Hello everyone! Hope you all have enjoyed January, because believe it or not we are already moving into February! We have started off 2015 with amazing learning experiences for your kiddos and are very excited as we move on into the rest of our spring semester!
Teacher Appreciation Week
I would like to give a big shout out to Cindy Hargrove who helped to set up treats in the lounge during our TCE Teacher Appreciation Week! As well as the parents who helped decorate several areas of the school, those who helped cover the day of the luncheon and our room moms for coordinating an exceptional week of appreciation for our TCE staff! Thank you for all you did to help to make our staff feel loved!
Parent/Community Tour Groups
Teacher Appreciation Week
I would like to give a big shout out to Cindy Hargrove who helped to set up treats in the lounge during our TCE Teacher Appreciation Week! As well as the parents who helped decorate several areas of the school, those who helped cover the day of the luncheon and our room moms for coordinating an exceptional week of appreciation for our TCE staff! Thank you for all you did to help to make our staff feel loved!
Parent/Community Tour Groups
We had the opportunity to have many parents and community members join us for our tour during the month of December. They were able to come in and see the types of learning and resources provided each day in the classroom as well as got a feel for what our children are engaged in daily at school. We are going to have another tour offered later on this spring semester, so be looking for more info to come. Thank you again so much to those who were able to attend the December tour!
Districts Touring TCE
We have been working with several districts who are touring our campus to see the types of learning happening with our STEM initiative. This week we had a group of administrators and educators from Grapevine ISD (Cannon Elementary-STEM campus).
We will have several other groups touring this month including: Marshall ISD, Hurst-Euless Bedford ISD, Highland Park ISD, McKinney ISD and other Coppell campuses. These tours allow us a wonderful opportunity to share with other districts the kinds of learning strategies we are using with our learners. It also is a great opportunity to connect with other educators in which to collaborate and share ideas across our district and with other districts!
Coding and Technology
Here are a few pics showcasing coding and a few links you may want to check out with your kiddos to learn more or have fun coding as a family! We also have a Texan Town Club, Scratch, led by Craig Warner where our kiddos have been working on their coding skills as well!
We have had a wonderful opportunity as a campus to investigate ways to incorporate coding into our classrooms this year. We had a day where we participated in coding across the building as well as educators are looking at how our learners can use coding in design and problem solving within their classrooms.
Here are a few pics showcasing coding and a few links you may want to check out with your kiddos to learn more or have fun coding as a family! We also have a Texan Town Club, Scratch, led by Craig Warner where our kiddos have been working on their coding skills as well!
http://code.org
http://hourofcode.com/us/resources/how-to
https://www.madewithcode.com/
http://studio.code.org/s/frozen/reset
https://code.org/educate/k5
http://studio.code.org/s/course1
http://studio.code.org
http://csedweek.org/learn
https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/hour-of-code/hour-of-code-tutorial/v/welcome-hour-of-code
http://www.tynker.com/hour-of-code/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/an-hour-of-code-for-every-student
http://hourofcode.com/us/resources/how-to
https://www.madewithcode.com/
http://studio.code.org/s/frozen/reset
https://code.org/educate/k5
http://studio.code.org/s/course1
http://studio.code.org
http://csedweek.org/learn
https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/hour-of-code/hour-of-code-tutorial/v/welcome-hour-of-code
http://www.tynker.com/hour-of-code/
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/an-hour-of-code-for-every-student
Engineering Extravaganza Night
As you know, TCE is a STEM campus in which we focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as critical components of our learning. We are also constantly working on having our learners use the engineering design process in all avenues of learning.
We are very excited to announce that we have incorporated an evening event in February that is focused specifically on engineering, challenges and problem based experiences!
We will be having our first "Engineering Extravaganza Night" on Wednesday, February 11th from 6:00-7:30pm. During this night, we will have various stations throughout the classrooms with challenges. We will also have an exhibit area in the gym where several Coppell High School STEM learners will be sharing projects.
If you are interested in helping facilitate a station or would like to be involved in this event, please email me at: aapplegate@coppellisd.com
More info to come about what stations will be available for your family to explore next week!
Innovation Station Supplies
Speaking of engineering. . .we have been in the process of gathering up our supplies for our new Innovation Station room! This is an area in which we have numerous building tools for learners to use in construction with projects aligning to our curriculum and units of lesson design.
A BIG shout out to Tim Tidwell who has been helping us to get shelves put together in the room!
We are asking for each person in the class to please donate one or more of the following supplies to help us get everything up and going for use!
You may have your child drop these off in their classroom or you can also drop off at the front office!
**All classes: empty toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, packing fillers (styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, etc), any size cardboard boxes
K1 Vincenzo
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cotton balls
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K2 Torti
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straws
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K3 McGraw
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popsicle sticks
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K4 McKinney
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popsicle sticks
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1A McShan
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clothespins
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1B Peccarelli
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yarn or string
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1C Brehm
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paper plates
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1D Rice
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paper bowls
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2A Sork
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paper bowls
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2B Judd
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paper cups
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2C Bowman
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paper cups
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2D Yates
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rubber bands
|
3A Wagner
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index cards
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3B Garnier
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model magic or playdoh
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3C Parker
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fishing line or twine
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3D Seifert
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felt or fabric remnants
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4A Martin
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tape
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4B Kemp
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tape
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4C Hruby
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glue sticks or glue bottles
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4D Rohani
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foil or saran wrap
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4E Jordan
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nuts, bolts, or washers
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5A Tonemah
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brads
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5B Taylor
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q-tips
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5C Natherson
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toothpicks
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5D Burks
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nuts, bolts, or washers
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Jump Rope for Heart
We have kicked off our annual Jump Rope for Heart service learning project which supports the American Heart Association. Last year our campus helped to fund two grants specifically working on new ways to enhance various heart surgeries. Our hope this year is to raise $20,000.
(Since this is our BIG 20 Year Anniversary for TCE!)
We hope you can join us for our event on Friday, February 27th as our whole campus will be jumping that day!
You are welcome to come watch or jump too if you like during your child's Move N' Groove Time!
And. . .if we reach our goal. . .this year Mr. Shelby our Assistant Principal will be letting some of the top fund raisers decorate his head as a cupcake! I will also be taking part in the fun. . .by having a big birthday cake placed on my head. . .
We have kicked off our annual Jump Rope for Heart service learning project which supports the American Heart Association. Last year our campus helped to fund two grants specifically working on new ways to enhance various heart surgeries. Our hope this year is to raise $20,000.
(Since this is our BIG 20 Year Anniversary for TCE!)
We hope you can join us for our event on Friday, February 27th as our whole campus will be jumping that day!
You are welcome to come watch or jump too if you like during your child's Move N' Groove Time!
And. . .if we reach our goal. . .this year Mr. Shelby our Assistant Principal will be letting some of the top fund raisers decorate his head as a cupcake! I will also be taking part in the fun. . .by having a big birthday cake placed on my head. . .
Recycling and Food Donations
We continue to have numerous recycling efforts at TCE and wanted to make sure you were aware of what we are doing to help our world! We currently have new recycle bins added by the district in which we can now collect paper, cans, bottles and plastic bags as a part of our recycling efforts. We have areas in our cafeteria designated for recycling as well as in all classrooms. Our 2nd grade helps to maintain several recycling efforts as well as our Green Team.
A huge shout out to Beth Reynolds who has helped to maintain several of our initiatives and is also working with other PTO members at various Coppell ISD campuses to help implement similar systems at their schools.
We are also excited to announce that we are taking on another service learning opportunity in which we can help others in need. We have had several students and parents notice the amount of food being wasted at times in the cafeteria each day due to getting food on trays and then the items not being eaten. We are trying to raise our students awareness of how to not waste food, but also how we might help others in need. We are putting in place a program where certain unopened items from the school lunch program may be donated to Metrocrest.
Metrocrest Services provides programs for individuals, famililes and seniors that lead to self-sufficiency and foster independence. They aid individuals in Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Addison, Coppell and the city of Dallas in Denton County.
There is also information on other programs similar to the one we will implement on the link below:
Donate Don't Dump
We continue to have numerous recycling efforts at TCE and wanted to make sure you were aware of what we are doing to help our world! We currently have new recycle bins added by the district in which we can now collect paper, cans, bottles and plastic bags as a part of our recycling efforts. We have areas in our cafeteria designated for recycling as well as in all classrooms. Our 2nd grade helps to maintain several recycling efforts as well as our Green Team.
A huge shout out to Beth Reynolds who has helped to maintain several of our initiatives and is also working with other PTO members at various Coppell ISD campuses to help implement similar systems at their schools.
We are also excited to announce that we are taking on another service learning opportunity in which we can help others in need. We have had several students and parents notice the amount of food being wasted at times in the cafeteria each day due to getting food on trays and then the items not being eaten. We are trying to raise our students awareness of how to not waste food, but also how we might help others in need. We are putting in place a program where certain unopened items from the school lunch program may be donated to Metrocrest.
Metrocrest Services provides programs for individuals, famililes and seniors that lead to self-sufficiency and foster independence. They aid individuals in Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Addison, Coppell and the city of Dallas in Denton County.
There is also information on other programs similar to the one we will implement on the link below:
Donate Don't Dump
