CANNON CONNECTION
A newsletter for Cannon Elementary families - 2018-2019
WEEK OF JANUARY 14, 2019
Hello Cannon Families!
We were SO excited to welcome our Cubs back to school last week and we had an AMAZING four days of learning at Cannon! We kicked off 2019 with some incredible learning experiences, including:
- Walking field trips to downtown Grapevine for 2nd graders to learn all about our city, government, and police as community helpers, including a personal visit with Mayor Tate!
- Presenters were at Cannon, from the Army Corps of Engineers to teach students about the impact of weathering & erosion at the Grapevine dam and from Chief Brown & Chief Sherwood to share about services our Grapevine Fire Department provides our community.
- 4th grade dual language students presented data analysis to other students using their 2nd language.
- Engaging lessons were held in the Learning Commons to teach K-2 students about recognizing & reading book titles by playing a library version of Go Fish (Go Read!) & to help 3-5 scholars determine what genre of books they may be interested in through the use of genre personality quizzes!
- Makerspace Robotics Badge Workshops were offered for students during recess time to sign up for & attend independently and they are already a HUGE hit!
- Hands-on learning experiences were designed for students in all grades to learn all about concepts such as weathering, energy, fractions/decimals/percents, student math talks, writing, & even improving dribbling skills!
- Incubators were set up to help 1st grade students learn all about the life cycle of a chick.
- Mission Impossibots prepared for their upcoming robotics competition on 1/19.
- ....AND MUCH MORE!!
In addition to all of these terrific learning opportunities, the following construction progress was made:
- Playground surfacing began and playground is scheduled for students to enjoy by late January.
- Former building was completely demolished and crews will continue to haul away debris.
- Outdoor courtyard has been completed.
- Outdoor Learning Garden is nearing completion.
As you can tell, we literally "hit the ground running" and we are excited about many wonderful learning experiences that lie ahead for our Cubs in 2019! Thank you for your support of our school, students, and staff to make Cannon the BEST!
Proud to be your principal,
Mrs. Blizzard
#BeCannonProud
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
Mark Your Calendars.....
UPCOMING EVENTS
1/19 Cannon Robotics team - 2nd Round qualifier - Kaufman, Texas GOOD LUCK MISSION IMPOSSIBOTS!
1/21 Student Holiday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
1/24 GCISD Spelling Bee - 1:00 pm @ CTMS - Good Luck Piyush!
1/24 Parent Information Meeting for Gifted & Talented Services for 1st-4th. See information in this newsletter for location/time.
1/24 Cubs Night Out @ Cici's Pizza
------------------------------------------
SEEN @ CANNON LAST WEEK!
2nd Graders Learn From Mayor Tate!
Weathering & Erosion in 4th Grade
Life Cycles In 1st Grade!
------------------------------------------
CAMPUS & DISTRICT UPDATES
PLAY IT SAFE - PARENT PREVIEW IS THIS WEEK!
GCISD offers the "Play It Safe" program for all students in grades K-5. The GCISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC is a volunteer council comprised of parents and community members that reflect the values of the district and community) has previewed and recommended these programs for all GCISD elementary schools. The curriculum and presentations are aligned with district philosophy. This program is a personal safety program and does not address human sexuality. Play It Safe is a child abuse prevention and awareness program that incorporates individual grade level, age-appropriate scripts and movies to teach children how to reduce the risk of sexual and physical abuse, and sexual assault. It teaches them to recognize potentially abusive behavior, provides the tools to respond to threatening situations, and encourages them to report abuse to a trusted adult.
If you would like to preview the Play It Safe Program, you will have the opportunity on Tuesday, January 15th. This preview will be held at the GCISD Administration offices. Please read this letter in English or in Spanish for times and specific location.
Cannon students will view the program at Cannon during their Specials times on Friday, February 8th. The program on 2/8/19 is only for students and not parents. If you would like to see the program you must attend one of the parent preview times on January 15th. A non-permission letter can be found here. Please complete the form ONLY if you DO NOT want your student to view the program on February 8th. The form must be turned in to your child's teacher by February 6th.
NEW Sessions Announced For GCISD Parent Technology Academy
GCISD Parent Technology Academy is BACK! Sessions are scheduled monthly with more to come! Come and learn along with others about the ever-changing world of technology in which your children are living!
Spring Parent Technology Academy Sessions
GCISD Technology is excited to announce our Spring Session line up with several new sessions. Stay tuned as more will be added to our list as we keep receiving the request from the community.
January 23rd - Social media impact and building your student profile in Linkedin ( co-presented with Microsoft ) -SIGN UP HERE
Hear real-life examples of students that have lost scholarships or college acceptance due to social media disasters. Then hear from Microsoft as they outline ways to build a Linkin Profile to attached recruiters and more!
February 12th - Hour of Code - Parent Edition -SIGN UP HERE
Come dive in and experience what students across GCISD do each day with hands-on activities around coding
February 26th - Understanding Minecraft ( Presented by Microsoft) -SIGN UP HERE
Come and learn about the power of Minecraft in education, get tips directly for Microsoft on parental settings for use at home.
March 21st - Internet Addiction " Gaming"--SIGN UP HERE
More than 5 million kids may be addicted to video games. 31% of males and 12 % of females report that have felt addicted to gaming. Come to hear from Dr Kay Trotter, PhD, LPC-s, RPT-S from local Kaleidoscope Behavioral Health as she discusses the signs and symptoms of this growing addiction. Learn some tips and be a part of the discussion around online gaming and internet addiction.
April 16th - Apps Parents Need to Know -SIGN UP HERE
Take part in this interactive discussion around the growing world of apps that students are using. Go being the scenes to hear the truth behind the apps and what dangers there are to those who use them
Virtual Session Coming Soon - Fortnite ( a Parents Guide ) - SIGN UP HERE
Many have asked some come and experience Fortnite for parents. Hear about details of the game and dive into parental settings for the various gaming systems students use to play online.
All sessions can be found on the Parent Technology Academy Webpage
School Calendar for 2019-2020
JANUARY BOOK OF THE MONTH
Doll-E 1.0 is the perfect book to kick off our Book of the Month for 2019!! Be sure to check out all of the resources our awesome librarian, Mrs. Wagner, has provided below to learn more about this month's book & design challenge!
Our Cubs are going to LOVE this month's BoM Design Challenge, which is to design and build their own robot or doll out of found objects and scraps. Then they will get to use Scratch and Makey Makey to build a database to make their doll or robot talk! How cool is that? If students want to design and build their doll or robot at school, we will have a variety of materials for them to select from. There will be a recess time workshop for each grade level during the week of January 14-18. Be sure to read over the details of this challenge, so that you can offer some guidance and answer any questions your children may have.
Please encourage your scholars to participate in this awesome Book of the Month challenge!
Doodle 4 Google 2019
The contest is open to students in Kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States. To enter the contest students should create a drawing that represents something that inspires them. The drawing, of course, must include the word Google somewhere within it. The artwork must be submitted on this official entry form. Entries can be submitted by teachers or parents!
This year's national Doodle 4 Google winner will receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology prize package for his or her school. Check out this video about the 2nd grader who was the 2018 contest winner!
Two of this year's celebrity judges are Jimmy Fallon and Kermit the Frog. Here they are to introduce the Doodle 4 Google contest.
Rachel's Challenge Shirt Contest
Students, you could be the artist behind our new Rachel's Challenge shirt for 2019 and everyone could be wearing your artwork. See the details in the flyer.
GCISD Legislative Priorities
Public education is a partnership between school district and the state of Texas. With rising academic standards set by the Texas Legislature, each district should have appropriate state resources to educate all students. Committed to setting high expectations for all students, GCISD has identified these legislative priorities for the Texas Legislature’s consideration
The GCISD Board of Trustees approved these legislative priorities during its meeting on December 17, 2018. A PDF version of the legislative priorities is also available.
NEEDED - CAN YOU HELP?
- paper towel and toilet paper tubes
- buttons - any variety
- plastic bottle caps - any variety
ALSO NEEDED FOR STOMP ROCKETS...
Amazon Smile
------------------------------------------
NEWS FROM CANNON PTA
PTA QUICK PICKS!
Check out these "quick picks" of reminders & information from PTA:
Did you know that our Cannon PTA has already earned several
awards and is eligible for an award this month called the
JANUARY WELCOME BACK AWARD?
In order to earn this award, we simply need to welcome & report membership on at least 10 new members between January 1st and January 31st! If you haven't already joined Cannon's PTA, please do so today! PTA membership supports so many wonderful activities and programs at Cannon. You can join online at http://www.joinpta.org/. Membership is $10 per person and we encourage both parents to join!
Check out events at cannonpta.com/calendar
Stay connected by following Cannon PTA on social media. Click here to "like" the PTA Facebook page. Follow them on Twitter @CannonPTA.
------------------------------------------
QUICK LINKS FOR PARENTS
------------------------------------------
I want to make you aware of where you can see information and resources, specifically about the Cannon construction project. Also, check out the awesome exterior renderings of our new school below!!
Please reach out to me to let me know of any questions you may have about this project. This is a VERY exciting time for our Cannon school community and I want to make sure all of our Cannon families stay informed!
Click here to see project updates on all GCISD Bond programs
Click here to sign up for construction updates by email about the Cannon project!
------------------------------------------
Cannon Elementary: A GCISD STEM School
Email: tona.blizzard@gcisd.net
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/1428
Location: 1300 W College St, Grapevine, TX, United States
Phone: 817-251-5680
Facebook: facebook.com/CannonSTEM
Twitter: @canSTEM
INTERESTED IN GIFTED & TALENTED SERVICES FOR CANNON 1st-4th GRADERS?
There will be a parent informational meeting on the identification and testing process for the Gifted & Talented Learning Experiences for Academic Discoveries (GT LEAD) Program on Thursday, January 24 from 6:00-7:00 at the Professional Development Building at 5800 Colleyville Boulevard in Colleyville. Join us to learn more about the referral, testing and services of GT LEAD.
The window for nominating your child for GT testing begins January 28 through February 8, and please use this link to complete the Parent Inventory and Permission to Test forms.