Kirk Elementary
Tiger Tales 4/11/2023
School Information
Email: Kirk@cfisd.net
Website: https://www.cfisd.net/Kirk
Location: 12421 Tanner Road, Houston, TX, USA
Phone: 713-849-8250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirkElementary/
Twitter: @KirkElementary
Principal's Corner
Kirk families,
Thank you to everyone that joined us at our Spring Fest. It was a great turn out and we had such a great time with everyone. I am so appreciative of our Kirk PTO and community for hosting such a wonderful event for all.
As we head into testing season, I want to remind everyone to get a good night of sleep each night before testing. Also, all students at Kirk receive a free breakfast, so feel free to grab a yummy meal at school the morning of your test.
Katie Ford
Principal
PBIS
Our students continue to show how to follow the Kirk P.B.I.S Matrices every single day. For the Month of April, our students are learning what it means to have perseverance. Encourage your Tiger to continue to have perseverance in all they do at Kirk.
BOTB
For the month of April, we are learning about perseverance. Perseverance is the act of continuing to do something even though it is difficult. Click on the picture below to watch a video on perseverance.
Notice to Parents
As a parent of a student at a campus receiving Title I funds, federal law allows you to ask for information about the certification, college major, and advanced degrees of your child’s teacher(s). You also have the right to request information about the qualifications of a teacher aide or paraprofessional providing direct services to your child. If you would like to receive this information, you may contact the Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. Human Resources Department at 281-897-4099.
School Messenger: Text Message Sign Up
The directions for adding text messages to your School Messenger account are in the link below. All parents need to update their School Messenger Information:
General Information
Important Dates to Remember:
April 13, 2023 Spirit Night at Urban Air
April 18, 2023 Fifth Grade Choral Festival
April 20, 2023 Student EdTech Expo at the Berry Center
April 25, 2023 3rd Grade Reading-Language Arts STAAR Test, 5th Grade Science STAAR Test
April 26, 2023 4th Grade Reading-Language Arts STAAR Test, 5th Grade Reading-Language Arts STAAR Test
April 26, 2023 Spring Art Show at the Berry Center
April 28, 2023 Register for Cub Camp (New PK and Kinder students to Kirk 2023-2024)
Student of the Month for the Character Trait of Kindness
Michael Antunez
Prekinder
Angel Ponce
Kinder
Alexa Rios Chavez
1st Grade
Gavin Williams
2nd Grade
Kimberly Navarro-Garcia
3rd Grade
Sebastian Arambula
5th Grade
February Character Trait - Kindness
Library Corner
Tigers!
Book Fair was successful and I couldn't have done it without our amazing volunteers! This upcoming weeks students will come to the library to check out books. Please, make sure that students have their books in their backpack. Also, we are close to the end of the year. This is the perfect time to start looking for any lost books around the house.
Mrs. Gallegos
Primary Practices
Hello Primary! Can you believe it is already April!? This month, Pre-K is currently in their Animal thematic unit and are learning all about reptiles. They enjoyed the Animal Friends science demo and were able to see and touch different mammals and reptiles. Kindergarten is pursuing characters in books, writing realistic fiction, and learning about geometry (2D & 3D shapes). Check out the Home Connection on your child’s teacher’s Schoology page to see how you can implement math activities at home. In first grade, students are also learning about characters in books, bringing characters to life in their writing, and practicing geometry and fact fluency. Second graders will be performing their dramatic plays for Pre-K.
Families - if you have an incoming student who will be new to Kirk and attending Pre-K or Kindergarten, save the date! We will have Cub Camp on Thursday, May 11 from 9:00-10:00 at Kirk. Students will listen to a read aloud in the library, take a short ride on a school bus, have a snack in the cafeteria, tour a classroom, and take home some learning tools to prepare them over the summer. Register here: bit.ly/KirkCubCamp.
Adventures in Math
Math Matters
Students in second grade are extending their knowledge of place value by increasing the range to 1,200. During this unit, students are expected to compose and decompose numbers up to 1,200 in more than one way as a sum of so many thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones. Students will practice representing numbers using standard form, expanded notation and points on a number line.
Students in third, fourth and fifth are wrapping up their final units and preparing for STAAR. Over the next 2 weeks, students will participate in review activities that include online practice questions, games and guided review sessions with the teachers. Below are the topics each grade level is focusing on:
3rd - Addition and Subtraction of Whole Numbers, Multiplication and Division of whole numbers, Fractions and Area and Perimeter.
4th - Geometry, Fractions, Multiplication and Division of whole numbers
5th - All operations with Decimals, Perimeter, Area and Volume, Classifying Triangles and Quadrilaterals, and Coordinate Planes
Science Scholars
Science Scholars
Second grade continues to learn about environments, focusing on food chains. The students will compare the ways living organisms depend on each other and on their environments.
Third grade is learning about the life cycles of a plant, frog and various insects. The students are expected to compare and contrast all life cycles and be able to identify the different stages.
Fourth grade students are wrapping up astronomy, focusing on shadows and moon phases. Students will collect and analyze data to identify sequences and predict patterns of change in shadows, seasons, and the observable appearance of the Moon over time.
Fifth grade students are preparing for the Science STAAR test by engaging in a review focused on 4 major categories. Similar to the math review, the students will practice online questions, play collaborative games and review missed concepts with the teacher. The categories covered are:
Matter and Energy
Force, Motion and Energy
Earth and Space
Organisms and Environments
Loving Literacy
It’s hard to believe we are already in the middle of April! The students and teachers are working so hard to get ready for STAAR. We have started our STAAR review and the teachers are so excited with how it is going. We will focus throughout the two week review on informational texts, literary texts, short constructed responses, and extended constructed responses. The students will be collaborating with each other on hands-on activities that focus on comprehension, thinking about meaning, and author’s craft. They will participate in small group instruction with their teachers that focus on their individual areas of needs. To help prepare for the online STAAR, students can log onto texasassessment.gov to familiarize themselves with the online tools and practice questions from previously released STAAR tests.
https://www.texasassessment.gov/
Click on student and families
Scroll down and click on practice tests login
Click sign-in
Select grade level
Click on STAAR released and practice tests
TIGER TECHNOBYTES
The Student EdTech Expo spotlights student creativity with 21st-century tools emphasizing technology integration in their everyday learning environment.
Join us on April 20, 2023 at the Berry Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to see how CFISD students use technology to learn and share their ideas. All are welcome!
This year, the theme is "Livin' in a Digital World." Students will show how using technology helps them to be creative, think of new ideas and be excited about learning. Come see it!
Nurse's Corner
April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. Here are some ideas to help your child be a good friend and classmate to a friend with Autism:
Counselor Corner
With state assessments coming up for our older students, you may have a child at home that is beginning to display testing anxiety. Even our younger students’ complete various tests and assessments within their classrooms, too. Discuss different ways your child can prepare themselves to do their very best! Remind them to: take short breaks when they need it, take their time, focus only on their work, check their work, eat a healthy breakfast, and speak positively to themselves. Don’t forget to make sure your student gets a good night’s rest, and most importantly, is on time for school!
What’s Happening in Large Group?
Musical Magic
Hello Kirk Mighty Tigers!
It’s a very exciting time for our 5th grade Choral Festival students. The performance is April 18th at the Berry Center. I hope you can come out to support our students. All music students are doing Solfege at this time, and we are having a solfege competition. So, if you hear screams and applause while passing by the music room, you’ll know that we are competing and having a great time.
Mrs. Craig
PE
Hello Kirk Tigers!
We’ve had 2 great weeks discovering and learning some fun activities during our parachute unit (which we will end this week). Speed Stacks are up next then we will get ready for our team sports units. Let’s keep having fun while moving so we can stay healthy and strong!
Coach Mati
Art
Hello Kirk Artists! Everyone is invited to our CFISD Spring Art Show on April 26th at the Berry Center. Please feel free to stop by to support student artists in our school and district!
Mrs. Kranson
From Our PTO
Our wonderful librarian, Ms. Gallegos, is looking for some help on Thursdays in February and March. If you are interested in volunteering please review the Sign Up Genius link below. Thank you!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAA923A5FDC34-library1
Interested in ordering the 2022-2023 Kirk Elementary yearbook? Click on the link below and use Yearbook ID code 14775723!