Ellison Families,

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! This is our first newsletter of the school year, outlining information you won't want to miss! As you'll see below, we expect a wonderful start to the new school year and can't wait to see our little bees!!

We've spent the summer working hard to make this our best year yet! It’s definitely exciting to have new students and staff members joining our school family. As you probably know, our hive is always growing and that is something that makes us very proud. This new year, we are projected to have an enrollment of about 800 students.

My heart is absolutely beaming with pride for you to meet our new staff and of course we can't wait to meet our new to Ellison families! If you are new to our campus and would like a personal tour please don't hesitate to email me directly at Julie.Meneses@nisd.net.

In addition to recruiting the most qualified educators, we always work diligently to ensure that our staff's core principles, campus policies, goals, and commitments are aligned with our campus mission and vision.

Our BEES team always ends the year by reviewing data in order to carefully craft our School Improvement Plan. We also revisit our school-wide policies to guarantee a nurturing and safe learning community for all bees. Please review and become familiarized with our campus policies by visiting our BEES Handbook by clicking here: https://www.flipsnack.com/ellisonbees/test/full-view.html In addition to our handbook, you can also see a snapshot of some of our general policies on the flyer below.

At Ellison, we believe in continuous growth and improvement, for students and staff! Our campus goals help us continuously improve our ability to meet the needs of every student.

This year our goals are centered around increasing student engagement by:

• Improving student attendance
• Ensuring that every student is provided with opportunities to engage in daily morning meetings that focus on social-emotional learning and the NISD learner profiles (Leader, Learner, Innovator, Creator, Critical Thinker, Solution Finder, Collaborator and Communicator)
• Designing a Campus-Wide plan to increase math fluency and automaticity in grades PK-5.
• Implementing more hands on learning opportunities in Science and Math
• Integrating reading and writing across all content areas
• Improve student confidence and academic ability in Reading by providing authentic reading experiences such as book clubs, literature circles, targeted instruction in phonics, comprehension and word study

The strategies listed above align with our mission and vision which define our greatest hopes, aspirations, and clearly communicate our commitment to our students and community. We hope that our mission and vision inspire you as much as it has inspired us to conquer ahead!

At Ellison, our daily mission is to put students first! Our vision is that every day, every student will grow as compassionate, innovative, leaders! #PuroCorazon #OneTeamOneVision

Soon, our teachers and staff will continue preparing for the new school year through retreats and professional development. Our work is focused on ensuring that we are fully prepared to provide daily learning experiences in which all students are highly engaged, where they feel loved and respected, and where their individual academic and social-emotional needs are met through targeted instruction.

As Ellison's proud principal, one of my favorite back-to-school events is the upcoming Paletas with the Principal and PTA! I get to meet new bees and say hello to our returning families! This event has something for everyone! On FRIDAY, August 9th, we also invite all Ellison fathers and father figures to learn about our WATCH D.O.G.S. program. It is a national innovative program focusing on the prevention of violence in our children’s schools by using the positive influence of fathers and father-figures for a two-fold purpose: (1) to provide an unobtrusive presence in schools, and (2) to be a positive and active role-model for children at their school.

Families will be able to take a self-guided tour of our school and explore the playgrounds and amphitheater. Pizza and paletas (popsicles) will be sold (while supplies last). And for all families that are already familiar with Ellison, we hope you join us as you too will be able to mingle and reconnect with other BEES, sign up for the Watch D.O.G.S. program, purchase PTA spirit wear, and become a PTA member. This is also a wonderful opportunity to meet some of our staff members!

Please also mark your calendar for our annual Meet the Teacher event. Check out the Back to School flyer below.

On behalf of our entire faculty, thank you for the privilege of allowing us to serve your family. We look forward to the year ahead!

Sincerely,

Principal Meneses

Paletas with the Principal and PTA!- 8/9

Look out for a special email from your teacher!- 8/13

Meet the Teacher- 8/15

First Day of School/Join us...BEES PTA First Day Munch and Mingle! (7:15 a.m.) 8/19

Labor Day Student & Staff Holiday 9/2

First General PTA Meeting/ Parent Orientation- 9/3

Grandparents Day 9/6

Buzz, buzz, buzz! All families will be buzzed via EMAIL by the evening of Tuesday, August 13th! Look out for a warm and welcoming message from your teacher. “Bee” sure to mark your calendar for our annual “Meet the Teacher” on Thursday, August 15th. See you there! #TeamEllison

Please review our arrival and dismissal procedures!

Our front drive crossing guard begins duty at 7 a.m. Parents may begin dropping students off as early as 7:00 a.m. but not any sooner.

To ensure the safety and security of all children and staff and to prevent disruption of the learning environment, after the first week of school, the hallways will remain a student-only zone in the mornings, with the exception of PK, Kinder, ALE, and ECSE. Families of students in PK, Kinder, ALE and ECSE are highly encouraged to park and escort students into the building, however must arrive between 7:00-7:40 a.m. to do so. We ask that all other parents/guardians either use the express lane or park and walk students to the security lobby, where a staff member will be happy to greet and welcome them! Visitors are always welcome to check-in to the building to meet with the school nurse, speak to the office staff, or for scheduled conferences or meetings.

Upon arrival, students will walk to either the cafeteria or gym. All bus riders will be greeted at the bus loop and escorted into the cafeteria.

• For ALE and ESCE, specific drop off instructions will by provided by the classroom teacher.
• All PK students report to the cafeteria.
• Kinder students report to the Kinder hall if they don't plan to eat breakfast. Those eating breakfast should report to the cafeteria.
• 1st-5th grade students arriving through the front entrance should report to the gym. Those eating breakfast should report to the cafeteria.

Monitors will be present to supervise all students. Students will transition to their classrooms by 7:30 a.m. where they will be greeted by their teachers. It is highly recommended that students who plan to eat breakfast arrive to school before 7:30 a.m. Breakfast is served between 7:00-7:35 a.m.

We know that dropping off our children and getting to work on time can be stressful! To expedite student drop-off, parents may use the bus loop after 7:10 a.m. to drop off 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. This option is only available after 7:10 a.m. (or when buses have departed) and only for our older students. As students are dropped off, they should follow the side-walk that leads to the school entrance where they will be greeted by monitoring staff.

To ensure safety of younger students, families of 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th graders with younger siblings should use the front Express lane 1 for drop-off.

Each family will be provided with a unique number which will be displayed on a hanging car tag. (You'll be provided with two hanging tags at Meet the Teacher.) During dismissal, a staff member will enter data into spreadsheet as cars arrive. Teachers will have a device in order to track students that should be sent out to the Express Lane.

For safety reasons, all Express Hang Tags MUST be prominently displayed by hanging from your vehicle's rear view mirror.

There is currently a road closure on Heuermann Rd. due to a SAWS project that has been approved by the city. This project is anticipated to be finalized by October 5th, but may be extended. Given the circumstances and to prevent overcrowding and an obstruction of traffic, we have revised our campus dismissal plan. We’ve also adjusted our arrival plan slightly. BUT we NEED YOUR HELP to help us execute it successfully. Please review the following:

• The new arrival/dismissal plan includes Express Lane 1, Express Lane 2, & Parent Walk Up.
• Lane 1 circles the FRONT of the school and also feeds into the FRONT Visitor parking lot.
• Lane 2 is also known as the BUS LOOP and leads to the SIDE STAFF parking lot.

Revised Afternoon Dismissal Plan:

• The main entrance, also known as our Express Lane, is now going to be considered LANE 1.

• Lane 1 will be used to dismiss our younger students (ECSE, PK, K, and 1st) and their older siblings. Parents and/or visitors wanting to access our front office or those parking to access the Parent Walk-Up area must also use Lane 1 to access the front parking lot.

• Parent Walk-Up is accessible to all Ellison students in any grade. It’s imperative that teachers know if your child will be dismissed through the Parent Walk-Up area so that they can send them to the appropriate waiting area at dismissal time.

• We’ve established LANE 2 ONLY for CAR RIDERS that are in grades 2-5 that DON’T have younger siblings. ALL students in grades 2-5 will be dismissed through lane 2, no exceptions.

• Lane 2 is also used by our buses so many of our families know it as our BUS LOOP.

• Because our buses use this lane to load students, we can only start loading students into their vehicles AFTER buses leave. Our BIG ask is that you DO NOT arrive BEFORE 3 p.m. if using Lane 2, otherwise you will be obstructing traffic, blocking buses, and waiting in line for an extended period of time. NO lining up early, no exceptions.

• Lane 2 also leads into our STAFF parking lot. Please do NOT park in the staff parking lot. Lane 2 is only for moving traffic, therefore we ask that you remain in your vehicle at all times.

Some of us are crying teary-eyed and blue.

Some of use are cheering, "I'm glad the summer's through!"

Whatever mood you're feeling, stop by and stay awhile.

Stop by to Munch and Mingle...

The BEES PTA will be here to greet you with a smile!

Stop by after dropping your child off,

meet PTA and other Ellison families, and leave a note

for your bee to brighten their first day of school.

Monday, August 19th

7:15 a.m.

BEES Library

If you think your child may qualify for free and reduced lunch benefits, or to find menus and additional details, click here.

Not only are all of their products cool, proceeds from their sales come directly back to our students! Thanks to PTA, our little bees have been blessed with new additions to our playground and our teachers will have an opportunity to apply for a PTA grant. Please continue to support PTA, and our Ellison bees!

Click below to visit our wonderful PTA site. With a click of a button, you'll be able to purchase spirit gear, which students are encouraged to use on the first day of school and every Friday of the year!

Ellison is the place to “bee”- Growing, learning, and building our hive together!

In our hive, our daily mission is to put students first! Our campus vision is that our students grow daily as compassionate, innovative leaders!

Location: 7132 Oak Drive, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-398-1850
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllisonElementary