The Paw Print
Dr. Carla Brosnahan, Principal
www.cfisd.net
May 18, 2015
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
We have had a very successful year! We have grown to
1,241 students and 126 on our staff! We appreciate your
support and your presence at school activities.
May 15

All library books are due for grades K – 2nd
May 18

All library books are due for grades 3 - 5
May 21

Reservations due for Kindergarten Graduation
and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th grade Awards Day
May 25

Memorial Day – Student Holiday
May 27

2:30 Birkes Volunteer VIPS Appreciation Tea
in the Birkes Library
May 29

Last day to purchase school supplies through
PTO

Yearbook signing during large group
June 3

1:00 – 1:30 1st & 2nd grade Awards Day – no
balloons, gifts, or flowers

2:00 – 2:30 3rd & 4th grade Awards Day – no
balloons, gifts, or flowers

6:30 – 5th grade Recognition at Cy-Falls High
School which is located at 9811
Huffmeister

Kdg. Graduation Portraits & Spring Portrait
money is due

Last day students can bring their backpacks
to school
June 4

9:45 – 10:30 Kdg. Graduation in the classrooms
– no balloons, gifts, or flowers

1:00 5th grade Celebration

Students’ last day of school – no
backpacks

Report Cards go home except for students with
outstanding library books or textbooks.

All Lost and Found to local charity
June 5

Last day to order school supplies online. Last
opportunity to order through Birkes PTO!!!
We are going to miss our families who will be graduating
to Aragon, Arnold, Spillane, and Labay Middle Schools.
We wish you success and invite you to visit us next year!
School surveys were sent home in our last newsletter.
Thank you for your feedback. We share your comments
with our staff. The results are as follows:
FEEDBACK ON OUR 2014/15 SCHOOL YEAR
This survey went home to all our Birkes
Yes
families, Kindergarten – 5th grades.
1. The school projects a friendly, professional
image.
99.6%
2. My child feels safe at school.
99.4%
3. The school’s discipline plan provides an
atmosphere conducive to learning.
97.7%
4. If students have a problem they can’t
solve on their own, they know they can go to
96.7%
a school staff member (ex., teacher,
counselor, principal) for help.
5. Teachers communicate (ex. phone call,
progress report, work habits/conduct charts,
notes, etc.) with me as needed regarding my
98.6%
child’s progress.
6. I have attended or plan to attend activities
this year (ex. Curriculum Night, STAAR
Night, KISS/Field Day, my child’s 2nd grade
music program, Awards Day etc.)
7. Do you think your child was successful
this year at Birkes?
97.5%
99.%
Thank you for your support.
488 surveys were returned.
KINDERGARTEN & SPRING PORTRAITS
Kindergarten Graduation Portrait and Spring Portrait
money is due. Please return portraits if you do not want
them.
2015-2016 REGISTRATION DATES
SCHOOL SUPPLY SALES
School Supply sales will end May 29. Extra order forms
are available at the front desk. You can purchase school
supplies online through June 5th. These are the only
opportunities you will have to purchase school supplies
through PTO. School supplies WILL NOT be sold
during Registration, Meet the Teacher, or the first day of
school as in previous years.
We are wishing you a safe and restful summer.
Kindergarten through 5th grade registration dates are August 11,
12, 13, & 14 from 8:00 – 3:00 for new students attending Birkes
next school year.
Kindergarten Express: August 11 & 12 from 9:00 – 11:00 and
1:00 – 3:00
LOST AND FOUND
Parents, please check the Lost and Found for your student’s coats,
jackets, and lunch kits. All items will be sent to a local charity on
Thursday, June 4th.
LIBRARY LINES
CAFETERIA NEWS
All library books were due today, Monday, May
18th. Overdue notices will be sent home if your child
still has a library book checked out in his/her name. If
your child brings home an overdue notice, please look
for the library book and return it to the library when it
is found. If you are unable to find it, then the book
will be considered lost and you will need to pay for it.
If the books are not returned or paid for, your child’s
report card will be held. Thank you for helping your
child locate any missing books.
.
All monies left in lunch accounts at the end of the
year will remain in the account until next school year.
Accounts with negative balances will also be carried
over to next year, so please see that your child's
account is current. If your child transfers to any CyFair school, the monies or negative balances will
follow to the new school. If you are planning to leave
the district, you can request a refund by calling 281345-3303 before the last day of school. No monies
can be given to students; an adult will need to
come to the cafeteria if the refund is $15.00 or less
to receive the monies. If the refund is more than
$15.00, it will be mailed to your home. Also, please
remember that if your child is on free or reduced
lunch and goes to any Cy-Fair school he/she will
remain on the program for the first 30 days of school
next year. You will need to re-apply over the summer
or at the beginning of the 2015/2016 school year for
the remainder of the year.
MOVING???
If you are planning to move over the summer, please
call our front office at 281-345-3300 and leave a
voice mail message. This will enable us to update
our records. Thanks!
YEARBOOK SIGNING
Our Yearbook signing day is Friday, May 29th during
large group.
NEW NON-SCHOOL FLYER SYSTEM
Parents: Community Events and Activities are now
advertised on the following website:
www.cfisd.net/communityflyers. Please visit this site
for information on area sports associations, scout
groups, family events, lessons and other activities
provided by non-profit organizations in the Cy-Fair
area.
MEDICATION
Parents, if your child has medication in the clinic,
please pick it up by Thursday, June 4th or it will be
discarded.
THANKS FOR OUR “BREAKFAST FOR LUNCH”
LUNCHEON!
Our PTO parents once again spoiled our staff with a
“Breakfast for Lunch” luncheon last week! The homemade
breakfast casseroles were delicious, and we enjoyed the
yogurt, fruit and donuts as well! Thanks so much for all
who made the casseroles, donated food items and helped out.
We also appreciate Wendy Talton, Jamie Kennedy and
Tracy Brugno who were there to help with the luncheon
during the day. Our PTO takes such good care of us!
Volunteers: We look forward to seeing you at our
VIPS Tea Wednesday, May 27 at 2:30 in the
Birkes Library!
All volunteers are invited.
FIELD DAY UPDATE 2015
Field Day was a GREAT success!! Thank you to those who were able to come out and
show support to help make Field Day a memorable experience for our children.
Field Day 2015 Helpers
Jaeda Larry
Ainsley Grothues
Zack Ortiz
Kevin Teran
Trish Nguyen
Maddie Pearson
Bailey Scantlin
Pamela Murray
Josefa Goldsmith
Madisyn Nguyen
Mackenzie Hansen
Jake Blotzer
Bella DiAngelo
Christal Biney
Christian Duharte
Tien Ong
Briahna Meinte
Aven Ellis
Kara Kolek
Lily Wachuku
Kuhuk Kapoor
Maile Furness
Ashton Hernandez
Dana Marji
Kyle Ashy
Daisye Ray
Lily Delgado
Riven Amdal
Aram Hammad
Ashton Luu
Zac Reihl
Madilyn Murray
Liliana Pena
Gabe Lopez
Simoane Rodgers
Arturo Acosta
Malcolm Ferguson
Daniela Iraheta
Maison Bell
Michael Anderson
Kaylee Coffey
Kyoka Piccolo
Randall Castaneda
Gurpreet Singh
Sohanna Patel
Keith Seafous
Hailey Perez
Field Day 2015 Line Judges
We appreciate all those who were our line judges:
Koula Torreblanca
Andrew Casas
Everlease Rosario
Aaron Jablonsky
Vicki Manning
Greg Fischer
Tony Madison
Jon-Paul Bubb
Trey Smith
Gabe Carrillo
Kelley Bell
Larry Caudillo
Renea Seymour
Rebekah Deo
Rodrigo Calvillo
Doug Ayers
Kim Fischer
Pam Thomas
Ryan Key
Chris Smith
Gio Lopez
Richard Dahl, Jr
Nancy Motley
Sherrell Ogletree
Greg Bartels
Ivy Smith
Bryce Pippitt
Tommy Hayden
Warren West
Barkley, our mascot
Nichole Gavelek
Jason S Smith
Valerie Hill
Warren West
Noel Manning
Luisa Hutcheson
Bryan Johnson
Kristi Kolek
Tammy Wells
Rob Rule
Staci Paradissis
FIELD DAY RESULTS - 2015
Sportsmanship
Kindergarten – Ramirez & Balboni
1st Grade – DiAngelo
2nd Grade – Chapman
3rd Grade – Curington
4th Grade – Hancock
5th Grade – Niles
Winner
Kindergarten – Murphy
1st Grade – Speer
nd
2 Grade – Perkins
3rd Grade – O’Dell
4th Grade – Hughes
5th Grade – Kopecky
Thanks to Birkes PTO for purchasing the participation gift, frozen treat, and
water for all of our Bulldogs.
A special “Thank You” to Renea Seymour for delivering the items needed to
make the Field Day events and helper gifts possible.
STUDENT SCREENING FOR
CREDIT-BY-EXAM
COUNSELOR INFORMATION
2015-2016 School Year
Students in grades K-5 will have four opportunities during the school year to use
“credit-by-exam” to accelerate to another grade level. Students will only have one
opportunity to test for each grade level considered.
To apply to take the test to skip kindergarten, a student must be 5 by September 1,
and registered in a CFISD school. To apply to take the test to skip grade 1, a student
must be 6 by September 1, and enrolled in a CFISD school.
Students who earn scores of 80% or better on each component of the credit-by-exam will qualify to advance
one grade. Only one grade level may be “skipped” each year. No retests will be given.
If you are interested in getting more information about credit-by-exam, please contact the school counselor.
Los estudiantes de Kindergarten a 5to grado tendrán cuatro oportunidades durante
el año escolar para usar el sistema de “crédito por examen” para adelantarse y pasar
al siguiente grado. Los estudiantes solo tendrán una oportunidad de rendir la
prueba por cada grado considerado.
Para rendir la prueba y saltarse Kindergarten, el estudiante debe cumplir 5 años al
1ro de septiembre y estar inscrito en una escuela de CFISD. Para rendir la prueba y
saltearse 1er grado, el estudiante debe cumplir 6 años al 1ro de septiembre y estar
inscrito en una escuela de CFISD.
Los estudiantes que obtengan puntajes de 80% o más en cada uno de los componentes de las evaluaciones
de “crédito por examen” calificarán para ser avanzados un grado. Solo se puede saltear un grado por año.
No se pueden repetir las pruebas.
Si están interesados en obtener más información sobre el proceso “crédito por examen” sírvanse contactarse
con el consejero de su escuela.