Cub Courier
Believe. Grow. Achieve.
September Newsletter
Hello Annette Gordon-Reed Families,
Wow! What an amazing start it has been to the 2022-2023 school year! Thank you for joining us last week for our Parent Curriculum Meetings. We hope you gained a better understanding of what and how your child will be learning this year. If you were unable to attend, please check your child's grade level newsletter for a link to the presentation.
Providing a safe learning environment is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. In addition to the many measures already in place such as secure vestibules and security cameras, there are also enhancements to our day-to-day operations. All doors are required to be locked at all times and classrooms are locked and closed when no one is in the classroom. During times when students are changing classes or when large events are scheduled, doors are actively monitored by staff. Safety is our ultimate responsibility and takes all of us working together.
If your student is a bus rider, we want to thank you for your patience as bus routes are continuing to adapt and adjust. CISD is short numerous bus drivers but is still doing an incredible job of making every effort to get your child to school and back home safely and efficiently despite the shortage. Our bus drivers at Annette Gordon-Reed have been incredibly positive and flexible and are working extremely hard. Please check your email before arrival and dismissal daily for "Bus Hub" updates to stay in the loop about your child's specific bus. If there is any issue, you will be notified directly from "Bus Hub". If you anticipate that your child may ride the bus at any time throughout the year, please register them for the bus now as it takes several days after registering before they are able to ride the bus.
Thank you for your amazing support!
Sincerely,
Shawn Creswell
Principal
Gordon-Reed Administrative Team
At our campus, each grade level is assigned an assistant principal and counselor team. The assistant principal and counselor that your child has this year will loop with them each year while attending Annette Gordon-Reed Elementary. We believe that when students and parents have an assistant principal and counselor who know them well, it helps in building strong, positive relationships between our school and our students, parents, and community.
Our grade level assistant principal and counselor teams are:
Gabe Hernandez & Rachel James - Prekindergarten, 1st Grade, 3rd Grade & 5th Grade
Katy Sue Traicoff & Ashley Wright- Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade & 6th Grade
Please contact your grade level assistant principal or counselor based on the grade level assignments above when needed.
Upcoming Dates
September 9th: 6th Grade KCUB, 5th & 6th Grade Yearbook, and Safety Patrol applications DUE
September 12th: 5th & 6th Grade Student Council application DUE
September 15th- PTO Meeting 10:00am
September 29: Fall Pictures
Gordon-Reed Spirit Wear
Our Spirit Wear has been ordered has been placed! We expect to receive the items from our order the week of September 19th.
Once we receive the orders, we will send items home with students.
School Picture Day
Our fall picture day will be on Thursday, September 29. These pictures will be taken indoors and will be used in our yearbook
Fine Arts and PE
Click below to hear from our wonderful Fine Arts and PE Team!
KCUB
Our school is looking for 6th grade students to serve as our very first KCUB Broadcast Crew! The broadcast team will produce the televised morning announcements. Members of the KCUB Broadcast Crew will: assist with production slides, anchor the announcements, assist pledge leaders, and more! Applications due September 9th.
Yearbook Club
We are on the lookout for 5th and 6th graders to help us create the very first yearbook for Annette Gordon-Reed Elementary! If interested, 5th and 6th grade students should apply to join the Yearbook Club. Applications due September 9th.
Safety Patrol
At Annette Gordon-Reed Elementary, we have many ways for our 5th and 6th graders to be involved with school leadership. Safety Patrol is one of those special opportunities! Safety Patrol team members will be selected to work either a morning or afternoon shift for a 9 week rotation. Applications are due September 9th.
Student Council
Exciting news! We are happy to share information about the first Student Council at Annette Gordon-Reed Elementary. Student Council representatives at AGR will serve as positive role models to empower and lead the student community in many ways--from daily social interactions with peers to collaborating on campus-wide projects. Representatives will receive the opportunity to grow and build leadership skills, respect and serve others, build friendships, and support our school community. More information about the application and selection process is linked below.
News from our Counselors
This year is off to such a wonderful start here at Annette Gordon-Reed! Our students are doing amazingly well.
We are proud school counselors looking forward to a year filled with joy and passion. Please follow the link below so that we can introduce ourselves and our roles in supporting you and your family this school year.
Cubs with Character
This month we kicked off our Cubs with Character program with a focus on our first character pillar, respect. We want to teach our Gordon-Reed Cubs that respect of ourselves and others is a positive trait. Respect means you accept others for who they are even when they are different than you or don't agree with you. Respect builds feelings of trust safety and wellbeing. Each week in September, we will focus on a habit to help us grow respectfulness.
Character Pillar: Respect
Habit of the Week #1: Think about how you want to be treated- then treat others that way. Follow the 'Golden Rule.'
Habit of the Week #2: Play nicely and include everyone. It’s not about 'me,' it’s about 'we.'
Habit of the Week # 3: Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and be sensitive to other people’s feelings. Show empathy.
Habit of the Week #4: Listen carefully to others so you can understand what they are saying. People communicate with more than just words.
Our Gordon-Reed staff assist us in teaching the habits of the week through conversations and activities which will help them to become more successful at everything they do. We encourage you to visit with your child about our character traits and habits and the ways they see them during their school day.
Special Dates in September:
September 11- Grandparents' Day
September 15 through October 15- National Hispanic Heritage Month
Join our PTO
Our first general PTO meeting will be at our school on Thursday, September 15th at 10:00am.
Gordon-Reed Elementary Student Handbook
Our student handbook contains important information unique to our school.
Register for Bus Transportation
Click the link below to register for the bus and to find out your child’s bus number. You will need your child's ID number and birthday. Your child's ID number can be found on Parent Access Center. More details on Parent Access Center can be found in the section below.
Parent Access
Parent Access Center (PAC) is the CISD system for parents which provides online access to all your child’s class assignments, assignment grades, test grades, student ID, as well as attendance, discipline, progress reports, and report cards. If you currently have a Parent Access Center account, there is no need to renew your account as you have had to do in previous years. Parents can register for a PAC account from the Conroe ISD home page under the Student/Parent link. Student data will not be available until school begins.
Car Rider Arrival & Dismissal
1. Arriving to school, right lane is for car rider drop-off and pick-up. Left lane is for driving through to access parking spaces at front of school.
2. Past the digital school marquee, a third car rider lane opens on the right. With three lanes, the right lane and middle lane are for car rider. Left lane continues as a pass through lane to access parking spaces at front of school.
3. Holding station: Staff will send 14 cars from one car rider lane to the car rider stop numbers. Then 14 cars from the second car rider lane will be sent to car rider stop numbers.
4. Cars will exit from the front of school, keeping in the right lane until the first curve.
5. Remain in the right lane to turn right on McCaleb Rd toward Hwy 105. Pass to the left lane to turn left on McCaleb Rd toward FM 2978.
Volunteer in CISD at Gordon-Reed Elementary
In order to volunteer at school, a Volunteer in CISD application must be completed each school year to ensure our school is safe for our students and staff.
Please visit the Volunteer in CISD webpage to complete the application process. We look forward to having you in our school!
Drop-off Procedures for Forgotten Items
Please help your student be fully prepared for their day by ensuring that they have all needed materials (backpack, lunch, water bottle, etc...) before leaving for school in the morning.
To minimize interruptions to classrooms, please limit drop-offs to the following items:
- Water bottles and lunches may be placed on the drop-off table before 10:00am at the front office. These items should be labeled with your child’s name and teacher to ensure proper delivery.
- If you need eye glasses delivered to your child, please do not put them on the drop-off table. Bring them to the office staff for immediate delivery to your child.
- Any class work or homework that is dropped off will be placed in the teacher’s mailbox to be picked up during the day.
Delivery of flowers, balloons, etc. to students at school is not permitted
Transportation Changes
All transportation changes must be received in writing by 2:00pm. We are unable to accept a phone call as notice of a transportation change. You may send a written note to your child’s teacher or fill out a transportation change form in the front office. When writing a note, please include the date, your child’s full name, section number, bus number (if applicable), and your signature. If an emergency arises, you may send an email including all of the above information to: gordon-reedtransportation@conroeisd.net . Emails must be received before 2:00pm. If you submit a transportation change by email, it must go to the email address referenced above.Transportation changes should not be emailed directly to your child's teacher.
Please send a new note for each day the change occurs; we cannot accept notes for multiple days or with multiple changes.
District policy states that a student may only ride the bus they are registered to ride; students may not have a transportation change to ride a different bus.
News from the Nurse
Please keep your child home if they are showing any signs of illness or reporting that they do not feel well.
For example, if your child comes to you in the morning and reports any of the following symptoms: cough, sore throat, stomachache, or headache, or tells you they had diarrhea or vomiting, DO NOT send them to school. Please keep your student home and monitor the symptom or symptoms until they resolve.
Medication at school: If your child needs medication while at school, please email Mrs. Atchley, our School Nurse at datchley@conroeisd.net to set up an appointment to drop off the medication.
Vision and Hearing Screening
The clinic will begin TX DSHS required Vision and Hearing screening for students in PreK, Kinder, 1st, 3rd, 5th grade, and students new to the district. The screenings will begin in September and continue until we complete all grade levels. If a student does not pass the screening, a letter will be sent to the parent/guardian from the clinic staff.
COVID Protocols
If your child tests positive for COVID, please follow the following protocol:
- Log in to the Conroe ISD SSO https://launchpad.classlink.com/conroeisd (You will need your students username and password found in Parent Access Center)
- Click on the COVID central (external) app
- It will ask you to continue to the site
- Click the Self-Report link
- Enter the date when symptoms started or when the student tested positive when prompted by the website
- The school nurse will be notified of when the student can return to school and the absences will be excused
Breakfast and Lunch-Important Information
Student Breakfast $2.00
Student Lunch $3.20
Non-Student Lunch/2nd Student Lunch $4.20
Milk $.95
If your child is bringing their lunch, please pack items they can easily open.
Meals Are No Longer Free for All Students in the 2022-2023 School Year
- Federal waivers providing free meals for all students the last 2 years have now expired
- Parents must complete an application for students to be eligible for free or reduced meals
- The online Free and Reduced Application can be accessed at www.myschoolapps.com
Breakfast Times
Breakfast is available from 7:35-8:00am. Students will eat in the commons area. Classroom instruction begins at 8:05am.
Lunch Times
PreK- 11:25-11:55am
Kindergarten- 12:00-12:30pm
1st Grade- 12:20-12:50pm
2nd Grade- 12:35-1:05pm
3rd Grade- 12:55-1:25pm
4th Grade- 1:10-1:40pm
5th Grade- 11:10-11:40am
6th Grade- 11:45am-12:15pm
Parents are more than welcome to have lunch with their child at any time. Please sign in at the front office and our receptionist will let you know where our special visitor lunch tables are located.
Water Bottles
Children are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles each day. Please clearly write your child's name on the bottle with permanent marker. Students may refill their bottles during the day at one of our water bottle filling stations.
See Something, Say Something
Please report any suspicious activity or suspected dangers to the appropriate authorities. Anonymous reports may be made 24/7 to Conroe ISD’s KidChat hotline at 1-888-KidChat (543-2428) or through our Anonymous Alerts app
School SMS Messages
All SMS messages received from the Conroe ISD District Office and Gordon-Reed Elementary will begin with "Conroe ISD:" and come from the subscribe code 67587. If you have not yet opted-in to receive SMS messages, you can do so at any time throughout the school year by texting "Y" to 67587.
Conroe ISD School Calendar
For your planning purposes, please download the 2022-2023 calendar here.
We thank you in advance for planning all vacations and travel outside of the school calendar. When students are absent, they miss valuable instruction that takes place daily. In addition to the loss of that instructional time, Texas schools are rated not only on academic performance, but also on student attendance. Daily attendance plays a large role in our accountability rating from the state.
We appreciate your support in making sure students are here everyday they are healthy!