Cayce Corley-5th Grade Math Teacher

 Journals As a Learning Tool

J-jotting down your

O-own thoughts

U-until

R-reading, writing, math and science

N-naturally make

A-any

L-learning

S-seem fun and personal.

“Isn't it mysterious to begin a new journal like this? I can run my fingers through the fresh clean pages but I cannot guess what the writing on them will be.” 
― Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy in Spite of Herself

A journal is a diary in a sense. They are something personal to individuals. With that being said, they have also become popular in schools. In 5^th grade this year, we are making the journals an important part of all of our core classes. We used the first week of school to let the kids personalize and understand the journals they were creating. 

It is important to let the students personalize their journals because they take more responsibility and ownership in something that they took the time to create. The journals are excellent because they get children to think creatively and to learn to put their thoughts and feelings down on paper. This is an important step in teaching children to express themselves and communicate effectively through the written word. 

It is a way of capturing moments of importance in class to use later in reference for assignments completed at home or at school. It is not only an informational tool, but a learning tool.

The kids had a blast putting their spin on their journals using a variety of things. Magazines, stickers, different types and colors of paper, newspapers, etc. Their creativity and ingenuity impressed all the 5^th grade teachers. 

We are off to a great start in 5^th grade, and we cannot wait for our PAW-some Cheetahs to go the extra mile and then some with all challenges and journeys thrown their way!!!

Here are some examples of the 5^th grade creations!

Sanee Bell, Principal

Going the Extra Mile... And Then Some!

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year. This year at Cimarron Elementary we are going the extra mile...and then some! 

Things are up and running around Cimarron and I could not be more proud of how we have begun the year.We had an amazing first week of school and we are well on our way to meeting our goals for this school year. This year we will be focusing on the importance of setting goals and working through challenges.  

Going the extra mile...and then some means giving the extra degree of effort. Water is hot at 211 degrees, but it is at 212 degrees when it begins to boil. With boiling water comes steam, and steam can power a locomotive. An extra degree of effort is what separates a good school from a great school. We invite you on our journey as our staff and students commit to go the extra mile and then some, and we challenge you to give the extra degree of effort in everything you do. It is going to be a great year!

Day 167-Candace Clark-1st Grade Teacher

Future Poets and They Didn't Know It!

In 1^st grade we are studying poetry in both reading and writing. The students have loved reading poems by both famous and unknown poets. They have also really loved writing their own poetry. Here is a sample of some 1^st grade poetry.

Read Everyday

Poet: Alia

Read every day,

Read every night,

Don’t stop until you get it all right,

Read at the pool,

And at school,

Don’t stop reading even if you get it.

The Girl That Dreamed Big

Poet: Gracie

There was a girl that dreamed big,

There was a boy that said genius,

There was a girl who dreamed for money,

There was a boy who said, “Will you buy me a bunny?”

She said, “No Way!”

And went off to say,

“I wouldn’t buy you something any way!”

There was a boy who said, “Please!”

She said, “No, I think I’ll keep my money!”

A Friend to Have

Poet: Victoria

A beautiful, shiny day,

With a fun friend to play with,

But I looked for her everywhere!

Under the cabinets,

Under the bed,

In the closet,

And on my head!

But when I said,

“A shiny day with no one to play with.”

My kitty came running,

Calling “meow, meow, meow!”

A fun friend!

The Beach

Poet: Aidan

The beach is fun,

With treasure everywhere.

The beach is fun,

With seashells, buckets and shovels.

The beach is the best place to have a summer vacation,

I hope you know its location!

Then we go home to take a snooze,

Then it’s another day,

A day for the beach!

Day 161, Mrs. Bell, Principal

Inspiring Imagination Teacher Grants

The Katy ISD Education Foundation and Cimarron Elementary School are making history together. Foundation board members will visit 26 Katy ISD campuses and award $209,599
to Katy ISD teachers for Inspiring Imagination grants.

Congratulations to:

Tami Boltz for the grant
A World of Music at Your Fingertips!

Lori Davies for the grant

Engagement, Collaboration, Community – Connecting Science and Social Studies

to the World Through Project-Based Learning

Kimberly McDonald, Audrey Dowling, Amanda Fait, Jennifer Gurney and Janice Scharr for the grant

Kindergarten Project Based Learning Adventure

Melissa Nored, Mayte Dilla, Jo Harmon and Tracy Nath for the grant

Classic Literature, Modern Delivers: Using Technology to Motivate

Digital Learners to Read Timeless Children’s Books

The total amount awarded to Cimarron Elementary School is $10,200.

Teachers will be implementing their grant programs during the 2014-15 school year.
Watch for their stories, and more, in the coming year.

About the Katy ISD Education Foundation - The Katy ISD Education Foundation unites people and companies with big hearts and a big belief in our children and teachers to provide unprecedented opportunities for both. For more information on how to contribute to grants that will help extraordinary teachers create extraordinary classroom experiences visit, www.katyisdeducationfoundation.org. The Katy ISD Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for which contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Day 160, Christian-5th Grade Student

Sled Hockey-It's a real sport!

I chose to research the sled used in sled hockey for my inventor project in science class. I chose sled hockey because I saw it on the Paralympics and found it so fascinating that I wanted to know more. I kept running into dead ends. I asked my teacher for help and together we found a website called Mobility Sports. There wasn't much on the website so my teacher said let’s email and see what happens.

What happened was way cool-the owner emailed Ms. Monroe right away and within an hour I was on the phone with the owner, Randy Kwapis. During our 30 minute conversation, Mr. Kwapis told me why his company makes the sleds, gave me contact information for the Austin Blades Sled Hockey team, and gave me his personal story. Since that conversation, Ms. Monroe has emailed him again for other bits of information for my project.

I never imagined that I would be able to speak to the owner of a company that makes sleds for sled hockey. Also, I never thought he would be so easy to talk to. This has to be at the top of my list of cool experiences. 

Day 159, Armand-1st Grade Student

Reader's Theater

For a week we have been practicing reader’s theater in our 1^st grade class. Our class has 3 different plays that we are performing. I am in “The Very Cranky Bear” and I play the lion who loves his golden mane. We have made masks for our characters and talked about using a loud performing voice and reading our lines fluently so that everyone can understand the play. We practiced a lot and today we performed for a kindergarten class. I was a little nervous to perform at first, but then I got over my fear and had a lot of fun. The kindergarten class loved all three plays and they were a great audience. I really liked doing reader’s theater and I hope to do it again soon. 

Day 158, Lilly and Holden, 1st Grade

1^st Grade Chicks  

The chicks in our class are Barred Plymouth Rock breed.  17 eggs have hatched.  They gave us 24 eggs.  When they hatched they were wet.  When they dried they were bright yellow and black. 

The picture shows the 2 chicks in our room.  The bear is for the chicks to peck and it is just like a mother.  The marbles in the water are so they go and drink the water.  The lids are so we can put food and water out  for them.   The red dots in the box are there so the chicks will peck the dots and not each other.

Their names are Peep and Cheep.  Peep is the smaller chick with yellow on his head and Cheep is the larger chick who chirps a lot.   The video shows 

the chicks in their box.