The Titan Times: Week 10

Titan Families,

Last week on Friday, our school counselor, Ms. Zepeda, and our assistant principal, Ms. Olmstead, got the opportunity to speak to EVERY Titan during specials about our Titan Community's values and how we are a No Place for Hate school. To explain, they shared what bullying is and is not, and they introduced the word, "UPSTANDER". Through their learning experience, they taught our Titans strategies they can use to support them should they encounter bullying and how to help us maintain our anti-bully campaign on and off campus.

It was a fantastic learning opportunity that our Titans actively engaged in, and overall, it was a successful launch of our continued aim to empower all individuals in our Titan Community with the tools they need to be prepared for anything. Here is a flyer for your family to stay informed on what was taught and to partner with us so that we can all use the same language within our Titan Community alongside our values of P.R.I.D.E. Should you have any questions on this information, please feel free to reach out.

Last but not least by any means, I want to thank you for the support you have provided thus far through our APEX fundraiser! On Thursday, we will have our obstacle course, so please be sure your Titan(s) are wearing comfortable shoes, have a water bottle, and have finalized their last minute pledges beforehand. The information about the schedule for the day is in this newsletter. We still need volunteers to support the APEX event, please click here to volunteer. If you want to donate to a River Place Elementary general student pool to help raise funds and prizes for students who are not able to do so, here is the link. If you see an APEX leader in our community, please be sure to thank them for their service on our campus. We will miss seeing Coach Minnie, Coach Gator, and Coach Croc, but we will carry their joy and leadership lessons in our hearts.

That's it for now as we start to say, "Good-bye, September!". As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to call our campus, and a member of our wonderful office team will be more than happy to support you or direct you to someone who can.

Take care and lead well,

Dr. Amy Sharp

Proud RPE Principal

Consider becoming a:

• Volunteer: https://apps.raptortech.com/Apply/MTc6ZW4tVVM=#
• Substitute: https://www.applitrack.com/leander/onlineapp/jobpostings/view.asp?internaltransferform.Url&category=&category=11+-+Substitute

• 26th: APEX Obstacle Course Day- see image below.
• 27th:
• Last day with APEX staff and earning rewards for fundraising goals
• September 27th - American Indian Heritage Day
• 28th: Innovation Station at Vandegrift High School (See Info Below!) 10AM- 12 PM

October: Persons With Disabilities History and Awareness Month

• 3rd: Titan Grade Level T-Shirts Go Home! These are shirts funded by our PTA for every student to wear on Titan Tuesdays, Field Trips, Field Day, and any other grade level or campus spirit days.
• 7th-11th: Custodian Appreciation Week
• 8th: FPMS vs. CRMS elementary night football game (See Info Below)
• 9th: Fall Pictures/Class Group Pictures- Information Coming!
• 11th: Last Day of 1st 9wks
• 14th: Parent Conferences: No School for Students
• 16th: Unity Day- Wear Orange!
• 18th: Fall Festival at 5 PM- Mark Your Calendars! You won't want to miss it!
• 28th- November 1st: Red Ribbon Week
• 29th: 5th grade performance for families at 7:45 AM and for students at 2 PM.
  
• 31st: 4th Grade Field Trip

It's that time of year when we recruit members of our community to serve in this state mandated committee. Read more here. Each campus within Leander ISD has a Site-Based Planning Committee (SBPC), which River Place Elementary formally referred to as the Campus Impact Team. The aim of this committee is improving the achievement of all students. These committees are composed of district employees, community members, business representatives and parents.

The committee members provide input to the principal on a wide variety of subjects, including planning, curriculum, budgeting, staff development, staffing patterns, school organization, and school improvements. Should you wish to nominate either yourself or someone else for a position, please fill out the form.

What is a site based committee?

A campus site-based planning committee shall be established on each campus to assist the principal. The committee shall meet for the purpose of assisting in the planning processes in accordance with Board policy and administrative procedures and shall be chaired by the principal. The committee shall serve exclusively in an advisory role except that each committee shall approve staff development of a campus nature. For legal language: http://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/1248?filename=BQB(LEGAL).pdf and http://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/1248?filename=BQB(LOCAL).pdf

Our group is required to include the following types of committee members:

The committees shall include representative professional staff, parents of students enrolled in the district, business representatives, and community members.

• Professional Staff - At least two-thirds of the elected professional staff representatives must be classroom teachers. The remaining staff representatives shall include both campus-and district-level professional staff members.

• Classroom teachers - shall be nominated and elected by classroom teachers.

• Campus-based non-teaching professionals shall be nominated and elected by non-teaching professionals assigned to the campus.

• District Level Personnel - a representative will be assigned by the District office.

• Business Representatives- At least two business representatives that provide for adequate representation of the community's diversity. Business representatives do not need to reside in the district or operate a business in the district.

• Community Members - At least two community members that provide for adequate representation of the community's diversity. Community members must reside in the district and must be 18 years of age.

• Parents - at least two parents of students currently enrolled in the district at the school. A parent who is an employee of the district is not considered a parent representative on the committee. The principal shall, through various channels, inform all parents of campus students about the committee's duties and composition, and shall solicit volunteers.

When are the meetings?

They are from 3:15-4:15 PM on November 13th; February 19th; & April 9th. Though we'd like for you to commit to attending all of these, you are only required to attend at least one of these

How do I sign up or ask questions?

We have historically had more than two parents or guardians present on this committee. We have typically needed more business and community members, however. Should you wish to nominate either yourself or someone else for a position, please fill out the form. by October 15th. Thank you for your consideration!

Administration was informed that families cannot put a limit on a student's account through My School Bucks as thought. Families will need to fill out this form to detail the snack limit and return it to the cafeteria manager, valorie.rameriez@leanderisd.org as your earliest convenience. Please let us know if you need this in print form, and we will work with you to provide it.

We are so excited to combine two excellent programs into one great focus for our Titans. We are using Leander ISD's Ethical Principles (Culture of Caring) and Leander ISD’s Graduate Profile to make our Titan Community leadership and learning focus come to life.

What are we doing as a campus community?

Each month, we will have a new focus and will introduce Titan Excellence during our Titan Time Assembly. Then at the end of each month our teachers will choose two students from their homeroom that have exemplified these qualities through learning and leading. We will celebrate these students at our end of the month, Titan Time Assembly.

Why the change?

We want to effectively integrate important values into our school culture and provide students with regular opportunities to be celebrated for their achievements. This approach should encourage positive behavior and a strong sense of community among our Titans. Our hope is that the monthly focus and the recognition at the end of each month will help keep students engaged and motivated throughout the year.

How can you help?

We encourage you to support this effort by talking about these things at home with your Titan(s), too.

Families interested in being a part of the Free/Reduced lunch Program need to reapply each year. Please use this link to apply for the 24-25 school year if you haven't already done so. Also, if you are needing assistance with food for your student(s) for the weekend, you may use this google form to sign up for the Backpack Program. Your Titan(s) would receive a bag of food/snacks that they can put in their backpacks to take home each Friday. Please reach out to our school counselor if you have any questions.

Here is the presentation that was shared with families from PTA and from administration. The sub information and literacy partners information is in this newsletter under "Leander ISD #1LISD Community News". Thanks, and hope you can make the next meeting on November 20th at 6 PM.

Join PTA TODAY because increasing our membership, even by one, makes it possible to:

• Get funds to teachers to supplement classroom needs.
• Connect with teachers, parents, and administration to voice needs for our school and our Titans.
• Fund library technology, guest speakers, playground equipment.
• Help plan community activities such as Fall Fest, Apex Fun Run, Book Fair, Mentoring
• programs, Field Day, Career Day & STEAM Night.
• Support Teacher and Staff Appreciation.

Myths Debunked!

• PTA does NOT require mandatory meetings or volunteer hours.
• PTA is NOT just for stay-at-home parents or for those who want to take on a large leadership role.

PTA is-

• for ANYONE who wants to be a bit more connected to teachers, principals and the Titan community. In sum, there is no wrong or right way to be in PTA!
• something that takes 5 minutes to join and if you join now your $10 membership will enter you in a monthly raffle for gift cards, free water bottles, and MORE!
• easy to join! ----------> https://riverplacepta.membershiptoolkit.com

While we deeply appreciate your effort in ensuring your Titan's SDM is updated throughout the school year to include exceptions, we kindly ask that you contact the office via email to get a bus pass written for any Titan that doesn't typically ride the bus to ensure that your Titan is able to safely board the bus with no issue when their SDM exception is Bus Rider. Best practice would be to register your Titan for the bus using this link if these exceptions are planned for an occurrence of at least once a week. For your Titans who do typically ride the bus, please ensure that you have registered your Titan for the bus using this link. Moving forward, students will not be allowed to ride the bus in any capacity unless they've been registered or have contacted the office for a bus pass. If you have any questions, please contact the front office. Thank you!

Here are our Titan Community Communication Tools-

• River Place Elementary School Website
• Twitter Account
• PTA Facebook Page
• Remind App for River Place Insiders

Email: ContactTeacher@leanderisd.org
Website: https://riverplace.leanderisd.org/
Location: 6500 Sitio Del Rio Blvd, Austin, TX 78730, USA
Phone: 512-570-6911
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverPlaceElementaryPTA/
X (formally known as Twitter): @RiverPlaceTitan

Instagram: @riverplace_elem