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GRISSOM CADETS CELEBRATE WITH THEIR PRINCIPAL! V.I.G. Cadets who have worked hard academically and earned their way to the ranks of the Honor Roll were treated to a special pizza party/awards ceremony with the principal, Mrs. Cynthia A. Smith. Mrs. Smith personally awarded each certificate to the honorees who made the All "A's", All "A's" and one "B", or All "A's" and two "B's". Honor Roll Cadets got the privilege to have a little one on one time with their principal. a fun time was had by all! HONOR ROLL LIST & GALLERY PERFECT ATTENDANCE LISTING

VIRGIL I. GRISSOM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND GENERAL ELECTRIC JOIN HANDS ONCE AGAIN TO PROMOTE AND EXPAND SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE! On Saturday, October 6, 2007 at Grissom Elementary School, more than fifty General Electric Volunteers embarked on a project to build a greenhouse, set up benches and plant foliage for The Apollo Pond and Natural Science Discovery Center. The area is an outdoor "classroom" named in honor of the last mission flown by Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (the school's namesake) that allows students to get a closer, hands-on look at science. Victoria Hubbard, Information Technology Manager and Volunteer Liaison for General Electric Oil and Gas Division, secured the grant through GE’s Share the Gold Program for this endeavor. The grant also included planting pots, aprons and trowels for the students to use in the greenhouse. The volunteers worked tirelessly for more than seven hours on that day. The total amount of hours accumulated by the volunteers for such a large project came to more than 100 hours of preparation.

This effort was one of the six General Electric Hands Across Houston projects taking place that Saturday in various parts of the city. Grissom Elementary School had the largest of the six projects and required the most volunteers. Hubbard stated, “I am glad we were able to complete this project and I hope the kids enjoy this area and learn a lot. As we speak, my mind is ticking and getting ready for our project for next year at Grissom.” Grissom Principal, Cynthia Smith, said, “General Electric is a class act and cares so deeply for our school. I’m glad we have them for a business partner and hope that they continue their commitment to inspire our children to become scientist and astronauts in the future.”

CADETS FROM THE TOP-NOTCH THIRD GRADE CLASSES CELEBRATE A READING LESSON BY CONSTRUCTING TREE HOUSES WITH THEIR OWN FLAIR. After reading The Tree House by Lois Lowry, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, the third grade cadets embarked on a bit of a creative journey and constructed miniature tree houses. These tree houses were fixed with flair and positively pouring with personality! VIEW THE GALLERY

IT'S A BOOK FAIR BLIZZARD: V.I.G. CADETS ARE CHILLING OUT WITH GREAT READING MATERIAL! V.I.G. Librarian, Chunci Shinholster-Baker, sponsored a wonderful book fair. The children "shopped 'til they dropped". It is a wonderful feeling when you see children excited about reading, eager to get a book of their own. VIEW THE GALLERY

BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS IN FULL SWING AT GRISSOM ELEMENTARY!!!!! The theme for African-American History Month 2007 is From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas. Lessons are being taught via a print-rich environment. The bulletin boards around Grissom are decked out to increase our Black History I.Q. View the gallery

CHECK OUT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY CELEBRATION V.I.G. STYLE!!! Students celebrated African-American History Month 2007 in grand style! They showcased everyone from ordinary citizens turned heroes to inventors to James Brown! There was plenty of singing, dancing, clapping, finger-snapping and toe-tapping. We have a plethora of talent blooming through our campus. View the gallery

Deck the Halls....FaLaLaLaLa!!! Students at Grissom Elementary School decked the halls for the holidays!! All classes from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade created beautiful decorations for the 7 foot Douglas Fir! Look at how it turned out! View the gallery

Grissom Students kick off Hispanic Heritage Month in grand style!!! Sabor Mexico Dance Theatre Company presented a showcase of Spanish Flamenco and Mexican Folklorico dances as part of the month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th - October 15th. VIEW THE GALLERY

General Electric volunteers complete construction of Butterfly Garden / Insect Habitat!! Thanks to the volunteers from GE, who constructed a butterfly garden and insect habitat for the fun and safety of the Grissom Community. View the gallery

Grissom's Playground gets a facelift!! Students will now have a bit of relief from the bright sunshine as they play on the playground. A brand new pavilion has been constructed on the playground area. It will serve as a place for physical education classes to meet for instruction before taking to the field areas.

Teachers have to study?? Sure they do! Here at Grissom Elementary School, our top notch faculty works diligently to prepare to mold the young minds of tomorrow. During staff development each Friday afternoon, teachers plan and share strategies that work to help the students achieve their goals. Their hard work and dedication has helped to make our rating by the Texas Education Agency RECOGNIZED!! Keep up the good work! View the gallery

General Electric volunteers puts the "spotlight" on a new Nature Learning Center!! Grissom students will soon be able to explore live scientific happenings, thanks to the volunteers from GE. Volunteers are working diligently to expand the existing discovery pond to 15' x 45', construct a butterfly garden, plant 20 new trees and 400 assorted plants, paint the playground and install more than 10,000 square feet of fencing for the education, fun and safety of the Grissom Community. View the gallery

Field Day Success!! Students from Houston's Texas Southern University, along with General Electric Volunteers, laid the groundwork for Grissom students to enjoy a great Field Day!! The entire student body participated in games and sporting events that help to foster camaraderie and team spirit while having a fun time. The TSU students coordinated each "game stop". The games available were: sack races, volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball, jump rope, bowling, baseball, free-throw challenge, parachute party, football pass and hula hoop tournament.

What is a Field Day celebration without food!? GE Volunteers grilled over 1000 hot dogs for students, faculty, staff, and other community visitors to the field day celebration complete with condiments, chips, soda, water, and cookies for dessert. Everyone ate their fill and a great time was had by all! View the gallery

The Apollo Pond and Natural Science Discovery Center is Dedicated!! Field Day activities were the backdrop for the dedication of the newly expanded pond and butterfly garden. The area was named in honor of the last mission flown by Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (the school's namesake). The Apollo Pond and Natural Science Discovery Center will allow students will to get a closer, hands-on look at science in an outdoor "classroom".

The General Electric Corporation, through a partnership with Grissom Elementary School, helped to make the The Apollo Pond and Natural Science Discovery Center a reality. A million thanks goes to the tireless volunteers from GE who planted, painted, dug, watered and served. During the pond expansion, two turtles were rescued from the mud. These turtles, named appropriately "Virgil" and "Gus", were reintroduced to their natural habitat during the dedication ceremony. HISD South Regional Superintendent, Dr. Warner D. Ervin, South Regional Director, Kathleen Morgan and Madison Feeder Pattern Content Specialist, Juan Lumbreras were present for the dedication. View the gallery

Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie & the Filé Gumbo Band!! Grissom students were given a real taste of the music and culture that is uniquely New Orleans with a visit from the Filé Gumbo Band. They did us good, cher!! View the gallery

Fifth Graders go MAD over Science!! Fifth Grade classes recently got a visit from a "MAD Scientist". During these MAD lessons, they learned about Ecology and the Water Cycle. Students showed their knowledge of the environment during a question and answer session and created models of a water cycle. View the gallery

Don't Get Stopped By The Fashion Police!! Grissom Elementary School has a uniform policy. A group of proud Rockets got together to show new students and their parents "Just how we do it at THE G"! View the gallery

1st Place
1st Place	"Reaching the Sun" by Perla Barron	"Quiet Sunset" by Jose Chaires
2nd Place
	"Man on the Bull" by Valentina Garza	"Last Hour" by Ricardo Gonzalez

	"Riding in the Desert" by Chibuzo Isikwe	"On the Trail" by Juan Rios

	"Night on the Desert" by Marvin Velasquez
3rd Place
3rd Place	"Horse of the Calvary" by Darrian Gario	"Roping Cowboy" by Ashton Houston