Cougar Connection
March 2024
A Message from Mrs. Clements
It's been a busy month at Keith Elementary! Our Cougars kicked off the month with Science Word Up Day where we deepened our understanding of science vocabulary. They celebrated 101 days of learning on Dalmation Day, went on field trips, took benchmark assessments, enjoyed skate night, participated in rodeo art shows, and wrapped up the month with the Kids Heart Challenge celebration! Two of our third grade students became finalists for the HLSR Creativity Contest. Naiya even placed in the top 10 out of over 10,000 entries! For such a short month, we sure crammed a lot in! We love having fun while learning at Keith! Coming up in March, we have Read Across America Week, Spring Break, Garden Days, and more! Be sure to check out the family calendar for the upcoming events! Thank you for your support of Keith Elementary!
March Family Calendar
Read Across America Week!
Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading. Our theme this year is Young Authors Everywhere! We want to encourage all of our cougars to read books from a variety of authors as mentors for their own writing! We want to celebrate the author in every child! Check out Mrs. Budnek's newsletter below to learn about some fun dress up days and challenges for the week!
Counselor's Corner
Hello Keith Families,
Spring is in full swing! We have a lot of fun events planned for the remainder of the school year. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to your grade-level counselor.
Keith School Counselors
Lisa Sudtelgte (Grades PK, 1, 3, 5) Lisa.Sudtelgte@cfisd.net 281-213-1750 X1
Jodi Evridge (Grades K, 2, 4) Jodi.Evridge@cfisd.net 281-213-1750 X2
Counselor Tips
Technology Safety Concerns
It is our goal at Keith to keep our students safe and protect their well-being at all times. In the world of technology, monitoring a child’s activity on cell phones and online games is becoming increasingly important. Below you will find some additional information for protecting your child online.
According to the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice, your mobile phone company and the phone itself should give you some choices for privacy settings and child safety controls. Most carriers allow parents to turn off features, like web access, texting, or downloading. Some cell phones are made especially for children. They're designed to be easy to use and have features like limited internet access, minute management, number privacy, and emergency buttons. There are also third-party monitoring tools such as Bark, that help parents manage and protect their children’s online lives.
Many phones offer web access and mobile apps. If your children are going to use a phone and you're concerned about what they might find online, you can choose a phone with limited internet access, or you can turn on web filtering.
The Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice also suggests you be familiar with mobile mapping. Many mobile phones now have GPS technology installed: kids with these phones can pinpoint where their friends are — and be pinpointed by their friends. Advise your kids to use these features only with friends they know in person and trust, and not to broadcast their location to the world, 24-7. In addition, some carriers offer GPS services that let parents map their kid's location.
“If you give your child a device that can access the world, then the world can access them.”...Titania Jordan, Chief Parenting Officer, Bark Technologies
Counselor Lessons
In March, we will talk with our older grades about test-taking tips and how to combat test anxiety. With our younger grades, we will talk about friendship.
Gifted and Talented Information
Nominations for GT testing for this school year have closed. If your child was tested this year, results will be sent home in April with your student.
To find more information about the CFISD Gifted Program you may visit this link: https://www.cfisd.net/Domain/2373
If you have any additional questions about GT testing or the GT program please email Lisa.Sudtelgte@cfisd.net
Credit by Exam Information
Students in grades K-5 will have four opportunities during the school year to use “credit-by-exam” (CBE) to accelerate to the next grade level. Students will only have one opportunity to test for each grade level considered.
Students who earn 80% or better on each component of the credit-by-exam will qualify to advance one grade. Only one grade level may be “skipped” each year. No retests will be given.
If you are interested in getting more information about credit-by-exam, please contact Lisa.Sudtelgte@cfisd.net
CFISD 2024-25 District Calendar
In February, the CFISD Board of Trustees approved the 2024-25 calendar. The first day of school for 2024-2025 will be Monday, August 19. Please take a look at the calendar, so you'll be able to plan your vacations accordingly.
Pre-K/ Kindergarten Pre-Registration is coming soon!
If you have a student who will be entering pre-kindergarten or kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year, registration will take place April 8-12 online. Please help spread the word about registration. Early registration helps us to know how many teachers should be allocated to teach kindergarten.
Keith Elementary
20550 Fairfield Green, Cypress, TX, USA
281-213-1744
https://www.facebook.com/KeithCougarsCFISD
@CFISDKeith