News From The Nest
December 5, 2023
Principal's Updates
District of Innovation
House Bill 1842, passed during the 84th Legislative Session, permits Texas public school districts to become Districts of Innovation and to obtain exemptions from certain provisions of the Texas Education Code that are available to open charter enrollment schools.
On October 9, 2023, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD School Board approved a resolution to initiate the process of becoming a District of Innovation, held a public hearing on Districts of Innovation and agreed to have the members of the Districtwide Educational Improvement Council (DEIC) serve as the District of Innovation Committee. The committee met on October 19, 2023, November 2, 2023, and November 14, 2023 to develop the proposed plan.
The proposed plan is posted on the district website for 30 days from November 17, 2023 to December 16, 2023, and a public meeting will be held on December 14, 2023, for stakeholders to give feedback on the proposed plan.
Upon approval of the proposed plan by the Districtwide Educational Improvement Council (majority vote required to pass), the proposed plan will be placed on the CFISD Board of Trustees agenda for consideration in January 2024 (2/3 majority to pass).
To view the proposed plan click here.
To sign up to speak about the proposed plan during the public meeting on December 14, 2023, at 4:30 pm at the Mark Henry Administration Building 11440 Matzke Road Cypress, TX 77429 click here.
Lunch Visitors
We were so excited to start welcoming lunch visitors in October. We welcomed 60 lunch visitors per day and 900 for the year so far! Although we do have an increased number of students and limited space in the cafeteria, after observing lunches the first semester we have decided to increase our lunch visitor number to 12 per day (on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) to allow for a few more visitors per month. 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 and Remind on Monday, January 8th at 10:00 a.m. for the months of January and February. Please make sure you only sign up for one slot per child, per sign up, 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.
Playground News
Visitors
Holiday Parties
Holiday Fun
Student Parliament Sock Drive
Spirit Nights
Kendra Scott
Learning Express
Bridgeland H.S. TAFE Parents NIght Out
Enjoy a night out while your kids have fun participating in games, crafts, and a variety of fun activities. They will also have delicious pizza and treats to satisfy their bellies. If you would like to treat your kids to some holiday fun, sign up on the School cash link below. They could even get a group of friends to have a night of fun together.
https://cypress-fairbanksisd.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/136051/135/False/True
Counselors' Corner
Angel Tree
Thank you to everyone who donated to our food drive. Our Bang Elementary families were very appreciative of your generosity!
In December, we have another great opportunity to support those in need in our community. If you are interested in a way to continue to give back this holiday season, please consider donating to the children on our Angel Tree. A tree is set up in the front vestibule of the school. Ornaments are hung from the tree with information for a child’s wants or needs.
For example:
Girl – Age 7
Shirt Size 7/8
Simply take the ornament(s) you choose with you to shop. When you have the items from the ornament you selected, return them unwrapped to the front office, with the ornament from the Angel Tree taped to the items. This will help us make sure we get the correct items to the correct families. All donations are due no later than Friday, December 15th!
Anti-Victimization Lesson
Texas Senate Bill 9 requires all Texas school districts to notify parents of their district’s decision regarding the instruction of topics related to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking. The elementary school curriculum will use WHO (We Help Ourselves), developed by the Association of Mental Health America of Greater Dallas.
Each lesson will define the topic, provide resources, and share tools needed to obtain assistance if necessary. All materials are designed to meet student needs and are age-level appropriate. Materials used in each lesson can be viewed on the CFISD Guidance and Counseling web page at https://www.cfisd.net/Page/8799. Specific instructions for viewing the materials in person, if desired, will be located on the same webpage under the “Anti-Victimization Curriculum” heading.
The lesson will take place on Friday, December 15th during grade level Specials for K-5 students whose parents/guardians have “opted-in” to the lesson.
McGown Student Showcase
McGown Holiday Card Contest Winners
Congratulations to our McGown Holiday Card Contest winners. Their winning submissions were sent to the District for the District level contest.
Jovy Lee- 5th Grade
Hannah Imala- 5th Grade
Emma Chen- 5th Grade
Chess Club
Rain Coats
We would like to give a huge thank you to all of our McGown families who donated raincoats to our car rider, daycare, and bus staff. It is so wonderful to stay dry and warm during rainy day arrivals and dismissals!
News From the Nurse
If you received a See to Succeed packet and want your student to participate, please fill out and return by Tuesday, December 5th to Ms. Palmer.
Thank you,
Nurse Palmer
Testing News
STAAR Interim Assessments
CFISD will be administering STAAR Interim Assessments for Grades 3,4,5 in December and January. These assessments are designed to analyze student progress and learning and predict student performance on future assessments. Interim Assessment results will not be calculated as a part of the students’ report card grades. Once the test is completed, students will return to their regular instructional activities.
Students are NOT permitted to have cell phones or personal electronic devices that allow internet access or have photographic capabilities during testing. These devices are a disruption to the testing environment and can be used to compromise the security and confidentiality of the test.
Electronic devices must be turned off and not be visible; therefore, students are not allowed to place or receive a cell phone call or text message during a test administration. However, medical devices are permissible as outlined by a student’s individual education plan or 504 plan.
If a student violates this CFISD policy, then his/her device will be confiscated and will be returned after an investigation is conducted and the administrative fee is collected. Furthermore, violation of this policy during any state assessment is considered cheating and will require the appropriate disciplinary action as described in the CFISD Student Code of Conduct handbook.
STAAR Interim Assessment testing will take approximately two hours on the dates listed below.
Friday, December 8 - Grades 3-5 RLA
Wednesday, December 13 - Grades 3-5 Math
Thursday, January 18 - Grade 5 Science
GT Screening for Kindergarten
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD provides mid-year GT HORIZONS screening for all currently enrolled kindergarten students. The screening process includes multiple quantitative and qualitative measures, including the mClass assessment and various ability based rating scales completed by the teacher.
Please keep in mind these important points:
The teacher rating scale assessment tool is designed by the vendor to identify only 2-5% of the population as gifted and does not assess kindergarten learning standards or the CFISD curriculum. This GT assessment is not a predictor of current or future academic achievement.
The mClass assessment is not designed to measure student giftedness. mCLASS is a universal screener that measures the development of reading skills, which can be an indicator of potential giftedness.
The week of February 16th your student will bring home a letter with the screening process results for the GT HORIZONS program in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Should you have any questions, please contact our campus testing coordinator or your counselor.
GT Screening for Grades 1-5
The deadline for parents to complete the online form to request spring semester GT screening for students in grades 1-5 was November 30th. No late submissions will be accepted. A more detailed testing schedule will be communicated in late December or early January. Please note that spring semester GT screening may result in a 2024-2025 GT placement.
To confirm that your online request for testing was submitted, log into the HAC and click on the GT tile. The online form will now be grayed out with red text that says “This form has been submitted” at the bottom of the page. You will not receive a confirmation email.
2023-2024 Yearbook
Important Dates and FAQs
December Events
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.
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/X: @cfisdmcgown
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcgownvips/