PfISD Employee Express

• Upcoming Events & Holidays
• Election 2022 Information
  
• Fall 2022 Employee Survey
• PfISD Partners with UT Austin for UTeach
• Campus Safety Protocols
• 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar Survey
• Gift Card Winner - PfISD Insider App
  
• Digital Citizenship Contest
• Staff Shout Outs
• CTE Corner
• Fine Arts Update
• Athletics Update

November

*Military Family Appreciation Month

*National Homeless Youth Awareness Month

Oct. 24 - Early Voting Begins

Nov. 3 - Board of Trustees Workshop

Nov. 4 - Final day of Early Voting

Nov. 8 - Election Day

Nov. 8 - Virtual Parent Workshop - Demystifying & Navigating School Programs

Nov. 17 - Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

Nov. 21-25 - Thanksgiving Break

Tomorrow is the last day to vote early in the November 2022 Election! This is a big election for the State of Texas, as every seat within the Texas Legislature is up for election, along with many other state and local races. Those who are elected this month will have a direct impact on public education funding in the future. Regardless of how you vote, please let your voice be heard.

The polls are open tomorrow from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. The PACE Gym is also serving as an early voting location. Please visit the district's election website to view polling locations near you!

For more information about the 3 Elections held by PfISD in November (ACE, VATRE, and Bond), please visit www.pfisd.net/election2022.

Wondering what your child's campus will receive from the proposed Bond Package? Visit the Bond webpage for a breakdown of Bond projects by campus.

State law prevents school districts from using public funds or resources to advocate for or against school district elections. District resources include an employee’s paid time, a Board member’s time in their official capacity, as well as district facilities, equipment, and supplies.

Please view the document below for a few helpful tips on what you can and can’t say, and can and can’t do, during a PfISD election.

We always want to know how we are doing as an organization, and the next steps we can take to best serve those working alongside us. In addition to school culture being something we both think about and talk to people about frequently, we also want to provide an opportunity to get additional context through an anonymous survey twice a year.

You will receive a link to take a survey from Upbeat. We ask that you please complete this by the end of the day on Friday, November 18. Thank you so much for all you do every day to make Pflugerville ISD an excellent organization for our scholars, as well as for our team!

Hello educational associates, guest educators, and others! Do you have a degree in science, mathematics, or computer science? Are you ready to become a teacher. Consider a university-based program like UTeach facilitated by the University of Texas at Austin. Find out more information and register to attend a November 2022 virtual information session by clicking HERE.

Participants in the January 2023 Central Texas cohort will have program costs of $8,000 waived.

Pflugerville ISD utilizes the Standard Response Protocols created by the I Love You Guys Foundation. The SRP is action-based, flexible, and easy to learn. It rationally organizes tactics for response to weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to personal safety.

The benefits of SRP become quickly apparent. By standardizing the vocabulary, all stakeholders can understand the response and status of the event.

For students, this provides continuity of expectations and actions throughout their educational career. For teachers, this becomes a simpler process to train and drill. For communities, it leverages the growing adoption of the protocols from residents of all ages. For first responders, the common vocabulary and protocols establish a greater predictability that persists through the duration of an incident.

Over the next few weeks we will share the 5 Standard Response Protocols utilized by PfISD.

SHELTER

Shelter is called when the need for personal protection is necessary. Training should also include spontaneous events such as tornado, earthquake or airborne irritants.

Public Address
The public addresses for shelter are:

• Shelter for Tornado! Drop, Cover and Hold
• Shelter for Hazmat! And Seal Shelter!
  

A Tornado is the most likely event that would activate this response protocol. All campuses have identified appropriate shelter areas within their building.

If one finds themselves in an area where a specific shelter area does not exist, move into interior hallways or small rooms on the building's lowest level. Avoid areas with glass and wide, free-span roofs, i.e., cafeterias and gyms.

Responsibility
Each individual is responsible for sheltering. If there are special needs that prevent individual responsibility, administration should plan on how to best provide sheltering assistance.

Reporter
Shelter is typically called by the school operator but may be called by students, teachers or first responders.

Preparation
Predestinated areas within the building, suitable for a tornado or severe weather should be indicated on maps. All staff and students should be made aware of the safe areas and should understand why some areas are not considered as structurally safe, i.e., glass enclosed areas, high roof areas such as (typically) gymnasiums or cafeterias.

Drills
A Shelter Method should be drilled twice a year.

Our PfISD District Academic Advisory Council (DAAC) is soliciting your feedback as part of their calendar development process. The Pflugerville ISD instructional calendar is the result of a framework developed through collaboration between community, staff, and district leadership. The framework is intended to balance the needs of all stakeholders, especially our students and teachers.

Our DAAC is committed to maintaining the following commitments and values as we collaboratively develop our 2023-2024 Pflugerville ISD instructional calendar:

• Support the academic needs of our students.
• Balance the instructional needs of our teachers and staff at all levels.
• Align with our mission and best practices.
• Address the needs of all students equitably.

We thank you for taking a few minutes to complete this survey and to make sure your voice is considered.

Congratulations on your $50 Gift Card!!

The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires schools to teach students appropriate online behavior and to educate students on cyberbullying awareness and response. Join us in giving PfISD students a fun, gamified way to learn the foundational skills to navigate the internet safely and responsibly.

Top schools will win a banner to show off their commitment to digital citizenship! All schools that achieve >80% CIPA Compliance on the district E-Rate report will also earn a digital citizenship badge! See below for flyer.

We love our PfISD staff members and we know our parents do too! We want to provide an opportunity for our parents to publicly recognize and thank our staff members who serve our students, staff and the community. We have created a Google Form to provide information directly to us to share with our staff as a whole and let you see the difference you are making in a student's life every single day. Please click here for the Google Form.

These Shout Outs will be included in upcoming issues of the Parent and Staff Newsletters. If a Shout Out directly references a student, we will not include the parent name to protect the child's anonymity. If you are recognized in an anonymous Shout Out and want to learn the parent's name, please contact Tamra Spence at tamra.spence@pfisd.net.

THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PFISD STAFF MEMBERS FOR EVERYTHING THEY DO FOR OUR STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY!

Stephanie Russey of Rowe Lane ES (via Karin A.): Mrs. Russey goes above and beyond for her students and works so hard to make them all feel loved but also holds them accountable. She is amazing and I'm so grateful my son gets to have her as his teacher this year!

4th Grade Team of Windermere Elementary (via Emily M.): The teachers worked hard to prepare a fantastic academic night with math and literacy stations and games. Thank you for the fun and educational evening!

Hannah Jechow, Tania Gallegos and the teacher assistants of Windermere Elementary (via Kchuka F.): I just want to thank the ECSE and Pegasus department for the wonderful job they are doing with my daughter! She is communicating more and she really enjoys school!

Amber Grey of Pflugerville Elementary School (via Jennifer): Ms. Grey is a kind, caring and enthusiastic teacher. We are so lucky to have her as my son’s teacher. I have never seen my son so happy. Thank you!

Mrs Russell of Ruth Barron Elementary (via Laura): We are so thankful for Mrs Russell. She's doing an amazing job teaching my son all the important fundamentals he will need for kindergarten and beyond. He's so excited everyday from things he's learned in her class and I love hearing about all the fun activities he gets to participate in. Keep up the excellent work Mrs Russell!

Hillary Waggoner of Rowe Lane Elementary (via Kimberly Jackson): She’s always looking for ways to improve the campus not only for the students, but the staff as well. She’s always putting everyone else’s needs in front of her own, and is definitely in the right location!!!

Michelle Vega of Mott Elementary, 2nd grade teacher (via Cassandra and Elvis): Ms. Vega is the most amazing teacher!! She adores her students so much and truly cares about their learning experience. We couldn’t have had a better teacher.

Angela Amthor of Dessau Elementary (via Tiffany L.): Mrs Amthor has been such a sweet and loving teacher to my child! Her patience with the kids and constant positive and kind words make all the difference! She keeps the parents informed at all times and goes out of her way to call you to tell you how wonderful your child is. She is a sweet sweet lady and we absolutely adore her!!

Rhonda Stone of Riojas Elementary (via Jessica W.): Ms. Stone has gone above and beyond to support my daughter this year. We are super impressed with her dedication to education and she truly cares about each and every one of her students. We are so blessed to have her this year.

Erynn Barnes of Rowe Lane (via Casey H.): Mrs. Barnes consistently goes above and beyond to help my daughter feel valued, heard, and loved in class. She also encourages my student to take ownership with her own learning while setting healthy boundaries. My student feels challenged in class and comfortable with taking risks and making mistakes. Mrs. Barnes's positive attitude and calm nature definitely fosters a safe and inclusive learning environment.

150+ PfISD students & teachers attended the 2022 Texas State ITSA Information Technology Symposium this past Friday, October 28th. The event was geared toward area high school IT students to learn more about careers in IT (including Network Administration, Global IT and Women in IT), as well as Security and Technology. Students learned about AI, robotics, spyware/malware, cyber warfare and more. All participants were taken on a tour of the Texas State University campus, and enjoyed lunch in the Harris Dining Hall. CTE Program students in Programming & Software Development from all four PfISD high school campuses, along with P-TECH CIT students, enjoyed expanding their learning beyond the classroom and diving deeper into the world of IT. To learn more about all CTE programs, visit our website at https://www.pfisd.net/Page/7408

Competing against the top 21 6A high school marching bands in our area this past Saturday, Weiss High School placed 8th in finals! Congratulations to the WHS band and color guard students, staff, and supporters on this huge accomplishment!

Middle School Band

Congrats to our middle school band students who auditioned and made it into the TMEA band auditions! Pflugerville ISD will be sending 75 students to the next phase in the region process. Congrats to each of them and their teachers on this great accomplishment!

• Bohls: 15

• Cele: 38

• Kelly Lane: 15

• Park Crest: 3

• Pflugerville: 4

This weekend the Dessau Middle School Dance Program was highlighted at the Dia de los Muertos festival on October 30th. This event was hosted by Cook-Walden Capital Parks Funeral Home and Cemetery here in Pflugerville. Dessau students performed a traditional Folklorico routine, Ballet to “La Llorona”, and led a creative movement exercise for children.

(All schedules can be found on rankonesports.com)

Volleyball:

District Play Standings

5A Hendrickson HS: DISTRICT CHAMPIONS! (Bi District vs LASA)

6A Weiss HS: District Runner Up! (Bi District vs DeSoto)

5A Pflugerville HS: Playoffs! (Bi District vs Austin McCallum)

Football:

WHS defeated Midway last Friday to stake their claim in the Texas HS State Playoffs. They will finish the regular season @ Hutto this week. HHS will finish at home this week versus College Station. CHS & PHS are gearing up for their “P’ Ville Showdown” with each other this Friday at The Pfield where Military Appreciation will also be celebrated.

Cross Country:

Headed to STATE! PHS-Marcus Flores & Mario Medina along with HHS Cassie Rivera. GOOD LUCK!

Junior High Athletics:

Last week for Volleyball and Football (District Champions will be announced next week).