Principally Speaking

March 7, 2025

“Oh Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready To Play” - John Fogerty, “Centerfield”

We’ve had another incredible week at SSE! Our students continue to show what it means to be Safe, Responsible, and Respectful, and we’re excited to share that we’ve reached 200 MORE Boards as a campus! This is a testament to the kindness, leadership, and positive choices our students make every day – way to go, Tigers!

We also want to give a huge congratulations to Mrs. Bernhard, Pre-K teacher, for being named our SSE Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Bernhard’s dedication, creativity, and passion for her students inspire us all, and we couldn’t be more proud to celebrate her.

Looking ahead, Field Day is coming up next week! Our students are ready to show their Tiger spirit, teamwork, and love for being active. Thank you to Coach Diez, our staff, SSE PTA and our volunteers for helping make this special day possible.

At SSE, we believe that each teacher offers a unique set of strengths to their students. As students experience a variety of teaching styles and classroom dynamics during their educational career, it helps develop them into well-rounded adults who are comfortable working with others. Sometimes, this process can be challenging for students. However, we believe that these efforts are valuable. Though it is never easy to watch your child struggle, it allows you to parent (as in the verb) while providing an opportunity to develop confidence, perseverance, and resilience. At the same time, there are occasionally circumstances that you, as the parent, believe should be considered before we place your child into a class for the upcoming school year. If this applies to you, feel free to complete this input form. To allocate our full attention and time to plan the best placement of every student at Sycamore, we have designated March 31st as the deadline for this information. This allows for an appropriate amount of planning time with all the busy activities occurring as the year begins to wind down. Your comments will be viewed by myself, your child’s current teacher, and the school counselors as we finalize class lists. All comments will be read and considered, however specific teacher requests will NOT be granted.

Have a great weekend!

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary

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February 21, 2025

”Cause today’s gonna be my day, I just wanna climb” - Fitz and the Tantrums, “I Just Want to Shine”

Sycamore Springs families, mark your calendars! Our stage is set, the spotlight is ready, and our talented students prepare to SHINE!  Join us for an unforgettable evening at the **2025 Sycamore Talent Show – The MORE You Shine! **where our students will showcase their incredible gifts. From dazzling dance routines to heartfelt songs, from musical masterpieces to jaw-dropping specialty acts—you’ll be amazed at what our Sycamore Stars can do!

Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time:  6:00 PM
Place: SSES Cafeteria (back entrance)

Come cheer on our performers as they take center stage with creativity, confidence, and passion. This is one of our favorite events of the year, and we can’t wait to celebrate the amazing talents of our students together!  Thank you to our SSE PTA for hosting this special evening.

Speaking of the SSE PTA, we also want to give a huge THANK YOU to our families for your support of the PTA fundraiser.  Your generosity helps make events like this possible, and we appreciate you! If you haven’t had a chance to donate yet, there’s still one more week to do so. Every bit helps enrich the experiences we provide for our students!

A huge round of applause to our first graders for their incredible performance on Thursday night! The energy, enthusiasm, and talent they brought to the stage were truly special. We had a packed house, and it was wonderful to see so many families cheering them on!  A special thank you to Mr. Martinez for his fantastic direction, our amazing first-grade team for their collaboration, and everyone behind the scenes who made the show possible. From set-up to sound to behind-the-scenes coordination, it truly takes a village, and we are so grateful!

The weather always keeps us on our toes, and this week’s surprise snowy morning was no exception! A huge thank you to our incredible staff that braved the cold, rain, and wind to keep arrival and dismissal running smoothly. From directing traffic with frozen fingertips to greeting students with warm smiles, their dedication does not go unnoticed.  And to our amazing parents—thank you for planning ahead, bundling up those little ones, and ensuring everyone made it to school safely and on time. We know these chilly mornings take extra effort, and we appreciate you!

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary

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February 14, 2025

“Someday somebody’s gonna ask you,...”  – The Old 97’s, “Question”

We kicked off this week with an extra special assembly featuring some surprise guests who got everyone moving!  Our amazing students were led by our Assembly Leaders in the Cupid Shuffle, bringing lots of energy, laughter, and school spirit to start the day. It was the perfect way to set the tone of community, generosity, and fun!

Representatives from the Sycamore Springs PTA launched their second annual Love Our SycaMORE campaign today! This fundraiser supports our students, staff, and school throughout the year. Your generosity directly enables the PTA to continue funding the incredible programs, events, and initiatives that enrich our campus and that our students have come to love.

Every donation—big or small—makes a difference! Our goal is to have as many families participate as possible because when we all come together, we can do so much MORE for our school. Your support ensures that the PTA can continue providing resources, experiences, and opportunities that make Sycamore Springs a special place.

Check out this video highlighting the many ways the PTA supports our campus and how your contribution helps!

Please click here to donate, and feel free to send this to family and friends who may want to support our incredible school community. 

We truly appreciate all that you do!  Have a great weekend!

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary

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February 7, 2025

“Doin’ what’s right, and settin’ the style…” - Chicago Shufflin’ Crew, “The Super Bowl Shuffle”

It’s been a big week—leading into a big weekend and a big game! While I’m hoping for a 0-0 tie, as a Cowboys fan, my house is cheering for anyone but the Eagles!

Our students and staff have been hard at work. On Wednesday, teachers met in vertical teams to see how learning builds across grade levels. Students have been just as busy, showcasing their hard work today through presentations, drama performances, and reading celebrations. This week, we also celebrated Counselor and LSSP Appreciation Week, recognizing Mrs. Smart, Mrs. Carrell, and Mrs. Contreras for everything they do to support our students—thank you!

This morning’s assembly was one for the books! SSE Staff took on fun challenges while our students cheered them on. We also focused on Habit 6: Synergize, highlighting the power of teamwork. Last week, our school came together for an aerial photo, and today, we unveiled the final shot—an incredible reminder that big things happen when we work together. Huge thanks to Mrs. Carrell for coordinating, our staff and students for making it happen, and Lydia Teague of Lydia Teague Photography for capturing this special moment!

Rezoning & Grandfathering Reminder:
Details and the actual  Transfer Application  were both featured in yesterday’s Thursday folder—please check it out if this applies to your family.  The grandfathering transfer application deadline is Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Here are the key points:

Incoming 5th graders can apply to stay at their current school.
Incoming 4th graders can request to stay, but spots are limited and based on a lottery.
Younger siblings may stay only while the older sibling is enrolled.
No district transportation is provided for grandfathered students.

Finally, huge thanks to our parent volunteers who helped with Spring Pictures! You made the day run smoothly, and the kids looked fantastic—fresh cuts, cool outfits, and more than a few fancy boots!

Have a great weekend!

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary


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January 24, 2025

“I hear bees a hummin’...” – Waylon Jennings, “Love’s Gonna Live Here”

It’s a short week, and we are already gearing up for another weekend of activities. I’ll be heading to College Station for a soccer tournament, and from talking with students, it sounds like some of you may be in the same boat.

This week, we held our annual SSE Spelling Bee, and I couldn’t be prouder of our students for their hard work and determination. Preparing for and participating in this event takes courage and effort, and we’re thrilled with the large turnout of 75 student participants! A heartfelt thanks to the volunteers who helped make this event a success.  Please join me in congratulating our grade-level winners:

  • 1st Grade: Ben Longmore (1st), Barrett Barker (2nd), Chandler Herr (3rd)

  • 2nd Grade: Hugh LaBruyere (1st), Nathan Napoli (2nd), Devin Shreier (3rd)

  • 3rd Grade: Savir Talapanuri (1st), Anika Pendse (2nd), Abhi Amerneny (3rd)

  • 4th Grade: Kate Naylor (1st), Emma Barker (2nd), Drew Smith (3rd)

  • 5th Grade: Aspen Hammer (1st), Matthew Smith (2nd), Emily Rao (3rd)

An extra round of applause for our overall campus winners, who are now eligible to compete in the regional competition:

  • 1st Place: Anika Pendse (3rd grade)

  • 2nd Place: Aspen Hammer (5th grade)

  • 3rd Place: Emily Rao (5th grade)

Congratulations to all our participants for representing SSE so well—we’re so proud of you!

Upcoming Events

  • January 28th: Lockdown Drill (Please refer to last week’s newsletter for details)

  • January 30th: 100th Day of School (Thanks to Tuesday’s stay-home day, we’re 100 days smarter—one day later!)

  • January 27–31: DSISD Better Together Week

  • January 30th: EPIC Student Assemblies

  • January 31st: School-Wide Drone Photo (We’ll spell out “TIGERS” with our students to show that everyone matters at SSE!)

  • February 5–6: Spring Pictures

  • February 5–6: SSE Talent Show Tryouts

  • February 27th: SSE Talent Show hosted by SSE PTA

Have a great weekend.

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary

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January 17, 2025

“I hear the drums echoing tonight..." – "Africa", Toto 

Our first full week of the year has wrapped up, and what a week it has been! From exciting events to outstanding student achievements, there’s much to celebrate at SSE.

Celebrating a Week of Highlights: This week was packed with activities that brought our campus together. Highlights included:

  • Author Visit: Inspiring creativity and a love for reading in our students.

  • Weekly Assembly: A return to this cherished tradition, fostering community and connection.

  • Refreshed Science Lab: A revitalized space for hands-on exploration and learning.

  • PTA-Sponsored Coffee Cart: Thank you to our PTA for treating our hard-working staff!

  • Resonate Campus-Wide Performance: This percussion-based arts event, part of PTA’s Arts in Education efforts, was a thrilling way to end the week. We hope your children share their excitement (and perhaps some percussion recreations!) with you at home.

Attendance Update: We’re off to a strong start with attendance, achieving a year-to-date average daily attendance (ADA) of 96.22%. Keep up the momentum—every day counts in building your child’s academic success!

Leading for MORE: A Sonic-Level Achievement As part of our focus on safety, responsibility, and respect, students have been working diligently to complete MORE Boards. These collaborative efforts contribute to our Sonic the Hedgehog scoreboard outside the cafeteria. We are thrilled to announce that we’ve hit our first campus-wide goal: over 150 MORE Boards completed! To celebrate, students received a limited-edition SSE vinyl sticker exclusive to our campus. Our next goal is 200 boards and we are excited to see what our students achieve next. This initiative aligns with our Leading for MORE program, which boosts campus pride and encourages positive behavior. Great job, Tigers!

Upcoming Lockdown Drill: Thursday, January 28, we will conduct a lockdown drill with the Hays County Sheriff’s Office and local emergency responders. As you know, this annual drill helps familiarize emergency responders with our campus and helps train staff and students on the appropriate response in an active threat situation. The exercise is part of DSISD's training Standard Response Protocol, a consistent emergency procedure used in schools statewide. I share this with you for a couple of reasons. First, I want everyone to be aware and to avoid any shock, surprise, or concern when our parking lot has emergency vehicles present. Secondly, I want to provide ample time for the scheduling/rescheduling appointments or student check-out processes. As this is a lockdown drill, visitors will not be allowed on campus, and students cannot be checked out or leave campus while the lockdown is in process. Again, the SSES/SSMS drill is scheduled for January 28, 2025, at 9:30 A.M. Typically, we can expect our drill to last less than an hour, and then we’ll return to business as usual! Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

Important Details:

  • Visitors will not be allowed on campus during the drill.

  • Students cannot be checked in/out or enter/leave campus while the drill is in process.

  • The drill typically lasts less than an hour, after which we will resume our regular schedule.

Looking Ahead – Winter Weather Preparedness: As we head into next week, there is potential for wintry weather. DSISD will monitor conditions closely and communicate any schedule changes. Regardless of the forecast, we will be met by the cold when we return to school after the three-day weekend. Please plan for slower mornings and ensure your child dresses accordingly. Remember, students who are not in class by 7:45 A.M. will be marked tardy.

Have a great long weekend, and stay warm!

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary

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January 10, 2025

“A New Year’s Day is dawnin’, and I can start again”, - The Old 97’s, “Magic” 

Welcome back, and happy 2025!  “Starting again” is exactly how this week felt at school: a fresh start filled with renewed energy and excitement so we can start again.

I hope everyone had a great winter break, and January is off to a great start.  My family and I did a whole lot of nothing but did everything we wanted at the same time.  It was the perfect time together.  I enjoyed seeing so many SSE families in and around Drip in the real world outside campus.  While it was tough to come back, the routines and purpose are welcomed.  We’re happy to have our students back and give you your normal again.  Monday and Tuesday our teachers spent time preparing for learners, and on Wednesday, our students returned with enthusiasm, ready to reconnect with friends and dive back into learning. It’s been a fantastic beginning to the second half of the school year! 

As we ease into January, a few quick reminders will help keep things running smoothly:

  • Morning Drop-Off: Please remember that the bus lane at the front of the school is reserved for buses only. If you’re dropping off your child, please use the designated drop-off lane. This ensures everyone’s safety and keeps our arrival process efficient.

  • Cold Weather Gear: With our first cold snap of the year upon us, we’d like to remind families to send their children with jackets for recess and outdoor activities. Staying warm means they can fully enjoy their time outside while staying comfortable.

  • DSISD Cold Weather Guidelines:

    • When temperatures/wind chills fall between 40 and 36 degrees, there are no outdoor activity time restrictions, but a jacket is required.

    • When temperatures/wind chills fall between 35 and 32 degrees, outdoor activity time will range from 15 and 20 minutes, but a jacket is required.

    • When temperatures/wind chills fall between 31 and 25 degrees, outdoor activity time is limited to 10 minutes, but long pants and a jacket are required.

    • When temperatures/wind chills fall below 24 degrees we will have indoor recess.

Since we’ve been away for a few weeks,  I wanted to provide another reminder that the Spring Whole Grade and Single-Subject Acceleration program referrals will be available on the district website between Monday, January 6th, and Friday, January 31st. The DSISD 2024-2025 Credit-by-Exam Testing Calendar, Acceleration Guide, and Parent Night Presentation slides are on the same web page.  Elementary students’ parents interested in single-subject acceleration for their child(ren) should review pages 8-9 and 16 in the Acceleration Guide as that process has changed.  If you have questions about the acceleration process, please contact Dr. Rhonda Whitman, Director of Federal Programs, Assessment, & Instructional Materials.

Have a great weekend, and Hook ‘Em!

Kindly,

Cody Spraberry
Proud Principal
Sycamore Springs Elementary