Purple House 5 2023-2024

Dear Purple Families,

A huge thank-you to our amazing families for supporting our Write-a-Check fundraiser—your generosity fuels classroom resources, field experiences, and all the little extras that make learning sparkle. We’re also grateful to our PTO for hosting a super fun Trunk or Treat—what a joyful evening of costumes, candy, and community! Finally, thank you for cheering on Red Ribbon Week. Our learners showed big-time spirit while reflecting on healthy, safe choices every day. We appreciate you partnering with us—together, we make Lee shine! 🌟

Thank you Siddhi for the little City of Coppell bear! He's adorable!

A note from the office: All Sage Hill parents should plan to meet their learners at the crosswalk at 3:05. This parent meet-up is an important expectation to help ensure the safety of all learners. If any concerns arise involving learners, please bring them directly to a staff member so we can address them appropriately and maintain a safe environment for everyone.

Warmly,
Ms. May Voltz
Purple Fifth Grade Teacher

Thank you to our amazing PTO for making Trunk or Treat a real treat! 🎃 It was such a joy to see both past and current families — my heart is so full! 💜

Purple House celebrated Diwali, Día de Muertos, and Halloween with festive stations throughout our learning spaces! In our classroom, we explored the beauty and traditions of Diwali by learning about Rangoli art. Learners used both hands-on and virtual pattern blocks to design their own colorful Rangoli creations, discovering how art, culture, and geometry connect in meaningful ways.

Our strawberry plants are growing!

The Coppell Ed Foundation is having a Chili Cook Off on November 16. If you want to join in and submit a chili for judging, we would love your participation. If you go, please vote for our entry- "The Best ChiLEE in Town." Thanks Liliana for your culinary skills.

This week, fifth graders are diving into the fascinating world of energy using the acronym MELTS, which helps us remember the five main forms:
Mechanical, Electrical, Light, Thermal, and Sound energy.

At home, challenge your learner to spot examples of each form of energy in action!

• 💡 Light Energy: Where do you see light helping us every day? (Think lamps, flashlights, or even sunlight through a window!)

• 🔊 Sound Energy: What vibrations or noises can you hear around your home?

• 🔌 Electrical Energy: What devices rely on electric current to function?

• 🔥 Thermal Energy: Where do you notice heat being produced or transferred?

• ⚙️ Mechanical Energy: What objects are in motion or use moving parts?

Encourage your child to make a quick list or draw one example of each. You’ll be amazed how much energy is at work all around us!

Encourage your child to wonder how energy both transfers and transforms in everyday situations.

• Transfer of energy means energy moves from one object or place to another. For example, when you touch a metal spoon that’s been sitting in hot soup, heat transfers from the soup to the spoon to your hand.

• Transformation of energy means energy changes from one form to another. For example, when you turn on a lamp, electrical energy transforms into light and thermal energy.

🌟 Thank you, CISD families, for your commitment to student attendance! 🏫💙. Regular attendance is key to student success—it keeps them engaged in lessons, fosters peer relationships, and maximizes their educational opportunities. Plus, it helps teachers assess each student's progress and plan effectively. Your dedication to attendance makes a significant difference. Attendance Matters...You Matter!

We’ve extended our annual fundraising campaign through November 2nd 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. We suggest a donation of $100 per student, but any amount you’re comfortable giving truly makes an impact. As of Wednesday, we’ve reached 67% of our goal with 27% participation — we know we can pull together and get that participation rate over 50%! Thank you so much for your incredible support! If you haven’t yet had the chance to give, please consider making your donation today rjlpto.org/WAC

Mrs. Stout would love library helpers to help shelve books and with other small projects. Please sign up and consider becoming a regular volunteer for the library! rjlpto.org/library

New this year, for anyone shelving books, we’ve worked with Mrs. Stout to create a quick training video you can watch before your volunteer slot!

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

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

Winter is on its way! With chilly days and exciting field trips ahead, now’s the perfect time to gear up. Stop by the Spur Storeto grab everything you’ll need for the season — including our all new RJ hoodie, available in two classic school colors! Early Bird Special: Place your pre order by November 10th and enjoy an exclusive discount. All pre-orders will be ready for pickup by December 10th. **We are unable to guarantee inventory and preferred sizes after November 10th.** Order today: rjlpto.org/spurstore

We’re excited to host a Parents’ Night Out at Texas Dreams Gymnastics on Saturday, November 15th! Enjoy a well-deserved evening off while your kids have a blast with gymnastics, games, and fun activities in a safe, supervised environment. 20% back from the event comes back to PTO! Register today! rjlpto.org/PNO

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. THIS YEAR: Child Nutrition has requested guests PREPAY ($8) for their meal to expedite their lunch line. Please send payment to your child's lunch account before the event.

Class Spelling Bee ~ Week of November 3 - 7 (To determine learners who will advance to fifth-grade Spelling Bee)

Fifth Grade Spelling Bee ~ Thursday, November 20 (Determines winner who will advance to District Spelling Bee)

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

Nov 3 - Father of Texas Day

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

Nov 4 - District Professional Learning Day

Nov 5- College Shirt Day

5th Grade Sky Ranch Student Mtg. (2:00)

UNT Doctoral Student Tour of Lee (5:00 PM)

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

Red House Art Show (following performance)

Nov 7 - Evidence of Student Progress #2 completed and scored

SAVE THE DATE!!! Nov 20 - FamiLEE Feast Luncheon @ Lee

Fifth-grade designer of learning experiences at RJ Lee Elementary a Net Zero school in Coppell, Texas.

Our Guiding Purpose: We empower learners to positively impact the world by designing learning experiences that promote relationships, risk-taking, and collaboration in a flexible learning environment.

Apple Teacher

HEB Excellence in Education State Finalist 2018

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