The Cougar Chronicle
Colonies North Elementary
March 3, 2014
Principal’s News
Dear Colonies North Friends and Families,
Wow, Spring Break (March 10-14) is almost here! The faculty and students are working hard and having
fun! I would like to thank the many parents who attended our February special events: Science Family Night,
McDonald’s Family Night, Valentine’s parties, Student-Led Conferences and Book Character Parade. The students did an outstanding job on their science projects and presentations at Student-Led Conferences! We
greatly appreciate your support!
We look forward to seeing you at the following March events: Parent/Guardian Breakfast on March 5 &
6; Field Day on March 7; and PTA Meeting and 2nd grade’s Ocean Musical on March 20.
On Feb. 17 the 2012-13 School Report Card from TEA was sent home with your child in the Monday Messenger folder. The district reported that their was an error in grade 2’s data regarding class size averages for
each campus and the district overall. TEA is looking into the error and a corrected version will be posted on the
website in the near future.
The week of March 17 is an important week for our fourth and fifth grade English Language Learners
(ELL) students. The fifth grade ELL students will be taking the TELPAS Online Reading Test on Wednesday,
March 19, and the fourth grade ELL students will be taking the test on Thursday, March 20. Please make sure
your child gets a good night of sleep and eats a healthy breakfast.
As always, we welcome all visitors to our school. When you arrive on campus, please be sure to stop by
the office to have your ID scanned and get a visitor’s pass. This is a policy that we have in place for the safety
of our CNE children.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kris Cotton, Principal
SAVE THE DATE: Kindergarten Roundup
When: Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Where: Colonies North
Please bring a certified birth certificate, your child’s Social Security card, proof of residence,
immunization records, and parent identification to register your child for kindergarten. You will
also be able to purchase a school t-shirt, tour the building, join P.T.A., and meet the
kindergarten teachers. Refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you!
Campus News
News from the
Art Room
Six Flags
Fiesta Texas
by Lisa Fuentes, Art Teacher
We are off to a great start with our annual art room
fund raiser. Art to Remember packets have been sent
home. Orders are due back by March 3rd. Please be
sure to include your order form with your payment.
Checks are made out to Colonies North Elementary.
Our San Antonio Symphony League Paint to Music
poster contest entries have been submitted. Our 4th
graders will be seeing their winning pieces projected
on the screen at the concert they attend this week.
Our 1st place winner is Budoh Htoo. Our 2nd place
winner is Allison Lopez. Our 3rd place winner is
Jaclyn Cantu, and our Honorable Mention is Michael
Morales. Congratulations to all of these students for
their fine work! Thank you to all of the students who
worked very hard on their entries and to the students who returned their permission form. Without
at least 25 entries we would not have been able to
have so many children place and be recognized, so we
appreciate all of the parents who signed their permission forms and all of the students who returned
them.
Our early morning art students, my Blue Birds, have
been making some beautiful tiles for our mosaics.
They have glazed the tiles and I have been putting
our mosaics slabs together at home. We will soon
have enough slabs completed to begin installing them
in the planters at the front of our school. More info
on that date is upcoming. Have a great Spring Break!
Once again, the Northside Education
Foundation and Six Flags Fiesta Texas are
partnering with Colonies North for the benefit of our
students and teachers.
One-day admission tickets are on sale for $32 now
through June 5, 2014. From each ticket sold, $2.50 will
be returned to the school. Please support Colonies
North by purchasing your tickets in the school office or
at the NISD Partnerships Office at 6632 Bandera
Road., Bldg. A.
The Colonies North Student Council
had a successful Valentine Pencil sale this month. We
raised $264 for Catholic Charities as part of our service project serving the world. Catholic Charities helps
settle refugees in the U.S. when they first arrive from
their countries. Many families come with nothing as
they are fleeing war or other disasters. Many of the
refugee students that are now living in San Antonio
come to school at Colonies North, so although our project had a global focus, it will actually make a difference locally. Thank you to everyone who bought a pencil for a great cause.
The student council has one more project coming up
for this year. Keep your eyes open for another great
way to help our school, community and the world.
March Faculty Birthdays
1 Yvonne Soucie (MSD)
14 Tonie Hutzler (Counselor)
3 Kristen Goade (Kinder)
17 Rachel Uptmore (Fourth)
4 Cynthia Dyer (Third)
18 Marleny Martinez (Second)
13 Geno Vogel (LST)
25 Stephanie McShane (Fourth)
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The Cougar Chronicle
Campus News
Standardized Tests and Vocabulary
Did you know that 85% of all standardized test scores are based on a student’s
knowledge of vocabulary? Did you know
that children learn an average of 3000
new words a year? Just consider if there
are 177 days of school that would mean
children would have to be taught approximately 17 words per day. If vocabulary
tests are given on Fridays that would
mean an 85 word test every week! No
one, students, parents or teachers, want
that.
So how can our children/students learn
3000 words a year? Luckily, vocabulary
is acquired through personal interactions
with people, places, things, and experiences. Experiences with written text are
key. The personal interaction children
have with the reader and the text increases the child’s vocabulary. The more
a child is spoken to and read to, the
greater chance they have of increasing
their vocabulary. When a reader helps a
child to understand the meaning of a
word by providing synonyms and antonyms
for the new word, there is an increased
chance of retaining the meaning of the
new word.
During Spring Break, we encourage you to
read to your child. Share an experience
and talk about it! In this age of technology talk time is interfering with vocabulary acquisition. Help your child soar
above their peers by simply reading and
talking with them.
Looking Ahead ....STAAR
Testing….
In preparing our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders for their upcoming STAAR tests during the month of April,
here are a few simple reminders to go over with
your children. If you have questions or concerns,
please call Ms. Hutzler at 397-1725.
STAAR Test Taking Reminders for Kids
1. Be sure you understand all of the directions
before you begin the test.
2. Mark your answers with a dark, solid mark.
3. Bubble in only one answer.
4. Watch for stray marks.
5. If you don’t know the answer, choose the best
one.
6. You can change your answer as long as you
erase your first answer completely, but don’t
tear the page.
7. You can skip a difficult item but come back to
it later.
8. Do not leave blank answers.
9. Manage your time effectively.
10. Try to remember all the important things
your teachers have taught you.
11. It helps to take a few deep breaths.
12. Believe in yourself because we sure do!
13. You are expected only to do your BEST!
14. Remember to go over your answers before
turning in your test. Don’t worry about other students in the room. Take care of you…
15. Go to sleep early the night before the test (no
later than 8:30 P.M).
16. Have a good breakfast and dress comfortably
on the day of the test.
Janet Groff, Reading Specialist
The Cougar Chronicle
Page 3
News from the School Nurse: NEF 5K Walk
It’s certainly been an unusually cold winter here in South Central Texas, but hopefully the next few weeks will bring warmer
weather! As the temperatures begin to climb, students are always excited to put jackets aside and start wearing warm weather clothing. With that in mind, please remind your children it is important to keep their feet protected from injury. The best
footwear for school is closed-toed shoes, preferably tennis shoes. I know how much the girls love to wear their pretty sandals
(I have a daughter in second grade, so I understand), but flipflops and sandals provide absolutely no protection for little feet.
I see so many students in the clinic with scrapes, “stubbed” toes, broken toenails and insect bites when they wear flipflops.
Also, this type of shoe is not very sturdy for running in PE class and playing on the playground. I’ve had to “cobble” many sandals with packing tape after they fall apart from the typical wear and tear of student play. So please, please….save the delicate shoes for after school and weekends!
Also, the NEF 5K Run/Walk is scheduled for Saturday, March 29th at SeaWorld San Antonio! Please sign up to join our CNE
team. We can earn grant money for the Northside Education Fund, and for our school. To register & join the Colonies North
Team, visit the NISD website and click on the Apple Eddie icon or complete the attached registration form. You may register
for the run/walk only, or add a discounted SeaWorld ticket and enjoy a private lunch and day at the park. This is a fun event
for the whole family. There will be a Family Wellness Fair and Kids Run, so everyone can participate! Feel free to contact for
more information. Hope to see you there!
Melissa Pettit, BSN, RN
(210) 397-1709
[email protected]
2013-2014 CNE Educators of the Year
Congratulations to Mrs. Stephanie McShane, fourth grade teacher, who is being recognized as Colonies North’s Educator of
the Year. Congratulations to Ms. Elizabeth Latour, 1st Grade Newcomer Teacher, who is being recognized as our First Year
Educator of the Year. They will be representing our campus at the district celebration on March 4 for Educators of the Year.
We would like to also congratulate Mrs. Shevy Barrios for being recognized as our Instructional Assistant of the Year. This is
a well deserved honor for these three faculty members!
A Musical Note from Mrs. Garcia
Thank you for supporting the Little Caesar’s Pizza Kit music fundraiser to repair and purchase new instruments. We raised a
little over $800 thanks to your help. I hope to be making my purchases of xylophone repair kits and keyboards for a piano
unit soon. It takes a lot of time and effort on your part to have a successful fundraiser, and I greatly appreciate it.
2nd grade and Choir will be presenting the musical:
Come on March 20th for the PTA meeting in the cafeteria at 6:30. We will be performing right after the meeting. We would
love to see you out in the audience. Please let me know if you would like to volunteer to help in any way. This will be a wonderful production!
Page 4
The Cougar Chronicle
PTA News from President Jill Harrington
Colonies North Parents:
Greetings from your Colonies North
Elementary PTA!
I want to start by mentioning that
it looks like our PTA board positions
have been filled for the 2014/2015
School Year. Names will be announced in May. We still have some
chair positions open along with many
other opportunities to get involved.
We have a wonderful PTA at Colonies North. Feel free to contact me
if you have questions or wish to be
more involved.
Our Spring Money Drive Fundraiser
is approaching. It will run March
17th – March 28th. The winning
classroom’s teacher will ride the
Zamboni at the April 5th Rampage
game where the Cougar Choir will be
performing. There are also many
more exciting incentives being offered. We hope to see a lot of participation like we have in the past.
Dig up any loose change, bills and
checks and send them in. We appreciate your support!
We hope everyone can join us at our
next General PTA meeting on March
20th. The 2nd graders will be performing a musical & awards for Arts
in Education will be given out that
same evening.
our membership numbers! Good luck!
Our membership numbers look good
but we would love to increase them.
With that being said, we are planning a contest with a very exciting
prize! If you join the Colonies
North PTA by March 7th you will
earn a chance to win a fabulous dining experience at Feast Restaurant!
The winner will receive a four
course, chef's choice, dinner for
two. Here’s all you have to do:
CNE PTA President
Turn in 3 new member registrations
with payment by March 7th and you
will earn 1 entry into the drawing.
If you aren’t yet a member, your
registration will count as 1 of the 3
new memberships. You will also earn
1 additional entry into the drawing
for EACH new member after the
first 3! So, call your friends, family
& neighbors and help us increase
PTA Money Drive
March 17– March 28
100% of funds raised will go back to the PTA for use towards the kids and the school (field trips, bike rodeo,
special programs, educational programs, etc.).
If each of our 735 students donate...
$1, we would raise $735
$5, we would raise $3,675
$10, we would raise $7,350
Thank you for supporting our
school.
Sincerely,
Jill Harrington
PTA General Meeting
Thursday, March 20 @ 6:30 PM
5th Grade Parents,
Think about this....Cougars maturing into Hawks???
Well, it's true! Crazy how time flies!
A couple of weeks ago, your student brought home a
volunteer sign-up sheet for our end-of-year pool party.
Thanks to all who have returned those so far! I look
forward to getting more. Remember March 6, at
6:30pm at Fuddruckers, is our planning meeting. You
can email me to get your name on the volunteer list or
just return the green paper to school with your stu-
Thank you for your support!
dent. I can be reached at 713-562-5378 or
More information on special incentives
to come.
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Hope to see you March 6th!
-Andree (Kennedee's mom)
Page 5
The Cougar Chronicle
Cougar Calendar
MARCH 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
National School
Breakfast Week
Special Olympics
Track & Field
Parents for Breakfast A-L
Parents for Breakfast M-Z
Field Day
TX Public
School Week
NISD Elementary
Educators of the
Year Celebration
7 AM Cafeteria
7 AM Cafeteria
NISD PTA Mtg.
8
AM Grades PK-2
PM Grades 3-5
CNE Spirit Day
7 PM at NAC
9
10
11
12
13
14
Daylight SavSpring Break
ings Time begins (spring
forward 1 hour)
Spring Break
Spring Break
Spring Break
Spring Break
16
18
19
20
21
CNE PTA Board
Mtg. 5:30 PM
TELPAS Test Gr. 5
ELL students
First Day of Spring
CNE Spirit Day
17
St. Patrick’s
Day Wear Green
Spring PTA
Money Drive
Fund raiser
Begins
23
30
24
31
15
22
CNE PTA Mtg.
6:30 PM /2nd
Grade Musical
TELPAS Test Gr. 4
ELL students
25
26
27
28
29
Spring PTA Money Drive Fund
raiser Ends
NEF 5K Walk/
Run at Sea
World
End of 3rd Nine
weeks
Early Release