Cobra Connect
Staff Newsletter 9-2-19
Home of the Cobras
Collins Intermediate is committed to academic success and general well-being of all students. Through collaboration and teamwork, we will provide meaningful strategies and interventions for all students to reach their learning goals.
Website: http://collins.conroeisd.net/
Location: 6020 Shadowbend Place, The Woodlands, TX, USA
Phone: 281-298-3800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CollinsCISD/
Twitter: @CollinsCobras
Collins Cadence - School/Parent Newsletter
News for the newsletter will be taken from the Google document.
Updated data due Friday - end of day on the first and third Friday of each month.
It is an expectation that ALL groups will share information through the Collins Cadence.
Publish Date: Every Monday
Two Plus Weeks at a Glance
Please check Parent Calendar, Collins Staff Forum, and your personal Outlook Calendar in the event an event was missed.
- Labor Day - School Holiday
Tuesday, September 3rd
- Team Leader Meeting 8:00 AM PLC Meeting Room
- Mr. Barnhart out 12:00 - 4:00 district training
- ELA district coach on campus 6th AM training / 5th PM training (6th grade conference room)
- Admin Team Meeting 2 PM
Wednesday, September 4th
- Mrs. LeBlanc out for PTO/Principal District Meeting 9AM - 11:00 AM
- Mr. Barnhart out district Overview Section 504 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday, September 5th
- Mrs. McCure out district 504 Updates 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Friday, September 6th
- Baker House Lunch (see link to order)
- Grade Pulled 5 PM
Monday, September 9th
- PTO Meeting 1:15 PM - 6th Grade Conference Room
Tuesday, September 10th
- Mrs. McCure out for district training
- Core Leader Meeting 7:45 AM PLC Meeting Room
- Admin Team Meeting 2PM
- DI Parent Information Meeting 6 PM Gym
Wednesday, September 11th
- Mrs. LeBlanc out - principal meeting 8 AM - 1 PM
- College Park High School Homecoming Parade 5 PM
- Hats Off To Reading - Pavilion
Thursday, September 12th
- Faculty Meeting 7:45 AM
- Mr. Barnhart out district training - all day
- Faculty Meeting 7:45 AM Library
- Fall Yearbook Pictures
Friday, September 13th
- Goals Submitted - ISP Scored - SLO Submitted
- PAC - Progress Report Emails Sent Home
Monday, September 16th
- 10:30 AM District Academic Conference District visitors to classrooms
- Team Leader Meeting 8:00 AM PLC Meeting Room
- Mrs. McCure out 8:00 - 1:00 for district training
- Admin Team Meeting 2PM
Wednesday, September 18th
- Read For A Better Life (College Park Students over to read - @ 10:15 AM)
- Mr. Barnhart out district training 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
- PTO Lunch
Thursday, September 19th
- Book Fair Preview
- Rock Your School - Get Your Teach On!
Friday, September 20th
- Book Fair Preview
UPCOMING
- Monday, September 30th - 6th Colossal Cobra (Respect) Location/Time:TBA
- Tuesday, October 1st - 5th Colossal Cobra (Respect) Location/Time:TBA
- Wednesday, October 2nd GT Parent Info Night 6 PM - 7 PM
An excel document will be sent via email that will allow you to look at the data multiple ways;
By homeroom, by suggestions, by clubs (use filter at top), and numbers.
Please use the "Parent Data Drop" to keep families updated on meeting dates and upcoming/past activities of your club.
Have You Joined?
Don't forget to support our wonderful PTO by joining this school year!
As of 8/21/19 we had only had 30 staff members join the PTO.
Favorite Things PTO Survey
To complete you must have a Membership Toolkit Account
Updated Daily Dismissal Procedures
Teachers/Staff
In an effort to streamline the dismissal process and reduce the number of dismissal announcements at the end of the day we've tweaked the process a tad bit.
3:55
​Announcement will continue to be made for band & orchestra students to pick up instruments
​3:58 (no announcement)
LC hallway monitors/teachers, release bikers to the main hallway to await dismissal while walkers and car riders continue to line up in the LChallways
4:00 (no announcement)
At the bell:
- Bikers will be released from the main hallway
- LC hallway monitors/teachers will release walkers & car riders to the main hallway
4:02- 4:03ish
- Announcement will be made to dismiss walkers once the bike rack areas have cleared out
- Coach will begin putting the bus information on bus hub when walkers are dismissed
4:04 - 4:05ish
Announcement will be made for car riders to line up at the front porch
Final call announcements for buses will continue to be made as usual.
Y'all are awesome! Thanks for your patience & cooperation as we fine-tune our processes! 🙂
~tk
Accomodations
Progress Reports - Grade Pull 9/6/19
Please review your student roster to your gradebook to make sure that they match and students are entered properly. Grades will be pulled that Friday, 9/6/2019. Should you have any issues please e-mail me asap so issues can be corrected prior to Friday, 9/6.
Thank you for all you do,
Doreen
Please use the below links when students want to see me. The Google Doc helps me stay organized and keep track of who I have seen. This is also in your Collins Handbook under Counselor Information - in there it is shortened to a bitly for Teacher Collins and Student Collins
Teacher Request
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSegXNhWrTtUmEG1kxFZqjZyms9nOIbqrUYE_opWAXuyHIXusA/viewform
Student Request
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPL36vhGenAH9R5UdQ0Mt9jynGp_ZeWK32foT_jt-8f7q9Zw/viewform
Colossal Cobra
Dear Staff,
Welcome to Colossal Cobras 2019-2020. This year we are hoping to do things a little different. We are going to highlight the Character Trait the whole month with the awards at the end of the month. There will be videos, books, and talking points for you to do in your homeroom each week. Each month you will be receiving the spreadsheet to nominate your Colossal Cobras for the month’s character trait (this is different). We are going to use the same spreadsheet as last year and you will be able to see whom you have nominated in the past. Any book suggestions or video suggestions will be taken. We will also be searching for student readers, and we would like your suggestions.
COLOSSAL COBRA CHARACTER TRAITS
SEPTEMBER – RESPECT Awards 5th October 1 and 6th September 30th
Treat others the way you want to be treated - Use good manners - Accept others and their differences - Handle conflicts peacefully
OCTOBER – RESPONSIBILITY Awards 5th October 29th and 6th October 28th
Do what you are supposed to do - Think before you act - Be accountable for your actions -Always do your best
NOVEMBER – GRATITUDE Awards 5th November 19th and 6th November 20th
Be thankful for what you have - Show appreciation for others -Be happy for others' good fortune - Choose to have a good attitude
DECEMBER – GENEROSITY Awards 5th December 18th and 6th December 17th
Give to others without expecting to receive - Look for ways to help others - Put others first - Make a positive difference in someone's life
JANUARY – HONESTY Awards 5th January 28 and 6th January 29th
Tell the truth - Do the right thing - Be a loyal friend - Keep true to your word
FEBRUARY – KINDNESS Awards 5th February 25th and 6th February 26th
Be kind to others - Show compassion - Play fair - Forgive mistakes
MARCH – PERSEVERANCE Awards 5th March 31st and 6th March 30th
Never give up on a worthy goal - Have a “can do” attitude - Make a plan to succeed - Celebrate small accomplishments
APRIL – COURAGE Awards 5th April 28th and 6th April 27th
Stand up for what is right & true - Say no to negative behaviors - Help others in need -Be a role model
MAY – RESILIENCE Awards 5th May 19th and 6th May 20th
Use setbacks & failures as a learning tool - Be able to overcome the unexpected - See challenges as a way to grow - Look for the “Silver Lining”
GT Opportunities
All teachers with their 30 Hours of Foundations must maintain 6 hours of GT maintenance each school year.
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Hey All!
We are going to start earlier this year for our 6 hour GT ongoing credit hours for anyone interested.
We offer a Book Study for 4 Wednesday mornings (or another day if better from 8 am-8:30 am), and the requirement is to attend 3 of those. We chunk the book out in sections to have read before the discussion time. WE take attendance at the meetings and then submit to district. (They have already approved the book study.)
The book this year is "Who Owns the Learning?" by Alan November. It is $12 on Amazon for anyone interested. There are 87 pages. An idea might be to partner with someone else on your learning community to purchase the book and share...It's a fast read.
Let me know if that is something you might be interested in. We are pretty informal but are looking to start in October.
Thanks,
Laura Hollis
GT Parent Night
TTESS
SLO, Initial Skills Profile, Descriptors and initial score should be completed on Student Tracker. The Student Learning Objective Form should be completed and uploaded in STRIVE under Student Goals by Friday, September 13th.
Would you like a delicious lunch Friday September 6th?
Click the link below to see what yummy options are available.
Faculty Pictures for Yearbook
Fall Picture Day Schedule
Collins Intermediate
September 12, 2019
The following is the schedule for student pictures. Please be flexible on the times, being prepared to come earlier or later. Teachers also need to have their picture taken as well. Reminders: Smile and say “Cheese”
Nonviolent Crisis Intervention - CPI Survey
This questionnaire must be completed by all staff members as soon as possible.
Nurse Kendall
Thank you for sending students to the clinic with passes. Please continue to do so, for as we get busier, the passes help us keep the kids straight and with our charting that we have to do in the computer.
Please remember to remind kids to go to the clinic for meds before lunch. There are a couple who are scheduled for after lunch for certain reasons, but for the rest, they really need to come before lunch so they get their meds in a timely manner.
Nurse during Recess
Teachers, when you send a student to the nurse during recess please put their name on a sticky tab and ask them to hand it to the nurse when they make it to the clinic. My suggestion would be to take sticky tabs and a pen to recess duty, ask them for their name, write it down, and just please make sure they know they need to hand that sticky tab to Nurse Nell when they get to the Clinic.
Thank you,
Chris
Our Copy Machine... Our Friend
Teachers and Staff,
As we approach this new school year, I thought it might be prudent to remind our returning folks and enlighten our new staff members about the tips and tricks we’ve learned over the past couple of years for appropriately handling our beloved copy machine.
I think we can all agree that Mr. Copy Machine is very important to us...he is an integral part of our Collins family, and when he's not in prime working order things can come to a screeching halt. He is delicate and at the most inopportune times, can become quite glitchy. So, let's treat him sweetly from the very beginning of the year so he doesn't get grouchy.
Listed below are some helpful tips for keeping Mr. Copier happy:
When loading paper in his trays, be patient...wait for the tray to completely lower before dropping in a ream of paper. He looks like a strong, tough guy...but he doesn't like surprises and his tray cables are more delicate than we think. They can't handle the force of a ream of paper being dropped in unexpectedly.
Before loading a ream of paper, it may even be helpful to slightly thumb through/fan the paper to help separate those sheets of paper.
Mr. Copy Machine is smart. Follow his instructions - in order. In the event of a paper jam, he will tell you exactly how to locate the jam in great detail....be sure to follow the steps listed on his display monitor. Don't automatically assume that the jam initiated in the main paper tray.
Following his steps in the order listed will reduce the potential for ripped paper pieces getting stuck in unreachable areas of the machine. If it states to turn knob 3, then open tray 1, then remove the paper from slot C...that's what you should do (even if you see the paper in slot C sticking up and waving at you). I can't stress it enough....please FOLLOW the sequence of instructions listed on the display screen tocarefully remove the jammed paper in the order indicated. Even a small, teeny, tiny torn piece of paper that remains stuck in the machine from the removed paper jam can wreak havoc on our dreams of a successful day of copying bliss. Don’t skip any steps!
If you experience a paper jam, let the front office know what initiated the jam. I promise you won’t get dirty looks or demerits if you happen to cause a paper jam…we’ve all done it, you are in good company. And it helps me out because our copy guru, Steve, ALWAYS asks what started the jamming process.Please ensure that all of his levers & lids are shut, lowered and/or replaced properly before pushing the guts back into the machine after clearing a mis-feed/jam.
When things aren't closed properly, it throws off the alignments and sensors to allow paper to flow freely and correctly.If staples are needed, check with the front office to obtain staple cartridge and instructions on the replacement process.
In addition to sucking up toner, if you are printing something with a thick, dark border or are copying from a book, Mr. Copier tends to have jamming issues. Although he is brilliant in other areas, he’s easily confused when it comes to dark & messy borders. To minimize this frustration, utilize the edge-erase function on the machine by following the steps below:
Select the Layout Adjustment tab
Select Edge Erase
Adjust margin to .4 or higher
6. Cardstock:
always load the cardstock in Mr. Copier’s side bypass tray (tray 5)…never in his main paper trays
select the appropriate paper weight (heavy)
select the correct paper size
ensure orientation of the inserted paper matches the selection of the paper size
never utilize the duplex function (making 2-sided copies) when using cardstock
If a 2-sided copy is needed, you should:
run 1 side
collect your copies
re-insert to run side 2
I know it's a pain in the tail to have so many processes and procedures, but please know that they are necessary for our beloved copy machine to stay in tip-top shape.
Thanks for being rule-followers!
Oldies But Goodies
So as a reminder the August 19th Newsletter has:
- Who Are We Looking - font/colors of communications to parents
- KCOL Pledge Schedule
- Click Pledges
- Tech Updates
- Joining PTO
- Library Updates
Nancy Villanueva
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Karen Ferguson
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Liz Albritton
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Misty Rust
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Mary Andrews
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Stephanie Bogenrieder
Sunday, September 29, 2019