From the Principal . . . Dear Morriss Family, Welcome to another outstanding school year here at Morriss Elementary! Please allow me to introduce myself to those of you I’ve not met yet. I am a native of Texarkana, growing up in TISD and graduating from Texas High School. I then moved to College Station to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Texas A & M University. After graduating in May 2000, I moved back home and began my teaching career. I taught first, second, fourth and fifth grade for TISD and Red Lick ISD for a total of seven years. While teaching, I completed my master’s degree in Education Administration. In 2009, I was asked to serve as Curriculum Coach and Administrative Intern at Nash Elementary, followed by one year as Assistant Principal and three years as Principal. I am now in my sixth year as Principal of Morriss Elementary and loving every minute of being here! My husband, Dan, and I have four children ranging in ages from 9 to 20 years. Our daughter, Natalie, is a student here at Morriss, our older two daughters, Lizzie and Margaret, are students at THS, and our son, John, is a junior at Texas A & M in College Station . . . Whoop! We are all Tigers at heart! I feel my experience as a mother, along with my varied professional career, has given me the tools to help lead Morriss’ outstanding staff members and students to continued success. In thinking about continued success at Morriss, I am so excited that we are in the fifth year of implementing The Leader in Me! We are one of about 2000 schools worldwide proud to be known as a Leader in Me campus teaching all students Dr. Steven Covey’s 7 Habits for Highly Effective People. The 7 Habits is a synthesis of universal, timeless principles of personal and interpersonal effectiveness such as responsibility, vision, integrity, teamwork, collaboration and renewal. Research clearly shows teaching these habits to young children gives students an increase in self-confidence, teamwork, initiative, creativity, leadership, problem solving, communication, diversity awareness and self-directed learning. Our teachers have been diligently teaching the habits through all core subjects including engineering. It is our goal to make leadership training part of everything we do! We firmly believe our children will be capable of most anything they desire to do with their lives if given the award-winning academics Morriss has long been known for integrated with these leadership skills the world so desperately needs. As we move through the year, I look forward to sharing more about new things happening here at Morriss! Please know that my door is always open to you if you have questions or concerns. I promise to always have a listening ear and be willing to help in any way possible. I love this school and look forward to serving our community for many years to come. Sincerely, Brandy Debenport Principal Texarkana Independent School District The Place To Be! MORRISS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OCTOBER 2019
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From the Principal . . .Dear Morriss Family,Welcome to another outstanding school year here at Morriss Elementary! Please allow me to introduce myself to those of you I’ve not met yet. I am a native of Texarkana, growing up in TISD and graduating from Texas High School. I then moved to College Station to pursue my bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Texas A & M University. After graduating in May 2000, I moved back home and began my teaching career. I taught first, second, fourth and fifth grade for TISD and Red Lick ISD for a total of seven years. While teaching, I completed my master’s degree in Education Administration. In 2009, I was asked to serve as Curriculum Coach and Administrative Intern at Nash Elementary, followed by one year as Assistant Principal and three years as Principal. I am now in my sixth year as Principal of Morriss Elementary and loving every minute of being here! My husband, Dan, and I have four children ranging in ages from 9 to 20 years. Our daughter, Natalie, is a student here at Morriss, our older two daughters, Lizzie and Margaret, are students at THS, and our son, John, is a junior at Texas A & M in College Station . . . Whoop! We are all Tigers at heart! I feel my experience as a mother, along with my varied professional career, has given me the tools to help lead Morriss’ outstanding staff members and students to continued success. In thinking about continued success at Morriss, I am so excited that we are in the fifth year of implementing The Leader in Me! We are one of about 2000 schools worldwide proud to be known as a Leader in Me campus teaching all students Dr. Steven Covey’s 7 Habits for Highly Effective People. The 7 Habits is a synthesis of universal, timeless principles of personal and interpersonal effectiveness such as responsibility, vision, integrity, teamwork, collaboration and renewal. Research clearly shows teaching these habits to young children gives students an increase in self-confidence, teamwork, initiative, creativity, leadership, problem solving, communication, diversity awareness and self-directed learning. Our teachers have been diligently teaching the habits through all core subjects including engineering. It is our goal to make leadership training part of everything we do! We firmly believe our children will be capable of most anything they desire to do with their lives if given the award-winning academics Morriss has long been known for integrated with these leadership skills the world so desperately needs. As we move through the year, I look forward to sharing more about new things happening here at Morriss! Please know that my door is always open to you if you have questions or concerns. I promise to always have a listening ear and be willing to help in any way possible. I love this school and look forward to serving our community for many years to come. Sincerely, Brandy Debenport Principal
TexarkanaIndependent School District
The Place To Be!MORRISS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLO C T O B E R 2019
Don’t forget to submit your Family Learning Projects this month!
Volunteers in Public Schools UpdateGreetings, Morriss Parents!I hope you are enjoying your fall and getting back into the school routine. The transition from the relaxing summer days to the hectic fall schedule is always a challenge, but your kiddos are adapting beautifully.Our Tiger Tracks fundraiser will take place on Friday, October 18th. Please see the schedule below to see what time your child will be participating. Leading up to Tiger Tracks day, we will have an exciting week of dress up days that focus on fun, fitness, and funding. There will also be representatives from Classic Chrysler helping facilitate Chrysler Cars for Classrooms during the fundraiser. Don’t forget to take a ride or a test drive in a brand new Chrysler Pacifica. They give Morriss Elementary $10 per ride or test drive, and who doesn’t love driving or riding in a new car?Our VIPS committee and children have worked extremely hard to raise money for our wonderful campus. We would not be able to provide all of our amazing learning tools without this incredible fundraiser, and we greatly appreciate your support! We are excited for another amazing year at Morriss Elementary! Go Tigers! Sincerely, Margaret Gold VIPS Campus Contact
Don’t forget…Join VIPS by scanning the QR code or by visiting http://bit.ly/2VdMwTr In order to volunteer, you must fill out the VIPS form.
Kindergarten NewsKindergarten at Morriss is off to a fantastic start! We have worked hard to learn the 7 Habits and are excited to set and track our goals. We look forward to learning lots and making great memories this year.
Here are a few things we LOVE about Kindergarten:
Claire: eating in the cafeteriaKacon: playing at recess
Ky: readingLeyton: doing the monkey bars at
recessNyla: my friends
Kynli: learning new thingsAtticus: the challenge
of kindergartenCohen: going to art
Korbyn: running at recess singing Old Town Road
Knighton: PEAnnabelle: helping friends
with computersRamsey: playing at recessElla: learning new things
First Grade NewsSo far, in First Grade, we have built LEGO robots and coded them using our iPads! We are currently learning about mechanical engineering and how engineers create machines to do useful work.
We have learned about sequencing big details in a story, making connections to text when reading, and determining the author’s purpose.
In math, we have used blocks to learn place value skills up to 1,200 and play money to count amounts up to $1.00. Science has been full of learning about what scientists do like making predictions, observations, and sorting and classifying objects based on the observations we make.
In social studies, we have learned the difference between rules and laws and who our authority figures are. We are currently learning about how we can be good citizens in our class, school, and community. We have had so much fun getting to know each other, and we look forward to the rest of the year!
www.txkisd.net
TO TISD!
Instagram.com/texarkanaisd
facebook.com/TexarkanaISD
twitter.com/TexarkanaISD
All “A” Honor Roll1st Six Weeks
FIRST GRADELevi Austin, Rylie Bixler, Brady Boykin, Weston Brewer, Charlie Busby, Juliet Campisi, Alfred Chen, Addison Cooper, Naishik Das, Cash Durham, Tatum Frost, Carter Fugitt, Lynnley Galloway, Bear Glass, William Glass, Maddox Gomez, Micah Hammonds, Jamee Harris, Tristan Hart, Nathaniel Haydel, Charlie Jack Horton, Elizabeth Kyles, Lily Lagrone, Blakely Lumpkins, Rylan Marvel, Nora McCarley, Lillyan McDonald, Brooklyn Mobbs, Gunner Ortiz, Jaiden Patel, Kenneth Powell, Collyns Preuss, Ava Roberts, Kora Spangler, Harrison Stanford, Brooklyn Steele, Isaac Steele, Tripp Thompson, Ranger Wages, Rookie Wages, Jeremiah West, Logan Wicks, Zoey Williams, Cooper Wood, Myles Woods
SECOND GRADERylan Adcock, Caroline Andrus, Hudson Asimos, Peyton Bergt, Delilah Berry, Khylon Bledsoe, Elliott Bruce, Camille Cumbie, Anthony Cummings, Lily Davis, Indiana DuBois, Levi Duke, Evana Fomuso, Lane Foster, Charlotte Francis, Jace Griffin, Brynli Harper, Keleigh Harrison, Sunni Hopkins, Georgia Mae Horton, Ella Hughes, Jacob Killian, Sheena Lee, JoDee Loudermill, Claire McCasland, Annistyn McFarland, Aubrie McGhee, Sam McGinnis, Logan Morris, Landon Morriss, Roman Phillips, Charlie Pitman, Eli Potter, Ella Raney, Cooper Reardon, Audrey Robinson, Lilly Ann Rollans, Mollie Schirmer, Easton Schwindt, Bindu Shivananda, Rhett Simpson, Cael Stephens, Nathaniel Stokes, Ledger Swann, Sophie Tubb, Mia Wilhite, Ari Williams, James Williams, Luke Williamson, Seth Wilson, Samuel Woods
THIRD GRADESaughat Adhikari, Mia Aldridge, Tripp Baugh, Walker Boyette, Jessie Briscoe, Kamryn Bruce, Ava Burnett, Michael Cherry, Aliyah Davis, Jonathan Francis, William Hackleman, Alek Jones, Ally Jones, Sara Keller, Baxley King, Reece Mayo, Worth McFarland, Gabriel Mills-Hardy, Anna Nguyen, Jeremiah Pitts, Jacoby Propps, Macie Tolleson, Kyser Wall, Ellen Wright
FOURTH GRADEGraham Andrus, Braden Butler, Thornton Crane, Alexandria Cummings, Lola Currie, Nidhita Das, Natalie Debenport, Wyatt Duke, James Glass, Vivien Glass, Cruz Hopkins, Jacob Jaquess, Kristopher Lapointe, Rylan McCarley, Nirav Neupane, Sarah Olvera, Samuel Pittman, Joshua Powell, Hudson Roberts, Ender Robinson, Madalynn Spigner, Payton Stanford, Sage Stussy, Rylie Watson, Emma Weems, Brayden Westbrook, Sarah Williamson
FIFTH GRADEAli Ahsan, Wyatt Boyette, Izzy Brown, Zamira Casey, Sophia Chavez, Zephaniah Craig, Annabelle Davis, Blane Deese, Ian Delk, Theophilus Francis, Courtlyn Gaines, Jeffrey Greene, Victoria Harmon, Spencer Frances Hays, Sydney King, Landry Lawing, Michael Manning, Lily-Ann McDuffie, Ava McFarland, Silas Potter, Jeremiah Saulsbury, Alexander Schneekloth, Payton Shuman, Brooks Stanley, Palyn Swann, Mackenzie Wiley, Bralynn Williamson, Dylan Winarta, Nicholas Winarta
Morriss Elementary thanks all of our2018-19 Partners In Education Business Partners
for their continued support of our students and staff.PLATINUM LEVEL: Businesses, organizations or individuals that support campus and district goals with significant resources
that impact student and/or teacher learning and achievement district wide. 5 Star Nutrition
AMICAES of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.Boy Scouts of America
Capital One BankChick-Fil-A Richmond Road
DOMTARDunbar High School Class of 1968
Express Personnel ServicesFASTSIGNS
First Baptist Church – Club 29:11First Baptist Church – Wake Village
Gamma Kappa Zeta Chapter ofZeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Early Education CenterVIPS-Waggoner Creek Elementary School
VIPS-Wake Village Elementary SchoolVIPS-Westlawn Elementary School
Wells Fargo BankWestside Church of Christ
Williams Memorial United Methodist Church
GOLD LEVEL: Businesses, organizations or individuals that support campus and/or district goals through student and teacher incentives,New Teacher Orientation, Lunch with TISD’s Finest, in-kind donations and discounts to staff.
A Touch of HealthAT&T Wireless
Air Graphics of TexarkanaAlbertsons
Alexander’s JewelersAlison’s Party Supply
All Rhythm Dance StudiosAmerican Signs & Banners
Amigo Juan CaféAnytime Fitness Richmond Road
Anytime TrainerApplebee’s Neighborhood Grill
Ark-Tex Councils of GovernmentAuntie Anne’s Pretzel
BJaxxBest Western – Crossroads Park
Buffalo Wild WingsBurger King
BWI Companies IncCandlewood Suites – Cowhorn Creek Loop
Carmichael’s JewelryCASANA
Cash SaverChicken Express (3 locations)
Children’s Beginnings, Inc.Chipotle
Christopher & BanksChristus St. Michael Fitness Center
CiCi’s PizzaClassic Car Wash & Express Oil Change Center
Colonial Cleaners (6 Locations)Comfort Suites Hotel
