The Falcon Review
October 2023
Important Dates
10/5 Bond 2023 and Parent Workshop 5:00-6:00 pm at Ford
10/6-9 No School
10/18 Unity Day (Wear Orange)
10/20 50th Day of School
10/23-27 Red Ribbon Week
10/30 Scholastic Book Fair begins
10/31 Storybook Character Day
Attention Voters
Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th
Prop A in Bond 2023 includes 8 new schools. Conroe ISD schools are collectively at 104% capacity with some campuses exceeding 150% of capacity. The largest project in Prop A is a new high school for the Conroe area to relieve Conroe and Caney Creek High Schools. Conroe High School’s enrollment is over 5,000 students and projected to exceed 6,000 students in three years.
New Schools in Prop A are as follows:
- The Woodlands Feeder Elementary (opens 2025)
- 242 Corridor Elementary (opens 2025)
- Grand Oaks 7-8, 9th Grade Campus (opens 2026)
- Grand Oaks Feeder Elementary (opens 2026)
- Conroe Area High School (opens 2027)
- Caney Creek 9th Grade Campus (opens 2027)
- Conroe Area Junior High (opens 2027)
- Conroe Area Intermediate (opens 2027)
Prop A also includes additions to 3 campuses. They are as follows:
- McCullough Junior High (500 seats)
- Hailey Elementary (100 seats)
- Ford Elementary (100 seats)
To learn more about these and other items in Prop A, please visit [www.conroeisd.net/bond]www.conroeisd.net/bond.
Gifted and Talented Nominations
Referral requests are now open for Conroe Independent School District Gifted and Talented program. Although the testing will not take place until late January, referral requests are accepted at this time. Referral requests can be made by the parents and/or campus staff. It is recommended that parents of 2nd grade students wait until CogAT scores have arrived before nominating their child because CogAT scores are part of the GT assessment. If you are interested in referring your child, you may want to discuss this with your child’s teacher. Referrals will be accepted October 2- December 15, 2023. You may request a referral form from the front office or the Assistant Principal. You can also find the referral form and other GT information on the CISD GT homepage.
Vision and Hearing Screenings
Vision and hearing screenings are beginning soon. Please send your child to school with glasses if they have any. If they pass all screenings, you will not hear from the clinic. However, if they fail, we will be sending a referral home in their backpack to request further evaluation by a provider. Please keep an eye out. Thank you!
Reach out to the clinic if you have any questions. 832-592-5706.
UNITY DAY! SHOW YOUR SUPPORT TO END BULLYING!
50th Day of School
Red Ribbon Week
Storybook Character Day
Pre-Kindergarten News
During the month of October during language arts we will be working with letter identification, the letters in our names, letter formation, and book making.during read Aloud the students will be learning how to do story retellings and we will be reading books about fall.
In Pre-K Math we will be learning about shapes, position words, counting, and cardinality.In Science we will be learning about sources of energy and earth materials.
In social studies, we will learn about school helpers, community helpers,and voting. We will also learn during the social /emotional learning about empathy,caring and helping and emotion management.! We are really excited about all the activities that we will be doing this month.
Pre-Kindergarten Staff Spotlight
My name is Mrs. Sierra I am a pre K Bilingual teacher at Ford Elementary. This will be my 22nd year teaching pre-kindergarten. I am married, and we have a 19 years old daughter and a 16 years old son. We have a dog named Luna.
I enjoy my time off with family, and friends. Traveling and reading are my favorite hobbies. Teaching and helping others is my passion. I love watching my students grow and develop into the best versions of themselves.Kindergarten News
In Kindergarten, we are continuing to learn routines and procedures for the classroom and school. We are learning and growing each day.
In Math, your student is learning about numbers 1-10, how to write them, what they look like, with and without objects. They are also being introduced on how to compare two numbers 1-10. In the upcoming month they will learn about coins and what they look like and their attributes.
In Reading, your student is learning they can look at their books to learn new things. Also, working with partners and what it looks like during reading time. They are learning that characters have voices in their stories and each character has a different voice. In the upcoming month they will learn how to make connections to their books. They will learn to retell a story in multiple genres.
In Writing, your student is learning to write letters and identify the sound that corresponds with each letter. They are learning to write sentences with high frequency words and matching their writing with their pictures. We will be working on this for several weeks while adding new letters and sounds together.
For Science your student is learning about heating and cooling. In the upcoming weeks, they will learn about physical properties, magnets, and locations of objects.
Lastly, in Social Studies, your student has been learning about American symbols, and pledges. In the upcoming month they will be learning about the globe, rules and different authority figures that we have in different places.
Kindergarten Staff Spotlight
My name is Becky Behringer and I am a graduate of Sam Houston State University. My husband and I have been married for 25 years this past July. We have 3 children, Jake, 21, Joseph, 18 and Hannah. I am originally from the Rio Grande Valley and am the eldest of two.
I enjoy spending time with family, being at home and listening to audible books.
In my 25 years of teaching experience, I have had the opportunity to teach kindergarten, first and second grade.
I have been a Ford Falcon for 15 years.
First Grade News
First Grade Staff Spotlight
Second Grade News
Hello Second grade Families!
It has been wonderful getting into our procedures and routines. We have had the best first weeks of school. For the month of October, in Math we will be working on Place Value and then moving into Number Patterns to 120. In Reading we will work with Traditional Literature (folktales, fairy tales, legends, etc) and then move into our Non-Fiction Unit. In Writing we will be finishing with Fiction and moving on to Informational. In Science we will continue to learn about Changes in Matter, Structures of Materials, and Movements of Objects. In Social studies we will be learning about Government- Local, State, and Federal, as well as Election Day, Veterans Day, etc.
Second Grade Staff Spotlight
Third Grade News
Third Grade Staff Spotlight
Hello! I am Cortney David, proud 3rd Grade ELA teacher here at Ford Elementary! I’ve been teaching for 10 + years in different sectors; early childhood through 3rd grade. I am a wife and mother of two beautiful little girls, ages 3 and 5.
This month in ELA we are finishing up our unit in Drama and will be starting Nonfiction/Informational Texts. We will focus on using context clues to gain a deeper understanding of what we are reading.
I know this month will be filled with students CRUSHING their academic goals and finding excitement in gaining knowledge through reading!
Fourth Grade News
We have learned about becoming better readers by reading intensely, analyzing characters and retelling what we have read. We are learning about themes and summaries now. Students should read for 30 minutes every night!
We have been working with mixtures and solutions. Ask your sweet kids about the difference in the two. Next week we will explore circuits and electricity.For more practice visit STEMscopes on the SSO.
Parents/Guardians: Please sign folders each Tuesday evening when they come home. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with us.
Fourth Grade Staff Spotlight
News from Specials
Art 1 We are launching our unit on Community! That means WESTERN ART, Y’ALL! In Kindergarten, we are looking at our state reptile and are creating Horned Lizard paintings. First Grade artists are learning about the jackrabbit and its ability to live in the desert. Second grade artists are learning about Native American legends and are creating a Corn Maiden Masterpiece. Third will be looking at our state mammal…the TX Longhorn through the creation of a patterned Longhorn landscape and fourth will be remembering the Alamo with their awesome Alamo paintings.
Music Falcon musicians will dive into the sounds of instrumental families across musical genres. Students will distinguish between percussion, woodwind, strings, brass, and vocal instruments, how they create sound, and how they work together to create musical masterpieces. This unit will introduce the science of size, sound, vibration, and acoustic/electric concepts including a range of activities from ear training games, instrument identification, and exploring/playing classroom instruments.
Specials Staff Spotlight
Guidance and Counseling
Character Trait of the Month
This month's Counselors' Book of the Month is "The Caring Me I Want to Be!" by Mary DiPalermo.
"Being kind not only spreads good -- it also feels great. Yet sometimes we don't know how to be kind in the moment. In this sweet, rhyming story, a child shares how she tries to practice kindness every day."--Scholastic.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month
National Bullying Prevention Month is a month-long campaign that encourages others to unite and take a stand against bullying. Every October, thousands of students, teachers, parents, and community members around the nation, and even the world, take action. One way is celebrating Unity Day, held the 3rd Wednesday. On Unity Day we wear orange to demonstrate that we are together against bullying. We are united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion of all students.
*Founded in 2006 by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.
Resources
For Students:
- Be An Ally--6 Simple Ways
- Bullying Resources for Kids and Teens
- Contact your School Counselor about additional resources (call 832-592-5700 or Ms. Biggens jbiggens@conroeisd.net or Ms. Arias sarias@conroeisd.net
For Families:
- A Parent Guide to Bullying from Scholastic Books
- Books about Bullying for Grades 6-12
- Parent, Family, and Caregiver Resources from the Anti-Defamation League including books and prevention and intervention tips