It is almost the end of our first semester this school year and it has been a great one! So many fun things will be happening this month. Please be sure and read each weekly update from your teacher to stay in the loop about what is happening in class. Let us know if you are not receiving emails from our campus. We want to keep you all "in the know".

We thank each and every one of you on a PHEnomenal first semester. We have a few weeks to go, so keep up the great work. I have one concern that I would love for you to consider as a family, please see the note below in the section titled, "From my Moma heart of concern".

In January we will be welcoming back the majority of our Remote Learning students (31) and can't wait to see them all on campus. Please know that we will do everything we can to balance classrooms and prevent overcrowding if possible. Most classrooms will be around the 20-22 student mark. Please join me in welcoming these students back to campus!

Lastly, we are continuing to collect items to help support our community. The following efforts are underway RIGHT NOW and we would LOVE your participation and donations:

• Blue Santa with C2- donate new Barbies, action figures, or other toys; accepted until December 10
• Annual PHE Sock Tree- donate new socks (all sizes) to be placed on our sock tree in the front foyer by December 17
• LISD Clothes Closet- Please consider checking out the Leander ISD PTA Clothes Closet website and donate the gift of time! They are ALWAYS looking for volunteers and we have many families in our district that need this support.
• Please consider donating new underwear (all sizes) to help support Nurse Heidi and the LISD Clothes Closet; accepting donations in the front office until December 17

Again, we are thankful for your children and what you all mean to our campus. Please let us know if we can support you or your family in any way.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Heather Robbins

Principal

Pleasant Hill Elementary

512-570-6400

heather.robbins@leanderisd.org

www.phe.leanderisd.org

Follow us on Twitter: @hrobbinsPHE and @PHEHuskies

As a parent, I have learned SO MUCH over the past 18 months (post-Covid) about technology and being aware of what is going on online with my children. Like I have shared in the past, I have four children. A senior, an eighth grader, a seventh grader, and a second grader. I have been guilty of having NO CLUE what they are watching on YouTube, Netflix, and social media. But as a family, we have made changes to ensure we know more and have made changes for our kids. Two of the biggest concerns my husband and I have been faced with is being aware of what they see online and safety/access concerns.

I had NO IDEA what TikTok was until about a year ago, but have since researched and learned a lot. It was not intended for elementary-aged children and the privacy/age requirements have changed since it's inception. I shared with you all in a previous memo about TikTok monthly challenges that were out there and causing a lot of grief on district campuses, but I come to you now to just share that we have seen an uptick in the use of inappropriate/sexual language from our students. The majority of the incidences have been in fourth and fifth grade, but some references from as young as kindergarten. When questioned about the concern, we often hear "I heard it on TikTok", "a Youtuber I like says it when he signs off", or "it's from a movie I saw on Netflix". Here is an article I found that has some information about what parents need to know about TikTok.

We have also seen a shift at recess of how students play certain games and the use of pretend "gun play". One student shared with me "it is from Squid Game" a show on Netflix. I had never even heard of this show and had to research what it was about. When I searched it first I saw this statement, "Squid Game's age rating on Netflix is TV-MA, which means that the series is for mature audiences only. According to TV Guidelines, this means that the program is “specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17." Upon further investigation, I noticed you can watch parts of it on TikTok and YouTube.

The reason I am sharing ANY of this is not to tell anyone how to parent, but purely for awareness. Maybe you are like me and had no idea. You can check your student's technology and privacy settings on their at-home devices. Check your passwords and age/movie ratings on your video streaming accounts. All of these settings can be changed to protect your child from material that is not appropriate for a 3-12 year old. Leander ISD devices have filters and content keepers to prevent access to these sites and applications.

As a campus, we have made our staff aware of these concerns and asked them to be diligent in letting parents know when we see or hear something of concern. We have contacted parents to make them aware if we have an incident. We are also attempting to stop any mention of these "games" or inappropriate talk at recess, lunch, etc. Please know that students MAY NOT have phones out during class or during school hours. They must be kept in their locker on silent.

If you have questions or need support, please let us know. We are here to help and want to partner with you when faced with difficult situations. When we know better, we can all do better for our children and students.

Due to a drastic decrease in Covid cases, our district will soon move into the "green" phase of our safety protocols. We thank each and every family for being flexible and following our ever-changing processes.

With all of this in mind, we will have the following changes starting in January:

• Leander ISD approved volunteers can be on campus with teacher/administrator approval or for campus needs per PTA, front office, or administrators
• Visitors will be allowed to attend lunch with students on Fridays only; must sign in at the front office using driver's license
• Water fountains will be uncovered and used as needed
• Students do not have to "cohort" with their class and can mix with other groups
• Husky Huddle (Friday morning campus meeting) may resume at the end of January
• Volunteers will be allowed for campus-wide events

The following will remain in place due to effectiveness and student independence:

• Morning/afternoon arrival and dismissal procedures will stay the same; families can enter the building using our check-in process if needed (with teacher approval)
• Items being dropped off will not interrupt instruction; students may pick up items as needed once teacher is notified by front office or parent notification
• Birthday items must be individually wrapped and brought in with the student
• Refillable water bottles are encouraged
• Utilizing Zoom or Google Meet for parent/teacher/program meetings (based on needs of all involved)

If you have any questions about these updates, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Robbins at heather.robbins@leanderisd.org.