Mustang Message
December 14, 2018
A Principal's Perspective
I am looking forward to the holidays! I know that you are too! The one thing that kicks off our holiday season for my family is the birthday celebration for my husband and father-in-law. Their birthday is December 15th. We always celebrate by going to our favorite restaurant in Houston, The Taste of Texas. The owners are Texas history buffs. During the year, they have Texas history memorabilia throughout the restaurant. Each year they host Houston ISD 4th graders to teach them about Texas history and provide lunch for them. They also host Texas history workshops for teachers. During the holidays, they take out all of the Texas items and replace it with beautiful holiday greenery, nutcrackers and other holiday decorations. Birthdays and anniversaries are celebrated with a free, amazing dessert! They always serve delicious, complementary cinnamon coffee as well. Can you tell that it is my favorite Texas steak house? I shared a link with you below.
Why am I telling you this? I know that each of us looks forward to the holidays with our own family traditions that we are looking forward to as we begin the holiday season. I am wishing for you a joyous, holiday season. I hope your well deserved break is restful, fun and full of friends and family that bring you joy!
Be innovative - Design the possibilities!
Donna
Morning Duties for the Week
Gym & Morning Assembly (7:20-7:45): Sullivan
Word of the Week: 12/10 dumbfounded; 12/17 destination; 1/7 festivity; 1/14 resolution 1/21 procrastinate; 1/28 responsibilities
Tuesday Book Share: Smith & Sullivan
Gym (7:20-7:45): Williams
Parent Drop Off Direct Traffic (7:20-7:55): LeBlanc
Parent Drop Off Car Doors (7:20-7:55): Parr & Eddy
Cafeteria (7:20-8:00): Eppes
Bus (7:15 - 7:55 Buses/ Cafeteria after all buses arrive): Jankowski
Counselor Schedule: 3rd & 4th Guidance: Caring/Empathy
Librarian: GP
Week at a Glance
Monday: 3rd Grade Instructional Planning Day (ELA am & Math/Science pm); GP Coaches Meeting @ 3:30 in conference room; Gift of Time 2nd Grade & CAMP; 12 Days of Christmas - Wear Snowman/Winter Wonderland & Jeans
Tuesday: 4th Grade Lunch with Principal @ 12:30; 1st Grade Instructional Planning Day; BRAVE 3:00-4:15; 12 Days of Christmas - Wear Fuzzy/Holiday Socks & Jeans
Wednesday: 4th Grade Musical 8:30 (3rd & K) & 2:00 (1st & 2nd); 12 Days of Christmas - Wear Cowboy Christmas & Jeans
Thursday: No Discovery Day (moved to Friday, February 1st); 3:30 Secret Santa Reveal; 12 Days of Christmas - Wear jingle bells and our new GP jackets/shirts with jeans
Friday: Sing-A-Long 8:30; Party Day; Early Release at 12:45; End of 2nd 9 Weeks; 12 Days of Christmas - Wear a Christmas/Holiday Shirt & Jeans
News & Notes
PTO Grants: Grants open on Monday, December 10th. This is a great resource to fund your innovative ideas for your classroom. Guidelines: https://tinyurl.com/yadv3art Application: https://tinyurl.com/y7sleq9z Grant applications are due Wednesday, January 9th.
Schoology Roll Out Updates: To find out more about the district's roll out plan for Schoology, see link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/123zoG0kLSu_-LnM1KlbA_vDlM8OKr72hS4_WNwIysgM/edit
Nearpod: The district has purchased Nearpod for every teacher in CSISD! Want to know more about Nearpod? See link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P2fo1f_BM9IiDCQD449P27McLeqTxFLNUJkLZcVkuIk/edit
Early Release Schedule: http://www.livebinders.com/media/get/MTg2MDAyMDg= Please communicate changes regarding classroom schedule to parents.
School Safety: Just a reminder that we are all responsible for the safety of our students, parents and staff while on campus and school sponsored events. Please make sure we are following procedures outlined in our handbooks such as keeping the outside doors closed especially when going to recess, lock/prop classroom doors, making sure all visitors have a tag, etc. Most importantly, be observant and address anything out of the ordinary. While every situation cannot be outlined in the handbook, please use your professional judgement and that gut feeling when something concerns you. If in doubt, report to the office.
LearnFestATX: I have the following teachers wanting to go to this conference June 12 & 13. S. Rhine, Matthews, Peterson, Murphy, Knight, Simmons, Samuelson & McMurray. We will register you on Monday.
CSISD Campus SUB Incentive
The district has outlined a campus sub incentive plan to hopefully decrease the sub demand across the district. Please see proposed plan below. The plan will begin in January
Each month, campuses will have an opportunity to earn $1,000 for the highest rate of staff attendance
Sick leave and district required activities are excluded
There will be a winner for both Elementary (PK-4) and Secondary (5-12) each month
Campus staff will have input on how to use the money - get creative!
Happy Birthday
This Week Birthdays:
Angela Fraley, Dec. 21st
Mustang Yee Haws!
Kindergarten Funny: Received an email from a grandparent of a kindergartener:
"I share in love of all the excitement of GPE with this short story. Being in Kindergarten, we are just learning with our grandson what is going on next. As he pulled up to the car rider line this morning with his Papa he saw Frosty the Snowman, a Reindeer and his teacher, Ms. Craigen. He had his Mustang Market money in his backpack which we had discussed and he looked at his Grandpa and said, “who do I give the money to, the reindeer, the snowman or my teacher?”
Love it when a student uses the word of the week in their writing! The writing below is from a first grader using the word enthusiastic.