Back to School Family Newsletter

Boy, have we missed your kiddos! This school building has been too quiet for too long. Our staff members will be back next week to continue growing as educators and also prepare their rooms for your children. I am convinced we have the very best staff and the very best families here at RFHE and we can't wait to fill this building back up with all of you!

In this newsletter, you will find a lot of important information you need to know. Please read it thoroughly.

I can tell you without a doubt that the staff at RFHE could not be happier to greet you and your children at Meet the Teacher Night next Thursday, August 3rd. Your children bring us joy and we are incredibly thankful that you are sharing them with us!

No doubt that tears will be shed on the first day of school (by this momma, too) but as you watch them walk away from you, trust that they are in good hands - hands that love them, hands that will help them grow academically and emotionally, and hands that will show them that there are a whole lot of people who love them and care about them. It will be a great school year and we are excited to get started!

Ashley Zucosky, Principal

We hit the jackpot with all of our new hires! These new hires joining our RFHE family have impressive academic backgrounds and all equally match our level of excellence we expect from ourselves, our students, and each other. We are excited that they have joined our RFHE school family!

My name is Caroline Eaves and I am so excited to be the Assistant Principal of RFH. I have enjoyed working in New Diana ISD the last couple of years and have witnessed how special RFH is from my previous role. I am excited to partner with families and students this upcoming school year. I am married to the best husband and have two children, one of which also attends RFH. I am originally from Colorado, but have made Texas home. It is going to be a great year!

Hi my name is Misty Roberts. I am married to Josh Roberts and we have two amazing kids Trent and Kinley. I have been in education for 15 years and I am so excited about joining New Diana ISD this school year! My family and I are looking forward to becoming Eagles and can’t wait to meet everyone!

My name is Mallory Crowder and I am honored and excited to be a member of the RFHE family! I am married to my husband Cody of 13 years and we have three wonderful boys- Evan (11), Luke (8), and Drew (6). I began teaching back in 2008 and have taught grades Pre-K through Second. I also hold a Master's degree in Literacy and Reading. My family and I moved to Diana last July and have fallen in love with this community. I cannot wait to share my passion for teaching with all of you!

I am so excited to be the new K-5 SPED Resource teacher! I have been a parent on our campus for the past three years, and my family and I have loved our campus since the day my son started school! I feel so blessed to be part of the RFH family! I am married to my high school sweetheart, Josh Lettow, and we have three children: Jack (3rd grade), Laura (1st grade), and Maddie Lettow (not quite old enough to be an Eagle yet but will be next year)! I am looking forward to a great year!

We CANNOT wait to see you all at Meet the Teacher Night on Thursday, August 3 from 5pm to 7pm! Be sure to bring your supplies with you. We will run it exactly like last year...just come on in and report to your grade level hallway. We will have staff members there to look up your class placement and direct you to the new classroom for the school year! This is a come and go event.

Important Note: If you have not finished up everything needed for registration including proof of residence, you will be directed to the office to finish that up before being assigned to a classroom.

If you still need assistance getting into the Skyward registration system or need some help navigating, please call our office anytime from 7a-5p Monday through Thursday.

See you soon! Eeekkk!

Since we have moved to a 4 day instructional week, times have changed. You will get a copy of the information below at Meet the Teacher but we wanted you to go ahead and have this information now.

The ND Friday Care Option is intended to be used for only those who have been unable to secure an alternative option for Friday care. If this is a need for your family, please read through the following information carefully and then click on the link to the application below. Along with completing this application, you will also need to stop by the office on Meet the Teacher Night to get a ND Friday Care handbook, sign receipt of the handbook and pay the August tuition of $105. Meet the Teacher Night will be the last night to sign up. All of the requirements above must be completed in order to secure a spot for ND Friday Care.

Dates of Care Offered and Fees

Pending the enrollment and consistent attendance of a minimum number of students each Friday, childcare will be provided on the following dates to those families who need childcare but cannot find childcare elsewhere. The fee for Friday care is $35 per day. This fee will be charged monthly and is due on the 1st Friday of every month regardless of student attendance on all days offered.

Drop Off and Pick Up

Parents will be responsible for transporting their children to and from school. Students can be dropped off at Robert F. Hunt Elementary starting at 7:20 a.m. and must be picked up by 3:30 p.m. Students who are not picked up by 3:30 will not be able to return for Friday care.

Friday Care Typical Schedule

While this will not be an academic day, students will have a structured schedule. Students will be placed into groups based on their age as much as possible. The students’ day will consist of rotating activities, inside and outside play and times when they are all together.

Meals and Snacks

The district will provide a daily snack to each student but parents will need to send students with a lunch and drink.

Behavior Expectations

As with any school day, all behavior expectations will continue to be expected from students in Friday care. If a child does not follow those expectations, the campus administration will have the right to no longer allow the student to attend Friday care.

If your family is in need of this service and has no other option for Friday care, please click here to fill out the application and make sure to follow the remaining steps listed above in order to secure a spot in ND Friday Care.

Morning Drop-Off (7:05-7:30)

Morning drop off will start at 7:05am. Parents will not be allowed to park in the parking lot and send children across the lines of traffic. This is a safety issue and it slows down the traffic of those dropping off at the sidewalk. Please stay in line and drop your students off at the curb.

Pre-K, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students will need to be dropped off along the front sidewalk.

4th and 5th grade students will need to be dropped off along the sidewalk in back near the gym doors.

***Siblings should be dropped off with the youngest siblings.***

If students arrive after 7:30, they are considered tardy. The parent must park and escort the student to the front office to check-in.

Afternoon Dismissal (4:00)

****NEW THIS YEAR****

• We will not be able to allow parents to start lining up before 3:45pm so please, please, please do not arrive before 3:45 to get in the pick up line. This will be strictly enforced and you will be asked to leave if you attempt to get in line before 3:45. The state has added additional safety requirements for us to follow to ensure we maintain a safe perimeter around the school until the dismissal bell rings at 4:00. Please do not be upset with our staff if you are asked to leave, we are following the expectations that our state government has put into law. In the end, this is to ensure we keep all children as safe as possible.
• Make sure you have your car tag when picking up your child(ren). If someone else is picking up your children, ensure that they have the car tag. We will strictly enforce car tags this year. This helps us ensure that the student is being picked up by someone that has permission to do so. This also helps our line move more efficiently for everyone because the teachers are not having to stop and ask who you are there to pick up. Even if we know you well, we will expect everyone to follow the same rules and procedures. Anyone without a car tag will be asked to park and go to the office to sign the child out with their license. Again, please do not be upset with our staff members if you are asked to do this, they are just doing what they have been asked to do to ensure the safety of each and every one of our students.

Afternoon parent pick-up starts at 4:00. Parents will not be allowed to park in the parking lot and get out to pick up their children.

Pre-K and Kindergarten will be picked up on the bus loop behind the school. Please stop at the white line and cone and wait for the buses to load and exit before pulling into the drive.

1st grade, and 2nd grade (Mrs. Jordan's and Mrs. Dickerson’s homeroom only) are to be picked up in the main parking lot in front of the school.

2nd grade (Mrs. Robert's, Mrs. Crowder's, and Mrs. Barrett's homeroom only) and all 3rd grade students are to be picked up along the front sidewalk closest to the front of the school.

4th and 5th grade students are to be picked up along the sidewalk in back. Please, please, please do not try to turn right after picking up your child. This creates a traffic issue with the pick up line in the front of our building. Please pick up your child(ren) and go left back towards Baseball Loop and exit school property that way. Thank you for following this procedure.

It is very important that you reference the traffic flow map below to ensure you do not enter or exit where it is not allowed. Find your student(s) dismissal area and then look for the green arrows to tell you where to get in line and then the red arrows that show you how you should exit.

***Siblings will be picked up with the oldest siblings. ***

Need to Make a Change to a Student's Transportation?

Transportation changes for dismissal need to be made in writing and include the date and a parent/guardian signature. If an emergency should arise, parents may call the front office at (903) 663-8003 before 2:30pm to request a change with principal approval. Please do not email or text your child’s classroom teacher with a transportation change - teachers are busy teaching and will probably not see the change in time to make it happen.

With the extended day in mind, every grade level has built in a daily snack time.

• Pre-K and Kindergarten students will have assigned snack days and bring whole class snacks just as they have in the past.
• 1st grade through 5th grade students will need to be sent with a daily snack each day.

When thinking about possible snack ideas, please try to consider what might not make a big mess or cause cheesy fingers and such. No sodas, energy drinks, or candy will be permitted for snacks. Below is a list of things you might consider sending with your child.

Monday, August 7

You are welcome to walk your child in on the first day of school. If you are not able to do so and want to utilize our drop off lines or if your child will be arriving to school on the school bus, do not worry...we will have more than enough staff members stations in the hallways and at entrances to ensure every child gets to their teacher. We also promise to give them some extra hugs and love if they need it. First days can be hard!

After the first day, please drop your child off utilizing our drop off line. You will not be able to park and walk your child in after the first day unless you arrive tardy (after 7:30). The sooner they can get into a routine, the better for them. We promise to take good care of them while they are here with us!

If you haven’t experienced the first day of school drop off and pick up lines, I’m sure you’ve heard about it! It takes a while. Thank you in advance for your grace as we make sure to safely get over 570 students to the right place as efficiently as possible.

Starting Tuesday, August 8, all students should be dropped off in their designated drop off line. After the first several days, students, staff, and parents will know where they are going and what to do and I promise we will get faster at it each day.

As a district, we have been asked to use SportsYou as the main source for communicating with parents. This is an effort to streamline the various communication outlets into essentially one for the entire district. This means that we will no longer be using GroupMe, Seesaw, Remind, or any other source used. SportsYou will take the place of those. Some of you may be familiar with this app already as some ND programs have already been using it. SportsYou functions very similarly to GroupMe/Remind.

So we have created a RFHE Parent School News 23-24 group on SportsYou. Follow the directions below to join the group. We will post all of the important information for parents/families through this group. We will also still maintain our Facebook page and website. Your child's teacher will also have a SportsYou group for their classroom parents so you can stay up to date there as well.

Our amazing PTO has done some great things for the students and staff at RFHE thanks to your contributions. We are always overwhelmed with the support that the PTO provides our staff and students.

Thank you to all of our PTO members and PTO board members. Your role is incredibly important and we are so thankful for the time and resources that you give to support our students and staff. We couldn't do this work without YOU!!

Hannah Bishop, President

Cady Martin, Vice President

Amanda Luensmann, Secretary

Ashley McKnight, Treasurer

Amber Morris, Luncheon Coordinator

If you haven't joined PTO but have been wanting to, please contact Hannah Bishop, PTO President, at rfhe.pto24@gmail.com. They would LOVE to have you!

Starting on Thursday, September 7, 2023, you are invited to have lunch with your child on Thursdays during the school year. We will only invite visitors to lunch on Thursdays. You will be asked to check in the front office with your driver's license and get a badge. 5 minutes before your child's lunch starts, we will get you to the lunchroom to wait for your child. We also will ask that you come back into the office to check-out before leaving our campus. Please make sure to have your driver's license with you anytime you come to campus - even if we have already scanned it into our system. This will ensure we know exactly who is in our building at all times. We realize this new process could be inconvenient to some but also realize that student safety is our number one priority.

Please make sure to visit the School Cafe website/App for information on menus, free/reduced lunch application, to load money on your child's cafe account, get balance reminders, etc. Click here!

We do not have the August lunch menu yet but you should be able to pick one up at Meet the Teacher Night.

August

3 - Meet the Teacher Night from 5-7p

7 - First Day of School - parents may walk students to class

8 - all students must be dropped off through the drop-off car line or by bus

29 - Progress reports go home

September

7 - first day for lunch visitors with students

14 - visitors may attend lunch with students

7 - Progress reports go home

21 - visitors may attend lunch with students

28 - visitors may attend lunch with students