1st Grade Team

Creating Poets in 1st Grade

1^st grade has been working feverishly on our new unit POETRY! We have been reading lots of poetry and even learned how to write poems. The kids have been working so hard on their poems about things and people that they love. They are natural born poets! We are very proud and excited to share some of the poems our students have written. Brileigh said “I love poetry!”  Emanuel said, “Writing is my favorite subject!” 

Staff Feature-Pam Brissee, 3rd Grade Teacher

Mrs. Brissee is one of our most veteran teachers at Cimarron. Her dedication to our students and community is greatly appreciated. Because of her experience, she adds so much value to our school. Learn a little more about Ms. Brissee and her contributions to the students at Cimarron Elementary.

My name is Pam Brissee. My father was in the military and I have lived in several states and countries.  I attended eleven different schools, including four high schools. I earned my BS in biology from Texas Lutheran College and my M. Ed. from U of H.   Before coming to CE, I taught at a private preschool. Since I have been working here, I have taught first grade, fifth grade and third grade, in that order.  In all, I have been here 18 years.  I have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Wienserski assisting with the CASE program here for several years.  

If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.
John Dewey

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
-William Butler Yeats 
  

Staff Feature-Deanna Krenek, 4th Grade Teacher

Ms. Krenek is new to our Cimarron family, but one would never know it. She has joined the team and has taken on many new roles. She has been a great addition to our staff and is eager to learn and try new things. Take a moment to learn a little more about her as an educator. 

I am one of two ladies named Deanna Krenek in the West Houston area. I joined the Cimarron Elementary family this past August and am delighted to be teaching 4th grade English Language Arts, Reading, and Social Studies. A native of Sealy, Texas, I have resided in Katy since 1989.  My four wonderful children grew up in this community before heading to Aggieland and beyond! Whoop!

Throughout the past 8 years, I taught Communication Applications, Dance and Theatre at the junior high level in Waller ISD. I attended Sam Houston State University on scholarship and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. I subsequently attended the University of Texas in Austin to pursue coursework in Elementary Education. My certifications include Generalist (EC-4), Gifted Talented Supplemental (EC-12), ESL Supplemental (EC-12), Special Education (EC-12), Theatre (EC-12), Dance (8-12), and Speech (8-12).

I have been recognized for my work in education both as a parent volunteer and as a classroom professional. In 2001, I was awarded a Texas PTA Life Membership presented by Nottingham Country Elementary in Katy ISD. In February of 2014, I was honored as Waller Jr. High’s Campus Teacher of the Year in Waller ISD. With a background in performance arts, I look forward to assisting Mrs. Boltz with the school musical. I will also manage the 4th Grade Destination Imagination team and prepare its members for competition.

I believe that students most effectively acquire knowledge through active participation, dramatization, movement, and song. In my experience, learning is enhanced by the higher-level thinking skills developed through the integration of Fine Arts within project and performance-based activities. I appreciate personal expression even if its inclusion sometimes results in a bit of a mess or a little noise.

Dr. Sanee Bell, Principal

Running the Distance

Meet a fellow Cheetah, Aidan Allen. He has been running with Track Houston Katy site since 2013 when he was 8 years old.

Aidan’s mom believes his interest in running began in PE. He received positive praise from Mrs. Stevens and Miss Brissee. Just before Aidan’s 8^th birthday, his mom emailed Mrs. Stevens to see if she knew of any track club that would take a kid his age. Aidan’s family wanted to have him start something outside of school.  The PE Department here at Cimarron told them to check out Track Houston.

The family looked them up, took Aidan out and were amazed with the coaches and other families. Since then, Aidan has qualified for 4 Junior Olympics. This year during the cross country season, he came in 7th place out of 25 kids to qualify for the Junior Olympics. He had to be in the top 15 in the 9-10 year-old age group for the Houston area. He went to Albuquerque, New Mexico and ran the 3000. He came in 252 out of 300 runners. His time was 14:53.

Congratulations, Aidan! Cimarron is so proud of you!

Kindergarten Team

Celebrating 100 Days of Learning

Tuesday, February 2^nd marked the 100^th day of the school year! The number 100 is a very important number in our number system and in kindergarten the students learn that 10 groups of 10 make 100!  The whole day was dedicated to the number 100 where students wrote about, played games with it, and counted to it!

The adventure started at home, where students created shirts with their parents of 100 items!

“How I made my shirt is glue lots of (googly) eyes. After a while we counted over and over.” –Chase

“When I made my shirt with my mom I made fingerprints. We made our family. It had a 100 thumbprints.” - Joseph

And what’s a celebration without creating a crown to celebrate being 100 days smarter?!?!

"I liked making a crown! It was fun!" -Ziya

Our students not only exercised their brains, but showed their strength and endurance by doing 100 exercises!

“It was fun and we had to do squats and jumps. It made me tired.” -Colby

The day was filled with counting to 100 by ones, fives and tens!

“I was excited because on the 100^th day of school you do lots of cool stuff and lots of activities.”- Carys

Mrs. Yezak-McDonald’s class voted the number search as “Best 100^th Day Activity Ever”. The teachers placed stickers with all the numbers from 1 to 100 around the room. Students had to search for them and color them in on a 100 chart when they found them.

“It was really hard because Mrs. M hid one on her arm and she hid the 100 sticker behind a bookshelf.” –Berlyn

During Writing Workshop, students created a book based on 100 things that they wanted and didn’t want.

“I liked when I said I wish I had 100 donuts.” -Sophia

Students created at their own trail mix by group ten different snacks into groups of ten!

“I loved the 100th day trail mix. It was yummy and fun!”      - Maci

“We made a chart. We put the all the things we learned on it like, ‘I know how encourage a buddy reader. And I know how to put spaces in my writing.’ –Kylie

Why do we put so much emphasis on 100?

The number 100 is an important anchor number. Understanding the concept of 100 helps students with their number sense and place value. As for the hundreds chart, it allows for the discovery of patterns and relationships between numbers and can be a valuable reinforcement tool for many math concepts. The main focus is to assist students to visualize the patterns in the hundreds chart, which will improve their ability to calculate mentally. While initially students may need to see a chart, ultimately they will visualize the patterns and solve problems without reference to the chart.

Plus… as you can see. It’s so engaging and fun for the students while they learn!

Jennifer Brumfield, Physical Education Aide

P.E. Update

Springtime in P.E....outside activities, fitness gram, glow run, and so much more! We are really seeing improvement in the CE cheetahs with their motor skills. Push-ups, sit-ups, burpees and our TABATA jogging are improving each and every day. The students have worked very hard on their endurance this year and it is showing on how they are performing in their pacer practice testing. The fitness gram testing is just for grades 3-5. One module of the fitness gram is the pacer test. Some schools call it the beep test. It is where a student stands on a line and runs 20 meters (a lap) to the line at the other end of the gym. After 7 "laps" the time between beeps/sounds decreases. The object is to test the endurance of the student and see how long he/she can run. It's not a race to see how fast. It's all about endurance. We have been practicing this the past couple weeks and will begin the real deal next week. We had a 5th grade student break the Cimarron record with 75 laps!  Mrs. Stevens has never had anyone in all her years of teaching get that high of a number. She was very proud and impressed!

We are also gearing up for the Glow Run. We hope to see all the cheetahs and their families at the run. This has become an annual event at Cimarron, and it always brings lots of fun and excitement to our school and community. So please join us if you can!

Our K-2 PE students are also working very hard on their TABATA jogging and exercises. Some of their favorites include line jumps, burpees, supermans and jump ropes. Kinder cheetahs have really enjoyed cup stacking games and critter craze!  They are not just playing games but working on their cardiovascular, and gross motor skills while laughing and having fun. 

As you can tell, PE is full of excitement, fun and lots of exercise.  And we enjoy sharing our day with all the CE cheetahs.