Notes for a New Week
September 11-15
Proud to be a Pirate!
Moving into this week, I am reminded of the "Pirate Culture" which people have believed in for many, many years. Last week, we started a change drive as part of a district initiative to support fellow Pirates in Aransas County ISD. We have been blown away by the participation of our students! Preliminary totals have three Houses with over $200 each; the others are not far from it. I am so thankful for your encouragement and communication about this event and the many ways Hurricane Harvey impacted fellow Texans. It is clear you are growing Pirates who care - which is one of the very best things we can help develop in our students!
When I made the decision to take a position with Lubbock-Cooper five years ago, I was choosing LCISD for my family. More than a job, I wanted to be part of the Pirate community and wanted my children to be part of something much greater than themselves. I wanted a network of parents and educators who would always love and protect my kids. What I got when I came to Lubbock-Cooper has been so much more than that! The way our Pirates are loving and supporting students across the state is just one more demonstration of the supportive community we are all blessed to be part of!
It is, indeed, a GREAT day to be a Pirate!
Love you all!
- Candice
Upcoming Events :)
September 13 - PK C3 Meeting (PM)
September 15 - 2nd Six Weeks Planning for Specialists
September 18 - 5th Grade C3 Meetings (ELAR in AM & Math in PM)
September 19 - 4th Grade C3 Meetings (ELAR in AM & Math in PM)
September 19 - Watch DOG Pizza Night (6:00 PM)
September 20 - 3rd Grade C3 Meetings (ELAR in AM & Math in PM)
September 21 - 2nd Six Weeks Planning for PK
September 21 - Fire Drill
September 21 - Third Grade Parent Meeting (6:00 PM)
September 21 - School Board Meeting at LBMS (7:00 PM)
September 22 - Central PTO Mother/Son Kickball Tournament
Book Drive To Support Traci Jimenez's Sister & Family
***Traci Jimenez's sister, Brandi, and her children recently lost everything in Hurricane Harvey. Please read the message from Traci below to see how you can help!***
Here is a little bit about my sister, Brandi and her family. They live in a community outside Beaumont. A little town called Sour Lake. Her neighborhood community is called Pinewood. The day of their first evacuation, they woke up and water was on the floor. A civilian boat came for them. She "packed" in a few trash bags and placed all her photos and albums as high as she could and they left. They would evacuate two more houses before finding safety.
She has three kids. Kaily, 14, Gabriel "Gabe", 9, and Thomas "LT" for little Thomas, 4. We got to see them here in Lubbock one week before this all happened. Her entire neighborhood ended up getting water to their ceilings. The only thing that survived at my sister's house was her Christmas decorations because they were being stored in her attic. She is crushed about the photos but my dad and I are taking care of that, making copies of all we have of her and her family.
As I mentioned earlier, I've been asking what they need/want. She hasn't asked for a thing except prayer. But then one day and I could tell it was weighing on her, she asked for books. She's like me...we love tangible books. :0)
Here are a few likes:
Kailey - Brandi started her collection of Dr. Seuss since she was a baby. Kailey may not read them now, but her brothers do. Kailey likes the Hunger Games series and Divergent series
Gabe - A series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket) series and Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
LT - anything really. David Shannon books (No, David and such) And the How do Dinosaurs...books.
Brandi - My sister is like me...Sci-Fi/Fantasy all the way. She loves Twilight and City of Bones and Beautiful Creatures. Things like that.
But specifics do not matter. These are things that they had and lost. My sister simply loves books and I don't think getting back exactly what she lost is most important to her. I know she will appreciate anything. I think the normalcy of pages between her fingers and in her children's hands is what she wants most of all.
Thank you for anything you can do.
**If you wish to donate a book for Brandi and her children, please drop it off with Traci Jimenez by Friday. Traci will be traveling this weekend to go check on her sister and take much-needed supplies. We hope to be able to send some love her way, too!***
Classroom Visits Begin!
Classroom Media Accounts
Sadie Alderson, our Director of Public Information, is asking for volunteers to allow her to be part of your Seesaw or Dojo classes. She has found that this is a great way to get pictures and information to post to our campus and/or district social media pages. This does not require any additional work on the part of the teacher. Sadie reports this was very successful last year and she was able to get some great info to post.
Please let me know if you are interested and I will pass your information along to Sadie.
Also, please remember to check the permissions in Skyward when using a DoJo or Seesaw portfolio for your students. Here is some reminder information from Sadie:
Just a reminder that teachers using SeeSaw, ClassDojo, and similar platforms can only publicly post photos of/information relating to students for whom we have "Public Information - School-Sponsored Purposes" permission for in Skyward. Teachers should not create their own "permission forms" for SeeSaw/Dojo, etc. We must enforce what is in Skyward, so a teacher-created permission form for this would not be effective.
If teachers have students in their class for whom we do not have permission for school-sponsored purposes, they can still send pictures/information through those platforms as long as it is viewable by that student's parents only. Another idea is for teachers (or the office) to simply explain to parents what "school-sponsored purposes" entails, and ask parents if that is really what they intended - often times, parents have selected "no" on school-sponsored purposes not realizing what that may include. If the parent wants to change that, we should encourage them to go back into Skyward and make those changes.
MAP Assessment - BOY Window
Remember:
Kindergarten - 2nd Graders are assessed in reading and math.
3rd - 5th Graders are assessed in reading, math, and science.
For the first time, ALL assessments for ALL grade levels can be administered on desktops, laptops, or on iPads!
If you want to take your students to the computer lab to assess them, you can visit this link to reserve a spot: https://docs.google.com/a/lcisd.net/spreadsheets/d/1niGRexwtLSs3sgKOr0TCNDUurkah4Hb-HOBNgj0Ki0M/edit?usp=sharing
If you reserved a spot but have decided to administer the assessment in your classroom instead of the lab, please release your reservation so that another teacher can reserve that spot. Also, if your students complete the assessment after one session, please delete the second reservation.
Please do not have students take more than one assessment per day. Also, remember to complete one assessment (reading, math, or science) before beginning another subject.
We want our students to understand that these assessments play an important role in the educational process - assisting you in adapting and individualizing instruction.
For the first time, reports will be sent home to parents following this assessment. Reports will be ready to print before Goals Day, so that teachers can review the data during those meetings.
PirateStrong T-Shirts & Jeans Week
As we notified you last week, Lubbock-Cooper ISD is hosting an initiative to raise funds for Aransas County ISD, a 4A district in Rockport which was forced to temporarily close its doors due to loss of power and water, damage to school buildings, and damage to classroom supplies and technology following the impact of Hurricane Harvey. Aransas County ISD students, staff, and community members are fellow Pirates.
As part of this initiative, we are selling Pirate Strong t-shirts! All proceeds from the shirts will be sent to Aransas County ISD to assist in their recovery efforts. There are two ways to order shirts: online or using a paper form.
ONLINE ORDERS
To order online, visit http://www.piratestrong4acisd.com/. Shirts ordered online will be available for pick-up from the Lubbock-Cooper Administration Office beginning September 20. When ordering a shirt, you will be asked to enter a shipping address, and a flat rate shipping fee will be added in to your total. If you do not want your t-shirt shipped, use the promo code LOCAL to remove the shipping cost. *Please note, the promo code cannot be used for free shipping, it is to be used for NO shipping. If you use the promo code, your order will not be shipped. Orders will close on Friday, September 15.
Staff members who purchase a shirt will be asked to wear their shirts on the Monday following delivery. Right now, we believe that date will be Monday, September 25. Should delivery occur later than anticipated, we will adjust the date. On that day, please stop in the office to receive a ribbon to wear for a jeans week pass good for the week of September 25-29.