Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District                                          January 2005
[View Streaming Video ]

RECOGNITIONS

The Board of Trustees recognized the following students and staff members for their achievements:

• Twenty-eight students from Cy-Fair High School, 24 from Cypress Creek High School, 16 from Cypress Falls High School, 12 from Cypress Ridge High School, Five from Cypress Springs High School, 19 from Jersey Village High School and 33 from Langham Creek High Schoolwere named either semi-finalists, commended students or achievement scholars for exceptional achievement on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
• Jim Foxx, director of operations, for his leadership in the field of Indoor Air Quality resulting in the district’s receiving the 2004 Excellence Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. Foxx was responsible for developing and implementing the district’s IAQ Plan and the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Tools for Schools” program.

Additionally, the superintendent recognized students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:

Hamilton Middle School student Zach Horst, whose artwork was selected as a finalist for the cover design of the Region 4 Education Service Center holiday card. He was honored at the December Board Meeting but his artwork was on display at Region 4 and could not be shown at that time.   The artwork was shown on the monitor during the January meeting.

Kelsi Lionberger, a sixth grader at Hamilton Middle School, recently placed third in the sixth grade competition of the 2005 Middle School Essay Contest sponsored by Texas State University in San Marcos. Kelsi will receive $200 for her essay. Kelsi’s proud teachers are Coleen Allan, language arts, and   Kelly Wallis, reading.

At the Central High School Speech and Drama Tournament, the Cook Middle School Speech and Drama team earned a total of 89 Superior ribbons, 42 Excellent ribbons and 12 Good ribbons. In addition, the students won the grand sweepstakes trophy by scoring 97.88 points and beating all middle schools and high schools in attendance. Eight Cook students have earned the distinction of qualifying for the state tournament, each in numerous events. The students are Gabby Bozeman, Courtnie Robert, Lance Siragusa, Julia Imhoff, Destinee Rutt and Lauren Westlund. Two students, Evan Klinge and Brett Robinson, qualified for the state tournament in all 11 events. These students are coached by James Kingsmill, speech and theater teacher at Cook.

The district received notification last week that we have two outstanding volunteers who have been selected as state award winners. They will be recognized at a future board meeting. Earl Heinemann is the Outstanding Intergenerational Volunteer in the state. Heinemann has been volunteering every week at Lamkin Elementary for the past 16 years.

Nick Hernandez, Managing Partner at the Texas Roadhouse, has been named the outstanding Business Partnership in the state for his focus on people and positive attitude toward teamwork.

CFISD students and staff have been learning lessons in the benefit of giving as they work together to raise funds for the victims in Asia and east Africa who sustained loss during the deadly Indian Ocean Tsunami on December 26.   After hearing the news of the devastation caused by the tsunami, students and staff have initiated a variety of fund-raising activities on individual campuses. Money collected will be earmarked for non-profit organizations, such as the American Red Cross, that are providing relief assistance with this disaster. To date, the Superintendent has been notified of 37 schools that have implemented projects. A brief description of each project is posted on the district Web site as information is received from the schools. Please visit the Web site at www.cfisd.net   for updates.

Dr. Anthony said that he is proud, but not surprised, at this outpouring from district students and employees.

2005-2006 SCHOOL CALENDAR APPROVED

After receiving authorization from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to begin school earlier than the date established by state law (SB108), trustees approved the calendar for the 2005-2006 school year. School will begin August 10, 2005, and the first semester will end before the winter break. The second semester will begin January 4, 2006, and the last day of school for students is May 24, 2006. Full-week holidays are scheduled for Thanksgiving and spring break. Details are available on the district’s Web site at www.cfisd.net.

NEW PRINCIPALS NAMED

After approving personnel transactions at its January 18 meeting, the Board of Trustees recognized current Hairgrove Elementary principal Sandra Oliver and current Moore Elementary principal Barbara Fine as the principals to open Thomas M. Danish Elementary and Lafaye Johnson Lee Elementary, respectively. Trustees also recognized current Campbell Middle School principal Gary Kinninger and current Labay Middle School principal Marvin Webster as the principals to open Carolyn Stamm Spillane Middle School and Judy Williams Kahla Middle School, respectively. All four campuses are scheduled to open in August with the start of the 2005-2006 school year.

BOND UPDATE

Trustees approved a resolution that will allow the district to reimburse the general fund on necessary expenditures made from the 2004 Bond Authorization before the actual bond sale. Those expenditures involve construction and equipment costs of Elementary No. 44 and No. 45 and the purchase of technology, buses, school renovations,   school sites and site improvements.

Also, design development presentations were made by PBK Architects for the final designs of Elementary School No. 43, which will be located on Grant Road and Spring Cypress Road, and Elementary School No. 44, which will be located on West Road and Greenhouse Road as well as from SHW Group, Inc. architects for the final design of Elementary School No. 45, which will be located on Fry Road and Logenbaugh.

The Board also approved:

• the Southwestern Bell Telephone Easement to provide permanent utility service for the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center and new Athletic Stadium; and

• the Harris County Municipal Utility Water District No. 166 sanitary buffer zone easement located on the 50 acre West Little York tract of land.

ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES

Following an extensive review of the recommended boundary changes associated with the opening of Danish and Lee elementary schools, Kahla and Spillane middle schools and Cypress Woods High School, trustees approved the proposed boundary changes and rules for student transfers.

Detailed information regarding attendance boundary changes is posted at http://www.cfisd.net/aboutour/attend/boundary_final.htm

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

District staff and students observed the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther KingJr.on Monday, January 17, 2005. All district facilities, including the Instructional Support Center, were closed.   Dr. Anthony encouraged staff and community members to take this opportunity to reflect on the rights Americans enjoy and to reflect on their own personal commitment to protect these rights, not only for themselves, but for others. School resumed on Tuesday, January 18, 2005, and all support facilities re-opened for normal business hours.

January is National Mentoring Month and there are many district students who are waiting to be paired with a mentor. It has been shown that youth with mentors are less likely to begin using illegal drugs and alcohol, less likely to skip school, and also less likely to hit someone.   Most youth involved in mentoring programs show improved grades, improved self-confidence as well as improved relationships with their parents, teachers, and peers. The district’s Partners in Education department, our schools, and the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce are working together to recruit more adult mentors to serve as positive role models for the many youth in this community who are currently waiting for a mentor.

Dr. Anthony thanked all community and staff members who are currently mentoring a student and encouraged everyone else to “Make a Difference” - mentor a child! For more information about becoming a CFISD mentor, contact the Partners in Education office.

The district will be celebrating School Board Recognition Month during the month of February.   Each member of the Board of Trustees devotes many hours to the employees, parents and children, as well as the community members, in the Cy-Fair area. CFISD trustees are the ultimate volunteers, and the superintendent and his staff want to thank them and honor them for their dedication. There will be a brief reception at the February 14th Board meeting to provide those in attendance with an opportunity to thank the CFISD Trustees.

The 11th annual Cypress-Fairbanks School District Livestock Show and Sale will be held February 3-5, 2005 at the Exhibit Center located at 11206 Telge Road. Approximately 435 animals will be exhibited, and the judging will begin Thursday, February 3rd, at 10 a.m.   The FFA student tour guide service will be available for elementary students Thursday, February 3rd, and the petting zoo will be available Thursday and Friday, February 3-4.   The silent auction will be held on all three days featuring the 11th annual commemorative belt buckle and other craft items.   The highlight of the show will be the premium livestock auction beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 5, 2005.   The Superintendent invited everyone to attend and support district students who have been working for months in preparation for the show and sale.

Also in February is the annual Board Goal-setting Workshop in which the Board of Trustees and the administration work to review, add, and modify the goals necessary to provide a quality educational setting for the students in our district. The Portrait of a Cypress-Fairbanks Graduate serves as the vision for the workshop and employees and parent groups throughout the district are currently providing input for the Board of Trustees to consider. The Goal-setting Workshop begins Saturday, February 19th at 7:30 a.m. in the Board room at the Instructional Support Center 10300 Jones Road. Dr. Anthony also reminded the viewing audience that this meeting is an open meeting, and the public is welcome to attend and observe as the Board of Trustees begins to set the course for the district’s priorities for the next school year.

AGENDA ITEMS

In other action, the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees:

• received a report on legislative issues and the activities of the State Board of Education, Texas School Alliance and the Fast Growth School Coalition;
• received a written report on the 2004 Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) results;
• received a written report on the district's 2004 Gold Performance Acknowledgments;
• received a written report on the management letter for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s fiscal year ending 6/30/04 as prepared by Deloitte and Touche, LLC. The management letter reflects that no material weaknesses were found involving the district’s internal controls and its operations;
• approved the contracts for the associate superintendents;
• approved a request for a Texas Education waiver to modify the schedule of classes during TAKS field testing at Cy-Fair on January 21st and Cypress Creek on January 25th;
• authorized tax refunds $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or the Harris County Education District in the amount of $ 256,378.05 ; and
• approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and services.