FAlcon FAMILY

Weekly Newsletter

November 6 -November 10

Week 12

Courtney Brandel

Principal

courtney.cullum@kellerisd.net

Mrs. Brandel's Message

Dear Falcon Families,

What a great week it has been for the Texas Rangers and for our FES Falcons! I know that it has been an eventful week of late nights watching the Rangers, trick-or-treat fun, and sharing in wearing our Ranger's gear as we celebrate their World Series win!

We kicked off the week with our 3rd and 4th grade level spelling bees to determine which students would move on to our school level spelling bee! I had the privilege of serving as a judge in the event and am so proud of all of our amazing spellers who represented their class in their grade level bee. After three rounds in each grade, we have our school finalists who will compete in December to be the FES representative!

On Monday, we also had great FES representation at the KISD Keller Shake! The purpose of the Keller SHAKE Team is to develop confidence and interpersonal skills. Students learn a good firm handshake, to make eye contact, and to carry on a conversation for two minutes. The judges were several of our KISD district leaders and they shared just how impressed they were with this year's student participants. One of our students was even recognized as one of the top finalists in the district! Congratulations to our Falcon participants!

Our Kindergarten, First and Second grade teachers each spent a half day working closely with our district's curriculum coach in preparation for the upcoming reading units; learning and digging more into our new curriculum, planning engaging and fun strategies, and looking at assessment tools to best support our learners. We also have wrapped up units in Math and RLA and have been analyzing the student performance and progress data to determine learning gaps and support needed for students.

We also conducted a lock-out drill this week as a part of our ongoing safety procedures practice. All of our doors were secured and we are proud of our students and staff for their adherence to these procedures! We will continue to reinforce and remind our students of these safety procedures throughout the year.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

In Falcon Spirit,

Courtney Brandel

Highlighting the tradition of excellence at Florence Elementary School!

3rd and 4th Grade Spelling Bee

Congratulations to all of our 3rd and 4th grade level spelling bee participants! They all did an outstanding job! Best of luck to our finalists in the December 1st school spelling bee! Thank you to Mrs. Howell for leading and organizing our spelling bees!

FINALISTS

3rd Grade

Coy Hawley

Elliott Gilland

Evelyn Jeong

Gracie Madsen

Grant Holmes

Jack Knox

Kingston Wood

Lexi Lindblad

Nate Lorimer

Noah Sanchez

Presley Short

Sawyer Dygraff

Ty Paxton

Tien Du

4th Grade

Ayana Hedge

Colby Lange

Colby Muse

Javin Jallow

Kennedy Bruno

Liam Swinney

Luke Lebel

Maya Bessaly

Morisyn Moldanaldo

Ruby Russell

Shep Page

Keller Shake

The purpose of the Keller SHAKE Team is to develop confidence and interpersonal skills. Students learn a good firm handshake, to make eye contact, and to carry on a conversation for two minutes. All 3rd and 4th grade students participated in practicing these skills as a part of their theatre class. Congratulations to the following students who represented FES at our district Shake:

Maya Bessaly
Dublin Burlison
Ruby Russell- Recognized as a district Finalist
Maddox McBride
Cohen Richardson

Holiday Card Contest Winner

Congratulations to our Florence winner for the KISD Holiday Card contest, Emma He (2nd Grade Mrs. Howard's class)! Her art entry will compete against the other elementary schools to be on the district holiday card.

Spotlight on the library...

Did you know??

FES students visit the library each week with their class. During their time in the library, our librarian, Mrs. Roberts, leads students in a read aloud and activities. In addition to reading and checking out books, our library is also a space that fosters creativity, engineering, and collaboration as students work together to build and explore using different materials and tools! I loved seeing the creativity of our kindergarten students this week and hearing all about their ideas and ways they solved problems together!

STAFF SHOUTOUTS

Michelle Harmon

"Ms. Harmon is such a blessing to us. My daughter is a new student this year and was nervous about meeting new friends and getting familiar with a new school. She feels so comfortable going to school every day and absolutely loves it. Ms. Harmon is a huge part of that and makes our daughter feel special every day! She even came out to watch her soccer game. Thank you Ms. Harmon for caring like you do!" - Kimberly FES Parent

Want to shout out an FES Staff member for embodying the tradition of excellence?

We love celebrating the tradition of excellence at FES! As a part of that process, we will be recognizing our amazing staff members and would like your help.

Please share the name and information of the staff member you feel who is deserving of recognition along with some words that share the reason they are being recognized. Please note, your response with be shared with the staff member and may be featured in our publications/ social media and any student names that are included may be omitted for confidentiality.

Fill out a shout out on this Staff Shout Out Form to help us celebrate excellence among our FES teachers and staff!

upcoming events:

November 10- Veterans Day Assembly (Assembly Schedule)

November 13- 3rd/4th Reading STAAR Interim

November 13- 2nd Grade Program (6:00-7:00) FES Cafeteria

November 14- December 5 - Angel Tree Donations

November 15- 3rd/4th Math STAAR Interim

November 15- Fall Picture Make-Up Day

November 15- Kinder Feast (1:30 PM)

November 16- Campus Thanksgiving Meal

November 20-24 -Thanksgiving Break- No School

November 27- Middle of the Year MAP Testing Window Opens

December 1- FES Spelling Bee (8:30-10:30)

college spirit days 2023-24 (1).pdf

Click here to access the district Academic Calendar.

New News

❄️Cooler Weather- Layer Up!

With the weather cooling down from summer to winter temps almost overnight, please be sure that your child comes to school with a jacket, coat, or other cold weather accessories, as needed. We will continue to monitor weather.

Students will continue to go outside for recess, unless the weather falls outside of the policy guidelines:

If the wind chill or actual temperature fall between 40-32 degrees Fahrenheit, we will continue with outside play for 20 minutes. Students should have all extremities covered by pants, long sleeves, and should be wearing a coat.
If the wind chill or actual temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit there will be no outside activity.
In the case of rain, lightening, sleet, or ice, there will be no outside activity.

R.O.C.K. Club Canned Food Drive

Please consider donating to our canned food drive that will support Community Storehouse and support your student's grade level in earning a popcorn and game party! (see the flyer below for more information).

ROCK CLUB food drive flyer electronic copy (1) (1).pdf

Campus Thanksgiving Meal

If you plan to join us, please pre-register using this FORM by Monday, November 13th 4pm. https://forms.gle/WgoCthAdGLC6gmWT7

We can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving as a Falcon Family on November 16th during student lunch times and are excited to have our Falcon families join in on the celebration meal and sharing in gratitude together!

Our cafeteria is cooking up a delicious lunch and if you plan to purchase the lunch, please be sure to deposit $4.50 per adult lunch and $2.95 per student lunch into your child's Sodexo account by November 16th.

📸Glamour Craft Proofs Available

School proofs are now online for parents to view. Please see the flyer below with instructions to go online to view and place your order. A proof card was sent home with each student code on it. This is a second reminder for parents to order. We want all parents to have an opportunity to view their child image.

**Picture Make-Up day is November 15th.**

Veterans Day and First Responders Celebration

We look forward to celebrating all our Veterans and First Responders on Friday, November 10th at 8:15 AM at our Veterans Day Program and Breakfast.

Volunteers Needed

We also need Veteran Day volunteers. Please signup if you can help out that morning! Thank you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4DAFA62EA3FC1-flag#/

Veterans Day Wall of Honor

We would love for your Veteran to be included in our Wall of Honor. Include a picture and information about your Veteran and return it to the basket in the front office, or email a copy to stacimleonard@gmail.com.

For a printable PDF of the "My Hero" form click here.

We LOVE VolunteerS!

✅Get Cleared to Volunteer! All volunteers must complete a yearly background check. Click the link to apply for a volunteer position through KISD.

Click here to access the KISD background check application.

✅Check out our events and let us know how you can get involved! Click here to sign up to help!

✅Check the PTA Website for upcoming volunteer opportunities.

https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer

Add your photos to the yearbook

Upload all your pics from the Fall Carnival! Also, you have until October 31 to save 10% on this year’s yearbook. www.TreeRing.com

School code : 1016599729561880

Watch D.O.G.S.

Calling all dads, uncles, grandparents, etc. to join our campus for a day! If you would like to volunteer for Watch D.O.G.S., please complete a KISD background check and forward your approval email when you receive it to Mrs. Bowen at angelina.bowen@kellerisd.net to get access to the sign-up.

Lost and Found

Do these look familiar? Our lost and found has quite the collection. Please stop by to pick up your child's lost items before Winter Break. Please see the pictures below.

PTA Events and Volunteer Opportunities

Information Central for PTA!

Check out Membership Toolkit for valuable information concerning PTA events, dates, ways to volunteer, directory, teacher favorites list and much more. Check it out! ➡️

https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/

We are thankful for our faculty, students, their families and all of our Florence Elementary staff! This month, we will make sure that we have left no stone unturned. You will be entered in a raffle to WIN a FRONT ROW SEAT to HOLIDAY performances (4) when you joinpta.com this month!

A Note from our PTA Advocacy Chair!

Don’t forget to head to the polls and cast your vote for the November 7 Special Election! Click here for voting times/location: https://www.cityofkeller.com/about-us/city-secretary/election-information/november-7-2023-special-election?locale=en

Penguin Patch Update!

We have the privilege of Penguin Patch Holiday Shop coming again to Florence this year! This Holiday shop allows students to buy gifts 🎁 for their loved ones, friends and teachers. It also teaches our kids the joy of giving during the holidays, valuable math and budgeting lessons, and provides them the opportunity to practice thoughtfulness.

Shopping dates for our students will be Monday, November 27th thru Thursday, November 30th. Shopping times and the volunteer schedule will be available very soon. Keep checking the PTA website for updated information.

Reflections

Thank you for your Reflections entires! Advancing entries will be announced at the end of November.

👉🏼Don’t forget that we still have two designs available for purchase on our PTA Website Spirit Wear page! 💛💙 https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/759

More information to come!

Spirit Night!

Don't forget to stop by Sugar Llamas on November 15th for spirit night.

Mrs. Robert’s is needing volunteers to help reshelve library books for the months of October, November and December! The signup is now posted on our Florence PTA Website! ➡️ https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer

Signup to be a Workroom Volunteer!

⭐️Please remember you must complete a volunteer app and background check prior to volunteering on our FES campus.

Important information regarding duties of volunteering:

***Attention volunteers: to protect instructional time and the privacy of the students, volunteers are asked to complete their service in the workroom in the front office or in their designated volunteer area. Please do not go into the classrooms or other areas of the building during instructional time unless pre-arranged with your teacher.

Each teacher has a box in the workroom (located in the island cabinets) with tasks they need help with for the week. Teachers sometimes plan and prep curriculum together as a grade level, so some teachers may have more in their boxes than others. Some teachers have lots of volunteers for their class and some don't have any! We want to make sure all of FES staff benefit from our wonderful volunteers. So, when you visit the workroom, please help to:

Clear your individual teacher's box/grade level boxes
- 2nd Grade drops tasks in boxes on Thursdays
- 3rd Grade drops tasks in boxes on Tuesdays & Thursdays
Clear any boxes belonging to Co-Curr teachers
Ask Office staff if they need any assistance

*Kindergarten & 1st Grade Volunteers - Please contact your Room Rep for sign ups and instructions*

Signup on the PTA Website!

https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer

Thank you to our Fall Carnival Sponsors, we appreciate these businesses and their donation to Florence! ❤️👏🏼

Cafeteria Menu- November 2023

Cafeteria information

https://kellerisd.sodexomyway.com/

What time is breakfast? Breakfast will begin at 7:25. The line will close at 7:50 for students to be in class at 7:55.

How do I add money to my child’s cafeteria account? You may place money on your child's lunch account by setting up an account for them on School Cafe. The link is below and you will need your student's ID # to do so.

Sodexo - Breakfast and Lunch.