The Mustang Message

Dear Mustang Families,

We have made it through another full week at DES. This week was full of amazing learning, teamwork, and collaboration for students and staff!

🎉National School Counseling Week: We are so beyond thankful to have Mrs. Tracie Reeh as our incredible and irreplaceable Daniels School Counselor! I am not sure if there is anyone that could possibly love and care for our Mustang family the way that Mrs. Reeh does! We might be celebrating her this week for National School Counseling Week, but she truly deserves to be celebrated every single day!

🤒 Fevers and Sickness: We have been hit hard by the germs and sickness this past week. Please remember that if your Mustang has a fever, they must be fever free for 24 hours without the help of medication. This is an easy way to help us with the spread of germs at school. If you have questions about when your child can return, you are more than welcome to reach out to Nurse Molly, 830-257-2208 ext. 2025.

🧠 UIL District Meet: Our UIL students will get to participate in the Kerrville ISD Meet tomorrow, February 8th. Our students are prepared and they have been working hard! A big shout out to our UIL sponsors: Mrs. Zirkel, Mrs. King, Mrs. Marks, and Mrs. Taylor. We could not do this without their help!

❤️ Attendance Challenge: We love to be on time! For the week of Feb. 10th-14th we are doing an Attendance and Tardy Challenge. Students who are here on time each day will receive a sweet reward from Ms. Nathanson on Friday at lunch. (see flyer below for more details)

🎊 KPSF Instant Impact Grants Awarded: We are excited to announce that our campus was awarded a total of 30 Instant Impact Grants from the Kerrville Public School Foundation for a total of $7500! Congrats to the following staff members who were selected: Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Zirkel, Mrs. Vasquez, Mrs. Dutton, Mrs. Mills, Ms. Morris, Mrs. Leifeste, Mrs. Likin, Mrs. Scogin, Mrs. Turner, Mrs. Russ, Ms. Allbee, Ms. LeMaster, Mrs. Marks, Mrs. Tilton, Mrs. Sirls, Mrs. Sultemeier, Mrs. King, Mrs. Parramore, Mrs. Burley, Mrs. Cravey, Ms. Ray, Ms. Williams, Mrs. Dominguez, Ms. Hayes, Mrs. Cordova, Mrs. Vollmar, Mrs. McDonald, Mrs. Godwin, and Ms. Martinez!

🏃 Mustang Stampede is Coming: We are gearing up for our annual Mustang Stampede that will take place on Friday, April 4th. We are currently looking for business sponsors to help with the event. If you or someone you know might be interested in serving as a Business Sponsor you can find more information about sponsorship under the PTO section of this newsletter. You can also call the school office and ask for Mrs. Harris and she can answer any questions too. We are looking forward to making this one of our most successful Mustang Stampedes in school history!

🐔 Family Spirit Night: Tuesday, February 11th is our next Chick-fil-a Spirit Night from 5-8 p.m.! Make plans now to dine in, drive thru, or curbside to support our school!

😊 Acts of Kindness: As we continue with February, let’s remember that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference. Whether it’s a smile, a kind word, or a helping hand, kindness has the power to brighten someone’s day. Let’s challenge ourselves to spread kindness in our classrooms, hallways, and beyond—because at Daniels, kindness is at the heart of everything we do!

Thank you for your continued support—we look forward to another fantastic week ahead!

Expect the Best and Work for Success,

Katie Miller, Principal

DOCTOR'S NOTES: Please bring physical, paper doctor's notes or have them faxed to us from the doctor's office. FAX 830.257.2201 Attn: Daniels Elementary

TARDY: If it is after 8:00am and your child is in K-3, please walk them into the office to check them in.

What is Kindness?

Kindness is the ability and willingness to express care and compassion for others. Kindness is a choice to use our time, talent, and resources to better the lives of others and the world through genuine acts of love, compassion, generosity, and service.

Why focus on Kindness?

• Kindness boosts positive emotions. Acts of kindness create neural pathways that enhance feelings of well-being and the natural flow of feel-good endorphins and neurotransmitters.
• Kindness is self-replicating. When we perform an act of kindness, it is likely to encourage others to act in a similar way.
• Kindness reduces stress and anxiety. Kindness promotes positive relationships with other people. Anything that helps you to build bonds with other people helps decrease anxiety.

Kindness in Action:

• Celebrate small things. Start each day with Good Things as a class. Publicly and privately affirm kind and thoughtful actions and attitudes.
• Create opportunities for students to affirm each other regularly. Once a week, dedicate time for students to write notes of affirmation to classmates and school staff members.
• Model Kindness. Be mindful of body language, tone, and mindset. Kindness is learned by example!

February 8th: Elementary UIL Meet

February 11th: Chick-fil-A Spirit Night from 5-8 p.m.

February 13th: 5th Grade Pre-Registration for HPMS

February 17th: No School for Students/Professional Learning Day

February 17th: KISD Board Meeting at 6 p.m.

February 21st: 4th 6-Weeks Academic Pep Rally at 8 a.m.

February 25th: School-wide Vocabulary Parade at 8 a.m.

February 26th - March 6th: Spring Scholastic Book Fair

February 27th: Family STEAM Night from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

March 4th: 4th and 5th Grade RLA Benchmark

March 5th: 3rd Grade RLA Benchmark

March 10th-14th: Spring Break

Each Tuesday at Daniels, our staff will be trying to help promote CCMR (College, Career, and Military Readiness) by wearing shirts of different colleges, careers, and branches of the military. Although attending college is a great option for students when they graduate from high school, it isn't the only option that can lead to a rewarding and successful future. Our students may be young, but their future is bright! We invite all of our Mustangs to join in on Tuesdays and wear their favorite CCMR shirt!

Lunch visitors will be allowed on campus starting Monday, August 19th. This will allow staff and students the opportunity to ensure that all procedures and expectations are in place in the Cafeteria.

Please note the following procedures that will be in place to help this process go smoothly.

• Visitors MUST check in at the front office by presenting their ID and obtain a visitor's pass.
  
• Visitors will be able to eat with their student in the designated seating. No friends or classmates will be able to join.
• Visitors are not permitted to sit at the student tables with homeroom classes.
• You are welcome to bring food for your student, but it cannot be shared with other classmates.
• Visitors will NOT be able to walk with students back to their class after lunch or attend recess with them.
• Visitors MUST sign out in the Office before leaving campus.

Scheduled Lunch Times

Kindergarten: 10:45-11:15 a.m.

1st Grade: 11:05-11:35 a.m.

2nd Grade: 11:25-11:55 a.m.

3rd Grade: 12:35-1:05 p.m.

4th Grade: 12:00-12:30 p.m.

5th Grade: 11:50-12:20 p.m.

Our campus goal this year is 96% school-wide attendance. Regular attendance is extremely important. If your child is absent from school, please call or email your child's homeroom teacher and our Attendance Secretary as soon as you know they will not be attending school that day. Please include the reason for the absence. Excused absences are illness, medical appointments, or death in the family. Notes, calls, or emails must be received within 3 school days of the child returning. Unexcused absences may result in your child being placed on an attendance plan, prevent your child from being promoted to the next grade level, or may result in truancy charges being filed. Attendance is taken each day at 10:00 a.m. A student must be on campus at that time to be counted present.

Students are counted tardy if they are not in their class by 7:45a.m. Parents are required to bring the student into the office to check them in if arriving after 8 a.m. Chronic tardiness will be addressed by administration. It is vital that students arrive to school on time. This time is important to helping develop social skills, organization skills, and learning to begin the day prepared. Students that arrive after 7:45 often come in behind the rest of the class, causing anxiety and stress on the student. Always allow time for traffic delays due to weather conditions and the first few weeks of school.

All visitors and volunteers must sign in at the front office before entering the campus. Our Raptor system requires a valid photo ID for all first time visitors. Each year this is reset. Visitors will be unable to enter the campus if they have not signed in with proper ID, even if the DES team knows you. We will not allow visitors to be released to classrooms unless the teacher has previously let the office staff know.

Parents are welcome to visit at lunch time during your student's grade level lunch time starting Monday, August 19th. We will continue to have a visitor's table.

At the conclusion of their visit, all visitors MUST sign out in the office before leaving campus.

Birthday treats must be store bought with a nutrition label. Treats from bakeries must also include a nutrition label.

Birthday treats may be dropped off in the front office. Visitors will not go to classrooms for birthday celebrations. Teachers will celebrate the last 15 minutes of the day, prior to dismissal. Flowers and balloons are not to be sent to school for delivery for any student.

If your student needs a transportation change for the day, please do your best to contact the office by 2:00 p.m. As it gets closer to 3 p.m., it can sometimes be difficult to locate students as the dismissal process begins. We understand that emergencies happen and will assist when those arise.

We also ask that students who need to leave early are picked up by 2:30 p.m. as well. This will allow our office staff to focus on dismissal and to ensure that it runs smoothly.

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!

Breakfast and Lunch are offered on campus daily. Please check the menu frequently to see any changes that might occur.

2024-2025 Meal Prices

Breakfast Paid Student - $1.75

Breakfast Reduced Student - Free

Lunch Paid Student - $3.25

Lunch Reduced Student - $0.40

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.

Kerrville ISD is utilizing PBIS on all four elementary campuses as well as at HPMS.

At Daniels, we have adopted the acronym of PRIDE. Our Mustangs are expected to show PRIDE in all they do and in all areas of the school. Students are asked to wear their badge so they can be rewarded for showing PRIDE throughout the school and by all staff members. Students are able to use their points to shop at the PBIS Store and to participate in school-wide incentives.

Please remember to send a water bottle with your child each day that is labeled with their name. We will have a water bottle filling station available for students to refill their water throughout the day if needed and an option for students if they do not have a water bottle.

Please remember that all cellular devices should remain off and in student backpacks during the school day. When students have exited the building they are welcome to get their devices out and turn them on.

If you need to get a hold of your student during the school day, please contact the front office and we can relay the message to them.

Regular school attendance is important. Please ensure that your student is at school each day possible.