Welcome Back Hornets!

Hello, my name is Dr. Yeri Villalobos and I am excited to be your new principal. I hope that you and your loved ones are recovering from the effects of Hurricane Beryl and that things are getting back to normal for all of you. I want to take some time to thank the essential workers, neighbors, friends, and family members who have helped pave the way to recovery.

We are less than a month away from the start of the 2024-2025 school year and I cannot wait to meet all of you! My staff and I are committed to making sure you have all of the information you need prior to the first day of school. Therefore, please take some time to read this newsletter in its entirety as it contains a great deal of information and resources to make sure you and our students are prepared for Wednesday, August 7th and beyond.

As we begin this new school year, please know that I am here to serve. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at yvillalobos@galenaparkisd.com or give us a call at (832) 386-4700. I am excited to work with you to ensure that our students receive the best educational experience possible!

We appreciate the work you do to ensure our students are prepared for school each and every day. Please find our new dress code expectations below. Note that students in each grade level are assigned a specific color. Student sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets, etc. must be the color that is assigned to the specific grade level.

A basic supply list is found below. The supplies listed are only suggestions for basic school supplies that our students will need. Please keep in mind that our student's teachers may require additional school supplies to be purchased.

School starts on Wednesday, August 7th. Students must be in class by 8:20am.

Doors will open at 7:35am. All teachers will be on duty at this time to help ensure all students know where to go.

Students may either walk, ride a bus, or be dropped off on campus. We understand that they are your babies, but please note that you will not be allowed to walk students to their class. We will take great care of them for you!

Parents dropping their students off for school should follow the traffic pattern below. This will help speed up morning drop-off and keep all students walking to school safe. Deputy Villarreal will be assisting with traffic control to ensure a smooth and safe drop off process.

When students arrive on campus, they will need to enter the school through the Front Gate (see image below). Once they enter, students will need to report to their respective locations as listed below according to their grade level:

6th Graders- Old Gym

7th Graders- Old Gym

8th Graders- Cafeteria

We will have staff members available to guide students to where they need to be. When students are in their designated locations, they will be able to scan a QR code that will tell them the room they need to go to for Advisory. Students will receive a hard copy of their schedules in that Advisory class. We encourage students to take pictures of their schedules just in case they lose their hard copy. Students will also be able to check their gpapps email accounts on Tuesday, August 6th after 3pm for an email with their Advisory room numbers.

Students will need to enter their ID numbers when getting breakfast and lunch. Once students enter the school, 6th and 7th grade students will be able to grab a prepackaged breakfast at our grab-and-go stations in the gym. 8th grade students will be able to grab breakfast in the cafeteria. Lunch will be served in the cafeteria for all students during the designated lunch times. Food deliveries are not permitted. Please encourage students to always clean up after themselves!

On the first day of school, students will attend their Advisory period and then periods 1, 2, 3, and 4. Students will then follow the A/B calendar listed below for the remainder of the school year. You can click on the button below to access the A/B calendar. We will publish the bell schedule at a later time.

A Days are Gold Days. On these days students will attend periods 1-4.

B Days are Black Days. On these days students will attend periods 5-8.

We will dismiss students at 3:56pm. We ask that you please be patient as everyone will be getting accustomed to our dismissal/pick-up procedures. We will have personnel on duty to ensure students make it to their correct means of transportation. The dismissal procedures are as follows:

Car Riders-- will exit the building and line up along the Front Gate of the school.

Bus Riders- will exit the building and proceed to the bus ramp by the gyms.

Walkers- will exit the building and walk home safely.

Parents should not pick up students up at the bus ramp. That area is reserved for school buses only. Please follow all instructions given by Deputy Villarreal.

Please drive carefully.

Parents of current students will:

• Receive new Skyward Login and Password via email
• Access Returning Student Verification beginning Wednesday, July 17
• Complete the Returning Student Verification process via Skyward Family Access
• Upload a current utility bill (gas, water, electricity) or provide a lease agreement

The RSV Process will open on Wednesday, July 17th. Please complete this process ASAP so that WAMS can be one of the first campuses that is 100% verified! We appreciate you!