Week of November 16, 2026

We are having a wonderful time at Sky Ranch.  The weather could not be any better!  You have one more week until another well-deserved break. As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m thankful for the many gifts we share at our school. Each of you is such a blessing, and I’m truly grateful for the heart and dedication you bring to Lee every day. You create incredible learning environments filled with enthusiasm, flexibility, and compassion and it shows in everything you do. Over the years, I’ve learned so much about leading with grace and patience, and I see those same qualities shining in so many of you. Please use the break to rest and recharge. Set work aside and give yourself permission to slow down. You’ve earned it- you have crushed this first 14 weeks! We can’t wait to celebrate you during Lee's “December to Remember” when you return. 💗

DID YOU KNOW:

• that we have an after hours visit from UNT Superintendent students on Monday? Please make sure your spaces and collabs are picked up.  Thank you!
• PTO will be providing a Thankful Breakfast for the entire staff on Tuesday? We will make an annoucement as soon as it is ready.  Staff on morning duty, we are soliciting parents to help with your morning responsibilities.
• you can wear joggers on Friday, November 20, and "trot the track" during your conference time? Please share pics of your group taking some self-care time!
• Friday, November 20, is Substitute Appreciation Day? Please be intentional in thanking any subs in our building! We will present them with individualized bundt cakes from our school.
• the office will clean the lounge fridge out at 2:00, on Friday, November 20? Please take your personal items and food home so we don't discard them.
• you should set your automatic replies on your email for the week off?
• we will sing this song at the end of the day before Thanksgiving Break @2:28?  Please have your kids practice.  It is our "newest tradition" and will be stuck in your head- SORRY IF IT DRIVES YOU NUTS!!!
• The CISD School Choice Fair is on January 27 from 6:00-7:30.  Do you want to join us to brag about Lee?  Let CK know.
• we had some great information from Samira and Sabrina at our Principal's Meeting? As you take a look, let me know if you have any questions or wonders.  We can also review in Team Time.  I REALLY like her Data Analysis and Progress Monitoring document.

WEAR BLUE ON FRIDAY IN RECOGNITION OF DIABETES

Please wear blue with your jeans on Friday, November 13.  

HELP WITH CARLINE DUTY ON 11/17

As part of our giving to our wonderful staff during the holiday season, please sign up to help with drop off on November 17th from 7-7:40am to allow our designers to enjoy their Thankful Breakfast hosted by RJL PTO. You'll help open car doors, manage the sidewalk traffic, and get kids in the door with a great start to their day!

FAMILEE FEAST IS THIS WEEK

FamiLEEs are invited to have a Thanksgiving Feast Lunch on November 19.  This lunch will be in place of FamiLEE Friday lunch this week. Parents can Sign up here.  

PROGRESS REPORT GRADES

4-5 grades, please have your grades in by 8:00 on Tuesday morning.  THANK YOU!

COMMUNITY LEARNING WALK

As part of our campus parent engagement goal and a strategy in our Campus Improvement Plan, the last Thursday of every month, Mrs. Kastrounis will host a community learning walk at Lee.  This month the walk will be from 8:00-9:00 on Thursday, November 20 and parents planning to attend should arrive with their ID to check in at 7:45.  

SCHOOL CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING WEEK

SPELLING BEE

Best wishes to our fifth graders as they compete to represent Lee in the district spelling bee.  You are welcome to watch after school, on Thursday, if you have an interest.  Thank you to the 5th grade designers for staying late for this event.

COPPELL EDUCATION FOUNDATION GRANTS 

We have four Coppell ISD Ed Foundation grants live?  Best wishes to Priscilla, May, and Julie!  Here are links to their grants: 

• Build, Code, Create: Curiosity into Creation – Priscilla Shaner: Rigamajig building kits and coding tools so learners build, test and problem-solve together.
• From Our Minds to Our Walls – May Voltz: a poster maker that turns student-made anchor charts into learning tools for every grade.
• Growing Curiosity: Garden Discovery Lab – Julie Bowles: a weather station and science tools that turn the school garden into an outdoor lab.

MISSED THE ORIGINAL HOUSE SHIRT OR WINTER WEAR SALE? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!

We have a limited amount of House Shirts & Winter Wear available in our final inventory- but once they are gone, they are gone.  This is our final inventory, so sizes and quantities are limited.  Grab yours before it's too late.  Shop today at  rjlpto.org/spurstore

LEEDERSHIP TIP AND QUOTE OF THE WEEK

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
• OFFICE ON LOUNGE DUTY

November 13- Super Teacher Nominations DUE

November 16-Little Library (10:00 AM)

     UNT Tours Lee Elementary (5:30-8:00 PM)

November 17- Chantel's Birthday

     Thankful Breakfast from PTO

     4-5 Progress Report Grades Due (8:00)

November 18-  Progress Reports Generated

     Staff Mtg. training from Dr. DeLaIsla (3:15 Cafe)

     Campus Spelling Bee (Library Flex 3:00)

November 19- Community learning Walk (8:00-9:00)

     FamiLEE Feast (Lunch times) 

November 20- Substitute Appreciation Day

     3rd Grade Field Trip to Dallas Zoo

     Clean out the Fridge (2:00)

     Sing Gobble Song at Dismissal Time (2:58 PM)

November 21- Joy O's Birthday

November 23-27- NO SCHOOL

November 30-  December to Remember Calendars delivered

Week of November 9, 2026

What a great week at Lee! I want to give a HUGE shoutout to our Team for the incredible job you did with learner-led conferences! Watching our learners take ownership of their learning and proudly sharing their growth with their FamiLEEs is exactly what makes Lee so special. Thank you for the time, preparation, and heart you poured into making these experiences meaningful! 

A few quick reminders: I will be at Sky Ranch Wednesday through Friday next week. Also, here's a little incentive… complete your staff Panorama Survey, and you can enjoy a JEANS DAY on Monday! Your feedback matters, and I hope this little treat adds some sweetness to your week!

Finally, wishing a very Happy Diwali to all who celebrate!  May this season bring light, joy, and happiness to you and your families.

DID YOU KNOW:

• when a SECURE drill is initiated, you bring your kids inside, business continues as usual, and you take attendance in Raptor? You do not need to pull your shades. (This is only for a lock down.)  Reminder: You can always look at the back of your badge to remember what to do. Well done, Megan, for safety first when there is an animal on the playground. Thank you, Julie, for taking the dog to the animal shelter. (You are nuts if you think I am putting a stray dog in my car!) Thank you, Thames and Buchanan for keeping the dog calm while waiting. Thanks, Angela, for keeping everything calm and communicated. As you saw your computers and Newline boards will post alerts.
• we have four Coppell ISD Ed Foundation grants live?  Best wishes to May, Julie and Priscilla!  Here are links to their grants: 
• Build, Code, Create: Curiosity into Creation – Priscilla Shaner: Rigamajig building kits and coding tools so learners build, test and problem-solve together.
• From Our Minds to Our Walls – May Voltz: a poster maker that turns student-made anchor charts into learning tools for every grade.
• Growing Curiosity: Garden Discovery Lab – Julie Bowles: a weather station and science tools that turn the school garden into an outdoor lab.

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL AND SQUISHY SALE

Our LEEdership Council will be selling $2.00 highland cow squishys on pencils TOMORROW. Please allow them to come down to the front entrance when they arrive at school. 

THANK YOU

The PTO officially closed our annual WAC fundraising campaign this past Sunday. Together we raised $29,819.32 with 65% of families participating. Your generosity helps bring enrichment programs, classroom support, and special opportunities to life for our learners. We are SO thankful for your continued partnership and can’t wait to see the impact unfold throughout the school year!

VETERANS DAY

As Veteran’s Day approaches, we would like to honor and recognize the brave men and women who have served our country. We invite anyone who has served in the military—or has/had a family member who has served—to share a photo and information about them so we can include them in our Veteran’s Day recognition wall. If you would like to participate, please send the following information with your picture:

• Name of Veteran
• Branch of Service, Rank, and Dates of Service (if known)
• Name/House/Grade of learner
• Relationship to learner

Please send your submissions to rkazebee@coppellisd.com by 11/10. We are excited to celebrate and honor our heroes and share their stories with our community. Thank you for helping us recognize the sacrifices and service of our veterans.

VIRTUAL PTO MEETING ON TUESDAY

Mark your calendar! Our next virtual PTO Meeting is this Tuesday November 10th, at 6:00 PM. Join us for exciting updates from your PTO and RJL Admin Team

Link to post Questions : Have a question for the PTO or RJL Admin Team? Submit it anonymously before the meeting by visiting rjlpto.org/rjlspeaks.

Meeting Link : Will be emailed Tuesday morning through Parent Square.

WORLD KINDNESS DAY

Friday, November 13, is World Kindness Day.  We can't wait to see how our learners spread kindness.  If you have a KIND shirt, join in on wearing it on Friday.  We will also celebrate kindness in January with the Great Kindness Challenge.

HELP WITH CARLINE DUTY ON 11/17

As part of our giving to our wonderful staff during the holiday season, please sign up to help with drop off on November 17th from 7-7:40am to allow our designers to enjoy their Thankful Breakfast hosted by RJL PTO. You'll help open car doors, manage the sidewalk traffic, and get kids in the door with a great start to their day!

FAMILEE FEAST IS NEXT WEEK

FamiLEEs are invited to have a Thanksgiving Feast Lunch on November 19.  This lunch will be in place of FamiLEE Friday lunch this week. Parents can Sign up here.  

SPUR SPIRIT WEAR AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME

Winter is coming, and it’s time to bundle up in Spur style! Our all-new winter wear is here — including the brand-new RJ hoodie in two classic school colors. With cool days and fun field trips ahead, now’s the perfect time to stock up on school spirit.

🧥 Early Bird Special: Pre-order your hoodie by November 10th for an exclusive discount!
All pre-orders will be ready for pickup by December 10th.
⚠️ Inventory and size availability can’t be guaranteed after November 10th, so don’t wait!
This is the final opportunity to order spirit wear for this school year. Order today: rjlpto.org/spurstore

COACHES CORNER

Cooperative Learning Strategy of the Week: Class Line Ups (Kagan 9.9)

Looking for a quick way to build classroom community or reinforcing content? Line Ups get students moving, talking, and thinking as they arrange themselves in a specific order.(Page 9.9 in your Kagan Cooperative Learning Book)

Class Building

For class building, students can line up by birthday month, shoe size, number of pets, number of buttons, or based on opinions (for example, from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree"). 

Content Learning

For content learning, students might order numbers, fractions, or decimals; sequence historical events; alphabetize vocabulary words; or arrange story elements and procedures in the correct order.

Bonus tip: Once students are lined up, have them "fold" or "slide" the line to create instant partnerships for discussion, reflection, or peer coaching.

Line up with The Leaf Thief! Try this classroom-ready Line Up activity using The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming.

Give pairs of students a story event card. Students work together to place themselves in the correct sequence of events, then explain how they know their card belongs in that spot. Once the class agrees on the correct order, fold the line so students are paired with someone across from them. Partners then discuss a comprehension question such as:

• Why was Squirrel convinced there was a leaf thief?
• How did Bird help Squirrel solve the problem?
• What lesson did Squirrel learn about the changing seasons?
• What does the ending tell us about Squirrel's character?
• Which event was most important to the story and why?

WALKTHROUGHS IN NOVEMBER

This month we will give you feedback in Domain 3.2 Managing Student Behavior.  We will be looking for:

• Routines that are clearly communicated and reinforced
• educator responds to off-task behavior respectfully
• proximity control and awareness of classroom
• Smooth and timely transitions
• use of attention signals
• respect from learners toward teacher, peers, and materials
• Students managing supplies/equipment
• learners are responsible for behavior with minimal teacher prompting
• materials and routines support independence and responsibility
• Organization of space
• classroom layout promotes safety
• tone of classroom is positive, calm, and conducive to learning

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
• NATIONAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY WEEK
• YELLOW HOUSE LOUNGE DUTY

Nov 8- Annah's Birthday

     Diwali

Nov 9- 1st Grade End of Unit Celebration (2:15 Cafe)

Nov 10- Fall Picture Retakes

     Virtual PTO Meeting (6:00)

Nov 11- 5th Grade at Sky Ranch

     Veteran's Day

     TX Wildlife Visits for Kinder (all morning)

     Flex Learning (3:15-4:15)

Nov 12- 5th Grade at Sky Ranch

     SS Content Academy

Nov 13- 5th Grade at Sky Ranch

     SLO Student Progress #2 Due

     Wear Blue in recognition of Diabetes

     Super Teacher Nominations DUE

Week of November 2, 2026

Thank you for ALL of your help with this year's Write-A-Check campaign! 💙💚 I KNOW how hard you have been working to encourage participation, celebrate progress, and make the incentives fun and exciting for your learners. Your enthusiasm and efforts have made such a difference, and I truly appreciate everything you've done to support this important fundraiser! Thank you for continuing to rally your FamiLEEs and help us work toward our schoolwide goal. It truly takes a TEAM, and I am so grateful for YOU!  Thank you for bringing the energy tonight for Trunk or Treat.  YOU ARE THE BEST!

DID YOU KNOW:

• your THREE candy buckets are labeled and ready to go for Trunk or Treat tomorrow?! A BIG thank you to Linda and Amber for sharing their buckets with us! A few quick reminders:
• Your three labeled buckets are ready for pickup.
• After the event, please combine any leftover candy into ONE bucket.
• Stack your empty buckets and return all buckets to the same location where you picked them up.
• Please be sure to follow the Trunk or Treat directions PTO sent through Amy yesterday.
• Educators have until November 1 to apply for the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards, with multiple award categories available, including Teacher, School Counselor, Principal, School Board, and School District.
• Hour of Code is coming up next month?  If you are interested, please sign up if you plan to participate and start reaching out to Julie and Priscilla for coding assistance for the week of December 7-13. 
• the Panorama window is open through November 6?  Staff, please make time to take this survey. Your log in access code is your staff ID. Your Admin Team will be taking learners to the cafeteria on November 5 to complete their surveys.  We hope this helps you take one thing off of your over-full plates.  
• 3rd -8:00
• 4th -8:30
• 5th -9:00

• Family Survey Link: go.coppellisd.com/Fall26FamilySurvey 

Access Method: Parents and guardians do not need an access code. They can simply follow the link and select their student's school from the dropdown list.
• Lee has a new shout out board? We have the greatest people on Earth, working at the greatest school on Earth, and it is time to recognize them. Please take a football from our very own RJ and add a Shout Out to the greatest team @ Lee!! (Thank you, Ayesha, for starting this celebration board, the blurb for the blog, and executing your idea). 

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING

We will have a LEEdership Council meeting on Monday morning at 9:35.  Please send them with their iPad when the announcement is made.  We will send them an email to remind them to wear their shirts.

NO SCHOOL FOR LEARNERS ON TUESDAY

We will see learners for their learner-led conferences, and that will be all.  Enjoy the day off.

NOVEMBER 3 CONFERENCE DAY

Thank you for being intentional about including our learners in these visits! We appreciate the opportunity for them to be involved in these meaningful experiences. We will have someone stationed at the front entrance to welcome our guests and assist them with entering the building.

NATIONAL SANDWICH DAY

Tuesday is National Sandwich Day. Admin is happy to be providing your lunch on this day.  We hope this eases your busy schedule during conferences. ENJOY!

COLLEGE SHIRT DAY
Wednesday is College Shirt Day. We encourage learners to participate by wearing a college or university shirt on the first Wednesday of each month.

LEEDERSHIP COUNCIL SELLING HIGHLAND COWS

LEEdership Council will have squishy mascot cows for sale on Friday morning during arrival.  Get here on time before they run out.

CIP

The 2025-2026 Lee Campus Improvement Plan goals and strategies can be found here (trying to make it easier for you all).  Each quarter the CIP must be reviewed by our stakeholders. Leadership, please review this document in your House Meeting next Thursday and add evidence under strategies.  Please add bullets for new or additional evidence, don't repeat.  Add any evidence by Friday, November 6, please and thank you.

VETERANS DAY

As Veteran’s Day approaches, we would like to honor and recognize the brave men and women who have served our country. We invite anyone who has served in the military—or has/had a family member who has served—to share a photo and information about them so we can include them in our Veteran’s Day recognition wall. If you would like to participate, please send the following information with your picture:

• Name of Veteran
• Branch of Service, Rank, and Dates of Service (if known)
• Name/House/Grade of learner
• Relationship to learner

Please send your submissions to rkazebee@coppellisd.com. We are excited to celebrate and honor our heroes and share their stories with our community. Thank you for helping us recognize the sacrifices and service of our veterans.

SAVE THE DATE FOR FAMILEE FEAST
Please let your famiLEEs know if they want to attend our annual Thanksgiving Lunch that they need to sign up ahead of time. This lunch will be in place of FamiLEE Friday lunch this week. Parents can Sign up here.  

WRITE-A-CHECK DEADLINE EXTENDED: 3 DAYS LEFT TO DONATE!
We’ve extended our annual fundraising campaign through November 3rd in an effort to help us reach our goal! This is the final opportunity to contribute for this year. Thank you to everyone who has already donated - your generosity makes a huge difference for our FamiLEE PTO and allows us to avoid sending learners door to door selling items each year.

As of mid-week, we’ve reached 66% of our goal with 48% participation — we know we can pull together and get to our goal of $35,000 with everyone’s support! Thank you; if you haven’t yet had the chance to give, please consider making your donation today rjlpto.org/WAC

We suggest a donation of $100 per student, but any amount you’re comfortable giving truly makes an impact. Wondering what your donations support? Visit rjlpto.org/whypto for a closer look.

TIA REMINDERS FROM CISD

This was a reminder shared in my Admin Meeting this week.  I'm happy to answer any questions.  If you are interested in serving as our TIA Campus Rep, please let CK know.

COACHES CORNER

Cooperative Learning Structure of the Week 

There are many Cooperative Learning Structures that we did not learn during our district PL. This series aims to highlight new structures for you to try out in your classrooms!

Simultaneous Round Table gets all your learners writing and thinking at the same time while giving you evidence of what they are thinking.

How to:

• Pick 4 different questions (or 5 if you have any groups of 5)
• Put one question at the top of a piece of paper (or even better, have the students do it!)
• Each student writes/draws one idea on the piece of paper, then passes it to the next student.
• Consider having each student write in a different color so you can see their thinking.

Grade band	What students add	Suggested time	Helpful supports
K–1	A drawing, label, copied word, or dictated idea	1–2 minutes	Picture cues, oral rehearsal, sentence starters, adult or peer scribing
2–3	A word, short phrase, labeled sketch, or simple sentence	2–3 minutes	Word banks, examples, partner rehearsal, bilingual resources
4–5	A complete idea, sentence, or claim with evidence when appropriate	3–4 minutes	Response frames, vocabulary banks, evidence prompts, think time

Want to implement but don't know where to start? 👉 Click here for some class building question sets👈, perfect for introducing and teaching the structure before using it with content. Make sure you click on your grade band tab!

WALKTHROUGHS IN NOVEMBER

This month we will give you feedback in Domain 3.2 Managing Student Behavior.  We will be looking for:

• Routines that are clearly communicated and reinforced
• educator responds to off-task behavior respectfully
• proximity control and awareness of classroom
• Smooth and timely transitions
• use of attention signals
• respect from learners toward teacher, peers, and materials
• Students managing supplies/equipment
• learners are responsible for behavior with minimal teacher prompting
• materials and routines support independence and responsibility
• Organization of space
• classroom layout promotes safety
• tone of classroom is positive, calm, and conducive to learning

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
• NATIONAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY WEEK
• YELLOW HOUSE LOUNGE DUTY
• PANORAMA WINDOW

Nov 1- Daylight Savings Time

Nov 2- LEEdership Council Mtg. (9:35-10:30)

     Sky Ranch Chaperone Mtg. (5:30 Yellow House)

Nov 3- NO SCHOOL for learners

     Elementary Conference Day

     Father of Texas Day

     National Sandwich Day

Nov 4- Julie S's Birthday

      College Shirt Day  

      Leadership Mtg. (3:15 Yellow House)

Nov 5- Purple House Music Performance (2:00 and 6:30)

      Purple House Art Show (6:00)

Nov 6- 5th Grade Sky Ranch Student Mtg. (8:00 Cafe)

      Menaka's Birthday

     International Food Luncheon (Social Spurs)

     CIP Documentation Due