Principal's Bulletin
Week 10: October 24-28, 2022
Jerry D. Allen Elementary School
Message from Mrs. Zagala
Dear Allen Families,
Thank you for a great week at Allen Elementary. Report cards were sent home this week and we are so proud of all of our students and their accomplishments during the first quarter of school. We are excited to kick off Red Ribbon Week next week. Students and staff are invited to join in on our theme days as we commit to living a healthy lifestyle.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Zagala
Principal
Learning Fun in Mr. Guajardo's 5th Grade Class
Math Collaboration
Monday Motivation Clubs
Library Time
Safety Reminder from NISD
As this school year progresses, safety remains a priority on all of our campuses. It is important to review key components of our district’s safety protocols to ensure we never lose sight of how school staff and parents must work together during a potential threat.
Since the beginning of the school year, several NISD schools have had to respond to situations near their campus by calling for a lockdown or modified lockdown. As a result of ongoing training and drills, campus staff and students have been able to react calmly and efficiently in these situations.
As a District, we have learned valuable lessons from these experiences and want to share these best practices and expectations during a potential threat.
- We understand that communication is critical. We will work to keep parents informed of any potential threat or incident on their child’s campus utilizing our School Messenger platform. We will do this through email, call out, push notice, and/or text message. In order for parents to ensure they are receiving these messages, first ensure that your child’s school has your most current contact information on file through the school attendance office. If you have children at multiple schools, you only need to contact one to have all records updated. Second, be sure to set your notification preferences by visiting the go.schoolmessenger.com website. Finally, be sure to download the Northside App from the App Store or Google Play.
- During any potential threat or incident, our priority will be the students and staff on site. If you receive notice of any incident at your child’s campus, we ask that you refrain from calling or going to the school. In most cases, students will not be released until law enforcement has provided an all-clear. Your presence on campus could pull valuable staff resources away from addressing the safety of students and staff.
- Keeping students and staff safe is a shared responsibility. We value the reports made by students, parents, and community members to our Safeline regarding any potentially dangerous situation. We ask that you continue to make these reports so that the NISD Police Dept. and campus staff can follow up appropriately. All reports are taken seriously and can be made anonymously, 24/7, by calling 210-397-7233 (SAFE).
- Many times information on social media or other platforms may not be credible. Hoax, or false, reports can cause significant disruption to a school environment creating unnecessary panic. We encourage parents to speak with their children about the harmful effects of incorrect or misleading information. Students who engage in these hoax reports will be subject to disciplinary and/or criminal action.
Thank you for a successful start to this school year.
Report Cards Go Home 10.21.22
Allen Elementary Celebrates Red Ribbon Week: October 24-28th
Pumpkin Book Characters
Author's Visit 10.25.22
Mark Your Calendars: Costume Parade 10.31.22
We are excited to have our annual Costume Parade on Monday, October 31st at 2:00 PM. All students (PK-5th grade) are invited to wear their costumes to school and participate in this special event. All costumes must be appropriate for elementary aged students. Costumes with any firearms, knives, or any other weapons will NOT be permitted. Costumes that depict any inappropriate imagery such as violence will also not be permitted. Any students that bring any costumes that are not appropriate for school will be asked to change and will not be allowed to participate in the parade.
Parents and guests are invited to join us for the parade. All adult guests are required to check in to the front office with a valid driver’s license or state issued ID to receive a visitors pass. Guests are strongly encouraged to use the QR code below to RSVP for the parade. By RSVPing for the parade you will have your information for your visitors pass screened ahead of time and you will be able to “skip the line” and go straight to the black top for the parade. The parade will begin promptly at 2:00 PM and all guests are encouraged to arrive no later than 1:40 PM to allow time for you to check in and receive your visitor's pass. No adult guests will be allowed to join us for the parade without receiving their visitors pass and guests that do not RSVP will have to wait in line to have their IDs processed to receive their visitors pass.
Allen Elementary Celebrates Day of the Dead
SAVE THE DATE: Parent's Place 11.4.22
Thank you to our PTA for sponsoring our Parent's Place events.
SAVE THE DATE: PTA Fun Run
Our Allen Elementary Fun Run fundraiser will kick off in just 3 weeks on 11/09/2022. Our goal is to raise $6,000 for field trips and to strengthen our school community.
Key dates to remember:
● REGISTRATION OPENS - 10/26/2022
Register on MYBOOSTER.COM
● Allen Elementary Fun Run Kick Off - 11/09/2022
● Event Day - 11/18/2022
Donations will go toward supporting our school and can be given throughout the entire experience. There
is no pressure to give, but we invite you to help our school by sharing our fundraiser with your family and
friends!
Thank you for supporting Allen through the Allen Elementary Fun Run.
NISD Learner Profile: October Focus "Collaborator"
A collaborator is defined as working together to accomplish a shared, common goal.
An effective collaborator:
-respectfully contributes ideas and enriches relationships
-is open to and values the diverse input of others
-is flexible throughout the process
-understanding that working together contributes to an enhanced product
As we will be working with students on being collaborators, we also invite you to extend the learning at home. Each week during October, I will link a child friendly video that is connected to being a collaborator. I hope that you and your family are able to view these videos together and learn more about being a collaborator.
Community Events
Reading and Math Family Monthly
Morning Procedures
- The doors to the school open at 7:00 AM
- All parents and adult guests going to the cafeteria must obtain a visitor's pass from the front office. A valid driver's license or state ID is required to get a visitors pass.
- Any parent eating breakfast with their child will be asked to eat at the family table located on the stage.
- For safety and security is our campus policy that parents and visitors do not go to the classrooms in the morning
Dismissal Procedures
We appreciate your patience and support as we continue to implement our new dismissal system. For everyone’s safety, students will remain in the building until there is someone here for them. To ensure that our system works smoothly, we ask that all parents, guardians, and caregivers remain in their vehicles and drive through the pick up line for their child. Remaining in the pick up line will minimize the congestion in the front of the school and will allow us to get the children to their cars more efficiently. Parents that “walk up” to pick up their child are likely to wait longer in the weather elements than the parents that remain in their vehicles. Please make sure that your car tag with your child’s unique code is easily visible in the front of your windshield. Parents that walk up to pick up their child(ren) are also asked to present their tag to the staff dismissing students.
Any students that are not picked up by 3:15 PM will require a parent or guardian to pick them up from inside the building and sign them out.
Buy Your Allen Spirit Shirts!
Box Tops for Education: Help Us Earn Money for our School!
Use this referral code B1KG0OSL when you sign up and you’ll get 20 Bonus Box Tops when you scan your first receipt now through 05/31/2023, while supplies last! Download the Box Tops for Education app here: https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=B1KG0OSL
At the end of the school year, the grade level that has earned the most Box Tops will win an Ice Cream Party!
STAY CONNECTED: Four Easy Ways to Stay Informed
Erika L.M. Zagala, Principal
Email: allen@nisd.net
Phone: 210-397-0800
Twitter: @NISDAllenES