Buffalo News

August 5, 2024

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We are looking forward to seeing many of you on Thursday night. Everyone will get a copy of their schedule, get to meet their teachers, and get parking passes if needed. We will also have yearbooks available for anyone that previously purchased one.

• Student Driver's License
• Proof of Insurance
• $10 (Cash or Check)
• Make, model, license plate number

Mr. Navin Palicherla

My name is Navin Palicherla ("Coach P") and this is my first year at Florence High School. I will be teaching Algebra I. However, I have been in Florence for 9 years at the middle school. I am so happy to be teaching in Florence again this year - this feels like my home away from home!

Coach Brianna Acker

The 2024-25 school year will be my 5th year in education & coaching! This year I will be a teaching Inclusion at the High School and coaching volleyball, basketball and softball! I am super excited to become a part of the Herd and looking forward to a successful year in both academics and athletics! Go Buffs!

Ms. Haley Foeh

My name is Haley Foeh, and I am originally from Cuero, Texas. I graduated from Texas A&M University with an Agricultural Science Degree. This is my first year teaching, and I will be instructing the Plant Systems pathway. I am really looking forward to this upcoming year as a Florence Buffalo!

Mr. Casey Georg

I'm a 1985 graduate of Florence High School. I have lived in Florence most of my 57 years, and my mom still lives here. I earned my BS in biology from Texas A&M- Corpus Christi and my MA in history from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. My wife is from Montana and a University of Montana graduate. She will be working with Angel Callan in the ACE program this year and has also signed up to substitute teach. We have two daughters, McKenzie, 26, works at Home Depot in Georgetown and Bree is a senior accounting major at Texas State and will graduate in December. I have been teaching for 20 years, two in Alabama, six in Georgia, one in Ohio, and the past 11 years at Thrall High School. In addition to teaching, I have 27 years of newspaper experience.

Mr. Benny Quintanilla
My name is Benito Quintanila, and I am proud to be a Florence ISD Buffalo!! I am from Houston Tx, received a Bachelor's Degree while serving the US Army. Shortly after my retirement I followed up and achieved a Masters in Business Administration. My passion in helping others led me to volunteer and sub at all the FISD campuses. I then found that I could make a positive difference so I took a job as a teacher aide. Now I am a high school Spanish teacher. I have a true passion for working with our youngest learners! Helping each child progress in their development—academic, social, language,—is a challenge that I am honored to accept daily. I look forward to working together with you as partners in your child’s growth and development!!

Mrs. Brenda Moro

I have been teaching for 17 years and this is my first year at Florence ISD. I will be teaching the FAC class and can't wait to meet my students! I am so excited to be here in Florence.

Mrs. Sharla Ham (Stennett)

My name is Sharla Ham, and I am a 6th year science teacher from Killeen. I am so over the moon to work with the staff at FHS this year to teach Chemistry and IPC!

FHS hosted their Freshmen Welcome event on Tuesday, August 30th. Band, cheerleaders, campus and club leadership gathered to greet the 9th graders, take part in some teambuilding games, inform them of activities they can get involved in, and show them around their campus! A big thank you to Mrs. Brandon (District Librarian) and Mrs. Callan (ACE Coordinator) for planning the event and to Maxdale Cowboy Church for providing dinner!

Florence High School will be creating a phone-free learning environment beginning this school year. In a survey at FHS this spring, four students in one class period turned their phones on and recorded the number of times they received a notification, whether from a text, X, Instagram, or any other social media platform. During that one class period, the four phones combined had 224 alerts or notifications. On average that is approximately 56 interruptions per student. If you multiply that by an average of 20 students in a class, that equals 1120 interruptions per class period. This interruption to the learning environment prevents our students from focusing on their academics.

Over 2000 schools have implemented this program resulting in an increase in student engagement and behavior that has been overwhelmingly positive. Students will be issued a secure, magnetic pouch and they will place their cellular devices, including smartwatches and earbuds, into the secure pouch when they arrive at school. The students will maintain possession of their phones during the school day but won’t be able to access them until the end of the day. At the end of the day, the special magnets that unlock the pouches will be available at the exits to the building and students can unlock their pouches and retrieve their phone and accessories. It is critically important that students do not try to find a magnet to open their own pouch. By doing this, they could crash their phone and not be able to recover it.

There are exceptions for certain students with medical needs and those will be handled individually with each student. Should you have an emergency during the day and need to reach your student, please call the front office at Florence High School at 254-793-2495.

This program will not begin the first week of school, more information to come on the start date.

For more information please look at the attached documents below.

In order to graduate from high school, students must pass 5 End of Course Exams or EOC's. The End of Course Exams are Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II, and US History.

Spring EOC scores are available and may be accessed through Skyward. Click on the Texas Assessment Icon to view scores. Inside the assessement portal is a detailed report with specific information about your child's progress.

In order to qualify for early release, late start, or an office aide period students must have:

1. Passed all EOC's
2. Be a fourth year senior with at least 21 credits
3. Be on the Foundation Plan with an Endorsement
4. Met a CCMR indicator
5. Obtain parent permission using the form attached below.

To meet a CCMR indicator a student must:

1. Make a 3 or higher on an AP exam
2. Meet the TSI criteria via the SAT, ACT, TSIA2, or College Prep Course in ELA and Math
3. Earn 3 hours of dual credit ELA or Math
4. Earn 9 hours of any dual credit
5. Complete an OnRamps course
6. Earn an Industry Based Certification

Class Rank and GPA are now available to view in Skyward. For instructions on how to access them, check the attachment below.

8/8 - Buffalo Roundup 6:00 PM FHS Gym (Get Schedules and Meet your teachers)

8/14 - First Day of School

8/15 - ACE Parent Meeting FHS Library 6:00 PM

8/19 - ACE Starts

8/19 - Meet the Buffs 5:30 PM FHS Gym

8/24 - Fresh Food for Families 12:00 PM FHS

Volleyball and Football start practice 8/5

August 5-9 summer band week 3

Both schedules have had updates.