Herff Family Playbook

Dear Families,

Welcome to Dr. Ferdinand L. Herff Elementary and to the 2024-2025 school year. We look forward to the opportunity of making this school year a very positive experience for you and your child. We are confident that the partnership between the Herff staff and parents will be a successful combination in ensuring a wonderful school year for your child.

This handbook is designed to help both new and experienced parents understand the school’s procedures that enable our children to get the most out of their years at Herff Elementary School. It is a working document that will be added to throughout the year as needed. It will also stay linked at the bottom of our "Hawk Headlines" family newsletter. We ask that you please review this informational handbook and the Boerne ISD student handbook carefully. We believe you will find Herff Elementary School to be a school that strives to provide a safe and productive learning environment for all children. This year, we are excited to a have the school theme, "One Boerne, One Herff, One Team!".

Sincerely,

Jennifer Hammond

Principal

Dr. Ferdinand L. Herff Elementary knows that students and parents need to feel connected, welcome, and safe for learning to be achieved. Our campus is a playground of love, trust, engaged learning, and purposeful lesson design. We will nurture and challenge every student, acknowledge their strengths, while supporting their struggles. Confidence will be cultivated, individuality celebrated, as we empower both students and staff to "Dream Big & Fly High” Start with your dream, Embark on your journey, and leave your legacy. Know that here at Dr. Ferdinand L. Herff Elementary, YOU are loved!

Jennifer Hammond, Principal- jennifer.hammond@boerneisd.net

Rebecca Resop, Assistant Principal- rebecca.resop@boerneisd.net

Nelda Perez-Zuniga, Counselor- nelda.perez-zuniga@boerneisd.net

Stephanie Edmondson, Instructional Coach- stephanie.edmondson@boerneisd.net

7:00 a.m.- Cafeteria Doors Open for Breakfast

7:15 a.m.- Front Entrance Opens

7:25 a.m.- Students enter Classrooms

7:35 a.m.- Tardy Bell

3:00 p.m.- Dismissal

All information regarding drop off and pick up procedures are designed to ensure the safest environment for our students, staff, and families. Please adhere to these procedures so we can continue working together to provide the best school experience for your child.

Below are procedures in place on both sides due to safety precautions:

• No cell phone usage –This is a law not a school procedure.
• Apple Watches - communication must be turned off and not in use during school hours. If students are using an Apple Watch to communicate during the day they will be asked to leave the watch at home.
• All car riders will be given a pink sign to display in their vehicle. You only need one per family.
• Dismissal is at 3:00 for all BISD elementary schools.
• Older siblings need to remain in their designated spots at dismissal with their grade level. When they go looking for their siblings, we have more students up and moving around. We will call everyone together when we see the names on the visor. Please do not ask your older child to go find their younger sibling.
• All parent pick up will continue to be by vehicle only like this past year. For the safety of our students, parent walk up-pick will not be offered. Pre-K students who are car riders will be delivered across the crosswalk by a staff member.

Your child may arrive at school by walking, riding a bike, riding in a car, by car pool, or on a BISD bus depending upon the location of your home. You will be asked to notify your child’s teacher regarding his/her usual method of getting to and from school. Children often become frightened or confused when parents are late or make frequent changes in pick-up plans. If you need to make a change in how your child will get home, please call the front office no later than 2:30 p.m. Unless notified, the teacher will follow the normal routine for your child.

• Our cafeteria will open at 7:00 am for all students. Students not purchasing breakfast will sit at tables until being released to classrooms beginning at 7:15.
• DO NOT DROP OFF STUDENTS PRIOR TO 7:00. THIS IS NOT SAFE. A staff member will be on duty beginning at 7 a.m.
• All students must be dropped of at the Parent Drop-Off Loop, "top loop" or North Loop. The lower loop, "Bus Loop" and parking lot are for buses and staff only.
• Students who are dropped off before 7:15 will need to take the side stairs to get down to the Cafeteria.
• Students arriving after 7:35 will report to the office for a tardy slip. 7:10-7:20 is a great time to drop off as there is minimal traffic at this time in the community.
• Follow the lane and pull as far to the front as possible to ensure multiple vehicles can stop at once to drop off students.
• Drop students off on the curbside. Do not get out of your vehicle. Older students can get out on their own and staff will be available to help with younger students if needed.

Families are encouraged to use BISD bus transportation if eligible and/or car pool to assist us with traffic. We will continue to grow in population and traffic will be around daily. If dropping off your child, please be kind and patient. As with any year, staff and families will get into a rhythm after the first few weeks.

This school year we will be dismissing over 600 students at Herff. The first few days, this always takes a bit longer as we get into a routine. We appreciate your patience and help to make this process as smooth as possible. Below you will find some helpful tips.

• If you qualify for bus services, we highly encourage using the bus for PM dismissal. You will quickly discover that your student(s) will arrive in a similar time frame to when car dismissal finishes. If you need to locate you student's bus number you can find that information HERE.
• We do not dismiss students until 3:00 p.m. If you do not want to wait in the cue we suggest arriving between 3:10-3:15.
• Once the car dismissal cue is full, traffic will move onto Esperanza Blvd. Please pull to the far left of the lane to ensure that buses and first responders are able to access the school and neighborhood.
• It is also a necessity to leave a gap in front of each of the Esperanza Villages so residents can enter and exit their neighborhoods.
• Please also be observant of the crosswalk on Esperanza Blvd. Individuals in the crosswalk have the right of way and we have a large amount of students who are walkers.
• For car dismissal please make sure that your PINK sign is clearly displayed so Coach Clark can call your student(s) name on the walkie. If you ever need to replace your PINK car sign you can let your student's homeroom teacher know or get one from the front office. Please also make sure that you follow the guidance of the staff helping with traffic flow. Do not move out of your spot in the line once loaded.
• If you have a younger student please make sure that you practice buckling themselves into their seat. If your student needs additional support please do not get out of your car in the cue. You can pull forward beyond the loading zone to allow your student more time to buckle. If you need to assist your student please pull into the parking lot and then exit your vehicle.
• All PK students not riding a bus will need to be delivered hand-to-hand from a staff member. If they are being picked up via car please wait in the cue and after Coach Clark calls your student's name you will proceed in lane 2 (left lane) to the parking lot. A staff member will walk your student across to the parking lot. If you are a walker with a PK student (only) you will need to come to the vestibule to pick up your child. Older siblings of PK students will be dismissed with their sibling.

School bus services are made available to students who live two or more miles from the assigned school as measured by the shortest route that may be traveled on public roads from the student’s home to his/ her school. This is a state regulation and school district policy. Students must also reside in the district and in the attendance area of the school. If you have any questions as to whether your child is eligible for bus transportation or about a bus route, please contact the BISD Transportation Department (830) 357-2970.

Students may be allowed to be a guest on a bus other than their own regular method of transportation but must have permission from a parent. Please contact the school office to do a transportation change. This note will be given to the bus driver. We ask that all transportation arrangements are made prior to the end of the school day. Parents may call the office with bus requests. The child will not be allowed on the bus without a bus pass. If a bus is at capacity, guest riders will not be allowed.

After school care is provided on-site for a fee by YMCA. The school does not handle any of this organization’s information or questions. Please contact them directly at (830) 815-1040.

There are other after school options in the area that provide transportation to and from school such as Mini Texans, Planet Kidz, and Thrive. Please call those businesses to inquire about transportation and fees.

Students are counted tardy if they are not in the building by 7:35 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 7:35 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.

Our campus goal this year is 97% 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, and 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.

If a student is temporarily absent due to a documented appointment with a health care professional, a document such as a note from the health care professional is required upon the return to school.

Children who need to leave school early for appointments must be signed out by a parent in the office. At that time, the student will be called to the office. Teachers are not allowed to release students at their classroom doors or send students up to wait.

Parents will be asked to show proper identification anytime they wish to sign their child out of school. For the welfare of our students, teachers cannot release students to anyone without office authorization. Office authorization will be given out only to parents and other adults listed in Skyward. It is the parent’s responsibility to update this information with our Registrar as changes occur.

All visitors and volunteers must sign in at the front office before entering the campus. Our Raptor system requires an 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 HES team knows you. Parents are welcome to visit at lunch time during your student's grade level lunch time beginning after Labor Day. We will continue to encourage lunch visitors to eat in the courtyard with their student(s).

No delivery food for students will be accepted by someone other than a family member for the safety of our students.

If a family member is dropping off lunch, please be sure it is received before the student's lunch time. We will let the classroom teacher know that your student has a lunch in the office.

If your student(s) forget something at home and you need to bring it to them, you can drop it off at the front office. You can leave it on the counter and fill out one of the slips of paper. We will let the teacher know if it is something they need immediately.

Our WatchDOGS also help deliver items throughout the day as needed.

Avery Currie, RN

Clinic Hours: 7:15 a.m.- 3:15 p.m.

avery.currie@boerneisd.net

830-357-4309

1. If you received an email and/or a phone call from Nurse Avery regarding your child’s immunization status, please get your child’s immunizations updated and email or bring in the updated records by the 1st day of school to the office or clinic.
2. Please inform Nurse Avery if your child has any medical concerns/special needs/procedures or will be taking medication at school. You can go to the main Boerne I.S.D. website and click on the Health Services site for general information/policies and printable medical/medication forms.
3. MD orders and instructions are required for all medications and procedures to be given/performed.
4. Parents must bring in all medications to the clinic, not the students.
5. Students are not allowed to carry any medications in their backpacks or lunch boxes.
6. Only in a special circumstance will a student be able to carry their own medication. This will require MD orders and parental permission.

For the protection of all students the following will be followed. A child will be sent home with:

1. Fever 100 degrees or over

2. Suspected contagious disease

3. Vomiting

4. Diarrhea

• If your child has any of the above symptoms in the morning before coming to school, please keep your child at home.
• Your child should be fever free for 24 hours without medication prior to returning to school. This is for their safety as well as the other students.
• Any routine procedures that involves bodily fluids, will be performed in the clinic.

Any student who suffers from food allergies should contact the school nurse before school begins so we can ensure the proper precautions are in place.

At Herff, there are several students and some staff members who have various food allergies. Certain classrooms may be designated as a "nut free" classroom or other food allergy. Signs will be posted on the classroom doors to warn about the potential for anaphylaxis of a student or staff member. We will also send classroom letters home to inform parents that an individual in the class has this known allergy. If your class is designated as a free zone for certain food, please do not send that item in as a snack item. Thank you for helping us keep our students and staff safe.

Parent conference are not required for all students. Parents are encouraged to ask for conferences throughout the school year as questions or concerns arise. A parent or teacher may request conferences any time during the school year, however, these conferences must be pre-scheduled. The teacher will not stop instruction of their class if a parent happens to come by unexpectedly. Also, campus meetings are scheduled on Tuesdays after school and it is very important that the full staff attend. If you drop by, you may find that the teacher cannot speak with you at that time. Conferences are preferred to be face to face when discipline or behavior problems are persistent or of a serious nature. It is to everyone’s advantage that you discuss concerns with the teacher before calling an administrator.

• Each week we will send an edition of the "Hawk Headlines" via email. It will also be posted on our Facebook and Twitter accounts.
• Homeroom teachers will send out newsletters, emails, make phone calls and visit with parents in person throughout the school year.
• Our campus will also post important information on our website and social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
• Our PTO will also post important information on their website and Facebook page.

Parents are encouraged to first reach out to their child's teacher if they have a question or a concern. You may contact your child’s teacher by sending a note, email or phone call. Teachers listen to their voicemail and check their email during their conference period or at the end of the school day. They will not be able to respond to you immediately as they are busy with instruction. They are expected to return your communication within 24 -48 hours. Teachers are discouraged from working on weekends and in the evenings as this time is important for them to be with their families. If it is an emergency situation, please call the office.

A “Lost and Found” is located near the cafeteria on the shelf and hooks. Parents are welcome to check in and search this area periodically. To help avoid lost items, please label with Sharpie all lunchboxes, backpacks, balls, removable clothing (caps, jackets, sweaters, gloves, etc.) and supplies which personally belong to your child for easy identification. Valuable and small items are kept in the office. If your child is missing an item and cannot locate it in the lost and found, please have them check in the office. Every effort is made to return found items to the student.

Prior to long breaks such as Winter Break and Summer Break all unclaimed items are donated to Family Services or other organizations.

Toys and electronics need to be left at home. Please check your child's pockets and backpacks periodically for such items. Teachers will communicate with parents on special occasions.

We understand that some students may have a need to carry a cell phone or other device to communicate with parents before or after school for several reasons. As a standard practice across our district, student cell phones should be off/silent and be put away during the instructional school day.

If after several warnings a student continues to use their phone, or other device such as an Apple watch, without permission, the teacher will contact parents for support. After this intervention is provided, a disciplinary referral can be written if the problem persists.

Our goal at Herff is to teach our students appropriate digital citizenship, treat and allow them to be self directed by giving them ownership of their actions. It is important students know the when and how to use devices appropriately.

Students will not be permitted to wear hoodies or hats on their heads during the school day. The main reason for the dress code adjustment for hats and hoodies is student safety. Hats and hoodies worn on the head can prevent campus staff or campus cameras from properly identifying students. For safety reasons, campus staff need to be able to clearly identify students at all times while students are on campus.

Students will be asked to remove the hat or hoodie from their head. If the behavior continues a student could receive discipline action for non-compliance.

We are asking that parents and guardians have a conversation with their students regarding this new change to the BISD Student Code of Conduct.

Website: www.boerneisd.net
Phone: 830-357-4300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Ferdinand-L-Herff-Elementary-School-2128714617439488/
Twitter: @HerffES

Please complete the appropriate pre check-in forms to expediate the check-in process for these end of year events.