CANNON TIMES
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2018-2019
Principal Points- Week of April 8, 2019
This week, we will begin our first round of STAAR testing for the year. Please be sure to review the reminders for ALL staff on Tuesday & Wednesday which are included in this newsletter.
Although STAAR testing is our current reality, one of GCISD's current legislative priorities is centered on the topic of state-mandated assessments because the STAAR test is truly just a measurement of relative performance, rather than academic progress. Most results of STAAR assessments are communicated well after the school year ends, so the STAAR test is frequently regarded as an "autopsy", rather than a diagnostic tool, thus it falls short in its ability to inform parents and teachers about student progress. Most importantly, the majority of Texas public school educators do not subscribe to the opinion that a single test, administered on a single day, can accurately assess the vast knowledge and skills of our students. Please continue to stay informed about bills that are introduced and passed during this legislative session that impact requirements for state assessments and many other topics that directly affect us and our students.
In this week's parent newsletter, I shared a message with our Cannon parents to communicate about the limitations of the STAAR test, our campus beliefs about how student growth is measured, and our goals and dreams for the success of every child. I believe that it is critical for our parents to understand that STAAR scores represent a single measure of our student's knowledge & skills and that at Cannon, we focus on utilizing multiple measures throughout the year, to assess student growth & progress. Our parents need to understand that our mission statement at Cannon is not just an "fluffy" statement that is posted on our website, but that we truly believe that this statement represents our core belief, which is that if we can truly teach our students how to "think'", they will develop into the type of student described in our mission statement and who will be successful in life.
So....STAAR is our current reality and it very evident that our Cannon educators work tirelessly to ensure that our scholars are prepared to be successful learners, and as a result, they are are also prepared to do well on these assessments. Please don't forget to encourage our 4th & 5th & Special Education teachers with positive acknowledgements, hugs, & high-fives this week - as this can be a VERY stressful time for all of them!
Our Cannon scholars are so incredibly lucky to have such amazing and dedicated teachers, that have helped them build the foundation for success on these exams and beyond!
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
#BeCannonProud
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Lisa's Coaching Corner
f you're looking for new ideas for science lessons or need some help with the hands-on labs, check out the new content added to Nearpod.
Remember the following expectations from the Science CIEs for inquiry/lab investigations (hands-on):
K-1: 80% percent of the time
2-3: 60% percent of the time
4-5: 50% percent of the time
The science department said that there are new science simulations that have most recently been added for elementary. Just search PhET for the simulated science elementary lessons in K-2 and 3-5. (See screenshot below) Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of further assistance. LB
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DATES TO REMEMBER
04/08 STEM Leadership 3:00 in PLC room
04/09 STAAR Testing - 4th Writing/5th Math
04/09 PLC Week A - 3rd grade 2:15-3:45
04/10 STAAR Testing - 5th Reading
04/10 PLC Week A - 4th grade 2:15-3:45
04/11 PLC Week A - 5th grade 2:15-3:45
04/12 5th Grade College Day
04/16 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
04/16 Cubs Night Out @ Spring Creek BBQ 5:00-9:00
04/17 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:15-3:45
04/17 NTX School Board Association Meeting @ Cannon 4:00-8:00 pm
04/18 GCISD Community Showcase @ Cannon 8:30-9:30 am - Learning Commons
04/18 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45
04/18 District Excellence Committee Meeting @ Cannon 6:00-7:30 pm Learning Commons
04/19 Bad Weather Make-up Day - No School!
04/22 Bad Weather Make-up Day - No School!
04/23-25 Kindergarten Registration
04/23 PLC Week A - 3rd grade 2:15-3:45
04/23 Kindergarten Meet & Greet - 4:00-6:00 pm
04/24 Principal Instructional Rounds @ Cannon
04/24 PLC Week A - 4th grade 2:15-3:45
04/25 Community Champions @ Cannon 8:30-10:00 - Learning Commons
04/25 3rd grade field trip to UTA Planetarium - 9:00-2:00
04/25 PLC Week A - 5th grade 2:15-3:45
04/25 Cubs Night Out @ Cici's Pizza
04/27 Rachel's Challenge Rally @ CHHS 9:00-11:00 am
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STAAR TESTING DATES
STAAR testing begins SOON! ALL staff needs to make sure these dates are on your calendar.
- 4th Grade Writing (Tuesday, April 9)
- 5th Grade Math (Tuesday, April 9)
- 5th Grade Reading (Wednesday, April 10)
OTHER STAAR TESTING DATES FOR THIS SPRING;
May 13th - 3rd & 4th Math STAAR (5th Math retakes)
May 14th - 3rd & 4th Reading STAAR (5th Reading retakes)
May 15th - 5th Science STAAR
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CONGRATULATIONS CORNER!!
WELCOME AMERICA FOSTER!
America graduated from the University of Alabama in December with her degree in elementary education. During her interview, America shared some incredibly insightful experiences she has had, growing up as a bilingual student herself, as well as from some outstanding student teaching experiences. One of my favorite comments from her interview is when she stated, "I'll never forget when I realized, as a student myself, that EDUCATION means POWER and how I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and help other students realize this too."
America is in the process of getting her educator certification in Texas worked out and is looking forward to being part of our team for the remainder of the year. She stated, "I am so excited to be working at Cannon with you all. Everyone I have met in Texas has been so welcoming and I can't wait to use my passion for education to connect with the Cannon students and staff, as well as the families of the community." Please help us make America feel welcome to our team!
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REMINDERS AND UPDATES
STAAR REMINDERS FOR THIS WEEK!
- CHANGE IN SPECIALS SCHEDULE ON TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY - see images below
- HALLWAY NOISE - as you all know, our beautiful new hallways can be LOUD! Please help us maintain a quiet testing setting on these days by ensuring students are not talking while in the hallways or common areas. Sound travels with those concrete floors!
- BATHROOM USE in 4th & 5th grade areas will be monitored during testing, but please limit student restroom breaks downstairs to whole class breaks with your students to help keep hallways quiet.
- TESTING ROOMS ALL OVER THE BUILDING - In addition to 4th & 5th grade classrooms, students are testing in small groups in the following locations: PLC room; 3rd/4th Multi-purpose; BLIT (Speer); 4th & 5th TPA; Sped (Marlow & Reta); GT (Gable); Makerspace
- DO NOT SEND STUDENTS TO MAKERSPACE OR LEARNING COMMONS ON TESTING DAYS
- NO PARENTS FOR LUNCH OR PARENT VOLUNTEERS ON TESTING DAYS - ALL GRADES
Training Opportunities For Seesaw for Schools
All K-4th grade teachers should now have access to the premium features of Seesaw for Schools. If you have been using the premium version this year, you should not notice any changes. If you are currently using the free version, you should now have access to the premium features. In addition to discussing it in your upcoming instructional technology PLCs, the instructional technology coaches are offering the following learning opportunities:
June 3, 12:30 - 3:30
Seesaw K-4 - Register in Eduphoria here
June 5, 8:30-11:30
Seesaw K-4 - Register in Eduphoria here
T-TESS End-of Year Conferences
PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING FORM AT LEAST 3 DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR SUMMATIVE CONFERENCE AND INCLUDE ALL DOCUMENTATION & EVIDENCES AS REQUESTED.
STUDENT VOICE SURVEY RESULTS
Click here to see Kindergarten-1st grade results
Click here to see 2nd-4th grade results
Click here to see 5th grade results
COMPLETE THIS STUDENT VOICE DATA REFLECTION FORM - ONE FORM PER GRADE LEVEL
Please complete and submit by April 15th.
RECOGNITION FOR OUR AWESOME PARENT VOLUNTEERS!
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES - HOW TO STAY CURRENT
BIG thanks to Deena Crawford for putting together this slideshow which provides information on how to:
- find out who your representatives are
- stay aware of current topics
- make contact with your representatives in order to share your voice
- register to vote & find out where to vote in upcoming elections
Postcards will be placed in all staff mailboxes this week, so that after you review the information in this slideshow and identify which representative you want to share your message with, you can use this postcard as one quick method to ensure your voice has been heard. After you write your postcard, please return it to Tona's mailbox. These must be received by April 8th and they will be hand-delivered by a GCISD representative to Austin!
Finally, remember that our local elections are coming up soon and:
You MUST be registered by April 4th
Early Voting is April 22-April 30
Election Day is May 4, 2019
FROM THE MAKERSPACE
Our Makerspace was bustling with activity last week! Third grade scholars were engaged in a financial literacy unit where they were designing and making marketable t-shirts. Students from every grade level were fluidly accessing the tools and materials for both specific design challenges and self-driven creativity projects. Our FLL team met to build leadership skills. A watchdog volunteered to put together a cart that will soon be accessible to all scholars in the Makerspace. Teachers also used the Makerspace to learn about our STEM Family Backpacks and then give feedback on the process and materials. Our scholars are so lucky to have teachers who are dedicated to the vision of a flexible, fluid learning environment that promotes self-regulated learning, as well as supports the development of other critical affective objectives.
Happy making!
REMINDERS FROM THE LEARNING COMMONS
Mrs. Wagner will be gone the following days for PLC, Conferences, STAAR etc. Do not schedule a library lesson on these days:
- March 28
- April 9,10
- April 15, 16, 17, 18
- There will be no library lessons in May
- Deadline to finish the GCISD Reads challenge is May 1- celebration dates coming soon!
- All library books are due May 17
THE GCISD READS CHALLENGE is in its last few weeks! I am so pleased with the number of students who have taken the challenge to heart and internalized reading as a part of their lives. As the May 1 deadline approaches there are a few things you can do to encourage students to finish without degrading the integrity of the challenge.
- If students have not been keeping regular track of their reading, spend some time together, as a class, making a list of what you have read or listened to in class. Then add up the pages (reasonable estimates by an adult are fine) and allow students to fill in the chart for that many pages.
- Encourage students to think back and make lists of book titles they've read on their own this year. Then they can sit with an adult to add up or estimate the number of pages and fill out their chart to reflect that total.
- Send these tips to parents in an email or newsletter explaining this process and asking for parent signatures on reading logs as we get close to the deadline.
There needs to be a direct connection from the book to the recording sheet so students take ownership in the fact that they have, indeed, read that many pages. It totally defeats the purpose to tell them we know they've been reading so just color in the recording sheet and turn it in. I have tried to keep the challenge on their minds all year by putting names of finishers on the announcements each week and making prize patrol visits to classrooms.
If students reflect on their reading now and have a fairly accurate and honest total of their reading so far, they will then have the rest of this month to read and add to their recording sheet to finish the challenge. They will feel so proud of themselves on their accomplishment and will know they deserve to be identified as a GCISD Reads Finisher! If they don't finish the challenge they are not in trouble at all. It is not a negative reflection on the student or the teacher. It just gives them something to work toward next year.
Thank you so much for partnering with me to make reading a daily part of students' lives!
MARCH/APRIL BOOK OF THE MONTH
We are SO excited about this month's Book of the Month! This nonfiction book follows an elementary school in New Mexico for an entire calendar year as they plan, plant, tend, and harvest their school garden.
As part of this month's design challenge, our Cannon scholars will be challenged to help us plan our new Cannon Garden! Each grade level is assigned 3 hexagon shaped raised planters to plant and take care of in the Cannon garden area. Scholars will research plants that grow in our area and select a theme for their garden plan, then they will create a diagram of how they will be arranged in the garden beds and submit their ideas! We will be selecting the best ideas and using those ideas to get our garden started!
Check out all of the design challenge criteria and details in the Book of the Month S'more below and please share the Adobe Spark video with your Cubs so that they understand all of the details of this month's design challenge. Thank you for encouraging your Cubs to participate!
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Worth A Read, Watch or...Listen!!
60 WAYS TO USE GOOGLE MYMAPS IN ANY CONTENT AREA Maps are a great way to hook your students. Creating customizable maps that allow you to track places that are relevant to your topic is even more engaging.
THIS TEACHER'S LETTER TO HER STUDENTS is a great example of how important it is to remember that "testing season" can create anxiety for our scholars and how reminders to them (see image below) that standardized testing doesn't define them can make a HUGE difference for them on testing days.
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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION CORNER
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INFORMATION TO SHARE IN PARENT NEWSLETTERS
Student Transfers
Applications for the Student Transfer Lottery will begin Monday, April 8th at 10:00 am until Friday, May 3rd at midnight. Check the Transfer Information page on the district website for information and the link to apply. The actual lottery will take place on Friday, May 10th.
Kindergarten Registration 2019-2020
Do you have a friend or neighbor who has a Kindergarten student that will attend Cannon next year?
Please help us spread the word that Kindergarten Registration for 2019-2020 will be held throughout the week of April 23rd-26th! We will have a special Kindergarten Meet & Greet on Tuesday, April 23rd from 4:00-6:00 pm, when incoming students can meet the Kinder teachers & do an activity in a Kinder classroom. Registration for Kinder can be completed between 8:00-2:00, 4/23 - 4/26.
Thanks for helping us round up our incoming Cubs!
CAREER DAY 2019
We are looking for individuals to come present at our Career Day for all students K-5 on Monday, May 20th. Our hope is for students to gain knowledge about possible careers/jobs and the college and/or experiences required to obtain these professions.
We would love for our guests to bring any hands on materials or pictures that will help the students better understand your job/career.
Please complete this survey to let us know if you are interested.
Contact Mandy Coburn, Cannon Counselor, if you have any questions. (817) 251-5684 or amanda.coburn@gcisd.net
IT'S YEARBOOK TIME!
RACHEL'S CHALLENGE RALLY!
GCISD will be hosting its annual Rachel’s Challenge Fun Run on Saturday, April 27th. It will be held at CHHS, from 9-11am and will have many vendors from the community to support healthy lifestyles. Please see link for more information.
Please remind your students to wear their Rachel’s Challenge T-Shirts every Monday in April! Hope to see you all on 4/27!
GOT OLD ELECTRONICS?
Do you have any small old, broken electronics gathering dust? We are collecting these for our Breaker Space and our 4th grade scholars also have a project coming up and could use your old electronics to explore!
Suggestions for small items to donate: (No items with GLASS screens please! )
- Electronic toys - we LOVE these!
- Keyboards
- Remotes
- Small appliances (hair dryers; coffee makers; toasters; styling tools, etc...
- Clocks
- Phones
- Smoke detectors; Flashlights; Tools
- We would love to learn from anything you might have!
Please drop these items off in the front office or send them to school with your students to be taken to the office. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!
Parent Technology Academy
Come and learn along with others about the ever-changing
world of technology in which your children are living!
Spring Parent Technology Academy Sessions
GCISD Technology is excited to announce our Spring Session line up with several new sessions. Stay tuned as more will be added to our list as we keep receiving the request from the community.
April 16th - Apps Parents Need to Know -SIGN UP HERE
Take part in this interactive discussion around the growing world of apps that students are using. Go being the scenes to hear the truth behind the apps and what dangers there are to those who use them
Virtual Session Coming Soon - Fortnite ( a Parents Guide ) - SIGN UP HERE
Many have asked some come and experience Fortnite for parents. Hear about details of the game and dive into parental settings for the various gaming systems students use to play online.
All sessions can be found on the Parent Technology Academy Webpage
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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!
- Be sure to read over all of the important reminders to STAAR testing days. Be sure to offer high fives/hugs to encourage all of our testing students AND teachers as you see them on Monday!
- Attend STEM Leadership at 3:05 on Monday.
- Review student voice survey data with your team & submit a team reflection form by April 15th.
- All staff evaluated by T-TESS needs to complete & submit the T-TESS Domain 4 & SLO document at least 5 days before your scheduled Summative Meeting date.
- Work with your grade level teams to ensure your grade level spaces reflect the awesome learning experiences you provide your scholars!
- Submit parent volunteer names for PTA recognition asap!
- Check out the slideshow shared by Deena to become informed about now to contact your representatives & current education topics in this legislative session. Use the postcard in your mailbox to share your voice & return to Tona by April 8th.
- Share BoM information with your Cubs & parents - encourage them to participate!
- Remind parents that we will have a closed campus on STAAR dates. No parents or guests for lunches or volunteering.
- Check out information in the new spring C&I newsletter!
- 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!