Ellison Families,

What a wonderful two weeks of school we’ve had! Our teachers have been working diligently to get to know every student, establish a positive learning community, and set clear classroom expectations, procedures and routines. How can you help? Getting our bees to school on time is crucial! That being said, if your little one is having difficulty during morning drop-off or adjusting to the new routine, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are here to help! Simply send me an email or reach out to our counselors, Mrs. Jordan or Mrs. Sills, or our associate principal, Mrs. Escarcega.

Things to consider:

• Students should arrive before 7:40 am. Arriving on or after 7:45 am is considered a tardy.
• Tardiness and absenteeism unavoidably affects the quality of a student’s work, interferes with normal instructional procedures in the classroom, and places additional demands on the teacher. It negatively impacts the child who is absent as well as other students in the class.
  
• Morning announcements begin at 7:40 am. During morning announcements, students say the daily pledges, hear birthday announcements, campus celebrations, and a motivating message from the school Principal and/or Associate Principal.
• Teachers begin daily class meetings, which we call "Sunshine Starters" promptly at 7:45 am. These class meetings are focused on social-emotional learning and character building lessons. Not only do students learn techniques that help with regulating emotions, they also learn in depth about the profiles of a learner. For example, learners are strong communicators, collaborators, leaders, and more!

We know that students can't learn if their hearts and minds are not at ease. That's why our commitment to Social Emotional Learning continues to be a priority. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is a methodology that helps students of all ages better comprehend their emotions, feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others. These learned behaviors are then used to help students make positive and responsible decisions, create frameworks to achieve their goals, and build positive relationships with others. In our efforts of meeting our students' overall well being, our bees will often reflect on their personal social-emotional and academic goals. In doing so, they will refer to our campus Ellison Essentials Matrix, the Learner Profiles, our Campus Behavior Rubric, and goal setting. These tools help our students better understand school-wide expectations, helps them reflect on their actions, and sets our students and teachers up for success.

Parents, THANK YOU for choosing Ellison and trusting us with your children. If you haven’t already, I invite you to buzz by to introduce yourself or to say hello. In the mornings, you can always find me at the front drive of our school welcoming our students. Know that we appreciate our families and value the enormous impact that a strong bond between home and school have on our children.

Because we know that education is a shared commitment, I want you to feel more than comfortable to visit or call anytime you have a question, concern, or simply want to chat. If you'd like to set up an appointment, send me an email and we can quickly schedule a time. I’m here for you and our students!

My email is Julie.Meneses@nisd.net and my direct line is (210) 398-1860. I look forward to hearing from you!

On behalf of our entire faculty, thank you for the privilege of allowing us to serve your family. And thank you for supporting us in our daily mission to put students FIRST in order to grow COMPASSIONATE, INNOVATIVE LEADERS that will THRIVE in today’s society!

Sincerely,

Principal Meneses

9/2 Labor Day/Student/Staff Holiday

9/3 PTA Mtg #1/Parent Orientation

9/5 Gifted and Talented Awareness Session- Interested or curious about our GT Program? Don't miss the Info Session in the flyer below!

9/6 Grandparents Day (To accommodate all grandparents, see flyer below for details about this year's celebration. Due to limited parking, we have discontinued our annual breakfast tradition.)

9/11 Patriot Day

9/15-10/15 National Hispanic Heritage

9/26 Bike Rodeo/ Fun Lunch Day M-Z (Parents may eat Lunch with their child on the stage! (Feel free to bring your child a store bought lunch.)

9/27 Fun Friday Lunch Day A-L (Parents may eat Lunch with their child on the stage! Feel free to bring your child a store bought lunch.)

At Ellison, one of our focuses is Social Emotional Learning (SEL) as part of our ongoing commitment to nurturing well-rounded students. Each month, we highlight a new Learner Profile to grow compassionate, innovative leaders.

In our morning meetings, which we call Sunshine Starters, students will engage in meaningful discussions and activities that promote understanding and connection, helping them to build strong social skills and emotional intelligence. To keep you informed and involved, we will be including an informative flyer that outlines the key topics your children will be exploring throughout each month. Additionally, our newsletter will feature exciting special events and programs designed to enhance our SEL curriculum. We encourage you to have conversations around these topics to support your child's growth in a fun and engaging way!

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to a wonderful month of learning together!

Every Friday, the class with PERFECT ATTENDANCE and the MOST SPIRIT gear or school colors gets the SPECIAL honor of holding the SPIRIT STICK for the following week! The spirit stick represents school pride and unity! Way to go, abejitas!

Your participation is crucial to making this year a success, and we encourage you to join the PTA, where you can stay informed about important updates and contribute to our children’s growth and education. As an added incentive, we are launching a PTA Membership Challenge that will run through September 12. The class that secures the most memberships during this period will win a pizza party! This is a fantastic opportunity to show your support! Go to JoinPTA.ORG to purchase your PTA membership.

Additionally, please visit our PTA website (https://ellison.ptboard.com/, where you can find important dates and volunteer for various activities throughout the year on the designated Sign Up Genius. This year, our PTA has posted the Sign Up Genius links for all events ahead of time. Why? This way, we can give those who want to volunteer enough time to plan accordingly, as we know everyone's schedules are busy. Please sign up now to help make our events a success! Your involvement, whether big or small, makes a significant difference in our school community.

Please be sure to fill out the annual Background Check that is mandatory for all volunteers: https://hrvolunteer.nisd.net/TempMod.nsf?Open

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, visit the library during library open hours, or for scheduled conferences or meetings.

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.

Are you wondering if your child has the potential for gifted and talented programs? Join us for an informative session that will delve into the NISD GT identification process, including how to refer your child for testing. Discover the ultimate strategies for understanding and navigating the evaluation process, and learn how these programs can unlock your child's potential. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and support your child's academic journey.

¿Se pregunta si su hijo tiene potencial para participar en programas para superdotados y talentosos? Únase con nosotros en una sesión informativa que explicará el proceso de identificación de NISD GT, incluido cómo nominar a su hijo para la prueba. Descubra las estrategias definitivas para comprender y navegar el proceso de evaluación y aprenda cómo este programa puede desbloquear el potencial de su hijo. No pierda esta oportunidad de obtener información valiosa y apoyar el recorrido académico de su hijo.

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

Parents of ECSE, PK, and Kinder students are welcomed daily to escort their child into the building and enjoy breakfast.

To comfortably accommodate our guests, on designated dates (by student's last name) parents of all students are welcomed into our cafeteria to enjoy lunch with their child.

This month Fun Lunch Dates are:

• 9/26 M-Z (this is also our Bike Rodeo Day)
• 9/27 A-L

Here’s a little tip, parents! If you’re not sure that you’ll be able to join your child for lunch, it’s always best to happily surprise them instead of telling that that you “might” make it. Some of our students can get really sad when they’re expecting their parents and we don’t want to send them back to class feeling disappointed.

Please read below for friendly reminders that pertain to parents enjoying breakfast or lunch with their child.

Our Watch D.O.G.S. program, Defenders of Great Students, is now open to more than male figures. All moms and mother figures are invited to participate. Use the calendar below to sign up or click here: beewatchdogs.youcanbook.me

Please be sure to fill out the annual Background Check that is mandatory for all volunteers. Please make sure your background check has been submitted and cleared. Contact Joann Sanchez at our front office to confirm this information. ✅Click here to access the NISD Background Check Form: https://hrvolunteer.nisd.net/TempMod.nsf?Open

Calling all Watch DOGS!! We could use your help with the following:

• On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of every week we would love to have our Watch DOGS help us in the library anytime between 7:00-7:35 a.m. Students are working on AR and the library is open for parents to check out books! Come and help be an extra set of eyes and help in any way you'd like.
• Between 7:00-8:00 am: Greet our students in the morning any day of the week! Where? Near the front drive, by the front office near the security lobby, by the bus loop, in the cafeteria, in the gym, anywhere! Even if you're only available for a few minutes, we could use your help and our students and staff would love to have you!
• Join your child's grade level or ANY grade level during recess time! You can lead a game of soccer, basketball, four-square, etc! We can always use more adults to assist with monitoring our playgrounds! For specific recess times, visit your teacher's weekly newsletter.
• Assist students as they go through the cafeteria line and hang out with our students as they eat lunch!
• Monitor our hallways and help us by patrolling the exterior of our campus at any time of the day.
• Assist with dismissal at the bus loop or at the front drive. Give students high fives and fist bumps on their way out of the building between 2:30-3:15 pm.
• Help us run our Bee Buck Store on specific dates.
• For specific classroom activities, reach out to your child's teacher with ideas on how you'd like to volunteer in the classroom.
• If you have other ideas about how you would like to volunteer, reach out to us! Email Manuel.Benavides@nisd.net or Julie.Meneses@nisd.net

Our Bike Rodeo wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of our spectacular PTA members and all volunteers! The BEES Bike Rodeo is just around the corner and the PTA is in search of a few more volunteers. Bike Rodeo will be Thursday, September 26th at the amphitheater. Students are encouraged to show off their BEE pride when decorating their bikes and deciding what to wear!

Parents may buzz by the bus loop to see their child in action during the designated grade level time. Be aware that parking may be limited.

Click below to see the day’s schedule and to sign up to volunteer!

https://ellison.ptboard.com/sgnvw?group=&signup=a6eaf6e0-11a1-4c6f-90cf-e5eb23ebdfe1~s.9223370313628596417

Our Cafecitos are held annually and allow us to collaborate, share ideas, provide input, ask questions/share concerns, make connections with other parents, and learn different ways to get involved. We are excited to hear your thoughts as we continue to work towards excellence. We will have coffee and pastries for your enjoyment. Please RSVP so that we can plan accordingly. Whether you’re able to make it or not, we’d love your feedback. Please take a few minutes to answer this short survey to help us with our continuous improvement efforts. The RSVP is included in the survey. Thank you for your ongoing support and for your feedback! Survey/RSVP- https://forms.gle/WWhhQufZspz1pQba9

Nuestros Cafecitos nos permiten colaborar, compartir ideas y brindar opiniones, hacer preguntas y compartir inquietudes, hacer conexiones con otros padres y aprender diferentes formas de participar. Tendremos café y pasteles. Favor de confirmar su asistencia para que podamos planificar. Ya sea que pueda asistir o no, nos encantaría recibir sus comentarios. Tómese unos minutos para responder esta breve encuesta que nos ayudará con nuestros esfuerzos de mejora continua. El RSVP está incluido en la encuesta. ¡Gracias por su continuo apoyo y por sus comentarios! Encuesta- https://forms.gle/WWhhQufZspz1pQba9

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