Parr Patriot News
January 2020
Message from Mrs. Buckels
Happy New Year from Kinder
Happy New Year from 1st grade
Happy New Year from 2nd grade
Happy New Year from 3rd grade
Happy New Year from 4th grade
Happy New Year from 5th grade
Happy New Year from our SPED team
Important Dates
January 7- Welcome back! Wear your favorite college shirt
January 10-Report cards go home
January 16-All Pro Dad's meeting-a.m.
January 20-Teacher Inservice-no school
January 27-Victory Lakes Intermediate visit for 5th graders
January 27-31-Random Acts of Kindness Week
Feb. 3-14-Pennies for Patients Drive
Feb. 3-100th day of school
Feb. 4-wear your favorite college shirt
Feb. 7-Early Release day/Progress Reports go home
2020-2021 Academic Calendar
Waves of Reading Program-ends Feb. 7th
Thank you so much for all your support with our Holiday Food Drive!
Parr Elementary wrapped up our 20 Days of Thanks and Giving on Friday, December 13th. All our donations went to the Galveston County Food Bank. This service project was started by one of our 3rd grade teachers, Mrs. Dina Scott, and then everyone pitched in and made it happen school wide. We collected 1,139 pounds of food for the Galveston County Food Bank!! According to Feeding America, this will be enough for 949 meals! Way to go, Patriots! We did a wonderful job of helping our community!
Character Corner
Cooperation K-2
This month we are talking about Cooperation! Cooperation is about making sure we know how to be on a team or work in a group towards a common goal. Here is the definition we are using:
Cooperation: Working together and helping others.
We want young people to know how to work hard on their own. But, just as important, we want them to know what it looks like to be a part of a really supportive, helpful, empowering team. We will be thinking about the skills needed to work together well and how each of us contributes to a group in big and small ways. We will think about our strengths and our areas of growth. We will take part in fun challenges to put our teamwork to the test and grow, together, toward the common goal of a more helpful, kind, cooperative world!
Conversation Starters
- Sometimes you just feel like doing things all by yourself. What is something that someone can do to help you to get into the spirit of Cooperation?
- When we are working with others, it can be tough when a teammate is not cooperating. How do you deal with that frustration? What can you say to the teammate to tell them how you feel?
- Talk about a time when you worked on a really effective team. What were the ingredients? What did you contribute? How did they help you?
Questions You Could Ask
- What are some activities where it’s easy for you to practice Cooperation? Which activities make it difficult? Why do you think that is?
- Do you like working together with other people? Can you name some things you do at home that require Cooperation or teamwork?
- Who is someone you love to work with? What makes it easy to Cooperate with them?
Application
Books
- That Fruit Is Mine! by Anuska Allepuz
Five elephants learn the power of teamwork from mice that work together to accomplish the goal of getting fruit from a tall tree! - Red & Yellow’s Noisy Night (The Olive Branch) by Josh Selig
Red and Yellow have to learn how to cooperate with each other and resolve their problem together. Red is playing loud music while Yellow is trying to sleep. - Frankie by Mary Sullivan
Frankie, the dog, was so excited to be adopted into a new family. When he gets to his new home, he meets Nico. Nico has lived here for a while. See how Nico and Frankie learn to be friends. - Swimmy by Leo Lionni
The tale of a little fish who finds his purpose when he discovers the need to work together. - Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Sportsmanship by Howard Binkow
Playing just for the fun of it? Sure thing. In this story, Howard learns the value of working together and cooperating to create a win-win, win or lose. - Nugget and Darling by Barbara Joosse
When Darling, the new kitten, threatens to get in the middle of Nell and her dog Nugget, will they learn to all get along and become friends? - Yoga Friends by Mariam Gates
In this treasure, the author invites friends to buddy up and work together as they stretch, relax, and grow through yoga poses. - The Little Red Hen (Makes A Pizza) by Philemon Sturges
In this version of the age-old fable, the Little Red Hen is about to make a pizza, but will she be able to get any of her friends to help her?
Cooperation 3-5
This month we are talking about Cooperation! Cooperation is about assistance and support, about collaboration and teamwork. It is a necessary tool in our toolbox for creating a community that cares for one another. Here is the definition we are using:
Cooperation: Working together and helping others.
A lot of messaging in our world would suggest that “doing it on your own” is a measure of success. And while independence is important, we must develop skills to work alongside one another and create things, together, that are better than anything we could create on our own. Successful people know when and how to ask for help and are generous in giving it out when they have something to offer! Cooperation requires great communication, self-awareness, and the ability to step up (or step back) when the time is right to best support whatever group you are working with. Over the course of the month, we will be creative in teams, accomplish amazing things side by side, and learn about what it means to do meaningful, PurposeFull work together.
Conversation Starters
- It has been said that teams are only as good as their weakest player. What do you think about that?
- What skills are important for Cooperation? Which of those skills are your strengths and which skills would you like to improve?
- What does Cooperation look like in your home? How would each member of the household prefer others Cooperate with them?
Questions You Could Ask
- Think about a sports team that you’ve played on or seen on television or your computer. Which athlete do you think of when you hear the phrase “team player?”
- What makes working with others fun? What makes working with others challenging? Where do you see Cooperation work well? Where doesn’t it work well?
- Who is someone you Cooperate well with? Who is someone you struggle to Cooperate with? Why do you think that is?
Application
Books
- The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren
This story shows how townspeople can work together with whispers to help a fleeing family during the Holocaust. - Code 7: Cracking the Code for an Epic Life by Bryan R Johnson
Throughout the book, each character learns an important lesson about themselves when faced with a challenge. At the end of the book, you are left with 7 code words from each character’s story that can help to make a life epic! Working together to accomplish a goal takes teamwork and Cooperation. - Goal! by Mina Javaherbin
In a dusty township in South Africa, Ajani and his friends have earned a brand-new, federation-size soccer ball. They kick. They dribble. They run. They score. These clever boys are football champions! But when a crew of bullies tries to steal their ball, will Ajani and his friends be able to beat them at their own game? - The Subway Sparrow by Leyla Torrest
An English-speaking girl, a Spanish-speaking man, and a Polish-speaking woman might not be able to converse, but when a sparrow trapped in their subway car needs help, their common concern bridges the language barriers between them. - Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
When unrelated, strange events start happening, Petra and Calder team up to combine their talents to solve an international scandal - Teamwork Isn’t My Thing And I Don’t Like To Share by Julia Cook
RJ doesn’t want to cooperate and share at school or at home. Will his soccer coach help him understand why Cooperation is a skill that he’ll need on and off the field? - Earth Day – Hooray by Stuart J. Murphy
When Ryan, Luke, and Carly decide to collect and recycle cans, they find out that Cooperation pays off as they meet their goal of 5,000 cans to get enough money to beautify the local park.
Activity
Play the classic cooperative catch game as a family! Choose an object to toss back and forth. Use a water balloon if you are feeling brave or keep it simple with a beanbag. Stand across from your partner with your toes about one foot apart. One partner tosses the object to the other partner. Each time the object is caught, the partners take one step backwards to create a larger gap. The thrower and the catcher must work cooperatively to be successful! See how you can improve your communication and score (distance) over the course of the month.
All our Parr Spelling Bee participants! Congrats to our winner-Zaki Gilani and our runner up-Maneet Randhawa
Parr Elementary Brownies
Parr/VLI Gingerbread Run
Parr/VLI Gingerbread Run
Parr Brownies leading the pledges at CCISD Board Meeting
Pledge Leaders
Watch DOG
Interested in being a Watch Dog Dad for a day or a half day?? Email families@parrpta.org to schedule your day :)
Volunteer Application
Clear Creek ISD has implemented a new online volunteer application form for parents and community members, which now requires volunteers to register on an annual basis. As of July 15, all volunteer records have been deactivated, and effective July 16, both former and prospective volunteers must apply/reapply using CCISD’s new volunteer application to be eligible for upcoming volunteer opportunities in the 2019-2020 school year. It can take up to 3-4 days to be approved. If you think you may be volunteering this year, go ahead and take care of applying. We appreciate all our volunteers!
Volunteer Application Link-click on the white box below to take you to the application
Click on the link below to access the Amazon Makerspace Wishlist
Lunch Money
Thank you!
Change of Transportation
Reminder, please note that any transportation changes during the school day should be in the form of a written note signed by the parent and/or guardian. If faxing your note to the office, please include student and teacher name, date, and change of transportation with a copy of your driver’s license. The school fax number is 281-284-4105. All transportation changes must be in the office by 2:30 p.m. so we can inform the teacher in time for dismissal. Thank you for your diligence in this matter. *Please note-if calling the school to change transportation, you must be able to fax in your request in writing with a copy of your photo ID. No calls about change in transportation will be allowed unless accompanied with this note. This allows us to ensure that safety procedures are followed and students’ whereabouts are closely monitored.