over any personal items, we will have approximately 40 district facilities & custodial staff that will be at Cannon on Thursday, October 4th to help move all boxes and other miscellaneous items to the new school.
- UPDATED PHOTOS OF FURNITURE AVAILABLE TO SEE The new furniture has started to arrive! Take a peek at some of the furniture already in classrooms that have been added to the photo folder shared last week! Be sure to check out the list of exact items that will be in each classroom that I sent out by email last week. There have been specific questions about bookcases, file cabinets, and the furniture in the teacher prep areas. I uploaded a pic of the bookcases in the folder (one per class & two in each collaboration space). The teacher furniture has not arrived yet, so no photos available yet! There are filing units for each teacher in the TPA areas, but not in classrooms. All teachers are strongly encouraged to purge & discard old files that are rarely or never used. Many staff members (including myself) only utilize a 2-drawer lateral file now, with the rest of files being maintained in a digital format. I will send out photos of TPA furniture as soon as these pieces arrive this week!
- WHAT WILL OUR SCHEDULE BE FOR FRIDAY? We are planning to begin our day in the new school and we will meet together at 7:30 in the Learning Commons. The school will be open at 7:15. We will share updated information for all staff, as well as discuss some first day procedural expectations. As a reminder, Friday is a contract day for all staff. Also, paraprofessionals who are interested in working over the weekend are encouraged and welcomed to volunteer, but no overtime or comp time can be earned.
- WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR STAFF TO WORK DURING THE 4-DAY WEEKEND? Friday, October 5th is a contract day, so all staff is required to work for the full day (as a reminder, no staff children are allowed to be at work during contract time). The district facilities & custodial staff will be on campus after 1:00 pm on Friday, October 5th to help with any moving needs, as well as to prep the campus for student arrival. We will have district staff from the C & I team, as well as other central admin. at the campus on Saturday, October 6th from 9:00-4:00 working in shifts and they will be assigned to grade levels/departments. They have signed up to volunteer and help teachers unpack and set up their classrooms. If you are interested in getting help/support from these volunteers, you will need to plan on being on campus during those times. The campus will be open on Sunday and Monday (hours TBD) as well. It is unlikely that staff badges will work on the card readers during this weekend, so you will need to plan to come when the school is open. We will let you know these times asap! We understand that you all have family commitments and other things you must take care of during this holiday weekend and we want you to take of these things! Our goal is to be ready for students to arrive on Tuesday morning and we know that each of you will have different schedules for when you will be able to work. Please plan to work as much as necessary in order for you to be prepared! However, please understand that if you want to take advantage of the great district volunteers who have signed up to help, you must be present during the time they are here.
- CAN I BRING MY FAMILY & FRIENDS WITH ME TO HELP DURING THE MOVE-IN WEEKEND? Yes! However, we are asking for staff to make care arrangements for small and elementary-aged children, for safety reasons. There may still be some construction-related activities going on throughout the weekend, so this request must be honored. If you have a high schooler who is capable of actually helping in your room in a productive manner, this is allowable. Of course spouses, parents and adult children are welcome! Please do NOT recruit Cannon parents to volunteer. We have communicated to our Cannon PTA that we will NOT be using Cannon parents during this weekend!
We are SO incredibly fortunate to be part of such an exciting time in history for both Cannon and GCISD! #BeCannonProud
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REMINDERS & UPDATES
PROGRESS REPORT TIME The posting window will close at 10:00 p.m. on Monday 10/1/18 @ 10:00 pm. Progress Reports will post to Skyward Family Access on 10/3 by the end of the day. Please be sure all grades are entered for grading period 8/20/18 - 9/28/18.
RESCHEDULED WATCHDOG DAD'S EVENT Please see information about the rescheduled WatchDOG Dad's Pizza Kickoff in the "To Share With Parents" section of this newsletter for details to share with parents.
JEANS DAYS - Since we are going to be busy packing this week please feel free to wear jeans all week long! There are 2 special jeans dates in October that Dr. Ryan and Dr. Schnautz have approved for jeans and special shirts:
- National World Day of Bullying Prevention - October 1st. This is formerly Stomp Out Bully. They encourage everyone to wear boots and blue shirts to encourage students to be strong and stand up against bullying.
- The other day is Unity Day on October 24. This group encourages students to wear orange (not necessarily burnt orange). Their message is: Together against bullying. UNITED for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
FLEX TRAINING MUST BE COMPLETED BY OCTOBER 5th Click here to access the new GCISD FLEX for 2018-2019. Teachers must complete the Flex requirements off contract time by October 5, 2018. All other staff may use contract time to complete the modules. Use the pull-down Search By Job menu on the top right of the page to select your job/role, to ensure you are completing the correct FLEX courses.
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INFORMATION TO SHARE IN PARENT NEWSLETTERS
RESCHEDULED DATE FOR WatchDOGS Event!
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!
In order to participate, you need to do two things:
- Complete the bottom portion of the form that came home with students last week and return it asap to let us know if you will attend, so that we can have an accurate head count for the food.
- Mark your calendars and show up on Tuesday, September 18th at 6:00 pm!
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 and enables you to:
- See the real-time location of your child’s bus both before and after school
- Confirm that your child’s bus has arrived at the bus stop, at school or both
- Receive a push notification* or email message when the bus is near your stop, has been substituted, or when we have important information to relay
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.
**Your child needs to be a registered bus rider in order to ride a GCISD bus. If you are wanting to register your child to ride the bus, please do so in Skyward. If you are needing to temporarily change your child's bus transportation (i.e. riding home with a friend for a day, etc.), please complete this form. This app tracks only GCISD buses, not individual students.
Questions:
Should you have any questions, please contact Misael Ruiz at misael.ruiz@gcisd.net or (817) 251-5595. If you additional assistance, contact Here Comes the Bus customer support. You will be asked to provide the following information:
- Your name
- School District Name or 5-digit School Code
- Email address used for your Here Comes the Bus account
- Your child’s first and last name, and student ID #
- Description of the question
DAVID'S LAW PRESENTATION
Please include this image in your parent communications about our new safety app
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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION CORNER
Science Blog and Curriculum Map Information
If you teach science, please take some time to read the GCISD Science blog and watch the screencast explaining our newly designed elementary science curriculum map. Please subscribe to the blog in order to stay up to date!
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Worth A Read, Watch or...Listen!!
GREAT TWEET FROM JON GORDON about being too blessed to be stressed! Timely reminder for all of us! :-)
BE MORE CHEF: WHAT I WISH FOR EVERY KID is a great blogpost from A.J. Juliani that questions if we are preparing students to be cooks or chefs?
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TWITTER REMINDERS FOR @canSTEM
BIG thanks to all of our staff members that have already been actively tweeting about the great learning going on in your classrooms!
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, and our hashtag, #BeCannonProud 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!
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TO-DO LIST
- Set a timer and complete daily attendance ON TIME every day!
- Review the Q & A info in the Construction Update section. Keep submitting your questions & suggestions - we need your good thinking! :)
- Enjoy jeans ALL WEEK! Jeans, boots, and blue shirts on Monday in recognition of Bullying Prevention.
- Don't forget to post progress report grades by the deadline on 10/1!
- See the Information To Share With Parents section of this newsletter for communication about campus events & other district news that needs to be included in your own newsletters, blogs, etc...
- Pack & smile! Prepare for boxes to be picked up on Thursday at 4:00 pm.
- Plan to meet on Friday at 7:30 in our the Learning Commons of our new school!!
- 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!
- 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! Don't forget to use @canSTEM and our hashtag #BeCannonProud this year in all of your tweets!