Lions Lines
March, 2016 * Hamilton Elementary School
Condiment Guidelines
The health of today’s school environment continues to improve. Students are offered healthier school lunches with more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The Smart Snacks in School standards were recently released by the United States Department of Agriculture as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. These standards are based on the latest nutrition science and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine.
These changes allow Cypress-Fairbanks ISD to offer healthier foods to students and support efforts by school administrators, teachers, parents, and the community, all working hard to instill healthy habits in students. New limits on calories, sodium, fat, and sugar have changed some of the foods offered in the cafeteria.
Beginning in March, the amount of condiments students take with their meal will be limited to one serving of each condiment. Condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salsa, ranch dressing, tartar sauce, gravy, pickles, and jalapenos must be paired with accompanying menu items. For example, a hamburger comes with one ketchup, one mustard, one mayonnaise, and one portion of pickles. Sweet Potato fries come with two ketchups and a side salad with one ranch dressing packet. Students will not be allowed to purchase additional servings of condiments with a meal purchase. CFISD Food Service has also adjusted many of our food production recipes to meet these limits. Sodium in foods made from scratch in our Food Production Center such as taco meat, spaghetti sauce, salsa, and cheese sauce, all have been reduced.
Improving the health and nutrition of children by providing nutritious meals in school is a top priority for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information on the changes, go to www.fns.usda.gov/healthierschoolday.
Regards,
Darin Crawford
Director of Food Service
UPCOMING EVENTS
March Family Movement Calendar:
http://tinyurl.com/HESmovementCALmar
Due to STAAR testing on March 29th and 30th, we will not be able to accommodate lunch visitors for any grade level.
*Lunch schedules may be changed to due to testing.
*Please plan to send lunches to school in the morning with students.
*Teachers will not have access to email.
*We will not be able to guarantee that lunches dropped off will make it to the students for their lunch time.
Thank you for your help!
MARCH
7 8:00 AM Red Chess Club
Student KAMP’s begin through 3/11
8 District Name that Book Competition
9 5:30 PM Watch Dog Dad Training
10 Cultural Arts event: Dance of the Insects for PPCD, PK, K & 1
11 9:15 AM PTO Meeting
14-18 Spring Break
21 8:00 AM Blue Chess Club
23 Kdg. Garden Day
24 End of 3rd Nine Weeks
9:15 AM Acrodunk Program for 3, 4, 5
25 Holiday
28 8:00 AM Red Chess Club
29 4th Grade Writing STAAR Test
5th Grade Math STAAR Test
No visitors for any grade due to STAAR testing
30 5th Grade Reading STAAR Test
No visitors for any grade due to STAAR testing
April
6 Boosterthon Fun Run Pep Rally for Students
15 Boosterthon Fun Run:
9:30 AM PPCD, PK, Kinder and 1st
10:30 2nd and 3rd
1:15 PM PPCD
2:15 4th and 5th
Due to STAAR testing on March 29th and 30th, we will not be able to accommodate lunch visitors for any grade level.
*Lunch schedules may be changed to due to testing.
*Please plan to send lunches to school in the morning with students.
*Teachers will not have access to email.
*We will not be able to guarantee that lunches dropped off will make it to the students for their lunch time.
Thank you for your help!
Pre-K/Kindergarten Pre-Registration
Preregistration for 2016-2017 Kindergarten classes will be held on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 from 9:30 -2:30 PM. Children entering Kindergarten for the first time must be five years old on or before September 1, 2016. Due to Texas state law on age requirements, no exceptions will be made. The district provides full-day kindergarten.
To register, parents must provide the school with the following items:
· Certified copy of the child’s birth certificate from the Bureau of Vital Statistics (see City of Houston Bureau of Vital Statistics to obtain a birth certificate if born in the city of Houston)
· Current immunization record
· Proof of residency (a current electric, gas, or water bill or a lease agreement)
· Social security card for each child, if available.
· Photo ID of parent or guardian
To be eligible for the Prekindergarten program, your child must be 4 years of age by September 1, 2016 AND meet an eligibility requirement as determined by Texas law. No exceptions can be made.
· The child is unable to speak and comprehend the English language and are Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students. Students must complete a Home Language Survey and the child must qualify on the Pre -IDEA Proficiency Test (Pre-IPT),which will be administered at registration
or
· The child is educationally (economically) disadvantaged: Eligible to participate in the National Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program based on family income.
or
· The child is educationally (economically) disadvantaged: Eligible by having a food stamp or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Eligibility Group Number (EDG#).
or
· The child is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302.
or
· The child has a parent or official guardian that is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserved component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active duty by proper authority. This includes uniformed service members who are Missing in Action (MIA).
or
· The child has a parent or official guardian that is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the state military forces or a reserved component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while serving on active duty.
The term “member of the armed forces” includes:
• active duty uniformed members (parents or official guardians) of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard who are assigned to duty stations in Texas or who are Texans who have eligible children residing in Texas;
• activated/mobilized uniformed members of the Texas National Guard (Army or Air Guard), or activated/mobilized members of the Reserve components of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Coast Guard who are Texas residents regardless of the location of the reserve unit; and
• uniformed service members who are Missing in Action (MIA).
or
· The child has ever been in the conservatorship (foster care) of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), as well as children in a conservatorship as a result of an adversary hearing. This includes children returned to home, kinship placement, and adoptions.
Hamilton Boosterthon Playground Fun Run
Fun Run - April 15
All proceeds will go toward new playground equipment!
***Counselor's Corner***
Horizons/Gifted and Talented Testing Update
GT Testing for all grade levels has been completed! Kindergarten results were sent home on February 24, and services for students that qualified for the program began on March 2. All other grades, grades 1-5, I just turned in to the district to send off for scoring on March 1. Results are expected to be sent home at the end of April.
Watch D.O.G.S. - Dads of Great Students
Our third and final Watch Dog training will take place on March 9, so if you are signed up for a volunteer date after March 9, and you have not already attended a training, you will be receiving a reminder to attend the third training. Please remember that this training is a requirement prior to your actual volunteer date.
Thank you to the following dads for being our Watch Dogs for the month of February:
Jeff Howell
Colby Gravatt
Greg Duncan
Aaron Hawley
Brandon Smith
Curt Morgan
Bill Sheats
Dustin Campbell
Sean Goings
Nathan Osterman
Patrick Clary
Daron Sitton
Sanela Minica
Word of the Month
Hope- Believing Something Good Can Come Out of Something Bad
Have you ever heard the phrase: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade? That statement is all about having hope and making something good come out of something bad. This week, get the family together and use these discussion starters to have a conversation about what hope means to you:
• Have you ever gone through something bad that in the end resulted in something
good?
• How did you feel while you were going through the bad times?
• How does reflecting on the good that came from the bad give you hope in other
situations?
• How can you encourage others to stay hopeful when things seem bad?
• If you believe that good things can come from bad, how does it help you handle the
bad times?
With the weather so beautiful right now in Cypress, Texas, it’s a good time to expand on this lesson and to get the family together to make some fresh lemonade to enjoy outside on a warm spring day! Here are your ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
3-4 cups cold water
How To: As always when cooking, ask an adult to supervise. Mix one cup of sugar with one cup of water in a small sauce- pan and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature. Pour the syrup mixture into a pitcher and add one cup of lemon juice. Mix together. Then dilute the mixture with 3-4 cups of cold water, depending on your preference. Let your lemonade chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Add ice and sliced lemons. Serve and enjoy!
NOTICE TO ALL 5TH GRADE PARENTS AND FUTURE TIGERS
It is about that time of year when we start gearing up for your 5th graders to get ready for their 6th grade transition! On Friday, March 4, I went to each 5th grade classroom and discussed the 6th grade elective choices in detail with your children. This form was sent home on March 4, and is due back on Friday, March 11. Please make every effort to get those back in time so that your child has a better chance of getting the #1 or #2 elective choices!
Are you interested in becoming a mentor to a student?
We need you! The CFISD Mentor Program is a cooperative effort of volunteers from businesses, faith-based and/or non-profit organizations, the community, and CFISD designed to encourage students to make good choices while in and out of school, be motivated to do well and finish school, and focus on future education and career goals. A mentor is a suitable role model committed to helping a student with his/her academic and social development.
If you are interested and would like more information, please contact Michelle Erickson, Counselor, at michelle.erickson@cfisd.net or 281-370-0990. You may also contact the district coordinator of the mentoring program, Leslie Francis at leslie.francis@cfisd.net or 281-894-3950.
In order to become a mentor, you must be trained by the district prior to working with a student. If you prefer, you can go to www.cfisd.net/mentor directly. Here you would receive access to the online application, as well as sign up for one of the many training sessions offered at the Berry Center.
***PBIS and Kind Minds***
March Kind Minds Challenge
The Kind Minds challenge for March will be to make new friends. Students will read the book, Enemy Pie by Derek Munson, which teaches us how to make new friends.
This month Leo has challenged students to get to know others by playing with someone new at recess, sitting with a different classmate for lunch or just saying hello to kids they don’t know very well. Helping others feel included is a big part of having a Kind Mind. Throughout the month of March, encourage your child to make new friends and tell you about them.
February Kinds and Queens of Kindness
K: Stephen Hall and Olivia Aven
1st: Noah Oulee and Abigail Fink
2nd: Jordan Daruwala and Brooklyn Hertsenberg
3rd: Christian Luna and Ava Pandya
4th: Jace Smith and Marlowe BornCohn
5th: Daniel Harmon and Erin Lembke
March Kings and Queens of Kindness
PK: King Mason Nguyen and Ella McIntyre
K: Boima Faulkner and Aaliyah Bazan
1st: Wyley Mallory and Ashley Pipes
2nd: Silas Sindth and Sophie Whyte
3rd: Connor Hounshell and Kylie Mock
4th: Dalton Moore and Nora Gouvion
5th: Peter Hajjar and Anna Farrell
Fourth Graders Kind Minds Writing
***News from the Library***
eBooks! The Hamilton Library has 477 fiction & nonfiction eBooks that can be accessed from your smart devices.
Destiny Quest App – once the app is downloaded, please do the following:
1. Enter library URL: webcollect.cfisd.net and click CONNECT
2. Select: Hamilton Elementary
3. Enter User ID: s###### (the letter 's' followed by 6-digit student ID number)
4. Enter password: LionsMMDD (Capital 'L', lowercase 'ions', 2-digit month, 2-digit date of birthday)
* If this password does not work, please contact your child's homeroom teacher. She may
have used a different format for setting passwords.
5. From the HOME screen, click the FOLLETSHELF icon in the lower right.
6. Click EBOOKS
7. Scroll through the list or use the filters to narrow your search, make your selection, click OPEN, and enjoy!
Barnes & Noble Book Fair – Thank you so much to everyone who supported the B&N in-store book fair on February 6th. The student artwork on display was beautiful, and the extremely talented 5th grade choir amazed everyone in the store. I big thank you to Mrs. Anderson and Ms. Parker for their extra time and effort to support the library!
Kindergarten has graduated to shelf markers! No more picking books off the tables for these Lions. They now have free reign of the Everybody section in the library and select their own books from the shelves.
All 1st thru 5th grade students should have their 'S' number (6-digit student ID number) memorized. This number stays with the student all the way through high school. Every time a student uses a
Name That Book – Congratulations to all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders who participated in Name That Book this year. We hope you enjoyed reading a bunch of fabulous books! The school competition took place on February 9th, and we are proud to have the 4th grade team representing Hamilton at the Berry Center for the district competition on March 8th. Team members include Kara Arnold, Elise Fawcett, Annie Li, Bethany Selz, Ella Smoker, Anya Rodricks, and Diego Vaca. Congratulations!
***Birthday Book Club***
Nolan Burris
Colton Campbell
Ava Dugger
Ashton Ellis
Sophie Johnson
Ethan Lally
Finley Mosscrop
Grace Nuttall
J. C. Orso
Rowan Ostermann
Noah Oulee
Landon Oxendine-Ehrig
Wesley Reimers
Reece Simmons-Miller
Von Smernoff
Abigail Wang
Tessa Weissinger
Destination Imagination
The BroBots were the recepient of the Renaissance Award for Excellence in Engineering, Design and Performance!
Two teams will be heading to state! The Crime Crackers team placed 2nd in their Get a Clue challenge flight and the Tech Kids placed 1st in their Change of Pace challenge flight.
A BIG thank you to all of our parent coaches for devoting your time, energy and countless hours to helping each team find success.
BroBots
Danial Lundlberg
Rex Esch
Ian Esch
Mason Anguiano
Compass Adventures
Wesley Reimers
Yousuf Hussain
Zainab Hussain
Virginia Beard
Taylor Ahart
Crime Crackers
Elise Fawcett
Samantha Reimers
Ella Smoker
Sophia Gross
Eveline Wong
Aishwarya Shanmugam
Marlowe Born Cohn
D.I. No Saurs 7
Bethany Zink
Riya Pandya
Crystal Gooding
Phoebe Vannier
Cole Minson
Brent Minson
Fantastic 4
Sanvi Kumpatla
Riya Patel
BrennanGibbs
Mind Storms
Mark Sagayababu
Anya Rodricks
Kaushik Raman
Smarties
Addison Stout
John Zink
Rex Esch
Marvin Hill
Vedanth Hariharan
Tech Kids
Ella Samuel
Julie Hawkes
Kevin Ramirez
***School Reminders***
Box Tops for Education
Our last Box Top collection will be on May 20.
**The homeroom from each grade level that collects the MOST BOX TOPS will receive a prize**
Prizes include: extra recess, cookie parties, and ice cream parties!
There are even prizes for the homeroom teacher!
Our Goals
-To raise $7,000 in free money for our kids!
-100% participation – even if it’s just one coupon!
We can do this!
Collection Rules
Clip your box tops from participating products.
*When clipping include the entire Box Top$ for Education® Logo, containing the words
“Official Coupon”, the monetary value and expiration date for each box top.*
Please make sure that the box top has not expired!
Each Box Top$ for Education® is worth 10 cents toward our school.
Send them to school with your child, on the box top collection sheet or in a ziplock bag.
Parent & Student Handbook
***CFISD Information***
CFISD District Information
2016-2017 Calendar: http://www.cfisd.net/en/calendar/
School Messenger: Text Message Sign Up
The directions for adding text messages to your School Messenger account are in the link below. Next year, instead of using Remind 101, HES will be sending text messages via School Messenger. Please stay connected by adding the text message feature to your School Messenger account.
Directions for School Messenger: http://www.cfisd.net/files/6514/1080/3632/SchoolMessenger_Contact_Manager_-_Parent_Handout_CFISD.pdf
Stay Connected
Follow HES on Twitter @Hamilton_Lions
Follow our HES on Instagram by searching for Hamilton_Lions
Don't forget to keep up to date with PTO events, news, and reminders by "liking" their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HamiltonElementaryPTO
Hamilton Elementary
Email: hamiltonelem@cfisd.net
Website: http://hamiltones.cfisd.net/en/
Location: 12050 Old Kluge Road, Cypress, TX, United States
Phone: 281.370.0990
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HamiltonLions
Twitter: @Hamilton_Lions