Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District                                         February 2006
[View Streaming Video ]

RECOGNITIONS

In honor of Texas School Board Recognition Month, Dr. David Anthony, superintendent of schools, led district staff in recognizing the seven members of the Board of Trustees for their dedication, leadership and continued service to the children of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.

Also expressing their appreciation to the Board of Trustees were: Darcy Mingoia, president of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce; Candy McLaughlin, chairperson of the PTO President’s Council; and Kim Nash, chairperson of the Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS) executive board.

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

• High school students for winning first or second place in the Texas State Thespian Festival held in Corpus Christi last November. Cypress Creek students who earned top awards were: the team of Rebecca Blanda, Kathleen Callaghan, Erin Hardy, Stephanie Palmer, Brittany Schwartz, and Katie Taylor that captured second place in group musical; Cameron Forbus and Madison Niederhauser placed second in duet pantomime and Danielle Rohr won first place in acting scholarships. These students were directed by Marilyn Miller, Wendy Carrell and Chris Pruett.   Cypress Ridge students Kristi Cutlip, Darby Gibbins, Elizabeth Herrera and Christine Potter placed second in theatrical make-up. They were directed by Bryan Moses and Colleen O’Brien.   Langham Creek, directed by Joe Fullen, Cheryl Bradford and C.J. Brock, was one of only five schools selected to perform on the main stage. They performed an originial play written by Fullen.
• Cypress Creek students who earned top honors at the 2005 Association of Texas Photography Instructors Fall Photo Contest were Dillon Menefee, first in advanced video-music and the team of Meneffee and Amber Regian, first in advanced video-news, and Ryan Snitkin, first in PSA/advertisement. Menefee and Chris Clarabut, a 2005 graduate, won second place for excellence in video commercial at the Texas Association of Journalism Educators’ State Convention. These students are taught by Lana Jo Mathis.
• Hanna Meghji, Cypress Falls, earned the Larry Naeglin Award in January at the Winston Churchill Tournament of Champions in San Antonio. This is a state award given to the student who displays excellence in performance, sportsmanship and character. Meghji placed first in dramatic, first in prose and third in humorous. She also was the most outstanding performer at another tournament in which 90 schools from five states competed. She is taught by Debbie Waddell.

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

• The Board met in a special-called meeting on Jan. 26 to recognize 166 seniors who have distinguished themselves through exceptional achievement on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Dr. Anthony said that Board members, administrators, principals, and teachers are proud of the quality education provided to all district students which only affirms the continued commitment to the portrait of the Cy-Fair graduate.
• Jane Ann Brown, a bilingual kindergarten teacher at Francone Elementary was one of six finalists selected for the Marian & Speros Martel Early Educator Award sponsored by the Children’s Museum.   The award will be presented in April at the Children’s Museum.
• In January, at the American Cheer Power National Championship Competition, the Langham Creek High School Cheerleaders took first place in the Level 5 Elite division and were named National Champions.   The Lobos were also the “High Point” winner and earned the title of Grand National Champions. As a result of this successful season, the coaches were awarded Coaching Staff of the Year.
• The annual district-wide Elementary Spelling Bee was held Feb. 7 at the Instructional Support Center. Emmott Elementary fifth-grade student Kaitlyn Abruzzese won first place by correctly spelling the words “terrigenous” and “correlative” in the final round. Hannah Powers, a fifth-grader at Kirk Elementary, was the district’s runner-up. Each elementary school was represented at the district competition and the support and encouragement of parents, teachers and administrators was evident. The superintendent extended congratulations to all of the Spelling Bee champions, and wished the best of luck for Kaitlyn as she advances to compete in the Houston Chronicle Spelling Bee scheduled for March 22, 2006. As an added note, the middle school Spelling Bee competition is scheduled for Feb. 22.
• Cy-Fair ISD students were honored recently in the district’s annual exhibit of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s School Art Program held at the Instructional Support Center.   The event showcases the culture, history and heritage of the west. Dr. Anthony was pleased to announce that students in kindergarten through 12th grade submitted more than 700 works of art. Best in Show awards were won by Joshua Penaflorida, Bang Elementary, taught by Bobbie Motsinger; Lauryn Feil, Labay Middle School, taught by Sandi Pippin; and Abwori Ojoch, Jersey Village High School, taught by Jason Daniel. Gold medals were awarded to: Coral Waters, Fiest Elementary, taught by Pat Barry; Angela Li, Labay Middle School, taught by Sandi Pippin; C. McKay Britsch and Austin O’Neal, Cy-Fair High School, taught by Jerilyn Muster. Named as finalists were Luis Gudino, Cypress Falls High School, taught by Kim Ross; and   Sarah Sibayan, Cypress Springs High School, taught by Betsy Anderson.
• Dr. Anthony reported the results of the annual FFA Livestock Show and Fair held Feb. 2-4:
• From Cy-Fair High School, Kat Wall had the grand champion turkey, the grand    champion fryer rabbits, and the reserve champion lamb; Heather Vickers had the grand champion and reserve champion breeding rabbits; Kayla White had the reserve champion steer; Kenton Schwenke had the reserve champion fryer rabbits; Katie Owens had the reserve champion heifer;
• Kenneth Torian from Cypress Creek High School had the grand champion steer.
• Cypress Ridge High School’s Wesley Kroll had the grand champion heifer.
• From Cypress Springs High School, Katherine Brown had the grand champion broilers; Josh Latham had the reserve champion turkey; and Sarah K. Baker had the reserve champion broilers;
• From Jersey Village High School, Kevin Gaeke had the reserve champion hog; and Sarah Stiehl had the reserve champion goat;
• From Langham Creek High School, Kathryn Bremer had the grand champion hog; Whitney Walker had the grand champion lamb; and Nikki Bloxton had the grand champion goat.
• The gross sales for the premium auction this year were $334,150. In addition, another $86,338 was raised from the freezer sale of livestock who were not in the premium auction.
• Dr. Anthony commended students for their diligence and commitment to raising the animals.    He also congratulated the livestock show winners, the adult sponsors, parent volunteers, CFISD workers and all the students whose participation made the event successful.
• Twenty-seven CFISD elementary schools have received funding from Houston Endowment, Inc. through the Steps to a Healthier Houston/Harris County Consortium.   The CATCH grant provides funding for materials along with training to support physical activity and wellness.
• The regional wrestling tournament was held this past weekend in Allen, Texas and the following wrestlers will advance to the state tournament in Austin on Feb. 23 and 24:   Jessica Nguyen and Veronica Martinez from Cypress Ridge High School; Michael Murray, Brandon Larrington, Julie Smith, Courtney Weiser and Angie Murray, from Cy-Fair High School; Abby Martin from Cy-Falls High School; and Cortney McGuire from Langham Creek High School.
• The regional swim meet resulted in several of our teams advancing to the state swim meet being held in Austin Feb. 23 and 24.   Cypress Creek boys placed first and Cypress Falls boys placed third.   In girls’ swimming, Cypress Creek placed first, Cy-Fair placed second with third place going to Langham Creek.
• The Cy-Fair Lady Bobcats went undefeated in District 17-5A competition to earn the district championship in girls’ basketball. Cypress Falls placed second and Cypress Springs placed third. All three teams have advanced to the playoffs.

AEIS REPORT/PUBLIC HEARING

A public hearing was held during the Board’s Feb. 13 meeting to allow for public comment on the district’s 2004-2005 Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) report. No patrons elected to speak during the hearing. A summary of the AEIS report was presented to the Board. Copies of the full AEIS report are available in each school’s library as well as the CFISD professional library located in the Instructional Support Center. AEIS reports for every Texas campus and district are online at the Texas Education Agency’s web site at www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/.

ELECTION ORDERS

The Board approved an order calling for an election on Saturday, May 13, 2006, for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District trustee Position 5, currently held by John Ogletree; Position 6, currently held by Don Ryan; and Position 7, currently held by Bob Covey.

In the subsequent agenda item, Trustees also hired an election consultant to manage the election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Board of Trustees on May 13, 2006.

NEW PRINCIPALS, CAMPUS ATHLETIC COORDINATOR

Following the approval of employee transactions for the month of February, Dr. Anthony introduced new principals for Horne Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, Lieder Elementary and also introduced the campus athletic coordinator and head football coach at Cypress Woods.

Janna Barnhart will be the new principal at Horne Elementary. She is currently an assistant principal at Reed Elementary. Catherine Bauer will be the new principal at Hamilton Elementary. Bauer is currently an assistant principal at Birkes Elementary.

Missy Edgerton, current assistant principal at Kirk Elementary, will be the new principal at Lieder Elementary. David Jones was introduced as the campus athletic coordinator and head football coach at Cypress Woods. Jones is currently a teacher and coach at Jersey Village.

TRUSTEE TRAINING

In accordance with Texas Education Code and State Board of Education regulations, Board President Lida Woodul announced the name of each Board member who has completed, exceeded or who is deficient in the continuing education required under law. Each Trustee is required to complete three hours in team building and five hours in continuing education. Woodul announced that every CFISD trustee has completed or exceeded the minimum number of hours for continuing education. Although Trustee Al Martinez, Jr. missed the 2005 annual Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA)/ Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Convention due to Hurricane Rita, he has taken the necessary hours of continuing education online.

BOARD MEETING CALENDAR

Trustees approved the official Board meeting calendar for 2006-2007. Board meetings are scheduled for July 17, Aug. 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 10, Nov. 13, Dec. 11, Jan. 22, Feb. 12, March 5, April 9, May 14, May 21, June 11 and June 28. Work sessions are scheduled for Aug. 10, Sept.7, Oct. 5, Nov. 9, Dec. 7, Jan. 18, Feb. 8, March 1, April 5, May 10 and June 7. The Board Goal-setting Workshop has been set for Feb. 17, 2007.

APRIL 2006 MEETING DATES CHANGED

Trustees approved the administration’s recommendation to move the April Board meeting from Monday, April 10 to Thursday, April 13 due to a scheduling conflict with the National School Board Association conference. The Board work session will remain on its original date of Thursday, April 6.

BOND UPDATE

Trustees approved the scheduling of the second series of bonds from the 2004 bond referendum totaling $200 million to be sold in March, as well as the refunding of approximately $80 million in bonds that were previously issued. The refunding of these bonds will save the district approximately $4 million in interest payments.

In other bond-related business the Board:

• approved and executed the plat for Woodie Coker Andre' Elementary School (No. 45);
• approved the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Blanket Utility Easement to provide electrical service for Andre' Elementary School;
• approved the contract award for the construction of Elementary School No. 47 to be located on Greenhouse Road and Plantation Cove Lane;
• approved the final Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) with Purcell Construction for the construction of Middle School No. 15;
• approved the CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC Blanket Utility Easement to provide electrical service for Joan Spillane Postma Elementary School (No. 44); and
• authorized the superintendent or designee to enter into purchase and sale agreements with three respective parcel owners for the purchase of approximately 62.8 acres of land located on Greenhouse Road just north of Bear Creek and to complete final negotiations of the terms of each contract and to execute all documents necessary to close and complete the transaction on behalf of the District pursuant to the terms discussed in closed session.  

SUMMER SCHOOL DATES

The Board approved summer school locations, dates and courses for elementary, middle and high school students. High school original credit courses will be offered at Cypress Creek and Cypress Ridge in two sessions. The first session is from June 5-23 and the second session from June 26-July 17. The time schedule for both original credit sessions is 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Make-up credit courses will take place June 8-23 and June 26-July 12 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Middle school courses will be offered at Kahla and Spillane (original credit, make-up credit and ESL classes for sixth- through eighth-grade students) and Cypress Creek and Cypress Ridge (original credit high school classes for eighth-grade students). Dates for original credit sessions are June 5-23 and June 26-July 17. Make-up credit courses will be from June 8-July 12. All middle school classes will be from 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Elementary courses will be offered from June 5-23. Class times are 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and noon to 3 p.m. Locations for elementary summer school are: Duryea (for students residing in Duryea, Jowell and Walker zones); Emmott (for students residing in Bang, Emmott, Francone and Post zones); Gleason (for students residing in Bane, Gleason and Holbrook zones); Lee (for students residing in Horne, Kirk and Lee zones); Matzke (for students residing in Adam, Danish, Hancock, Matzke, Moore and Yeager zones); Owens (for students residing in Birkes, Copeland, Fiest, Hairgrove, Holmsley, Lowery and Owens zones);   Robison   (for students residing in Ault, Farney, Hamilton, Keith, Lamkin, Millsap, Robison and Sampson zones); Sheridan   (for students residing in Lieder, Sheridan and Wilson zones); Tipps    (for students residing in Metcalf and Tipps zones); Willbern (for students residing in Frazier, Reed and Willbern zones); Bang (Extended School Year - Special Ed. only); Birkes (Extended School Year - Special Ed. only).

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

All Cy-Fair ISD approved-fundraising vendors have been invited to display their products at the CFISD Exhibit Center at 11206 Telge Road on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2006 from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at the district’s Vendor’s Fair. The PTO Presidents Council Annual Vendors Fair provides an opportunity for booster clubs, sports associations, school supply chairpersons and school spirit chairpersons to view the goods and services that vendors have available.

Dr. Anthony reminded all that the annual Board Goal-Setting Workshop will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18. The district has provided parents, employees and other citizens in the community with opportunities to provide input on priorities for the district. Input from two hearings regarding the budget will also be considered as the Board of Trustees make decisions regarding the District Action Plan for 2006-2007. Audience members who have not yet provided input but wish to do so before the workshop, please contact the Communication office at 281-807-8939.

The workshop is open to the public. It will begin at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 18, 2006 and will be held in the Board room at the Instructional Support Center, 10300 Jones Road. At this important meeting the Board of Trustees and the administration will work to review, add, and modify the goals necessary to provide a quality educational setting for the students in our district.  

2006 TAKS and SDAA II testing for CFISD students begins in February, with the first testing day occurring Feb. 21, the day after President’s Day. When the school calendar was set last year, it was decided that it would be in students’ best interest for them to attend school rather than have a student holiday on President’s Day. This would encourage students to be present and prepared for this important assessment.

Testing for students in grades 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, & 11 will occur as follows:

Feb. 21, 2006              

• Grades 3, 5, & 9 will take TAKS reading
• Grades 4 & 7 will take TAKS writing; some students in special education will take the SDAA II in writing as an alternate.
• Grade 10 students will take the TAKS English Language Arts test;
• some students in special education will take the SDAA II Language Arts test.
• Grade 11 will take the TAKS Exit Level English Language Arts or the alternate test, TAKS - I

Feb. 22, 2006

• SDAA II Level 9 Reading will be taken by some students in special education in grades 9 & 10

Feb. 23, 2006

• This day is a make-up testing session for the grade 10 TAKS and SDAA II English Language Arts test
• TAKS Exit Level retesting for English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies will occur on Feb. 21, 22, 23, and 24.  
• TAAS Exit Level retesting will occur on Feb. 21, 22, and 23 for Writing, Math, and Reading.

Dr. Anthony said that these are important tests for all students and he encouraged parents to help their students get a good night’s rest, have a hearty breakfast and send them to school with plenty of encouragement. He is confident that the district’s students are prepared and will do a great job.

February is Black History Month, and students at all levels throughout the district are studying significant milestones and people in Black history.   Elementary students are reading biographies of African-Americans and participating in activities such as fact-finding contests and sharing knowledge of the accomplishments of famous Black American heroes, such as Harriet Tubman.   Announcements are being made each day that highlight character traits exhibited by special African-Americans.

Social studies classes are highlighting the achievements of Africans and African-Americans; high school World Cultures and World Geography classes are studying the regions of Africa and, in particular, Apartheid in South Africa.   Following the study, the students compare the influence that Gandhi and Martin Luther King had on Apartheid.

In some government classes, students are highlighting applicable Supreme Court cases and discussing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and amendments that have impacted voting and the Civil Rights movement. As a part of a science and technology unit, some students are researching African-American inventors.   Overall, students are learning about the influence of Black history and its impact on the diversity of our nation and world.

Spring Break is the week of March 6-10. All schools will be closed and classes will resume Monday, March 13.   The superintendent wished district students and employees a safe, enjoyable and well-deserved vacation.

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;
• approved the budget amendments for the period of Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2005;
• approved the list of students for Off-Campus Physical Education, Category I, for the school years 2006-2007 (Spring Addendum) through 2008-2009;
• approved the submission of a Maximum Class Size Waiver request to the Texas Education Agency for the following school: Holbrook Elementary– regular kindergarten;
• approved the superintendent’s contract recommendations of administrators and non-teaching professional staff for the school year 2006-2007;
• approved the Emergency Operations Plan as required by Senate Bill 11 of the 79 th Legislative Session;
• authorized tax refunds $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and/or the Harris County Education District in the amount of $ 122,086.55;
• approved bids and contracts from recommended vendors for goods and services;
• approved on first-reading revisions to the following policies:
  • FB (LOCAL) – Equal Educational Opportunities
  • FL (LOCAL) – Student Records
  • FL (EXHIBIT) – Student Records
  • FNCF (EXHIBITS) – Student Conduct: Alcohol and Drug Use
  • FNF (LOCAL) – Interrogations and Searches
• approved on second-reading revisions to the following policies:
  • CAA (LOCAL) Fiscal Management Goals and Objectives: Financial Ethics
  • FD (LOCAL) Admissions
  • FDB (LOCAL) Admissions: Intradistrict Transfers
  • FDD (LOCAL) Admissions: School Safety Transfers
• and the deletion of the following policy
  • FMF (EXHIBIT) – Student Records: Contests and Competition.