Welcome Back to School, 2016-2017

Welcome back to school, Eagles!

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Library Tips for the Best School Year Yet!

Photo IDs

Mrs. Vetter & I are hard at work this week getting a photo taken of every single student for their new Student ID cards!  These cards are used at breakfast, lunch, and in the library. We have a fancy new card printer, camera and tripod to do it.  So far, we've seen hundreds of beautiful smiles, and we can't wait to see more. 

As students have come through the library to take their photos, I've talked to them about the importance of these cards- keeping them looking brand new, and how to be responsible with it.  We liken it to an adult's credit card- no stickers, no marker, no holes, no bite marks, and we don't bend, break or lose them. If we adults lose a credit card, there are lots of consequences!  Luckily, replacing a lost card for a student is a little easier. I use funds I make through the book fair to purchase supplies for each student to have one card per year.  After that, though, it is the student's responsibility to pay for any additional cards.  Since the cards now have these beautiful color photos, a replacement card costs $5. It is RRISD district policy that students must have an ID card for lunch/breakfast and the library- it makes the lunch lines go way faster. Ms. Jacobs, our fearless leader, is collecting strategies for our campus-wide systems with classroom teachers to make sure they help keep students' cards where they should be.  I'm going to do something special for classes that lose zero cards this year, as in previous years, so let's work towards that goal together, Eagles!

Team Library 2014

Mrs. Vetter and I are thrilled to be starting a second year as Team Library here at Forest North.  We can't wait to get books in your hands, Eagles!  See you Tuesday, August 26th.

Welcome Walks 2014

Mrs. Lavender, our newest addition to the 5th grade team, and I had a blast yesterday going to all of the new students in her homeroom to welcome them to 5th grade! I got to see some familiar faces and a few new ones I can't wait to get to know, as well.  What a wonderful start to the best school year yet.  I already love working with Mrs. Lavender and I know her students will, too!  (She's a big fan of the Texas Bluebonnet Award- what else do you need to know!?)

RRISD 2014-2015 Kick Off Celebration!

Over 6,000 teachers celebrated yesterday at the Dell Diamond with RRISD Superintendent Dr. Steve Flores to kick off the best year ever! We got so motivated for our upcoming year- it was great! We enjoyed performances by the McNeil Choir, the Elementary P.E. teachers, and a tricycle race. The RRISD Partners in Education Foundation announced their grant winners for the year, and Forest North was lucky enough to have two winners- Ms. Matuschak won a grant for Math Kits for 1st graders to take home and share with their families, and I won a grant for $1000 worth of new animal books for our students to check out. I'm really excited to buy some new titles for all of us to share! This event was really special and got us so excited to see you all. Enjoy your last days of summer, Eagles, because we can't wait to see you next week!

New Library Assistant: Elizabeth Vetter

It is with great excitement that I introduce Forest North's new Library Assistant Elizabeth Vetter! She will be working in the library helping Mrs. Fournier with student checkout, processing new books to get them catalogued into our online system, running the Birthday Book club, helping with our financial records, running fun exciting programs like Armadillo Readers Choice Award (K-2nd) and the Texas Bluebonnet Award (3rd-5th) and a ton of other tasks we do to keep the library fun and running smoothly! She'll be working Monday, Wednesday & Friday afternoons, and Tuesday and Thursdays mornings to maximize flexibility for our students and teachers. I'm so excited she's here and we can start flexible daily checkout for our students! It's been a hectic year starting without an assistant, and she is just starting this week, so please welcome her to Forest North, and bear with us as we do a lot of on-the-spot job training! So glad you're here, Mrs. Vetter!