Kirk Elementary
Tiger Tales
School Information
Email: Kirk@cfisd.net
Website: https://kirk.cfisd.net/en/
Location: 12421 Tanner Road, Houston, TX, USA
Phone: 713-849-8250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirkElementary/
Twitter: @KirkElementary
Principal's Corner
Dear Kirk Families,
It is hard to believe that we are already 6 weeks into this school year! We had a great time at our Pizza and Games with a Gent event to kickoff our Watchdog Dad program and enjoyed seeing so many families during Open House.
If you were unable to attend the open house, please contact your child’s teacher for the information that was shared to help you partner with us to ensure that your child has a successful year. By being aware of what is taking place in the classroom, your child will feel supported and work harder to make you proud. I cannot place a value on what the partnership between home and school means to a child. To that end, I would like to encourage you to attend our upcoming parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday, November 2nd. Please contact your child’s homeroom teacher to sign up for a time.
I know that school days can be extremely hectic. There’s the morning hustle and bustle to get kids awake, dressed and out the door - with their ID badges on! Then there are the various afternoon activities that keep things moving after school hours. This is one of the reasons that we do not give traditional homework at Kirk. We want our Mighty TIgers to have the opportunity to connect with their families after school, and come back recharged and ready for another day of learning. You can create a learning environment at home by encouraging your child to read daily. There are also many technology-based learning programs that your child can use at home to extend their learning. Your child’s teacher can provide a list of all the technology programs that your child can utilize at home, along with the passwords for each program.
As you review the district calendar, you will see that October 22 is a student holiday. Please make plans for your Tiger to be at home.
Save the date for the PTO Ice Cream Social on October 5th, the 2nd annual color run PTO fundraiser which kicks off on October 18, and our Tiger family night on Tuesday, October 26!
As a reminder, we encourage all Tigers to wear a mask everyday. To help keep us keep safe, be sure to screen your student each day and keep them home if they are ill or experiencing any symptoms until they are evaluated by a licensed healthcare provider.
Please screen for the following symptoms:
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Loss of taste/smell
Nasal congestion
Sore throat
Headache
Fever at or above 100°F
Vomiting/diarrhea
To stay up to date on CFISD information, be sure you have opted in to receive emergency text messages. If you haven’t or are unsure, please text the letter ‘Y’ to 67587.
Lastly, I want to encourage each of you to support our PTO. Our PTO is such an important part of the work we do to support students and staff, so please consider joining to receive PTO updates and find out ways that you can support them as they support your children and our staff.
In partnership,
Dr. Bell
Share your Feedback to Help Us Improve
October Calendar
Leader in Me
The seven habits of Leader in Me align perfectly with our PBIS matrices and we have started using the Leader in Me habit vocabulary within our matrices.
PBIS
Our Tigers are working to become an Executive Tiger. In order for your student to become an Executive Tiger, they must follow our PBIS matrices. They earn signatures when they are exhibiting Executive Tiger behavior. Ask your student how many signatures they have earned.
Key Notices
This year we have gone digital with our title 1 meeting. To learn more about Title 1 at Kirk Elementary, please watch this short video (https://youtu.be/F0bl34aCIrM). Turn on closed captioning for Spanish.
If you would like to give feedback on the parent involvement policy (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eDzNcyk8RJfelzcBISBV5ko3pmbtl5E3_A_twCWmpQ8/edit?usp=sharing) or the home-school agreement (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yTnPaVljfld3U98OtIsz5PtVbn5wokQfKN8UpQSQtYU/edit?usp=sharing) for Kirk, please view the documents here and send in any suggested revisions to Dr. Bell.
Notice to Parents
As a parent of a student at a campus receiving Title I funds, federal law allows you to ask for information about the certification, college major, and advanced degrees of your child’s teacher(s). You also have the right to request information about the qualifications of a teacher aide or paraprofessional providing direct services to your child. If you would like to receive this information, you may contact the Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. Human Resources Department at 281-897-4099.
School Messenger: Text Message Sign Up
The directions for adding text messages to your School Messenger account are in the link below. All parents need to update their School Messenger Information:
Family & Community Engagement
Click to see a short video of Games & Pizza with a Gent
https://www.wevideo.com/view/2384968140
https://www.wevideo.com/view/2384957110
The Games and Pizza with a Gent was so much fun! Thank you so much to all the dads who joined us and a special thanks to all the dads who signed up to be a Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students). If you weren’t able to join us on September 21st or weren’t sure if to sign up, we have dates available in March, April and May. Please email or call Ms. Sandra Garza at sandra.garza2@cfisd.net 713-849-8250 to register to become a Watch D.O.G.S. The students and teachers love having you in school!
Special thanks to all the moms who encouraged the dads to come to the event, we know you helped!!!
The most accurate predictors of student achievement in school are not family income or social status, but the extent to which the family creates a home environment that encourages learning, communicates high yet reasonable expectations for the child’s achievement, and becomes involved in the child’s education at school. Our school’s PTO offers many opportunities for parents to be involved in the child’s education at school. Please consider joining Kirk Elementary’s PTO. http://kirkpto.square.site
Kirk Elementary is in the process of a cultural shift as we implement the principles in the book The Leader in Me. We would like to recognize the following businesses and individuals for their generous donations in helping Kirk Elementary achieve its mission, especially Mrs. April Garay, of RollingStone Construction for her hard work spreading the word among our community!
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HEB on Kempwood & Gessner, was very kind to provide the salads and drinks for our kick-off event - Thank you HEB!
An Tran, Parent of Kirk Elementary students, Allyson & Ashlynn Tran, Kirk Elementary students
Susan Blowey, Assistant Principal at Kirk for the beautiful balloon bouquets for the Watch D.O.G.S. Wall of Fame
Mr. Gary and Mrs. Melanie Prehoda, parents of Mrs. Owings also contributed to the dinner served at the event - Thank you Mom & Dad!
The gift of time is something our own Kirk staff always finds the time to give. Thank you to all the staff who donated their time to make Games and Pizza with a Gent a successful event to kick-off the Watch D.O.G.S. program.
By now, all students have visited the library. We learned how we take care of our precious library books.
Primary Practices
Reading together as a family can be fun for everyone involved. After reading a story children can create a craft, create an alternate front cover and many other activities. Below is a fall challenge all members of your family can participate in.
Adventures in Mathematics
The beginning of the year always starts with Place Value. Building a strong foundation of numbers and the value of their place will help students down the road with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Place Value War
Play this game with Uno cards or a classic deck with face cards removed. Each player has a number of piles (depending on which place values you’re working on) and lays down the top card from each. The players say the resulting numbers out loud (e.g. “five hundred thirty”) and the player with the highest number wins. For a fun variation, allow players to use the cards they flip to create the highest possible number.
For more ideas click HERE
Science Scholars
Life Science and Matter
Ecosystems are an important part of the Life Science unit. Click HERE for ideas on building your own ecosystem at home!
Matter is also happening and students are becoming familiar with states of matter: Solid, Liquid and Gas. Click HERE for an experiment to show how matter can change states!
Loving Literacy
Since school began, we have been helping our Kirk Tigers build a love of reading. Reading together as a family can be fun for everyone involved and will continue to build your child’s love of reading. After reading a book, have your child lead a discussion at dinner about his/her book. Children can also create a craft, create an alternate front cover and many other activities. Below is a fall challenge all members of your family can participate in.
Tiger Technobytes
Nurse’s Corner
Hello Mighty Tigers!
It has been a great start for the first of the year, and I have really enjoyed getting to meet many of you new Tigers.
I have a few reminders listed below that will help us continue to thrive this school year.
Please remember to check your student’s health every morning before coming to school.
Please pack a change of clothes for your student in their backpack in case they have an accident and need to be changed.
Get outside and enjoy this beautiful weather! Putting some extra steps in and grabbing some Vitamin D from the sun can lower your blood pressure, boost your mood, and relieve some of your stress.
I want to suggest that you encourage your Tiger to keep wearing their mask and washing their hands to prevent virus spread.
“Be Kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – the Dalai Lama
Counselor Corner
Monthly Character Trait: Individuality is discovering who you are meant to be.
Before you can lead someone where they need to go, you need to know where they are.
That’s why it helps to understand what’s changing...physically, mentally, relationally, culturally, emotionally, and morally.
The more you know them, the more they will...
• Know they matter.
• Believe they can win.
• Feel like they belong.
• Decide what they should do.
Remember, if you don’t know who you are talking to, you can’t really expect them to listen.
So don’t miss it. The better you understand who your kids are now, the better they’ll understand who they’re meant to be.
What’s happening in Large Group?
Musical Magic
Hello Kirk Mighty Tigers!
We have gotten off to a great start in Music. We are establishing our routines and applying them as needed. In the month of October, all students will be focusing on the steady beat, of course at different levels. So get ready for the “Beat” and hold onto your seats, we will be keeping a steady beat in Music.
Ms. Craig
PE
Hey Tigers,
I can’t believe it’s already been 6 weeks since we’ve started the new adventure. We got off to an amazing start, remembered our daily class routines and played lots of new and fun games. I love and am really impressed by everyone’s participation and can not be more excited for a new month. We will continue our throwing and catching unit and hopefully the weather will be on our side to do some outside activities. Let’s keep this going and get stronger and stay healthy by moving and practicing good hygiene!
Coach Mati
Art
Hey Mighty Tigers,
Art class has been amazing so far, and I can't wait to see your smiling faces create more artwork! In the month of October we will introduce two artists, Henri Matisse and his amazing paper artwork. Along with Frida Khalo and her breathtaking self portraits towards the end of the month. Get ready to learn and create!
Ms. Pacheco
PTO Corner
We are so excited about this year and getting back into the groove supporting all of our Tigers. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to join PTO today by visiting http://kirkpto.square.site
We hope to see you at the Ice Cream Social on October 05 from 6:30pm - 7:30pm in the Kirk cafeteria.
We will be hosting our 2nd annual Color Run as our fundraiser this year. Kick off will be on October 18th with the students and donations will be collected until October 28th. Students will participate in the Color Run during large group time on October 28th.