Wrangler Family News

¿Sabía que puede traducir este boletín a más de 200 idiomas haciendo clic en el botón Traducir en la parte superior derecha? Las familias de Knowles Elementary hablan más de 10 idiomas diferentes además del inglés y el español.

Did you know that you can translate this newsletter into over 200 languages by clicking the Translate button on the top right. Knowles Elementary families speak more than 10 different languages in addition to English and Spanish.

• Monday, August 14th: Early Childhood Family Day for PreK 3 & PreK 4, Session 1: 8am-9:45am, Session 2: 10 am-11:45 am

• Monday, August 14th: Meet the Teacher (K-5) - 2 Sessions: 5pm or 5:45pm, Come & Go!

• Wednesday, August 16th: First Day of School - Doors Open to Students at 7:10am

• Thursday, August 31st: Parent Orientation with Classroom Teacher & Title 1 Parent Information Presentation, 2 Sessions: 5pm and 5:45pm

• Monday, September 4th: No School - Labor Day Holiday

1. REMIND: Install/Update/Check on your phone on either APPLE or GOOGLE device
2. Bookmark https://knowles.leanderisd.org/
3. Complete Knowles Transportation Google Form
4. Follow us on Facebook

Please read this week's newsletter for information about the first days of school. Be sure you have completed the Transportation Form.

The top campus safety concern based on our Spring parent survey was the campus arrival and dismissal process, particularly the number to cars making u-turns at the end of Cougar Country Drive. In order to make our campus arrival and dismissal safer, we are asking families to review the map below and descriptions of all of the arrival and dismissal options.

Arrival & Dismissal Options

Walkers - Students and families on foot or bike.

• In the morning, crossing guards will be stationed at the West driveway, Cougar Country Drive, and the Car Rider Driveway. A district crossing guard is located at the intersection of Cougar Country and Lakeline Dr.

• In the afternoon, all will walk to the West of the school and take the turn around path at the dead end. Students can use the neighborhood path or continue down the sidewalk on Cougar Country. Students can continue on Mayfield Way into the neighborhood or cross at Mayfield Way to continue to Lakeline Dr. Staff escort ends at Mayfield Way.

• Walker is not intended for families driving a car to the school. If you drive to the school, please select Car Line or Park & Meet options.

Car Line - Families driving to school and picking up or dropping off in the car line.

• To minimize the length of the line on Cougar Country, we will have double queuing starting at the parking spaces.
  
• For younger children and those needing extra assistance, please pull forward to the orange area. This will allow others to drive by.
  

Park & Meet - Families driving to the school but not using the carline.

• Morning and afternoon, park in the RBMS Track lot.

• In the morning, students and/or families walk on foot following the yellow path to the front of the school.

• At dismissal, families are asked to wait in the grassy area where the crossing guard is to meet their child. Parents will walk their child through the parking lot to their car.

• Handicap parking remains available at the front of the school for families with a handicap placard or license plate who have a need for closer parking.

Bus Riders- Only buses will be permitted in the bus loop for safety.

• Parents will use the following link http://www.infofinderi.com/ifi/?cid=LI05015037847 to find what bus your student should use, as well as where and what time bus stops are

Daycares - Student(s) will be picked up by the daycare bus chosen by the parent

Onsite YMCA (Dismissal Only)- Students are in the school gym and can be picked up from the side doors near the car rider line after 3:15pm. Please consult the YMCA for specific direction on pick up.

Please let us know how your child will be going home the first few days of school and their regular transportation home by completing this form.

The Leander ISD Transportation Department is finalizing the 2023-24 LISD Bus routes. Parents will be able to enter their home address into Infofinder to look up their child’s bus route number, pick-up/drop-off times, and bus stop locations for the 2023–24 school year. Bus routes are subject to change, so LISD parents are strongly encouraged to confirm their child’s bus information again the week prior to the start of school.

The Leander ISD Transportation Department uses SMART Tag – a system that provides accurate, near real-time monitoring of where and when students load onto and unload off of their school bus – to help promote student safety and security, keeping parents, school administrators and the district’s transportation department more informed.

The online parent portal allows parents and guardians to register to receive alerts for when the bus will arrive at their child’s stop; see a live map of their child’s bus; and view a riding history for their child. Be sure to register for Smart Tag if you have never done so.

If you need to register a new student, please visit the Leanderisd.org webpage. Click on enrollment for new students and fill out the new student registration for the 23/24 school year.

We are accepting all students for Kindergarten through 5th grade. If you are registering for PreKindergarten, please know that you do need to qualify and you should upload all qualifying documents on the registration portal.

Please do not fill out a new student registration if your child was at Knowles for the 22/23 school year as your child will automatically rollover. However, returning Student Verification is now open. Please login to Home Access Center (HAC), you can find the portal through the LISD web page, and update your student’s details. This is to verify that your student will be returning to LISD, you need to update your address, or update and add contact information to your child’s file.

If you cannot access your HAC account, please send me an email at jiaretzy.escudero@leanderisd.org with your student’s first and last name so that I may reset your password.

If your were not able to attend the Knowles Elementary New Family Orientation Night, please review this slide show with important first day of school information! Information is in English and Spanish

2023 STAAR Results will be available to parents through the TEA family portal starting August 16th. Additional information about Spring 2023 STAAR testing can be found here.

As we return to school, we will be taking precautions for the extreme heat. Before recess times, teachers will check the outdoor temperatures. Whenever the outdoor temperature is 105 degrees or greater, recess will be held inside. If the temperature is 100-104 degrees, recess will be outside for up to 15 minutes and the remainder of recess will be inside.

Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school each day. Please write their first and last name on it.

We are looking for a few parents to join the Site Based Decision Making Committee. This committee meets 5 times a year to review the school's Campus Improvement Plan (CIP).

We will meet at 5pm in the Knowles Library on the dates below:

August 29th

November 14th

January 30th

March 26th

May 21st.

Please email Ms. Harris, alicia.harris@leanderisd.org, if you are interested.

Please consider joining the PTA Board! Our PTA does many great things for students, teachers, and families throughout the year.

If you are interested in any of the positions below, please email Knowles.PtaPresident@gmail.com.

1st VP

2nd VP/ Membership

4th VP/ Fundraising

Parliamentarian

Hospitality Chair

Additionally, please join PTA! PTA is a great way to connect to school through social events and meeting other families from the school. PTA is flexible and can fit into busy schedules. Volunteering and meeting attendance is optional. We would love to have your support! To join, click here to pay the $6 annual membership fee. You can also join at Open House.

Consistency and routines are always a great place to start when it comes to squashing those back-to-school worries. Some worries are to be expected. It’s not easy to walk into a new classroom with a new teacher and start from scratch every single year. Take the time to talk about feelings and worries as a family. When families work through their feelings together, they empower one another. Back-to-school anxiety can be stressful for families. More often than not, the anxiety decreases as the child adjusts to the new school year.

Try these questions as conversation starters to address the many emotions that occur during the back to school transition:

• What are you excited about for this school year?
• Is there anything you’re worried about?
• How will you feel if your friends aren’t in your class?
• What might be frustrating at school?
• What do you think will be the happiest time of your day?
• Is there anything that might make you sad when you’re at school?

Mental Health Minute Launch with Dr. Gearing

https://youtu.be/xU5Nr1afKNo

Phone: 512-570-6200
Facebook: facebook.com/KnowlesElementary
Twitter: @KnowlesES