To download The Connection, go to: INDEX. Weekly Edition

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1 The Connection Weekly Edition Vol. 11, Issue 4 A Publication for CFISD Employees September 4, 2009 To download The Connection, go to: INDEX Advertisements 6,7 Communication Services 1,2 Health News/H1N1 Virus 7 Intranet 3 New Arrival Centers 4,5 Payroll Deductions 7 TeachScape 7

2 Communication SERVICES In the loop, in the know in CFISD With the variety of communication services available to employees, parents and community members, it is virtually impossible to be out of the loop in CFISD. Each year, the district expands its communication efforts in order for information to be available 24-7 in a variety of formats. Communication services include, but are not limited to: District website ( Intranet ( inside.cfisd.net); Monday Morning Notes; Key Communicator Letters; Audio podcasts and press releases; CFTV programming (Comcast Channel 16 and CFTV Online); Event Notification System (ENS); Infomail; Employee and Parent Portal ( my.cfisd.net); and E-newsletters and various other publications. The purpose of delivering district news in multiple formats is to allow the Cy-Fair community to choose the way it wants to stay informed. As a priority, CFISD is committed to increasing communication among district employees, students, parents and the community at-large through the accurate and consistent dissemination of its daily district news. These open lines of communication with the Cy-Fair community make it possible for CFISD to establish a valuable and reliable relationship with its primary stakeholders. District news is sent to local media and posted on the district website ( as press releases and audio podcasts. More than 30 publications are posted online, providing a one-place location for employees and the Cy-Fair community to read about the latest district-wide occurrences and historical data in electronic newsletter, flyer, brochure and/or pamphlet form. For those who prefer video, CFTV programming is available through Comcast Cable Channel 16 and as video-ondemand through CFTV Online. Note the right-hand column for a description of some communication services available to employees and community members via the district website. Key Communicator Letters and KEY Monday Morning Notes: Key COMMUNICATORS Communicator Letters provide important news impacting the district. Letters are sent out electronically to subscribers and posted at Additionally, all employees receive an electronic copy of Monday Morning Notes (MMNs), including significant employee-related information. MMNs are posted on the Intranet at inside.cfisd.net. Intranet: The Intranet is the district s internal website and one of the most useful tools for employees in finding information that directly impacts them. Inside.cfisd.net not only provides up-to-date district news but also accessibility to the Employee Access Center where staff members can monitor personal information such as their payroll and sick leave. For steps on how to set up the Intranet on your toolbar, see page 3. CFTV Programming (CFTV Online/CFTV Channel 16): Video-streamed broadcasts are shown daily on CFTV Comcast Cable Channel 16 and on CFTV Online. CFTV features live and prerecorded programming (produced by students and staff) which include: monthly Board meetings, high school graduations, the District News Show, Conversations with the Superintendent and a daily bulletin board. District Publications: More than 30 publications, such as e-newsletters and brochures, are available online. INSIDE Cypress-Fairbanks ISD is published electronically six times a year to provide readers with upto-date district news. The Connection, published weekly, is a publication about and for CFISD employees. Other district publications include the: Profile, District Goals and Priorities, State of the District, Board of Education, Pocket Facts, District Map and District Calendar. Podcasts/Audio Files: Podcasts deliver district news in audio format. To date, more than 700 podcasts have been posted on the district s website. Employee/Parent Portal: The employee and parent portal at my.cfisd.net provides important information through a single access link under Quick Links via the district website. The portal provides parents with access to student grades and other significant data. Employees are given access outside of work to information that in previous years could only be accessed from a work computer. For more information on available communication services, contact the Communication Office at / THE CONNECTION

3 Tech DOWNLOAD 4 Steps on How to Place Intranet on Toolbar Step 1: Open Internet Explorer. Step 2: Type the following in the address bar: cfisd.net and press Enter. Step 3: Place your cursor over the in the address bar until a hand appears. Step 4: Drag and drop it into your Links to the right of the address bar. Once you have completed the four-step process, INSIDE.CFISD.NET will appear on your toolbar next to the Links tab or as a drop down selection under the Links tab. If you have any questions, please contact the HELP DESK at HELP (4357). THE CONNECTION / 3

4 New Arrival CENTER NACs bridge language barriers in CFISD Since the implementation of New Arrival Centers (NACs) in CFISD, non- English speaking students have advanced academically at phenomenal rates. NACs serve students in grades 4-12 who have been in U.S. schools for six months or less and speak little if any English. The curriculum integrates English language acquisition with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in language arts, math, science and social studies. Two factors attribute to success of this program: 1) Students spend almost all of their academic day with the same NAC teacher, allowing them to connect to a person who knows them and invests daily in their success; and 2) The use of research-based Accelerated Learning, which incorporates physical activity, creativity, music, images, color and other methods designed to get students deeply involved in their own learning. Public speaking and presentations are a central focus of the class, helping students develop confidence as they progress through the program and beyond. Few know this better than Gail Francone Elementary School fifth-grade student Mateo Rivera shows off the biome project he created as a fourth-grade student in Francone s New Arrival Center program. Stephens, a NAC teacher at Cypress Falls High School since the program s inception five years ago. One of her students from rural Central America not only spoke no English, but had minimal literacy in her native language, Spanish. After a little more than a year in the NAC program, the student was reading in English and advanced to the intermediate level. Another student who completed the program made the distinguished honor roll every six weeks in , while working seven days a week to send money home to her mother in Mexico. These are amazing students who inspire me, Stephens said. I am passionate about how the world comes to my classroom every day, and I can be a part of building a successful future for them. The NAC program jumpstarts this process of fulfilling their life dreams. Administrators in CFISD s Office of Curriculum & Instruction and School Administration began seeking a teaching solution for new arrival students about five years ago. At that time the students were integrated in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. We would give them an oral language proficiency test at the beginning of the year and they were Beginners, said Linda Macias, assistant superintendent see NACs, page 5 4 / THE CONNECTION

5 THE CONNECTION / 5 New Arrival CENTERS These are amazing students who inspire me. I am passionate about how the world comes to my classroom every day, and I can be a part of building a successful future for them. The NAC program jumpstarts this process of fulfilling their life dreams. NACs (continued from page 4) of elementary instruction. At the end of the year they were still Beginners. The team began visiting and researching successful NAC programs in other Texas school districts like Galena Park, Katy, Fort Worth and Arlington before deciding to launch 12 NAC sites at all three levels in the school year. CFISD now has 13 New Arrival Centers at Francone, Frazier, Holmsley and Lieder elementary schools; Thornton, Kahla, Campbell, Arnold and Truitt middle schools; and Cypress Ridge, Langham Creek, Cypress Falls and Cypress Lakes high schools. Each of the 13 sites has two NAC teachers and a paraprofessional who instruct an average of 300 students districtwide each year. The NACs served 1,397 students in the four-year span from to The success of the program in CFISD is undeniable, as clearly demonstrated by the results on Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS), formerly the Reading Proficiency Test in English (RPTE). The goal of the New Arrival Centers is for students to score at or above the Intermediate level on Dr. David Anthony, CFISD superintendent, admires a mural made by Arnold Middle School sixth-grade student Hansen Qin. Qin completed the New Arrival Center program in one year as a fifth-grade student at Francone Elementary School. GAIL STEPHENS, NAC Teacher at Cy Falls HS the TELPAS after only one year in the country. In 2005, only 23 percent of elementary, 57 percent of middle school and 49 percent of high school students were meeting that goal. By , 51 percent of elementary, 62 percent of middle school and 58 percent of high school students were far exceeding that goal testing at an Advanced level. The dramatic improvement has not gone unnoticed. According to Macias, districts that CFISD had mirrored are now returning the favor visiting CFISD s NACs with the hopes of revamping their own. Yet no one is more proud of their success than NAC graduates, many of whom arrive only knowing their name and leave speaking English. Last year was a great success in Writing, recalls Lieder NAC teacher Vicki Yeley. My students wrote essays about the Oregon Trail and I cried as I read them, realizing how far they had come in one year. I m privileged to be involved with our New Arrival Center. It is so exciting to hear the office call and say, You have a new student.

6 Pantherland Day is an open house designed to acquaint you with P RAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY. Come explore our campus, visit with current students, faculty and staff, and see the panther spirit for yourself. Pantherland 9 am - 3 pm November 14, 2009Day Willie A. Tempton, Sr. Memorial Student Center, Opal Johnson-Smith Auditorium Online Registration Required A Member of The Texas A&M University System recruitment@pvamu.edu (936)

7 THE CONNECTION / 7 District NEWS Did you know...? Students and staff must stay home with H1N1- related symptoms that include a fever of 100 degrees or more. H1N1 INFO If an employee is absent due to the H1N1 virus, he/she will need to access their personal leave days as with any other illness. Flu Shots Employees can get seasonal flu shots at district campuses beginning Monday, Sept. 21, Locations will be printed in next week s edition of The Connection. The cost for employees and/or spouses is $20. If employees want to use insurance, they must visit their own private physician. No sign up or registration is necessary. For more information, call the Health Services office at The Connection is posted on Fridays of each week from August through May. If you would like to submit a story idea, please send an to: stephanie.migl@cfisd.net. For more information regarding this weekly publication, call: Verify your payroll deductions The new plan year for all of the benefit plans started Sept. 1, All participants of the CFISD Choice Fund HRA Plan and the CFISD KelseyCare HMO Plan, except our newly hired employees, should have received their new medical insurance ID cards in late August. If you have not received your ID card yet, please call Cigna s Customer Service Department at They can also provide you with extra cards if you need them. Newly hired employees should receive their medical and PTRx Pharmacy ID cards within 20 days of their completion of the online enrollment process. Remember to verify your payroll deductions on your September paychecks to make sure your benefits plan enrollments are correct. Log on to Employee Access Center at inside.cfisd.net to view your payroll deductions. TeachScape Online Marzano Classes The Staff Development Department is preparing to roll out the TeachScape Online Marzano classes for the first semester. Guidelines for classes will be included in next week s edition of The Connection. Staff members will be able to access and review the content of any class without registering and participating in a class for credit. A direct link into the TeachScape online library (Classroom Management and HYS classes) will be available on the CFLMS (Avatar) system within a short period of time. This will allow staff who do not need/want the PD credit to access this information 24/7 for review. Employees will be notified when that link is available. For information on advertising in CFISD publications, please call or go to: for ad rates and specs. Type II Diabetes? Do you or someone you know have Type II Diabetes? If so, please call for more information about a research study. Breath of Life Research Institute