Grand Lakes February 2018

School
News
KATY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
WWW.KATYISD.ORG
IMPORTANT DATES
February 16 th -
Early Dismissal for Campus Professional Learning
February 19 th -
District Professional Learning Day - Student Holiday
KATY ISD FRANZ ELEMENTARY
CELEBRATES NEW SPARK PARK
Waving “Thank You” signs and singing along to a melodious gratitude
song, the Franz Elementary (FES) Choir officially dedicated
their new SPARK Park, which is now available for public use during
non-school hours and on weekends.
This park is a collaborative effort between Katy ISD, FES parents,
students, staff, the PTA, as well as local entities, who together
contributed to the SPARK grant, which was just under $130,000.
Fundraising efforts included a $5,000 donation from the PTA and a
week-long of SPARK fundraising activities at the school, that included
taping the principal to a wall, crazy hair day and water games that
included popsicles, of which $2,150 was collected. Other funding
included $1,000 from the West Harris County MUD #7, $1,000 from
Raintree Village Homeowner’s Association and the design work was
paid for by Katy ISD. SPARK contributed $116,000 from The Kinder
Foundation and Houston Endowment park desert initiative.
The park includes a concrete trail, sensory play panels, musical instruments
and four bollards covered with tiles painted by students
and staff. When visitors walk through the park, they will notice a
variety of trees, which include Monterrey oaks, Mexican plums and
anacua trees. In total, 34 trees were donated by Trees for Houston.
Principal Sylvan shared, “It has been said that ‘A true community is
not just about being geographically close to someone or a part of
the same social network.’ It’s about feeling connected and responsible
for what happens. Humanity is our ultimate community and
everyone plays a crucial role.”
“We hope during the break, you will come and enjoy this park,”
added Ashley Vann, Katy ISD Board of Trustees President.
SPARK, an organization created in 1983 to increase park and recreational
spaces in the Greater Houston area, has helped to turn
underutilized school playgrounds into neighborhood parks at more
than 200 locations. This is the third SPARK Park at a Katy ISD school.
CINCO RANCH HIGH
FOUR KATY-AREA ROBOTICS TEAMS ADVANCE TO FIRST LEGO
LEAGUE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The Cinco Ranch Junior High gym echoed with the sound of cheering
as the CRyptonite robotics team from Cinco Ranch High School (CRHS)
hosted their seventh annual FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition
of Science and Technology) LEGO® League Katy Qualifier robotics
tournament. Of the 24 teams competing, four from the Katy-area and
two others earned a coveted “Golden Ticket” to advance to the FIRST
LEGO League Texas South Region Championship Tournament, which
was held January 27, 2018 at the British International School in Katy
(www.fllhouston.com/previewchamp).
FIRST LEGO League is an annual international robotics competition
for students from 4 th to 8 th grade in teams of two to ten members. The
teams create and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS technology
to solve as many pre-determined missions as possible in a 2 ½ minute
time period. They also research a real-world problem and create and
present a solution to judges, all while demonstrating core values, such
as having fun, gracious professionalism® and coopertition®. CRyptonite
is a FIRST Robotics Competition team from Cinco Ranch High School
that builds more advanced robots to compete in international competitions
for high school-age students. The team is dedicated to developing
engineering, problem-solving and teamwork skills. In addition to
organizing and running the Katy Qualifier, CRyptonite members who
were previously on FIRST Lego League teams helped coach three of the
Katy-area teams that are advancing.
According to Bella Riffle, CRHS senior and fourth year CRyptonite team
member, who was Student Coordinator for the tournament, “CRyptonite
is dedicated to developing the next generation of scientists
and engineers and this tournament helps support that goal.” To this
end, a Rookie Coach Award was given to Alex Dial for his work with the
Computerized Coyotes team from Beck Jr. High. Dial, a second-year
member of CRyptonite, was a on a FIRST LEGO League team at Beck.
Added Kyna McGill, first year CRyptonite member and announcer for
the qualifier, who also mentored an advancing team, “FIRST taught me
many valuable lessons about teamwork, project management and more
and motivated me to continue in robotics. Several team members are
using this knowledge to help develop and give back to younger teams.”
24 February 2018 | Community Newsletter