The Mane Tail

Dear Parents and/or Guardians,

Our district has asked for us to pay close attention to student attendance this year. Our attendance has been dropping steadily over the past few years, so we are doing everything we can to encourage healthy students to come to school each day. Our district goal is to have every school have an average of at least 95% each six weeks. I wanted to make you aware of our daily averages the week before Thanksgiving break. On (Monday) November 13th our student attendance as a school was 92.1%. On Nov. 14th we averaged 92.5%. Nov. 15th our average was 94.1%. On Thursday, Nov. 16th our attendance average was 94.6% and on Friday, Nov. 17th we had 93.7% of our students here at school. Our average for the week was 93.4%. This is well below our target of 95%. Please do your part and send your child to school when he/she is healthy.

Sincerely,

Heather Motzny

Friday, December 8th: Spirit Shop (No lunch visitors)

Tuesday, December 12th: Sampson Spelling Bee 4:15 p.m.

Thursday, December 14th and Friday, December 15th: 3rd and 5th Grade Nature Trails

Saturday, December 16th: Jingle Bell Jog

Tuesday, December 19th: 5th Grade Holiday Program 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 21st: Holiday Parties during Large Group Times

December 22nd- January 5th: Student and Staff Holidays (No School)

Sampson Students and Parents:

Here’s the buzz! The written spelling test for qualification in the oral Sampson Spelling Bee has been completed and particpants in our Spelling Bee have been notified. Our Sampson Spelling Bee will be on December 12th from 4:15-5:45 pm. Guests may attend the Sampson Bee.

JINGLE BELL JOG - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16TH 8:00 AM

Save the date! Our Annual Sampson Elementary School Holiday Fun Run returns on Saturday, December 16th. All of our Sampson Stallions, Families, and Friends are welcome. Registration will be available in school cash from November 10 -December 1. Register at schoolcashonline.com for only $10 per person. Join us for a FESTIVE HOLIDAY Jingle Bell Jog, walk or stroll through the Coles Crossing Trails for a Family 5K. Each participant will get a holiday finishers medal, a t-shirt, and some yummy finishers treats at the finish line. We will have AWARDS for our Top 3 Females and Males, Top 3 Girls and Boys (5th grade or younger), Top 3 Chariots, and Award BEST DRESSED COSTUME!!! Get creative with this one and have fun!!!

Los siete días de la semana (The seven days of the week)

lunes (Monday)

martes (Tuesday)

miércoles (Wednesday)

jueves (Thursday)

viernes (Friday)

sábado (Saturday)

domingo (Sunday)

Hoy es ______. (Today is _______.)

Ayer fue ​​​​______. (Yesterday was _______.)

Mañana será ______. (Tomorrow will be _______.)

Mi día favorito es ________. (My favorite day is _______.)

Thank you,

Mrs. Betancourt

**Update** we are overwhelmed with the amazing support of this program, thank you all! There are limited patrol times left for the school year, sign up using the link below. Remember – only 1 patrol per family. If you want to be considered for standby and have not contacted Mrs. Bickham, just send an email to be put on that list.

Shirt Availability that can be purchased at the school -- Adult XL ($20), Youth Medium ($15) and Youth Large ($15).

You can also order online (there are a variety of styles) at www.dadsofgreatstudents.com .

Requests for Teachers to Complete Paperwork for Outside Sources

(Rating Scales, Observations, Areas of Strengths/Weaknesses)

In order for teachers to fill out forms or other information needed for outside sources (doctors, psychologists, agencies, private schools, taekwondo, tutors, etc.), we must have a release of information (consent) form from the parent. Parents may request the permission form from the counselor or through the teacher. A new permission form needs to be filled out each school year.

Once the permission form is completed and returned, the teachers may fill out the requested paperwork. At Sampson, we follow the CFISD’s procedure to send the paperwork directly to the outside source (doctors, psychologists, agencies, private schools, taekwondo, tutors etc.) via fax or mail. If the parent chooses for the information to be mailed, an envelope (addressed to the outside source with postage attached) should be included with the paperwork provided by the parent.

These procedures are to ensure the student’s needs are addressed legally and ethically.

If you have questions regarding this process, please contact the counselor.

Information about K-Level classes for 6th grade:

Once students reach middle school, core classes are leveled: On-level and K-Level.

• On-level classes, just like K-Level classes, provide students with a college preparatory curriculum.
• K-Level classes have entry criteria to be put into the classes and criteria students must meet in order to remain in K-Level for the school year.
• K-Level classes are designed to challenge students beyond grade-level academic courses and prepare them for success in future advanced coursework. K-level classes are more rigorous and in-depth in content, often move at a faster pace, include different types of assignments and may require additional outside reading.

Students are eligible for K-Level classes in 6th grade (2024-2025 school year) if during their 5th grade year:

• Earn a yearly average of 85+ in subject (reading/language-average, math, science and social studies)

OR

• Earn Masters Level on the STAAR exam for the corresponding subject area

Students who meet the criteria will automatically be placed in K-Level courses for the corresponding subject. Parents may opt the students out of K-Level classes.

If students do not meet the criteria for eligibility, they will not be placed in K-Level courses.

For the months of November and December, we will be focusing on the character trait Generosity as we Bring Out the Best in CFISD. Generosity is a willingness to give. You can access any of our lessons and activities through the district website here: https://www.cfisd.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=7582

Volunteers needed to help with 3rd and 5 th grade Nature Trails

You can sign up here Sampson PTO - Signups (membershiptoolkit.com)

Be on the lookout for holiday teacher and staff donations, going live December 1st.

This is a completely optional way of giving . More information to come!

Winter Spiritwear Pre-Order

Our Staff Appreciation Committee is so excited to plan a Sweets and Treats Snack Bar for the teachers on December 13th and we need your help! While you are baking your fun holiday treats, make an extra batch to share! Please click on this link if you can help. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4FAEAA2DA6F58-46380551-holiday/10225648#/

The Sampson Imagination Garden needs your help! Please consider signing up for a 1-hour time slot in Membership Toolkit: https://sampsonpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/110509.

Twice a month, our partner Ready to Grow Gardens teaches hands-on science lessons to all of our 2nd and 3rd-grade students. We need parent volunteers to help maintain the garden and prepare the beds for planting on these days. You do not need to be a gardener or know much about gardening to help!

Membership

Thank you to our VIP sponsors Brianna Bischoff, Realtor; Ryan Stegall with State Farm; and The Brook

Email: sampson@cfisd.net
Website: https://sampson.cfisd.net/en/
Location: 16002 Coles Crossing Drive, Cypress, TX, USA
Phone: 281-213-1600
Facebook: facebook.com/SampsonElementarySchool
Twitter: @SampsonElem