Renner Middle School eNews

Tuesday, 8/6 - Renner Packet Pick Up - www.rennerpta.org

• Nurse on campus to intake meds and immunization records, pick up school supplies, buy spirit wear, walk your schedule

Thursday, 8/8 from 6:00 - 7:00 - 6th Grade Meet & Greet

Monday, 8/12 - First Day of School - doors open at 7:50

Wednesday, August 14-Friday, August 16 - 7th & 8th grade Girls Volleyball tryouts

Monday, August 19 at 9:15 am - Renner PTA Meeting & Back to School Coffee with Principal Engelking

Mustang Parents-

We are looking forward to seeing our new and returning students and parents for the 2019-2020 school year!

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There are some changes in store that we hope will contribute to the overall success of our Renner students.

Hallway lockers will not be assigned to students this year, and students will be allowed to carry backpacks into classrooms throughout the day. Students will still have a fine arts locker for band or orchestra instruments as well as a locker during PE or athletics. The expectation will be that students store backpacks under classroom desks or tables without blocking walkways.

There were four major factors that played into the decision to move away from assigning hallway lockers this year, and it will be a change that we monitor closely to determine whether or not it is working for our students and teachers.

1. For many students, accessing lockers can create anxiety. This feeling can be due to crowded hallways, waiting to reach a locker as students above/below/beside gather items from their locker, working the combination lock, being too tall for a bottom locker or not tall enough for a top locker, or a variety of other circumstances.
2. We feel that allowing students to carry items for the day into classrooms in a backpack will help them to be consistently prepared for classes without forgetting items or not realizing they needed certain materials for class that day. Every time a student leaves a classroom to retrieve a forgotten item from a locker, valuable instructional time can be lost. We will be working with teachers to set up processes/procedures for students to reduce their carry-around / carry-home load as much as possible by providing storage within classrooms for items that students utilize often.
3. Another two-fold factor in this decision involved functionality of lockers and the continuation of the cell phone policy we initiated last year. As a 1-1 Chromebook campus for the 2019-2020 school year (in nearly every single classroom), cell phones simply will not be needed for participation or success in class. In addition, we have a large number of lockers that simply do not lock. Students are able to strategically bump or kick the corners in order to open them without manipulating the combination lock. This fact prevents us from requiring students to keep cell phones in lockers due to the possibility of theft; instead, we will be asking students to place cell phones in either the teacher's designated cell phone storage or their backpacks.
4. We ended the 2019-2019 school year with around 1,260 students. This means that traffic flow in our hallways can be very congested as students access lockers, wait for their turn to get into their locker, or wait for friends to get what they need from a locker. We are hopeful that this change will help reduce or eliminate hallway blockages.

We realize there may be circumstances that inhibit a student's ability to carry a backpack throughout the day. Please know that we will work with students and parents to come up with a plan. If there is a reason that your student cannot carry a backpack or needs a hallway locker, please have your child speak to his/her grade level counselor or administrator to complete a locker request.

Grade Level Counselors:

6th Grade: Lori Groves - lori.groves@pisd.edu

7th Grade: Kelly Newman - kelly.newman@pisd.edu

8th Grade: Brad Allcorn - brad.allcorn@pisd.edu

Grade Level Administrators:

6th grade: Rayna Whetstone, assistant principal - r.matthewswhetstone@pisd.edu

7th grade: Jill Engelking, principal - jill.engelking@pisd.edu

8th grade: Travis Ragsdale, assistant principal - travis.ragsdale@pisd.edu

We are also changing our bell schedule this year so that we can hold 4 lunches instead of 3. This will reduce the number of students from around 420 students per lunch to around 315 students (give or take a few in each lunch). We will continue to have a 7 period day beginning at 8:30 and ending at 3:30; however, we will now have an advisory period linked to 4th period instead of a rotating enrichment period each day. Another change is that we have reduced passing periods from 5 minutes to 4 minutes since accessing lockers is no longer necessary. The bell schedule is linked below, but the lunch assignments are not included because we are still reviewing 4th period class sizes in an effort to best balance lunches. That information will be communicated to parents before the first day of school.

New Bell Schedule (without assigned lunches):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11zvyswgLBfnQjLw2fCuGhw5GPmx1qFZQ/view?usp=sharing

Dress Code - As you begin back-to-school shopping, please keep the Plano ISD Dress Code in mind (it can be found here: https://www.pisd.edu/Page/1756) We will be adhering to the PISD Dress Code with one exception - we will allow jeans that have rips/holes/tears as long as those rips/holes/tears are belowfingertip length.

Important Dates:

Online registration through parent portal opens:

Wednesday, July 24 (https://www.pisd.edu/gradebook)

Schedules released online through parent portal (see link above):

August 2 at noon - The schedule will not be viewable if your child has library fines, owes lunch money, lacks proof of required immunizations for entering 7th grade, or needs updated proof of residency.

Packet Pick Up: (Nurse on campus to intake meds and immunization records, pick up school supplies, buy spirit wear, walk your schedule)

6th Grade - Tuesday, August 6 from 8:00 - 10:00

7th & 8th Grade - Tuesday, August 6 from 11:00 - 1:00

Meet the teachers for 6th grade students and parents:

Thursday, August 8 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. At this event, students and their parents will have an opportunity to meet the administrative team and the 6th grade counselor, to visit briefly with teachers, and to practice walking student schedules.

Back-to-School Fair:

August 5 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Frankford Middle School

7706 Osage Plaza Parkway

Dallas, TX 75252

We look forward to partnering with you on behalf of your children. This is going to be a great year for learning and growing at Renner Middle School.

Please know that I am open to any questions, concerns, or feedback; please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you so much,

Jill Engelking

Principal

Renner Middle School

Estimados Padres “Mustang,”

¡Esperamos ver a nuestros nuevos estudiantes, a sus padres y a todos los que regresan para el año escolar 2019-2020!

Por favor, regístrense para recibir nuestras noticias en: Renner eNews. Usamos eNews (con un enlace a un boletín informativo de Smore) para compartir nuestras noticias semanales, compartir información sobre próximos eventos o comunicar información sobre simulacros de emergencia o de seguridad.

Para inscribirse en eNews:

Ir http://www.pisd.edu/news/ para crear una cuenta o iniciar sesión. Después de iniciar sesión, podrá disponer de sus registros. Asegúrese de pulsar "ACTUALIZAR" después de cada cambio.

Hay algunos cambios en la escuela que esperamos contribuyan al éxito general de nuestros estudiantes en Renner.

Los casilleros de los pasillos no se asignarán a los estudiantes este año, ellos podrán llevar sus mochilas a las aulas durante el día. Los estudiantes aún usaran su casillero en su clase de música donde guardaran sus instrumentos de banda u orquesta, usaran un casillero durante la clase de educación física o atletismo. La expectativa será que los estudiantes guarden sus mochilas debajo de los escritorios o mesas del aula sin bloquear los pasillos.

Hubo cuatro factores principales que influyeron en la decisión de no asignar casilleros en los pasillos este año y será un cambio que supervisaremos de cerca para determinar si esto funcionara o no, tanto para nuestros estudiantes como para nuestros maestros.

1. Para muchos estudiantes, ir a los casilleros puede crear ansiedad. Esta sensación puede deberse a que los pasillos estaban muy concurridos en espera para abrir el casillero, mientras otros estudiantes abren sus casilleros que quedan arriba, abajo o al lado, o recogen artículos de su casillero o tratan de usar su combinación para abrir la cerradura, o los estudiantes son demasiado altos para un casillero inferior o, por lo contrario, no son lo suficientemente altos para un casillero superior o cualquier otra circunstancia.

2. Creemos que al permitir que los estudiantes carguen sus útiles escolares durante el día en las aulas en su mochila puede ayudarlos a prepararse mas fácil para las clases sin olvidar los útiles que a veces sin darse cuenta no traían para la clase ese día. Cada vez que un estudiante tiene que abandonar un salón de clases para recuperar un artículo olvidado en su casillero, esto contribuye a que se pierda un tiempo valioso de instrucción. Trabajaremos con los maestros para establecer procesos y procedimientos para que los estudiantes reduzcan el cargar muchos útiles escolares entro de la escuela y que no lleven tantas cosas a la casa. Posiblemente ayudara si proporcionamos lugar extra dentro de los salones para guardar los artículos que los estudiantes utilizan con frecuencia.

3. Otro factor sobre esta decisión involucró la funcionalidad de los casilleros y la continuación de la política de teléfonos celulares que iniciamos el año pasado. Como seremos un campus de Chromebook 1-1 para el año escolar 2019-2020 (en casi todos los salones de clase), los teléfonos celulares simplemente no serán necesarios para participar o tener éxito en clase. Tenemos una gran cantidad de casilleros que simplemente no cierran. Los estudiantes pueden golpear o patear las esquinas estratégicamente para abrirlos sin manipular la cerradura de combinación. Este hecho nos impide exigir a los estudiantes que guarden los teléfonos celulares en los armarios debido a la posibilidad de robo; en su lugar, les pediremos a los estudiantes que coloquen teléfonos celulares en el almacenamiento designado por el maestro o en sus mochilas.

4. Terminamos el año escolar 2018-2019 con alrededor de 1,260 estudiantes. Esto significa que el flujo de tráfico en nuestros pasillos estuvo muy congestionado a medida que los estudiantes iban y venían a sus casilleros, algunos esperan su turno para ingresar a su casillero o esperan que los amigos obtengan lo que necesitan de su casillero. Tenemos la esperanza de que este cambio ayudará a reducir o eliminar los bloqueos en los pasillos.

Nos damos cuenta de que puede haber circunstancias que inhiban la capacidad de un estudiante para llevar una mochila durante todo el día. Tenga en cuenta que trabajaremos con los estudiantes y los padres para elaborar un plan que funcione. Si hay una razón por la que su estudiante no puede llevar una mochila o necesita un lugar para guardar artículos, pídale a su hijo que hable con el consejero o administrador de su grado para pedir y llenar una solicitud de casillero.

También estamos concientes que puede haber algunas preguntas con respecto a la seguridad del campus en lo que respecta a llevar mochilas en el campus ...

Consejeros por grado escolar:

6to grado: Lori Groves - lori.groves@pisd.edu

7to grado: Kelly Newman - kelly.newman@pisd.edu

8vo grado: Brad Allcorn - brad.allcorn@pisd.edu

Administradores por grado escolar:

6to grado: Rayna Whetstone, subdirectora r.matthewswhetstone@pisd.edu

7to grado: Jill Engelking, directora jill.engelking@pisd.edu

8vo grado: Travis Ragsdale, subdirector - travis.ragsdale@pisd.edu

También estamos cambiando nuestro horario de campana/ timbre durante clases este año. Esto para que podamos tener 4 horarios de almuerzo en lugar de 3. Esto reducirá la cantidad de estudiantes de alrededor de 420 estudiantes por almuerzo a alrededor de 315 estudiantes por horario. Continuaremos teniendo 7 periodos cada día. El día comienza a las 8:30 y termina a las 3:30; sin embargo, ahora tendremos un período de asesoramiento vinculado al cuarto período en lugar de un período de enriquecimiento rotativo cada día. Otro cambio es que hemos reducido los períodos de paso durante clases de 5 minutos a 4 minutos, ya que no es necesario ir a los casilleros. El horario de la campana o timbre está vinculado a continuación, pero los horarios de almuerzo no se incluyen porque todavía estamos revisando el tamaño de las clases del cuarto período, en un esfuerzo por equilibrar mejor los horarios de almuerzos. Esa información será comunicada a los padres antes del primer día de clases.

Nuevo horario de campana (sin almuerzos asignados):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11zvyswgLBfnQjLw2fCuGhw5GPmx1qFZQ/view?usp=sharing

Código de vestimenta - Cuando comience a ir de compras a la escuela, tenga en cuenta el Código de vestimenta del ISD de Plano (puede encontrarlo aquí: https://www.pisd.edu/Page/1756 ) Nos adheriremos al Código de vestimenta de PISD con una excepción: permitiremos que los pantalones vaqueros que tienen rasgaduras / agujeros / desgarros, siempre que esos rasgones / agujeros / rasgaduras estén por debajo de la longitud de la punta del dedo.

Fechas importantes:

Se abre la inscripción en línea a través del portal de padres:

Miércoles 24 de julio ( https://www.pisd.edu/gradebook )

Horarios abiertos en línea a través del portal para padres (ver enlace anterior):

2 de agosto al mediodía El horario no será visible si su hijo tiene multas de la biblioteca, debe dinero en la cafetería, no tiene pruebas de las vacunas requeridas para ingresar al 7º grado, o necesita actualizar su residencia proporcionando una prueba del recibo actual de renta/compra de su residencia .

Recoger los paquetes escolares:

6to grado - Martes 6 de agosto de 8:00 a 10:00.

7to y 8vo grado - Martes 6 de agosto de 11:00 a 1:00.

Para los estudiantes de 6to grado y sus padres. Vengan a conocer a los maestros

Jueves 8 de agosto de 6:00pm a 7:00.

2 Ferias de Regreso a la Escuela para los padres y estudiantes:

25 de julio de 9:00 am a 3:00 pm

Escuela secundaria de Williams

1717 calle 17

Plano, TX 75074

5 de agosto de 9:00 am a 3:00 pm

Escuela secundaria de Frankford

7706 Osage Plaza Parkway

Dallas, TX 75252

Deseamos poder relacionarnos con usted para el bien de sus hijos. Este será un gran año para aprender y crecer en Renner Middle School.

Tenga en cuenta que estoy accesible a cualquier pregunta, inquietud o comentario; por favor no dude en ponerse en contacto conmigo.

Muchas gracias,

Jill Engelking

Directora de la escuela

Renner Middle School

New Student Registration

New Student Registration will be ongoing throughout the beginning of the school year. To schedule an appointment, please contact the appropriate grade level counselor:

Lori Groves, lori.groves@pisd.edu - 6th grade

Kelly Newman, kelly.newman@pisd.edu - 7th grade

Brad Allcorn, brad.allcorn@pisd.edu - 8th grade

Class Schedules Released

Schedules will be released on Friday, August 2nd at 12:00 PM. You can access your child’s schedule by visiting the below link and logging in to your child’s parent portal account.

https://parentportal.pisd.edu/Login.aspx

• In order for schedule to be released, all registration forms must be updated through parent portal. If your child's schedule does not come up, there could be a block due to library fines or overdue lunches, incomplete immunizations, or returned mail has signaled the need for updated residency documents.

Packet Pick-Up Day (Nurse on campus to intake meds and immunization records, pick up school supplies, buy spirit wear, walk your schedule)

Tuesday, August 6th

6th grade 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM

7th and 8th Grade 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

6th Grade Meet and Greet

6th grade Meet & Greet will be on Thursday, August 8th, from 6:00 to 7:00 PM. 6th grade parents and students are invited to come to Renner to walk their schedules and meet our amazing 6th grade teachers. This is a casual come and go with no set schedule.

First Day of School

The first day of school for students is Monday, August 12th. Our instructional day is from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM with our doors opening at 7:50 AM.

Students who have blocks on their account for residency must provide updated proof of residency to our Registrar, Mrs. Lopez, before their schedule will be released. If you moved over the summer, please be sure to bring proof of residency to our Registrar's Office before school begins. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Lopez at 469-752-5819 or maru.lopez@pisd.edu.

Parents,

While many of you have already turned in proof of immunizations, please know that all incoming 7th graders are required by the State of Texas to have the following:

Meningococcal Vaccine (MCV4) – One dose required after age 11

Tdap Vaccine (Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis) Booster dose required (within last 5 years)

Proof of these immunizations will be required to begin school for the 2019-2020 school year. To view a copy of your child’s immunization record as currently on file with the school, please go to https://parentviewer.pisd.edu/.

If you need to provide proof of immunization, you can drop off a copy of your student's immunization records in the Front Office or email a copy to our Nurse Brandi Shrier at brandi.shrier@pisd.edu. If you have questions or concerns, I recommend discussing these with your physician.

Parents,

If your student has health concerns such as adrenal crisis, allergies/anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes, seizures, or other health concerns that require Action Plans, please be mindful that new Action Plans and Request for Medication forms must be provided at the beginning of each school year. Please have their physician complete these forms prior to the first day of school.

Linked below is a list with hyperlinks that you may print for their use. However, please know that many physicians have their own preferred forms and these will be acceptable as long as all necessary information is provided.

To find various health related forms that are required, please visit https://www.pisd.edu/Page/1697

Together, we can provide your student with a safe learning environment.

Respectfully,

Brandi Shrier, RN

Renner MS Nurse

469-752-5809

Football & Volleyball Seasons are just around the corner!

Paperwork

Physicals – All incoming 7th graders & 8th graders new to Athletics must have a physical dated May 1, 2019 or after. This is to be completed with the Medical History form.

https://www.uiltexas.org/files/athletics/forms/PrePhysForm17-18.pdf. Physicals are DUE before the first practice.

Online Paperwork – Online paperwork must also be completed prior to the first practice. Online paperwork can be accessed on the Renner Middle School website under Athletics at https://www.pisd.edu/domain/2562.

Game Admission Fees

Please note the cost of admission to all Middle School athletic events:

• Adults: $4.00
• Students: $2.00
• PISD Employees: free

Go Mustangs!

If you are interested in volunteering in any Plano ISD school, please update your Volunteer Clearance using the following link: http://www.pisd.edu/Domain/265.

Becoming a member of the Renner PTA is the easiest way to show your support for our campus, our students and our community. There is NO obligation to volunteer. You DO NOT have to attend meetings or be on any committees. It takes only a few minutes join online through the Renner PTA website. Your membership helps the PTA to provide programs for students, parents & staff, as well as purchasing items for our classrooms to help enrich the educational experience for all students. For more information, please visit their website at www.rennerpta.org.

Jill Engelking, Principal

Website: www.pisd.edu/renner
Location: 5701 W Parker Rd, Plano, TX 75093
Phone: 469-752-5800