Cub Courier
Believe. Grow. Achieve.
April Newsletter
Hello Annette Gordon-Reed Families,
It was a busy March with so many wonderful school events. We love seeing our Gordon-Reed families on our campus! Thank you for all of your continued support in making our school the best it can be for our students. April and May will be busy months and we hope all of our families will be able to attend our last Family Engagement Night of the year on May 11. This will be a terrific time to meet other families and engage with our staff.
We hope our PreK, Kindergarten and 4th grade parents can come cheer on our students during their field days next week. We are so grateful to our PE coaches for creating this special event for our students.
Registration for next year is underway, please let our registrar Linda Paredes know if you will be moving over the summer and will not return to Gordon-Reed next year. There is withdraw paperwork which must be completed in order for us to unenroll your child. Pleas reach out to her with any questions.
We are so exited to have Annette Gordon-Reed here on our last full day of school for our Kindergarten graduation! This will be such a special day for our students and we are so thankful she will be part of this first graduation.
I wish you all a wonderful long weekend! We look forward to seeing all our cubs on Tuesday.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Creswell
Principal
Upcoming Dates
April 1 - Conroe ISD Honor Choir
April 7 - No School- Good Friday
April 10 - No School
April 11- 4th Grade Field Day
April 12- PreK and Kindergarten Field Day
April 13 - 1st Grade Program at 6PM
April 27 - 3rd-6th ELA STAAR
April 28 - Spotlight Ceremony - Empathy (wear green)
April 28 - Kindergarten - 2nd Library Books Due
May 2 - 3rd-6th Math STAAR
May 4 - 5th Grade Science STAAR
May 5 - All Library Books Due
May 6 - Spirit Night - Adventure Kids Woodforest
May 8-12 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 9 - Band and Orchestra Concert at 6
May 11 - PTO Meeting at 10AM
May 11 - Family Engagement Night
May 18 - Spring Choir Concert
May 19 - Spotlight Ceremony - Citizenship (wear blue)
May 24 - Kindergarten Graduation
May 25 - 6th Grade Clap Out
May 25 - Early Release at 12:10
Teachers Achieving Excellence
Do you want to show your child's teacher some LOVE? You can by writing him/her a TAE. TAE stands for Teachers Achieving Excellence. To write one follow the steps below.
Plastic Bag Recycling
Our Administrative Team
When needed, please contact your grade level assistant principal or counselor. Our grade level assistant principal and counselor teams are:
Gabe Hernandez & Rachel James - Prekindergarten, 1st Grade, 3rd Grade & 5th Grade
Katy Sue Traicoff & Ashley Wright- Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade & 6th Grade
News from our Counselors
Happy April! Whoo Hoo! We are getting through the final season of the school year! Thank you for an amazing March! Even with its challenging times, we remain resilient and working hard! In April, we celebrate "D.E.A.R" Drop Everything and Read month, National Autism Awareness Month and School Library Month"! Here at Gordon-Reed Elementary, we strive to celebrate the uniqueness in each other and the power of reading!
Cubs of Character
This month we will focus on the character trait EMPATHY. We want to teach our Gordon-Reed cubs that EMPATHY is a virtue that builds our morale and helps us to become resilient and servant leaders in many different situations. Each week of April, we will focus on a habit to fully understand and implement the meaning of EMPATHY.
Week 1: Actively listen to others and validate their feelings.
Week 2: Be understanding. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and think about how you would feel or react.
Week 3: Be supportive and ask how you can help others. Respect their boundaries.
Week 4: Show empathetic body language. Facial expressions, posture and tone of voice are also ways to communicate feelings.
During this month, our staff and student leaders are truly dedicated in helping your child achieve this character trait with many frequent reminders, games, and activities.
Gordon-Reed Virtual Kindness Wall
We welcome all staff, students, and community to write inspiring messages on this wall for students to look at from home or school. We hope you take the time to write/post at least one inspiring message/picture! Share with your family! Click the link here -> Gordon-Reed Virtual Kindness Wall
Congratulations
Congratulations to all of our Cubs who were spotlighted this month for PERSEVERANCE!
Family Reading Night
Family Reading Night was a success!
Montgomery County Conflict Resolution Bookmark Contest
The following students won cash prizes and 1st place winners will get their design printed into actual bookmarks for the entire school and community 🙂
There were over 1400 entries so please congratulate these students on a JOB WELL DONE!!!!!
Level 1 - Grade K
First Prize: Alyna Anderson, Gordon-Reed Elementary. Teacher: Toni Sommers
Second Prize: Ender Joost, Gordon-Reed Elementary. Teacher: Toni Sommers
Level 1 - Grade 1
Third Prize: Adam Grant, Gordon-Reed Elementary. Teacher: Toni Sommers
Honorable Mention: Ava Walton, Gordon-Reed Elementary. Teacher: Toni Sommers
Level 2 - Grade 4
Second Prize: Camila Fletcher, Gordon-Reed Elementary. Teacher: Toni Sommers
News from Fine Arts and PE
Fine Arts and PE
Click the button below for important information from our Fine Arts and PE teams.
School Business
STAAR Testing
Our 3rd -6th graders will be STAAR testing at the end of April and beginning of May. We know our Cubs are prepared and ready for success. Some important information for families is included below.
The STAAR assessments dates: 3rd-6th grade STAAR ELA Thursday, April 27 3rd -6th grade STAAR Math Tuesday, May 2
The campus will be a closed to visitors in order to assure validity of the test. The parent lunch area will be closed. Please make all lunch plans in advance as there will be no lunch drop-off for students on testing days.
Students in testing grades may bring non-messy snacks and water bottles on the day of testing. The campus will also provide a snack during testing days for our testers.
We ask that you have your student on campus before 8:00 so they have time to enjoy their breakfast and be seated for testing instructions by 8:15.
A good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast are essential, so students feel their best for the test.
We appreciate you and your support in making this a successful experience for your child.
New Student Registration
New Student Registration
Summer GT Testing
Interested in summer testing for the CISD Gifted and Talented program?
Parents will need to complete a referral form and permission to test form and return to campus by April 28th.
Kinder-8th will test Tuesday, May 30-Thursday, June 1 at Bush Elementary from 8:00am - 11:00am.
If a student took any GT test this school year (2nd Grade CogAT and/or Spring testing), he/she may not participate in this round of testing. It is the same test and will invalidate the norms.
If interested, contact Katy Sue Traicoff at ktraicoff@conroeisd.net.
Prekindergarten Enrollment Information
Click the PDF's below for information on PreK Enrollment.
Headphones
Technology is integrated in our daily instruction with your child. Many of these programs require students to hear the audio supporting the instruction. We ask that you send a pair of headphones with your child to keep here at school. These can be as fancy as you would like, or they can be a simple pair from the dollar store. If you happen to have an extra pair or two, please feel free to send those in so we can pass them along to our Cubs who do not own a pair. Thank you!
Attendance
Attendance matters! Attending school regularly helps children feel
better about school—and themselves. Read the, 'Stop Light' flyer for how missing school affects your child.
News from our PTO
Click on the images below to learn all about our fundraisers we have going on for February! You don't want to miss any of the awesome opportunities to earn money for our school.
Join our PTO
The first yearbook in our school's history is now ready to purchase!
Everyone gets 2 free custom pages in your yearbook to design and add your own photos! Add your child's personal experience to remember for years to come!
Click the button below to purchase.
Gordon-Reed 101
Gordon-Reed Elementary Student Handbook
Our student handbook contains important information unique to our school.
Meal Application
Did you know that meal applications assist in so much more than just meals?
• AP Tests- Reduced registration fee for AP tests.
• Most Sports- Free or discounted pay for sport fees.
• Internet Access- Eligible for discounted internet access services.
• Eligibility for any future P-EBT benefits for the 22-23 school year.
• Discounted rate on fees associated with applying for college.
• School Funding- Maintains funding for student programs and services.
• School Meals-An application this year will establish free or reduced-price meal eligibility for the 23-24 school year.
To apply click the button below.
Volunteer in CISD at Gordon-Reed Elementary
In order to volunteer at school, a Volunteer in CISD application must be completed each school year to ensure our school is safe for our students and staff.
Please visit the Volunteer in CISD webpage to complete the application process. We look forward to having you in our school!
Register for Bus Transportation
Click the link below to register for the bus and to find out your child’s bus number. You will need your child's ID number and birthday. Your child's ID number can be found on Parent Access Center. More details on Parent Access Center can be found in the section below.
Parent Access
Parent Access Center (PAC) is the CISD system for parents which provides online access to all your child’s class assignments, assignment grades, test grades, student ID, as well as attendance, discipline, progress reports, and report cards. If you currently have a Parent Access Center account, there is no need to renew your account as you have had to do in previous years. Parents can register for a PAC account from the Conroe ISD home page under the Student/Parent link. Student data will not be available until school begins.
Car Rider Arrival & Dismissal
1. Arriving to school, right lane is for car rider drop-off and pick-up. Left lane is for driving through to access parking spaces at front of school.
2. Past the digital school marquee, a third car rider lane opens on the right. With three lanes, the right lane and middle lane are for car rider. Left lane continues as a pass through lane to access parking spaces at front of school.
3. Holding station: Staff will send 14 cars from one car rider lane to the car rider stop numbers. Then 14 cars from the second car rider lane will be sent to car rider stop numbers.
4. Cars will exit from the front of school, keeping in the right lane until the first curve.
5. Remain in the right lane to turn right on McCaleb Rd toward Hwy 105. Pass to the left lane to turn left on McCaleb Rd toward FM 2978.
Drop-off Procedures for Forgotten Items
Please help your student be fully prepared for their day by ensuring that they have all needed materials (backpack, lunch, water bottle, etc.) before leaving for school in the morning.
To minimize interruptions to classrooms, please limit drop-offs to the following items:
- Water bottles and lunches may be placed on the drop-off table before 10:00am at the front office. These items should be labeled with your child’s name and teacher to ensure proper delivery.
- If you need eye glasses delivered to your child, please do not put them on the drop-off table. Bring them to the office staff for immediate delivery to your child.
- Any class work or homework that is dropped off will be placed in the teacher’s mailbox to be picked up during the day.
Delivery of flowers, balloons, etc. to students at school is not permitted
Transportation Changes
All transportation changes must be received in writing by 2:00pm. We are unable to accept a phone call as notice of a transportation change. You may send a written note to your child’s teacher or fill out a transportation change form in the front office. When writing a note, please include the date, your child’s full name, section number, bus number (if applicable), and your signature. If an emergency arises, you may send an email including all of the above information to: gordon-reedtransportation@conroeisd.net. Emails must be received before 2:00pm. If you submit a transportation change by email, it must go to the email address referenced above.Transportation changes should not be emailed directly to your child's teacher.
Please send a new note for each day the change occurs; we cannot accept notes for multiple days or with multiple changes.
District policy states that a student may only ride the bus they are registered to ride; students may not have a transportation change to ride a different bus.
News from the Nurse
Please remember to pack of change of clothes for your child. Students in all grade levels have spills, nosebleeds and accidents.
Please keep your child home if they are showing any signs of illness or reporting that they do not feel well.
For example, if your child comes to you in the morning and reports any of the following symptoms: cough, sore throat, stomachache, or headache, or tells you they had diarrhea or vomiting, DO NOT send them to school. Please keep your student home and monitor the symptom or symptoms until they resolve.
Medication at school: If your child needs medication while at school, please email Mrs. Atchley, our School Nurse, at datchley@conroeisd.net to set up an appointment to drop off the medication.
COVID Protocols
If your child tests positive for COVID, please adhere to the following protocol:
- Log in to the Conroe ISD SSO https://launchpad.classlink.com/conroeisd (You will need your student's username and password found in Parent Access Center)
- Click on the COVID central (external) app
- It will ask you to continue to the site
- Click the Self-Report link
- Enter the date when symptoms started or when the student tested positive when prompted by the website
- The school nurse will be notified of when the student can return to school and the absences will be excused
Breakfast and Lunch-Important Information
Student Breakfast $2.00
Student Lunch $3.20
Non-Student Lunch/2nd Student Lunch $4.20
Milk $.95
If your child is bringing their lunch, please pack items they can easily open.
Meals Are No Longer Free for All Students in the 2022-2023 School Year
- Federal waivers providing free meals for all students the last 2 years have now expired
- Parents must complete an application for students to be eligible for free or reduced meals
- The online Free and Reduced Application can be accessed at www.myschoolapps.com
Breakfast Times
Breakfast is available from 7:35-8:00am. Students will eat in the commons area. Classroom instruction begins at 8:05am.
Lunch Times
PreK- 11:25-11:55am
Kindergarten- 12:00-12:30pm
1st Grade- 12:20-12:50pm
2nd Grade- 12:35-1:05pm
3rd Grade- 12:55-1:25pm
4th Grade- 1:10-1:40pm
5th Grade- 11:10-11:40am
6th Grade- 11:45am-12:15pm
Parents are more than welcome to have lunch with their child at any time. Please sign in at the front office, and our receptionist will let you know where our special visitor lunch tables are located.
Water Bottles
Children are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles each day. Please clearly write your child's name on the bottle with permanent marker. Students may refill their bottles during the day at one of our water bottle filling stations.
See Something, Say Something
Please report any suspicious activity or suspected dangers to the appropriate authorities. Anonymous reports may be made 24/7 to Conroe ISD’s KidChat hotline at 1-888-KidChat (543-2428) or through our Anonymous Alerts app
School SMS Messages
All SMS messages received from the Conroe ISD District Office and Gordon-Reed Elementary will begin with "Conroe ISD:" and come from the subscribe code 67587. If you have not yet opted-in to receive SMS messages, you can do so at any time throughout the school year by texting "Y" to 67587.
Special Education Services
Click the PDF below to read more information on Special Education Services for Preschool Children.