The Howl
November 2023
Tom Cox Timberwolves
Principal: Deborah Spoon
5th Grade Asst. Principal: Valentina Majeski
6th Grade Asst. Principal: Raymond Conley
5th Grade Counselor: Jessica Kowis
6th Grade Counselor: Tara Bodin
Mission: Growing Learners to be Productive Global Citizens
Guidelines for Success: Timberwolves. . . Heart to L.E.A.D.!
Learners: Engaged in learning, problem solvers, innovators
Empathize: Awareness and understanding of each other's thoughts and feelings
Appreciate: We are all unique! We respect and celebrate our differences and similarities
Dedicated: Committed to achieving ones goals even when it is hard!
Inspire others to achieve their goals
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear TCI Families,
The holiday season is upon us and we have lots of activities to keep us busy through the month of November. The newsletter is full of information and shows dates and times of our special events like our Veteran's Day Celebration and Power of Polite Luncheon.
Enjoy the holiday break! I will be out early Thanksgiving morning running in the "Run Thru the Woods". Maybe I will see some of you there. After the run my large family gathers at our home for turkey and all that goes with it. My favorite is the cherry pie!
I am grateful for so many things, but especially to be the Principal of Cox Intermediate. It is a joy to come to work each day to see kids, parents, and an amazing staff!
Thank you,
Deborah Spoon
Principal, Cox
IMPORTANT DATES FOR NOVEMBER
November 1,2,3
5th Grade Field Trip Houston Interactive Aquarium
November 7, 2023 Student Holiday
Election Day
November 9, 2023
Progress Reports Go Home
November 10, 2023
Veterans Day Celebration 9:45
November 16, 2023
Power of Polite Luncheon
5th Grade 11:15, 6th Grade 12:15
November 13-17
Generation Texas Week!
(See spirit day information in newsletter)
November 20-26
Thanksgiving Holiday
CISD Bond 2023
Hear what’s included in Bond 2023 from James Bush, Grand Oaks High School Principal!
PICTURES AND MAKEUP DAY!
A Makeup/Retake Day is scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 9th. Please make sure that any student needing to be photographed is at school on time on photo day.
Makeup Photos – If your child was not photographed on the original photo day for any reason, they will be photographed on the above date. If you wish to buy a package of school photos, please submit your order online before photo day at www.AccessMyEvent.com/D9VMC4 All students not originally photographed due to absence or late enrollment will be photographed.
VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION!
GIFTED AND TALENTED (GT) REFERRAL WINDOW
You may request a referral form from the front office or the Assistant Principal, Valentina Majeski. You can also find the referral form and other GT information on the CISD GT homepage
Red Ribbon Poster Winners!
Congratulations to our Red Ribbon Poster Winners
Sophia Leon, 6th grade, 1st place
Adelaide Pomazal, 5th grade, 2nd place
Ana Villasmil-5th grade, 3rd place
Nimat Rahim–6th grade–Honorable Mention
We really appreciate the students that participated in the Red Ribbon Poster Contest: Luch Sheng, Juliana Olaechea, Liliana Salazar, Elliot Schiffman, Rhett Smith, Lyla Hamilton, Sophia Ford, Ariana Perez, and Palmer Bradford.
Fun During Red Ribbon Week
POWER OF POLITE!
Power of Polite
Our mission at Tom Cox is "Growing learners to be productive global citizens," not only academically, but also to help them develop their character and how to present themselves in a confident manner. In our last session, we learned how to tie a tie, formal place settings, and basic table manners. We are looking forward to practicing everything we have learned at our annual Power of Polite luncheon, Thursday, November 16th.
Power Of Polite Luncheon
Power of Polite Luncheon
Dear Parents and Guardians,
On Thursday November 16, 2023 our Cox PTO will transform the cafeteria into a beautiful banquet hall for our students and staff as they enjoy a Holiday Luncheon. This will give our students the opportunity to use the social skills they learned from our “Power of Polite” classes. Students will sit at round tables decorated with nice linens, centerpieces and a table setting. They will be welcomed by music, eat lunch together, and listen to a guest speaker.
The fifth graders will be served lunch at 11:15 a.m. and sixth graders at 12:15 p.m. All students will receive a meal at no cost to them. Lunch will be prepared by the school cafeteria and consist of chicken strips, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, rolls, fruit, a cookie for dessert, and milk and water.
If your child has concerns regarding the food menu, they may bring their own lunch that day and we will provide a plate and utensils. Microwaves will not be available for students to heat up food on the day of the luncheon. If your child has any food allergies please inform your child’s teacher.
Students are free to dress up for the luncheon. In the past our young men have worn long pants, a tie, and even a jacket. The young women have worn a dress or skirt, or a pair of pants with a nice top. This is not mandatory; we just want our students to have the opportunity to dress up (within dress code).
The cafeteria will be closed to guests during the luncheon. However, we do need volunteers to help serve lunch to our students. If you would like to volunteer, please sign-up using the link below from our PTO.
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. We appreciate your support! Be sure to watch our Cox Facebook page for pictures of the event.
Thank you,
Deborah Spoon
Principal
Generation Texas Week!
Generation Texas
During November 13th– 17th, we will be celebrating Generation Texas and learning the importance of obtaining a skill and/or college degree in the field of your choice. As we learn about the different career choices, we will explore both trade schools and colleges. Our teachers will share their college and career paths. We cannot wait to share our unique stories of how we each decided to become an educator, which is the best job in the world.
Children in Santa's Dreams
It's that time of year...CISD Police Department will be collecting "New" unwrapped gifts for boys and girls of all ages. These gifts will be wrapped and given to families who, without our support, may not otherwise have a wonderful Christmas. The collection bin will be in our front entry way from Nov. 13th- Dec. 8th, all donations are appreciated.
5th Grade Students enjoyed the Field Trip to the Houston Interactive Aquarium!
5th Grade English Language Arts
Students have been doing an awesome job with their nonfiction reading and writing. They have been focusing on skills such as central ideas with supporting details, text features, and text structure.
They have been working on identifying these skills while reading their nonfiction books and applying them when writing their information book. In addition, students will conduct research on a topic they want to learn more about while furthering their development of their nonfiction reading skills.
Through the month of November, students will be continuing the nonfiction unit. Later in November, students will move to work on argumentative writing and drama in reading. Keep up the great work Timberwolves
5th Grade Math
Advanced math is moving right along! We have completed two units: Whole Number and Decimal Place Value and Multiplying Whole Numbers and Decimals. This month we begin our Division unit.
Our next skill will be dividing decimals by 1- and 2-digit divisors. We will be adding in a sixth-grade skill to divide whole numbers and decimals by decimals. We will continue to estimate solutions and represent and solve equations using a variety of strategies.
In level math: We are currently finish up unit 3: division of whole numbers and decimals. Our next unit will be fractions, composing and decomposing fractions with common denominators a review from 4th grade, adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, identifying numbers as prime or composite numbers, and using models and numbers with fractions.
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5th Grade Science and Social Studies
Science: This month for Science the students will be learning about the Earth’s Rotation and what it can cause. We will also focus on different seasons and moon phases. The students will learn differences between the sun, moon and earth. We will end the month talking about the water cycle and plants!
Social Studies: This month for Social Studies the students will be talking about government. They will go over the important ideas from the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We will talk about the three branches of government and what they do, the difference between national and state government and the system of checks and balances. The students will learn about the important symbols, customs, celebrations, and landmarks that represent American beliefs and principles that contribute to
our national identity.
6th Grade English Language Arts
Happy Fall Y’all! Our 6th grade ELA classrooms are embarking on a challenging journey! And we love the hard work our students are putting in. Nothing worth while is easy and this work will definitely help us grow as readers and writers.
In Reading we are in the middle of our nonfiction unit called Tapping the Power of Nonfiction. Students have selected powerful nonfiction novels on various topics of high interest. We are reading about important people that have changed our world, impactful events, interesting discoveries and inventions as well as survivors. Reading nonfiction can pose challenges for students but we can report great success and growth.
In Writing we are conducting research on a chosen topic. We have used our nonfiction books to help decide on a topic of interest and have begun the process of gathering facts and information. Our district has provided an amazing resource that is making our research both fun and easy. Students have developed guiding questions and have focused their search. We can’t wait to see and hear about the results
6th Grade Math
General education Math will continue our unit on integer operations. Students will classify and order rational numbers as well as graph them on the coordinate plane. We will continue performing operations with integers and rational numbers until Thanksgiving break and end this unit of study with a test on November 16th. After the break, we will start a new unit where we will explore expressions.
6th Grade Science and Social Studies
In sixth-grade science we are so excited to begin the second nine weeks of school! We will explore density and motion graphs, energy resources, and thermal energy transfers.
In Social Studies we will study PEGS of the United States and Canada, before exploring cultures and history of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
School Nurse News
Vision and Hearing Screening Referrals - If your student brought home a vision or hearing referral letter, please remember to have it filled out by the healthcare provider and send it back to the clinic as soon as possible. If you need assistance getting to an eye doctor or audiologist, please contact the nurse at msaxe@conroeisd.net.
Scoliosis Screening for 5th Grade girls only will take place in November. More information will be coming home soon.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school nurse at 281-465-3200.
Margaret Saxe RN
Lunch With Your Child!
Parents are welcome to have lunch with their child in the cafeteria during their student's lunch-time. Due to limited space we ask parents and visitors to sign up for a date and time.
Making a school lunch reservation to eat with your child at school is easy! Parents may visit the Tom Cox Website; cox.conroeisd.net, where they will find a button titled, "Lunch With My Child". One click on the button will lead you to a "sign-up genius". Please sign up for the appropriate date and time. The link will be updated approximately every 3 weeks. See below for guidelines:
Please follow these important guidelines:
- Please note, there is a limit of two adults per student.
- If plans have changed, please cancel your reservation.
- You will be able to wait for your child at the designated parent lunch tables in the Cafeteria.
- You must bring your Driver's License or ID in order to enter the building. No exceptions!
Lunch Schedules
A Lunch 11:20-11:50
B Lunch 11:40-12:10
C Lunch 12:00-12:30
D Lunch 12:21-12:51
W.A.T.C.H Dog Dads!
Greetings Timberwolf Parents!!
Welcome to another great year at Tom Cox Intermediate. We are bringing the Watch D.O.G.S. Dad program back and our goal is to make Watch D.O.G.S. even bigger than we have had in the past with more parent volunteers.
The sign-up calendar for this year is finally ready and can be found at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F49AEAD2EA2FD0-44828795-watch. Please take a moment to click the link and find an available day or days this year that you would like to volunteer to be a Watch D.O.G. on our campus.
Just a few important reminders:
Please remember to complete the volunteer background check for this year by, the link to the background check is https://www.conroeisd.net/parents/get-involved/
Even if you were a Watch Dog last year you still need to complete the background check again for this year! If you need help please stop by our front office and someone will assist you with completing the background check.
Once your background check is approved, please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F49AEAD2EA2FD0-44828795-watch.
Rainy Day/Inclement Weather Dismissal Procedures
Rainy/Cold Day Dismissal
If your student is a walker/biker they will be expected to walk or ride their bike on rainy days, unless you and your child have an alternate plan in place. If you choose for your child to be a car-rider on rainy days it is not necessary to complete a transportation change form.
In the case of severe weather (thunderstorms, lightening, blizzard) we may hold walkers/bikers until we feel it is safe for them to walk or ride home. If that does occur we will contact the parent to inform them of the delay. Bus transportation will run as scheduled.
Tom Cox Intermediate
Email: contactcox@conroeisd.net
Website: http://cox.conroeisd.net
Location: 333 Waterbend Cove, Spring, TX, USA
Phone: (281) 465-3200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoxCISD
Twitter: @coxTimberwolves