CANNON CONNECTION
A newsletter for Cannon Elementary families - 2018-2019
WEEK OF DECEMBER 17, 2018
Hi Cannon Parents!
Can you believe that the final week of school for the fall semester is already here? This school year has been a historic year at Cannon and there have been so many incredible learning opportunities for our Cannon Cubs and celebrations for our entire school community!
The demolition of our old school began this week and that has definitely evoked some bittersweet memories for our Cubs, staff, families, and others in the Cannon community. While it is difficult to say "goodbye" to our old school building and all of the wonderful memories & traditions that are part of that physical school building, it is such an exciting time for our school community as we move forward in our beautiful new school, providing exciting new experiences for our Cannon Cubs, while continuing to honor some wonderful old traditions that will live on, as part of the legacy of our old school building. The photo below is one that I took last week when the demolition began. I loved that amidst all of the destruction, our old campus banner, promoting one of our favorite traditions, our Young Engineers Hall of Fame, still remained intact and visible, as a final reminder from the old school that the progress & success of our Cannon STEM program lives on and continues to provide exceptional educational experiences every day at Cannon!
Our final week of school for 2018 will be a busy one, so please check out all of the remaining events of the school year on the calendar included in this newsletter. As a reminder, our last day of school for 2018 will be Friday, 12/21 and this is an early dismissal day. All students will be dismissed at 11:45 am. Students will return to school on Tuesday, January 8th.
Best wishes to all for a beautiful holiday break with your family & friends!
Proud to be your principal,
Mrs. Blizzard
#BeCannonProud
------------------------------------------
NEW ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES - EFFECTIVE JANUARY 8th!
I recently shared a construction update with all of our Cannon families to provide some information about "next steps" in construction and as I'm sure you have all noticed, the demolition of our old school has begun and is now in full swing!
Over the holiday break, while students and staff are off campus, the demolition of the school will continue and as a result, our parking and arrival/dismissal procedures will change effective January 8th, when our Cubs return to school. The existing staff parking lot will no longer be accessible for staff, parent, or guest parking when we return, as this parking lot will be included in the demolition. The student arrival/dismissal procedures will shift to Pebblebrook Rd, according to the following procedures.
- Students must ONLY be dropped off and picked up on Pebblebrook Drive - on the northbound side, on the school side of the road.
- If you travel down College from Ball St, going westbound, you will turn right on Pebblebrook Drive and proceed to the unloading/loading areas where staff will be stationed, near the sidewalk entrance of the new school.
- If you are traveling eastbound on College, you will turn left onto Pebblebrook Drive and proceed to the unloading/loading areas where staff will be stationed, near the sidewalk entrance of the new school.
- For safety reasons, due to the narrowness of this residential street, all traffic will be directed in the northbound direction on Pebblebrook, thus no students can be dropped off/loaded by cars going in the southbound direction of Pebblebrook.
- Parents will no longer be able to park on Pebblebrook, between College and Chelsea Rd, during arrival/dismissal times, as this will obstruct the traffic flow for arrival/dismissal.
- PLEASE do not drop students off on any sidewalk areas near or around the demolition site, to walk alone to/from school, due to student safety.
- Staff will no longer have use of the parking lot area and will be parking off-site each day. They will be transported to school via a shuttle service until new parking areas are completed.
- Parents & guests will no longer have use of the parking lot area and must plan to park on one of the neighboring residential streets if visiting campus during the school day. Parking on Pebblebrook, nearest the school entrance will be available between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm only, in order to leave this area clear for student arrival/dismissal. Please help us be a good neighbor to residents on the streets surrounding our campus and do not block any driveways!
We are asking all parents and guests in advance for patience and flexibility, as we adjust to these new procedures. We understand the inconvenience this creates for all members of our school community, including all of our Cannon staff who will no longer have use of any parking on-site. However, this demolition phase of the construction project is a necessary next step to the completion of the overall school construction project. Grapevine Police will be on site during this transition phase, to help us ensure that we have established the safest and most efficient arrival/dismissal procedures possible.
I welcome your feedback, questions and suggestions at any time! Thank you!
OTHER EXCITING CONSTRUCTION UPDATES!
Now that the site has been able to dry out, the general contractor has been working hard to complete the outdoor patio area. Beginning last week, our Cannon Cubs were able to use a portion of this outdoor space for recess. Picnic tables from the old school, our tetherball pole, and other recess play equipment has been made available on this patio area, for use during outdoor play. We will continue to utilize this area for recess when we return from the winter break, until the playground area is complete. They are anticipating that students may enjoy the new playground in January!! The students were SO excited to see that our playground equipment has already begun to arrive on site!
Also, last week, landscapers began planting some trees in landscape beds on the outdoor patio area, as well as in other locations on the site. The garden area is beginning to take shape, as the hexagonal garden planters have begun to arrive and be placed in the garden areas. Construction of other structures that will be part of our new garden area have also begun and is making us very excited for how we will be able to utilize the garden as an outdoor area to support instruction very soon!
Now that the demolition of the old school has begun, the general contractor is updating their schedule. As we continue to receive information and updates, we will communicate major milestones for the work ahead! I want to thank you for your continued patience and flexibility throughout this process. It's such an exciting time to be a Cannon Cub!
SEEN @ CANNON LAST WEEK!
GCISD READS CHALLENGE
The holiday break is a GREAT time to focus on reading and making progress towards reading goals for the year. Check out information here about GCISD Reads Challenge!
GMS CHOIR & BAND PERFORM AT CANNON!
In addition to seeing so many of our former Cannon Cubs that are now active in the choirs and band, our current Cubs get the chance to see the amazing opportunities that await them in the Fine Arts programs, when THEY become middle schoolers!
PANCAKE BREAKFAST WITH SANTA
------------------------------------------
Mark Your Calendars.....
UPCOMING EVENTS
12/20 Candy Houses With Kindergarten Dads - 8:00-10:00 am - Cannon cafeteria
12/20 Cannon Choir Holiday Tour Field Trip 8:00-11:15 am
12/20 Cannon Choir Holiday "Gift" Concert - 6:00 pm - Cannon Café
12/21 Class Holiday Parties 10:15- 11:15 am
12/21 Early Release @ 11:45
12/24-01/07 Student Holiday Break
01/08 Students return to school
------------------------------------------
CAMPUS & DISTRICT UPDATES
OVER 1,500 PAIRS OF SHOES COLLECTED FOR SOLES 4 SOULS!
Thank you to all of our families for helping to support this community service project! We appreciate you!! Click here to see some photos from our Soles 4 Souls community service project!
CONGRATULATIONS TO SPELLING BEE CHAMPS!
Congratulations to Cannon's Spelling Bee Champion, Piyush Mallick! Also, congrats to our 1st Runner-Up, Matthew Chapuis. We are so proud of ALL of our Spelling Bee participants this year!
Piyush will represent Cannon at the GCISD Spelling Bee on January 24th, where he will compete against all of the other campus Spelling Bee Champions. We know that Piyush will represent Cannon well at this next level of competition! Good Luck!!
NEEDED - CAN YOU HELP?
- paper towel and toilet paper tubes
- buttons - any variety
- plastic bottle caps - any variety
ALSO NEEDED FOR STOMP ROCKETS...
Amazon Smile
ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO TAKE THE DECEMBER CANNON KINDNESS CHALLENGE!
Help us promote KINDNESS at Cannon all month long!! Below is an image of a Kindness Challenge Calendar for our Cubs to use for ideas on ways to do an act of kindness each day of the month! Click here for a PDF version of this challenge and share it with your children. We are doing many things throughout the month to promote acts of kindness for all of our Cubs, including our annual campus-wide community service project! We are so proud of how our Cubs have embraced our Soles 4 Souls challenge to collect 500 pairs of shoes for someone in need! Thank you for your support of this project!
Parent Technology Academy
GCISD Parent Technology Academy is BACK! Sessions are scheduled monthly with more to come! Come and learn along with others about the ever-changing world of technology in which your children are living!
Sessions can be found on the Parent Technology Academy Webpage
------------------------------------------
NEWS FROM CANNON PTA
PTA QUICK PICKS!
Check out these "quick picks" of reminders & information from PTA:
THANK YOU to all of our parent volunteers who have helped with all of our holiday events! The Santa Shop and Pancake Breakfast were so successful because of all of the hard work of our dedicated Cannon PTA and parent volunteers!! You are appreciated!!
Read-A-Thon update: Check out photos on our Cannon PTA Facebook of some of the Cannon staff getting a "pie in the face" by students, as a result of exceeding our goal in the recent Read-A-Thon fundraiser! Also, just a reminder that students who participated in this fundraiser and are eligible for the Limo & Lunch prize, will participate in this event on Tuesday, December 18th, during their lunch period, if permission forms have been returned.
Help us celebrate the Cannon Staff by signing up to bring items for our cookie/treat exchanges as well as hot cocoa, coffee and tea! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d44ada72ca1fd0-holiday
Additional events at cannonpta.com/calendar
Stay connected by following Cannon PTA on social media. Click here to "like" the PTA Facebook page. Follow them on Twitter @CannonPTA.
------------------------------------------
QUICK LINKS FOR PARENTS
------------------------------------------
I want to make you aware of where you can see information and resources, specifically about the Cannon construction project. Also, check out the awesome exterior renderings of our new school below!!
Please reach out to me to let me know of any questions you may have about this project. This is a VERY exciting time for our Cannon school community and I want to make sure all of our Cannon families stay informed!
Click here to see project updates on all GCISD Bond programs
Click here to sign up for construction updates by email about the Cannon project!
------------------------------------------
Cannon Elementary: A GCISD STEM School
Email: tona.blizzard@gcisd.net
Website: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/Domain/1428
Location: 1300 W College St, Grapevine, TX, United States
Phone: 817-251-5680
Facebook: facebook.com/CannonSTEM
Twitter: @canSTEM