The Cannon Connection

December 14-18, 2025

Good morning Cannon families,

We had another AMAZING week filled with fun, STEMtastic learning experiences, and holiday cheer! Our kindergarteners dove into a STEMtastic Design Thinking challenge by engineering their own candy houses and our prekindergartners engineered snowmen. A huge thank you to our families and our incredible STEMbassadors for volunteering their time and expertise to guide our young engineers through the process of planning, purchasing materials, building, and iterating. The results were not only delicious but structurally sound!

Spelling Bee Brilliance! We also hosted our annual Spelling Bee this past week. Our brave Cubs demonstrated impressive spelling skills. We are so proud of all the participants for their hard work and courage! It's hard to stand up in front of a crowd, take the microphone, and accept the challenge to spell unknown words. Bravery, confidence, and a CAN do spirit was definitely in full form. Special thanks to our Spelling Bee Facilitator, Kyleigh Sloan, and our Judges: Charlotte Weinstein, Paula Zeh Brock, and Susan Stackfleth.

Congratulations to all of our participants and our 2025 Spelling Bee Winners!

First Place: Ike Morey

Second Place: Sawyer Burgett

Third Place: Magnolia Warner

Please help me extend congratulations to all the incredible teachers and staff members who were surprised by the Grapevine Colleyville Education Foundation's Star Patrol Friday. It's always such a special surprise to hear the bells of giving right before the holiday break! The Grapevine Colleyville Education Foundation awarded $90,000 in Star Teaching Grants, and Cannon received 4 grants! These grants will fund CANtastic innovative resources, and we are very grateful to the Education Foundation’s support of the high-quality instruction taking place across our district, and especially here at Cannon!

Stefani Donaldson - Math Fact Fluency Kits

Kyleigh Sloan - Innovative Specials Materials for PreK

Valerie Balbaugh and the Kindergarten Team won 2 grants - Math Fluency Kits and Purposeful Play STEM Materials

Please join me in celebrating our Cannon grant winners and thanking GCEF!

We are delighted to share that our Middle-of-Year (MOY) iReady Diagnostic testing is almost complete!

A huge shout-out goes to our incredible scholars! They approached the testing with impressive seriousness and worked diligently to show us all of the amazing academic growth they have achieved so far this year. Their effort is commendable!

What Happens Next?

Full Reports: Comprehensive iReady reports will be sent home to all families during the first school week of January.
In the meantime: We encourage you to sit down with your child this week, have them log in to iReady through Classlink, and have a conversation about their hard work and progress, celebrating their growth from the beginning of the year until now!

Thank you for continuing to support their learning journey!

Congratulations to our 2nd and 3rd grade STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Inductees for Communicating Clearly!

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 Monday, December 15th.

If your scholar is selected, your teacher will reach out to you with ceremony details about the specific date and time for each grade's ceremony. We hope you will join us in celebrating our young innovators!

This week, our PTA hosts the Penguin Patch holiday shopping experience for our students. Please make sure to complete the budget sheet/envelope in preparation for their shopping experience. A BIG thank you to our PTA executive board and volunteers for their continued support in making these enriching experiences possible for our students!

As we prepare for our upcoming holiday parties on Thursday, December 18th please note ALL visitors attending must have an approved background check since visitors will be interacting with multiple students. Please check your confirmation email to verify your approval. If you don’t see one, contact Raptor for assistance. Background checks take 24–48 hours, so please complete yours early. Thank you for helping us keep our students safe!

Only 3 1/2 days until winter break! Let's keep the holiday cheer, Cub PRIDE, and instructional engagement going! As a reminder, Thursday, December 18 us an early dismissal day (11:45 am), and Friday, December 19 GCISD is closed to begin winter break. TAG, you are it!

As the school year pauses for the holidays, we want to wish all of our incredible students and families a wonderful, safe, and restful Winter Break! We hope you have the chance to relax, recharge, and enjoy quality time making special memories with family and friends.

We look forward to welcoming students back, refreshed and ready for a new year of learning, on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Your next principal newsletter will be shared Sunday, January 4, 2026. Happy Holidays!

Proud to be your principal,

Dr. Tina Garrett

#BeCannonProud ☮️💗🐻

Would you like to help a Cannon Family this holiday season? We have an Angel Tree with toy items that will help make this holiday season special for some of our Cannon Cubs. Sign up for an item below and return the item unwrapped to the Cannon front office by Monday, December 15th. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0E4FA9A62BAB9-61034175-cannon

If you would like to donate to Grace’s Christmas Cottage, you can bring any unwrapped toy and leave it under the Christmas tree in the foyer. We will be sure to get these items delivered to Grace!

Counselor’s Corner

This months focus is COOPERATION. One way to think about cooperation “is working together to reach shared goals.” During our lesson we will be practicing cooperation with peers by completing fun challenges. As a family, talk about how the definition applies to how you work together at home. What are some goals you share?

Contact Mrs. Coburn

If you would like Mrs. Coburn to contact you or check on your student, you can complete the following link: Request to Talk to Counselor

Please be advised: If you make any changes to your Skyward form for Senate Bill 12 (Counseling Services, Health Services, or Club Participation), you must notify the campus support staff either verbally or via email. The Skyward system does not alert staff of resubmissions, so your communication is necessary to ensure your changes are received.

Save the Dates

December 15-17 - PTA Student Holiday Shop -🐧Penguin Patch!

Wednesday, December 17 - Cannon Choir Christmas Concert - 6:30 Cannon Cafe

Thursday, December 18 - Winter Holiday Parties (Parents/guardians with Skyward-approved background checks are welcome to attend and help facilitate games and food stations. More information will be shared from teachers)

Thursday, December 18 - Early Dismissal 11:45

No School for staff or students Friday, December 19

Winter Break: Friday, December 19 - January 6; Students return to school on Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Friday, January 9 - Middle of Year GLOW Pep Rally! Students are encouraged to wear glow gear! Glow gear includes: Glow shirts, tape, paint, jewelry.

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December 15-17 - PTA Student Holiday Shop -🐧Penguin Patch!

The PTA Penguin Patch is sliding into Cannon, and our Cubs will get to shop for family and friends all on their own during Specials! With 100+ adorable gifts ranging from $0.25–$12, it’s the perfect way for them to feel independent and spread a little holiday cheer. Parents, just send your Cub with money in their completed envelope any day from Dec 15–17, and we’ll take care of the rest! PTA volunteers + staff will be there to help every step of the way. Let your Cub experience the joy of choosing the perfect surprise!

Do you or someone you know want to be a sponsor?

Cink here -

District Highlights

Review the 2025-2026 Student Code of Conduct, Parent Handbook

GCISD is having a successful start to the school year! Please help us keep that momentum going by taking a moment to review with your students the 2025-2026 Student Code of Conduct and 2025-2026 Student Parent-Handbook, which includes dress code and updates from the 89th Legislative Session.

Volunteers and Visitors

We welcome our parents to engage in our events throughout this school year! Any parent attending or supporting an event during the school day must have a cleared background check. That includes field trips, holiday parties, field day, and volunteering on campus during the school day!

Background checks must be completed each year! Click here to learn more: GCISD Volunteer Page

https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/MjIxOmVuLVVT

We appreciate your interest in volunteering for the District Volunteer Program. Our district offers a variety of activities you may choose from when volunteering your time. Simply complete and submit a volunteer application and upon approval you will receive instructions on next steps.It is very important that the information you enter on the application matches your government issued identification card including your full legal name. It is important that you provide a valid email address so you can be notified as to the status of your application and for future communication. If you are unable to provide an email address, you use the district’s email address. All information collected on the application will remain confidential and not be shared outside the volunteer program. If you have any questions about the application, please request to speak with a volunteer representative. Thank you, District Volunteer Coordinator

apps.raptortech.com