News From The Nest
February 3, 2023
Spanish Festival
Rodeo Art
McGown Owlettes
Lunar New Year Celebration
101st Day of School
Lunch Visitors Update
pre-k. In order to make sure we are prepared for each day's lunch visitors, a Sign-up Genius will be sent out via School Messenger on Monday, March 6th at 10:00 a.m. for the month of March. Due to District benchmark testing, we will not have lunch visitors the first week in March. Please make sure you only sign up for one slot per child, per month, as we want to make sure every parent has an opportunity. We will not be able to accommodate visitors who haven't signed up. Thank you for your support.
News From the Nurse
GUIDELINES FOR KEEPING SICK CHILDREN HOME FROM SCHOOL
A sick child who is unable to participate in school in a meaningful way should be kept home to rest and recover until symptoms resolve. Keeping a sick child home also protects other children, school staff, and visiting community members from contracting an illness that can be spread from person to person. Please be aware of the following guidelines for school attendance.
COVID-19: Refer to the CFISD LEAD Safely plan for students who are experiencing symptoms, have tested positive, or have been in close contact with an individual who tested positive.
- Fever: A child must remain home with fever equal to or > 100° F and may only return after he/she has been fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine such as Tylenol or Motrin.
- Diarrhea/Vomiting: A child with diarrhea and/or vomiting must stay at home and may return to school only after being symptom-free for 24 hours.
- Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye): Following a diagnosis of pink eye, a child may return to school 24 hours after the first dose of prescribed medication has been administered.
- Rashes: Common infectious diseases with rashes are most contagious in the early stages. A child with a suspicious rash must stay at home and may return to school after a health care provider has made a diagnosis and authorizes the child's return to school in writing or symptoms have resolved completely.
- Head lice (pediculosis): Students who have an active case of live lice may attend school only after treatment which eliminates all live lice. Head lice do not jump or fly and are most commonly contracted by head-to-head touch. Head lice are common in school-aged children, so parents should routinely monitor children for live lice and teach the avoidance of behaviors that spread lice.
If you take your child to a healthcare provider for an evaluation of illness or injury, please be sure to request a written letter stating when your child may return to school and any accommodations required upon his/her return.
A healthy school community requires parents and schools to partner with each other. To prevent/minimize local outbreaks of contagious disease, parents must keep children who have an illness that can be spread from person to person at home, and CFISD school nurses will exclude students with symptoms of a communicable illness from school attendance.
Counselors' Corner
February Counselor Lesson Recap
Counselors provide monthly lessons within student classrooms each month. For the month of February, we focused on "Think It" or "Say It." Students participated in a discussion about thinking about their words before they speak them. We used the image of a gumball machine and gumballs to help lead our discussion. Some of our thoughts should stay in our gumball machine, aka our head, if they are not kind. Some of our thoughts should come out and blow a bubble, aka say it, because they are kind and will make a positive impact on someone. Before you speak, THINK!
School Counseling Week
National School Counseling Week will be celebrated from February 6-10 to focus public attention to the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do.
The CFISD Guidance and Counseling Department includes 1 director, 3 coordinators, over 280 school counselors, 4 Licensed Professional Counselors, 1 Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and 19 Youth Service Specialists (social workers). School counselors provide a comprehensive developmental guidance program with age-appropriate support to students at all levels. School counselors are an integral part of the total school program and help promote student success in school, and in life, by focusing their efforts on students' academic achievement, personal/social growth, and college/career development. They work collaboratively with many departments in order to provide prevention, intervention and follow-up services for students, families and staff.
Kindness Week
February 13th - 16th we will be celebrating Kindness Week here at McGown! Kindness Week ties in perfectly with our Bringing Out the Best character trait for February...Kindness!
State Testing
The spring semester is underway and with that comes state testing. Below are some dates you may want to mark on your calendar:
Students must bring their charged Chromebook to school to participate in testing. To help your child prepare for testing, please ensure that they have a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast on the morning of a test. You can alleviate test anxiety by encouraging their best efforts and reassuring them not to worry about the tests.
Please contact the McGown Testing Coordinator, Amanda Sager, at Amanda.Sager@CFISD.net if you have questions about state or national testing programs.
Book Fair
Book Fair is an ocean of possibilities! We are so excited to host a Scholastic Book Fair from February 2-10 at McGown. Please set up your child's eWallet now! They will use the eWallet to shop at school. We will not be accepting cash or check. On Family Night, Tuesday February 7th from 5-7, we will accept credit card or eWallet only. Students will be bringing home flyers in the next few weeks. You can check out the website, set up eWallet, or order online at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/mcgownelementary
Valentine Exchange
Stay Connected
We want to stay connected with you! Please visit our website at www.cfisd.net, select schools and then McGown Elementary. This will take you to our website. We will also regularly post photos and news on the Official McGown Facebook and Twitter pages. To locate our pages, search @CFISDMcGown.
Our VIPS are now on Instagram! Follow their page @mcgownVIPS for up to date news and stories about the "owl"mazing things happening at McGown.
Class Photos- Tues., February 7th
Music News
Physical Education
We are excited to announce an opportunity to help us get equipped. We have compiled a Wish list on Amazon so you can be a part of helping us provide your children with an amazing physical education program. We look forward to anything you can donate from the list. Thanks in advance! Coach Vince Steadman and Coach Paddy Langford
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2R2M9A3JOPZZL?ref_=wl_share
Spanish ABL Lab
McGown Elementary is one of only four schools in CFISD to have a Spanish ABL lab! Thank you so much for considering a contribution to our Spanish ABL Lab this year. The students and I really appreciate your help!
Have a blessed day,
Ms. Spain
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1E5NI2MONKZ3Q?ref_=wl_share
Watch D.O.G.S.
Birthday Marquee Announcements
Birthday Book Club
McGown Elementary Parent-Student Handbook
Notes From the Front Desk
Absences
If your student needs to be absent from school, please send a written note when they return. Absences cannot be excused in advance. The note needs to include the following:
- Student’s first name, not initials or nicknames
- Student’s last name
- Homeroom Teacher’s name
- Parent’s name
- Parent’s signature
- Parent’s phone number
By providing the above information, we are certain to give your child the credit for the note.
Please do not send absence notices to the McGown@cfisd.net email address.
Car Rider Information
Thank you parents who have showered our car rider duty staff with hand-warmers and coffee. We appreciate all the love, especially with this week's winter wonderland. Please remember that our car rider line begins at 7:50. We want all of our Owls in class on time. Refer to page 27 in our student handbook to review protocols for safely navigating our line. If you are in line by 8:15, your child will NOT be marked tardy. After 8:15, you will be asked to park and sign your child into school.
Car Rider Tags
Reminder that orange McGown car rider tags are required for picking up students through the car rider line at dismissal. Cars that do not have the official orange McGown car rider tag will be directed to park and walk inside to check out the student from the front office. Thank you for displaying your orange McGown car rider tag to ensure the safety of our students at dismissal. If you currently do not have a car rider tag and need one, then use the link below to register for a car rider tag.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGk1qfSvadfrLvfnfxQCcGGS-5dPmZ88ttYl19WCblaSR_JA/viewform
About Us
Email: mcgown@cfisd.net
Website: https://www.cfisd.net/McGown
Location: 21211 Tuckerton Road, Cypress, TX, USA
Phone: 832-349-7700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cfisdmcgown
Twitter: @cfisdmcgown