The Leopard Tale
January-2020
Principal's Points
Andre’ Families,
Happy new year, and welcome back to an amazing spring semester at Andre’ Elementary!
We are so excited to begin full-day pre-k! Our new teachers and staff have jumped right in and are already an integral part of the Leopard family. We had a great transition, and our youngest students love full day, lunch, and riding the bus with the big kids!
January brings a lot of exciting news! We are proud to announce 5th grader, Meera Narwani as our 2020 Spelling Bee Champion, followed by our Runner Up, 4th grader, Sebastian Pena. We are so proud of our spelling bee participants for doing such an amazing job under pressure of spelling very challenging words.
All of our Leopards are gearing up for “Charged Up,” our first ever S.T.E.M. night at Andre’. As the only official Microsoft campus in CFISD, our campus continues to lead the way with technology integration. We have amazing guest presenters and activities planned to enrich our curriculum and enhance 21st century learning.
January is also School Board Appreciation Month. This year our student council co-presidents welcomed Mrs. Debbie Blackshear, Board of Trustee, for our campus visit. She was most impressed with the exciting things happening here at Andre’. To acknowledge and honor the dedication and commitment of all board members, the students and staff of Andre’ Elementary will be dedicating books in the name of each Trustee for our school library. Trustees will be formerly recognized at the board meeting on January 16th.
Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We love to share #AndreInAction!
Save the Date
Please join us for our upcoming STEM event,
Charged Up, on Tuesday, January 28th,
from 5:30-7:30. This free family event will feature Barnhill Preserve, Bricks for Kids, the Cy Springs Robotics Program, and Microsoft.
Important Information
Stay Connected
We want to stay connected with you! Please visit our website at www.cfisd.net, select schools and facilities, elementary schools, and then Andre’. This will take you to our website. We will also regularly post photos and news on the Official Andre’ Facebook page. To locate our page, search @CFISDAndre. Make sure you follow us on Twitter, @CFISDAndre, as well.
Lost and Found
Have you been searching the house for your child’s missing jacket or lunch kit?
We have quite a collection of found items that we have on display in the cafeteria. Students will have an opportunity each day during lunch to look through the items to reclaim things that belong to them. It is getting cooler outside, and jackets will be needed.
Please remind your child to look for missing items. Thank you for your support.
District Guidelines for Keeping Sick
Children Home from School
A sick child who is unable to participate in school in a meaningful way should be kept home to rest and recover until symptoms resolve. Keeping a sick child home also protects other children, school staff, and visiting community members from contracting an illness that can be spread from person to person. Please be aware of the following guidelines for school attendance.
· Fever: A child should remain home with fever greater than 100° F and should only return after he/she has been fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine such as Tylenol or Motrin.
· Diarrhea/Vomiting: A child with diarrhea and/or vomiting should stay at home and return to school only after being symptom free for 24 hours.
· Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye): Following a diagnosis of pink eye, a child may return to school 24 hours after the first dose of prescribed medication has been administered.
· Rashes: Common infectious diseases with rashes are most contagious in the early stages. A child with a suspicious rash should return to school only after a healthcare provider has made a diagnosis and authorizes the child's return to school in writing.
If you take your child to a healthcare provider for an illness, please be sure to request a written letter stating when your child may return to school.
A healthy school community requires parents and schools to partner with each other. To prevent/minimize local outbreaks of contagious disease, parents must keep children who have an illness that can be spread from person to person at home, and CFISD school nurses will exclude students with symptoms of a communicable illness from school attendance.
School Board Appreciation Month-Launching the Next Generation
Cypress Fairbanks ISD is fortunate to have an amazing team of Trustees committed to our students, staff and community. They volunteer countless hours each year working to ensure the success of every student.
CFISD has set aside January as School Board Appreciation Month. Please join us in thanking the following School Board members for the countless hours they give our district and our students. To honor each board member, Andre’ Elementary will dedicate a library book in each member’s name to honor the dedication they show to our students. Thank you again:
Position 1- Tom Jackson
Position 2- Julie Hinamen
Position 3- Darcy Mingoia
Position 4- Debbie Blackshear- Secretary
Position 5- Dr. John Ogletree
Position 6- Don Ryan- Vice President
Position 7- Bob R. Covey- President
Student and Staff Holiday
In observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, students and staff will not attend school on Monday, January 20, 2020.
Students and staff return on Tuesday, January 21, 2020- No lunch visitors or deliveries January 21st.
Counselors' Corner
Greetings from your School Counselors,
First, let us welcome your children back to Andre’ after our holiday break. We hope that you and your family enjoyed time together!
Beginning Monday, January 13, our Student Council and Jr. Counselors will be facilitating a bottled water drive for residents of the Mission of Yahweh. The Mission is a residential homeless shelter for women and children in the greater Houston area. They have been serving the community since 1961. The supplier who had been donating water to the Mission recently went out of business. This provides the Andre’ community an opportunity to assist them with this important necessity.
We would appreciate donations of cases of bottled water. We can accommodate packages of water as small as 6-packs, but please no individual bottles. Many grocery stores sell 24 and 32 bottle cases that are sealed and easy to transport. To make dropping off the cases easier for you; we will have a drop-off area in the car-rider line in the morning, and you are also welcome to drop off water in the front office.
This is a great opportunity for our students to be involved with a service project, and we hope we can count on your support. We will collect water beginning Monday, January 13th, until Friday, the 24th. We will deliver our collection of water on Tuesday, January 28th. Our Student Council members and Jr. Counselors will be invited to deliver the water and participate in a tour of the Mission. Thank you in advance for assisting with this worthwhile endeavor.
The counselors will be testing students for the Horizons program beginning this month. Students will be tested over a three-day period for approximately ninety minutes per session. Your child’s teacher will send home a reminder of testing a few days prior to testing if your child will be testing.
Words From the Library
Mother Goose
Mother Goose visited Pre-K and Kindergarten on Monday, January 13. Students have been preparing for her visit by reading some of her traditional rhymes like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Jack and Jill !
Name that Book
Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade have been ferociously reading books from the list of titles selected by CFISD librarians. The list is designed to encourage students to read books from a variety of authors and genres. Teams have formed in each reading class to prepare for the first competition on February 25th. Winning grade level teams will compete against each other on March 5th. The school winning team will represent Andre’ at the District contest on March 31st at the Berry Center.
Notes From the Front Desk
Lunch Visitors
Please limit your lunch visits with your child to one time per week. We have close to 1000 students and want to make sure we have space for all parents who would like to eat lunch with their children. A note is required from a guardian for anyone other than a guardian to have lunch with your child.
Absences
If your child is absent, please send a note on the first day of your child’s return to school stating the reason for the absence. Thank you.
Transportation Changes
If a child’s end-of-day transportation changes, the parent/guardian must send a note with the date, necessary changes and parent/guardian signature. If a note is not received, the usual method of transportation will be followed.
For safety purposes, no changes will be made after 3:30 P.M. and PHONE CALLS or E-MAILS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Student Council
Student Council Candy Gram Sale
Fourth and fifth grade student council members sold candy grams and spirit sticks during lunches before the holiday break. Thank you to all of the students, staff, and parents that participated in the fundraiser. Student Council raised over $700! The proceeds from the sale will help fund two Cy Springs HS student scholarships. Scholarships will be awarded in the spring to former Andre’ students graduating from Cy Springs HS in 2020.
Box Tops for Education
Each student’s goal= 10 Box Tops in January!
Did you know that Andre’ receives 10₵ for every General Mills Box Tops for Education we collect? Please remember to scan your receipts for Box Tops from participating products. See the flyer below for information on how to download the app and scan receipts.
You can still send in box top clips and certificates in a bag or envelope to your child's teacher.
If each student turns in 10 box tops, our school will earn over $1,100! Wow!
PTO
Hello Andre’ Families!
Thank you so much for all the support! We currently have 155 families registered as members of the PTO. We are trying to reach 100% participation. Let’s make it happen, Andre’!
Volunteers are essential to any successful PTO, but as a member, you are not obligated to attend meetings or volunteer. By joining the PTO, your $15 membership fee, as well as funds raised from fundraising, spirit nights, donations and volunteer hours, goes towards classroom parties, buses for field trips, STEM programs, Family Fun Nights, teacher grants and our newest project for 2019- some NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT. Please consider joining the PTO! Joining the PTO also allows us to build our partnership between the community, families and Andre’ staff. We look forward to the continued support from returning families and meeting all the new Andre’ Elementary School families.
Below you will find information of upcoming events and ways for you to get involved. Please feel free to reach out to the PTO Board if you have any questions or if you would like to become a member.
Sincerely,
Andre’ Elementary PTO Board
5th GRADE PARENTS:
If you have been unable to attend our meetings and would like more information or to be on one of the following planning committees please email andreleopardpto@gmail.com.
· Memory Book
· End of Year Celebration
· Awards Recognition
· PawPrints Painting
· Class Shirts
· Spirit Nights
· Donation Requests
Help Andre’ Earn “Free Money”
My Coke Rewards-: https://us.coca-cola.com/give/schools/When you make Coca-Cola purchases, you simply enter the product codes on the website, or send them in a baggie to school with your child and we can scan them in for you.
Amazon Smile-http://smile.amazon.com/ch/56-2612718Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to Andre’ PTO. Please be sure to add Andre’ PTO as your charity.
Kroger Plus-www.krogercommunityrewards.com (You must select Andre Elementary PTO Inc. as your community rewards organization under ‘My account,’ and confirm your selection if you have signed up previously.
PTO Contact info:
Facebook: Andre’ Elementary PTO
Twitter: @AndreElemPTO
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/andrepto/home
Email: andreleopardpto@gmail.com
Healthy Bodies
Mark your calendar
1/6- Students/Staff Return
1/6-1/10- No Lunch Visitors or Deliveries
1/9- School Wide Spelling Bee
1/10- Texans' Spirit Day
1/13-1/24- Student Council Mission of Yahweh Bottled Water Drive
1/13- Pre-K Meet and Greet
1/15- Spring Creek BBQ Night
1/17- 5th Grade Field Trip- Cy Springs Music Program
1/17- No Place for Hate Activity
1/17- End of 2nd 9 Weeks
1/20- MLK Day- Student/Staff Holiday
1/24- Report Cards Go Home
1/24- Field Trip- Downtown Aquarium- 4th Grade
1/27- Horizon's Showcase- Berry Center
1/28- Family Fun Night
1/28- Student Council/Jr. Counselor Field Trip to Mission of Yahweh
1/28- Charged Up STEM Night
1/31- Jump Rope for Heart Kick-off
2/5- 100th Day of School
2/5- District Spelling Bee
2/7- PTO- Father Daughter Dance
About Us
Email: andre@cfisd.net
Website: andre.cfisd.net/en/
Location: 8111 Fry Road, Cypress, TX, USA
Phone: 281-463-5500
Facebook: facebook.com/cfisdandre/
Twitter: @cfisdandre