With the 2006-2007 school year, Sienna Crossing Elementary is celebrating its ninth year of operation. At 10011 Steep Bank Trace in Sienna Plantation, the school is equipped inside and out to develop the total child. The landscaped grounds include a shade pavilion, an expansive playground structure, a second playground area designed specifically for younger students, a basketball court, a a running track – one of few tracks at a Fort Bend elementary school – and lots of space for friendly kickball or soccer games. A 10-station obstacle course will be added this year with funds donated by MUD No. 2. Inside Sienna Crossing, the school is separated into grade-level pods, with a comprehensive library, cafeteria/auditorium, computer labs, “post office” and more.
Mission
Through the united efforts of students, parents, faculty, staff, and community, the mission Sienna Crossing Elementary is to chart a course toward excellence. Committed to seeing that each student reaches his or her potential, the school strives to provide a supportive and safe environment with diverse and interactive learning opportunities to prepare students for successful futures in a global world.
Introduction
“I want every classroom to be one in which I would want my own children to learn.” That’s the philosophy of Sienna Crossing principal Linda Ruckman, a mother of two, who has expertly guided the school since its opening in 1998.
“I hope every learning activity and interpersonal communication is extremely positive and promotes a desire in our students to want to be in school,” Ruckman said. “I love greeting our enthusiastic and eager students each morning. I am proud of our Sienna Crossing family, and invite all parents to become involved!”
TAKS scores
Sienna Crossing students posted impressive scores on the state-mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test, scoring well above state and district averages. Grades three through five take the test.
| - | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| Reading | 98 | 97 | 96 | 98 |
| Math | 98 | 97 | 97 | 96 |
| Writing | 97 | |||
| Science | 99 |
Even more impressive is the percentage of students achieving commended status on the tests, as high as 63 to 76 percent in some areas. For the 2005-2006 school year, sixth-grade students who would be zoned to Baines Middle School when it opened remained at Sienna Crossing and Scanlan Oaks elementaries for their sixth-grade year because of overcrowding at Lake Olympia Middle School and continuing construction of Baines, now open along Sienna Parkway. The two Sienna-based elementaries now serve kindergarten through-fifth graders.
Technology
Extensive technology allows students to develop their computer skills as well as locate information on the Internet to research and complete projects and classroom assignments. Sienna Crossing brings technology into the classroom with networked multimedia computers in each room. Plus, students visit the school’s two 24-station computer labs an average of twice a week and the library has eight computer stations for students’ use, as well as an online book inventory.
Fifth-grade students may apply for membership in the Broadcasting Club. Under the direction of the school’s technology specialist, librarian and music teacher, the Broadcasting Club produces the daily G.A.T.R. morning news shows — information clips broadcast live throughout the school to give students and staff a preview of the day’s activities. Members of the Broadcasting Club handle all aspects of production, including writing scripts, serving as anchors and operating all equipment. Other schools often send representatives to observe the G.A.T.R. news crew.
Sienna Crossing has added 45 AlphaSmart keyboards to its complement of technical equipment. These portable, wireless keyboards, each with a small LED screen, allow students to input and edit text from any location. The information may later be downloaded to a computer. The keyboards are funded by the Sienna Crossing PTO and grants from the Fort Bend ISD Education Foundation.
Reading programs
Sienna Crossing’s Early Childhood Literacy Program, based on the Four Blocks Literacy Model, is acknowledged as exceptionally effective. Students in kindergarten, first and second grades work in small groups to learn literacy skills, build comprehension and improve reading fluency.
Students are grouped according to reading level, which is determined through the guided reading component of the program, with students of similar skill levels placed together. The program operates on the philosophy that children will achieve reading fluency and build comprehension more quickly when reading a variety of literature at their own level.
In support of the program, the school has an extensive leveled book library, funded jointly through the school district and the Sienna Crossing PTO, which has purchased approximately $20,000 worth of books for the program.
Students in all grades are invited to participate in the Texas Readers’ Club. Through this program, students read a variety of books and submit written book reports. Students in lower grades must read and report on five books of fiction and five of nonfiction, including one biography and two science texts. The numbers increase for children in third through fifth grades, who are required to read 15 books - seven fiction and eight nonfiction. The nonfiction selections must include one biography, two science texts and one historical text. Approximately 95 percent of Sienna’s students achieve Texas Readers’ Club status each year.
Another reading initiative is Reading Counts! — a program, designed to enhance reading comprehension. A student selects from a wide inventory of program books, each coded by reading level. After finishing the book, the student uses either library or classroom computers to answer questions about the book. The student accumulates points based on the difficulty of the book and the number of correct answers. Teachers may access a student’s test file to monitor progress in the program.
Gator staff
Sienna Crossing has a staff of 93 including a full-time nurse, a counselor, an on-site speech therapist, a reading specialist, a math specialist, an instructional technology specialist, an English-as-a-Second-Language specialist, a librarian, a music specialist, an art specialist and a physical education specialist.
Gail Neese, Sienna Crossing’s reading specialist, works with children diagnosed with reading disorders, and with students at each grade level who exhibit the need for assistance in reading. She also works with teachers to coordinate curriculum designed to promote and enhance reading. A valuable asset to Sienna Crossing, she is recognized in FBISD for her considerable skill. For the 2001-2002 school year, she was one of six finalists for the district’s Elementary Teacher of the Year distinction.
Sienna Crossing’s math specialist, Penny Jones, works with teachers to plan effective lessons in mathematics. She also works individually with students in third through fifth grades who are experiencing difficulty understanding math concepts.
Overseeing the Sienna Crossing computer lab is instructional technology specialist Molly Brogan, who trains teachers in various software applications and demonstrates how to use the Internet effectively. She also plans projects with teachers and serves as a facilitator as students work on projects throughout the year.
Extracurricular
Sienna Crossing students have opportunities to participate in numerous activities and clubs including Student Council, Choir, Art Club, Safety Patrol, Flag Patrol and Library Helpers. The service-oriented Student Council remains active throughout the school year, with major projects including a Thanksgiving food drive and winter toy drive.
Musical fourth- and fifth-graders are invited to join Sienna Crossing’s choir, whose members have numbered up to 70. The choir gives several performances a year, and also sings at nursing homes, shopping centers and other venues during the holidays. Performing specialty numbers during the shows are the talented Sienna Singers, a subset of the regular choir filled with children who display particular talent for singing.
Extended Day
The extended-day program runs from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. so that parents can drop students off on their way to work and pick them up on their way home. Nationwide, extended-day programs represent a new way of thinking about the school day for the first time in generations, as educators seek to respond to the realities of working families. In Fort Bend, extended-day programs were instituted nearly a decade ago and are designed to supplement the classroom program.
The activities of the extended-day program at Sienna Crossing foster a positive self-concept and independence; develop social skills; encourage children to think, reason and question; and stimulate reading, creative expression and an appreciation of the arts. Trained by the school district, extended-day assistants are skilled at playing educational games with the students, helping with homework assignments, listening to readers and quizzing students over test material. The program is designed for a maximum of 75 students. Currently, the program is at capacity and there is a waiting list.
PTO
Even before Sienna Crossing welcomed its first student, parents were active in organizing fund-raising events to benefit students. This industrious group of moms and dads raises more than $75,000 each year for the school through gift wrap sales, a popular fall festival and silent auction, penny drives, carnation sales and more. The funds have been used to purchase extensive playground equipment for the school, a sophisticated sound and lighting system and a shade pavilion. The PTO also funds class parties, field trips, cultural performances at the school, teacher appreciation items and various educational enrichment tools. In recent years, the PTO has purchased a dozen guitars to introduce the instruments to fifth-graders, funded a collection of election-year workbooks for all grade levels and paid to have a running track installed on school grounds. The group also bought drinking fountains, picnic tables, benches, library books and much more.
Visit their website: Sienna Crossing Elementary
