The Falcon Review
Where Learning Starts With Caring Hearts
October 2021 Edition
Important Dates
10/1 Window for GT referral requests opens
10/8 Staff Development Day - No School
10/11 No School
10/11 Crust Pizza PTO Spirit Night
10/13 Oak Ridge High School Homecoming Parade
10/25 - 10/29 Red Ribbon Week
10/27 Sonic PTO Spirit Night
10/30 Trunk or Treat PTO Event
Parents Welcome
Lunch Plan
Great news! Our district is now at the CISD Level 3 in the COVID-19 Safety Alert Levels. We are so excited to have parents back in our buildings. Parents are welcomed to eat lunch with your student starting this Monday, October 4th.
Please read the important information regarding parent lunches below:
Due to the lack of spacing, at this time, only 3 lunch table reservations will be allotted per grade level. Due to social distancing guidelines, only up to 2 adults per student will be allowed in the building.
Parent Lunches will take place in the Library.
A Sign Up has been created for parents/guardians to reserve their lunch table. This sign up will be released Friday afternoons, on a 3-week basis.
You will be able to make one table reservation every 3 weeks. Please be courteous.
Parents/Guardians will be allowed to wait for their student at the end of the grade level hallway, 5 minutes prior to their lunch start time. For example: if a parent of a 2nd grader signed up to eat lunch with their student, they will be able to walk down to the 2nd grade hallway & wait for their student starting at 12:20 p.m. They will then proceed to have lunch in the library.
Please be on time, clean up after yourself and leave on time so your student does not miss out on instructional time.
Always remember to bring a Driver’s License or an ID to check in at the front desk. No exceptions!
Upon finishing lunch, you must return to the front desk so that the receptionist can collect your blue visitor sticker.
Our campus has a new alarm system. You will not be able to exit the building using the 2 side doors. You must exit through the front doors.
SIGN UP FOR LUNCH TABLE RESERVATIONS: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4cadad23a0f9c43-week
Grade Level Lunch Times
Pre-K - 11:00-11:30
Kindergarten - 11:50-12:20
1st Grade - 12:10-12:40
2nd Grade - 12:25-12:55
3rd Grade - 11:35-12:05
4th Grade - 11:15-11:45
Volunteer Plan
Our campus is currently looking for volunteers to help out during our PreK and Kindergarten lunches. If interested in volunteering, please contact Mrs. Peña for more information at marpena@conroeisd.net Please note, if you have a student in PreK, you may only volunteer for the Kindergarten lunch and if you have a student in Kindergarten, you may only volunteer for the PreK lunch. All volunteers are required to complete a CISD Volunteer Application. It is easy to complete and usually takes less than 3 days to obtain a response. You may complete the application online here: https://apps.conroeisd.net/volunteer/
Thank you!
Destination Imagination
Little Free Library
Thank you greatly to Juliet for choosing Ford Elementary to build and donate an amazing, little, free & lending library as her Silver Project for Girls Scouts. The Little Free Library is a book-sharing box that is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day and is freely accessible to all. Please feel free to check it out. The little library is located outside the front office.
District Art Show
The Conroe ISD Administration Building proudly displays over 380 pieces of artwork created by K-12 students from across the District. Congratulations to our current and previous Ford Falcons! Their pieces, selected by judges, will be displayed for the entire 2021-22 school year. Great job Falcons!
Main Hallway
Catarina Osorio, slide 211
Kailynn Ouzenne, slide 212
Ximena Peña, slide 218
Special Services Hallway
Abbie Rich, slide 312
Second Floor Hallway
Lex Osorio, slide 335
Parent Access and Teachers Achieving Excellence
If you're looking for a way to say thank you to your child's teacher, I encourage you to access your Parent Access Account (PAC) to write a Teacher's Achieving Excellence (TAE).
If you don't have a PAC account yet, you will want one. You can monitor your child's grades, attendance, and so much more. You can use this link to create an account: https://www.conroeisd.net/parents/ You will need to know your child's 6 digit ID (it's their lunch number). You can access the TAEs under the communication tab.
Referral Request for Gifted and Talented Testing
Referral requests are now open for the Conroe Independent School District Gifted and Talented program. Although the testing will not take place until late January, referral requests are accepted at this time. Referral requests can be made by the parents and/or campus staff. It is recommended that parents of 2nd grade students wait until CogAT scores have arrived before nominating their child because CogAT scores are part of the GT assessment. If you are interested in referring your child, you may want to discuss this with your child’s teacher at conferences. Referrals will be accepted through December 17, 2021. You may request a referral form from the front office or the Assistant Principal. You can also find the referral form and other GT information on the CISD GT homepage.
Car Riders and Tardies
Starting Monday, October 4th, if your student is tardy, you will be required to park your vehicle, and bring your student to the front office to check in with the receptionist.
Please remember, school begins at 8:00 a.m.
Thank you for your understanding.
Text Notifications
Our school district utilizes the SchoolMessenger system to deliver text messages, straight to your mobile phone with important information about events, school closings, safety alerts and more. You can participate in this free service just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587. You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.
Counselor Connection
RED RIBBON WEEK, which is celebrated annually October 23-31, is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention awareness program.
This will be the week that we emphasize the importance of being drug-free and encourage students to make healthy choices. Each day during this week, there will be a theme. If possible, we would love for our students and staff to participate in the daily themes. Participation is strictly voluntary.
October 25-29 - Red Ribbon Week
Mon. October 25 - “We are 50 days smarter!” Wear 1950s/sock hop gear.
Tue. October 26 - “Lei off drugs!” Wear leis and/or Hawaiian gear.
Wed. October 27 - “We support peace, love and kindness not drugs!” Wear tye dye and/or 70s gear
Thu. October 28 - “You won’t see us using drugs!” Wear camouflage.
Fri. October 29 - “We would rather play with our toys than do drugs!” Dress like a character from any of the Toy Story movies or any other Disney movie or wear a Disney t-shirt
Ford Birthday Book Club 2021-2022
Ford Elementary School Library is bringing back our Birthday Book Club! The purpose of the club is to honor your child’s birthday by donating a book to the Ford Elementary Library that will become part of the library’s collection.
When we celebrate your child’s birthday month, your child will come to the library to select their birthday book from a special collection of brand new books. A dedication sticker with the child’s name, birthday, & the name(s) of the person dedicating the book will be permanently placed in the front of the book.
When your child is presented with their Birthday Book and put on the announcements. Your child will be the first to check out the book from the library and may enjoy it for up to two weeks before returning it to the library so that other children may then check it out. This is such a unique and personal way to say “Happy Birthday,” and at the same time add wonderful new books to our library.
The Birthday Book Club membership is a $20.00 donation. This price includes the cost of a library bound book for our library. (Library bound books are stronger and more durable than other books.) If you would like your child to join the Birthday Book Club, please complete the form below and send it in with the $20.00 donation. We accept cash or checks made payable to Ford Elementary. Please remember CISD requires a driver’s license number and date of birth on all checks. Feel free to call or email me with any questions.
(832) 592-5700 or lbaus@conroeisd.net. We look forward to honoring your child’s birthday!
Even if your child’s birthday month has already passed, we will still celebrate them! :-)
Thank You,
Laurie Baus
Grade Level News
Pre-Kindergarten
This October in PreK during Language Arts, we will continue to focus on having pre-reading and reading related behaviors, different daily phonemic awareness activities and letter naming and sorting activities. We have a variety of read alouds planned that will help students with learning reading behaviors and recognize that text has meaning. We will also begin to have students retell or re-enact the stories from the books we read in class. During writing, our focus will be making class books, letter formation and drawing skills.
PreK math during October will have us wrapping up our pattern unit and begin our 2D shape unit. This unit will have students creating shapes, using location words and understanding that the shape will stay the same even if you flip, slide or turn the shape. In Science, we will wrap up the unit on changes in the earth and sky (fall) and we will begin our Sources of Energy unit. Social Studies will have us wrapping up our school vs. home unit and begin our Community Helpers unit. This is always such fun!
In PreK, we feel it is very important to have Social/Emotional Learning. We will help demonstrate the following for students : identifying feelings, identifying same or different feelings, accidents and caring and helping.
October will be packed full of fun learning activities!
Meet Mrs. Barger
My name is Danielle Barger and this is my eighth-year teaching and fifth year at Ford. I graduated from Sam Houston State University a loooong time ago and just started grad school online at University of Texas at Arlington for my masters. I am happily married to my husband of sixteen years, and together we have a daughter who is eleven and a son who is eight. Fun fact, we lived in the Dallas area for 8 years before relocating back to the Houston area to be closer to family.
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten we are continuing to learn routines and procedures for the classroom and school. We are learning and growing each day. In Math, your student is learning about numbers 1-5, how to write them, what they look like, with and without objects. They are also being introduced on how to compare two numbers 1-5. In the upcoming month they will learn about the nickel and what it looks like and its attributes. They will also learn numeration up to 10 with and without objects.
In reading, your student is learning they can look at their books to learn new things. Also, working with partners and what it looks like during reading time. They are learning that characters have voices in their stories and each character has a different voice. In the upcoming month they will learn how to retell a story in multiple genres. Writing: your student is learning to write letters and identify the sound that corresponds with each letter. They are learning to write sentences with high frequency words and matching their writing with their pictures. We will be working on this for several weeks while adding new letters and sounds together.
Science your student is learning about heating and cooling. In the upcoming weeks, they will learn about physical properties, magnets, and locations of objects.
Lastly, in Social Studies, your student has been learning about American symbols, and pledges. In the upcoming month they will be learning about the globe, rules and different authority figures that we have in different places.
October we will be setting up Fall conferences and a link will be sent out to sign up for a time and date. Be on the lookout for that, because those fill up FAST!
Meet Mrs. Bennick
My name is Jamie Bennick. This is my sixth year teaching Kindergarten and my second year at Ford Elementary. I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended college at Texas Woman's University, where I studied Elementary Education and Dance Education. When I'm not at Ford, I'm at home spending time with my husband and our four dogs (Theodore, Eleanor, Zoey, and Ruger). I'm excited to be a part of this wonderful team of teachers and staff at Ford Elementary.
First Grade
The first graders are off to an awesome start. In reading, first graders are now learning how to be Word Detectives within multigene text where they will learn strategies to solve unknown words. In writing they have been busy working on small moment stories by writing true stories about their lives. In math the students are having so much fun learning how to compose and decompose numbers in addition and subtraction. In Science the students are observing properties such as larger and smaller, heavier and lighter, shape, color, and texture and predicting identify changes in materials caused by things being heating and cooling while showing how smart they are and classifying those objects by the materials from which they are made. In Social studies they are busy learning Relative Location Skills in Geography with Map & Globe Skills.
Meet Mrs. Henderson
My Name is Lashonda Henderson and I have proudly worked at Ford Elementary for nineteen years. I started out as a para and quickly came to realize that teaching was what I enjoyed most outside of my family. I have had five years as a kindergarten teacher, and this is my second year as a first grade teacher. I truly feel so blessed to get an opportunity to help shape the minds of such beautiful and sweet boys and girls. I have a son who will be in the fourth grade here at Ford, a daughter who is in eighth grade at Irons Jr. High and a daughter who is graduating from college. When I am not at work, I enjoy hanging out with all of them. We like to go on long nature walks, laughing and just being silly together as a family.
Second Grade
Second grade has been working hard and learning lots! This month the students will be working on the following skills. In Math, we will be working on Place Value up to 999, including Standard, Expanded and Word Form. Number patterns up to 999. In Reading we will be studying Traditional Literature. For Writing we will work on Non-Fiction (Informational writing). In Science, we will be studying about structures and materials and movement of objects. During Social Studies, we will learn about Government: Local, State and National. Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions about this month’s activities.
Meet Mr. Ramirez
Hi! My name is Jorge Ramirez-Melo. I am originally from Mexico City. I love to teach 2nd Grade and this is my 15th year. I love to run, read, play chess and play with my doggie Nina. I have a wife and three kids. Every day is an opportunity to learn something new!
Third Grade
During the month of October our third graders will start their reading unit on drama and then move into the non-fiction unit. In writing, they will be finishing and publishing their fairy tale writing. Then, they will start the unit on nonfiction or informational writing. In math, our students will be working on word problems with addition and subtraction. They will begin multiplication and division after that , which the students are excited about. Our little scientists will wrap up their unit on matter and move right into energy. In social studies, we will concentrate on natural resources, landforms, and map skills.
Meet Mrs. Cobb
My name is Elisa Cobb and I have been teaching for 19 years. This is my 9th year in CISD, and second year at Ford as a third-grade teacher. I have taught kindergarten through third grade. For a couple of years, I was a Specials teacher who taught science to K-5th graders. My husband and I are both proud graduates of Sam Houston State University. We have 5 children. Our oldest son, Douglas, is an electrician and an Army vet. Our oldest daughter, Mikayla, is a nurse and works in a hospital in Tennessee. Taylor is in her last semester of nursing school. Josh is a senior at SHSU studying to be an accountant. Our youngest, Grace, graduated from ORHS this May and made us empty nesters. Our pride and joy, Reece (19 mos) gave me the name Glamma (because I am too glamorous to be Grandma). I love spending time with my family, reading, and hanging at the pool. I enjoy traveling to the beach with my family and loving my grandbaby. My goal as an educator is to not only grow my students academically, but to teach them to love and value each other and themselves.
Fourth Grade
Amazing things are happening in Fourth grade! We have a busy month ahead of us. In Language Arts, We are starting to write realistic fiction narratives in Writing and continuing with the Nonfiction Unit in Reading. Please be sure that your child is reading every night! In Math, we will continue the Addition and Subtraction Unit for a few weeks and then start the Multiplication and Division Unit. It is very important that all students know their multiplication facts fluently. Please make sure your child is practicing them every night. We are continuing to learn about Texas History. This month we will be focusing on Texas Indians. Science has been so much fun! They will be learning about force and motion.
Meet Mrs. Gaddy
My name is Tressa Gaddy. This is my 12th year of teaching and my 5th year at Ford Elementary. I graduated from West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, and I’m so excited to begin my journey completing my masters to become a diagnostician. I love spending time with my family and love teaching 4th grade!!
Special Education
Fall is in full swing in Special Education! Mrs. Robinson’s, Mrs. Arthur’s and Mrs. Bass’ classes have been learning about the apples, the apple life cycle and letter and number identification. In October, they will be learning about animals and where they live. In Math Life Skills will be learning about subtraction, in Science they will be learning about animal tracks, and in Language Arts they will be focusing on the letter I. Mrs. Pieper’s, Mrs. Shaw’s, Mrs. Wilson’s and Mrs. Rouse’s classes are practicing their word attack skills, decoding strategies and reviewing math facts and addition skills.
Meet Mrs. Rouse
My name is Dana Rouse. I have been teaching for 15 years and this will be my 2nd year at Ford. I am married and we have 3 children. When I am not at school, I enjoy RVing, geocaching, and reading. I have a goal to not only help students build academic skills, but also to foster connections and build a sense of community in my classes. I am enthusiastic about helping students to grow in both their knowledge and confidence.
Art
Pre K artists explore tools of the art room and Kinder is going to be getting ready for fall with their mixed media leaf collages. First Grade is exploring origami through the creation of an origami house neighborhood and Second Grade is talkin’ Chicken. They will be creating a mixed media, Big Fat Hen watercolor piece. Third Grade will explore pattern and visual texture while creating their patterned roosters and Fourth Grade experiments with mixed media through the creation of Dream Catcher paintings.
In Art 2 with Miss Rek, Pre-K, Kinder and 1st will be exploring different mediums and learning about warm and cool colors. 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade will be learning about symbols and how to create their own.
Meet Mr. Gutierrez
Mr. Gutierrez is originally from Mexico, but has lived for many years in the United States. He loves to teach music because it's his favorite subject. He enjoys singing as well as playing piano and guitar. He is a big fan of the Houston Astros, and loves to attend baseball games. This is Mr. G's seventeenth year as a school teacher, and his tenth year teaching music. Mr. G is excited about the 2020-2021 school year at Ford Elementary, where he has much fun with his talented students!
Contact Us
Email: contactford@conroeisd.net
Website: ford.conroeisd.net
Location: 25460 Richards Road, Spring, TX, USA
Phone: 832-592-5700
Facebook: facebook.com/FordCISD