CANNON TIMES
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2018-2019
Principal Points - Week of December 3, 2018
The holiday season always brings a whirlwind of activity and this year is no exception! Monday marks the first day of December and somehow, time has already seemed to go into overdrive almost instantly!!
If you have never attended the Grapevine Parade of Lights before, you should consider coming out to Main Street on Thursday night for a beautiful evening of celebration and community! Our Cannon Dad's Club has been busy planning our school float for this year's theme, Holiday Magic On Main, and it is going to be incredible!! We are talking some SERIOUS DAD DESIGNING & BUILDING HERE folks...it's Frosty the Snowman themed, with a specially engineered snowman hat that opens and closes - what else would you expect from a bunch of STEM school dads after all?? Click here to listen to this professional recording that will be blasting from our Cannon float as it travels down Main Street filled with Cannon Cubs (and principals)!
Also, just in case you need MORE motivation to get you in the holiday spirit, be sure to check out the information in this newsletter about the 2018 Staff Holiday Calendar of fun activities that begin on 12/3; Santa Shop from 12/12-12/15; the GMS Holiday Concert @ Cannon on 12/14, the Holiday Pancake Breakfast with the Cannon choir & pictures with Santa on 12/15, and our FUN Cannon Staff Holiday Celebration that we CANNOT wait to experience with you and a guest on 12/17!! We wanted our staff celebration to be really special this year and we are excited about having spouses/dates/other adult guests join us, so that they can experience the joy of celebrating each of YOU and also enjoy checking out your beautiful new workplace!
Of course there will be LOTS of additional holiday happenings during the last week of school as our Cannon Choir goes on a holiday tour to perform for others in the community and then performs for us on 12/20! Our Cannon Kinder dads will enjoy a fun morning of Candy House Engineering on 12/20 and we will wrap up the year by celebrating at our campus holiday sing-along and holiday parties on 12/21!
Please remember to keep smiling and have FUN with your scholars during this busy time! Why not focus your Circle Up time on topics such as "What brings you joy?" or "What is something kind you have done for someone else recently?" or "What is something kind someone else has done for YOU recently?" or "What are some emotions you feel during the holiday season?" Try starting these Circle Up conversations by sharing your own examples of what brings YOU joy, how YOU are striving to do kind things for others and noticing what kind acts others do for YOU, as well as acknowledging that while the holidays are an exciting time and you feel "happy", let your scholars also hear if the holidays make you feel"stressed", "sad", or "lonely" because you miss being with family that lives far away, or whatever other reasons (which are appropriate to share of course!). By allowing your students to get a glimpse of how you personally respond to these topics, it can help students understand that while this can be a season of fun for many, it also may also represent a season of stress or sadness for others. It will also demonstrate to your scholars that we can choose an attitude of kindness, grace & gratitude, despite any challenges that may seem overwhelming during this time of year.
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
#BeCannonProud
Let's get into the holiday spirit by celebrating the 15 DAYS OF CANNON CHEER! Be sure to check the calendar below and links embedded to see the holiday fun that is planned for each day!
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Lisa's Coaching Corner
This week several teachers have shared with me about some students that seem to be helpless when it comes to identifying their needs and advocating for themselves. The students seem "helpless" and dependent on someone seeing they have a need. This made a connection for me with student voice, Dr. Ryan's superintendent goal.
Why are students helpless? Some possible reasons are:
- parents advocate for them instead of allowing them to advocate for themselves
- the student may NOT know how to communicate their need
- overwhelm with school or home
- the student may NOT know what they need
- lack of relationship with peers/teachers
This Self-Awareness Worksheet for Kids has some key topics that would be a great way to generate conversation in Circle Up. I think they are all powerful, however, some of them you may introduce the topic and then have students respond privately to you in an EXIT ticket. This would give you the insight of their ability to identify strengths, weaknesses, and preferences in requesting help.
It is also very telling when a student cannot identify some of these because they possibly lack self-awareness. If this weakness shows up, then as you see "helpless/shut down" situations, you can support them by explicitly modeling with "sentence starters" to help build up their confidence of articulating their needs or conversations to help them process. Ron L. Clark, Jr. is an educator who has worked with disadvantaged students in rural North Carolina and New York City and founded the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia actually requires students to memorize scripts to advocate for themselves.
I would love to hear ways you are supporting students in self-awareness and advocating for themselves so I can share them. Thank you for all you do for our scholars!! #BeCannonProud
LB
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DATES TO REMEMBER
12/03-12/07 Hour of Code Week
12/03 Lunch with Dr. Ryan - in Teacher Break Room during all grade level lunches! Please plan to drop by to say hello!
12/04 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
12/05 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:15-3:45
12/06 Huckabee Architects filming on campus - interviews with staff & students! See information in this newsletter.
12/06 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45
12/06 Grapevine Parade of Lights - come cheer for our awesome Cannon Dad's Club float!
12/08 FLL Robotics Tournament @ HMS - Good Luck Team Mission Impossibots!
12/12-12/15 Santa Shop is open for business - Volunteer Room & lobby
12/11 Spelling Bee - 8:30 am - cafeteria 4th & 5th graders will attend
12/11 PLC Week A - 3rd grade 2:15-3:45
12/12 PLC Week A - 4th grade 2:15-3:45
12/13 Staff Potluck Lunch - Hosted by Instructional Specialists & Sped team
12/13 PLC Week A - 5th grade 2:15-3:45
12/14 Kid's Choice Prize Day for students who qualified through PTA Read-A-Thon!
12/14 GMS Choir/Band Holiday Tour - 9:30 am -1st-5th - gym
12/15 Breakfast with Santa - Hosted by PTA - 9:00-11:00 cafeteria
12/17 Cannon Staff Holiday Celebration - see invitation/information in this newsletter!!
12/18 Lunch & Limo Day for students who qualified through PTA Read-A-Thon!
12/18 Fire Drill - 8:30 am
12/18 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
12/19 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:15-3:45
12/20 Candy Houses with Kinder Dads - cafeteria 8:00-10:00
12/20 Cannon Cubs Choir Tour - 8:00-11:15
12/20 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45
12/20 Cannon Cubs Choir concert - 2:15 (K-5) & 6:00 pm - parents
12/20 Cubs Night Out @ CiCi's Pizza
12/21 Campus-wide singalong & holiday parties
12/21 Early Release - 11:45 am
12/14-01/04 Winter Holiday Break
01/07 Teacher Work Day - student holiday
01/18 Students return to school!
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GOOD LUCK TO THE CANNON MISSION IMPOSSIBOTS!!
There will be 36 teams from the mid-cities area competing at this tournament and the students range in age from 4th-8th grade. Cannon is the only GCISD elementary campus that will have a team participating. Other GCISD teams include GMS, CMS, and CTMS!
Be sure to follow @canSTEM Twitter and Cannon's Facebook page on Saturday for updates on how our team performs! BEST OF LUCK Mission Impossibots and THANK YOU Julee & Chelsea!! Also, BIG thanks to Julie Brenegan for all of her hard work to plan and organize this district event. We appreciate your hard work!!
EXCITING BABY NEWS!!
REMINDERS & UPDATES
HUCKABEE ARCHITECT FILMING DAY IS THURSDAY! Our wonderful architecture firm will be on campus on Thursday doing some photography, filming, and interviewing! I am still waiting to receive some specific details about how many staff/students will be needed, but as soon as I receive that information, I will be reaching out to some staff to recommend students and to ask for your help and willingness to be photographed or interviewed! Videographers/photographers will be trying to get some footage in locations across campus, so please make students aware that this will be going on at campus from 9:00-12:00 on Thursday and remind them to be on their best behavior, so that they can represent our beautiful new campus well!
WANTED: CANNON TEACHERS TO PRESENT! Our Cannon staff has SO much to share with others about STEM learning! We would LOVE for as many of our teachers as possible to present at the upcoming Mini-CAST conference! Not sure what to present on or how to write a presentation proposal? No problem! Julie B. & Lisa are happy to help brainstorm and help with this process! Presentation proposals are now being accepted at www.dfwminicast.org/proposals.html. Note that there are a variety of presentation options this year, ranging from the traditional workshop to TED-style talks. See the proposal form for more details! **Presentations that are accepted receive complimentary registration to Mini-CAST for up to two presenters.** Tona will pay registrations for other presenters as well! :)
PHISHING EMAILS - BEWARE! Over the last two days, GCISD has started to see a large number of fake emails being sent to our staff. These emails impersonate staff members that you already know. One of our Cannon staff members received a fake email from another GCISD principal and it was bizarre AND confusing!! Please take a moment to review this quick video to help you understand what to look for http://gcisdtv.gcisd.net/gcisd-technology-servicest/features/L4vfd7ikzsJ618vI8FVv . When in doubt hit the phishing (orange hook) in your email or just delete the email altogether!
EDUCATION FOUNDATION GIVING DRIVE was the month of October which was our craziest month so far this year and due to the craziness, we only have 51% of our staff that turned in their donation forms. For the past 5 years, we have had 100% participation. I know it most likely slipped your mind - I completely forgot to turn my form in and just gave it to Mandy last week!! Mandy has placed new copies of the Education Foundation forms in your box. You can donate using cash, credit, or check. Remember that your contribution can be as little as $1 to as much as you want. We really want to get to 100% because our campus has been the recipient of SO many Education Foundation grants and it's important to support this wonderful organization and give back!! Please turn in by Friday, December 7th!
GO RED- GCISD HEART CHALLENGE! It's time to kick-off the Go Red District Heart Challenge! Please mark your calendars with a reminder to GO RED on Friday, February 1st! Donating is easy! From your phone, simply text DHCGRAPEVINE to 41444, or CLICK HERE to order online. Shirts must be ordered by Thursday, January 10th to receive them in time for National Wear RED Day. Everyone that donates to receive this year’s shirt can wear jeans with their 2019 Go Red shirt every Wednesday in February!
IT'S TIME FOR HOUR OF CODE!!
It's finally Hour of Code week and we are SO excited to see what exciting coding activities you have planned!! As a STEM school, the expectation is for 100% of our staff and students to be part of this global movement to promote, demystify, and celebrate coding during Computer Science Education Week. Coding nurtures problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity. Be a creator instead of just a consumer! Check out these great resources provided here by GCISD: http://bit.ly/hocgcisd
On Tuesday, our friends from GMS will be on campus working with ALL of our Cannon Cubs on some great coding experiences. Coach Hodges from GMS is preparing his computer science class for partnership lessons. This year will look a bit different as every classroom will have the opportunity to partner. He is trying out a new strategy of training individual groups of students to specialize and develop lessons for specific grade levels. We are hoping that a lower concentration of students with specialized knowledge in each classroom will help the lessons be more impactful. However, this means that we need each teacher to be fully engaged and ready to assist the GMS student teacher. Please plan to formally welcome them to your classroom upon arrival and have a quick side conversation letting them know any important classroom expectations that you have for your class, etc. Then follow up by enforcing the expected behaviors so that your GMS student can focus on teaching the lesson. It is critical that teachers stay engaged and model how to drive curiosity when appropriate. GMS students look like small adults, but they are big kids that are wanting to do their best...they need a safe, structured environment to take their first leadership steps in your classroom. Please see the schedule below.
December 6th
9:00-9:30
Kindergarten - Getting Loopy Dance Lesson
**Students will need room to dance in your classroom!
5 GMS Students - 1 per classroom
https://code.org/curriculum/course1/12/Teacher
https://studio.code.org/s/course1/stage/12/puzzle/1
9:00 - 9:30
1st Grade - Code the GMS Robot
5 GMS Students - 1 per classroom
(GMS students are creating this lesson)
9:00 - 9:30
2nd Grade - Code the GMS Robot
5 GMS Students - 1 per classroom
(GMS students are creating this lesson)
9:00 - 9:30
3rd Grade - Code the Drone (Similar to the drone lesson I did with 3rd grade last year) 1 drone per class.
5 GMS Students - 1 per classroom
**Please have your students download the blue Tynker app before this lesson!
10:00 - 11:00
4th Grade - Stop Motion
10 GMS Students - 2 per classroom
Link to the tutorial needed for the lesson:
https://about.vidcode.com/beyond-hoc
10:05 - 11:00
5th Grade - Stop Motion
10 GMS Students - 2 per classroom
Link to the tutorial needed for the lesson:
https://about.vidcode.com/beyond-hoc
Please let Julee know if there is anything else she can help you with for Hour of Code week!
BOOK OF THE MONTH NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
DECEMBER CANNON KINDNESS CHALLENGE!
Help us promote KINDNESS at Cannon all month long!! Below is an image of a Kindness Challenge Calendar for our Cubs to use for ideas on ways to do an act of kindness each day of the month! Click here for a PDF version of this challenge and share it with your students.
We are doing many things throughout the month to promote acts of kindness for all of our Cubs, including our annual campus-wide community service project! It is so awesome to see how our Cubs have embraced our Soles 4 Souls challenge to collect 500 pairs of shoes for someone in need! Thank you for your support of this project!
DON'T PASS IT UP, PICK IT UP!
Our new school motto is Don't Pass It Up, Pick It Up! Please join me in this challenge to model the act of picking up any trash you may encounter on the floor when you are walking through school AND to recognize students you notice doing this too! I have some special stickers I would like to share with any students you notice are consistently working hard to help keep our school tidy & clean. Please add their name to this list by completing this form for each student and I will make sure that they get a sticker to show that their principal is PROUD of them!
WIN $1,000 FOR YOUR CLASSROOM!!
All GCISD teachers who have student with projects selected will be invited to attend a luncheon with their principal and will be awarded a $1,000 grant! Let's make sure Cannon is represented this year!!
- Have your students write or draw a one-page idea of what he/she thinks the teacher could do for the students with the $1,000 grant.
- The teacher is to select the one from his/her class that he/she thinks best expresses a good use of the grant; the selections must be submitted to the Education Foundation Office by Friday, January 11, 2019.
- The Education Foundation will deliver the teachers' selections to Schroeder Orthodontics for selection of the five winners.
- The winners will be announced with check presentations to the teachers at the annual GCISD Council of PTAs Founder's Day luncheon and program, Thursday, February 21, 2019. The winners will be the guests of the Education Foundation.
There are no rules as to how the one-page drawing or writing should be done so be creative! Please make sure that your students have their name, grade, teacher's name and school's name on the submission.
Through the Education Foundation, Dr. Schroeder is providing an exciting opportunity for additional support for our teachers. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sue Franks at sue.franks@gcisd.net
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Worth A Read, Watch or...Listen!!
SPOT THE STATION Did you know that you can receive email or text alerts when the International Space Station is going to fly over your neighborhood? NASA's Spot the Station site has all the information that you need as well as the link to sign up. I checked it out for my neighborhood and there are 5 opportunities between now and 12/15 in my area!! This is a great way for students to feel a connection to the ISS!!
HOW STARBUCKS COULD SAVE EDUCATION is a great Tedx Talk that is worth a watch!
Monica Genta shares some awesome ideas that she uses in her own classroom to engage students in such unique ways, including the use of magic eight balls, pitch pipes, camaraderie, communication, and compassion!
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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION CORNER
STUDENT VOICE INITIATIVE
ALL STAFF RECENTLY RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING EMAIL FROM DR. NEWELL. Please make sure you have read the following information and completed the requested form by 12/15.
Colleagues,
One of the GCISD goals for 2018-19 is that every teacher in the district will utilize "student voice" as a tool to increase learning. The implementation of this goal can take many forms. Essentially, the expectation is that students are asked about their learning experience, their thoughts on school, and their needs. Teachers are expected to listen and respond in whatever way is appropriate to the views expressed. Research is clear about this: students who feel their perspectives are valued by teachers will invest more in their learning.
In order to collect the great examples of "student voice" that are being implemented as we meet this goal, all teachers need to complete this form by December 15th to share the way they have decided to meet this goal in their work with students. Every campus will spend some time in the next few weeks to help teachers determine what the GCISD Student Voice initiative might look like in each teacher's setting. Throughout the spring semester, examples will be shared with staff to spotlight how this goal is being met and ideas for how teachers can deepen their implementation to improve learning. Additionally, students across GCISD will be asked to let us know if they have had an opportunity to share their voice. These student surveys in February and May will serve as a very authentic report on progress toward our goal.
Additional information about the Voice initiative (including sample survey questions, vignettes of voice in GCISD, and a variety of articles and support resources) can be found on this website. For further support, please contact your campus learning liaison or complete a support request (available at the link on the Student Voice website).
Science Blog and Curriculum Map Information
If you teach science, please take some time to read the GCISD Science blog and watch the screencast explaining our newly designed elementary science curriculum map. Please subscribe to the blog in order to stay up to date!
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INFORMATION TO SHARE IN PARENT NEWSLETTERS
Parent Technology Academy
GCISD Parent Technology Academy is BACK! Sessions are scheduled monthly with more to come! Come and learn along with others about the ever-changing world of technology in which your children are living!
Sessions can be found on the Parent Technology Academy Webpage
Have a question about GCISD Parent Tech Academy or like to request a presentation? Let us know just email kyle.berger@gcisd.net
Please include this image in your parent communications about our new safety app
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TWITTER REMINDERS FOR @canSTEM
BIG thanks to all of our staff members that have already been actively tweeting about the great learning going on in your classrooms!
Please help us reach our campus goal for all staff to participate in a 5-minute a day communication plan, as stated in George Couros's quote shown here. It's truly a simple way to SHARE & LEARN from the best minds in GCISD! I am going to be highlighting our school twitter account HEAVILY with parents & our school community, to help create our own "outward culture of celebration"!!
As a reminder, please include our school's handle, @canSTEM, and our hashtag, #BeCannonProud in all of your tweets, so that they can be automatically retweeted on our school account. At the end of the day, simply go to @canSTEM and scroll through our school's tweets for 5 minutes and see what your colleagues are sharing! If you want to learn more from them about an idea they shared....you will only have to walk across the building to get more information firsthand!
Please click here to see our staff list of social media accounts. Please add/update any information so that we can make sure we follow each other!
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TO-DO LIST
- Set a timer and complete daily attendance ON TIME every day!
- Please stop by the Teacher Break Room on Monday during your conference time to say hello to Dr. Ryan and visit with him! He is anxious to hear your feedback about the new campus!!
- Check out the 15 Days to Holiday Cheer staff calendar and participate in the daily fun activities!
- Continue to promote our campus community service project, to your scholars!
- Don't forget to RSVP for you and your special guest to our Staff Holiday Celebration!
- Check out the Book of the Month for November/December, share the book with your students and encourage them to participate in this fun design challenge!
- Don't forget that Thursday is Huckabee filming & interviewing day at Cannon!
- Consider presenting at Mini-CAST - the world needs your brilliance!
- Make plans to attend the Grapevine Parade of Lights on Thursday @ 7:00 pm. Cheer loudly for our awesome Cannon float!!
- Be sure to wish our Cannon FLL Robotics team & coaches GOOD LUCK in their competition on Saturday, December 8th!!
- Remind students to act responsibly at lunch and clean up their space!! Also remind students to pick up paper towels in the bathroom areas if they see them on the floor. Don't Pass It Up, Pick It Up is our new motto - use the link in this newsletter to nominate students to receive a special sticker from Tona in recognition for helping keep our school clean!
- Read information in Curriculum & Instruction section of this newsletter about Student Initiative from Dr. Newell. Complete the required survey by 12/15.
- Check out the latest Learning Letter, the November issue of the C & I newsletter.
- Encourage your students to participate in the Dr. Schroeder & Grapevine-Colleyville Education Foundation grant program and win $1,000 for your classroom!
- See the Information To Share With Parents section of this newsletter for communication about campus events & other district news that needs to be included in your own newsletters, blogs, etc...
- Please click here to see our staff list of social media accounts. Please add/update any information so that we can make sure we follow each other!
- Review the information in this newsletter about the 5-minute a day communication plan. Tweet & blog about all of the great things you are doing in your classroom/grade! Don't forget to use @canSTEM and our hashtag #BeCannonProud this year in all of your tweets!