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Conroe Independent School District
Mitchell Messenger
Volume 19, Issue 15
Principal
Paula Klapesky
Assistant Principals
Treva Madore-5th
Principal’s Corner by:
Paula Klapesky
April 7, 2015
Our Mitchell Mustangs are so fortunate to have field
trip opportunities such as the upcoming visits to the Ball
Recycling Center and the Texas A & M Agrilife Center.
Field trip permission forms will be emailed to parents
on Monday, April 13. Please sign the signature page and
have your child return it to his/her homeroom teacher.
Stephanie Johnson-6th
Counselors
Marianne Mote-5th
Terrie Rascoe-6th
Mitchell Intermediate
6800 Alden Bridge
The Woodlands, 77382
Phone
(832)592-8500
Attendance
(832)592-8516
Fax
(832)592-8518
Clinic (832)592-8457
(832)592-8525
Transportation
Department
(832)592.8800
Check out our campus
web site at:
http://mitchell.conroeisd.net/
Be sure to bookmark this site
to retrieve the Mitchell
Messenger in the future.
Testing Schedule for week of April 20
Monday, April 20 - 5th Math STAAR
Tuesday, April 21 - 6th Math STAAR
Wednesday, April 22 - 6th Reading STAAR
Thursday, April 23 - 5th Science STAAR
On April 21 & 22, fifth grade students will go
to PE/Fine Arts before lunch rather than after
lunch as usual. Sixth grade students will eat in
their Learning Communities. We encourage
sixth graders to bring a sack lunch and drink.
The lunch line will be open for lunch only.
Students will not be able to purchase snacks on
testing days. Testing guidelines do not allow
anyone to visit children while the test is being
administered. Parents will not be permitted to
eat lunch or deliver lunch to their child on testing
days. We appreciate your support as we make
every effort to maintain confidentiality.
5th Grade Lunch Schedule
April 20 & 23
11:45-12:15 LC 7, 8, 12
12:20-12:50 LC 9, 10, 11
5th Grade Lunch Schedule
April 21 & April 22
11:30-12:00 LC 7, 8, 9
12:00-12:30 LC 10, 11, 12
The use of cell phones is not permitted as
stated in district policy and state testing
guidelines. Please help us ensure testing
security by not allowing your child to have a cell
phone at school on the testing days. If a child
does bring his/her cell phone to school, it must
be turned off and kept in the locker or it will be
collected by the teacher.
A True Learning Community
Mitchell Calendar of Events
Apr. 7-8-Spring Pictures
Apr. 9-9:15 a.m.-Magnificent Mustang
Ceremony
Apr. 10-4:00-6:00 p.m.-5th Grade Social
Apr. 11-Intermediate Band & Orchestra
Solo/ Ensemble Contest-Wilkerson
Apr. 20-5th Grade Math STAAR
Apr. 21-6th Grade Math STAAR
Apr. 22-6th Grade Reading STAAR
Apr. 23-5th Grade Science STAAR
Apr. 24-7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.-5th Grade Band
Solo & Ensemble Contest
Apr. 28-4th Quarter Progress Reports
distributed
May 4-8-Teacher Appreciation Week
Mitchell Spring Pictures!
Photo Texas will be here on April 7-8 to take
beautiful outdoor spring pictures of your child!
The students will have their pictures taken on the
following dates:
 Tuesday, April 7-LC’s 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12,
Life Skills
 Wednesday, April 8-LC’s 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11,
Life Skills
Proofs will be sent home in April. You are
sure to love these photos, so please be sure your
child is ready for pictures on their assigned date!
Smile! No money is necessary on the day of
pictures. If you choose to order, you will send in
payment with the proof card.
The Conroe Independent School District (District) as an equal opportunity educational provider and employer does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sex, religion, age, or disability in educational programs or activities that it operates or in employment matters. The District is required by Title VI and Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as Board policy not to discriminate in such a manner. For information about Title IX rights or Section 504/ADA rights,
contact the Title IX Coordinator or the Section 504/ADA coordinator at 3205 W. Davis, Conroe, Texas 77304; (936) 709-7752.
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GT Nominations
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COUNSELORS’ CORNER
Marianne Mote-5th grade Terrie Rascoe-6th grade
Nomination forms for summer testing for
CISD’s Gifted and Talented program can be
found on the Mitchell Website from April 1-30.
Nominations are for students who missed
testing in January or who are new to the district
and missed the testing dates.
News from the Registrar:
by Linda Rusinski
Keep your Child’s Information Current
If any of your phone numbers, email addresses or your
physical address has changed since the start of 2014
please contact the Mitchell registrar, Linda Rusinski
([email protected] or 832-592-8460). An address
change will need to have a Proof of Residency such as a
utility bill (gas, water, electric); lease or buyers
agreement/contract; bundled Comcast/AT&T bill for
cable, phone & internet.
Summer Move A Possibility?
If you currently have plans to move over the summer
please contact our registrar, Linda Rusinski
([email protected] or 832-592-8460). There will
be a Summer Mover Form sent to you via your child. We
ask that you complete it and send it back to school. If
some of the information is not known we can update via
email as needed. Thank you for your time. This will help
so much in planning for the next year. If you are a sixth
grade parent, and your child will not be attending
McCullough Jr. High, I will let McCullough know of the
possible summer move.
Moving before End of Year?
If there is a move for your family before the end of
the year, I would ask that you contact me, Linda Rusinski.
Please give the staff at least 3 days to get necessary
withdrawal paperwork and grades complete. There are
two forms that will need a parent signature.
Absent?
Reminder: After an absence from school, please
send in a note or email the homeroom teacher regarding
this illness, family emergency, etc. This should include
the dates absent. We keep notes like this in each
student’s attendance folder.
Find out what Summer Programs will be offered at
Houser Elementary this summer by going to the CISD
website and click on Summer School, Elementary
Summer School. On page 6, 7, and 8 you will find
activities such as academic enrichment, robotics, GT
summer camp, and technology programs. Follow the
registration directions and you should be set. Hurry!
Classes are limited!
Teacher Achieving Excellence (TAE)
Are you looking for an easy way to brighten
someone’s day? Then send your child’s teacher or
special staff member a TAE. Go to your child’s Parent
Access account. Look for the TAE button and then
follow directions. The teacher receives a special
message that is electronically copied to their principal!
Mitchell Shirts
Several parents have asked if we have Mitchell shirts in the
front office for sale. We have all three styles. We have a teal
girls’ shirt and a unistyle “Mustang” shirt available in
performance fabric and a cotton blend. Just stop by the front
office to pick up an early holiday gift. If it is not a gift, just
send your child to the Mitchell front office with a $15.00
check written to: Mitchell PTO.
News from the Library
by MaryEllen Bryant, librarian
The Biggest Names in History are Visiting
5th Graders @ Mitchell on Friday, May 8
The “Who Was…? Insanely Awesome Trivia Show” is
a game show themed theatrical presentation centered
around Who Was…?, the hit biography series for children
featuring cultural icons from throughout history and today,
from Leonardo da Vinci to Barack Obama. In this hilarious
performance, brought to you by Penguin Young Readers
and the acclaimed education and media group, Story
Pirates, students will face down against The Smartest
Person in the World to see who knows the most about
fascinating people of the past and present!
To preorder books from the Who Was ? series, print
out the order form attached to the Mitchell Messenger on
page 10 and turn it in to Mrs. Bryant in the library by April
28. Read up and be ready for the history challenge!
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Mitchell Lunch Bunch
Every Friday, teachers nominate students to eat pizza with
Mrs. Klapesky, their grade level assistant principal, and grade level
counselor. Many thanks to Brother’s Pizza in Sterling Ridge
Shopping Center for donating pizza every Friday.
Congratulations to the following LC 11 students who were
nominated for the March 27 Mitchell Lunch Bunch:
Liv Walker
Kirstie Suggett
Harrison Dipasquale
Raquel Hilton
Morgan Tague
Courtland Gustafson
Anna Mankoff
Jackson Geerlings
News from the Nurse: by Debbie Robbins
Medications
All prescription and non-prescription medications need
to be taken to the Mitchell clinic by each child’s parent.
Medications can not be accepted from the children nor can
children be in possession of medication at school or on the
bus. Prescriptions and over-the-counter medication need to
be in original containers with the child’s name clearly
marked. The clinic staff is available to accept medication
from parents between 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
The clinic is in need of gently used shorts, socks, and
shoes. If you have any old clothes that you are looking to
get rid of, please consider bringing them into the clinic.
The Path was Painted Pink !
Sunny skies "iced" the pink crowds that showed up for the
8th Annual Paint the Path Pink Walk & 5K. Over 1,100
Mitchell students, parents, grandparents and community
neighbors came out to raise awareness and support the fight
against breast cancer on Saturday. The event, along with Girl's
Night Out, raised over $40,000 this year and a combined
$300,000 since its beginning 8 years ago. All proceeds from
the event go to the Avon Foundation's Breast Cancer Crusade
to fund research, early detection awareness and treatments. We
are honored and proud to teach your children academically but
are also humbled by the opportunity to model for them the
impact we can make serving together in the community. The
Passionately Pink Teachers Team would like to thank everyone
for their support. Wish us luck as we head to the 39 mile
Houston Avon Walk to End Breast Cancer on April 25-26 with
your donations. It is our hope that someday we can ALL say we
were part of the cure.
Releasing Your Child Early for Appointments
If you are checking your child out during the school day
for an appointment, please send a note with them to be dropped
off in the front office first thing in the morning. The note
should include the date, student’s name, LC, time of pick up,
parent’s name and signature. Your child will be given a gold
slip which allows them to leave class and be available to you in
the front office when you arrive. This will be of enormous
assistance to the front office, especially if your child will be in
PE or fine arts at that time, and will also save you valuable
time when heading to an appointment. Please note that there
are no early checkouts after 3:15 p.m.
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Coming To School After an Appointment
If your child is arriving late to school due to an
appointment, or returning to school after an
appointment, please come into the office with your
child and fill out the Health Care Provider (HCP)
verification form along with your doctor’s note, to
ensure your student is not marked tardy or absent for
the day.
MORNING GYM HOURS
Students arriving early to school may wait in the
gym. The gym opens at 8:00 a.m. The only exception
to this will be students who have a morning practice or
tutoring session. At 8:00 a.m. all other students can
enter the gym and wait there for the day to begin.
Thank you for your help.
MORNING PASS
If your child needs to come into the school early
one morning, please print off a "Morning Pass" from
the Mitchell Website (it is on the home page) and drop
your child off at the gym doors, no earlier than 7:45
a.m. If you forget to print off a pass, you may write a
note and sign it.
ATTENDANCE LINE
To report a child absent, call our attendance line at
832-592-8516 and leave a message stating your child's
name (spelled out), LC number, reason for the
absence, who is reporting the absence and a phone
number. Upon your child’s return to school, a note
explaining the absence should be brought to the
homeroom teacher.
“D.O.T.” - Drop Off Table
Parents, Teachers and Students: Please be aware
there is a D.O.T. in the main entrance hallway, across
from the front office, for all Mitchell families to use.
If your child forgets his/her lunch, musical instrument,
homework, projects, etc., label the item with his/her
first and last name, LC #, and leave it at the drop off
table where he/she can pick up the item.
TRANSPORTATION CHANGES
If you need to call the school to let your child
know of a change in afternoon transportation, please
do so no later than 3:00 p.m. Notes are delivered to
students at that time, and any changes made after note
delivery are not guaranteed due to the busy dismissal
routine.
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Mitchell Fine Arts/PE
Choir Notes: by Cyndie Lowry
What an amazing District Intermediate Honor Choir concert we had on March 28! I'm so proud of the 25 students
from Mitchell who represented our school! Great job!
The 5th graders won the competition for getting all their registration forms and fees in first! YAY!! Chaperons, be on
the lookout for instructions for the Choral Festival coming your way soon!
Please be sure to mark May 7 on your calendars for our Spring Concert. Remember it will be in the MITCHELL
COMMONS at 7:30 p.m. Students will need to arrive by 6:30 p.m. We will wear our black polos with BLUE JEANS!
(This is a change I stated earlier!)
We will have a summer choir camp August 10 - 12, 2015 here at Mitchell. If you are interested in your 5th grade
student coming, please email me for the registration forms! The camp is open to all CISD 4th - 6th grade students in the
2015 - 2016 school year.
Mitchell PTO
Find us at: www.mitchellmustangspto.org
5th GRADE SPRING SOCIAL
FRIDAY, APRIL 10
Tickets are available for purchase at
WWW.MITCHELLMUSTANGSPTO.ORG
in the Spirit Store
What: An indoor carnival organized by the PTO with
proceeds benefitting LC teachers, Fine Arts, PE, Special
Education, Lifeskills and the Mitchell Scholarship. For:
Mitchell 5th grade students only. From: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
There will be two pick up times. Early dismissal from the
Social is 5:00 p.m. All other students will be dismissed at
6:00 p.m. Transportation home from the social is the
parent’s responsibility. No bikers or walkers allowed.
Parents pick up students in their LC homeroom. If you are
picking up a child other than your own, that child's parent
needs to communicate this information to their teacher in
advance. Students leaving early from the social will need a
signed note from their parent and will need to meet their
parent at the front door at 5:00 p.m. The only parents
permitted in the school during the social are those scheduled
and cleared to volunteer. For security purposes and the
students’ safety we will not allow parents to enter the
building until the social ends at 6:00 p.m. BUY YOUR
CHILD'S ADMISSION AND GAME AND FOOD
TICKETS ONLINE NOW. MOST GAMES AND
FOOD COST BETWEEN 2-8 TICKETS. MORE
DETAILS ARE ON THE PTO WEBSITE IN THE
SPIRIT STORE UNDER 5TH GRADE SOCIAL.
2014-2015 YEARBOOKS
Limited Number Still Available!
Don’t miss out on the fabulous Mitchell Yearbook and
signing party on May 27!! Go to the Mitchell PTO website at
www.mitchellmustangspto.org to order your copy in the Spirit
Store! You can also check your Mitchell PTO School Store
online account to see if you have already purchased a
yearbook. There are a limited amount available and yearbook
sales from this point on will NOT be personalized.
SUBMITTING PHOTOS FOR YEARBOOK
Please submit any photos taken on field trips, class parties,
or other school activities (including fine arts). We can always
use more photos. We are especially looking for photos from
Wax Museums. It is easy for you to upload your pictures
straight to the Jostens web site.
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Go to: https://images.jostens.com
Log in: 401853876
Password: Mustangs (case sensitive)
If you have trouble uploading directly, you can copy your
images to a disc and drop it off at the front office. (Your disc
will be returned if you provide a name and LC). If you only
have a few photos, you can email them to
[email protected]. We appreciate you
sharing your photos! The yearbook will be more complete
and dynamic if we use pictures from many different sources.
6th Grade End of Year Celebration Coming Soon!
Our 6th Graders will say "Aloha Mitchell" at the 6th Grade End of Year Celebration on Thursday,
June 4 from 12:15 to 3:15 p.m. This event is a great send off for our kids and is not possible without
parent donations and volunteers. Please consider contributing your time or some prizes. Also, take a
moment to look at the attached T-shirt order form on page 5. T-shirts are available for purchase online
through May 11.
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McCullough Junior High
May 1 Course Request Deadline
for 2015-2016
As a reminder, May 1 at 4:00 p.m. is
the final deadline for all elective requests,
core course selections, physical
education requirement choices, and
submission of private physical education
paperwork. Requests can be submitted
electronically via email to your child’s
counselor.
Drop Off Room Volunteers
If you are interested in working the
P.T.O. drop off room during the 15-16
school year, please contact Rhonda
Emberton at [email protected].
Required Seventh Grade Immunizations
for 2015-2016
If you have an incoming seventh grader
for 2015-2016, please note that Texas
requires three immunizations before school
starts. These include Tdap, Varicella, and
Meningitis. These are required before the
first day of school. Records can be turned in
at your current intermediate school or faxed
to 832-592-5127.
2015-2016 Color Guard Auditions
The auditions for McCullough Color Guard will
be held May 5 through May 7 from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
in the McCullough gym. Students should enter
through the main west doors by the gyms.
Incoming seventh graders should not arrive prior to
4:15 p.m. as we are clearing regular west traffic until
that time. Audition packets will be available in April
in the McCullough front office as well as the front
offices of each of our four feeder campuses. If you
have any questions please contact
Mrs. Garza at [email protected].
Off Campus Private P.E. Information for 2015-2016
Off Campus Private P.E. information for our students will be available midMarch on the Conroe ISD district website. Look for information on approved
facilities and the individual student application form at that time. Please note
the important bulleted details below for parents/guardians considering Off
Campus physical education for their child:
 The final date to submit all paperwork, including signatures, is May 1, 2015
at 4:00 p.m.
 All applications for Private P.E. during the 2015-2016 school year are
tentatively scheduled to be available online mid-March.
 By state law, Private P.E. is for participation in individual Olympic
sports only.
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Students are only allowed to participate at CISD approved facilities.
Vendors/facilities will have the opportunity to apply to Conroe ISD
between January 21 and March 21 to be a part of the program for 20152016. If you would like your child to be a participant in this program,
please make sure your facility attends the January 21 “Vendor Meeting”
at 10:00 a.m. in the Jett Center in Conroe.
Off Campus physical education is a year-long commitment. There are no
one semester version of this program. Students participating in Off
Campus physical education are committed to both the fall and spring
semesters and their class schedules are developed accordingly.
By state law, students in this year long program will not be able to
participate in school athletic programs which have their own athletic
class during the day. Participants may be able to tryout for school club
programs such as track, golf, tennis, and soccer that meet outside of the
school day and do not have an athletic class period.
For students properly enrolled in the year-long program, a facility can be
changed only at mid-term. Choose your facility wisely from the outset.
Students wishing to sign up for the program should initially choose
Private P.E. on the Elective Course Request Sheet. A student will not be in
Private P.E. until all required online forms are properly submitted by
May 1.
Any student choosing Off Campus physical education must be picked up
daily at 2:50 p.m. at the northwest corner main student entrance. Please
make sure as a parent/guardian you have year-long afternoon pick up
arrangements in place prior to choosing Off Campus physical education.
Students are not allowed to leave campus and walk home unsupervised.
Grades and attendance for a child in Off Campus physical education are
submitted each three weeks by the approved facility. These grades are
reflected on report cards and do count toward U.I.L. eligibility.
The Texas Education Agency allows Category I (15+ hours per week)
participants to leave campus one hour prior to the end of the school day.
From 2:26 p.m. until 2:50 p.m., students will be supervised by a
McCullough instructor in a silent study hall.
Choosing Off Campus physical education (Category 1) requires a
commitment to leave early on both red and green days.
Students in Category 2 Off Campus physical education do not leave school
early each day and have a physical education class on campus. However,
students do receive two extra classroom classes above and beyond. As a
result, a student choosing and qualifying for Category 2, Off Campus
physical education must be enrolled in band, choir, or orchestra.
Students who fail to meet state guidelines for completion of hours will be
dropped from Off Campus P.E. and placed in regular campus P.E. class.
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