Deanna Krenek, 4th Grade Teacher

Bluebonnet Challenge Accepted

With gentle encouragement and kind support from their parents, teachers, and Cimarron Elementary librarian, the Cheetahs in Ms. Krenek’s homeroom and switch classes reached 100% participation as Texas Bluebonnet Award voters and Bluebonnet Bash qualifiers.

The students celebrated their favorite literary nominees through the creation of amazing projects using Web 2.0 tools. Though the campus favorite, Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick, did not ultimately win the 2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Award, the students were provided a wonderful opportunity to visit with the author via Skype during the party held on Wednesday, May 18, 2016.

These avid readers were recognized for their achievements during the bash hosted by Mrs. Nored, CE librarian. After refreshments were enjoyed, each student received a t-shirt reflecting the unifying theme across genres. Because many of the nominees reflected triumph over adversity, the t-shirts proclaimed, “I Survived 2015-2016 Texas Bluebonnet Books!” Each student then selected a Bluebonnet nominee from the 2016-2017 book list to enjoy during summer reading.

Excited for next year, Ms. Krenek and her Cheetahs extend their gratitude to Dr. Bell and Mrs. Nored for this awesome opportunity to celebrate the best of children’s literature.

Ryan Sumner, 5th Grade Teacher

5th Grade Memoirs

Fifth grade students just finished writing memoirs during writer's workshop. Mr. Sumner's class would like to share some of their selections.

Coco’s Death

A time I felt brokenhearted was when my dog died.  One day I came back from school and I saw my brother outside, which is a rare place to see him at.  I asked him “Why are you outside?” and then he said “Coco (our dog’s name) is going to die soon.”  While tears filled my eyes I ran up to Coco, dropped on my knees and hugged her as hard as I could, and my sister did the same thing.  I felt her breathing fast and heavy as I cried and hugged her.  I wiped my tears off and said “Why is she dying, she’s only 1 years old?” Then my brother told me about her having a failing kidney.  My siblings knew that I loved and cared for her the most so they went inside and left me alone with Coco.  Later that same day, my dad came home and for once he had tears in his eyes.  I saw a look in her eyes that said goodbye and that’s when she took her final breath.  Everyone busted into tears!

Daddy

            I felt heartbroken when my daddy had a chance at death.  When I was about 6 or 7 my dad got cancer.  He got it somewhere around his neck.  He would sit in a brown rocking chair and have some tubes connected to him.  My own dad had cancer and was not good, and I knew it.  Every day I would see him in his chair and pray that I could see him the next day.  I’d wish he would be okay.  He had cancer for a while.  All of my prayers then came true.  My daddy was and still is okay.  My dad has a scar right under his neck, but it’s better to have a scar than to have cancer.

 Tiger Face

A time I’ll never forget is when I looked like a tiger.  We were in Pennsylvania on a road trip to see family.  My mom thought we should meet our godmother’s son and mother.

Everything was wet because it rained recently, but we still climbed slides and such.  Then everything went downhill.  I climbed the roof cover of the slide and started slipping.  I yelled for help, but no one heard.  I didn’t know I was that quiet.  I lost grip and my face met with the mulch.  I don’t know what really happened because my eyes were closed all through it and it happened way too fast.

I got up and my brain felt like it was escaping my head.  I was a little dizzy but I kept walking towards my mom.  She finally noticed me and freaked out! I started to taste a salty liquid in my mouth.  It was blood!  My forehead and nose were already swelling which really caught my mom’s attention.  My mom called my father and they rushed me to the nearest hospital.  They got lost and eventually made it.  After a while I was being cared for.  I sat on a bed the whole time except for when they took x-rays of my head.  When we got back to the room a device started making a noise.  My mom pulled something on it and nurses came running.  Turns out, my mom pulled a lever for heart attacks.  They were relieved I wasn’t having a heart attack.

I was fine in end.  I just had a very swollen nose and mulch shaped bruises on my forehead.  The bruises looked like tiger stripes, so people called me tiger face until they healed.  

Staff Feature-Amy Lancaster, Instructional Coach

My name is Amy Lancaster, and I am the Mathematics /Science Instructional Coach at Cimarron. I began my journey as a Cimarron Cheetah in 20052, and have loved every step of the way. 

This is my 30th year in Katy ISD! Most of my years as a classroom teacher were spent in third grade; however, I have also been a fourth grade teacher, and a second grade math teacher, and a gifted and talented teacher. I enjoy my coaching position because I have the opportunity to work and learn with students and teachers.

I am currently working on my Doctorate in Educational Leadership and have a specialization in Curriculum and Instruction. I hope to finish by May.

I am a member of Who's Who Among America's Teachers.

One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein: "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think."

Staff Feature-Amanda Fait, Kindergarten Teacher

My name is Amanda Fait. This is my fourth year as a Kindergarten at Cimarron Elementary. I am so thankful to be a part of the Cheetah family and have the opportunity to work with such wonderful students and staff on a daily basis.

Having graduated from Katy High School, it felt like coming home when I began teaching in Katy ISD. I have had so many wonderful influences on my life which helped cultivate my love for learning and teaching.

I graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. I then continued my studies at Texas A&M University where I received a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. My educational journey is currently leading me to the University of Houston where I am pursuing my Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership.

I have been fortunate to participate in several conferences and programs such as Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project and I enjoy sharing the information I learned with my fellow colleagues. I have also been able to serve on the Campus Advisory Committee and Technology Integration Leadership Team.

I enjoy connecting with members of our Cimarron family through special events such as the Carnival and Spirit Nights.

A quote that drives me is “When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” Dalai Lama

Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School

Cimarron Elementary recognized as a

Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School

Katy, Texas – Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and technology, has recognized Cimarron Elementary as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School.

Cimarron Elementary has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying.

"We applaud the faculty and staff of Cimarron Elementary for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students' education," said Rebecca Randall, vice president of education programs for Common Sense Education. "Cimarron Elementary deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large."

Cimarron Elementary has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to Internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. The free resources are currently used in more than 90,000 classrooms nationwide.

"We're honored to be recognized as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School," said Cimarron’s Principal, Dr. Sanée Bell. "By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them unlimited opportunities to maximize and personalize their learning."

For more information about Cimarron Elementary, go to http://www.katyisd.org/campus/CE. To learn more about the criteria Cimarron Elementary met to become certified as a Common Sense Certified School, visit http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/certification.

Paytin C.-1st Grade

Paytin's Book Review

I’m Paytin and I’m going to tell you about a Junie B book. It is about Junie B and she is showing off her big fat mouth. It is interesting because she is having a lot of problems.
She is having problems because she is trying to tell her mom and dad something but they keep paying attention to her little brother Ole.

I think that Junie was feeling jealous of her little brother. I too felt jealous when my mom only paid attention to my little brother and didn’t have time for me. Now I am older and I know that my mommy will always love me!

Jonah, 1st Grade Student

Cimarron is Getting Renovated!

I’m so excited for the school to be renovated. There’s going to be new walls. Everything will be new. It’s going to be amazing!

On spring break when we came back, the ceiling was torn up. We were freaking out. We can’t wait to see what everything is going to be like. How would the floor be like? What’s the new sink going to be like?

 So many questions! We are so anxious to see the final result!