February 16-22, 2025
Good morning, Cannon families!
There was a lot of LOVE at Cannon this week! We LOVED seeing all of the creative Valentine's Boxes - the home to school engineering design process was surely on display! We had another AMAZING LUNCH WITH A LOVED ONE - Thank you for joining us to spend special time with our Cubs! Then, we ended the week with a 4th and 5th VALENTINES DANCE - Our Cubs have OUTSTANDING Dance Skills! A HUGE SHOUT OUT to our PTA for helping make so many WONDERFUL memories for our Cubbies!
This week, we celebrate National Engineering Week. National Engineering Week is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. While our Cannon STEM mission drives our work each and every day, this week provides a visible showcase of our core beliefs at Cannon - "...to empower each unique learner so that they become real-world problem solvers, creative innovators, life-long learners, reflective thinkers, and empathetic citizens!" ~ Cannon Mission Statement.
Congratulations to our second and third grade STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Inductees for Listening with Empathy! STEM teaching and learning is an instructional approach to learning and development that integrates the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through STEM education practices, students develop key skills including: problem solving, creativity, and critical analysis. We are PROUD to honor our scholars for exhibiting STEM thinking, and we can't wait to celebrate our next group of inductees this Friday.
Please remember that Monday, February 17 is a district professional development day - No school for students! We hope you enjoy a beautiful four-day weekend!
We look forward to seeing all of our families at our Family Engineering Night this Friday, February 21st.
As always, thank you for your parent partnership!
Proud to be your principal,
Dr. Tina Garrett
Calling All Young Artists!
Take Care of Texas Art Contest!
We're excited to announce that our students have the opportunity to participate in the Take Care of Texas Art Contest! This is a fantastic chance for your child to express their artistic talents while learning about the importance of environmental awareness and keeping Texas beautiful.
All entries must be submitted with a completed entry form. Both the artwork and the entry form are due to Mrs. Mattox by February 27th. Please make sure your child’s name, grade, and teacher’s name are clearly written on the back of their artwork and on the entry form.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Mattox.
Kindergarten ~ Shape Vehicles on the Map!
Tanks, submarines, and rockets—oh my! Our Kinder Cubs are becoming civil engineers as they design 3D shape vehicles using recycled materials. How might we create a vehicle for Pete the Cat that demonstrates relative location on a map of Cannon? Let’s get building! 🚀
Civil Engineering
First Grade ~ Super Who?
Super Who? Super YOU! Can you save the city?
Get ready, young engineers, because it's time to become superheroes of construction in our exciting project, "Super Who? Super YOU! Can Your Creation Save the City?" You'll choose one type of soil—sandy, sticky clay, or rich topsoil—and then build a super strong structure, like a cozy house, sturdy bridge, or tall skyscraper, using popsicle sticks, straws, model magic, cardboard, tape, and glue! The real test comes when you pour one cup of water over your creation in a basin to see if it can withstand the water flow! Remember, your structure must be shorter than a ruler, so be creative and smart in your building! Are you ready to save the day with your amazing design? Let’s get building! 🌊🦸🏻
Civil Engineering
Third Grade ~ Unstable Ground
Third-grade scholars and their families will participate in the improvement stage of our Engineering Design Process. Families will collaborate to refine and enhance the structural designs created by students, focusing on developing a structure that is strong and sturdy enough to withstand an earthquake, ensuring the safety of individuals.
Civil Engineering
Fourth Grade ~ Steer Onward
Fourth graders and their parents will work together to create and test a model of a safe and easy-to-use trail for cows. Scholars will write stories from the point of view of a cow traveling along the trail and then share them with their families.
Civil Engineering
Art ~ Thaumatrope Twist
Get ready to spin into the world of optical illusions! During our Family STEM Night, students and their parents will team up to design and build their very own thaumatropes. This classic toy uses the persistence of vision to combine two separate images into one.
Material Engineering
Music ~ Sound FX and Instrument making!
Calling all kindergarten, first, and second grade maestros! Get ready to unleash your inner musician and build your very own wind instrument out of ordinary plastic straws. Transform simple straws into amazing flutes, crazy trombones, or any musical marvel you can imagine! With just straws, scissors, and tape, you'll compose a symphony of sounds and create instruments that are uniquely yours. Let the music begin!
Calling all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade sound engineers! Get ready to dive into the world of Foley artists and create the sonic landscape for a hilarious cartoon! Using the awesome Quaver Sound FX app, you and your family will become masters of sound, bringing a short cartoon clip to life with your own unique sound effects. Will you use your voice to create wacky character noises? Explore the app's sound library for the perfect boinks and bangs? Or get creative with household objects to invent truly original sounds? The choice is yours! Prepare to unleash your inner sound designer and transform a simple cartoon into a sonic masterpiece!
Sound and Audio Engineering.
PE ~ Flip the Tarp
Get ready for some teamwork and problem-solving fun with the Flip the Tarp Challenge! This exciting game will test your family's communication and engineering skills as you work together to flip a large tarp without anyone stepping off! Can you strategize and coordinate your movements to successfully flip the tarp and reach the other side? It's a great way to learn about force, motion, and collaboration while having a blast. Perfect for elementary-aged kids and their families, this activity encourages creative thinking and hands-on learning in a fun and engaging way. Come join the challenge and see if your family has what it takes to Flip the Tarp!
Structural Engineering
Applied STEM ~ Enchanted Engineering: Solutions for Happily Ever After
Are you ready to use the Engineering Design Process to help your most favorite characters come up with solutions to their problems in their fairy tale? Can you use your background knowledge to use Tinker materials to build the rest of the setting for that fairy tale? Use your imagination and creativity to create your ultimate happily ever after.
Structural Engineer and Themed Entertainment Engineering
The book fair is this week - February 17th-February 21st! Our online fair is currently open at the following site: https://literati.com/store/?school=cannon-elementary-school-grapevine-tx
It's time to order your 2024-2025 Yearbook!
You have the opportunity to purchase a 24-25 yearbook and receive it at school! Yearbooks are $22 and are purchased at the Treering website. Parents can design 2 personal pages for free that will only be printed in your child’s yearbook. Yearbooks will be delivered to school before school is out as long as they are purchased by the deadline.
Click the link Purchase Yearbook HERE
Enter your school’s passcode: 1014520263794913
Purchase Deadline April 14th
PTA Needs YOU!
The PTA needs you! We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to fill various board and committee positions for the upcoming school year. Your involvement makes a real difference in the lives of our students. Interested?
Complete a nomination form to nominate yourself or others! Nomination Form
Join Us for Rally Day 2025 in Austin!
Attention Cannon Elementary PTA members! Let’s make our voices heard for our students, teachers, and schools by joining the GCISD Council of PTAs at Texas PTA’s Rally Day: Legacy in Action on Monday, February 24th in Austin!
What to Expect:
Meet with state legislators
Advocate for Texas PTA's legislative priorities
Be part of this historic day for public education
RSVP now and visit the GCISD Rally Day website for all the details!
Texas PTA has identified their legislative priorities for the 89th Legislative Session, and over the next few weeks, we will highlight each of the lead priorities.
Lead Priority #2: Resolve Teacher & Staff Shortages
Texas PTA will advocate to address teacher and staff shortages and improve retention in our schools. Priority Fact Sheet #RetainTXTeachers #TXPTARally25
February - Black History Month; Every February, we come together to celebrate Black History Month—a time to honor the rich legacy, extraordinary contributions, and ongoing resilience of Black Americans throughout history.
Monday, February 17 - Staff Professional Development - No School for Students
February 17 - Washington's Birthday / Presidents Day
Tuesday, February 18-21 -⚙ National Engineering Week ⚙
February 19: State of Texas Anniversary Remembrance Day
Friday, February 21- 🐾Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear! ☮♥🐻
Friday, February 21 - 🧢$1 Hats off to Learning; 🤠Students may pay $1.00 to wear a hat on this day. All proceeds go to decreasing overall grade level costs for field trip experiences.
Friday, February 21-STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Ceremony (Kinder, 1st, & Music) - Listening with Empathy - 2:35 pm Cannon Amphitheatre
Friday, February 21 - ⚙Family Engineering Night 6:00-7:15 pm
Wednesday, February 26 - Progress Report 3 Posts in Skyward
Progress Reports will be available in Skyward this week. To view your student’s progress report, please follow the instructions below:
Visit www.GCISD.net and click “Quick Links” at the top of the page
Click the Skyward icon and the “Log In Here” box in the middle of the page
Click “Progress Reports/Report Cards” on the menu to the left
Choose 2024-2025 Progress Report 3”
Thursday, February 27 - 📸 Spring class, special groups, and sibling picture day!
Friday, February 28 - 🐾Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear! ☮♥🐻
Monday, March 3 - 📚Readers are Leaders - Literary Dress for Read Across America Day
Tuesday, March 4 - We are GCISD Spirit Dress - 🐾Show your CUB PRIDE!
Thursday, March 6 - 🎤1st Grade Musical Performance 2:00 pm
Friday, March 7 - 🧢$1 Hats off to Learning; 🤠Students may pay $1.00 to wear a hat on this day. All proceeds go to decreasing overall grade level costs for field trip experiences.
Friday, March 7 - 🐾Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear! ☮♥🐻
Friday, March 7 - ☕ PTA Principal Coffee 9:15 am
Sunday, March 9 - ⏰ Daylight Savings - Spring Forward One Hour
Monday, March 10 - 🎤 Cannon's Got Talent Show Participation Forms Due
Friday, March 14 - Staff and Student Holiday - No School
March 17 - 21 - Spring Break - District Closed
No School for GCISD Campuses Feb. 14 and 17; See CA and iUP Calendars for More Info
Except for Collegiate Academy and iUniversity Prep, there will be no school for students on Friday, February 14. This day was originally scheduled as a bad weather make-up day, however, GCISD’s 2024-2025 instructional calendar has a sufficient number of minutes to cover the recent weather-related closure and the days will not have to be made up.
Additionally, except for Collegiate Academy, Monday, February 17, is a professional development day and there will be no school for students, including iUniversity Prep.
Please see your school’s instructional calendar below:
Disability Resources Fair for Families to be held February 22
GCISD is partnering with surrounding school districts and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Council of Tarrant County to host a Making Connections Resources Fair from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, February 22, at the GCISD Professional Development and Education Center (PDEC), 5800 Colleyville Blvd. in Colleyville, TX 76034.
The free event will provide families and individuals with disabilities of all ages with resources, which include Medicaid waivers, therapy/camp providers, college programs, assistive and adaptive technology, financial planning, guardianship/supported decision-making, transition employment services and more. Learn more about this event here.
Nominate a Deserving Employee for Stars of GCISD
Do you know a GCISD employee who goes above and beyond for students and staff? Nominate them for the Stars of GCISD program! Every nomination is also shared with the nominee’s supervisor and they are entered for a chance to be honored as the district’s Star of GCISD! Submit your nomination now at www.gcisd.net/starsofgcisd.
Cannon Elementary: A GCISD STEM School
Email: tina.garrett@gcisd.net
Website: https://can.gcisd.net/
Location: Cannon Elementary School, West College Street, Grapevine, TX, USA
Phone: 817-251-5680
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cannonSTEM/
Twitter: @canSTEM