What's "Growing" On @ Cannon?
Staff Information & Updates 01/11/16
From the Principal's Pen...
What a GREAT start to 2016!
Our scholars returned to school last week and told me over and over again how HAPPY they were to be back at school!! Teachers told me over and over again how much they enjoyed & learned during their time with Dr. Julie Jackson!!
Now, THAT'S the way to kick off a NEW YEAR in a positive way!! I
It is truly such an honor to work with a staff that is always pushing forward to learn, grow, and do what is best for kids!!
Maintaining a growth mindset will help ensure a successful spring semester in 2016! One of my favorite podcasts is by Angela Watson, called Truth for Teachers. Her first podcast for 2016 was about 10 growth mindset shifts that will help you enjoy teaching more. Click here to read her blog post about the ideas shared in this podcast. To subscribe to her podcasts, click here!
"You've only failed if you've given up. Until then, you are learning." Angela Watson
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
Lisa's Coaching Corner
Many times we have the opportunity to attend a training, however we never get the face time with the presenter to personalize the ideas to our students. Our time spent with Dr. Julie Jackson has ignited great discussions to help us on our journey of growth from good, to better & best!!
This slide was shown during most small group sessions and will be a perfect addition to the planning process. It is imperative that we as teachers understand the reasoning (scientific principle) we teach so we set our students up for success.
This link also has the Audi commercial "My Dad is an Alien" as well. In several of the small group meetings, Dr. Jackson shared this video and suggested that it might be a great video to use to introduce CER to your scholars. Enjoy!!
LAST WEEK: A PHOTO REVIEW
Drama, Drama, Drama!
Scholars in Mrs. Lambert's 4th grade classroom are practicing improving their reading fluency while demonstrating their comprehension of a text by performing one-act plays! They read through their lines, follow and improve the written stage directions, and perform their plays. They are also discussing plot development and character motivations!
What a GREAT way for scholars to improve their fluency and learn all about this genre! Check out this great website Mrs. Lambert shared with her scholars - Kidsinco with over 200 plays available online!
#GOALS2016
Even 1st graders are well aware that Twitter is one of the most popular social media sites used by adults. Megan took this opportunity to teach her scholars how to summarize their learning goals for 2016 through the format of Twitter! The scholars learned about limited characters (140- possibly changing soon!), hashtags, and more, all while thinking about what was important for them to achieve in 2106.
The goals set by these 1st graders are very impressive! Please take a moment to stop by her classroom to see all of the ideas expressed by 1st grade scholars. They are displayed on her bulletin board outside her classroom.
Great job!
INTERACTIVE BOARD- 3rd GRADE
"I enjoyed visiting Cannon Elementary School in Grapevine Colleyville ISD. I was amazed to find so many "Master Word Wall Builders." Mr. Parthemore's students created this Science TEKS 3.8A observe, measure, and compare day-to-day weather changes in different locations wall and are using the data they collect to produce weather forecasts. Check out his class blog to view their weather forecasts! http://parthemoreprimetime.blogspot.com/2016/01/weather-reporting.html"
Joe's board is just one of MANY great ideas that were discussed and planned by Cannon staff during our planning sessions with Dr. Jackson. Great job Joe!
Dates to Remember
1/12 PLC Week A -5th grade 2:00-3:30
1/13 PLC Week A - 4th grade 2:00-3:30
1/14 PLC Week A - 3rd grade 2:00-3:30
1/18 No School - Student Holiday!
1/19 Lunch with Dr. Ryan - during staff lunches in lounge
1/19 Shelter in Place drill
1/19 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:00-3:30
1/20 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:00-3:30
1/21 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:00-3:30
1/22 - NO FRIDAY ASSEMBLY!
1/22 Dinosaur George Exhibit - during Specials in gym
1/25 U.CAN 3:00-3:45
1/26 Burleson ISD tours Cannon's STEM program a.m.
1/26 Dallas ISD tours Cannon's STEM program p.m.
1/26 PLC Week A -5th grade 2:00-3:30
1/27 PLC Week A - 4th grade 2:00-3:30
1/27 Dual Language meeting TES 3:30-5:00
1/28 Denton ISD tours Cannon's STEM program a.m.
1/28 PLC Week A - 3rd grade 2:00-3:30
UPDATES FROM CANNON LEARNING COMMONS!
January Book Of The Month & Design Challenge We are kicking off 2016 with a fantastic book selection for our January Book of the Month, Snowflake Bentley. Your scholars will love this biography about the world's expert on snowflakes!! They will also LOVE this month's design challenge...designing catapults to launch snowflakes across the library?? What student would LOVE that? Click here to read more about this month's Book of the Month and the Design Challenge. Don't forget that the final competition for this design challenge will air live on the KCAN2Go Channel at 2 pm on Tuesday, January 26th!
REMINDERS & UPDATES
JANUARY IS BOARD APPRECIATION MONTH! GCISD School Board Trustees will be recognized at the monthly school board meeting during the January 28th board meeting. All schools are asked to ―shower the school board members with special recognition by providing student-created posters, cards, letters or other objects of appreciation. All grade levels need to participate in this effort. Scholar work should be dropped off in my office by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 26rd. This year's theme is Superheroes for SchoolsI. Please refer to the following link to read short bios on all GCISD trustees. Thank you!
- GET INVOLVED - STUDENT VOICE PROJECT One of the Superintendent's goals for this school year is all about student voice: "Create and implement a plan to systemically pilot “student voice” as a mechanism for feedback over the next three years. In order to start working towards this goal, a group of GCISD teachers got involved at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year as part of a pilot group to implement a Student Voice Project. The district is now at the mid-point in this Student Voice Project pilot, and teachers are seeing real changes in their students' behaviors/learning driven mainly by the increased trust that student voice builds. If you would like to participate during the second half of the year, it's not too late!! There is an informational session planned on January 14th from 4:15-5:15 in Mustang at PDEC. Come and learn how the project started, what it's about, and how you can jump into the group. Essentially, participating involves teachers doing just three simple things:
1. Asking students what they think.
2. Reading students' responses and using this info to improve the classroom.
3. Meeting with a campus administrator at least once during the year to share what they are learning from students' voices and how that is impacting their classroom
Let me know if you have any questions, and please email Suzanne Newell to let her know you're planning to attend! Click here to watch a great video about the POWER of Student Voice! As a superintendent's goal, participating in Student Voice will be an expectation in upcoming school years...so why not get involved now and be part of the ground-breaking efforts for this transformational work?
MINI-CAST CONFERENCE IS IN FEBRUARY -Mini-CAST is a mini-version of the CAST conference which takes place during the course of one day. This year, the conference is being held in Frisco on Saturday, February 20th. Presentations are related to STEM education and is attended by teachers, administrators, supervisors, and vendors. Dr. Julie Jackson will be the keynote speaker at Mini-CAST and she asked me to encourage all of you to come & stop by to say hello if you attend! Click here to read more about this year's Mini-CAST conference! In order to register TWO forms must be completed online: Form to request payment from GCISD and Form to register with event organizers - Select the $25 option and then pay with check option. BOTH forms must be completed by the end of the day, Friday January 29th in order to have time to process a check and payment by the registration deadline. Please let Tona know if you are planning to attend!
- 2016 GO RED FOR WOMEN CAMPAIGN Join Cannon Elementary in raising funds and awareness to fight heart diseases and stroke. We want people to experience more of life’s precious moments. So does the American Heart Association, which is why they’ve made better heart and brain health their mission. Make a healthy change today! Order your 2016 Go Red For Women t-shirt and wear it for Cannon Elementary's Wear Red Day on Friday, February 5th! Choose your shirt -- each are $20: Women’s Love Your Heart shirts are fitted, consider ordering a size larger than your normal size. Traditional “American Heart” shirts are unisex and run true to size. Your order/donation will be tax deductible! Click here to order your T-shirt today! Last day to order shirts is Wednesday, January 20th. Together, let’s all bring awareness and wear RED.
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SUPPORT GHS/CHHS SPED STUDENTS Take Note is a business run by the GCISD Transition Class and the CHHS/GHS Special Education Departments. Former Cannon students are currently in this class!! They create personalized notepads and sell them for $2.50 each. Each pad contains 50 sheets and are made when you order them. I received some notepads personalized with the letter "B" for Christmas and love them! If you would like to support these students check out their website to see examples of their work or create your own design! It’s a great gift for any occasion-Valentines, birthdays, graduation and end of the year gifts.
- 2016-2017 STUDENT/TEACHER CALENDAR APPROVED FOR PRELIMINARY PLANNING PURPOSES Students will begin classes on August 22 next year under the preliminary planning 2016-2017 Student-Teacher Calendar. The GCISD Board of Trustees adopted next year’s instructional calendar during the December 14 meeting. Under the new HB 2610, school districts are required to provide at least 75,600 minutes of instruction, rather than 180 days of instruction. As the calendar is currently approved, student holidays for 2016-2017 are Labor Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day/Washington’s Birthday and Memorial Day. Breaks reflect traditional community preferences of a week at Thanksgiving and Spring Break, and two weeks for Winter Break. The last day of school for students is Thursday, June 1, 2016. View the 2016-2017 Student-Teacher Calendar.
TO DO LIST
- Set a timer and complete daily attendance ON TIME!
- Read the CER article Lisa shared and keep working on your interactive word walls!
- Talk with your teams about School Board appreciation plans.
- Review the 2016-2017 calendar.
- Consider joining the Student Voice Project team! Let Tona & Dr. Newell know if interested in being part of this.
- Make plans to attend Mini-CAST - register today!
- Sign up to participate in World Read Aloud Day 2016!
- Work on your websites, blogs, and social media accounts to get them updated. Ask Ben for help!
- Tweet & blog about all of the great things you are doing in your classroom/grade!