The Hoot Owl

It was great to see you all at Meet the Teacher last night. I can't believe school starts next Wednesday, but it does!

A few thoughts for the first week of school:

• Set a bedtime and stick to it.
• Lay out clothes the night before to make the morning easier.
• Prepare lunch or review the school menu so your child knows what to expect for lunch.
• If possible, involve your child in the lunch making process.
• Practice having your child recognize their name. Have them sit on the couch, pretend to be the teacher, call their name and have them raise their hand.
• Leave earlier than normal... the traffic the first week of school is crazy. It gets better, but in order to help your child learn the routine, it is better to be early than stuck in traffic.
• If your child will be car rider, practice having them get in and out of the car on their own. How do they collect their backpack and lunch kit and be ready to get out quickly at the drop off spot.
• Have your child practice getting in the car for the afternoon. For those who are still in car seats and need help with the buckle, we do ask that you move past the line towards the stop sign to get out and buckle up the child. This allows our car rider line to keep moving smoothly.

We are looking forward to a great start of school next week. Remember, patience is the key this next week. Busses will be later than normal, car rider will take longer than normal, everything is just a little slower as everyone learns the processes.

We can't wait to see you on Wednesday!

The first week of school is always exciting. Parents are encouraged to drop students off in the car rider line, but we do allow parents to walk in the first couple of days as needed. We do ask that you limit your family to 2 members plus the child to avoid overcrowding our school. Parents must enter through the front office. Only bus students will be allowed through the back doors.

When walking your child into school, we ask that you walk them to the classroom, drop them off and head out. Parking is limited and if you linger, other parents will not have a space to park.

Wednesday and Thursday parents will be able to walk students in to class without checking in the front office.

Friday parents must show an ID and check in through the front office in order to get past the front entrance.

Beginning on Monday, August 12, parents will not be allowed to walk children to the class. We will have extra staff on duty for the first few weeks to help walk students to their classrooms.

Reservations will open to have lunch with your child starting on Monday, August 26. We ask that parents not come eat with their children until then to give the teachers and students time to establish a relationship and allow children to learn the routines of the school.

Reservations can be from the link on our school website at https://ore.conroeisd.net/.

Please note that our school hours have changed per the state and district guidelines. Our new school hours are 7:55 - 3:10 p.m.

Doors will open this year at 7:30 a.m. We ask that you do not drop students off prior to 7:30a.m. as we have no one to supervise them prior to the doors opening.

Students are tardy at 7:56 a.m.

Dismissal begins at 3:10 p.m.

Students should be picked up by 3:30 p.m.

Visitors on campus:

Things to know about visiting our campus.

*Arrive at the front door and ring the doorbell (facing the doors to your right)

*Let the front office staff know what you need.

*Once you have communicated with front office staff, you will be buzzed into the front vestibule.

*An ID will be required to enter the main part of the building or check a child out. Please make sure you have it with you as you will be sent to get it.

Volunteering on campus:

Please remember that in order to volunteer on campus (reading to a class, going on a field trip, helping with PTO, attending class parties, etc...), parents must have completed the Volunteer Background check for the district. This must be completed each year for every school where you will volunteer so if you have students at 3 different schools, you must complete it for all 3 schools.

Volunteer Background Check

Before school starts, it is highly recommended that you register your child to ride the bus whether you plan on using transportation or not. There may be times when you need your child to ride the bus because of an emergency. If they are not registered, they cannot ride. Register for bus here.

Transportation the first few weeks of school runs slower than normal. Please be patient. If we all work together, follow expectations set forth, things will get faster. Bus drivers are learning routes, students and their families and car riders are learning the process. By the third week of school, things should smooth out and get into a normal routine.

BUSSES -

The first couple of weeks busses will run 20-30 minutes behind the projected schedule. Drivers are working hard to make sure students are delivered to the right location safely so please be patient. Things to know about bus riders:

• PK and Kinder students will receive a "PK" or "K" sign added to their backpack. Please leave it on there.
• Parents will receive a bus rider sign where you will add your child's name. A person over the age of 18 must be present at the stop with the sign, in order to get the child off the bus. If no one is there, the child will be returned to school and the parent will have to come pick them up at school. The sign will be given out to parents at Meet the Teacher night.
• Good behavior is expected on the bus. For the safety of all, please review expectations with your child.
• talk to your seat mate or the students across the aisle
• remain seated at all times
• use an "inside" voice when talking to friends on the bus, refrain from yelling or screaming
• keep your hands to yourself

CAR RIDER LINE

Once we get the hang of car rider line, we will be finished no later than 3:30 most days. The first few weeks of school will be much longer, but it will get better.

Things to know about car rider line:

• Parents are not allowed to park and walk up to the porch for drop off in the morning or the afternoon.
• Students may not be dropped off in the parking lot nor near the playground fence.
• Students may not be dropped off or picked up on the outside of the covered drive-through.
• Car rider signs must be displayed in window when picking up students.
• Parents may not enter car rider line from our driveway entrance. See map below.
• Parents coming north on I-45 feeder must join the line using Oak Ridge School Road, between the hotel and Saltgrass.
• Please allow merging at that stop sign.

How does the car rider line work:

• Your child's name will be entered into a car rider spreadsheet when the staff member comes by your car. (This is from your car rider sign so please have it displayed for easy access)
• Your child will come to the front of the school to a specified location.
• Your child will then be brought to the outside of the building to one of 6 locations.
• Please pull all the way forward, even if you do not see your child.

Parents who cut the line will be asked to move forward past the car rider line and wait for your child. This will take a few minutes as we find your child and get them to the front office.

Request a car rider sign here

WALKERS/BIKERS

Students can be walkers ONLY IF they live in the no bus zone. This is typically the 1 mile zone of the school according to transportation. If your child is eligible for bus service, they are not eligible to be a walker. We do monitor this and will notify parents if your child cannot be a walker.

Walkers are delivered to parents in the cul de sac at the fence cut through. We expect parents to be present to get their children from this area. If there is not adult at this location, your child will be brought back to school and you will need to walk over and get them from the front office.

If weather dictates that children cannot be walkers, parents will receive notification via text message through the district notification system. At that time, parents will be able to join the car rider line or walk to the art room door to retrieve your child. This decision is based upon lighting, heavy rain, or other hazardous weather situations.

TRANSPORTATION CHANGES

If you find that you need to change your child's method of transportation, there a couple of ways to make that happen.

If you know ahead of time, the best option is to send a handwritten note to the teacher in the child's folder.

If you need to change during the school day, please email the change to contactore@conroeisd.net including your child's name, teacher name, specific change of transportation requested. This will only be put into place for the one day requested.

As a last resort, please call the front office and let them know the change of transportation.

Once the school day has started, we ask that you NOT email or text change of transportation to the teacher. This will help prevent a miscommunication due to something like the teacher being absent or not having time to check email during the school day.

ALL CHANGES MUST BE MADE BY 2:30 P.M.

Each year parents who need breakfast/lunch assistance are asked to renew their application. Breakfast and lunch are not free this year. For students to receive free or reduced lunch, parents need to complete the online application and be approved. If you need assistance with the online application, please call the school and ask for Mrs. DeAlencar. She can assist you with this application.

As offers come in from different organizations to assist students with back to school clothes/supplies, Christmas gifts, food, etc...only those families who are on free/reduced lunch will be eligible to receive these services. Please use the link below to update your application:

https://www.myschoolapps.com/

Breakfast and lunch menus can be found at the link below:

Menus

The district has changed the policy for students who charge their lunches when their lunch accounts are out of money. Students will be allowed to charge up to 15 days. Once that limit has been reached and the account has not be updated, students will be given an alternate breakfast and lunch.

Please ensure that your child's account is kept updated. If you need assistance due to finances, please take time to apply for the free/reduced lunch at the application above.

Any and all medications that need to be administered during school hours must be delivered to the nurse by an adult. Parents will need to sign in the medication and it must be in the original container. Students may not transport medication to and from school.

Parents can begin dropping off medication starting August 5 from 8 - 3:30 daily or at Meet The Teacher Night on August 8.

All communication from the school is sent electronically. The Hoot Owl will be sent out a minimum of once a month at the beginning of each month. This newsletter will be sent in English and Spanish. If you wish to have a paper copy of correspondence sent home, please reach out to our school secretary and she will ensure a copy is sent home with your child. Her name is Viri DeAlencar and she can be reached by calling the main number of the school or by email at vdelancar@conroeisd.net.

Quick reminders and/or important announcements will be sent via text to the numbers on file. Please make sure we have up to date numbers so you receive the messages.

Your child's teacher will also be sending communication home regularly. If you do not hear from the teacher, please feel free to reach out and inquire as to what your child is learning. We are working to strengthen our lines of communication this year.

We are asking our teachers to ensure that they have a fall and a spring conference with every parent. It is preferred that these be in person, but teachers are open to Zoom and phone calls. Please make this meeting an important part of your year so that you can stay current on your child's learning progress.

We are encouraging families to join our PTO this school year to help support them. The cost is $5 PER FAMILY for the year. This joining fee not only supports the PTO in their projects for the year, but it also keeps you updated on the latest news directly from PTO.

Families can join at Meet the Teacher Night or via the QR code below. Thank you for choosing to support PTO.

AUGUST

8 - Meet the Teacher

14 - First day of school

SEPTEMBER

2 - School holiday

18 - Read for a Better Life Kick Off

19 - Parent Information Night 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

26 - Fall Pictures/Canes Spirit Night

27 - Moving with Moms 7:00 - 7:45 a.m.

OCTOBER

11 - Student holiday

14 - School holiday

17 - Spring Creek BBQ Night

26 - OR Feeder Trunk or Treat

27- November 1 - Red Ribbon Week

NOVEMBER

1 - Class pictures/retakes

4 - Student holiday

5 - Student holiday

7 - Fall Festival 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

11 - 3rd grade Veterans' Day Program

25 - 29 - Thanksgiving Holiday

DECEMBER

12 - 2nd grade holiday program

20 - Early Release

23 - January 3 - Winter Break