Cougar Connection
September 2022
Welcome Back, Cougars!
It has been a WILD and WONDERFUL week of learning! We have gotten off to a great start practicing procedures and routines and diving into the curriculum. What a joy it has been to see our students back in the building!
The beginning of the year is always an exciting time full of promise. As I walk through the classrooms, I am constantly in awe of the remarkable work of our students and staff. We look forward to all the amazing things our Keith Cougars will learn and accomplish this year!
I want to thank you for entrusting us with your precious children. We look forward to a spectacular year!
Thank you,
Julie Clements
SAVE THE DATE- KEITH ELEMENTARY SOCK HOP!
Important Change for 2022-23: School Breakfast and Lunch are not free
We want to make you aware that school breakfasts and lunches are no longer free for all students. This means that your child may already be accruing a balance on their SchoolCafe' account. If you need to add funds to your child's SchoolCafe' account, please click on the link below.
If you feel your student(s) would qualify, complete the Free & Reduced Meal Application for the 2022-23 school year. If you completed a Free & Reduced Application last school year and your child(ren) qualified, they will be able to use those benefits for the first 30 days of the 2022-23 school year. Without completing this application at this time, your child(ren) would pay full amount for breakfasts and lunches beginning early October 2022. It is imperative that the application be completed as soon as possible.
To complete the application, follow these steps:
Click the link for SchoolCafe.
You may watch a video, School Café Application Walkthrough, that explains the process or follow the steps below.
- Sign in to your account or create a new account.
- On the home page, on the left-hand side, click on the box that says “Apply” under Benefits.
- You’ll see a letter that contains Eligibility Guidelines for review. To continue, click the green “Next” button in the bottom-right corner.
- Confirm your information in the pop-up window.
- Click the box to certify your information is correct, and click the green “Next” button to continue.
- Select your students from your School Cafe account or add your child(ren) who are Cy-Fair ISD students using their student ID number. Click on the green “Next” button to continue.
- Complete the questions on the following pages and submit your application.
Please note that each active CFISD student in your family will need to be on your School Cafe account and selected in step six above in order to receive qualifying benefits. Feel free to visit the Nutrition Services webpage on the district website for more information.
Counselor's Corner
Hello Keith Families,
We are your School Counselors, Lisa Sudtelgte and Nicole Carroll. In the Counselor’s Corner, we will be sharing information throughout the year about things happening in our guidance lessons and other helpful mental health tips. If you ever need anything you may call us or email us at any time throughout the year.
Lisa Sudtelgte (Grades K, 2, 4) Lisa.Sudtelgte@cfisd.net 281-213-1750 X1
Nicole Carroll (Grades PK, 1, 3, 5) Nicole.Carroll@cfisd.net 281-213-1750 X2
Counselor Tips
The beginning of school is exciting for many kids but can cause a bit of anxiety for some. Here are a few things you might try if you notice your child is anxious about the start of the school year:
Resume school-year routines
Set a realistic bedtime and try to stick to it
Select the next day’s clothes each evening
Shop together for lunch and snack items.
Arrange a playdate with a familiar student from last year
Try not to show anxiousness yourself, as kids will mirror the emotions they see from their parents
Did You Know?
The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available to anyone 24/7 by calling or texting 988. It is free and confidential.
Guidance Lessons
This month in our guidance lessons we will be focusing on getting to know the school counselors and the ways the counselors can help students. All students have access to the school counselors throughout the day. We meet with whole classes, small groups, and individual students.
Credit by Exam Information
Students in grades K-5 will have four opportunities during the school year to use “credit-by-exam” to accelerate to another grade level. Students will only have one opportunity to test for each grade level considered.
Students who earn scores of 80% or better on each component of the credit-by-exam will qualify to advance one grade. Only one grade level may be “skipped” each year. No retests will be given.
If you are interested in getting more information about credit-by-exam, please contact Nicole.Carroll@cfisd.net
Gifted and Talented Information
If you would like to have your student tested for the GT program, please ask your child’s teacher for a parent permission form. All GT parent permission forms for testing are due by Wednesday, November 30th, with no exceptions. If the deadline is missed, your child will have to wait until the next school year to be tested. GT testing will take place early in Spring 2023.
ALL Kindergarten students will be GT tested in Spring 2023. Parents do not need to request GT parent permission forms to nominate Kindergarten students.
To find more information about the CFISD Gifted Program you may visit this link: https://www.cfisd.net/Domain/2373
If you have any additional questions about GT testing or the GT program please email Nicole.Carroll@cfisd.net
Keith Elementary
Email: keith@cfisd.net
Website: https://www.cfisd.net/Keith
Location: 2550 Fairfield Green Blvd, Cypress, TX, USA
Phone: 281-213-1744
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeithCougarsCFISD
Twitter: @CFISDKeith