CANNON TIMES
A Newsletter For Cannon Staff 2018-2019
Principal Points - Week of February 25, 2019
The next two weeks will be BUSY weeks at Cannon, followed by a much-needed and well-deserved week off for Spring Break! Please make sure you are aware of the dates/times listed on the calendar during the next two weeks that we will be hosting tours of our campus for other districts, prospective families, and GCISD administrators.
As a reminder, all grade level & Specials teachers should have your team's display ready in your common areas and in designated areas for Specials teachers. These are the displays which highlight a specific STEM project, along with a student artifact(s), which will provide our guests a glimpse into what STEM-based learning "looks like" in your grade level/department. If you are using a digital display, please make sure these are up and running for our guests to see when they arrive in your grade level area! Please let me, Julie or Lisa know if you have any questions about this request/expectation.
Finally, we are SO excited about our upcoming Family Engineering Night on March 7th! Please help us promote this evening's events to all of our Cannon families by including the special edition S'more below, in all of your parent communications during the next two weeks.
Thank you ALL for your hard work and preparation for these events during a VERY BUSY and stressful time of the year! Our students and school SHINE when our teachers SHINE and I couldn't be more proud to show off YOUR work & school to the world!
Proud to be your principal,
Tona :)
#BeCannonProud
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Lisa's Coaching Corner
On Monday during our professional learning session, it was very interesting to learn about the types of students we were in high school. You can see the results below. My favorite part was the conversation of how to reach students like us! The other influence we did not discuss was parenting styles.
Parenting style affects multiple aspects of a child's life: self-esteem, self-discipline, motivation, behavior, socialization. According to this article What Affect Does Parenting Styles Have on Children in School these are the 4 types of parents.
- Permissive parents are highly responsive to their children, but place few demands or expectations for behavior.
- Authoritarian parents showed quite the opposite behavior, placing high demands on their children but offering little nurturing or responsiveness.
- Authoritative parents were both highly responsive and highly demanding of their children.
- Uninvolved parents demonstrated both low responsiveness and low levels of demands for their children.
Take a few moments to read about the impact on education and typical behavior exhibited by children. Being a teacher is a delicate balance of teaming up with parents to provide the best for the students.
LB
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DATES TO REMEMBER
02/25 STEM Leadership 3:05 in PLC room
02/26 Class Picture Day- see schedule in this newsletter
02/26 PLC Week B - Kindergarten 2:15-3:45
02/26 Cubs Night Out @ Chipolte - Southlake
02/27 Principal/Admin Instructional Rounds at Cannon
02/27 PLC Week B - 1st grade 2:15-3:45
02/28 Campus Tours for other districts - 8:30-10:30
02/28 PLC Week B - 2nd grade 2:15-3:45
02/28 1st grade musical - 6:00-6:45 pm
02/28 Cubs Night Out @ Cici's Pizza
03/01 Art Show - 5:30-7:30 pm
03/01 Talent Show - 6:00 pm
03/02 Mini-Cast
03/04-08 Book Fair
03/04 UCAN 3:00-3:45 in Learning Commons
03/05 Campus Tours for other districts - 8:30-10:30
03/05 Campus Tours for parents - 1:00-2:00
03/05 PLC Week A - 3rd grade 2:15-3:45
03/06 PLC Week A - 4th grade 2:15-3:45
03/07 PLC Week A - 5th grade 2:15-3:45
03/07 Family Engineering Night - 5:30-7:00 pm
03/08 3rd grade field trip - Parr Park - 10:50-2:00 pm
03/11- 03/15 Spring Break!!
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REMINDERS AND UPDATES
TELPAS Begins This Week!
Our second - fifth grade ELL students will be taking the TELPAS online listening/speaking and reading tests the next two weeks. Please make note of times and areas that will be used for testing.
Feb. 25: 2nd grade listening/speaking - 8:00 cafeteria
Feb. 26: 5th grade listening/speaking - 8:30 5th Science Lab
Feb. 28: 4th grade listening/speaking - 9:00 Crawford/Ali classrooms
Mar. 1: 3rd grade listening/speaking - 8:15 cafeteria
Mar. 4: 2nd grade reading 8:00 - 1st/2nd MPA
Mar. 5: 3rd grade reading 8:00 - 3rd/4th MPA
Mar. 6: 4th grade reading 9:00 - 3rd/4th MPA
Mar. 7: 5th grade reading 8:00 - Paniagua’s room
These rooms will be secured testing environments and CANNOT be entered by non-testing students.
****4th grade ELL students will leave specials early on their testing dates.
PICTURE DAY SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY
Below is the Picture Day schedule for Tuesday, February 26th. Please review the schedule and all of the information IN ADVANCE. Parent volunteers will come to your class to let you know when it is time to come to the cafeteria.
ALL STAFF: If you did NOT have your individual picture taken in the fall please make sure to have your picture taken on this day. This is the picture that will be in the yearbook.
Please use the link below to see the schedule for Tuesday AND for important reminders from Anne about procedures for this day, student payments, etc...
TEACHER & PARA OF THE YEAR!
It's time to select our Cannon Teacher & Paraprofessional of the Year! Please see information below about GCISD's process for selection of Teacher & Paraprofessional of the Year at each campus. Please note that the final day for submitting your nomination/vote is Friday, March 1st and the link for forms are below.
Click Here To Read The Process For Selection of Teacher of the Year
Use this link to submit your nomination for our Cannon Teacher of the Year
Paraprofessional of the Year Selection Process
All paraprofessionals are eligible for the Campus Paraprofessional of the Year Award, except for the paraprofessional that was awarded last year. When selecting your candidate remember the following criteria:
o Demonstrates professionalism and continually exceeds
expectations
o Inspiration to peers
o Respected, loyal, trustworthy, and a dedicated team player
o Interfaces or communicates effectively with students, parents, and
staff
o Exhibits compassion and respect for ALL students
o Must not have been a campus paraprofessional of the year winner last year - Patti Seeker was our Paraprofessional of the Year last year, so her name does not appear on the ballot.
Please use this link to cast your vote for Paraprofessional of the Year by March 1, 2019!
K-4 SEESAW FOR SCHOOLS
The district is getting close to finalizing a 3-year contract with Seesaw for Schools for all K-4th grade classrooms. Knowing that we have some teachers who pay for their own subscriptions, the district is asking for those who do pay for their own to hold off on any renewals.
Aesop Users** UPGRADE Occurring on 3/1/2019
GCISD is upgrading to the Frontline Education’s Insights Platform (formerly Aesop and ALL users of Aesop are required to complete a few steps in order to access your Frontline account (formerly Aesop). Please see information below.
HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU
GCISD will transition onto the Insights Platform on March 1, 2019. You will need to create a new Frontline ID account to login. Below is the link to the Quick Start Guide and a simulation course that will guide you through this transition:
· Quick Start Guide to creating a new Frontline ID Account
· Frontline ID Account Simulation Course
When you attempt to login, you will be instructed to create a new Username and Password for interaction via the Website. Once you have created your Frontline ID Account, you should bookmark Frontline Education’s new, universal URL: app.frontlineeducation.com. Your new Frontline ID account Username and Password will replace your previous login credentials for web access; they will no longer work if you attempt to sign in on the website.
FAQ'S
When will this upgrade happen? Friday March 1, 2019
Will I be able to login? Yes, but you will have to complete the set up/new username and password in order to login.
Can I set up my username beforehand? No, you will set it up on the day of the launch.
Will my future absences still be in the system? Yes
Are we still using Aesop? Aesop should now be referred to as Frontline. It will look similar, if not the same for certain users, but is now upgraded to Frontline.
What else is going to change? Nothing else should change. The upgrade is related to how you get logged into the system.
Here is a video to answer any additional questions:
Perot Museum’s Kosmos Energy STEM Teacher Institute Applications are Now Open!
We already have TWO Cannon teachers who have applied to be part of this amazing STEM Teacher Institute through the online, digital option!! Why not consider applying in hopes that we could have our own Cannon cohort participating next year? Check it out!
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is thrilled to offer the Kosmos Energy STEM Teacher Institute, a free, yearlong professional development experience for teachers. Institute teachers engage in a 4-day summer academy in June or July and a minimum of 4 workshops through the Perot Museum during the school year.
The Institute is open to all PK-12 teachers, including those serving public, private, parochial, charter, and Montessori schools. We offer two ways to participate in the Institute: a face-to-face training option of in-person workshops or an online, digital option. CPE credit is awarded for all professional development done through the Institute.
Seats in the Institute are limited. Applications will be accepted until the Institute has filled to capacity.
For more information and to apply, please visit our website at www.perotmuseum.org/professionaldevelopment.
FROM THE MAKERSPACE
Cannon took National Engineers Week to a new level last week! It was particularly exciting to see how teachers tapped into our flexible learning spaces as a way to enhance the learning experience for our scholars! The makerspace was no exception. All third and fourth-grade students rotated through Perot Truck interactive exhibits in the makerspace to learn more about hologram creation, robotics, laser cutters, and digital microscopes. These rotations not only offered scholars insight into advanced technologies, but they also provided opportunities for scholars to refine some of their critical soft skills of communication, collaboration, and perseverance in a safe environment.
Happy making!
APPLY FOR VALOR NOW!
The goals of the VALOR program are to:
- Build the capacity of teachers to reflect collectively and individually on their practices and build a network of educators engaged in improving their craft through ongoing job-embedded, observation, feedback, collaboration, and scholarship.
- Develop teachers at every campus, in every grade level, and in every subject level across the district whose practices exemplify the principles of LEAD 2021, and who are eager to share their knowledge with others.
The structure of the VALOR program provides opportunity for:
Job-embedded PD
Participants to gain specific information for grade level/content by:
Getting feedback from peers/coach observing in your classroom based on group and personal goals
Reflect with like minded peers
Study/read together (articles and books)
Visit classrooms all over the district to see LEAD 2021 in action
Currently, Jennifer Pettit & Marina Luepnitz have been very involved in VALOR for the last two years. I would encourage any staff that is considering applying for VALOR to talk to them to learn more! You can also HEAR FROM TEACHERS OF VALOR by clicking here!
#TxEdTuesday
Each Tuesday, educators from across Texas are sharing about the great things going on in their schools and using #TxEdTuesday on social media. We have a lot of amazing things happening in GCISD and we want to shower social media with stories about our district - from the classroom to extracurricular activities. Here is the flyer for #TxEdTuesdaythat identifies the weekly themes. Please post something exciting happening on your campus every Tuesday from now until the end of May. Collectively, we can tell the story of GCISD and share how we are Building Excellent Schools Together!
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Worth A Read, Watch or...Listen!!
TEN BLACK SCIENTISTS THAT SCIENCE TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT is a GREAT link to check out during this final week of Black History Month for stories and voices of black scientists, engineers and mathematicians in the context of their science instruction. There are some awesome FREE media resources included on this sit to help you bring their work—and stories—into your classroom!
CHECK OUT THE MORNING MEETINGS VIDEO BELOW and listen to the voices of students and how they feel these meetings are helpful for them. Our local practice of starting our day with "Circle Up" time has helped established the importance of this time together, in order to build a strong classroom community. Consider how some of the structures of the morning meetings featured below could be integrated into your existing practices, in order to leverage this time with your scholars in the most meaningful way!
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DISTRICT ASSESSMENT & STAAR UPDATES
STAAR RESOURCES & UPDATES
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES PLAYLIST FOR TEACHERS 2018-2019 is a terrific resource that many of our Cannon staff is currently already using, not just as STAAR resource, but as a great resource for instructional/formative assessment strategies that you may have never tried. These playlists of strategy suggestions are extensive and are categorized by:
- movement and discourse playlist
- rehearsal and practice playlist
- extending thinking playlist
- learning from mistakes playlist
- evidence of learning playlist
STAAR Mini-Practice Tests
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is releasing a series of mini-practice tests, including Spanish versions, that are meant to provide students an opportunity to practice using new online features in the STAAR Online Testing Platform ahead of the spring 2019 test administrations. The mini-practice tests will include the basic calculator tool (English and Spanish versions for mathematics), the dictionary tool (English and Spanish versions for reading and writing), and American Sign Language (ASL) videos (English versions only). These mini-practice tests will be available in the STAAR Online Testing Platform beginning December 31, 2018.
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CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION CORNER
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
ORDER YOUR CHILD'S RACHEL'S CHALLENGE T-SHIRT TODAY!
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN STEM @ CANNON?
Attention Cannon Parents!
Please feel free to share the information tour dates shown below and ask them to sign up for a tour using this link. Thank you for your help!
MATH TELESCOPING EXAMS
Lee esta información en español
Testing opportunities for telescoping in math for the 2019-20 school year are available in the spring and summer for GCISD students who are completing Grades K - 7.
The Math Telescoping Information Packet will be available on the district website under the For Parents and Students Directory by selecting the link for Acceleration Exams, Math Telescoping, Grades K - 7.
Parents will find information about the requirements to qualify for Math Telescoping and instructions about the TWO STEP Online Registration Process. There will be links to print the Information Packet, begin the TWO STEP Online Registration Process to register for the spring exams, view the TEKS on the TEA website, and download Study Guides for the exams purchased from UT-Austin.
The online registration form went live on February 19th for the April 27th test administration.
The online registration form will go live on May 6th for the June 19th test administration.
The exam dates and registration deadlines for each exam date are listed below:
Spring Exam Date: Saturday, April 27, 2019 | 9 a.m. Colleyville Middle School
Online Registration Opens – Spring Exam Date: February 19, 2019
Online Registration Deadline – Spring Exam Date: March 6, 2019
The online registration form will not be available on March 7, 2019
Exam Fee Payment Deadline – Spring Exam Date: March 7, 2019
Summer Exam Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 9 a.m. Heritage Middle School
Online Registration Opens – Summer Exam Date: May 6, 2019
Online Registration Closes – Summer Exam Date: May 20, 2019
The online registration form will not be unavailable on May 21, 2019
Exam Fee Payment Deadline – Summer Exam Date: May 21, 2019
The Parental & Family Engagement CONNECTION
The February newsletter (volume 15, 3rd quarter), The Parental & Family Engagement CONNECTION, is available in English, Spanish, German, Korean, and Vietnamese. This edition of the newsletter includes articles about What Kids Can Do When Bullied, What to Do When Your Child Doesn’t Want to Go to School, Helping Your Child with Test Taking, Healthy Breakfast Burritos, Volunteer at Your Child’s School, Strong Athletes – Smart Students, and Fathers and Education.
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
GCISD Parent Technology Academy is BACK! 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.
February 26th - Understanding Minecraft ( Presented by Microsoft) -SIGN UP HERE
Come and learn about the power of Minecraft in education, get tips directly for Microsoft on parental settings for use at home.
March 21st - Internet Addiction " Gaming"--SIGN UP HERE
More than 5 million kids may be addicted to video games. 31% of males and 12 % of females report that have felt addicted to gaming. Come to hear from Dr Kay Trotter, PhD, LPC-s, RPT-S from local Kaleidoscope Behavioral Health as she discusses the signs and symptoms of this growing addiction. Learn some tips and be a part of the discussion around online gaming and internet addiction.
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!
- Enjoy MONDAY JEANS DAY during February!
- Review Anne's TELPAS testing information for this week
- Attend STEM Leadership on Monday 3:05 in Learning Commons
- Review schedule for Picture Day on Tuesday and be on time!
- Don't forget to nominate & vote for your Cannon colleagues for Teacher & Para of the year!
- Consider applying for the Perot/KOSMOS Energy teacher STEM Institute.
- Make sure your grade level STEM "brag boards" & artifacts are on display for tours this week! GCISD Instructional Rounds are on Wed a.m. & District Tours on Thurs a.m.
- Promote Family Engineering Night to all of our Cannon families!!
- Consider applying for VALOR - applications due by March 1st!
- Plan to attend the Cannon Art Show & Talent Show on Friday!
- 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!