1. education
2. school

The Paw Print
Dr. Carla Brosnahan, Principal
May 4, 2015
www.cfisd.net
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
5th Grade Recognition
Congratulations! We are in our final stretch of our
school year. Our year has been fantastic! We
appreciate your support. We love your children!
June 3, 2015
6:30 p.m.
Cy-Falls High School
9811 Huffmeister Rd.
Houston, TX 77095
Check out the murals that are being painted in our
library. Mrs. Flood, our librarian, has been saving
proceeds from our book fairs and donations to enhance
our library. Wow! Master Muralist, Tom Renick, is
doing amazing work!
A hard copy of our parent survey is being sent home
today. Please give us feedback and return by Friday,
May 8th. Thanks! Your feedback is anonymous.
Our enrollment is 1,238. We are projected to have
1,258 students for the 2015-2016 school year.
SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS
KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION
Kindergarten graduation will take place in each
classroom from 9:45 – 10:30 on Thursday,
June 4. Please plan to join us. Due to the lack
of space in the classroom we are asking that
you do not bring balloons, flowers, or gifts
for your child. Also, since we have nine
kindergarten classes and limited space in the
cafeteria, we are asking you to make other
plans for lunch.
Summer school applications are due Friday, May
8. No personal checks will be accepted.
BUILDING BETTER RELATIONSHIPS
CAFETERIA NEWS
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.
CHARACTER KEY TRAIT
Our character key trait for May is “Honesty”. Ask
your child about it!
Students will review all previous BBR Skills.
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Introducing Yourself
Following Instructions
Getting the Teacher’s Attention
Talking with Others
Accepting No
Apologizing
Getting Along with Others
Giving Compliments
Accepting Compliments
How To Listen
Making a Request
Greeting Others
Controlling Impulses
Reporting Peer Behavior
Saying No to Peer Pressure
Controlling Anger
Offering to Help (Volunteering)
Accepting Correction
Disagreeing & Giving Criticism
Staying on Task
Respecting Others
2015-2016 SCHOOL SUPPLY DEADLINES
LIBRARY LINES
 Friday, May 29th is the deadline to order school
supplies using the paper order form through PTO.
 June 5th is the deadline to order online.
 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.
 Please make checks payable to Birkes PTO.
 If you have any questions please email Shelley Gray at
[email protected].
PTO COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
NOMINATIONS
Please return your PTO Chairman Nomination form
to your child’s homeroom teacher. Friday, May15
is the deadline.
The Spring Book Fair will be held
the week of May 4th! Every student will visit the
Book Fair during their regular library time. The
Book Fair will be open tonight, Monday, May 4th
until 8 p.m. if you would like to shop with your
child. The Book Fair helps the library fund author
visits and to purchase new books! We hope to see
you at the Book Fair!
Library books for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd
grades are due Friday, May 15th and for 3rd, 4th,
and 5th grades, library books are due on
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.
MAY 15TH IS SPIRIT SHOP DAY!!
We still have cool school supplies and fun Bulldog
gear! This will be our last Spirit Shop for the
school year! See you at lunch time! Go Bulldogs!
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 the last day of
school, Thursday, June 4th.
You’re invited!
VIPS Appreciation Tea
Wednesday, May 27 at 2:30
Birkes Library
All volunteers are invited.
BEAR CREEK SKATE NIGHT
Thursday, May 28
6:00 – 8:00
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!
SPRING PORTRAITS
Spring Portrait money is due. Please send your
payment to your child’s homeroom teacher, made
payable to Lifetouch, or return your child’s packet.
All pictures must be paid for or returned by
Friday, May 8.
THANK YOU, GROTHUES FAMILY!
Our Birkes staff would like to send a big THANK YOU to the Grothues Family who so
generously donated an assortment of kolaches along with orange juice and water bottles during
Staff Appreciation Week. It was such a delicious way to start off our day – breakfast was
wonderful! We are so lucky to have such supportive families at our school.
2nd GRADE MUSIC PROGRAM
Mark your calendar!
Thursday, May 21st – 2:00
Courcier, Jones, Pittman, Chapman, & Frier
Friday, May 22nd – 2:00
A. Boutwell, Holmes/Marshall, Perkins,
Crowson, & Kerr
AWARDS DAY
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
1st and 2nd Grades – 1:00-1:30
3rd and 4th Grades – 2:00-2:30
Awards Day will take place in each classroom.
5th GRADE RECOGNITION
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
6:30 p.m.
Cy-Falls High School
KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION
5th GRADE CELEBRATION
Thursday, June 4th – 9:45
Thursday, June 4th – 1:00
Graduation will take place in your
child’s classroom.
Parents who have signed up to volunteer
will be able to attend.
ACTION FOR APES CHALLENGE
AND
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
We are so excited! We have been collecting
cell phones and electronics from students
and parents and have a total of 191. Our
collection for the Action for Apes challenge
has ended.
We also collected Pennies for Patients.
We collected a total of $1,039.00, which
is the most we have ever raised in our 12
years.
Our Student Council appreciates everyone’s support.
TECHNOLOGY FESTIVAL
The sixth annual student Technology Festival was held April 30 at the Berry Center. More than 1,000 projects
by students in grades Pre-K through 12 were showcased. The following students represented Birkes at the
Technology Festival:
Blayke Fischer
Ben Pena
Mackenzie Hankins
Justin Dao
Liam Watkins
Macie Brinkmeyer
Aiden Atienza
Randall Casteneda
Cherish Dailey
Camryn Allen
Evan Erickson
Kate Wilson
Katelinn Barnes
Jacob Harred
Quincy Kenney
Camron McCowin
Zameer Mohiuddin
Emily Sanchez
Kassidy Johnson
Bailey Sharp
Ethan Soukchanh
Maysa Clark
75th ANNIVERSARY EVENT
Cypress Fairbanks recently held its 75th Anniversary Event on April 25 at the Berry Center. The following
students represented Birkes at the event. Thanks to all of these students for their participation.
Kennedy Shushtarizadeh
Alisha Saleem
Darrell Michael Jean
Jalin Stallings
Gabrielle Eads
Christal Biney
Constanza Biney
Sara Garza
Aiden Luijer
Emilio Alfaro
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-byexam” 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.
BIRKES ELEMENTARY 2014/2015
PARENT SURVEY
This survey is for Birkes families, Kindergarten – 5th grades. Each family needs to
return only one survey. Your feedback is anonymous. Thanks for your time and
support.
Please answer the questions below and return this form to your child’s homeroom
teacher by Friday, May 8th.
PLEASE CHECK YOUR RESPONSE/CHOICE
YES
NO
1. The school projects a friendly, professional image.
2. My child feels safe at school.
3. The school’s discipline plan provides an atmosphere
conducive to learning.
4. If students have a problem they can’t solve on their own,
they know they can go to 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 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?
Comments:
Thank you! Please return by Friday, May 8, 2015.