Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District                                                             April 2005
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RECOGNITIONS

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

• State volunteer award winners Earl Heinemann for the Outstanding Intergenerational Volunteer Award (large district) and Nick Hernandez for the Outstanding Business Partnership (large district). Heinemann has been volunteering every week for the past 16 years at Lamkin Elementary School. Hernandez, managing partner of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, has supported students and staff at Aragon Middle School with donations for luncheons, and demonstrates continuing attention on people, positive attitude team work, and building self-esteem. Both of these district winners were selected as state award winners and were recognized at the Texas Association of Partners in Education State Conference. April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month.
• Sixteen high school government and economics students were recognized as participants in the Board Shadowing Project. These students were Chris Attaway and Spoorthy Gudavalli of Cypress Creek; Kim Borak and Philip Perez of Cy-Fair; Jason Fry and Whitney Young of Cypress Falls; Tim Jadloski and Thu-Trang “Jenny” Dinh   of Cypress Ridge;   Michele DuBois and Brittany Hardin of Cypress Springs; Neil Going and Kory Chapin of Jersey Village; Amanda Martinez and Jordan Ogletree of Langham Creek; and Tyler Harrison and Michael Watts of Windfern. Each student sat with his or her designated Board member or administrator throughout the course of the meeting to observe the democratic process in action.

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

• Susan Estrada, a bilingual helping teacher, was selected as a recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Support Professional Educator of the Year Award by Sam Houston State University.   Susan was honored at the College of Education awards ceremony on March 5 and also received an official recognition from Governor Rick Perry.
• Robert Long,Math Helping Teacher at Holbrook Elementary,is the recipient of the 2004 Outstanding Teacher of the Humanities award from Humanities Texas.   Robert was honored for his work last year at R.C. Neal Elementary School in Bryan, Texas.
• Cypress Creek High School’s literary magazine, Graffiti, was recently honored with the highest award in the 2004 National Council of Teachers of English Program.   Only 96 magazines, nationally, were recipients of the honor, recognizing excellence in student literary magazines.   Cypress Creek’s Graffiti was one of only six schools in Texas to receive the highest award.
• CFISD was represented by the artwork of Marissa Lloyd, Ault Elementary; Christen May, Yeager Elementary; and Shannon Miller, Cypress Creek High School for Youth Art Month, sponsored by the Texas Art Education Association.   The students were honored in an awards ceremony/reception on February 27 and their artwork was chosen to hang in the lobby of TEA’s William Travis Building in Austin.
• Soccer season has ended for both boys and girls.   The boys ended their season with Cypress Falls in first place, Cypress Creek in second, and Jersey Village in third.   Jersey Village and Cypress Falls both ended their seasons as Bi-District Champions. The girls ended their season with Cy-Fair in first place, Cypress Creek in second, and Cypress Falls in third.   The Cypress Creek Lady Cougars ended their season as Bi-District Champions.   The Cypress Falls Lady Eagles ended their season as Area Champions and the Cy-Fair Lady Bobcats ended their season as the Regional Quarter-Final Champions.   Congratulations to all of those CFISD athletes for a job well done.
• The 2005 HORIZONS Student Showcase was held March 17 at Cypress Springs High School.   During the showcase, students were given the opportunity to illustrate the depth of their knowledge in a specific content area and to show connections they made as they progressed through their studies.   The ideas shared by students showed both critical and creative thinking skills. The Showcase allowed participating students the final step of communicating their understandings to others, including invited experts in their fields.   This year 191 students and 143 teachers participated in the Student Showcase.  
• Don Ryan, vice president of the Board of Trustees, has been elected by Texas Association of School Boards to fill the interim large district position on the TASB Board. Ryan will serve on the Budget and Finance committee.
• For the Regional History Fair in the Jr. Historical Paper category, the winning students were all from Goodson.  They are Tim Barnhill,first place, Hollie Bullock,second place and Emilie Bullock,third place. In the Jr. Individual Exhibit category, Kendall Thawley,from Goodsonreceivedfirst place,   Marla Sobotik,from Goodson,received second place, Manrajdeep Gill from Cookreceivedthird place,andfourth place went to Hannah Rosenberg fromAragon.
• In theJr. Individual Documentary category, Goodson students Madison Scherrer wonfirst place, David Kostecka placed secondand Hunter Haygood placed third.   Joshua Stokes fromAragon wonfourth place. Randy Luck fromGoodsontookfirst placein theJr. Individual Performancecategory. In theJr. Group Exhibit category, first place went to Goodsonstudents Chris Baker, Brooke Bonicimino, Heidy Hallgrimsdottir and Emily Neville.   Goodson students Jack Pults and Jason Permenter received second place.   Third placewent to Cookstudents, Keegan Rae and Ross Fly.   Sid Quansaat and Dean Dietz, also from Goodson, won fourth place.
• In the Jr. Group Documentary, first place went to Brian Connaway, Chris Conser, Jarod Selcoe and Reese Shetrone from Goodson. Second Place went to Matthew Dominguez and Brandi Engle also from Goodson.
• In theSr. Group Exhibit, Jersey Village students won first place.   They are Parampreet Gill, and Harmandeep Gill.   Cypress Fallsstudents, Vicky Ren, Jessica Wei, and Tiffany Dao won secondplace.   Third place also went to Cypress Falls students Michael Dobson, Lindsay Castes, and Sonia Khjhan.   Cypress Falls students Patricia Bacaloa and Sophia Chu won fourth place.
• Chris Kominczak from Cypress Falls won first place in the Sr. Individual Documentary category. First and second place winners in the Regional History Fair will proceed on to the state competition on May 6-7.
• Recently Hamilton Middle School was the focus of an article in the Jewish Herald-Voice, “ADL in Action.” Author Dena Marks visited Hamilton to see why Principal Sue McGown and Instructional Specialist Kelly Ellis won this year’s Walter Kase Teacher Excellence Award, an award given yearly by the Anti-Defamation League to educators who promote understanding and appreciation of diversity in their classrooms. Marks wrote “At Hamilton they do it by teaching every person matters: every student, every teacher, every administrator, every cafeteria worker, every custodian and every parent.”
• Dr. Anthony congratulated the JROTC Cadets who participated in the Pass and Review Saturday morning at JVHS. He said he was honored to be a part of this event where cadets demonstrated their skills and precision in a formal parade. The cadets performed flawlessly; all were in step; they represented their commanding officers, their parents, their schools, themselves and CFISD in an exemplary manner.

KIRK ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL, BERRY ESC GENERAL MANAGER NAMED

Following the approval of employee transactions during its regularly scheduled meeting for the month of April Trustees recognized Willbern Elementary assistant principal, Doug Ogilvie, as the new principal for Kirk Elementary. The Board also named Elizabeth Wade as the general manager for the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center.

Ogilvie has 14 years of experience in education, all of which have been in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching, Curriculum, and Instruction from the University of Memphis.

Wade earned a Bachelor of Art in Communication Arts and Sciences from Western Michigan University and has 28 years of experience in facilities management. Wade will assume general manager responsibilities in May for the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2006.

BOND UPDATE

Trustees approved the construction contract award to Drymalla Construction Company in the amount of $20,347,000 for Elementary School No. 43, to be located near the northwest corner of Spring Cypress and Grant Road, and Elementary School No. 44, to be located on West and Greenhouse Road. Both schools were designed by PBK Architects, Inc. and will open for the 2006-07 school year.

Elementary School No. 43 is being funded from interest earnings and project savings from the 2001 Bond Program while Elementary School No. 44 will be funded from the 2004 Bond Program. This project was originally bid in February but the district chose to re-bid in an effort to obtain lower prices. Re-bidding the project saved the district $439,000.

Trustees also approved:

• the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Aerial and Underground Easements to provide permanent electrical service for Thomas M. Danish Elementary School (Elementary School No. 42);
• the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Easement to provide permanent electrical service for Cypress Woods High School (High School No. 8); and
• the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Blanket Utility Easement   to provide permanent   electrical service upgrades for Dean Middle School renovations and additions.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

All Cypress-Fairbanks ISD schools will be closed Friday, April 15 for a student holiday. Classes will resume Monday, April 18 as the students return for the last five weeks of instruction for this academic year. Dr. Anthony said he hoped families enjoy the three-day weekend.

The Superintendent called attention to the bright yellow sticker he was wearing in recognition of National Volunteer Week, April 17-23.    He said that throughout the year, the Board of Trustees, parents and community business partners provide valuable volunteer services to the district’s students, teachers and support staff.   He thanked all district volunteers in anticipation of National Volunteer Week.

CFISD students, as well as students across the state, will be taking the TAKS tests over the next few weeks:

• Eighth grade students will have science testing on April 18;
• On April 19 students in grades   3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 will take the math TAKS; also on April 19, the State Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) II math test will be administered for some students receiving special education services in grades 3 through 10.  
• On April 20 students in grades 4, 6, 7, and 8 will take the reading TAKS test and the SDAA II reading test will be administered in grades 3-10 to some students receiving special education services.
• On April 21 5 th grade students will take the TAKS science test;
• 8 th, 10 th and 11 th grade students will take the social studies test; and 9 th graders will take the math TAKS test.
• On April 22 Grades 10 and 11 will take the TAKS science test.
• TAKS reading retests for students in grades 3 and 5 will occur April 20.
• TAAS exit level retesting for writing, math and reading will occur April 19, 20 and 21.
• TAKS exit level retesting for English language arts, math, social studies and science will occur April 19, 20, 21, and 22.

Dr. Anthony said these are important dates for all students and thanked all in advance for supporting your children and encouraging them to do their very best.   He is confident that district students are well prepared and will do a great job!

The Board Candidate Forum was heldApril 12inthe Board room at 10300 Jones Road.   Candidates running for Board of Trustees positions introduced themselves, provided relevant information concerning their candidacy and participated in a question and answer session that included questions submitted by the audience. The Forum aired live on Time-Warner Cable Channel 16 and can be viewed on CFTV Online on the district website at www.cfisd.net.

Dr. Anthony reminded registered voters in the district that the Board of Trustees election is scheduled for Saturday, May 7.   The Election Day hours are 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and the locations are posted on the district Website.  

Early voting in the Trustee Election will be available at the Instructional Support Center, 10300 Jones Road from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., weekdays during the April 20 to May 3 polling dates.   In addition, Saturday voting on April 30 is scheduled from 8 a.m. until noon, at the Instructional Support Center.  

Branch early voting will take place at the following locations from 2:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Wednesday, April 20 – Carverdale Park Community Center

Thursday, April 21 – Matzke Elementary

Monday, April 25 – Reed Elementary

Tuesday, April 26 – Francone Elementary School

Wednesday, April 27 – Lieder Elementary School

Thursday, April 28 – Cy-Fair High School

Monday, May 2 – Copeland Elementary School

Tuesday, May 3 – Ault Elementary

A special edition of Inside Cypress-Fairbanks ISD regarding the board election will be mailed to parents and taxpayers in the next several days. This publication is available now on the district Website at www.cfisd.net.

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, along with other Region IV districts, will participate in “Take Our Child to Work Day” Thursday, June 9.   Although the national event is scheduled for this month, students will not be excused from school on April 28. The district feels that June 9 is a better option for students so they can maximize their instructional days and utilize a summer day to accompany their parent to work.

The Employee Service Banquet is schedule for Friday, April 29, at Cypress Ridge High School beginning at 7 p.m.   Honorees include district employees whose service years total 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years as well as those employees who are retiring during this school year. Dr. Anthony said he has been told this event always provides an exciting evening of entertainment, fun and delicious food, and he is looking forward to attending his first CFISD Employees’ Service Banquet.

AGENDA ITEMS

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

• received a written report on the employee premiums for the renewal of Cigna Health Insurance;
• received a report on legislative issues and the activities of the State Board of Education,Texas School Alliance and the Fast Growth School Coalition;
• approved the list of Advanced Courses for 2005-2006;
• approved the district’s Annual Action Plan designed to carry out the goal priorities established for 2005-06;
• adopted a resolution supporting Region IV Education Service Center as a pilot regional education service center.
• approved the student transfer status of district schools for the 2005-2006 school year;
• approved the long-range plan priorities established for 2005-2006 at the goal-setting workshop;
• authorized tax refunds $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or the Harris County Education District in the amount of $ 620,517.60.
• approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and services;
• approved on second reading revisions to eight policies and the deletion of one more. Revised policies are:

BJA (LOCAL) Superintendent: Qualifications and Duties

DEA (LOCAL) Compensation & Benefits: Salaries, Wages, and Stipends

DFBB (LOCAL) Term Contracts: Nonrenewal

DGA (LOCAL) Employee Rights & Privileges: Freedom of Association

DH (LOCAL) Employee Standards of Conduct

DK (LOCAL) Assignment and Schedules

FDA (LOCAL) Admissions: Interdistrict Transfers

FDB (LOCAL) Admissions: Intradistrict Transfers

The following policy has been deleted:

FOAA (LOCAL) Placement in Alternative Educational Setting: Removal by Teacher; and approved on first reading revisions to 9 policies:

CAA (LOCAL) Fiscal Management: Goals and Objectives: Financial Ethics

DBA (LOCAL) Employee Requirements & Restrictions/Credit & Records

DBD (LOCAL) Employment Requirements and Restrictions: Conflict of Interest

DFF (LOCAL) Termination of Contract: Reduction in Force

EED (LOCAL) Instructional Arrangements: Student Schedules

EEJC (LOCAL) Individualized Learning: Correspondence Courses

EIC (LOCAL) Academic Achievement: Class Ranking

EHDD (LOCAL) Extended Instructional Programs: College Course Work/Dual Credit Program

EL (LOCAL) Charter Campus or Program