Orenda Superintendent Newsletter

BELONGING - INDEPENDENCE - MASTERY - GENEROSITY

January 1-31 is open enrollment and re-enrollment for the 2025-26 School Year. During the month of January, all current students will complete their re-enrollment form for the next school year. This is also the time that any new students, including siblings of current students, will complete an application for enrollment to be included in the lottery for the 2025-26 school year. The 2025-26 Re-Enrollment links for each campus will be posted on each website and are below.

2025-26 Gateway Prep Re-Enrollment Form (Current Students Only)

2025-26 Gateway Tech Re-Enrollment Form (Current Students Only)

2025-26 Kingsland Re-Enrollment Form (Current Students Only)

2025-26 Nolan Creek Re-Enrollment Form (Current Students Only)

Do you have family, friends, and neighbors interested in enrolling for the current school year? We are still accepting applications for this school year and have immediate openings at Kingsland, Nolan Creek, and Gateway Tech Schools along with Gateway Prep at select grades.

Orenda Charter School District is sharing district and campus data as part of its obligations under the Federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).

The Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR)

The TAPR report contains the current performance on the TAPR indicators for Orenda Charter School District and each campus in the District. The most recent full report for the 2023-2024 school year is accessible in PDF format via the links below. TEA-issued reports for prior years are available online at TEA Performance Reporting.

Federal Report Card

The U.S. Department of Education requires each state to publish an annual report card with specific district and campus-level data related to meeting federal accountability targets. The most recent full report for the 2023-2024 school year is accessible in PDF format via the links below.

Find the Federal Report Card for any campus or district via TEA.

The two reports above are also available on the Orenda Education Website under the Governance--> Annual Reports tab found here.

Good attendance is important for both students and schools. Students receives the maximum educational benefit by being in school every day. Studies show a strong link between academic performance and consistent daily attendance. In addition, public schools receive state funding based on daily attendance, which is essential to providing high quality instruction, support services, and extracurricular programs.

State law requires that school campuses use the week to teach about the Holocaust using resources developed or approved by the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission (THGAAC). Orenda campuses will be implementing instruction and activities that are age-appropriate during this week.

Each year, during February, Texas schools celebrate the history and cultural contributions of Black Americans in the United States. Students learn about the achievements, perspectives, struggles, and experiences of Black Americans throughout more than 400 years of American History.

Below are several resources for parents and families for English as a Second Language and Emergent Bilingual students.

Monthly Parent and Family Newsletter and other resources for families to support Emergent Bilingual students at home www.txel.org/Parents-And-Families

Region 12 Padlet for Emergent Bilingual families bit.ly/PFCE2324

How to use the Steinhardt Glossaries to leverage native language skills when learning concepts in English: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/language-rbern/resources/bilingual-glossaries-and-cognates

How to use the Google Translate Camera feature to access content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ERe14AZvA&t=1s

This is more than your average notes. Focused notes have an Essential Question at the top which

helps to guide learning. All the notes relate to the Essential Question. In Grades 7-8, students are also learning to include a summary of their notes which carries over to high school.

It is important for your student to review notes nightly, even for 5 minutes per subject. This is also a

great time for your student to add layers to their notes, such as questions they may have or clarify

information within their notes.

Parents, you can review notes with your child at home to gain a better understanding of what they are learning in school and help your child reinforce the content in their notes for better retention.

Thank you to Andrew Cottrill, Tory Gant, Mick Swope, Travis Graves and Richard Rickey for your dedicate service to our schools!

Orenda is grateful to our school counselors for their dedication and encouragement to our students to dream big and reach their goals.

• Aliyah Scales, Gateway College Preparatory School
• Jay Roy, Kingsland School

On January 9th, Tom Maynard was sworn-in as a member of the State Board of Education at the Capitol. An extra special presentation happened during the program. Roy Hernandez received his high school diploma from Gateway Tech High School! A few years ago, Mr. Maynard was on vacation and befriended Roy. Learning about Roy’s hardships, Mr. Maynard reached out to Orenda Education to see if Gateway Tech might be a good fit for Roy to complete his education. Less than three years later, Roy is a high school graduate and a current ACC student! At the ceremony, Roy received a Texas Flag flown at the Capitol, presented by State Representative Terry Wilson and greetings from former Governor Rick Perry. Thank you Mr. Tom Maynard for your support of school choice and public charter schools. And a big “atta-boy” to Gateway Tech graduate Roy Hernandez!

Kingsland School has served the Kingsland community for more than nine years and is a proud member of the Kingsland Chamber of Commerce. We are honored to receive a gift of $10,000 from the Kingsland Chamber's Taste Highland Lakes which directly enhance our educational and food programs for our school. Thank you Kingsland Chamber!

February 17 - Staff Development Day, No School for Students

February 18 - Staff Development Day (Nolan Creek School ONLY)

March 10-14 - Nolan Creek School Closed for Spring Break

March 17-21 - Orenda District Office and All Campuses, except Nolan Creek, Closed for Spring Break

Email: carla.silber@orendaeducation.org
Website: www.orendaeducation.org
Location: 2951 Williams Drive, Georgetown, TX, USA
Phone: (512) 869-3020