CSA Weekly Letter – 2/21

February 21, 2020

Cornerstone Families,

Happy Friday!  It’s hard to believe there is only one more week in February, and spring break is only three weeks away.

Our staff shout-out for this week goes to a very hard-working teacher…Mrs. Jessica Hennig!  Her students achieve year after year as a result of her relentless dedication…and I do mean relentless.  If you’ve been in her classroom, you’ll first notice how knowledgeable she is and her methodical approach to instruction.  Students benefit from immediate feedback, and there are no exceptions when it comes to learning.  A couple weeks ago around 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, I tried to get her to leave the building…but she wouldn’t because there was still work to be done.  She is truly a practitioner of math, and we are so lucky as a campus to have her.  Thank you, Mrs. Hennig for all you do to make our students successful.

What do you get when you combine a fun photo booth, a henna artist, lots of food, a rock wall, crazy inflatable games, and a bunch of awesome middle schoolers and their families?  Well, the CSA Birthday Bash, of course!  Make sure it’s on your calendar to attend, Friday, April 17th.  Be on the lookout next week for a packet of information detailing all the ways you can support CSA through Birthday Bash.  We need all our families to volunteer in at least one way (or in several ways) to help make this event a huge success.

On the topic of those Birthday Bash packets, you’ll find those on the “take home” side of folders at our student-led conferences on Wednesday, February 26^th.  Come hear from your child how things are going in their classes.  Teachers will also be available to answer questions, but we call them “student-led” for a reason, so show up at one of our three times with your student.  Please see the attached flyer for times. Student Led Flyer 2019-2020.pub

While you’re on campus for student-led conferences, don’t forget to stop by the Scholastic Book Fair being held in the hallway by the library.  Mrs. Vergult will be there, along with our fantastic parent volunteer-cashiers, ready to help you with your order.  The book fair will run from Monday, February 24^th to Friday, February 28^th, so come check it out!

Are you still trying to complete your ten volunteer hours?  Our pottery class is in need of help.  It really helps the class run smoothly when there are two adults present, so volunteers are needed.  You do not have to know anything about pottery…training is available.  If you’d like more information, please contact Sonia Settipallli at ssettipalli@rockfinonline.com

Lastly, art makes our lives better and more beautiful, and you can’t get better that art created by our fabulous students. Please see the attachment from Mrs. Valore and Mrs. Pena.  Cornerstone students’ art, along with art from other SBISD schools, will be displayed at the Annual Spring Art Show on March 6^th.  Come see what our students have created and buy a piece to take home! Spring Art Show.pdf

Please make note of these upcoming dates

• Monday, February 24^th         Talent Show audition after school
• Tuesday, February 25^th         6^th grade on-campus science field trip
• Wednesday, February 26^th   Student Led Conferences
• Wednesday, February 26^th   Early Dismissal at noon
• Thursday, February 27^th        8^th grade George Ranch field trip

Have a great weekend!

Warm Regards,

Angel Purdy

Director

Cornerstone Academy

CSA Weekly Letter – 2/14

February 14, 2020

Cornerstone Families,

Happy Friday and Happy Valentine’s Day!  We’re getting ready for the Valentine’s Dance in a couple hours and hope your student will be there.  Tickets are $5 at the door, and pizza, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase.

After you drop off your children at the dance, head over to The Branch at 7710 Long Point for food, drinks, and fun.  Also, at this event, PTA will be collecting wine for our upcoming Birthday Bash event.  Bring a bottle of wine ($25 value or higher) or a Spec’s gift card ($25 or more) to donate, and each donation will be entered in the raffle.

This week we announced a very special award – our Teacher of the Year – so this week’s staff shout-out goes to our winner, Cornerstone’s teacher of the year for the 2019-2020 school year…Ms. Mara Heidemann!!!  When I think of Ms. Heidemann, the words “dedicated”, “selfless” and “thoughtful” come to mind. Being a CSA alum herself, she completely understands what Cornerstone is all about and puts everything she has into making it a wonderful experience for all of her students and the students she works with as co-sponsor of NJHS.  We are so happy to have her in the CSA family, and she is very deserving of the title “teacher of the year.”

On the topic of special awards, next week we will hold a luncheon for all of the students who were nominated for Character without Question.  The Character without Question program allows staff and students to nominate students who embody strong work ethic, honesty, integrity, kindness and a myriad of other virtuous characteristics.  Those students go through an interview process and ultimately one is chosen to represent Cornerstone as our Character without Question winner.  This year, we had amazing nominees and would be happy to have any one of them represent us.  We’d like to recognize each of our nominees – Kyra Funk, Isabella Hutchinson, Reese Cole, Adelaide Melster, Joshua Petzold, Gabriela Mirza, and Elie Brunson, and we’re so proud to announce that our CWQ winner for 2019-2020 is Joshua Petzold.  Congratulations to all!

This week, we also have a couple of announcements from Nurse Roy.  Our cases of flu at CSA have begun to add up, so please make sure you talk to your student about preventative measures.  Nurse Roy would like everyone to take a look at this website with more information.  (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/preventing.htm)

Also, 7^th grade parents, new legislation allows for education in schools for staff and 7^th grade students on how to “stop the bleed” during a traumatic event.  Please see the attachment from Nurse Roy if you are interested in your student being trained. Nurse Roy – Stop the Bleed.pdf

Our chess team represented us well again.  Matthew He (7th), Matthew Nemoto (8th), Mario Reyes (8th), and Cole Tanner (8th) represented Cornerstone at the Trinity Klein Lutheran School chess tournament on February 8th.  The sections covered a much wider range than usual, and the guys all faced stiffer competition.  Matthew He and Matthew Nemoto each earned individual trophies for winning 3 matches.  The scores of all 4 guys combined to bring home a third place trophy for CSA.  We are so proud of all of them!

We’re also incredibly proud of our Cornerstone competition dance team.  Our girls did an excellent job at their two recent competitions, earning Grand Champions for their lyrical, pom and jazz routines two weekends in a row.  I was lucky enough to see them dance last Saturday at Cinco Ranch High School and was so impressed with their confidence, grace and a touch of sass.  Way to go, ladies!

Lastly, also on the topic of artistic performance, please see the attachment from Mrs. Pena and Mrs. Valore.  Cornerstone students’ art, along with art from other SBISD schools, will be displayed at the Annual Spring Art Show on March 6^th.  Come see what our students have created and buy a piece to take home! Spring Art Show.pdf

Please make note of these upcoming dates

• Monday, February 17^th                                                           NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, February 18^th                                                          CESIT sign up
• Tuesday, February 18^th & Thursday, February 20^th               Talent Show auditions (after school)
• Wednesday, February 26^th                                                     Student Led Conferences
• Wednesday, February 26^th                                                     Early Dismissal

Have a great weekend!

Warm Regards,

Angel Purdy

Director

Cornerstone Academy

Weekly Cougar News – Birthday Bash

Weekly Cougar News – Planning Ahead for Spring Break

CSA Weekly Letter – 2/7

February 7, 2020

Cornerstone Families,

Happy Friday!  I hope everyone had a great week. It’s absolutely beautiful outside today, so hopefully you have plans to get out and enjoy it.

Our staff shout-out this week goes to the one and only…Mrs. Pam Johnson!  In case you didn’t know, this week is national school counselors’ appreciation week, and we definitely appreciate Mrs. Johnson.  In addition to helping students transition into middle school as 6^th graders and transition to high school as 8^th graders, Mrs. Johnson is there for everything else in between.  She’s the driving force behind getting our kids talking to each other on Power Down Thursday, encourages healthy eating every day, and is a great person to see when you just need someone to talk to.  Thanks, Mrs. Johnson for all you do for all of us!

7^th and 8^th graders will have an opportunity to show what they know next week on the practice STAAR tests.  7^th grade writing and 8^th grade reading will take place on Monday, and 8^th grade math happens on Tuesday.  We hope all 7^th and 8^th graders will do their best and provide valuable data to teachers on what interventions are needed.

There is only one week to our Valentine’s Dance.  Students should plan on joining us on Friday, February 14^th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. for what is sure to be a fun evening.  Tickets are $5 at the door, and pizza, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. Come dance the night away…at least until 8 o’clock!

The Valentine’s dance also means it’s also almost time for Parents Night Out.  When you drop off your kids at the dance, head over to The Branch at 7710 Long Point for food, drinks, and fun.  Also, at this event, PTA will be collecting wine for our upcoming Birthday Bash event.  Bring a bottle of wine ($25 value or higher) or a Spec’s gift card ($25 or more) to donate, and each donation will be entered in the raffle.  This definitely sounds like a fun way to meet other CSA parents and pass the time while the kids are at the dance.  Have fun, parents!

Please take note of these upcoming dates

• Friday, February 14^th                                                                           Valentine’s Dance
• Monday, February 17^th                                                                       NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, February 18^th                                                                       CESIT sign up
• Tuesday, February 18^th & Thursday, February 20^th           Talent Show auditions (after school)

Have a great weekend!

Warm Regards,

Angel Purdy

Director

Cornerstone Academy