Good morning Cannon families,

We are pleased to share with you that almost all students are finished with their first iReady Adaptive Diagnostic Evaluation for reading and mathematics. This diagnostic, administered digitally three times a year (fall, winter, and spring) for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, serves as a universal screener that is both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced. It allows us to monitor progress toward growth goals for all students at the middle and end of the school year.

The iReady diagnostic, aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), is used for two key purposes:

1. Diagnostic Evaluation: This provides teachers with actionable data, helping them identify where each student stands academically and where interventions or acceleration may be necessary as part of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).

2. Progress Monitoring: This ensures that students receiving additional support or interventions are on track to meet their year-end goals in reading and mathematics.

We are excited about the insights this diagnostic will offer. It will empower our teachers with valuable information about your child’s learning journey, providing opportunities for personalized learning and continuous progress monitoring throughout the school year. We are committed to keeping you informed and will share the results with you, as we see you as a valued partner in your child’s education.

What’s next? As mentioned, classes finished the diagnostic. During our staff development day on September 23, teachers will analyze the data and review individual student reports, which will then be shared with you. In the meantime, here is a link to a downloadable PDF resource that previews what the report will look like.

We also encourage you to explore iReady’s student online dashboard, which teachers will utilize during small group instruction to reinforce reading and math skills. These lessons are based on the TEKS and are not graded.

This is an exciting time as we implement a system that addresses both intervention and acceleration for all our students. We are eager to support your child’s growth and look forward to sharing their progress throughout the year.

We had an outstanding show of Cannon Cub Spirit this past Friday! Thank you for helping spread our school pride by purchasing spirit gear and sending your Cubbies prepared each Friday to celebrate our Cannon school community! Please continue to send your Cubs in their spirit gear all year, but especially each Friday!

For those that have reached out to ask about the store opening again, stay tuned!

We have an amazing COMMUNITY filled with LOVE and SUPPORT for our AMAZING Cubs! Relationships are at the core of the work our educators do, and our Cannon staff are committed to supporting our scholars in and out of school 💖!

We are always looking for ways to support our Cannon Community! As you are cleaning out your closets preparing for Fall and winter, please consider donating to our Cannon PTA World Wear Bin located outside our Cafe.

Another great way to engage and support our exceptional community is by attending spirit nights at local businesses - more details below!

Congratulations to our 2nd and 3rd grade STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Inductees for Applying Past Knowledge! 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.

Just a quick reminder to please label jackets, water bottles, and lunch boxes; Our lost and found is starting to collect your missing items. Also, Monday, September 23 is a GCISD Staff Professional Development Day - No School for Students!

As always, thank you for your parent partnership!

Proud to be your principal,

Dr. Tina Garrett

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.

Each month we focus on a STEM Habit of Mind characteristic and celebrate our scholars that are chosen to be inducted into our Cannon STEM Habits of Mind Hall of Fame! "The STEM Habits of Mind position children as inquirers, observers, describers, encoders, decoders, engineers, pattern sniffers, experimenters, measurers and predictors." Our Hall of Fame ceremonies begin this Friday! Teachers will reach out to let you know if your Cub is selected to receive this prestigious honor (Dates listed below)!

Big Fish and Mesa are treating us to not one, but two spirit nights. Hit up Big Fish on Tuesday, September 24th and Mesa on Tuesday, October 1st, mention CANNON Elementary, and voila! 10% of your meal supports our school. Don't want to get out, no worries, they accept to go orders too! Just mention CANNON when ordering!

Monday, September 23 - Staff Professional Development - No School for Students

Tuesday, September 24 - Beginning of Year Parent Conferences Begin

Tuesday, September 24 - Cannon PTA CUB Spirit Night at Big Fish Downtown Grapevine - Make sure to tell them you are there for Cannon!

Wednesday, September 25 - Progress Report 1 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 1”

If you are having trouble accessing Skyward, please submit a Help Desk ticket.

Friday, September 27 - Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear! ☮♥🐻

Friday, September 27 - American Indian Heritage Day - Recognizing the historical, cultural, and social contributions of American Indian communities and leaders

Friday, September 27 - STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Ceremony (Kinder, 1st, Applied STEM) - Applying Past Knowledge - 2:35 pm Cannon Amphitheatre

Monday, September 30 - Fall STEM Book Challenge Launch - More details coming soon!!

September - October: Parent Conferences

Tuesday, October 1 - Yearbook Pictures 📸

Tuesday, October 1 - Cannon PTA CUB Spirit Night at MESA Mexican Cuisine Grapevine Station- Make sure to tell them you are there for Cannon!

Wednesday, October 2 - 👂Hearing and 👀Vision Screening

Friday, October 4 - Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear ☮♥🐻

or 🏒Hockey Opening Day -Spirit Gear- Go Stars!

Friday, October 4 - STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Ceremony (4th, 5th, Music) - Questioning & Posing Problems - 2:35 pm Cannon Amphitheatre

Saturday, October 5 - World Teacher's Day!

Monday, October 7 - Cannon Campus Excellence Committee Meeting 3:30-4:30 Learning Commons

Wednesday, October 9 - National Walk or Bike to School Day~More information from Dad's Club to come!

Friday, October 11 - Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear! ☮♥🐻

Friday, October 11 - STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Ceremony (2nd, 3rd, Music) - Questioning & Posing Problems - 2:35 pm Cannon Amphitheatre

Friday, October 11- 🎥PTA Movie Night w/ General Meeting 6:30-8:30 Cannon Cafe and Learning Commons

Monday, October 14 - Columbus Day - No School - Student & Staff Holiday

Wednesday, October 16 - Report Card 1 Posts in Skyward

Friday, October 18 - Wear your Cannon Cub Spirit Gear! ☮♥🐻

Friday, October 18 - STEM Habit of Mind Hall of Fame Ceremony (Kinder, 1st, Music) - Questioning & Posing Problems - 2:35 pm Cannon Amphitheatre

Friday, October 18 - Final Payment Due for 5th grade Sky Ranch $110 (total cost of camp per person = $230, which is the cost without busses) https://gcisdschools.revtrak.net/elementary-schools/can/cannon-sky-ranch/#/list

Friday, October 25 - 50th Day of School! Dress in your coolest Fifties gear 🐩🧥 or your Cannon Spirit Gear

October 28-November 1 - National Red Ribbon Week

Friday, November 1 - 4th Annual STEMapalooza; Make sure to wear Cannon Cub Spirit Gear!

Sunday, November 3 - Father of Texas Day; This day recognizes Stephen F. Austin as the “Father of Texas”. We celebrate and remember him today - a great pioneer patriot and the Father of Texas.

Sunday, November 3 - Daylight Savings - Fall Forward One Hour

Monday, November 4 and Tuesday, November 5 - Staff Professional Development - No School for Students

Signing up for the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) does NOT mean you are signing up to volunteer; it means you support our school community by being a member! Please sign up!

Thank you, Ms. Whitsell for hosting a PTA Literacy Night! So many wonderful ideas and activities were shared!

Did you know that many employers will match a donation you have given to a qualifying nonprofit organization such as Cannon PTA?

Check with your employer’s Human Resources (HR) manager and ask if your donation can be matched. Each company that participates has their own guidelines and processes and we are happy to provide any information you need to qualify for matching.

Cannon Elementary PTA
1300 W. College Street
Grapevine, TX 76051
Federal Tax ID: 75-2454480
Contact: treasurer@cannonpta.org

The grade level with the largest contribution will have a popsicle party and teachers will Pie in the administrative team in the face! The class in each grade level with the largest contribution will enjoy a silly string party!

The Voter-Approved Tax Ratification Election (VATRE) on the November 5 ballot will ask Grapevine-Colleyville ISD voters to consider ratifying the overall tax rate of $0.9233, generating nearly $6 million in funding for school district operations.

Did you know that GCISD’s overall tax rate is 47.3 cents less than it was in 2018, which equates to $90 million of taxpayer relief? This is the lowest overall tax rate in GCISD in more than 25 years.

Since 2018, the GCISD Board of Trustees has lowered the Interest & Sinking tax rate from $0.3567 to $0.1864. The Maintenance & Operations tax rate has also decreased due to statewide compression from $1.04 to $0.7369. With the passage of the VATRE, the new overall tax rate would be $0.9233, resulting in a $0.0014 lower overall tax rate from 2023.

Learn more about why a VATRE is on the ballot, how it would impact GCISD’s tax rate and what it will fund at www.GCISD.net/VATRE.

Texas law now requires school districts to distribute information to parents and guardians about the safe storage of firearms. The following resources will help you learn about options for, as well as how to talk to your child and others about, the safe storage of firearms.

In 2021, 4,613 Texans experienced gun-related deaths. The Texas Department of State Health Services (SHS) reports that 55% of Texas firearms deaths in 2020 were suicides and that 59% of all suicides in Texas were by firearms. Suicide attempts involving firearms have a 90% fatality rate. Restricting access to guns is critical in reducing acts of violence, whether as self-harm or towards others. Acts of mass violence and interpersonal violence often end in suicide.

It is unlawful to store, transport, or abandon an unsecured firearm in a place where children are likely to be and can obtain access to the firearm. Under Texas Penal Code 46.13, a person commits the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child if the child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm, and the person with criminal negligence:

• Failed to secure the firearm; or

• Left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child would gain access

The penalty for allowing a child access to a firearm can range from a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a $500 fine) to a Class A misdemeanor (punishable by a $4000 fine, a year in jail, or a combination of the two).

Texas exempts the purchase of firearm safety equipment from Texas Sales and Use Tax.

Remember, a gun should be stored unloaded in a safe or locked container, with ammunition stored elsewhere. You can learn more and find additional resources from the Texas Department of Public Safety at https://safegunstoragetexas.com.

Safe gun storage is critical to preventing suicide, unintentional shootings, and other tragedies.

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. Background checks must be completed each year!

Get a jumpstart and complete your background check today! Apply Online

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