The Cannon Connection
Staff Information & Updates 4/21/14
From The Principal's Pen...
I'm excited to announce that our awesome PTA continues to provide outstanding support for our campus! They are replacing our current Cannon marquee (vintage 1960's) with a new, high-tech digital marquee! Our new sign will have full color video (LED) display for electronic messaging, which will allow us to significantly improve communication with our Cannon families and the community.
This generous donation for our school will be on the May school board agenda for approval. It is scheduled to be installed during the summer, so that when we return for the 2014-2015 school year, we can welcome everyone back in style! I have provided a photo rendering below of what our new digital sign will look like.
Be sure to let our Cannon PTA members know how much we appreciate all that they do for our school!
LAST WEEK- A PHOTO REVIEW
1st Graders Design Watering Systems
Cannon 1st grade cubs have been busy with their latest engineering challenge: April showers bring “May flowers.”
Since April showers don’t fall indoors, students have been designing and building indoor watering systems for their May flowers!! Be sure to check out our first grade engineers exploring which watering system can move water the best.
5th Graders Skype With The Gator Boys!
3rd Graders Plant A Salsa Garden
HATS OFF TO CANNON STAFF MEMBERS!
Tina Berumen has been selected as the Elementary Lead Librarian for GCISD for next year.
Patrick Lollis has been selected to participate on GCISD's VALOR Leadership Team next year.
Way to go Tina & Patrick! Thank you for your dedication to providing leadership for our school and the district. We are fortunate to have you both on our campus team!
SUMMER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Check out the newest resource for Professional Development offerings below!!
Below are some upcoming opportunities for professional development sessions that you will want to check out as you are completing your PLP's for your upcoming summative conferences with Anne & Tona. Check the staff newsletter each week for updated professional development offerings!!
** NEW - JUST ADDED- Summer PD Offerings for all content areas **
Be sure to check out GCISD'S EdCamp opportunity just for GCISD teachers on June 10th from 8:30-3:30!
Professional Learning Opportunities - Assessment
GCISD Technology Summer Professional Development Opportunities
Dates to Remember
4/22 Earth Day
4/22 1st & 2nd grade field trips to DFW Earth Day event
4/22 STAAR Math - 3rd & 4th grades
4/23 STAAR Reading - 3rd & 4th; STAAR Science - 5th
4/24 GCISD Dual Teacher meeting - Cannon library 3:30
4/24 Parent Meeting for Existing Dual Language Students - Cannon 6:00 pm
4/25 PLC Week B - 3rd; 4th;1st
4/29 UNT and Thailand guests to tour Cannon
4/29 STEM Leadership Team - 3:00
4/30 Lake Worth tours Cannon's 1:1 program
4/30 Fire Drill - 1:30
5/1 Dual Language Parent Information Night -CTMS 6:30
5/1 GCISD Employee Retirement Celebration - PDEC
5/2 PLC Week A - Kinder; 5th; 2nd
5/3 GCISD Rachel's Challenge Rally
5/5 - 5/9 Kindergarten Registration
5/6 U.CAN 3:00
5/6 STEM Parent Information Night 6:30 - cafeteria
5/7 Dan Yaccarino- K-2 8:30-9:30; 3-5 1:15-2:15
5/8 Cannon Family STEM Night 6:00
5/9 Field Day
5/12 EMT meeting - 3:00
5/13 CEC - 3:15
5/14 National Dance Like a Chicken Day! :-)
5/15 Fire Drill - 9:30
5/16 PLC Week B - 3rd, 4th, 1st
5/19 Cannon scholars present at School Board meeting
5/20 U.CAN 3:00
5/21 Early Release day K-5
5/22 Early Release day K-5
5/23 PLC Week A - Kinder;5th;2nd
5/23 GCISD Special Programs Lottery Day
5/23 Choir to NRH2O
5/26 Student Holiday
5/27 STEM Leadership meeting 3:00
STAFF S.T.E.M. CHALLENGE UPDATE
Our staff S.T.E.M. (Stay Trim, Exercise More) participants continue to stay strong in their weight loss efforts during Week #3. During this week, all participants lost an additional 20 pounds collectively!
The leader board for this week is....
1. Deena
2. Denisa
3. Anne P.
4. Jem
5. Wendy
Keep up the great work and good luck to all S.T.E.M. participants! Click here for Dr. Oz's Best 100 Weight-Loss Tips!
REMINDERS & UPDATES
- REMINDERS FROM FACILITIES - Please take a moment to review these notes from Facilities Services about wall coverage. If you have any questions, please ask Tona or Anne. Thanks!
PARENT SURVEY FEEDBACK REMINDER - Each team needs to meet to review & discuss the survey results together. As a team, please provide your feedback & suggestions on the Staff Feedback form. I have provided a link to this form below. Each team's feedback needs to completed by Friday, May 2nd. If you are part of support staff, (reading specialist, ASPIRE, counselor, librarian, nurse, technology, etc...) please plan a time when you can meet together to complete this required activity. I will add feedback from our CEC to the document after our meeting this week. Instructions for how to complete the feedback form are provided on the form.
Click here to access Cannon's results from the GCISD Parent Climate Survey 2013
- RACHEL'S CHALLENGE INFO - Please help us promote the upcoming Rachel's Challenge Rally in all of your parent communications. Click here to access a flyer to use on your blogs & websites!
- PDAS & SUMMATIVE UPDATES- Please remember that all staff appraised through PDAS must complete Sections II & III of the PDAS Teacher Self Report, prior to their scheduled summative. Also, be sure to save your completed PLP documents and documentation of professional learning throughout the 2014-2015 school year in the folder sent to you through an email link to Google docs. You will need to click on save a copy, in order to save it to the folder.
CHANGES IN GCISD'S PRE-K PROGRAM
I wanted to update you on some upcoming changes to GCISD's Pre-K program. Below are some details about these changes that will take place next year.
Effective 2014-2015:
- Glenhope Elementary will no longer have a Pre-K program
- Bear Creek Elementary will add Pre-K to their campus
- GCISD will begin a partnership with Child Care Associates (Head Start) to offer a full-day program at TES, CAN, and SLES for eligible students.
- TES: 2 ISD Teachers, 2 HS Teachers; CAN: 2 ISD Teachers, 1 HS Teacher; SLE: 1 ISD Teacher, 1 HS Teacher; BCES: 1 ISD Teacher
- GCISD will continue to offer a half-day program for students that do not qualify for the Federal Head Start program.
- The new GCISD Language Assessment Center to assign Pre-K students to the most appropriate campus. All Pre-K students will register in July.
** Note that with the addition of full-day Pre-K students at Cannon, we will be assigning a classroom to the Head Start teacher hired for Cannon. Also, lunch schedules will need to accommodate full-day Pre-K students.
GCISD Pre-Kindergarten
The long-term goal for the GCISD Pre-K program includes offering a full-day schedule to eligible and tuition-based students housed in an early childhood facility.
Phase 1: 2 years, 2014-2016
- Create and implement a professional development plan designed to improve the instructional practice in Pre-K classrooms.
- Develop a Pre-K standards-based report card and assessment plan.
- Increase Pre-K enrollment with additional communication efforts and a Pre-K registration event in July.
- Enter a partnership with Child Care Associates (Head Start) increasing our contact time with eligible students to a full day.
- Create a tuition-based Pre-K program with a partner organization providing the facility.
- Explore options for providing transportation to eligible Pre-K students.
Phase 2: 3 years, 2016-2019
- Increase the tuition-based Pre-K enrollment.
- Merge the eligible Pre-K program with the tuition-based program.
- The revenue from the tuition Pre-K program offsets the cost of providing a full-day Pre-K program for all eligible students.
- Open a GCISD early childhood facility consolidating the ECDC, PPCD, tuition Pre-K and the eligible Pre-K program.
- Eliminate the Child Care Associates partnership and partnership with the organization providing the tuition-based facility.
TWEETS FROM THE WEEK
No time to follow tweets from staff this week? Check them out here! Great job tweeting about the great things going on at Cannon! Keep up the good work!
Laura Green @LauraGreen2014 Apr 18 Awesome regrouping strategy used in @Michelleh340 2nd grade class! Goosebumps all around! @cancubs pic.twitter.com/U3vD0ID8X1
Julee Vorachard @Jvorachard Apr 18 The good stuff!;) Thank you @heartinlife ! “@mrsgreuling: Google driving with our scholars @heartinlife @Jvorachard @STEM4th @cancubs”
Mrs Greuling @mrsgreuling Apr 18 Google driving with our scholars @heartinlife @Jvorachard @STEM4th @cancubs
The Land of Lollis @cannonelemmusic Apr 17 Carlos and Grant make a performance video. Rubric: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/cms/lib4/TX01000829/Centricity/Domain/1499/Music%20Performance%20Rubric.pdf … @cancubs @tonataylor #musedtech pic.twitter.com/K0R12eu124
Erica Step @EricaStep1 Apr 17 3rd graders loving GoNoodle "wipeout" brain break! #cancubs @Tonataylor
Trisha Goins @heartinlife Apr 17 Congrats to @MeganPettit22 to be the 1st caller w/the correct answer to today's #STEM math challenge! #gcisd #cancubs pic.twitter.com/Gla3DTHRAC
Karla Aguilera @KarlaMAguilera Apr 16 Ribbons at GCISD Special Olympics@SubiaLuvina @Tonataylor @cancubs pic.twitter.com/Ahj59zFw8G
DenSkiFisher @DeniseSki Apr 16 First Gr. at it again with their watering system for their plants while recording on the iPad @cancubs @Tonataylor pic.twitter.com/aGWaQX70mF
Heather Hagar @Stemscience4u Apr 16
The Gator Boys are teaching us about inherited traits, adaptations and conservation of habitats @cancubs @Tonataylor pic.twitter.com/wAVqyPHH2I
Sarah Wolter @Wolter_Sarah Apr 16 Video conferencing with the Gator Boys!!! @cancubs @Tonataylor
Michelle Hall @Michelleh340 Apr 16 Solving math riddles during a videoconference with friends in Virginia. @cancubs @g http://pic-collage.com/_aWbzYNBj pic.twitter.com/ZHHoM5F7LW
TBlizzard @Tonataylor Apr 15 Recruiting next years robotics team at Cannon FLL night! @cancubs @GCISD pic.twitter.com/092X0VVpzQ
Heather Hagar @Stemscience4u Apr 15 Getting ready for a windy day by engineering kites with different designs and materials! @Tonataylor @cancubs pic.twitter.com/w5xCpsD7Ui
Trisha Goins @heartinlife Apr 16 Great tip @TheGatorBoys "enjoy gators from a distance & carry a stick" #cancubs pic.twitter.com/7lHvyvzDFi
Gail Marin @gail_marin Apr 16 Engineering our animal habitats! #cancubs @Tonataylor @aricci1 pic.twitter.com/YIZbzhZC7o
Trisha Goins @heartinlife Apr 16 Video conference, place value riddles with friends in Virginia #gcisdtech #cancubs @Michelleh340 pic.twitter.com/yyvqHL9lVl
Riqui Villarreal @CannonCoachV Apr 14 2nd graders all together SPEED STACKING!!!! #cancubs #PhysEd pic.twitter.com/l2u7InnUrg
Tina Berumen @tinaberumen Apr 15 3rd grade @cancubs coding with @LEGO_Education this morning during Engineering! #STEM @Tonataylor pic.twitter.com/XbwgjIp0La
Patrick R. Lollis @canmaestro Apr 15 Ruben and Ben presenting a new procedure to the 4th grade yellow cubs. @cancubs @Tonataylor #musicedtech pic.twitter.com/mR2nFEOpyt
GoNoodle @GoNoodle Apr 15 Awesome! MT @JudyReta: Used GoNoodle to energize my scholars this morning. They loved Freeze It. @Tonataylor @cancubs #GoNoodle
Judy Reta @JudyReta Apr 14 Used GoNoodle to energize my scholars this morning. They loved "Freeze." @Tonataylor @cancubs #GoNoodle
Anne Pyron @pyron_anne Apr 14 Scholars making inferences @SubiaLuvina with Pete the Cat, then writing their own Pete story for each other to infer! @cancubs @Tonataylor
Deena Crawford @MrsCrawfordSSS Apr 14 Brain Break Zumba!! @cancubs Thanks @GoNoodle !! pic.twitter.com/ZfwUayYwgv
Deena Crawford @MrsCrawfordSSS Apr 17 Making structures with packing cardboard @cancubs #STEM pic.twitter.com/gA6vlY8Fqk
Tina Berumen @tinaberumen Apr 16 Current @CannonFifth graders training our upcoming @STEM4th KCAN crew for their morning announcements debut! pic.twitter.com/jLJRXF401U
Mrs Greuling @mrsgreuling Apr 18 Critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and lots of learning "noise" on a Friday afternoon! @STEM4th @cancubs
Sarah ganus @SarahGanus Apr 18 Engineering bird beaks that are adapted to different food types. pic.twitter.com/rK252SYfPV
KDavidenko @KarenDavidenko Apr 14 Clever way to show what science you've learned into a Brain Rube Goldberg! http://thomaselementaryart.blogspot.com/2013/04/3rd-grade-machine-brains.html … @cancubs @Tonataylor
Judy Hockenbrough @JHockenbrough Apr 15 Our class thought this book was a super fun way to remember the importance of punctuation! #cancubs @tonataylor pic.twitter.com/wTi6prsLhA
Judy Hockenbrough @JHockenbrough Apr 14 Using the Story app by Disney to create awesome fairy tales! #cancubs @tonataylor
Megan Pettit @MeganPettit22 Apr 17.@FrontRow gave me the entire math iPad program aligned to #commoncore, for free! They also gave me 5 invites - msg me if you want one!
Megan Pettit @MeganPettit22 Apr 14 LOVE @GetKahoot! It is a great way to practice content with a high engagement level! Thanks @tinaberumen
Diane Norwood @MsDianeNorwood Apr 17 Already signed up! RT @amypint : If you love digital collaboration, you’ll love EdCamp GCISD on June 10! #gcdcchat
Jem Inigo @JemInigo Apr 18 Kindergarteners were given two options: iStation or an Easter craft? Sorry, Easter bunny, iStation won. @cancubs pic.twitter.com/0kVkaG1WOa
KDavidenko @KarenDavidenko Apr 17Busy afternoon with Design veterans and new recruits! #soindependent @cancubs @Tonataylor pic.twitter.com/tZC4Q86ldo
Laura Green @LauraGreen2014 Apr 18 That lounge wasn't a challenge for the Sp.Ed team! @SubiaLuvina @KarenDavidenko @pyron_anne pic.twitter.com/WlskZ8yo4Y
Anne Pyron @pyron_anne Apr 16 Multiple exposure to words keeps interest from WANING
as 4th graders learn about Moon Phases. Karate Kid' reference also helps! @cancubs
Anne Pyron @pyron_anne Apr 16 From the documentary, THE ADDRESS, 'Perfect is the enemy of the good.' Reflecting on how this affects our learning. @cancubs @Tonataylor
Anna Weston @AnnaRWeston Apr 16 Learning from The Gator Boys! @cancubs @Stemscience4u @MrsCrawfordSSS @Wolter_Sarah pic.twitter.com/SD7BM339zr
Riqui Villarreal @CannonCoachVApr 17
2nd grade blue cubs practicing the tire tug for field day!! #cancubs #PhysEd
TO DO LIST
- Set a timer and turn in attendance by 9:45-10:15 daily.
- Continue to collect remaining Student Plans for Next Year forms from students.
- Give High 5's, Hugs, & Handshakes to 3rd, 4th & 5th grade scholars to encourage them for STAAR testing on Tuesday & Wednesday!
- Review Anne's reminders for STAAR testing this week.
- Dual Language teachers attend mandatory meeting on 4/24 - Cannon 3:30 pm
- Meet with your team to complete the Parent Survey Feedback form by May 2nd
- Weigh-in for the staff S.T.E.M. Challenge with Nurse Kendra!
- Tweet throughout the week to share the great work going on @ Cannon!