October SCIS PTA Newsletter

Volume 17 Issue 2 October 2009

CLEAR CREEK COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF PTAS SPACE CENTER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL PTA

17400 SATURN LANE, HOUSTON, TX 77058

SYNC UP WITH SPACE CENTER

A Message from the PTA President

A Message from the Principal

Every child, one voice

CLEAR CREEK COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF PTAS SPACE CENTER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL PTA 17400 SATURN LANE, HOUSTON, TX 77058

Welcome to October! We’ve had so many fabulous things going on already this year. Both students and teachers are hard at work exploring, acquiring and applying our state curriculum. Football and volleyball are both in full swing. Our 7B Girls Volleyball Team recently won the 3rd place trophy at their tournament this past weekend. We are all so proud of them! Speaking of being proud…we’ve had such phenomenal student, staff and parent fan attendance at the games this year. This is quite impressive! Please keep coming out to show your enthusiastic support, cheering for all of our Cardinal teams. Each Wednesday we have our designated school spirit day. This is the day we make it a point to pull out our red shirts/school shirts to

show a visible display of our school spirit and support. On 9/28 we had our first school-wide pep rally this year. It was absolutely amazing! There was no way to walk out of that gym feeling anything other than motivated to go out and accomplish great things. An outstanding job was done by all! We’ve been making special announcements each morning, revolving around our character focus of the week. Here are the upcoming themes by week: 10/5 Education - Knowledge is Power; 10/12 Proactive, Productive and Proud; 10/19 Responsible Citizenship – Helping Others; and 10/26 Role Models – Who’s Influencing Whom?

PTA President / Principal 1-2

PTA Activities / News 3-8

2009 Speak Up 9

Booster Clubs 10-12

Cardinal Sports Page and Cheer

13-16

Art News 17

Classroom Actions 18

Scheduling a Conference Information

19-21

Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics 22-24

My First Week of Sixth Grade

24

Other News 25

Deadlines, Dates, Birthdays

26

Inside this issue:

(Principal’s Message Continued on page 2)

Welcome to the 2nd issue of “Sync up With Space Center.” A huge thank you goes out to our newest board member and Webmaster Michelle Krueger for getting our electronic distribution up and running. I am very excited about this new system and think it will be a huge benefit to all SCIS parents. October will be a busy month for the PTA as we sponsor Red Ribbon week, the Reflections contest, award treats for the first Academic Recognition day and host the fall social. These activities will provide plenty of opportunities for parents to get involved and help out. Please look at the articles for each of these activities for contact information if you are interested in helping out. Thank you to our Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith and Elaina Polson, CCISD Director of Public Information, for coming to Space Center for coffee and very informative conversation. We all agreed what a great school Space Center is and how proud we are all of it’s accomplishments. Congratulations to all the Cardinal sports team, they are off to a great start! We are continually looking for suggestions in improving the newsletter and are looking forward to adding more student input. Darlene Selmarten

P a g e 2 S y n c U p W i t h S p a c e C e n t e r

(Principal’s Message Concluded)

Something new that we are doing this year is our Student of the Week. Each week all teachers submit one person to be their Student of the Week. From those names, there is a random drawing conducted to narrow it down to just one name. That student is announced during the Monday morning announcements. They come to visit with me briefly after lunch that day. When they come to see me I take down their lunch order. This is for a future lunch with me, and 2-3 other students of the week. They are also given the opportu-nity to be in charge of the morning announcements that Friday. I will host one of these student lunches each month. The first one was held last Friday. It was such a great opportunity for me to sit down to visit with the students. They shared with me what they liked best about our school, who their favorite teachers were, and what they would change or add to make our campus even better. They had some terrific ideas! Many of you have heard that K12 Planet is being replaced by Parent Self-Serve. This is scheduled for launch early October. In order to have access, you must have returned your registration form. This form was sent to you earlier in the year. We are still waiting on just a few forms to come in. Blank forms are available in the front office for your convenience. If you have any questions at all, please call Roxanne Casas at 281-284-3300. She is our wonderful Campus Data Specialist, and will be happy to help you out. One of our campus goals this year is to have 100% staff participation in the PTA. We are well on our way to achieving this goal. Wouldn’t it be something special to also have that very same parent support – 100%? If you know anyone that might be interested in joining, feel free to print or send them the form that is found at the following link http://bit.ly/9NkoN. All they need to do is to fill it out, and send it in with their student. The students know to turn this information in to their 4th period teacher. In fact, they are trying to get an ice cream party out of this. The class that has the best response, in each grade level, will win an ice cream party. It’s so easy for you to help them reach this goal. Your support is greatly ap-preciated! The PTA does numerous wonderful things for our school. On 10/30 they will sponsor our first PTA Social. There will be food, fun and prizes. This event will have a baseball theme, more specifics will be shared later in the newsletter. PTA also helps out our teachers tremendously, by running copies and providing special random acts of kindness (like our beginning of the year breakfast) all along the way. We very much appreciate all that they do to support the campus!

Our first Campus Instructional Improvement Committee was held this past Monday. CIIC serves as a campus-based advisory committee to the campus principal. We are still seeking parent, community and business volunteers. If you or someone you know are interested, please send an e-mail to Karen Nelson [email protected], letting her know of your interest. She will need to have your name, contact information and which role you would like to volunteer for (ex. as a parent). From the names we receive, we will have a random drawing until all seats fill up. I encourage you to check out the following link http://bit.ly/SZRfH. Here you will find some great information on staying healthy during this unique flu season that’s upon us. By the time you are reading this newsletter, you should have received a second Free and Reduced Lunch Form. If you have already submitted one, you’re in great shape. If not, please make sure to fill it out and return just as soon as possible. We will do a drawing for a free iPod, from among all that have submitted the applications. Details are available later in this newsletter. We have an early release day coming up for students. This will be on 10/23. What a great time to schedule a phone or face-to-face conference with one/some of our teachers! Please e-mail any teacher you would like to visit with, letting them know that you would like to schedule a conference for the afternoon of 10/23. Want to help our school to earn free technology? We won’t be able to do it without your support. Your part is very important, and easy too. Anytime from 10/12–12/18, we simply ask that you fill out Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up 2009 Survey. More details will follow as you look through this newsletter. You’ll simply go to the website indicated and enter the code that we provide. It will walk you through some quick survey questions, asking your input. It’s a fabulous deal! Not only do you get to express your opinions, which will make an impact on future decisions; you also give SCIS a chance of winning free technology for your students to use. Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by! Thanks so much for all of your support, as we partner together to better prepare each child for the future. Don’t forget to follow us @ www.twitter.com/SCISchool for live campus updates.


L to R: Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Carpenter, Mrs. Krueger, Mrs. Bui, Dr. Smith, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Selmarten, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Schroder, Mr. Lovelace

Coffee Talk With CCISD Superintendent

Dr. Smith visited with some of SCIS parents, volunteers, and staff on Friday, September 11th. Discussions covered an array of topics ranging from district visions, School Boundary Advisory Committee (SBAC) formation, Transfinder comments, status of CLHS 9th Grade Annex conversion to new intermediate school no earlier than 2011, e4 Academy/Virtual HS, Parent Self Serve replacing K12 Planet and anticipated launching date. Dr. Smith also congratulated Mrs. Carpenter, the SCIS staff, faculty and parents for two consecutive years of Exemplary rating.

Free iPod! Free pizza party! The 4th period class that turns in the largest percentage of completed Free & Reduced Lunch

Forms, by October 13th, will win a pizza party. You don’t even need to worry about

qualifying. Just fill it out and turn it back in to your 4 th period teacher. Our goal is to get 100%

of these forms returned. One lucky student will win a brand new iPod. If you’ve turned one

in this year, your name has already been submitted into the drawing. Don’t remember if

you’ve turned one in? No problem. It won’t hurt a single thing to fill out another.

Best of luck to you! Mrs. Carpenter


Come Join Our Starting Line Up!

At the SCIS Fall Social Friday, Oct. 30th 7-9 PM

Hot Dogs & Snacks

D.J. &

Dancing

Home Run Derby &

Design - A - Tee Contest

Raffle Prizes!


The fall social, “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”, will be Friday, October 30th from 7:00 PM-9:00 PM. We will have fun for everyone! There will be two inflatables - Home Run Derby and Speed Pitch. Prizes will be awarded to the fastest pitcher. We will also have a Design-a-T-Shirt contest. See Design-Details below for more information. Prizes will be given for the most creative T-shirts. There will also be a DJ and dancing. The cost of a ticket for the social is $10.00 and tickets will be on sale Thursday, October 29th and Friday, October 30th during all lunches and will also be available the night of the social. Raffle items will include one autographed baseball by Roy Oswalt and one autographed jersey by Lance Berkman. The tickets for the Astros raffle items will cost $1.00 each. Other raffle items will in-clude everything a Girl would need for the game: A Purse, Wallet and other accessories. A Luggage Set, for the games away from home, will also be on our raffle. The raffle tickets for these items will be 3 for $1.00 prior to the event and 2 for $1.00 the night of

the social. Tickets will be on sale Thursday, October 29th and Friday, October 30th during all lunches. We will have Hot Dogs, Sodas, and Snacks available for purchase. Tickets for food items will be 4 for $1.00 prior to the event and 3 for $1.00 the night of the social. They will also be sold during all lunches Thursday, October 29th and Friday, October 30th. Tickets for all items will be available at the social. All winners for the raffle items MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN! This is a PTA–sponsored event. All proceeds will go towards the school and on going PTA Programs. We would appreciate sponsors to underwrite the cost of the event such as rental fees, prizes, etc. There will also be many volunteer opportunities for this event. If you are interested in being a volunteer or sponsor please contact Lisa O’Brien at 281-480-0778 or [email protected] for more information. Your help makes this event fun for the kids. Thank you for supporting PTA and SCIS!

Create – A - Design ……..

* For Your Favorite Team * Your Game Day Outfit

* “All About Me!” * Cardinal Spirit!

* Your Own Design

Have Fun & Be Creative!

“Must Follow School Dress Code”

Wear your T-shirt to the social & get one free raffle ticket at the door!

Prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd & 3rd place!

Design - A- Tee Contest For The Social

Shirts Only $3.00! Will be sold during all lunches starting in October.


Red Ribbon Week October 28 – October 30

The 2009-2010 Red Ribbon Week will be observed October 28th through October 30th. Red Ribbon Week is designed to promote an understanding of the dangers of alcohol and drug usage. Activities are planned for each day to help students actively participate in becoming informed of the dangers of drugs and alcohol. In conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, a drug awareness program will be presented to the students in their science classes. We will decorate the school with red ribbons on Tuesday, October 27th; if you are interested in helping decorate please contact Justine Powell at [email protected]. The theme for each day of the week is as follows:

Wednesday, October 28th - Red Ribbon Rally Day - students are encouraged to wear red....socks, shirts, hats (dress code appropriate). All students will receive a Red wristband. A special prize will given to the student wearing the most red (one prize for each grade level). Thursday, October 29th - I'm too "Bright" to do Drugs - wear neon or bright colors. All students will receive a treat in class. Friday, October 30 - "Team" up against Drugs - wear your favorite sports team shirt - and don't forget – come to the PTA School Social “Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (7-9pm)!

National Junior Honor Society The Cardinal chapter of National Junior Honor Society met on Friday, September 4th. Thank you to all members who attended. All members were reminded to earn their required service for this 9 weeks and to report them at the next meeting which will be held on Friday, October 9th. The school project that was chosen by last year’s chapter is still underway. Over a $1000 of donations and fundraising was raised to purchase air hand dryers for the student restrooms located off the commons area. We are awaiting approval from the district for their installation. Elizabeth Selmarten NJHS Correspondent


Space Center Intermediate School PTA! Thank you to all who have joined the SCIS PTA! We had more faculty and staff join in the fall campaign this year than last year, and our total membership has risen as well. If you still have not joined PTA, it is NEVER too late. You can join at any time; informational flyers and envelopes can always be found in the commons. Remember that you receive valuable discounts with your PTA Membership at the retailers listed below: The monthly PTA newsletter will be emailed directly to the members. Members will receive membership cards through their child's fourth period class this month. So, look for those cards to keep in your wallet in order to redeem your discounts. Also, the advisory classes with the highest totals of PTA members will receive their ice cream parties in October as well. Thank you to all who made our Fall Membership Campaign such a success!


Volunteer in CCISD In order to begin volunteering in our schools, you will need to complete the following online volunteer appli-cation at https://portal.ccisd.net/community/community_form/volunteerform.asp. Once approved, you will receive an email notification with your own personal log-in and password to our virtual volunteer website. Here you will be able to sign up to volunteer at events and communicate with other volunteers. It has been confirmed that once you have registered with this new system, you will not have to repeat the process each year UNLESS you are adding a new school (for example, current 8th grade parents will have to add CLHS to your online registration in 2010-2011). If you currently volunteer for more than one school, make sure that you select all applicable schools on your registration.

Look for your yearbook order form in the mail, soon!

Yearbooks may be ordered online this year. The cost of the yearbook is $45.00. Students may order a nameplate for $5.00. They may also add icons for $5.00 each. Yearbooks are full color and include 160 pages. Order online at www.smart-pay.com. Information will be mailed to students with the complete details. Please be on the look out for your order form. Don't delay...buy yours today. Contact Susan Hadley @ [email protected] if you have any questions.


ccisd

Susan Carpenter

P a g e 1 0 S y n c U p W i t h S p a c e C e n t e r

October Events for the Cardinal Bands Space Center Band Boosters

Get ready for a busy October! The Space Center Cardinal Bands are tuning up for their first performances of the fall season. Here’s the schedule: September 30: Symphonic Band supports our Cardinals Football Team against League City 7:00 PM at the District Stadium October 2-3: Rehearsals and Fun! Minicamps and Activities for 7th/8th grade Bands October 12: Join the 7th/8th grade bands for the CCISD Marching Band Exhibition. Concert, Honors, and Symphonic bands will attend, and 8th graders will join the HS bands on the field for 2 songs. Buses leave SCIS at 5PM for CCISD Memorial Stadium. Performances start at 6PM. October 17: Region Band Auditions for qualified 7th/8th graders. All-day Event at Victoria Lakes IS. The Region concert and clinic will be an all-day event at Westbrook IS on Nov. 7. October 22: Mark your Calendars for the Fall Concert! 7:30 PM SCIS Commons for Concert, Honors, and Symphonic Bands. JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS--EXPRESS COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER STARTS OCTOBER 8! For details and permissions forms, go to www.scisbands.com.


The orchestras are hard at work preparing for their upcoming concerts and events. We will be hearing from our Beginning, Philharmonic, Symphony and Chamber orchestras in the coming months. Rehearsals and sectionals are now underway for the advanced students who are auditioning for Region Orchestra. Our students are working hard on their mu-sic for the audition which will take place on Saturday, October 24th. Our orchestra students will be competing against musicians from Lake Jackson and Pearland in addition to Friendswood and other CCISD schools. When a student is accepted into the Region Orchestra it is the highest honor that an individual student can achieve, as there are a limited number of seats available. Please wish our advanced orchestra students the best of luck with their preparation and performances. We Rocked the night away at our annual Rock-a-Thon on September 25th. The kids had a blast and raised a lot of money for the spring Mark Wood concert. This was the perfect event for the lazy athlete. Who knew you could play volleyball while sitting in a rocking chair?! Please check next month’s newsletter for a list of our generous sponsors. Thank you orchestra students and parents for making this a successful and FUN fundraiser. ROCK ON!! On Tuesday, October 20th the orchestra will team up with the Theatre department for a magical night. You won’t want to miss this entertaining spoof on our beloved Harry Potter presented by the SCIS orchestras and Theater Arts. This will be a “Peter And The Wolf” style production with costumes, lights, actors, and music. This time Harry will be much more than a student of magic – he’s a student of music. Harry will learn about the power of music, how to develop his talent on his Stradivarius 2006 violin, and how to avoid the evil Voldemort who tries to break his strings and foil Harry’s performance during the big contest. Check out our beginning students’ quick and magical progression into the musical world! Invite your friends and neighbors for a night of spooky music and fun. It will be event that everyone can enjoy! Young children can wear a costume and be treated with candy while they enjoy the production. Volunteers for costumes and stage decorations are needed. If you can lend a hand, please contact Ms. Black ([email protected]) or Mrs. Kidwell ([email protected]).

Please check out the orchestra website for additional information and performance schedules at www.scisorchestra.com.

Orchestra Notes


Space Center Intermediate Boys Athletic Booster Club

The Space Center Intermediate Boys Athletic Booster Club is enjoying a great year so far. The Cardinal football teams are working hard and improving daily. A big thank you to our terrific coaches for their dedication and hard work. The spirit merchandise committee is selling bright red football t-shirts, Space Center hoodies and visors. We also have yard signs and car decals available for most sports. If you missed us at Open House or selling during lunch periods, you can always email our Merchandise Chairman, Stacey Neal at [email protected]. Concessions at our home games are an important fundraiser for the booster club. We can always use parent or older sibling volunteers at the concession table. Donations of Gatorade, water or soft drinks are welcome also. Contact Cathy Giesinger to volunteer or coordinate a donation at [email protected]. Under the leadership of Jackie Schroeder, exciting plans are underway for the annual football banquet tentatively scheduled for Saturday, December 5th in the Commons. If you would like to get involved and volunteer for any of the following committees, contact Jackie at [email protected]:

Decorations Food Clean Up and Servers Sponsorships and Raffle Items

Go Cardinals!

Cardinal players running through the “Go Big Red” sign as they enter the field.

Photo by Sara Little


The Cardinal Sports Page

Space Center Football Schedule 2009

* All 7th Grade games will be on Tuesdays and start at 5:00pm. * All 8th Grade games will be on Wednesdays and start at 5:00pm.

September 15, 2009 7A SCIS vs. Westbrook (Score: 19-8 SCIS) 7B SCIS vs. Westbrook (Score: 6-0 SCIS)

September 16 8A SCIS vs. Westbrook (Score: 14-0 Westbrook) 8B SCIS vs. Westbrook (Score: 6-0 Westbrook)

September 22 7A SCIS vs. Clear Lake (Score: 7-6 SCIS) 7B SCIS vs. Clear Lake (Score: 18-7 Clear Lake)

September 23 8A SCIS vs. Clear Lake (Score: 6-6 tie) 8B SCIS vs. Clear Lake (Score: 6-0 Clear Lake)

September 29 7A SCIS vs. League City (Score: 22-0 SCIS) 7B SCIS vs. League City (Score: 14-0 SCIS)

September 30 8A SCIS vs. League City (Score: 14-0 SCIS) 8B SCIS vs. League City (Score: 0-6 League City)

October 13 Seabrook (7A-Home)

October 14 Seabrook (8A-Home)

October 20 Brookside (7B-Home)

October 21 Brookside (8B -Home)

October 27 Clear Creek (7A-Home)

October 28 Clear Creek (8A-Home)

October 3 Victory Lakes (7B -Home)

November 4 Victory Lakes (8B -Home)

November 10 Creekside (7A-Home)

November 11 Creekside (8A-Home)

Cardinal Touchdown by 7B Player Nils Kosmo

Photo by Mary Ellen Prochazka


September 16, 2009 7A SCIS vs. Westbrook (SCIS won); 7B SCIS vs. Westbrook 8A SCIS vs. Westbrook (SCIS won); 8B SCIS vs. Westbrook (SCIS lost)

September 24 7A SCIS vs. Clear Lake (SCIS won); 7B SCIS vs. Clear Lake 8A SCIS vs. Clear Lake (SCIS won); 8B SCIS vs. Clear Lake (SCIS won)

September 26 7B - 3rd Place in District Tournament

October 1 7th - League City at Home 8th - SCIS at LCIS

October 2 & 3 7A Tournament at Victoria Lakes

October 15 7th - SCIS at Seabrook 8th - SIS at Home

October 22 7th - Brookside at Home 8th - SCIS at BIS

October 29 7th - SCIS at Clear Creek 8th - CCIS at Home

November 5 7th - Victoria Lakes at Home 8th - SCIS at VLIS

November 12 7th - SCIS at Creekside 8th - CIS at Home

November 14 8A Tournament at Clear Lake; 8B Tournament at Brookside

Space Center Volleyball Schedule 2009

* B team games start at 5:00 pm. * A team games will start immediately after B games

Lady Cardinals 7B team beat Victory Lakes in 7B District Volleyball Tournament on 9/26/09

The Cardinal Sports Page (continued)

Photo by Carl Snider


Lady Cardinals took 3rd place in 7B District Tournament

7B District Volleyball Tournament 3rd Place Winners: Coach Grimes and the 7B Lady Cardinals at Creekside Intermediate School on 9/26/09 Back Row: Sahar Abdullah, Katie Kilbourn, Coach Pam Grimes, Hayley Snider, Ramya Gomatam, Quincy Wood, Caitlyn Mason Second Row: Elaina Wright, Danielle DeChellis, Shani Suiaunoa, Katie Wrobbel, Sandy Berger Front Row: Hannah Bodeker

Photo by Carl Snider

Cardinals 7B Game against Clear Lake IS on 9/22/09: Cardinal #74 Hayden Gonzales blocks as #10 Patrick Currie pitches to #7 Tripp Arnold with #1 Ford Elliott leading the way

Cardinals 8A Game against Clear Lake IS on 9/23/09: Cardinal #20 Colin Jones running the ball

Photo by Ralph E. David Photo by Luis Orosco

The Cardinal Sports Page (continued)


Cardinal Cheer News! The 2009-2010 Space Center Intermediate Cheerleaders started off the year with a National Cheer Association (NCA) Cheer Camp in Galveston, Texas. We learned many cheers, chants, and dances for this upcoming school year alongside cheerleaders from our region. We proudly brought home the winning Spirit Stick! Pre-season, we also had a Painting Party to paint signs for our players to "run through" as our team enters the field. To start our season, our first Cardinal Football Game was at District Stadium on September 16th where we cheered for both 8th grade A & B Teams. On September 23rd, SCIS 8th grade A Team had us all cheering loudly as players held the line to tie the game at 6-6. We hope we encouraged everyone to come out to support our teams at the Pep Rally on September 28th! We cheer for 8th Grade A & B Teams’ games on Wednesdays! Our sponsor is Miss Thomas and she is very proud of our efforts as we all work hard to cheer on SCIS Football! Go Cardinals! Megan Scofield, Amy Stanley, Sarah Archer, and Elise Steward

Photo by Sara Little

L to R: Sydney Wilson, Hope Beeson, Elisa Geramia, Amy Stanley, Angel Turner, Ariana Katsigiannis , Kendall Nutt, Mackenzie Ditta, Kate Martinez, Ellie Little, Taylor Curran, Skyler Tankersly, Caroline Cook, Megan Scofield, Elisa Steward, Sarah Archer


Art News

Welcome to the 2009-2010 school year. Students have already completed several art projects that are on display throughout the school. When you are visiting the school, come check out all the incredible artwork. The Pre-AP art students have created some fantastic Expressive Self-Portraits, which are hanging in the 500 hallway. The 6th graders and 2D art students have completed beautifully rendered Still Lifes that are now on exhibit in the commons, 100 and 300 hallways. New exhibits and artwork will be on display throughout the school year. The Pre-AP art students are busy creating their holiday card for the Superintendent Holiday Card Competition. In our efforts to promote the arts and encourage art appreciation, the Pre-AP art students will be selling reproductions of their Holiday Card Designs. Parents, teachers, and students will be able to order card designs during lunch the week of November 9th for our 3rd Annual Holiday Card Sale. Look for more information in the next Art News.

Art Club Art club members are busy designing their costumes for the 5th Annual Halloween Costume Contest. Students can enter any hand-made costume in their choice of three costume categories: most creative, funniest, or scariest costume. The Halloween Costume Contest will be held after school at 4:30 – 6:00 on Thursday, Oct. 29th. Prizes will be given to the most creative, funniest, and scariest costume. Come join the fun!!! Art Club meets every Tuesday morning at 8:15 in room 312.

Plein-Air Artist Club This is a new club that the SCIS art department has started this year. Plein-air literally means “open-air” and is the act of drawing and painting outdoors. Once a month on a Saturday, students will meet at different locations to draw and paint outdoors. Our first meeting was held on September 12th at SCIS. At this first meeting, important information and paperwork was handed out to students. If students are interested in joining, please stop by room 312 to pick up permission slips, emergency, and alternative travel forms. Our first plein-air field trip will be held at Nassau Bay Park Pavilion on October 10th from 9:00-11:00 AM. We have a lot of exciting locations planned for this upcoming plein-air schedule: Galveston, Kemah Boardwalk, Trinity River, Houston Zoo, Japanese Garden, and San Antonio. So come check out this new club. For more information on the Art Club or Plein-Air Artist Club, please contact Lisette McClung at [email protected] . All SCIS students are invited to join these clubs.


Classroom Actions

6th graders are proudly displaying and presenting their first group projects from summer reading assignment “Maggie’s Door” in Mrs. Williams’ 2nd period Social Studies class.. Photos by Emily Bui.

Morgan Cook holding her group’s “edible” ship.

Megan Sambell, Samantha Willis, Kaleigh Lyon and Alex Young describing the ship that took Nory to America.

Sean Buckelew depicting another version of the ship.

A budding artist’s vision of the ship, from team John Culbertson and Noah Rudisill .

Emily Bui, Blaire Busbee and Katarina Tomasic smiling with relief that the ship passengers did not topple over during the presentation!

Photo by Morgan Cook


Scheduling a Conference If you wish to have a conference with your child’s teacher, please send the request to the teacher by email or by leaving a message at the school office (281-284-3300).

8:15-8:45………………………………………………….…..*Tutorials & Meetings 8:55-9:00………………………………………………………………….Announcements 9:00-9:50……………………………………………………………….……………………First 9:55-10:45……………………………………………………………………………...Second 10:50-11:40………………………………………………………………………………..Third 11:45-1:15………………………………………………………………………………...Fourth 11:41-12:11...........................……...A Lunch 12:13-12:43....................................B Lunch 12:45-1:15 .....................................C Lunch 1:20-2:10……………………………………………………………………………………..Fifth 2:15-3:05……………………………………………………………………………………..Sixth 3:10-4:00………………………………………………………………………………...Seventh

Teacher Conference Period Grade Subject Room

Anna Adcock 4 6-8 Content Mastery 353/333

Kelly Adler-Dimmick 1 6 Math 143

Diana Armitage 3 7 Language Arts 344

Carolyn Barksdale 4 Choir 502

Clay Barnett 4 8 U.S. History 123 Matt Barnhart 5 6-8 Assistant Band Director 504

Lauren Berry 1 6 Language Arts 133

Lisa Black 2 6-8 Orchestra 500

Brenda Bondy 4 8 Language Arts 124

Linda Brack 1 8 Science 233

Allison Brand 5 6 Language Arts 145

Lanelle Broussard 7 7 Language Arts 351

Jeannie Brown 2 7/8 Skills for Living/Pers Fam Dev 507

Diane Busch 6 6-8 Alternative Academics 106

Peggy Buse-Wolfe 6 6-8 Alternative Academics 103

Jeane Ann Cagle 4 6-8 Math Pull Outs 349

Julie Carnes 5 7 TX History 112

Tom Chandler 5 6-8 P.E./Coach Gym

Rhonda Dearmond 7 6 Language Arts 144

Stephanie DeForke 7 6-8 ESL LA 162

Crystal Delaney 2 6 Science 242

Lisa Dillon N/A Math Specialist Julie Dittman 5 6 Language Arts 322


Susan Elder 6 7 Science 232

Nancy Fiegel 7 8 Science 244

Nicholas Fishback 3 8 Math 165

Jennifer Ford 4 6-8 P.E./Coach Gym

Kelly Francis 1 7 Language Arts 335

Paula Gallagher-Hebert 5 6-8 Resource (Lang. Arts/SS) 325

Bick Gibbs 2 Tech Ed & EMT 510 Pam Grimes 5 7 Texas History/Coach 334

Jan Grout N/A Science Specialist Maxine Guidry 3 8 Math 343

Susan Hadley N/A 7/8 TX History 7th/Journalism 8th 114

Denise Hall 5 7 Language Arts 352

Natasha Hargraves N/A Teen Leadership 346

Scott Harjo 2 6-8 P.E./Coach Gym

Callie Harmon 5 6 Science 241

Lisa Hendricks 8:15 6-8 Speech 108

Lisa Hicks 3 7 Language Arts 167

Ralph Hixson 1 8 Science 240

Allison Hunter 3 6-8 Math 164

Jennifer Kidwell 2 6-8 Orchestra 500

Giles LaMont 2 6-8 Social Development 105

Vilma Laracuente 4 7/8 Spanish 122

Kirt Larsen 2 7 Science/Coach 231

Elizabeth Laurence 7 ESL 164

Colleen MacKenna 7 8 Language Arts 115

Katherine Mays 3 7 Math 153

Donald McCandless 5 6-8 Band Director 504

Lisette McClung 1 6-8 Art 312 Shannon Miller 7 8 Language Arts/Coach 113

Kathryn Milo-Vitek 5 6 Language Arts/NJHS 136

Sue Noggle 7 7 Language Arts 336

Deb O’Hara 2 6-8 Resource (Language Arts) 322

Lori Otto 4 7 Math 152

Laura Pearce-Ozinga 5 6 Social Studies 146


Jim Pellowski 3 6-8 P.E./Coach Gym

Janice Pfeiffenberger 1 8 Career Connections 223

Charlyn Porter-Williams 4 6 Social Studies 135

Scheduling a Conference (continued)


Eileen Rohan 4 6-8 Dyslexia Reading Float

Sheila Schubert 2 8 Math 125

Vince Slatton 6 8 U.S. History/Coach 323

Jenna Smith 4 7 Science 230

Jennifer Stevenson 6 6-8 P.E./Coach Gym

Kent Sullivan 1 7/8 RTV 1 & RTV II 311

Christy Taylor 6 6 Math 134

Courtney Thomas 6 8 U.S. History/Cheer Sponsor 324

Matthew Walz 3 8 Math/Coach 160

Jennifer Walter 4 7 Math/Coach 345

Anthony Williams 6 6 Social Studies/Coach 250

Marc Wondergem 1 6-8 P.E./Coach Gym

Amy Zapp 2 6 Science/Coach 251

Stanley Zavala 5 6-8 Assistant Band Director 504

Eileen Rohan 4 6-8 Dyslexia Reading Float

Jessica Richards 5 6-8 Theatre Arts 310

Shalimar Rice 1 6-8 Language Arts/Target Reading 161

Sherry Rector 4 6-8 Resource (Math & Science) 333

Matt Rauch 6 6 Math 163


Scheduling a Conference (continued)

Trying to help your child with homework or a project can sometimes be time consuming and frustrating. Please take advantage of the morning tutorials offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:15 – 8:45 a.m. In addition, please do not hesitate to speak with your child’s teacher in order to work as a team in coming up with a success plan for your child.


BOYS’ ATHLETICS Space Center Intermediate offers football, basket-ball, track, cross country, golf and tennis for boys at the seventh and eighth grade level. The most important word at SCIS in the athletic department is "PARTICIPATION". We would like to see every-one "try" to participate in all of the sports offered. At this stage in their young lives, boys need opportunities to try different sports and develop their skills in each one. This is an important step before entering high school sports. Once they have participated in sports at the intermediate level, they are better prepared to decide which sports are suited to their abilities at the high school level. The coaching staff as SCIS believes athletics builds character in those who participate. We feel the lessons learned through sports better prepare the athletes for the lessons of life. The staff at SCIS has the highest respect for today's student/athlete because we know of the difficulties they face, but we have also seen the rewards that being a student/athlete can bring to a young man. We feel any student who participates in athletics is special and a winner. The Space Center Intermediate coaches and staff: Athletic Coordinator - Jim Pellowski 8th Grade (A Team) Football - Tom Chandler, Scott Harjo 8th Grade (B Team) Football - Kirt Larsen, Marc Wondergem 7th Grade (A Team) Football - Jim Pellowski, Anthony Williams 7th Grade (B Team) Football - Vince Slatton, Matthew Walz 8th Grade (A Team) Basketball - Marc Wondergem 8th Grade (B Team) Basketball - Matthew Walz 7th Grade (A Team) Basketball - Kirt Larsen 7th Grade (B Team) Basketball - Vince Slatton Head Coach Cross Country - Tom Chandler Head Coach Track - Jim Pellowski Assistant Track Coaches - Anthony Williams, Tom Chandler Head Coach Golf - Matthew Walz

Head Coach Tennis - Marc Wondergem Any parent with questions about the boys’ sports program is asked to contact the school. Ask for Coach Pellowski, Coach Wondergem or Coach Chandler. Football

Space Center Intermediate has two foot-ball teams at both the 7th and 8th grade levels. Each grade level has an A and B team. The players are divided between the teams according to their ability. The

more skilled players are placed on the A team. No athlete is cut from the football team, but may be removed for disciplinary reasons. If an athlete attends practice and meets the grade requirements, he is on the football team. The A team is a more competitive team with its ultimate goal being the district championship. The purpose of the B team is to let all the players gain playing experience so that each will improve. Each team has two coaches. Practice begins during the last period of school and usually lasts until 5:30 PM. Football practice begins on the first day of school.

BOYS’ and GIRLS’ ATHLETICS Basketball: Boys and Girls Tryouts for the basketball teams are held in early November. There are approximately 20 athletes selected in each of the grades. Each grade is divided into an A and B team. For boys, practice begins during the athletic period and continues until 5:30 PM. For girls, practice begins at 7:30 AM and continues during the athletic period. Track: Boys and Girls Track tryouts are in December. The training season begins in mid-February. Track meets begin in March and end with a district meet the first week of May. Meets for girls are usually on Mondays and include sprints, field events (triple jump, high jump and long jump), throwing events (shot put and discus) and distance runs. Generally the team is allowed 4 students to enter in each event, except the District Meet where the limit is 3. Ribbons are awarded on an individual basis for first through sixth place. Team trophies are also

(Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Continued on page 23)


Cross Country: Boys and Girls Cross country is open to any athlete in the 7th or 8th grade. Training begins the first weeks of November. Meets, one per week for about 5 weeks, begin in January ending with a district meet in February. Most meets are on Tuesdays and begin at 4:45 PM.

Practice is held in the morning for the girls and in the afternoon for the boys. Generally, several miles are run each day at different levels of skill. Tennis: Boys and Girls The tennis season begins during the second semester of the school year in the month of Febru-ary. Even though any 7th or 8th grader can try out for tennis; it helps if you have played tennis before. Tryouts are held and athletes are given a skills test consisting of ground strokes, volleys and serves. Only eight to ten athletes are selected for the two teams at the 7th and 8th grade levels.

The district season consists of one match or tournament per week. The boys play on one day followed by the girls the next day. Practice is held in the morning for the girls and in the

afternoon for the boys. Golf: Boys and Girls The golf season starts with try-outs in February. The team can be comprised of both 7th and 8th graders. The team consists of 10 players.

GIRLS’ ATHLETICS Space Center Intermediate offers volleyball, basketball, cross country, golf, track and tennis for girls at the 7th and 8th grade levels. The athletic coaches at SCIS would ideally like for all girls to try to participate in one or more of the offered sports. At this stage in their lives, girls need opportunities to try different sports and find out what their interests and talents are. The coaching staff feels that athletics builds self-esteem and self-confidence. These are two very important aspects that help prepare them for high school. The Space Center Intermediate coaches and staff:

Girls Physical Education Jennifer Ford Scott Harjo Jennifer Stevenson Athletic Coordinator - Jennifer Ford 8th Grade (A Team) Volleyball - Jennifer Stevenson 8th Grade (B Team) Volleyball - Shannon Miller 7th Grade (A Team) Volleyball - Jennifer Ford 7th Grade (B Team) Volleyball - Pam Grimes 8th Grade (A Team) Basketball - Jennifer Ford 8th Grade (B Team) Basketball - Scott Harjo 7th Grade (A Team) Basketball - Shannon Miller 7th Grade (B Team) Basketball - Jennifer Walter Head Coach Cross Country - Amy Zapp Head Coach Track - Scott Harjo Assistant Track Coaches - Jennifer Walter, Amy Zapp Head Coach Golf - Jennifer Ford Head Coach Tennis - Jennifer Stevenson Volleyball Beginning Date: First Day of School Tryouts: First Week of School Practice: 7:30-9:30 AM; All teams Games: Thursdays - B Team at 5 PM A Team immediately following the B Team Tournaments: Two 7th & 8th Grade A & B Tournaments Basketball Tryouts: Mid-November Beginning Date: Second week in November Practice: 7:30-9:30 AM; All teams Games: Thursdays - B Team at 5PM A Team immediately following the B Team Tournaments: Two 7th & 8th Grade A & B Tournaments

(Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Continued)

(Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Continued on page 24)


Cross Country Tryouts: First week in November Beginning Date: January Practice: 8:15-9:30 AM Meets: Tuesdays 4:45 PM Track and Field Tryouts: December Beginning Date: February 22 Practice: 8:00-9:30 AM; All teams Meets: Boys - Mondays; Girls - Wednesdays 5:00 PM Tennis Tryouts: December/January Beginning Date: February 22 Practice: 7:30-9:30 AM Matches: Tuesdays (mostly)

ATHLETIC REQUIREMENTS The student athletic program is for boys and girls in the 7th & 8th grades. Any student participating in UIL athletics: * Will need to have a physical examination before

tryouts begin. * Must have an insurance waiver form and an

emergency information card completed and turned in. These forms are available from the coaches.

* Must have an Acknowledgement of Rules form signed by both the student and parent/guardian. This form will be kept on file at the school.

* Must maintain passing grades in all classes to remain eligible for competition.

Team members are required to attend all practices, games and tournaments.

(Girls’ Athletics Continued)

My First Week of Sixth Grade

By: Kathryn Tanzberger Everybody said it was going to be the worst week of my years in school. They all spoke like it was a horror movie and had a terrible look on their faces when they said it. Those rumors made me feel scared. I wanted to crawl up into a ball and go back to fifth grade. All that changed when the first week was over. When I walked into the huge building, I felt sick with nervousness. Probably every one of the new sixth graders felt the same way. After my first classes, the nervousness started to ease up and I felt like myself. I felt so childish, thinking that it was going to be so hard just because of all those people making those comments, even though there really wasn’t anything to be nervous about. My first week of school was great. It felt so good to have the freedom that you never had in elementary school - not having to walk in a straight line, being able to sit wherever you want at lunch, and also being treated like an adult. The teachers were so nice. As soon as I walked into the classrooms, they were smiling and I could tell it was going to be a great year. That week I had learned my lesson. I had learned to never believe rumors and to experience things for myself. Sixth grade really isn’t as bad as everybody says it is. Yes, it is harder than elementary school, and yes, it is challenging to keep up with all the homework. But as long as you do your best, it will pay off.


Clear Lake High School’s Fabulous Falcon

Flairs

Proudly Present Their Annual

Dance Dance ClinicClinic Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Clear Lake High School Ninth Grade Center 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Students aged 4 years through 9th Grade are invited to attend. No dance experience is required and all levels are welcome. The cost is $30 for pre-registration by October 2nd. The price includes dance instruction, t-shirt, ribbon and a mid-morning snack. Registration at the door is $35. Registration forms are available at the front office. For more information contact, Kathy Akins at 281-486-5729.

Gymnasiums Post-IKE SCIS sustained major roof damage and as a result, our gyms were out-of-commission for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year! We’re happy to report that the coaches and students are back in our gyms. The floors were completed just before the start of 2009-2010 school year. We had some last minute items to deal with during the first month of school, such as putting the baseboards back down, changing out all the mats, cleaning the tar and dust off the walls, and repainting. We appreciate everyone's support and patience during the recovery period.

Would you like to have each new issue of the Sync Up With Space Cen-ter newsletter emailed to you when they are hot off the presses??? Just join the SCIS PTA and you will be added to a mass email list that will receive the newsletter via email. We hope this will lead to a more timely distribution of news as well as being green!

Sync Up With Space Center

is published monthly by SCIS PTA.

2009—2010 Editor: Tu-Quynh (T.Q.) Bui

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid

Permit #295 Webster, TX

Be sure to visit our SCI PTA website Be sure to visit our SCI PTA website Be sure to visit our SCI PTA website for updates and information for updates and information for updates and information throughout the school year!throughout the school year!throughout the school year!

www.SCIPTA.org

Clear Creek Community Council of PTAS Space Center Intermediate School PTA 17400 Saturn Lane, Houston, TX 77058

Future Newsletter Deadlines:

October Events 1st PTA Exec Board meeting 2-3 7th/8th Grade Band “Fall Mini-Camp” 12th CCISD Marching Band Exhibition @ District Stad. 13th Life touch School Picture Retakes 17th Region Band Auditions @ Victory Lakes IS 19-23 First Nine Weeks Tests (All Subjects) 28-30 Red Ribbon Week 20th Orchestra Fall Concert 22nd 7th/8th Grade Bands Fall Concert; Band Booster

Meeting 23rd End of 1st Nine Weeks; Early Release 24th Region Orchestra Auditions @ Lake Jackson IS

26-27 Student Holidays 28th Start of 2nd Nine Weeks 30th Fall Social “Take Me Out to The Ball Game!” November Events 5th PTA Exec Board Meeting 5th PTA General meeting 7th Region band Clinic and Concert @ WIS 14th Beginner Band Fun Day 16th Basketball Tryouts Begin 20th Early Release Day 23-27 Thanksgiving Holidays

Some Important Dates for the 2009-2010 School Year

If you would like to submit an article for a future newsletter, please email the article to T.Q. Bui at [email protected]. Here are the tentative deadlines:

10/25 for November Issue 11/29 for December Issue

1/3 for January Issue 1/31 for February Issue

2/28 for March Issue 3/28 for April Issue

4/25 for May/June Issue

October: 2 – Colleen MacKenna 11 – Kelly Dimmick 12 – Allison Brand 13 – Susan Hadley 16 – Crystal Delaney, Lea Hilburn 28 – Gary Harjo, Giles Lamont 31 – Lydia Ramirez

November: 2 – Elizabeth Laurence 5 – Sybil Oliver 8 – Reyes Hernandez 11 – Anthony Williams 17 – Ralph Hixson 22 – LeeAnn Yanda 29 – Jennifer Walter

December: 1 – Donna Johnson 9 – Tom Chandler 12 – Lisa Black, Vince Slatton,

Katie Vitek 13 – Kent Sullivan 14 – Jerri Stepp 20 – Pat McDowell 25 – Amy Zapp 27 – Lisette McClung 28 – Regina Stephens

Best Wishes for a Happy Birthday go to…