Kindergarten Team

Building Strategic Readers in Kindergarten

This week our Kindergarten Cheetahs started learning about reading strategies.  

“A strategy helps us read,” says Rylie in Miss Gurney’s class. 

The first strategy we learned about is Eagle Eye. 

Kerah from Miss Fait’s class knows that, “Eagle Eye helps us look at the picture for clues.”  

The students learned that the picture can give lots of clues to what they words could be on the page.  Maci from Ms. Clark’s class shows below one the posters that she can refer to while she reads to help her remember!

These Cheetahs in Mrs. Scharr’s class are helping each other to use Eagle Eye when they buddy read together!

Miss Fait is wearing her reading tool belt and getting ready to use her Eagle Eyes!

In this video, Chase from Mrs. Yezak-McDonald’s class explains who Eagle Eye and how it helped him read his book!

Next week, the Kindergarten students will learn lots more strategies that will help them decode the words in a book! They are looking forward to it!

Erick, 4th Grade Student

Science Fun

Yesterday was awesome. There was a big Science experiment. We were melting things. The first thing was ice. The second was chocolate chips and the third was a glue stick. 

Fourth was gummy candies. Fifth was marshmallows and last was water.

It was AWESOME!

First we were melting them and waiting. The melting and waiting was 5 minutes. My favorite thing to melt was the marshmallows. They looked like milk.

It made me so excited that I couldn’t stop talking.

By: Erick 

1st Grade Team

1^st Grade Launching Parade

This past Friday all first graders participated on a celebratory parade around school. All first graders have worked so hard launching their Reader’s and Writer’s workshops. The last 3 weeks they’ve learned different ways to become “Super” Readers and Writers! Students created a sandwich board with their favorite book and their best writing. Students were so excited about this project.

“We had a parade because we did readers & writers workshop so good. It was fun! My favorite part was seeing my friend in 2^nd grade when we walked around the school.”  –Kenna (Maneri)

“This is so fun!”– Jonathan (Nguyen)

“I was so nervous Mrs. McCarthy but it was because I was excited!”- Wesley  (McCarthy)

All our “Super” first graders lined up to start their parade around 9:00. We walked all through the hallways of our school, Cimarron Elementary. Teacher and students lined up the hallways and cheered on our “super” first graders.

“My favorite part was when we got to drink apple juice!” -Benjamin  (Maneri)

“I felt so happy because I liked showing off my work. My favorite part was walking through the kindergarten hallway.” -Aiden (Maneri)

“This was the best day ever!” – Presley (Nguyen)

Following the parade, all first graders and first grade teachers gathered in the LGI for an apple juice toast. Each student received a cup of apple juice and Mrs. Plut gave a toast for this wonderful celebration. We all said “cheers!” to becoming super readers and writers,“cheers!” to an exciting year ahead; “cheers!” for our love of Reading and Writing!

The first graders finished the celebration by sitting with a friend and sharing their sandwich board and telling them all about their favorite book and best writing. 

Sanee Bell-Principal

Getting Gritty in 5th Grade

In addition to the content that must be taught during the school year, it is also important to teach and reinforce character, as well as social and emotional skills. When I visit classrooms, I frequently engage with students about what they are learning. During one of my visits to a 5th grade classroom, I spent a little time with a group of 5th grade students who were working together during a guided math activity. 

The students were instructed to work together to solve a couple of word problems. As the students began to read the task they had been given, I moved closer so that I could observe their approach. The group was comprised of three boys and two girls. Naturally, the boys sat on one side and the girls sat on another. From the start it looked as if the group was going to be split. However, one of the female students in the group stated that they were supposed to be working together to solve the problem. With some assistance from one of the boys in the group, the female student who restated the teacher's expectations received the necessary support and the group conversation began. 

The students struggled with their thinking. It would have been very easy for them to be passive in their learning by waiting for the teacher to tell them what to do. Instead, students began to try to solve the problem with the help from the other members in the group. They questioned one another's thinking, and they asked their peers to "explain themselves" when they began to offer a solution. The students never gave up. They grappled with the problem. They stuck with the problem. They worked together. They were gritty. 

I was so impressed with their level of commitment. These are the lessons that will remain with them forever. Building tomorrow today goes beyond the teaching and learning of content. Giving students the opportunity to work together to solve problems gives them the chance to life skills and to collaborate with their peers. Solving problems that do not yet exist, and working with others, are critical skills that are necessary in preparing students for their future. 

Before I left the classroom, I expressed to the group how impressed I was with their effort and determination. I asked each member of the group what they had learned from working together. 

Daniel: "A problem can be hard, but when you work together to get it accomplished it makes it easer."

Mia: "When you try different things, you get the right answer."

Jocelin: "Working together helped my thinking."

Roman: "Always check your work with someone else to see if you get the correct answer."

Get Connected

Through the use of social media tools, Cimarron Elementary is excited to tear down the walls of our school by showcasing the great things going in our classrooms. We want to invite you to follow us on our journey this year as we provide learning experiences that prepare our students to be future ready. We are celebrating 35 years of excellence at Cimarron, and to commemorate our anniversary, we are focused and committed to building tomorrow today. Join us! Your journey starts now!!

Sanee Bell-Principal

Preparing Teachers to Build Future Ready Cheetahs

Every August, teachers in Katy ISD return fully charged and loaded with learning and enthusiasm for the new school year. Teachers spend a great deal of their time in the summer unlearning, relearning and learning new things. We had a great week of professional learning last week, and teachers are well prepared to take our students to the next level. 

The most important thing that I do as a principal is hire, grow and support teachers. The teachers at Cimarron Elementary are by far some of the best in the business. Their dedication to attend training during the summer, and their commitment to implement their new learning with fidelity is second to none. The teachers at Cimarron Elementary bring their A game each year. They seek to improve, strive to grow, and push each other professionally. The video below gives a snapshot view into our professional learning week. During that week, we set the foundation for our core work for the 15-16 school year, and based on my observations and the energy that was generated during our week of professional learning, it is going to be an AWESOME year! 

As a principal, my greatest assets are the teachers and support staff who are in the trenches each day. This post is dedicated to my amazing staff for their relentless and tireless efforts to make sure that our students are becoming their best possible selves. Please join us on our journey as we work together to BUILD TOMORROW TODAY!

Kindergarten Team

5th Grader Readers

Kindergartners naturally look up to the older students as role models. Last week, our kindergartners had the opportunity to share their love of reading with fifth graders. The fifth graders paired up with a buddy or two and read books to them. The kindergartners also had the opportunity to share their books with their buddy. 

“What really impressed me was that the fifth graders really practiced reading with expression and voice,” said kindergarten teacher Mrs. Scharr.  She also added that they were able to conquer the short attention span of the students.

“They also did a great job of building confidence with the kindergarten students.” said Ms. Gurney, “The fifth graders encouraged them with their sight word knowledge and reading strategies to decode unfamiliar words.”

The experience was enjoyed by both the teachers and the students.

Here is what some fifth graders had to say:

“I thought they would be hyper, but they listened the whole time to us.”

“I liked how much they appreciated us reading to them.”

“I thought it was going to be kind of fun, but it turned out to be really fun.”

Fifth grade teachers Mrs. Harmon and Mr. Sumner suggested that this would be a great tradition to start with the lower and upper elementary classes! The kindergarten teachers and students couldn’t agree more!

Some of the kindergarten students said…

“It was good and fun to read with the fifth graders.”

“When they read funny books, they made me laugh.”

“It was very nice of them.” –Rex H.