Week of February 12, 2024

What a busy week!  Thank you for hosting CMSW readers and for all the hard work with MAP, MClass, STAAR Field Test and MORE!  You all make it look easy and we know it is not!  There is a LOT going on in the building on Friday (tomorrow) so please read carefully, below.  We love and appreciate you SO MUCH!  Thanks in advance for your participation in Football Fiesta Friday tomorrow!

DID YOU KNOW:

• we have members from the CISD School Board visiting us, tomorrow, Friday February 9?  They will be here between 9:00 and 10:00 so please be intentional with your instruction during this time and have your spaces picked up.  If you are doing something in Science, please let me know so we can do our best to stop by.  We will be coming through the building with student leaders.
• CHS is hosting a Moon Party on February 21?    

FAIRY TALE BALL

The Fairy Tale Ball for 1st Grade is Friday (tomorrow)!  Our first graders will participate in a school-wide parade at 2:40 (starting in the cafeteria). Please line the halls at 2:35 to cheer them on as they make one lap around the school.  Thank you to Amber and Linda for helping with the dance and to Ed and Curtis for sharing their gym. First grade team, we thank you, too, for all of your preparations and can't wait to see your adorable characters in the parade.  They are going to be precious!

FABULOUS FRIDAYS IN FEBRUARY

Congrats to last week's five Chickfila gift card winners.  We hope you had FUN with our frog hunt.  I am cracking up that more keep appearing in my office and mailbox.  🐸

FOOTBALL FIESTA FRIDAY

We hope you will join in on the fun in the lounge on Friday.  Bring a soup or a Super Bowl snack.  Thank you Social Spurs for the fizzies in the fridge and decorations.  

BOOK FAIR

Our Spring Book Fair is here, February 9-15! Shop the online fair and add money to your child's eWallet here! https://bit.ly/RJLBookFairSpr24.

Parents, you are invited to come to Lunch with Your Learner and then shop at the Book Fair on Friday February 9. Pre-sign up is required: https://bit.ly/3OkNGJM

VALENTINES DAY

Wednesday is going to be a fun-filled day with a school wide movie in the gym at 2:00 and Valentine Parties at the end of the day.  Do you have any learners who need valentines?  Please get with Jessica and Angela.  The day's schedule is below and is also on our Master Schedule document. 

FRIDAY PL DAY

• Overview:  The day will begin with the first session starting at 8:00 am. Please give yourself plenty of time to park and walk to your first session. We will end our day after session 4 at 3:30 pm.
• Parking: Although the parking lot seems large at CHS, we do recommend that you coordinate with other staff members from our campus to carpool.
• Lunch on Your Own: Enjoy the flexibility to choose where and what you'd like to eat.
• Comfy Clothes: Dress comfortably for a day of active learning.
• What to Bring: Fully charged Mac, iPad, and Apple Pencil
• Prepare Ahead: Make sure you have the Unified Talent (Power School) App downloaded, before February 16, to stay updated with session and location changes.

NO SCHOOL

Although we have professional learning on Friday, please communicate to learners and parents that they do not have school on Friday and Monday.  Enjoy your Monday off!

COLOR RUN PARENT OPPORTUNITY (Share with parents this week)

The 2024 Color Run is fast approaching! Parents, we would LOVE for you to have an opportunity to have even MORE fun at this event.  Please watch this informational video to see how YOU can have a blast with your learner at the event and help raise even more funds for PE and Field Day.  You can visit the PTO Color Run site here: bit.ly/RJLColorRun 

PTO MEETING

Save the date for our next Virtual PTO meeting coming up on Tuesday February 20 at 6pm. We will have a special guest from the School Board joining us to highlight some of the things happening in our district, and the PTO team, along with RJL staff, will be sharing some information regarding the upcoming Color Run! So mark your calendars and be sure to join us for this one. The Zoom link will be emailed home that day. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

YEARBOOK

Order your 2023-24 yearbook from Lifetouch today!  Type in Richard J Lee Elementary.  Yearbook ID: 13015824.

SAVE THE DATE

Parents, Mrs. Kastrounis highly recommends you mark your calendars to attend this Parent University topic on February 28.  She has heard this speaker before and you should be informed of current trends that are impacting our community.

COACH'S CORNER

Let’s collaborate! Sign up so we can work together.

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP

DATES TO REMEMBER:

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
NATIONAL DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

CTE APPRECIATION MONTH

SPRING BOOK FAIR WEEK

February 11- Amirtha's Birthday

February 13- Yanet's Birthday

     5th Grade Visit from CMSW (8:00 Cafe)

     TOY Reception at the CISD Admin Building (5:30)

February 14- Day 0- Alternate schedule

     Valentine Movie for School in Gym (1:00)

     Valentine Parties (2:00-3:00)

     Leadership Meeting (3:15 Yellow House)

February 15- Bethany's Birthday

     Purple House Field Trip to Perot

February 16- Staff Professional Development Day

     NO SCHOOL for learners

February 19- NO SCHOOL

Week of February 5, 2024

Happy Thursday!  We are so grateful for each and every one of you and how you take care of each other.  Have a loveLEE weekend, stay warm, and take care of YOU!  

DID YOU KNOW:

• you know it ALL?  Pat yourself on the back.  👏

FIND A FROG FRIDAY

Join us for a frog hunt tomorrow.  As you find these cute little frogs around the building, come to Admin to trade your frog for a ticket for a drawing.  Have FUN! 

FABULOUS FRIDAYS IN FEBRUARY

We hope you enjoy the month of special Friday events.  Communication will come from Social Spurs about next Friday's Football Fiesta.

 Join us in the lounge for a Super Bowl pre-party at your lunch time.

SCHOOL COUNSELOR APPRECIATION WEEK

We are fortunate to have, not one, but TWO incredible school counselors at Lee Elementary.  Please help us in celebrating Mrs. Garvin and Mrs. Lightfoot for ALL that they do not only on the frontline, but behind the scenes to serve our learners, famiLEEs, and staff.  

COLLEGE SHIRT DAY

Encourage learners to participate the first Wednesday of each month.

BOOK FAIR

Our Spring Book Fair is coming Feb 9-15! Shop the online fair and add money to your child's eWallet here! https://bit.ly/RJLBookFairSpr24.

Parents, you are invited to come to Lunch with Your Learner and then shop at the Book Fair on Friday February 9. Pre-sign up is required: https://bit.ly/3OkNGJM

WALKTHROUGHS

We will be increasing our walkthroughs now that formal TTESS and mid year goal setting is concluding.  Through February 16, we will focus on Domain 2.1:  Achieving Expectations.  Here is what we will be giving you feedback on:

DLC UPDATES

📱Digital Classroom Management

The Spring is the perfect time to revisit your classroom management routines and procedures with your learners, even for your digital classroom environment!

If you are needing some new ideas to tackle learner behaviors, check out these resources to help:

Digital Classroom Community and Expectations

Curated Digital Citizenship Lessons & Resources

📧 DLC Off-Campus

I will be off campus for professional learning until February 8th, so I may be slower to respond to messages than normal. Thank you!  View My Schedule

TELPAS TESTING SCHEDULE

COACH'S CORNER

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LESSON IN LEADERSHIP

DATES TO REMEMBER:

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
NATIONAL DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

CTE APPRECIATION MONTH

NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK

Feb 6- Progress Report Grades Due (8:00 AM)

     CMSW Reads Aloud with Lee Elementary

Feb 7-  College Shirt Day

     STAAR Field Test (5th Grade Reading)

     Onboarding (3:15 Yellow House)

Feb 9- Progress Reports Go Home

      Fairy Tale Ball (2:00 Gym) 

Week of January 29, 2024

Happy Thursday, sweet folks.  What a GREAT week spreading and celebrating kindness.  Your beautiful banners look glorious hanging through our school!  I am reminded, daily, what a blessing it is to be at Lee Elementary with each of YOU!  THANK YOU for being YOU! 

DID YOU KNOW:

• we are ready to announce who our new Office Aide will be?  Welcome to the front office Charlene Parnell.  We are super excited to have her positivity and work ethic in our front office starting Monday, January 29.  Stay tuned as we fine tune responsibilities, once more.  As soon as they are firmed up, communication will be shared with you all.  Please welcome Ms. Suzi as the new cafeteria manager. She will be in our cafeteria shadowing Charlene on Friday.  Suzi will be sorely missed from Lakeside, but I have the utmost confidence she will thrive in our Lee cafeteria.  Please find time to introduce yourself to her.
• LEEders should tie up your house recycling on Friday.  Rikki's class will come and pick them up.  Thank you for your participation. 
• we need ALL staff to staff after school on Wednesday for security training.  We will meet in the cafeteria.  THANK YOU in advance for your attendance and attention.

100th DAY OF SCHOOL

Can you believe we have already been in school 100 days?  We are more than halfway through the year!  Feel free to participate on Tuesday.

PTO SPIRIT DAY AT NICK THE GREEK

Please support our PTO by ordering online or in store on Thursday, February 1.  Since it is all day, maybe someone from your team can be your dasher?  Just a thought!

FABULOUS FRIDAYS IN FEBRARY

Your Admin Team wants you to love what you do and do what you love.  We have planned Fabulous Fridays in February as a way to communicate how loved you are  We can't wait for everyone to join in. 

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

WRAD is Wednesday February 6th, and we can’t wait to celebrate at Lee! May Libby, from CMSW, is partnering her classes with our school next week. Thank you to all those who signed up.  If you haven't signed up, you can still do so, here.

ATTENDANCE REMINDERS PLEASE SHARE THIS NEW INFORMATION WITH PARENTS

When your learner is absent, please email your learner’s designer and include our front office by using the address: leeattendance@coppellisd.com.  Please include your learner’s name, their ID number, the dates and the reason for the absence. Notes must be received within 3 days or the absence will be marked as unexcused. 

Families have the option to send an email or a paper copy of an attendance note, such as a note from a doctor or a written parent note. Both forms can be accepted as documentation of absences. 

If you have any questions about attendance or extended leave then please email: 

leeattendance@coppellisd.com.  

You can find information about the CISD Attendance Policy at the link below:  https://www.coppellisd.com/page/attendance-policy

SAVE THE DATE- BOOK FAIR COMING SOON- VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Our Scholastic Spring Book fair will be here in 2 weeks! We are still in need of volunteers to help! Act fast to get a volunteer slot that works best for you!  This is a great way to get involved and foster young readers!  bit.ly/RJLSpringFair

WALKTHROUGHS

We will be increasing our walkthroughs now that formal TTESS and mid year goal setting is concluding.  Through February 16, we will focus on Domain 2.1:  Achieving Expectations.  Here is what we will be giving you feedback on:

COACH'S CORNER

Let’s collaborate! Sign up so we can work together.

ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP 

DATES TO REMEMBER:

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
NATIONAL DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

CTE APPRECIATION MONTH

MAP/MCLASS WINDOW -> FEB 23

January 29- TELPAS Testing (see calendar)

January 30- 100th Day of School

     TELPAS Testing (see calendar)

January 31- Math Content Academy

     Staff Meeting (3:15-4:45)  All staff attends for security training

February 1- PTO Spirit Day (Nick the Greek- all day)

     Sammy the Shark w/ Kinder (1:30 PM)

     Red House Music Performance (2:00 and 6:30 Gym)

February 2- Groundhog Day

     National World Read Aloud Day

Week of January 22, 2024

Thank you for an awesome week.  I'm so proud of your hard work during Design Time as houses.  I appreciate you opening up your spaces to the educators in Science and SS Learning Walks.  What a compliment to all of you that the directors want their participants to visit YOUR spaces.  WOW!  We can't wait to kick off The Great Kindness Challenge on Monday.  It is the perfect time to recognize and celebrate the kindness all around us because at Lee Elementary kindness is PLENTIFUL!  

DID YOU KNOW:

• we need you to review the Lee Master Class List document for accuracy?  Please email Chantel and Tara by end of day tomorrow if you have anyone added or missing from your class.  This should match what you see in eSchool.  Why do we need you to do this?  This is the front office team's BIBLE of who is in which class.  This document determines when learners enroll what class they will go into based on factors such as number of total learners, boys, girls, etc.  
• it is already time to start thinking about school supplies for next year?  Here is last year's list. Please review, as a grade level, and make any adjustments.  Once your adjustments are made, change the date on your tab to "Your Grade 2024-2025" so we know you are done.  The total should be as close to $55 - $57 as you can get it.  Please have this done by Friday, Feb 23, so I can get it to PTO.  I'm sorry, but this task should be done outside of Team Time since it does not align with our 4 questions.
• playground renderings were shared at the last CISD Board Meeting?  Here is a link to the graphics shared.  I have not had direction from the civil engineers WHERE the playgrounds are going (possibly where the fenced area is), but I do know the playgrounds will be next to each other (preparing you now).  There is a possibility that we may leave the current K-2 playground up as a secondary play structure due to our large numbers.  I will keep you informed as more information is shared by CISD.

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE
Don't forget to create a banner for your classes for our Kindness Kickoff Parade on Monday. Here is the link from our Counselors with details.  We will begin the parade at 8:00 with upstairs classes coming down the stairs from the cafeteria and then followed by Red and Yellow houses.  We will walk the building one time.  Please hang your banners after the event.

FLEX LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

Managing Challenging Behaviors in the Classroom: Whether you need a refresher or want to expand your behavior knowledge, this training opportunity will provide you with a step-by-step of the intervention process, research-based strategies and supports, and tips to diffuse and de-escalate tense situations with learners.  This will be taught by district Behavior Intervention Specialists.

BOOK FAIR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The Scholastic Spring Book fair is coming to Lee Library in early February, and the volunteer sign up is live.  Act fast to get a volunteer slot that works best for you!  This is a great way to get involved and foster young readers!  bit.ly/RJLSpringFair

RESTORATIVE PRACTICE TIPS (thanks Kat)

SAVE THE DATE FOR 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL

SAVE THE DATE

COACH'S CORNER

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ESL STRATEGY OF THE WEEK

LESSON IN LEADERSHIP

DATES TO REMEMBER:

MOY MAP and MCLASS WINDOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 28

SCHOOL BOARD APPRECIATION MONTH

GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE WEEK

Jan 22- Kindness Parade (8:00 AM)

Jan 23- Reading Academy

     Angela's Birthday

Jan 24-  Reading Academy

     Flex Learning (3:15-4:15 Ellison's Room)

Jan 25- MTSS Meetings (during conference time)