Ellison Families,

We're excited for an educational and engaging month ahead! November will bring Career Day, the Spanish Spelling Bee (Grades 3-5), our exciting APEX obstacle course, and our annual Veterans Day Bee Jubilee!

Our Fall Book Fair is also just around the corner, running from October 28 to November 1. Families are welcome to join us before and after school hours. Simply stop by the front office for a visitor pass to check out our fantastic selection of books. See the flyer below for additional details!

Important Dates to Note:

• November 5th is a Professional Development Day for our teachers and a student holiday. Also, if you plan to vote, our campus will be a polling site on November 5.

• Check out this month's Fun Lunch Family Days:

  
  

  • Oct. 31/ Nov. 1 (A-Z)

  • Nov. 4, 6, 8 (A-Z)

  • Nov. 11, 12, 13 (A-Z)
  • Nov. 18, 19, 22 (A-Z)

Once again, thank you so much for entrusting us with your precious children! If you ever need to reach me, have any questions, concerns or would simply like to chat, remember you can always find me by the front drive in the mornings and during dismissal. Also, my email is Julie.Meneses@nisd.net and my direct line is (210) 398-1860. I look forward to hearing from you!

On behalf of our entire faculty, thank you for the privilege of allowing us to serve your family. And thank you for supporting us in our daily mission to put students FIRST in order to grow COMPASSIONATE, INNOVATIVE LEADERS that will THRIVE in today’s society!

Sincerely,

Principal Meneses

11/1 Career Day

11/5 Staff Development Day/Student Holiday

11/7 APEX Obstacle Course

11/8 Spanish Spelling Bee

11/8 APEX Obstacle Course/ STEM DAY

11/11-15 National School Psychology Week

11/11 Veterans Day Ceremony & Bee Jubilee (Critical Thinkers)

11/20 Picture Retakes

11/25-29 Thanksgiving Break

Fun Lunch Family Days:

Oct. 31/ Nov. 1 (A-Z)

Nov. 4, 6, 8 (A-Z)

Nov. 11, 12, 13 (A-Z)

Nov. 18, 19, 22 (A-Z)

🎓 Welcome to the Next Level

Welcome to the Next Level – Where Inspiration and Excellence Ignite! At Northside ISD, we believe in nurturing every student's potential and setting them on a path toward success.

For the past 75 years, Northside ISD has stood as a beacon of inspiration and achievement. We've cultivated generations of students who have excelled in academics, arts, and athletics. Our legacy is built on a foundation of excellence, and now, it's your child's turn to continue this tradition.

Leveling up your child's middle school experience has never been more exciting. With Northside ISD Magnet Programs, the opportunities are limitless. These programs are designed to ignite curiosity and passion, offering specialized education that aligns with each student's unique interests and career aspirations. Explore a world where your child's potential shines, and their future is brightened every day through innovative learning experiences. Your journey with Northside ISD is just beginning, and the possibilities are endless.

Ignite Curiosity and Passion—Explore Our Magnet Programs Now!

This newsletter is a live document that will be updated throughout the school year! Our counselors have created this resource to ensure our 5th grade families are receiving timely information.

Counselor's Middle School Information Smore

In efforts to keep our Dual Language families informed on specific information, we have put together a campus newsletter that will be updated throughout the year. Please click on the link below!

We have been working hard to make a PK and Kinder playground even more fun for our students! We have added soccer goals and basketball court this year already!

Help us create a fun and interactive play space for our little bees! Visit our campus wish list to see how you can help! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/S195K4L02SN3?ref_=wl_share

Conflict or disagreement is normal and often happens when children get together. However, hurtful words, gestures, or physical contact are unacceptable ways to deal with conflict and disagreement at school. Our goal is to teach students several positive ways to deal with these difficult situations. To do this, we are asking students who have minor problems to try at least two of Kelso's Choices.

This process can be done before asking for adult help. Of course, the adult will immediately handle any serious conflicts that cause a child to feel threatened or frightened. By using this plan, we believe that our students will develop effective problem-solving skills that they can use again and again. It will help them to deal with conflict in a positive manner and to make appropriate decisions. Knowing what to do will help students reduce the stress and number of conflicts they have at school and in their neighborhood. Colorful charts illustrating ways to deal with conflict will be posted so all children will know their choices. We encourage you to become familiar with this program and use it in your home. By working together, we can develop a healthy life skill for young people to use at home and at school.

Insterested in donating items for our Bee Buck store? Click here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2FW5DCI77ZVVM?ref_=wl_share

¿Está interesado en donar artículos para nuestra tienda Bee Buck? Haga clic en el enlace de arriba.

Please visit our PTA website (https://ellison.ptboard.com/, where you can find important PTA dates and volunteer for various PTA activities throughout the year on the designated Sign Up Genius. This year, our PTA has posted the Sign Up Genius links for all events ahead of time. Why? This way, we can give those who want to volunteer enough time to plan accordingly, as we know everyone's schedules are busy. Please sign up now to help make our events a success! Your involvement, whether big or small, makes a significant difference in our school community.

Please be sure to fill out the annual Background Check that is mandatory for all volunteers: https://hrvolunteer.nisd.net/TempMod.nsf?Open

Please review our arrival and dismissal procedures!

Our front drive crossing guard begins duty at 7 a.m. Parents may begin dropping students off as early as 7:00 a.m. but not any sooner.

To ensure the safety and security of all children and staff and to prevent disruption of the learning environment, after the first week of school, the hallways will remain a student-only zone in the mornings, with the exception of PK, Kinder, ALE, and ECSE. Families of students in PK, Kinder, ALE and ECSE are highly encouraged to park and escort students into the building, however must arrive between 7:00-7:40 a.m. to do so. We ask that all other parents/guardians either use the express lane or park and walk students to the security lobby, where a staff member will be happy to greet and welcome them! Visitors are always welcome to check-in to the building to meet with the school nurse, speak to the office staff, visit the library during library open hours, or for scheduled conferences or meetings.

We know that dropping off our children and getting to work on time can be stressful! To expedite student drop-off, parents may use the bus loop after 7:10 a.m. to drop off 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. This option is only available after 7:10 a.m. (or when buses have departed) and only for our older students. As students are dropped off, they should follow the side-walk that leads to the school entrance where they will be greeted by monitoring staff.

To ensure safety of younger students, families of 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th graders with younger siblings should use the front Express lane 1 for drop-off.

If you think your child may qualify for free and reduced lunch benefits, or to find menus and additional details, click here.

Parents of ECSE, PK, and Kinder students are welcomed daily to escort their child into the building and enjoy breakfast.

To comfortably accommodate our guests, on designated dates parents of all students are welcomed into our cafeteria to enjoy lunch with their child.

This month's Fun Lunch Dates are:

• Oct. 31/ Nov. 1 (A-Z)

• Nov. 4, 6, 8 (A-Z)

• Nov. 11, 12, 13 (A-Z)
• Nov. 18, 19, 22 (A-Z)

Here’s a little tip, parents! If you’re not sure that you’ll be able to join your child for lunch, it’s always best to happily surprise them instead of telling that that you “might” make it. Some of our students can get really sad when they’re expecting their parents and we don’t want to send them back to class feeling disappointed.

Please read below for friendly reminders that pertain to parents enjoying breakfast or lunch with their child.

Our Watch D.O.G.S. program, Defenders of Great Students, is now open to more than male figures. All moms and mother figures are invited to participate. Use the calendar below to sign up or click here: beewatchdogs.youcanbook.me

Please be sure to fill out the annual Background Check that is mandatory for all volunteers. Please make sure your background check has been submitted and cleared. Contact Joann Sanchez at our front office to confirm this information. ✅Click here to access the NISD Background Check Form: https://hrvolunteer.nisd.net/TempMod.nsf?Open

Calling all Watch DOGS!! We could use your help with the following:

• Assist by helping on Family Lunch Days.
• On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of every week we would love to have our Watch DOGS help us in the library anytime between 7:00-7:35 a.m. Students are working on AR and the library is open for parents to check out books! Come and help be an extra set of eyes and help in any way you'd like.
• Between 7:00-8:00 am: Greet our students in the morning any day of the week! Where? Near the front drive, by the front office near the security lobby, by the bus loop, in the cafeteria, in the gym, anywhere! Even if you're only available for a few minutes, we could use your help and our students and staff would love to have you!
• Join your child's grade level or ANY grade level during recess time! You can lead a game of soccer, basketball, four-square, etc! We can always use more adults to assist with monitoring our playgrounds! For specific recess times, visit your teacher's weekly newsletter.
• Assist students as they go through the cafeteria line and hang out with our students as they eat lunch!
• Monitor our hallways and help us by patrolling the exterior of our campus at any time of the day.
• Assist with dismissal at the bus loop or at the front drive. Give students high fives and fist bumps on their way out of the building between 2:30-3:15 pm.
• Help us run our Bee Buck Store on specific dates.
• For specific classroom activities, reach out to your child's teacher with ideas on how you'd like to volunteer in the classroom.
• If you have other ideas about how you would like to volunteer, reach out to us! Email Manuel.Benavides@nisd.net or Julie.Meneses@nisd.net

Not only are all of their products cool, proceeds from their sales come directly back to our students! Thanks to PTA, our little bees have been blessed with new additions to our playground and our teachers will have an opportunity to apply for a PTA grant. Please continue to support PTA, and our Ellison bees!

Click below to visit our wonderful PTA site. With a click of a button, you'll be able to purchase spirit gear, which students are encouraged to use on the first day of school and every Friday of the year!

Ellison is the place to “bee”- Growing, learning, and building our hive together!

In our hive, our daily mission is to put students first! Our campus vision is that our students grow daily as compassionate, innovative leaders!

Location: 7132 Oak Drive, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-398-1850
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllisonElementary