The Leadership Lens Issue #14

NOVEMBER - Native American Heritage Month

• 10: Leaders 5: Cafeteria, 1:00-2:30pm

• 11: Veteran's Day

• 13: Q1 House Field Trip

• 13: Thanksgiving Lunch (RSVP below!)

• 13: World Kindness Day

• 14: Family Time-Habit 2

• 17: 5th Grade Spelling Bee

• 19: Educational Support Professional's Day

• 20: Big Kahuna Party Bus

• 20: NEHS Meeting, 3:45-4:15pm

• 21: Academy 4/Accountability Partner Time

• 21: Substitute Educator's Day

• 24-28: Fall/Thanksgiving Break

Hello Mustang Families,

At Marshall Leadership Academy, The Leader in Me is more than a program—it’s the heartbeat of our school culture. We believe every child has the ability to lead, to make positive choices, and to influence others through their actions. Using the 7 Habits, our students learn to set goals, take responsibility, work collaboratively, and build confidence in who they are and who they can become.

Recently, our students completed their Quarter-1 assessments, giving us valuable insight into their academic growth and areas where they may need extra support. These scores help our teachers plan intentional interventions that meet each child’s unique needs—because leadership and learning go hand in hand. When students feel supported academically and emotionally, they are empowered to lead with confidence and purpose.

Our partnership with parents is key to this success. When families and schools work together, students thrive. We encourage parents to stay engaged—meet with your child's teacher to talk about his/her goals and celebrate progress. Reinforcing the 7 Habits at home—like “Begin With the End in Mind” and “Put First Things First”—helps create consistency between home and school, strengthening every child’s leadership journey.

Together, we are growing strong, capable, and compassionate leaders who will make a difference—because at Marshall Leadership Academy, every student is a leader, and every family is part of our leadership team!💙✨

Dear Mustang Families,

As we approach Thanksgiving Break in just two weeks, it’s a great time to pause and reflect on the importance of gratitude. At Marshall, we are especially thankful for our families. Your support, encouragement, and flexibility continue to help us provide the best environment for our students to learn and grow.

Last week, our campus adjusted for fall testing, and we thank you for your patience during the changes. Because of your support, students were able to test in a calm and focused space.

We also took time to honor Veterans Day and express our appreciation to the brave men and women who have served our country.

Next week, our fifth-grade Dual Language students will take their Credit by Exam (CBE), a great opportunity to earn credit for what they already know and showcase their learning.

Across the campus, students are continuing to set and track their Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) in the classroom. These goals support growth in academic and attendance. Ask your child, “What’s your WIG, and how are you tracking it?”

What do you get when you cross a turkey with a school bell?

Answer: A bird that’s always on time.

Thank you for being part of our Marshall family. We are so thankful for you, this week and always.

📧 Email: lakedra.anderson@gpisd.org
📞 Phone: 972-522-7210

Let’s make it a great year! 💙

Guidance Lesson Topic: Kindness & Gratitude

This month, our guidance lessons focus on kindness and gratitude—two important qualities that help build a caring, respectful school community. Students are learning how small acts of kindness and thankfulness can make a big difference every day!

Ways We’re Showing Leadership and Kindness

🍂 Fall Food Drive | November 3–15

We’re collecting packets or jars of gravy in support of GPISD’s Noche de Navidad, an initiative that provides warm holiday meals to families in need. Each donation earns 500 House Points for students! Items will be collected each morning during arrival.

🎁 Santa’s Helpers Toy Drive | November 3–December 4

Students are invited to donate new, unwrapped toys for families in need this holiday season. Every donation helps make the holidays brighter for another child—and earns 500 House Points!

Individual & Family Support

GPISD offers a variety of resources to support students and their families. If your family is in need of assistance, please reach out to me—I’m here to help connect you with the support you need.

Thank you for being a partner in your child’s success and well-being!

Dear Parents,

Hey families! As the crisp fall air settles in and Thanksgiving draws near, it’s a great time to mix a little learning into your family fun. Try turning everyday moments into teachable ones—have your child help plan a grocery list for your holiday meal to build writing and math skills, or count and sort colorful leaves on a walk for some hands-on science. Encourage your child to reflect on what they’re thankful for this season—it’s a simple way to build gratitude and strong communication skills. Remember, learning doesn’t just happen at school; it happens around the dinner table, in the kitchen, and even while raking leaves together. Let’s keep growing, learning, and giving thanks for every small victory this fall! 🏈🍁

—Your iCoach

Hello Mustangs! As we focus on Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind, we're working on one of our school-wide goals of attendance. We looked at our attendance data and decided on where we want to be by the end of this year. Our school-wide WIG (Wildly Important Goal) is to grow our attendance rate from 94.3% to 96% by May 2026!

Your children are discussing ways THEY can help make this happen:

• Set out their clothes for the next day before bed
• Help make their lunch ahead of time
• Fill their water bottle the night before
• Make sure to go to bed on time
• Have their backpack ready to go by the door

We want our leaders to take ownership in the things they do to help them grow! Parents can help us by encouraging these habits at home.

🏆Congratulations to Winning House for Q1!🏆

This house has earned the most points for the first nine weeks and gets to go on a special field trip! The top 2 high point earners in the other 7 houses will get to attend the field trip also!

Purchase your child's yearbooks NOW! Purchases include 2 free customizable pages with your child's own memories from the year!

Purchase yearbooks HERE: https://www.treering.com/purchase?PassCode=1016310326852888

*Yearbooks will be delivered the last week of school!

We’re collecting boxes of stuffing and packets or jars of gravy to help families in our community enjoy a warm holiday meal. 💛

Students can earn 500 house points for their donation.

Every donation helps make a difference! Thank you for your kindness and generosity! ✨

Estamos recolectando cajas de relleno (stuffing) y paquetes o frascos de salsa gravy para ayudar a las familias de nuestra comunidad a disfrutar de una cálida comida festiva. 💛

Los estudiantes pueden ganar 500 puntos de casa por su donación.

¡Cada donación ayuda a hacer la diferencia! ¡Gracias por su amabilidad y generosidad! ✨

Hello Marshall Families!

We’re so grateful for the amazing support from our Marshall community! Together, we’ve made so many wonderful things happen and we’re just getting started!

A HUGE thank you to all our incredible volunteers! Every bit of help, big or small, made our Trunk or Treat, Concessions, and Book Fair such a success! And let’s not forget our Candy Monster you all fed it well with those sweet donations! Your time, energy, and dedication make a huge difference. We truly couldn’t do it without you!

Head over to our Facebook page, give us a follow, and vote for your favorite trunk from our Trunk or Treat event! Our event was an absolute blast thank you to everyone who participated and helped make it such a fun night!

Now it’s time to crown this year’s Fan Favorite Trunk! 🏆 The winning trunk will receive a $100 gift card to Lux Premiere Cinemas! 🍿🎬 May the best trunk win!

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the families who joined us for our Veterans Day Breakfast. It was a wonderful morning celebrating and honoring the brave men and women who have served our country. Your courage, sacrifice, and dedication continue to inspire our students and community. Thank you for allowing us to come together in appreciation of our heroes!

🎉 Marshall Spirit Night!

We’re so excited to invite all our Marshall families to our upcoming Spirit Night! Come enjoy a fun evening with friends and family while supporting our school.

📅 When: Tuesday, November 18 | ⏰ Time: 3:00–9:00 PM

📍 Where: Chuck E. Cheese, 2760 I-20, Grand Prairie, TX 75052

Let’s celebrate our Marshall pride together we can’t wait to see you there!

It’s time for a little friendly competition!

Each class is racing to bring in the most PTA members parents, guardians, and students all count!

🏆 The Top 3 classes that reach 100% membership or have the highest participation rate by November 21st will win a special prize!

🥇1st Place - Pizza Party 🍕

🥈 2nd Place - Ice Cream Sundae Party 🍦

🥉 3rd Place - Donut Party 🍩

💌 Payment made easy!

Join online using the QR code.

We have PTA membership envelopes available simply fill one out and drop in your membership money if you prefer that method of payment. ($7 per membership plus fees)

📝 Don’t forget to let your teacher know if you’re already a PTA member or when you join, so your class gets credit!

Let’s show our school spirit, teamwork, and pride together we make a difference!

Join here: https://txpta.my.salesforce-sites.com/JoinPTA?_gl=1*112xc3p*_ga*MTM5MDA0NjE3OS4xNzYxMTYwNjU5*_ga_KF2J8CWMTX*czE3NjExNjA2NTkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjExNjA2NTkkajYwJGwwJGgw

Let’s keep the spirit going! Have your child show off their house pride and parents, you can join in too! Get your orders in before November 18. Every purchase supports our school and your PTA so let’s make this one count!

Students can wear them on House Days and special school events.

It’s an easy and fun way to build school pride.

Every purchase helps fund activities and resources for our students and teachers.

👉https://sockconceptsocks.com/products/thurgood-marshall-house-socks

Let’s see which House shows the most spirit—grab your socks today and encourage your kids to do the same!

Please join us in help completing a background check for volunteering on campus, visiting, and joining us for campus events including field trips. This would need to be completed annually.

Please see the flyer attached below about important information for this year's Thanksgiving Lunch.

When: November 13th at regularly scheduled lunch times

What: Flyer provides information on what will be served

Where: Lunch will be served in school cafeteria.

Entrance: Enter through our Main Entrance
RSVP: REQUIRED (See below). A provided District QR code is the only option. No direct link available.

🚨🚨🚨Pre-Registration is required.

Our new pre-registration site is a secure site. Once it is closed, we cannot add names and you will not be able to call and be added to the list. No exceptions! The RSVP is required and open Nov. 3rd - November 10th at 4:00PM.

Please use the links below for registration:

• Your Name
• Student Name
• Teacher Name & Grade
• DOB
• Click Admin Review and ADMIN PASSCODE IS gpisd (DON'T SKIP THIS SECTION!)

Other important information:

- No more than 2 members per student for lunch. If you have multiple students in a grade level, we still ask that you do your best to follow this 2 member ask due to capacity of space since students would eat together.

- Planning: Our RSVP counts are the planning purposes for food: If you are attending, you are promising to purchase our school lunch for both you and your student(s). You may not come just to sit with student.

- Multiple Students in different grades : You will only be required to buy lunch once as an adult.

- No outside food is allowed. You will be asked to return it to your car.

- Only RSVP visitors will be in attendance that day. This will not be a normal day to come eat with your student like all other open campus days.

- Wristbands: Parents and students will receive wrist bands on Nov. 12th to wear Nov. 13th. This will let us know which students are expecting a parent. These will be sent home with your student Nov. 12th.

🚨REMINDER: If your child is on the 💜Savbedoria🦉 field trip (the field trip is Kindergarten-5th only), they will not be on campus for the Thanksgiving lunch.

For ALL 2nd & 3rd Grade Parents!

Our 2nd & 3rd student musicians will perform "On With The Snow" (A holiday/winter musical for young voices) on Thursday, December 11, 2025 @ 6:30pm in the Marshall Cafetorium. I have opened the registration for 2nd & 3rd grade student participation! In order for students to participate in the show, parents must register their student musician. This will help me in planning of the show, students spoken parts & solo's, staging & more. Students have already begun learning & practicing the show music during music class and are very excited about this upcoming show. Please click the link below to register your student musician. If you have any questions or problems with the link or signing up, don't hesitate to reach out to me. This registration will close on Friday, November 14, 2025. More info to come! Thanks Parents!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO REGISTER ON YOUR SMART DEVICE:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2nd3rdHoliday2025

Marshall Leadership invites parents and students to participate in two projects — sanding/refinishing school benches and sprucing up the school garden. The event offers a fun way to give back, meet other families, and support the school community. Volunteer sessions are scheduled for November 20 from 5:00–7:00 p.m. in the school garden. Plus, everyone who helps will earn 500 house points for their participation!

*No need to sign up! Just show up! See you there!

Did you know GPISD offers a dinner program to students everyday? Students can receive a full packaged meal after the bell rings.

-Free to ALL students!
-Offered Monday-Friday!
-Offers an additional healthy and nutritious meal after the bell rings!

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¿Sabías que GPISD ofrece un programa de cena para estudiantes todos los días? Los estudiantes pueden recibir una comida completa después de que suene la campana.

-¡Gratis para TODOS los estudiantes!

-¡Disponible de lunes a viernes!

-¡Ofrece una comida adicional, sana y nutritiva después de que suene la campana!

To ensure a smooth and safe dismissal process, we kindly ask that there be no student check-outs on Fridays after 2:15 PM. This helps us maintain an orderly end-of-day routine and ensures all students are accounted for our Leadership trainigs. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!