Cornerstone Connection

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and a fantastic four-day work/school week. We were still able to get a lot of learning accomplished, and I know that some subjects and grade levels have started having unit tests or will have them soon.

Do you know our CSA mission statement? It's a combination of three short phrases that explain our whole purpose -- Build community. Encourage growth. Empower learners. We try everyday to live this mission, and, as a member of our community, we could use your help. Here's a few suggestions/challenges for this week...

• Build community -- Get involved! If you haven't joined PTA, what's stopping you? Do you have any extra time in the morning? If so, we'd love parent volunteers to help with CESITs.
• Encourage growth -- Instead of asking your child, "What did you get on your test?", try asking, "How did you feel after you finished the test?" Don't miss an opportunity to simply ask, "What's one thing you didn't know this morning that you know now?" (and see if they can explain it to you).
• Empower learners -- As parents (and I was guilty of it too), it can be very easy to want to fix things for our children. Sometimes, it's definitely faster...but, unfortunately, it usually doesn't teach them anything. Next time you hear your child venting about a class or assignment, instead of instantly deciding to send an email to help fix it...just empathize with their frustration and ask, "How do you plan on resolving this?" or "When do you plan on talking to your teacher?" Helping students figure out how to advocate for themselves is one of the most important skills we can partner together to help them accomplish.

Grades were finalized on Tuesday evening for our first progress report of the year. At CSA, we do not send home progress reports for every student. Those grades are available on Skyward Family Access. If a student is currently sitting at a 74 or lower in a class, then we do send home a paper copy of the progress report and require it to be returned to school with a signature. If you see that your child has a 74 or lower, please ask him/her for the copy that was sent home today to be signed. Please keep in mind that progress reports are merely a snapshot of how a student is doing at a certain point of time. The grade may have already improved, but, because enrollment at CSA is contingent on grades, we try to stay on top of things as much as possible.

Everyone knows we love our students at CSA, and we love the kindness our student leaders extend everyday. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday, Ms. Buskell's Student Leadership CESIT comes around with a coffee and tea cart for everyone, which is fantastic on its own, but today we got a special treat. Not only were there beverages, but there were cookies too! We'd like to extend a big thank you to the Rayburn family for providing the cookies and making our Friday just a little sweeter.

Friends...we have to do a better job in certain areas. If you are one of the parents who follows all the rules of Parent Drive, thank you...this paragraph is not for you. Feel free to scroll forward. However, if you've "forgotten" about the two rules below, please remember quickly and adjust accordingly.

1. AM Drop-off -- I understand the building does not open until 7:30. However, if parents park in all the spaces in front of school (not visitor spots) to wait until 7:30 to drop off, there are fewer places for the teachers to park who have to be here before 7:30. My hope is that people may not have been aware that teachers are required to be here by 7:30, and, now that they are, they can fix this.
2. PM Pick-up -- We are a small school, and Parent Drive actually moves pretty quickly most days. There is no reason for kids to leave the covered area in front of school to walk to their car somewhere over by the large oak trees...or over to DAEP (which shouldn't happen) or anywhere else. Nothing has happened so far this year, but there's no reason to take unnecessary chances.

If you are a parent of an 8th grader, please check out the flyers (in English and Spanish) attached below. There is an optional, helpful Zoom meeting next week for parents of 8th graders to get more information about planning for high school, course selection, and Naviance. Those things will be here before you know it, so, if you're available, this is a great opportunity to learn more about the process.

For more information about other upcoming Parent U Zoom meetings, please use this link.

I have a few more fall dates to add to your calendar -- CSA Fall Movie Nights are coming back!

One of our newest traditions at CSA is our fall movie nights. Thanks to the generosity of our PTA, we have our own large, inflatable movie screen, and the kids love it. Once it gets cooler (fingers crossed), we set-up the movie screen in the courtyard, and each grade level gets their own movie night. There is no cost to students, and we feed them as well. PTA sets us up with hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, nachos, and candy...and our wonderful staff provides the labor to run the concession stand and provide supervision. It really is a lot of fun. Parents just drop off kids with their beach towel or blanket to lay on the ground and pick them up when the movie is over. The kids vote on the movie when we get a little closer to the dates, and everyone has a great time. As a back-up, we move to the gym in the case of bad/cold weather.

Here are our movie nights for the fall...

• Friday, October 20 @ 7:00 p.m. -- 8th grade
• Friday, November 10 @ 6:00 p.m. -- 6th grade
• Friday, December 1 @ 6:00 p.m. -- 7th grade

This week, we have had several incidents of kids coming to school ill and running fever...and not 99.1 fever...more like 102-degree fever. I completely understand not wanting kids to fall behind. As a parent, I also empathize when it comes to taking off work and doctor's visits. However, as a principal, I really want to keep all of our kids as healthy as possible.

If your child is running fever, please keep him/her at home until fever-free for 24 hours. As you know, a school setting is infamously germy, and it takes no time at all for things to spread to other students and staff. Please keep sick kids at home, and help us keep CSA healthy.

CSA Open House happens on Tuesday, September 19, which conveniently coincides with our first general PTA meeting.

Here's the agenda for the evening:

• 5:30 - 6:10 PTA meeting & brief welcome from me in the auditorium
• 6:15 - 6:40 Homeroom presentation
• 6:45 - 7:10 Switch class presentation
• 7:10 - 7:30 Elective teachers available in the auditorium (band, dance, theater, and all high school elective classes)

Each month we offer a Cane's lunch for purchase that includes 3 chicken fingers, Texas toast, Cane's sauce, chips, fruit and a cookie for $10. Orders for September's lunch are open and close Sept 10th.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Parents...I understand that MANY of you did not get to your homework over Labor Day weekend, which is understandable. Good news...you have another opportunity to complete it and help CSA out.

Every year...even if you've been in Spring Branch forever...parents need to log in to Skyward Family Access and complete forms at the beginning of the year.

Homework for Parents:

1. Log into Skyward Family Access . (If you've never logged in, there are tutorial videos and instructions. If it still doesn't work, please email Mr. Feak.)
2. Look on the left for Returning Student Verification and click there.
3. You should see a list like the one below. As tedious as it may be, your homework is to complete all of these forms.