CANNON TIMES
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2018-2019
Principal Points - Week of August 20th
Hi Cannon Staff!
What a HISTORIC start to our school year at Cannon Elementary: A GCISD STEM School! I love our very last staff photo in the entrance of our 1959 school building and can't wait to pair it with another staff photo in the entrance of our beautiful new school later in the year!
Speaking of historical moments, I had the amazing privilege to spend some time last week with Shirley Cannon Holley, daughter of W.F. Cannon, our school's namesake. She had gathered some incredible photos and other memorabilia to share with me of Mr. Cannon and his time spent as an educator and leader in the Grapevine community. He was truly a prolific and respected man, as he served as the superintendent of Grapevine ISD from 1938 to 1958. Mr. Cannon was the superintendent in Jermyn Texas, prior to serving in Grapevine. Shirley shared with me some original copies of recommendation letters written by school board members in the Jermyn ISD to the Grapevine school board, that spoke of Mr. Cannon's high levels of integrity, core values, and commitment to public education, that were used in their consideration of him for the Grapevine superintendent position.
I thought it was very fitting to share the document below with all of our staff, since it was a "welcome back" letter of sorts for all Jermyn educators, dated October 5, 1928 from their school board and Mr. Cannon, as he began his first year as superintendent in Jermyn. While some of the sentiments, such as "Each of you has been selected, from a number of applicants, because the Board believed you were especially fitted for the place" still ring true in current times, it is so interesting to read about some "other" expectations Mr. Cannon and his board of trustees held for district employees.
Each week, I will be including reminders about OUR expectations for staff, as well as providing information and updates through this newsletter, "Cannon Times". Please feel free to provide me with any suggestions or other feedback you have that will make this a useful communication tool for our school staff. I know that it can get lengthy and it requires some dedicated time to read through it, but if everyone commits to spending these few extra minutes each week to review this communication, we can avoid having unnecessary meetings, just to communicate information that can be sent through this newsletter instead.
The last two weeks have been filled with memorable moments as we engaged in building community, awesome professional learning, preparing our classrooms, and welcoming our scholars back for the 2018-2019 school year! HUGE thanks to all of you for your participation and contributions!! The teamwork and energy has been incredible!I
It is truly an honor and a privilege to serve with each of you, every day. Thank you for your love, dedication, and pride in our school, our scholars, and our purpose! Have a great first week of school! #BeCannonProud
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
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WELCOME NEW CANNON STAFF!
HOLLY ODUM will be serving as the long-term sub for Amanda Moore, as she is out for a few weeks recovering from her medical procedure. Holly has 11 years experience as a 2nd & 4th grade teacher, all in GCISD! Holly taught previously at BES, before staying home for a few years with her children. Her children currently attend Bransford, as does her husband Ted, who was hired this year as a 5th grade teacher there. We are so excited to welcome Holly to our campus team!
ROSA LEAL will be stepping in for Karissa Smith in Kindergarten until she returns from maternity leave on September 17th. We are so fortunate to have an amazing sub like Rosa who is always so willing to help out and can flexibly step into any grade level or classroom confidently and with ease! Thanks for being here to kick off the year with us Rosa!
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Lisa's Coaching Corner
This year is EPIC as we have the gift to mold what an educational experience will be at Cannon. Our staff has a gift of being reflective to change our teaching practice to meet the needs of our students...if you don't believe me look at our recent DATA!
Please take just 3 minutes to be inspired by watching this quick video because it aligns with our goals. I am so proud to be a part of the work done at our school and I look forward to walking the journey with you! Please let me know how I can help you this week as I am in and out of classrooms.
*Unforgettable learning experiences
*Students loving the fact they are in your class
*Focus on WONDER, DISCOVERY and EXPLORATION
Enjoy- LB
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DATES TO REMEMBER
8/20 First Day of School!
8/20 Boohoo or Yahoo Parent Breakfast in library 7:45 am
8/23 Fire & Reverse Evacuation Drills - 8:00 am
8/28 Lockdown Drill 2:00 pm
8/28 PLC Week A - 3rd Grade - 2:15 - 3:45
8/29 PLC Week A - 4th Grade - 2:15-3:45
8/30 Severe Weather Drill - 2:00 pm
8/30 PLC Week A - 5th Grade - 2:15-3:45
9/03 Student/Staff Holiday! No school
9/04 LEAD 2.0 Parent Focus Groups & Cannon - 8:00-10:00 in library
9/04 PLC Week B -Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
9/05 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:15-3:45
9/06 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45
9/06 Curriculum Night - K-2 (5:30-6:30) 3-5 (6:45-7:45)
9/07 PTA Back to School Family Picnic at Dove Park - 6:00 pm
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FIRST DAY REMINDERS!
The first day of school is such an exciting AND exhausting day!! Reviewing the following reminders will make sure your day goes as smoothly as possible!
- Arrive EARLY! Parking will be C-R-A-Z-Y and parents will be arriving early too!
- Be prepared for students & parents to start coming to classrooms by 7:30 on the first day! Thank you for being ready at your classroom door to welcome them to school! Have something ready for your students to work on, as soon as they get settled into their seat! Allow parents & students to have a couple of mushy goodbye moments together, take pics, etc... but as quickly as possible, don't hesitate to be bold and let parents know that time is up and it is time for school to start!
- Follow proper attendance procedures - All teachers will take attendance in Skyward the first day of school (not on paper copies). See Ashley's email reminder to staff. Our numbers must be EXACT. If there are any students who aren't listed in your gradebook at attendance time, please send Ashley an email with the student's name. Click here to review the Attendance Procedures for 2018-2019
- Follow grade level schedules closely! By arriving on time to drop off/pick up your students for specials; following grade level schedules for lunch; dismissal, etc... everyone will benefit! Teamwork!
- All hands on deck! This is critical for the first days of school! Until the chaos of the first few days of school settle down, please help us monitor the hallways before school, assist with arrival/dismissal, bus duty, etc... Thank YOU in advance!
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REMINDERS & UPDATES
T-TESS GOAL-SETTING FORMS NOW AVAILABLE - The goal setting form for T-TESS is now available for all staff in the new platform called PERFORM. As discussed in the refresher/initial T-TESS training, Anne & and I will be scheduling meetings with all grade levels/departments during conference times to teach everyone how to navigate this new system. We will be sending out calendar invitations soon to begin goal-setting conferences during the week of September 4th. We will complete these by September 21st. All staff is encouraged to start drafting your goals now so that you will be prepared to enter them quickly into Perform (after training) and for when your goal meeting arrives! Don't forget to utilize the T-TESS domain rubrics to set & target your goals! Click here to see who your appraiser will be for 2018-2019!
DUTY SCHEDULE We know that our great staff will want to help out the campus team this week with an "all hands on deck" attitude and we appreciate it! Click here for the rest of the year duty schedule created by Anne. Please remember that if you are unable to do your assigned duty for the day, it is your responsibility to make sure you have gotten it covered by another staff member. Thank you!!
Independence Day Effective Monday, August 27th, we will declare Independence Day at Cannon! This means that parents & other guests will no longer be allowed to escort their children to class after this date. They will be expected to drop off their children in the car line out front or walk them to the front entrances, but not go through the security doors. Please help us communicate this information to parents in your communication with parents!
OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR BENEFITS ENDS ON AUGUST 22, 2018. You must log on to THE benefits HUB at www.gcisdbenefits.com to elect or waive benefits from the convenience of your own home or from any computer. Should you need to speak with an enrollment counselor, please call the Financial Benefits Services Enrollment Call Center between the hours of 8-5pm at 469-385-4685. Bilingual counselors are also available. For comprehensive plan information, you can visit www.trsactivecareaetna.com. This website allows you to find a network doctor or medical facility, print temporary ID cards, find plan information and much more.
- Enrollment in August is MANDATORY. The US Government mandates that we secure medical elections/declination information from every employee. Your cooperation concerning this matter is appreciated.
**Attention New Hire Employees: You are able to enroll in the Benefits Hub on your start date. You will receive an email a day before your enrollment.
- To speak with an enrollment counselor in person, please go to: GCISD Admin Building Tejas Conference Room August 7-9 from 9:00 am-4:30 pm. or to the following campuses:
- August 15th: Heritage Elementary (D1 Lab) 1:00 pm-4:00 pm, Colleyville Elementary (Library) 1:00 pm-4:30 pm.
- August 16th Heritage Elementary (D1 Lab) 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, Colleyville Elementary (Computer Lab) 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, Bear Creek Elementary (D1 Lab) 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Cross Timbers Middle School (A2 Lab) 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm.
FLEX TRAINING MUST BE COMPLETED BY OCTOBER 5th Click here to access the new GCISD FLEX for 2018-2019. Teachers must complete the Flex requirements off contract time by October 5, 2018. All other staff may use contract time to complete the modules. Use the pull-down Search By Job menu on the top right of the page to select your job/role, to ensure you are completing the correct FLEX courses.
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Worth A Read, Watch or...Listen!!
OUR WORDS MATTER!...check out this blogpost for some fantastic language to use when dealing with difficult behaviors. The first priority in creating a positive classroom environment and limiting problem behaviors is to develop positive relationships, but sometimes we all need a little help with how to positively address behavior concerns. These 21 phrases are awesome go-to's for this purpose! Check them out!
GREAT REMINDERS OF WHAT NOT TO DO THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL! Listen to this short episode of 5 mistakes teachers can make during the first week of school and how to avoid them! I highly recommend that you subscribe to this 10-minute Teacher podcast by Vicki Davis. Her daily 10-min podcasts are packed with great ideas that you can implement right away in your classroom!
JUST FOR FUN! Welcome back to "Beginning of the School Year Crazy Busy Times"! The following video clip from Bruce Almighty is SO appropriate for how we are all probably feeling right now...up to our eyeballs in tasks, reminders, and EMAILS! Have a strong cup of coffee, put a smile on your face and take a DEEP breath! It's going to be an AMAZING year at Cannon!! Thanks for all that you do every day!
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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!
- Carefully read teacher instructions for daily attendance procedures.
- Make the first day of school so memorable for students that they can't wait to come back the next day!
- Review emergency procedures & prepare for safety drills.
- Don't forget to complete your benefits enrollment by Wednesday, August 22nd!
- Share information with your families about the upcoming Labor Day holiday & Curriculum Night.
- 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!
- Update teacher website & get blog and other social media started. Not sure where to start? Ask Julee for help with this!