Dear Viking Family,

As part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining the safety and security of all Lago Vista ISD campuses, the District has updated our uniform procedures to control access and manage visitors to our facilities. In accordance with the Texas Education Code, our district and campuses have implemented these procedures to ensure a secure environment for all students and staff.

VISITOR AND VOLUNTEER DEFINITIONS

Visitor: An individual present on campus without direct affiliation as an employee or student. This includes parents visiting for lunch or contractors working with individual students.

Volunteer: An individual who is on campus or at a school-related event without direct affiliation as an employee or student and who interacts with students other than their own child. Examples include class speakers, field trip chaperones, class party helpers and attendees, and school day concessions stand workers. Volunteers must complete an approved background check before participating in any activities and must follow the standard visitor procedures.

VISITOR PROCEDURES

• All front office staff are trained on visitor check-in procedures.
• Visitors must wear a visible visitor's badge or Lago Vista ISD staff badge while on campus.
• Upon arrival, visitors MUST check in with the front office. There, they will be asked for photo identification, which will be scanned. A badge with the visitor’s destination will be issued if no alerts are indicated.
• Visitors must return their badge and check out at the front office before leaving.

VOLUNTEER PROCEDURES

• All volunteers must complete an annual background check in addition to being screened through the Raptor system, which checks names against sexual offender databases. Approved volunteers must also follow the appropriate visitor procedures.

ATHLETIC FACILITY ACCESS

• Regular visitor procedures shall be followed during school hours. Visitors must check in and receive a badge from the campus front office.
• All Lago Vista ISD athletic facilities, fields, and grounds are closed for public use during student activities (e.g., practices, competitions, etc.).
• Visitor access to athletic practices outside of school hours shall occur at the coach/sponsor’s discretion. Such visitors shall remain in the area designated by the coach/sponsor.

We look forward to a great year in the Viking Nation. As always, we thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep our campuses safe and secure.

Dr. Suzy Lofton-Bullis

Deputy Superintendent, Lago Vista ISD

Based on the updated protocols, parents who want to attend classroom parties, MUST have an approved background check on file. Please complete the link below if you know you will want to attend a party or field trip this year.

Volunteer Application/Criminal Background Check

WatchDOGS is an innovative educational initiative to promote family involvement in schools.

GOALS:

1. To provide positive male/female role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.

2. To provide extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security and reduce bullying.

Everyone is welcome! Dads, moms, grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.!

Forms to complete:

LVES Watch DOGS Form

Volunteer Application/Criminal Background Check

REGISTER:

To become a WatchDOGS volunteer, please submit the forms listed above. The first form will give Mrs. Sharrock info as to who is interested and the second form is the LVISD Volunteer Application and Background Check.

NEXT STEPS:

Once approved as a school volunteer, Brandi Sharrock will reach out to all WatchDOGS to coordinate training and next steps. We can't wait to work with you this year!

We are happy to invite all our parents to begin coming in for lunch with your student beginning Monday, September 9th. We have a few guidelines we ask all our lunch visitors to follow.

1. All persons coming to eat with a student will be checked in Parent Portal to ensure they have the right to transport the student. (This shows us that the parent has given permission for this person to be in the company of their child.) If you have someone coming to eat with your child who is not listed as an approved transporter, please call or email us at bmakowichuk@lagovistaisd.net to let us know they have your permission to eat with your student. If we don't hear from you prior, we will call to get your permission. If we are unable to obtain your permission, the visitor will not be allowed to eat with your child.

2. You will only be able to eat lunch with your child. Other students may not be invited to the guest tables. You may bring outside food for your child but no others. Adults also have the option of purchasing a lunch from the cafeteria.

3. Reminder- we have adult bathrooms available for parent use. Adults should not use the student bathrooms. If you have a younger child with you who needs to use the restroom, please use the adult restrooms for this purpose.

First Home Football Game- September 6th

On sale now through game day, while supplies last.

For sale in front office, cash only.

$2 each includes 1 ribbon and gold star sticker.

All proceeds benefit special education activities and events.

We will begin issuing tardies starting Wednesday, September 4. If your child enters the building at 7:45 or later, they will be given a tardy pass so that their teacher knows to count them tardy. Just being in line by 7:45 isn't enough. Your child must be unloaded and in the building by 7:45 because instruction begins at that time. If you are worried about your child being on time, 2nd and 3rd grade parents may want to use the Civic loop to drop off. Our youngest students are still learning about how to quickly exit the car in the mornings. For our PK and Kinder parents, you may want to arrive a few minutes later. Most mornings, there are very few cars in the drop off line prior to 7:30. (We begin opening car doors at 7:15.)

9/9 - Neon Day

9/10 - Hat Day/ Crazy Socks

9/11 - Hawaiian Day

9/12 - Team Day (Wear your favorite team jersey/shirt or team hat)

9/13 - Blue Out (Wear Viking Colors)

Lago Vista ISD

Spectator Guidelines for Athletic Events

In a continuing effort to assure the safety and enjoyment of all athletes and spectators, the following procedures will be enforced during home athletic events:

1. Outside food and drinks are prohibited.

2. There is no re-entry after exiting the event.

3. All students 5th grade and younger must be accompanied by an adult guardian in order to attend home games. The students must remain under the supervision of that guardian while at the event.

4. Standing, loitering or horseplay under and around the stands, concession stands, or any other area is prohibited. There is absolutely no standing allowed by the rails and walkways in the stands. Repeat offenders will be required to leave the event and campus.

5. Revealing, provocative and/or inappropriate dress will not be allowed, nor will inappropriate behaviors or foul language. Repeat offenders will be required to leave the event and campus.

6. Once inside the event, middle school and high school students with a student ticket will be allowed to sit in the designated student area on the home side. Students are allowed to sit in the reserved or general admission sections only if they are under the supervision of an adult guardian.

7. Spectators wanting to sit in reserved seating must purchase a ticket for the reserved section.

8. The use of alcohol, controlled substances, tobacco, and electronic cigarettes are prohibited on school premises.

9. Only pre-approved individuals will be allowed access to the sidelines and track before and during football games.

10. Spectators may not enter the field area or cross to the visiting team side.

11. Everyone is expected to abide by the UIL’s expectations of proper sportsmanship. Failure to do so may result in being removed from the event and campus.

Lago Vista ISD appreciates everyone’s cooperation and support as we work to keep a safe and enjoyable environment at Viking athletic events.

Per Texas State Law, in order to receive credit for a course or grade level, a student must be in attendance 90% of the time. Absences whether excused or unexcused count towards the total.

But even more important than the law is that when your child misses school, they miss the amazing instruction that is happening and there's no way to ever truly make that up. Last year, our students missed a total of 5,851 days of instruction which equals 43,882 hours of awesome teaching that went unexperienced.

We want all of our students to be able to take advantage of as much great teaching as possible, so that's why this year we are encouraging all parents to "Strive for 5!" Strive for 5 or less missed days for your child this school year. Please do not misunderstand- if your child is sick, please, please, please keep them home. However, try to plan vacations around our school holidays so that your child can avoid missing as much instruction as possible.

Many parents don't realize that the vast majority of our funding from the state is directly tied to our daily attendance. Each student that is present each day equates to about $37 in funding. If a student is absent, that amount is lost. $37 may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly! When looking at last year's numbers, LVES lost $216,487 in funding due to attendance.That funding could allow us to hire more teachers equating to smaller class sizes to benefit our students.

Again, if your child is sick, please keep them home. The last thing we want is for your child to be miserable here at school and to possibly cause another child to be sick. What we are trying to limit is avoidable absences.

• The tardy bell rings at 7:45. Instruction begins immediately at this time.
• Official attendance is taken each day at 9:25. If your child is not physically present at that time, they are counted absent.
• All attendance notes should be given to your child's teacher or emailed to Christine Harris at charris@lagovistaisd.net. Notes should be returned within 3 school days of the absence or appointment.
• Typically, the later in the school day you can schedule needed appointments, the better. You definitely want to avoid the 9:25 time frame if possible.

Go Vikings!

Lago Vista ISD is proud to offer 8 CTE Programs of Study leading to industry based certifications:

*Applied Agricultural Engineering (Welding)

*Audio Video Production

*Certified Nurse Aide (CNA)

*Culinary Arts

*Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

*Graphic Design and Illustration

*Plant Science (Floral Design)

*Real Estate

The H-E-B Excellence in Education program awards cash grants to finalists, winners, and their schools. A nomination starts a journey that can lead to impactful benefits for the schools and districts in your community.

Nominations for the 2025 Excellence in Education Awards close on October 7, 2024.

If you would like to nominate an educator, please visit https://heblovesteachers.com/nominate/

7:15 Doors open and drop off begins, Breakfast begins

7:35 Teachers begin welcoming students into classrooms

7:45 Tardy bell rings, Class starts

9:25 Attendance is taken, Students not present at this time are absent

10:45-11:15 PreK, VRT, ECSE and 1st grade lunch

11:20-11:50 Kindergarten lunch

11:55-12:25 2nd grade lunch

12:30-1:00 3rd grade lunch

3:20 Dismissal begins

Morning Drop Off-

Loop at Dawn Drive- Bus Riders Only

Students needing breakfast- Civic Drive

Students not needing breakfast- Travis Drive OR Civic Drive (We ask that all PK and K students who do not need breakfast be dropped off at Travis Drive.)

Students arriving after 7:45- parents will need to park and walk students in through front entrance to sign them in and receive a tardy slip.

Attendance Time- (9:25 am)

Any students not physically present at this time will be marked absent. Parents have three school days to submit an excuse note. All excuse notes will be considered and excused if applicable.

Lunch-

Parents will be allowed to come eat lunches with their students beginning Monday, September 9 to allow us time to teach cafeteria routines and procedures.

Dismissal-

Are you a car rider with a Sibling???

We have 2 car lines!

1. Lower grades/Lower level - Travis Drive

If your family has only Pre-K, Kindergarten, or 1st graders, you will enter Travis Drive to pick up your children.

2. Upper grades/Upper level - Civic Loop

If your family includes a 2nd or 3rd grader, you will pick up all your children on Civic.

Loop at Dawn Drive- buses only

Loop at Civic Drive- 2nd/3rd grade students

Loop at Travis Drive- PK/ECSE/VRT/FAC/K/1st students

**Siblings will be picked up at the oldest student's dismissal location.**

The G/T referral window for students in 1st-12th grades will be open from Thursday, August 15th though Friday, October 4th.

Please click the link below to refer your student.

LVISD G/T Referral Form 2024.

SPANISH LVISD G/T Referral Form

Testing will begin as soon as the referral window closes.

Please contact Tricia Vasquez, LVISD K-12 GT Specialist, with any questions.

tvasquez@lagovistaisd.net

Breakfast price- $1.85

Lunch price- $3.00 (Adult- $4.79)

Lago Vista ISD is now using mySchoolBucks, an online payment service to manage your student's meal account. You can securely fund your student's account via credit card, debit card or your checking account. You will be able to review purchases, see current balance, and receive low balance alerts. The account options are flexible - make a one payment, set up a recurring payment, or set a payment schedule when the account reaches a specified amount.

First, create an account on mySchoolBucks and add your students. If you have multiple children, you can make multiple deposits for each child during your transaction. Next, make a payment. The deposit amount can be placed against a credit card, debit card or your checking account. All payments are securely processed using our highly secure website and encryption. All payments are quickly credited to your students account.
If you have any questions or problems, you may contact Jennifer Porter, Director of School Nutrition Services at (512) 267-8300 x1516.

Free & Reduced Lunch Information

Fill out the Free & Reduced meal application online at MySchoolApps. Click the appropriate link below to fill out the application online.

• English
• Spanish

Have you had an issue with your students "MySchoolBucks - Autopay" not processing? There is a reason this is happening.

When setting up or updating the Autopay feature within your student's MySchoolBucks account, there is one thing to keep in mind. If the account is in a negative state, the Autopay will not start processing until the account is brought current and remains current for at least 24 hours.

You will need to make a one time payment either online (credit card or bank draft) or at the cafeteria registers (cash or check only) in order to bring the account current. Once the account is at or above $0.00 then the Autopay should begin processing.

Note: If an account is cleared this morning and is showing $0.00 as the balance but your student purchases a meal today during lunch, the account will go back into a negative state causing the Autopay to not work. Typically the AutoPay processes overnight, so once it tries to process tonight it will not since the account went back into a negative state. Be sure to clear it and add enough to get them through their day.

GoldStar Transit coordinates all student transportation for Lago Vista ISD. For questions or to arrange bus transportation for your student, please contact the Director of Transportation, at (512) 267-8300 x1508. For more information, please visit the Lago Vista ISD Transportation Services Page.

Lago Vista ISD and Goldstar Transit are excited to introduce a new tool for managing your child's transportation needs this school year: the e-Link system by Versatrans. This online platform allows you to conveniently look up your child's bus route and stop information. Please view the attached document for steps in accessing your child's bus route information in e-Link.

As we prepare for the first day of school on August 15th, please note the following important transportation details:

1. Transportation Requests: After requesting bus transportation in Ascender ParentPortal, please allow 2-3 business days before using the e-Link system to search for your child's bus route. This allows us time to process and assign routes accurately.

2. Changing Route Information: As the start of the school year approaches, please be aware that route information may change. We recommend checking your child’s route information the night before the first day of school and then each night during the first few days. This will help ensure you have the most up-to-date information.

3. Arrival at Bus Stops: All students should arrive at their scheduled bus stops at least 10 minutes prior to the listed pickup times. Additionally, please allow a little extra time for the buses to arrive during the first few weeks of school, as drivers adjust to the new routes and schedules.

4. Ongoing Route Adjustments: Please keep in mind that bus routes are continuously under review and modification, particularly at the start of the school year. Stop locations and times may vary as we work to optimize the routes.

5. Bus Ridership: In order to ensure efficient and timely routes, transportation services are only provided to students who are regular riders. Any student who does not ride an assigned route for 10 consecutive days will be dropped from the route.

To get started with e-Link, please visit the link below:

https://thebusportal.com/LagovistaTX/elinkrp/login.aspx

Important: If you have requested bus transportation, you will need your student’s ID number to create and access your e-Link account.

Student: [STUDENT_NAME]
Student ID: [STUDENT_ID]

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we strive to provide a safe and efficient transportation experience for your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Lago Vista ISD Transportation Services office at at (512) 267-8300 x1508.

Why join the LVES PTO, you ask?

We fund non-budgeted items such as:

The New Marquee

Playground Equipment

Teacher Hospitality

Field Trips

How to join:

Membership

Business Sponsorship

Volunteer

Donate

Stock the Fridge

Spirit Nights

Where to join:

Click here

PTO Membership – Lago Vista Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (lvespto.org)

Gold

Rachel Kurinsky

Suzy Lofton-Bullis & Paul Bullis

Teri Hamilton

Scott/Jill Staeb

Leslie Vela
Chan Su

Glenn Grunewald

The Koreshev Family

Toni Garza-Salazar

PTO Memberships

Bronze $50

• Window Decal
• Invite to Monthly PTO In-Person Meetings
• Name on PTO Website

Silver $100

• Window Decal
• Invite to Monthly PTO In-Person Meetings
• Name on PTO Website
• Social Media Shoutout
• 2 T-Shirts

Gold $150

• 2 Window Decals
• Invite to Monthly PTO In-Person Meetings
• Name on PTO Website
• Social Media Shoutout
• 2 T-Shirts & 1 Hat
• Name in School Newsletter

Teacher $10

• Window Decal
• Invite to Monthly PTO In-Person Meetings

Get to know your peers and make new friends! Kick off an exciting new school year—invite your new classmates and teachers to sign your “My Friends and I” book and quickly get the inside scoop on everyone!

Discover your friends' favorite foods, hobbies, dreams, and so much more, all while creating a keepsake filled with photos and shared moments.

Visit www.lifeisbetterwithfriends.com and enter promo code FRIENDS at checkout to get $5 off one book, or buy one get one50% off with promo code BACKTOSCHOOL. Free shipping.

Now until September 30th, 20% of each book sold will go to theLVES PTO!

Texas law now requires school districts to distribute information to parents and guardians about the safe storage of firearms.

It is unlawful to store, transport, or abandon an unsecured firearm in a place where children are likely to be and can obtain access to the firearm. Under Texas Penal Code 46.13, a person commits the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child if the child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm, and the person with criminal negligence:

· Failed to secure the firearm; or

· Left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child would gain access

The penalty for allowing a child access to a firearm can range from a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a $500 fine) to a Class A misdemeanor (punishable by a $4000 fine, a year in jail, or a combination of the two).

Texas exempts the purchase of firearm safety equipment from Texas Sales and Use Tax.

Remember, a gun should be stored unloaded in a safe or locked container, with ammunition stored elsewhere. You can learn more and find additional resources from the Texas Department of Public Safety at https://safegunstoragetexas.com.

https://www.lagovistaisd.net/upload/common/district%20publications/2024-2025%20Academic%20Calendar.pdf

Google Form link: https://forms.gle/zYvdUTJG9ZnhPJvp8

Click here to order your own personalized Viking horn!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSep443gAZONlfiZG6LNZ78jAAiCsWAwm6_BHLmoNGyqRW1bCQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

WANTED: Trunk Participants, Volunteers and Donations.

Email LVISDEFTX@GMAIL.COM for more information.

Email: kwalker@lagovistaisd.net
Website: https://www.lagovistaisd.net/
Location: 20311 Dawn Drive, Lago Vista, TX, USA
Phone: 5122678300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LagoVistaElementary