The Titan Times: Week 22

Titan Families,

On behalf of the entire Titan staff, Ms. Olmstead and I extend a warm welcome back to school for the second half of the academic year! We hope you all had a restful and rejuvenating winter break and are ready to dive back into learning and growth.

As we embark on this new chapter, we encourage all Titans – students, faculty, and staff – to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. Let us strive for excellence in all that we do, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respected, and let's have a blast doing it! Ms. Olmstead and I are confident that with dedication, perseverance, and a positive attitude, we will achieve great things this semester. Let's make it a year of learning, growth, and success for all Titans!

Check out the dates and information below to see how you can continue to stay informed and add value to our learning community. If you need anything, please feel free to contact our front office team.

Take care and lead well,

Dr. Amy Sharp, RPE Principal

Ms. Lacy Olmstead, RPE Assistant Principal

• 9th: Elementary Night CRMS vs. FPMS Basketball Game at 5:30 PM (see flyer below)
• 10th: Report Cards for the 2nd Nine Weeks will be available in your HAC. To display the Report Card page, click Grades on the HAC menu, then click the Report Card tab.
• 20th: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day- No School for Students and Staff
• 25th: LEEF Gala (Info Below)

February: Black History Month

• 3rd-7th National School Counselor Appreciation Week
• 10th-14th Kindness Week
• 17th Presidents' Day- No School for Students

As our Titans start to add layers of clothing, please be sure you are labeling jackets and all other winter gear. Our collection of coats from December is already large, and we want to be sure our Titans stay warm with the winter clothing you purchased for them. Thank you!

Leander ISD administration will be closely monitoring weather and road conditions. The decision to close schools due to inclement weather takes into account conditions throughout the surrounding area as many of our staff commute from outside the district. School closures or delays are announced, when possible, and posted to our social media channels. If a delayed opening or school closing is necessary, families will be notified directly via Remind, including text, email, and app notifications.

Join us on January 25, 2025, for LEEF’s 10th annual Gala at The Crossover, where we'll journey into the universe of A Wrinkle in Time to celebrate and support public education in #1LISD! Enjoy an inspiring evening filled with live and silent auctions, a student art gallery, dinner, drinks, and more, all in support of Leander ISD students and teachers.

Date: January 25, 2025
Location: The Crossover
Tickets and sponsorships available now!

Come be part of a magical night that will leave a lasting impact on education!

Tickets & Sponsorships: https://buff.ly/3Yzfe2q

Ms. Zoë Ashton from Four Points Middle School's Falcon Theatre department is looking to get more involvement from our feeder pattern's elementary schools with our middle school theatre program! To do so, she's reaching out to get some elementary students casted in the Four Points spring musical: Shrek JR! Auditions will be at the end of January and performances will be April 10th, 11th, and 12th.

Check out the links below:

Here is a video with more information.

Here is some information about auditions!

Here is the audition form for elementary students and their parents/guardians!

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

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.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Amy Sharp at amy.sharp@leanderisd.org Thank you!

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!

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.

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 at your earliest convenience. Please let us know if you need this in print form, and we will work with you to provide it.

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