Robinson Middle School eNews

Happy New School Year! Welcome back to our returning families. We have missed your children and cannot wait to see their smiling faces again soon. To all families new to Robinson, we are happy you are joining our amazing school community and we look forward to meeting you and getting to know your wonderful children.

I know the approaching school year brings about feelings of uncertainty, but I want you to know that the Robinson Staff has been hard at work training, collaborating, and sharing ideas to continue our tradition of academic excellence and to ensure that your children feel connected in any learning environment they are in.

To our 6th grade Rising Razorbacks, we are so excited to help you transition to middle school! Our back-to-school 6th grade events will be held virtually this year. I will be sending more information soon about our campus virtual tour and virtual Meet-the-Teacher.

Please continue to read the frequent PISD emails containing updated information. You may also visit www.pisd.edu/returnplan to view the district's Return to School plan which may answer questions you may have. The district also has an information and resources webpage which you can review here: www.pisd.edu/2021planning.

As we enter into this new school year together, I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we adapt to unexpected changes. While all students will begin the year in a remote learning environment on August 12 with some transitioning to face-to-face on September 9, we will still be One Robinson and One Family. Our goal is to take care of all students. Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

All the best,

Kennitra Robertson

Principal

Kennitra Robertson

kennitra.robertson@pisd.edu

Assistant Principal

Skip Gragert

skip.gragert@pisd.edu

Assistant Principal

Lasma Jekabsone-Berrouet

lasma.jekabsoneberr@pisd.edu

Greetings Robinson Family!

My name is Lasma Jekabsone-Berrouet and I am honored to be your newly appointed Assistant Principal at Robinson Middle School. This will be my 12th year as an educator. I taught middle and high school Math and coached basketball and track in Killeen ISD for 9 years. Most recently I was the 11th grade Math facilitator and the Math department chair at the Plano ISD Academy High School.

I was born and raised in Latvia, a small country in northeastern Europe. Growing up, I was a keen learner and had the desire to become a teacher. It has been a dream come true to be able to fulfill my calling of serving others. My educational philosophy is rooted in a growth mindset. I am certain that together with each other’s support, we can ensure social-emotional and academic growth and success for every child.

When I am not at school, I love spending time with my family. My husband Richard serves in the U.S. Army and we are raising our two sons Benjamin (10) and Collin (7). I enjoy gardening, cooking, coaching recreational basketball and walking our chihuahua ChaCha.

I am wishing everyone a great school year and I look forward to getting to know our families, students and staff, as well as connecting with the diverse Robinson community.

Go Razorbacks!

Kelli Tisdale

kelli.tisdale@pisd.edu

7th Grade Counselor

Mike Rubin

mike.rubin@pisd.edu

8th Grade Counselor

Sherry Dissinger

sherry.dissinger@pisd.edu

Registrar

Rhonda Morgan

rhonda.morgan@pisd.edu

August 10: 6th grade

August 11: 7th & 8th grade

...and join the Robinson PTA! Our awesome PTA supports students and teachers throughout the school year and sponsors great events and activities. We encourage all of our families to join our PTA by going to http://www.RobinsonPTA.org.

Revised 2020-2021 Return to School Plan

The Return-to-School Parent Manual initially released on July 9, 2020, continues to be revised based on feedback we have received from our parent and staff advisory groups, as well as new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and other state and local officials.

In light of the most recent announcement that all Plano ISD students will start the year for the first four weeks in a virtual environment, please refer to the PISD School@Home sections of the manual for information and expectations on learning in a remote environment for all students.

We are working on more details about implementing remote learning for all students for the first four weeks of school, including a plan to provide Chromebooks and internet support for those in need. We will be updating the website and sending frequent communications to you as plans develop in coordination with our campus principals. We appreciate your understanding as we continue to make plans for this ever-changing environment. Use the links below to view the updated plan and other back-to-school information.

• Return to School Plan
• Return to School Planning & Updates
• Frequently Asked Questions

We have continued to revise the Face-to-Face Learning sections of the manual with safety information and protocols that will be implemented once we are able to welcome students who selected the face-to-face environment to our campuses.

Changes to Instructional Environment Selection ACTION MAY BE NEEDED

All students will be starting the school year in the remote setting from August 12 to September 8. On September 9, students will transition into their selected learning environment: Face to Face or PISD School@Home. The initial selection period for choosing PISD School@ Home ended on July 16. Families now have another opportunity to opt in to the PISD School@Home learning environment if a selection was not made by the original deadline. The extended window for selection is July 24-August 6. Students will be scheduled in the selected instructional environment, which will go into effect on September 9. The instructional environment that families previously selected or newly selected will be valid through the end of the first 9-week period.

• Read more on how to make changes to your instructional environment selection
• Read parent letter regarding the School@Home and face-to-face learning environments
  

The Plano ISD Food and Nutritional Services Department has established curbside meal pickup locations to provide PISD School@Home students with meals for offsite consumption on instructional learning days. Beginning August 12 through September 4, meals will be served Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Students purchasing meals will receive a lunch for the day and a breakfast for the following day. Meals will no longer be free of charge for all students as provided during the spring remote learning and the summer feeding program. Free and reduced priced meals are available for qualifying students. Learn more here about curbside meal procedures, locations, etc.

Plano ISD is offering Back-to-School Feeder Fairs, scheduled for the following dates and locations:

• East Feeder Schools at Williams High School
• Tuesday, July 28 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Central Feeder Schools at Carpenter Middle School
• Friday, July 31 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• West Feeder Schools at Renner Middle School
• Tuesday, August 4 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

These free community events provide Plano ISD students and their families with back-to-school resources and essentials necessary to be equipped for a successful school year such as: school supplies, district/community support information, as well as physical and mental health assistance programs.

Mobile Drive-Thru "Contactless" Distribution (while supplies last)

• Families will receive:
• backpacks filled with schools supplies for each student present and/or with proof of enrollment (while supplies last)
• vendor bag full of coupons, vouchers and information from community agencies and District departments

*Immunizations and vision tests will also be available (limited availability while adhering to all safety guidelines).

For more information, please go to 2020 Plano ISD Back-to-School Fairs.

A team of Plano ISD School Social Workers will be available throughout the summer break to assist any PISD families who need assistance with accessing available resources, including help with food, housing, utilities, and other needs. Families in need of counseling services may also contact this team of social workers for direct assistance or referral to an area provider. Both English and Spanish speakers are available. Contact may be made by phone or email as follows:

· Telephone: 469-752-3090

· Email: SocialWorkAssistance@pisd.edu

The SMU Center for Family Counseling at Plano ISD began offering telehealth counseling services free of charge to support the PISD community during the pandemic. During the summer, free counseling services will continue to be available through August 4th. Services are provided by SMU Counseling Program students during their internship and will be supervised by SMU full-time and adjunct faculty.

Services are for adults, children (teleplay), adolescents (teletherapy activity/experiential), couples, and families for a variety of presenting concerns including anxiety, depression, behavior difficulties (e.g., opposition, defiance, aggression), grief and loss, peer relationships, stress, trauma, career transition, and parenting. They are also offering an Adult Mindfulness Group, LGBTQ+ Adolescent Support Group, and an LGBTQ+ Adult Support Group May 26th -August 4th.

Appointments are available Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Call (469) 752-3098 to schedule counseling services and (214) 768-6789 for group information and registration.

Parents,

If you are going to be relocating over the summer to another Plano school, private school or out of the district, please contact Rhonda Morgan, Robinson Registrar, at rhonda.morgan@pisd.edu. The state of Texas now requires all schools to follow-up on non-returning students. Without this information, the students will be coded as dropouts in our reports to the state.

You will need to provide your student(s) name, current grade, new school name, new school location.

Thank you,

Rhonda Morgan

Registrar

rhonda.morgan@pisd.edu.

Plano ISD Website

https://www.pisd.edu/plano

School Messenger & E-news

Most of our communication takes place via School Messenger (phone/e-mail messages) or e-news. Click on the link below to subscribe to the Robinson e-news:

http://elist.pisd.edu/

Robinson Website

https://www.pisd.edu/robinson

Check our Robinson Middle School website for other important information about our school.

Twitter

Follow us on Twitter. https://twitter.com/RobinsonRazorb1 #robinsonproud

PISD has launched a Family Resource page on the district’s website. This page provides a searchable list that families, community members and school staff can utilize to help find community resources in order to meet a family’s needs. The list is searchable by agency name, zip code and category. Categories include such areas as basic needs (food assistance, housing assistance), health care (medical, dental, vision), and mental health (substance abuse, counseling, etc.). The family resource page can be found at https://www.pisd.edu/familyresources

#robinsonproud

Website: pisd.edu/robinson
Location: Robinson Middle School, Preston Meadow Drive, Plano, TX, USA
Phone: 469-752-6200
Twitter: @robinsonrazorb1