Renner Middle School eNews

We will distribute our weekly eNews through 2 different platforms (School Messenger & the eNews subscription - https://elist.pisd.edu/).

Hi, Parents-

This is repeated information from the body of the email, but it is REALLY important...

Items to Bring Daily:

• MASK
• Backpack
• Class schedule
• Chromebook
• Chromebook charger
• Earbuds/headphones (if student has them)
• Cell Phone (if student has one - QR codes will be utilized throughout the building for contact free passes, creating lunch seating charts, etc.)
• Refillable water bottle labeled with student name (water fountains unavailable for students without a water bottle)

Renner's Return To School Plan - DRAFT (I have to say this...the spacing and alignment looks perfect when I view the document in my Google Drive, but it is NOT perfect through the link below):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WoSCOeJYRdaOnjNGujZnzqkZkH0RLoIYhOADP4ROeFE/edit?usp=sharing

Questions about the Return to School Plan? Please submit them here: https://forms.gle/11UXQBPVDbsXdd8X6

Our daily schedule has been adjusted to accommodate 4 lunches as we welcome students back to campus. This WILL impact our School@Home learners, too.

Please review the learning schedule for the week of September 9 - 11 at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1moZ96JRM8AJUWZZIG5iLXMrUgQDxNiApGx7CC8Mklec/edit?usp=sharing

Bell Schedule for week of September 9 - 11:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ej0rVFvwe1jk2-Nhav2ln--kAJSKFjhjjWwOLSLkpVs/edit?usp=sharing

Most of our cell phone policy will remain the same, and I have linked our updated policy here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18M1Pnsrsqg0K-Bt7izPPhTixoGyjSsjaDyQ7a8sF_d0/edit?usp=sharing

Our Renner community of students, parents, and staff members is truly amazing. More than ever before, I am proud to be a Renner Mustang!

Thank you,

Jill Engelking

Principal, Renner Middle School

Please login to the Parent Portal (https://parentviewer.pisd.edu/Login.aspx) to review and update emergency contacts. This is vital (this year more than ever before) as it will be important to be able to contact parents in a timely manner in the event of an emergency. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

Whether it is an asynchronous or synchronous day of learning, attendance is taken every day for every class. In an effort to help make attendance taking more efficient for both students and teachers, ALL Renner MS teachers will utilize a Google Attendance Form that students must submit daily for every class during synchronous or asynchronous learning. This will be the primary way for teachers to monitor attendance. Additionally, your student needs to login every day through WebDesk to access their google classrooms and complete daily assignments so that engagement may be tracked should there be any inconsistencies. Students must log out of their WebDesk at the end of each day to record their engagement online.

As a reminder, your student’s teacher has full control over his or her attendance. If for some reason your student did not attend class (during synchronous learning) or login (during asynchronous learning), he or she has until 11:59 pm of that same school day to login, complete, and submit work to the teacher. The next day, that absence will be reconciled by the teacher as they check work submitted. As such, you may receive an automated phone call in the evening communicating an absence for that day. These calls are a reminder that the student still has a chance to login and reconcile the absence through completion of the Google Attendance Form and work submission. We encourage you to allow teachers the subsequent day following an absence to reconcile it before contacting them regarding attendance errors.

Parents and students will receive absence notifications via School Messenger after 6:00 p.m. each day and will be reminded of the opportunity to resolve that day’s absence if the student engages in learning before 11:59 p.m. of the same day via Plano ISD WebDesk. (Notifications may be controlled by parents via Parent Portal.)

Any absences recorded but resolved by the student before 11:59 p.m. on the same day will be reconciled based on login records of the Plano ISD WebDesk. Reconciliation will not appear right away and could take a couple of days to become visible to parents.

Webdesk link can be found here.

Instructions for Remote Learners - By Appointment Only:

School Pictures for Remote Learners will be by schedule only on Monday, September 21st. Please use the link below to schedule a time for Legacy Studios to take yearbook and student ID card photos. Photos will take place in the Renner Small Gym.

https://legacystudios.com/renner-ms/

Students should wear what they would typically wear on a school day. All students are expected to remain in Plano ISD dress code compliance when having pictures taken.Students will receive their student ID after they have taken their picture.

Instructions for Face-to-Face Learners:

School Pictures for Face-to-Face Learners will be during the school day on Wednesday, September 23rd. Students should wear what they would typically wear on a school day. All students are expected to remain in Plano ISD dress code compliance when having pictures taken. Students will receive their student ID after they have taken their picture.

Masks are required to be worn at all times in the facility except when participating in certain activities where 6 ft social distance can be safely maintained.

Activities or spaces NOT available currently.

1. Lobby furniture has been removed. No waiting or congregating in the lobby is allowed.

2. No Game room activities are available.

3. No basketball court activities, or access to the basketball court is available.

4. No Leisure swimming is available.

5. No day passes are available to enter the facility, only members may gain entry. Memberships are available.

Activities that ARE available to youth members.

1. Lap Swimming. 1 person per lane, continuously moving. Masks must be worn to and from the pool.

2. Walking/Running track. Children under 11 must be supervised by an adult. Mask Required at all times.

3. Open play table tennis or badminton. If they bring their own equipment, and obey all open play rules. Open play schedule here: https://www.plano.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16510/Weekly-Recreational-Activities

Additional details about our status and changes can be found here: https://www.plano.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/14

Schedule for August 12 - September 4: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E2fNEJjiXv_UtgAxZ-8eAD41V2MzGAb0BQlqU0SQ1kI/edit?usp=sharing

Remote Synchronous Learning is defined as two-way, real-time, live, instruction between teachers and students, through the computer or other electronic devices. Students enrolled in PISD School@Home will be assigned a virtual class schedule and must be available for live, synchronous instruction during each school day.

Plano ISD student expectations for synchronous learning:

• Students attend class on time, per their class schedule.

• Students will follow Plano ISD dress code.

• Students are ready to engage and learn.

• Students should have a designated, distraction-free workspace to engage in learning.

• Students will show their face on the screen to engage with the teacher virtually.

• Students will participate in the class activities, discussions and assignments.

Remote Asynchronous Learning is a curricular experience where students engage in the learning materials on their own time, interacting intermittently with the teacher via the computer or other electronic devices. In this setting, teachers will provide instruction, learning resources and support through the use of Google Classroom.

Plano ISD student expectations for ​asynchronous learning:

• Students will complete asynchronous activities assigned each day.

• Students show proof of participation in daily virtual instruction by satisfactorily completing assignments to demonstrate evidence of student learning, e.g., video, picture or activities submitted as lessons and/or completing assignments.

• Students and parents will communicate with the teacher when needing additional assistance, tutoring, etc.

Parents!

Are you looking for a way to be involved at your child’s school? Is your child currently enrolled in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in the district? If you answered yes to both questions, we would love for you to volunteer to be a part of the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) as a parent representative. It is not a huge commitment on time. We generally have one meeting a month which occurs during the school day. If you are interested and want to learn more please contact Karen Bradshaw (ESL Dept Chair) at karen.bradshaw@pisd.edu or 469-752-5894. We would love to have you as part of the team.

If your daughter is a 7th or 8th grader interested in Girls Athletics for the 2020-2021 school year, please fill out the form below to join our email list. We will be keeping you up to date on detailed information regarding volleyball tryouts and other important reminders about athletics. Please remember that we must have your daughter’s physical, medical history and Rank1 forms on file before she is eligible to participate in tryouts in September.

https://forms.gle/trt2toaoDGYXKdF16

Thank you!

Coach Loyd & Coach Wiedower

Every secondary student now has a student email through the district. This is how students should communicate with their teachers and other school officials. Please make sure that you check your email regularly. To gain access to this email, follow these steps on this site.

https://www.pisd.edu/studentemail

If your family is experiencing difficulty with home internet access, please complete this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSft7BsF4-KA5T-gh0wBrsttWlQM5SqAuAMC1FWXPM9J3DTtEg/viewform

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.

As we prepare for our Face-to-Face learners to return to campus, here is some information on our FANS Dept. and how they will be serving meals:

• Breakfast and lunch will be provided on scheduled school days at participating campus sites.
• Students will enter serving lines and will be provided a served meal with a choice of milk.
• Menu items will be placed in pre-packaged containers for students to take to designated locations within the school building.
• Students will be charged based on their eligibility status - district charge policy will be enforced.

Online payments and prepayments are preferred methods of payment.

PISD School@Home learners will have the opportunity to pick up meals at designated curbside meal locations.

Free and reduced meal applications are now available at www.schoolcafe.com/pisd. Student eligibility status from the 2019-2020 school year will roll over only for the first 30 operating days of school or until a new application has been processed. It is important that households complete an application for the 2020-2021 school year as soon as possible. We encourage households to fill out an application online, however, paper copies are available at the campus.

APPLY NOW

Applying for free and reduced meal benefits has never been easier. Create your SchoolCafe user account. Apply, submit, and track your application status from start to finish. Apply online today from your computer or smartphone.

SchoolCafe Free & Reduced Meal Benefit Video Walkthrough

SchoolCafe Free & Reduced Meal Benefit Quick Card

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• Español

Plano ISD is excited to announce our new online payment system! In an effort to reduce time, money and paper waste, and during this time of remote instruction, parents of returning students can pay their children’s school and lunch fees through a secure online website that is accessed through the following website:

https://www.studentquickpay.com/PISD

If you are a parent who has multiple children at multiple schools, they will all appear together under your online payment parent account. With a few simple clicks, parents can view assessed fees, see any outstanding balances and pay for all of their children in a single transaction. Payments can be made by Visa, Visa Debit, MasterCard, MasterCard Debit, American Express, Discover and ACH Electronic Check. Please note that there is a small convenience charge for using this system, put in place to offset some of the costs of offering this service. For general information about fees, please contact your child’s school.

As a Plano ISD parent, you have the option to pay a number of mandatory and elective school fees online, as well as make payments to student lunch accounts. Our new online payment system is an easy and secure way to pay school fees from the comfort of your home or office.

The Plano ISD online payment system allows you to pay for:

· Fare busing

· Athletic fees

· Activity fees

· Course fees

· Yearbook

· Extracurricular fees

· Field trip fees

You can use the Plano ISD online payment system to:

· Add money to lunch accounts

· Pay selected school fees

· Make fee payments for all students in your family at one time

· View your payment history

· View all your upcoming fee payments in one place

· Print payment receipts

· Print tax receipts

· Print student account statements

Advantages to using the Plano ISD online payment system:

· Accepts credit cards and e-checks

· Provides a convenient and secure transaction

· Available 24 hours a day

· Convenience of paying multiple fees in one place

· Accessible from anywhere there is an Internet connection

· Saves school office staff the time of manually keying payments into accounting and student fee information systems

· Streamlines fee management and collection processes for parents and the district

· Provides better fee reporting at the school and district level

How do I create an online payment account?

· Please visit this link for step-by-step instructions.

¡El Distrito escolar (ISD) de Plano anuncia con emoción nuestro nuevo sistema de pagos en línea! Con el afán de reducir el tiempo, dinero y uso de papel, y durante esta época de clases a distancia, los padres de alumnos existentes pueden pagar los gastos escolares y de almuerzo de sus alumnos a través de un sitio web seguro al que se puede acceder con el siguiente enlace:

https://www.studentquickpay.com/PISD

Si usted es un padre que tiene múltiples alumnos en múltiples escuelas, todos los alumnos aparecerán juntos en su cuenta de padre para pagos en línea. Con unos cuántos clics, los padres pueden ver los gastos cobrados y cualquier saldo pendiente, y con una sola transacción pagar los gastos de todos sus alumnos. Los pagos se pueden hacer por tarjeta Visa, Visa de débito, MasterCard, MasterCard de débito, American Express, Discover y por Cheque Electrónico ACH. Deben saber que hay un pequeño recargo por usar este sistema, establecido para compensar un poco del costo de ofrecer este servicio. Para información general sobre los pagos comuníquese con la escuela de su alumno.

Como padre de un alumno del ISD de Plano, usted tiene la opción de pagar en línea varios gastos escolares obligatorios y optativos, así como hacer abonos a las cuentas de almuerzo de sus alumnos. Nuestro nuevo sistema de pagos en línea ofrece una forma fácil y segura para pagar los gastos escolares desde el confort de su hogar u oficina.

El sistema de pagos en línea del ISD de Plano le permite pagar:

· Servicio de autobús pagado (fare busing)

· Cuotas deportivas

· Cuotas de actividades

· Pagos por cursos

· Anuario

· Cuotas de actividades extracurriculares

· Pagos de excursiones escolares

Puede usar el sistema de pagos en línea del ISD de Plano para:

· Agregar dinero a las cuentas de almuerzo

· Pagar ciertos gastos escolares

· Pagar los gastos de todos los alumnos en su familia de una sola vez

· Ver su historial de pagos

· Ver en un solo lugar todos los gastos por pagar próximos

· Imprimir comprobantes de pago

· Imprimir comprobantes para los impuestos

· Imprimir los estados de las cuentas estudiantiles

Ventajas de usar el sistema de pagos en línea del IDS de Plano:

· Acepta tarjetas de crédito y cheques electrónicos

· Permite una transacción conveniente y segura

· Disponible las 24 horas al día

· Conveniencia de pagar múltiples gastos en un solo lugar

· Accesible desde cualquier lugar donde haya una conexión a Internet

· Para el personal de las oficinas escolares, les ahorra el tiempo de registrar los pagos manualmente en el sistema contable y el sistema de información sobre gastos estudiantiles.

· Agiliza los procesos de gestión y cobro de gastos, tanto para los padres como para el distrito

· Ofrece mejores informes sobre gastos, tanto para las escuelas como para el distrito

¿Cómo creo una cuenta de pagos en línea?

· Le invitamos leer las instrucciones paso por paso en el siguiente enlace.

The SMU Center for Family Counseling at Plano ISD is now offering telehealth counseling services provided free of charge. Services are provided by SMU Counseling Program students during their Practicum and Internship experiences and will be supervised by SMU full-time and adjunct faculty. Services are for adults, children (play therapy), adolescents (activity therapy), 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.

Additionally, clients are being accepted for five new support groups: Adult Mindfulness Group, LGBTQ+ Parenting/Caregiver Support Group, Adolescent Support Group, LGBTQ+ Adolescent Support Group, and LGBTQ+ Adult Support Group.

Service hours and contact information is as follows:

Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Appointments are available - please call to schedule (469) 752-3098.

A FAQ for Telehealth Counseling services may be found HERE.

LAST CALL FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES!! PTA will continue to sell school supplies on https://rennerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/ through Friday, September 11th. School supplies purchased by 12 PM on September 8th can be picked up at the back of Renner between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm on September 8th. All sales made after 12PM on September 8th will be left in the front office of the school to be picked up at your convenience.

Check out the Renner PTA website for important information about our school! From this website, you can purchase your membership, check out school supplies, and buy spirit wear. It's also a great place to find out about upcoming PTA opportunities to help out Renner Middle School.

Renner PTA Website: https://rennerpta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Plano Public Library has many virtual programs going on throughout the fall for students and their families. We are offering curbside hold pick-ups, virtual STEAM workshops, access to FREE online tutoring and much more.

Virtual Events & Activities:

• Teen Technology Kits to learn more about coding and robotics (catalog here)
• STAAR testing and PSAT resources through Learning Express
• Homework review and help with Tutor.com
• Take a virtual field trip around the world with one of our librarians to see Machu Picchu, Grand Canyon, Van Gogh Museum and more
• Learn Adobe Creative Cloud apps with step by step videos

Things to do from home:

• Place a hold for an age appropriate STEAM Kit or Book Bundle
• Check out a database to help with virtual schooling: Tutor.com; Learning Express or Pronunciator
• Sign up to receive Check It Out, our eNewsletter
• Contact the library via phone or email to get connected with more information and resources

Library cards are free for Plano residents and residents of the following reciprocal cities: Allen, Frisco, Garland, McKinney, Richardson, The Colony, and Wylie. Signing up for a library card online is a great step towards lifelong learning at the library. Any students not eligible for a free card may still attend our programs or purchase a $50 annual non-resident card.

Jill Engelking, Principal

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