Outback Outlook
August 31, 2022
Dear Kilpatrick Family,
We would like to thank for your assistance and flexibility as we continue to work through dismissal. We have had the assistance of Police Officers to help with traffic for the first few days of school and will again as needed throughout the year.
When Rainy Day Dismissal is called, it will be done between 3:00-3:15 p.m. It will be posted on the marquee, website, and an enews will be sent out. Please make sure your child’s teacher knows your child’s Rainy Day Plan. Car riders & bus riders will stay the same for Rainy Day Dismissal, but if your child is a biker or walker, please let your child's teacher know the preferred Rainy Day Dismissal plan. It can continue to be biker or walker for Rainy Day, but administration has the right to hold any bikers or walkers if we feel it is unsafe for them to leave the school.
Please respect our Crossing Guards. Our very own teachers, Coach Brown, Coach Butler, and Coach D’ Andrea have done this service for this community for years now. They are out there in unbearably hot weather, cold temperatures, and rainy days alike. They are there to keep our children safe. Please do your best to comply with their requests. We are very grateful for them and their due diligence in performing this very difficult job for our community. They have the legal authority to direct traffic. Please be mindful that the ONLY time a driver can turn on red during posted times is if a crossing guard is directing traffic and specifically tells a driver to turn right on red. Other than this, all drivers should follow all posted signage and lights. We are very grateful for our coaches and their due diligence in performing this very difficult job for our community at Cinco and Gaston.
The car rider line begins stacking in the OKE driveway, then moves to the left lane of Cinco Ranch Blvd, and then continues down Gaston Road towards Tompkins. Please ensure you are entering the car rider line from the north side of OKE off of Gaston Rd. This may mean if you live on the south side of OKE that you have to go north on Gaston and make a legal U-turn to get in line. Please refrain from entering the line on Cinco Ranch Blvd, once it is stacked and moving.
Be reminded that our school zone is a “No Phone Zone.” Wait to text, read texts or talk until you are out of the school zones. Please respect our staff on duty; they are there to help. Our number one goal is to assist your children while keeping them safe. These procedures are in order to continue to provide a safe environment surrounding our students, campus, and community and comply with county requests.
Thank you for assistance and cooperation in this matter. It is much appreciated.
AUSSIE AUCTION GOING ON NOW
LAST DAY TO ORDER SPIRIT WEAR - SEPTEMBER 2
PICTURE DAY - SEPTEMBER 8
Fall picture day for Kilpatrick Elementary is Thursday, September 8th. You may visit http://ph.hhimagehost.com/KilpatrickElementaryIndividuals2022 to prepay for your package online.
All picture orders must be placed online. Please do not send payments to the school.
We look forward to seeing your kids dressed in their best for picture day!
WATCH D.O.G.S. KICK-OFF
Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is an innovative father involvement educational
initiative of the National Center for Fathering.
Program Benefits:
● Students gain positive male role models
● Schools gain an extra set of eyes and ears. The presence of a father or father figure will
provide an additional deterrent to bullying, enhance a sense of security in the building,
and will help to create an environment conducive to learning.
● Fathers get a glimpse of their students’ everyday world and learn about the increasingly
complex challenges and decisions today’s youth are facing. As a result, they can learn to
relate better to their students and hopefully connect with them.
● Fathers gain a greater awareness of the positive impact they can have on their student’s
life in three critical areas including: academic performance, self-esteem, and social
behavior.
● During the day, Watch D.O.G.S. may read and work on flash cards with students, play at
recess, eat lunch with students, watch the school entrances and hallways, assist with
traffic flow, and any other assigned activities where they actively engage not only with
their own students, but with other students as well.
This year we will be hosting the Watch D.O.G.S. Information Night via Zoom on September
8th at 6:00 p.m. If you are interested in joining us, please register via the QR code below.
We will send out the Zoom code to those who have registered on September 7th.
For questions contact: okewatchdogs@gmail.com
GRANDPARENTS DAY IN THE OUTBACK
You are invited to eat lunch with your OKE student(s) on Friday, September 9, 2022, to celebrate Grandparents Day.
This lunch will require any grandparents wanting to join their child for lunch to wear a Raptor badge. In order to expedite check-in at our front office, please complete this RSVP form. To qualify for a pre-printed badge, you must have previously had your picture ID scanned through the Raptor system at OKE. Therefore, if you have previously been scanned, please complete this RSVP form by Thursday, September 8th. On Friday, September 9th, there will be a line in the front office to pick up your pre-printed badge. A picture ID is required at check-in.
OKE'S READ, DEED, AND RUN CLUB
LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Kilpatrick Library is in need of library volunteers. We prefer our volunteers to commit to one hour per week on a regular basis.
The duties would include helping students locate and choose books, checking books in and out to students, shelving books, keeping the library organized, and more.
Library volunteers allow Kilpatrick to keep the library opened for circulation all day long. With library volunteers we are able to offer more library activities and programs.
If you would like to volunteer, please email Moniquea Aquilizan, OKE Library Liaison.
Thank you,
Prudence Johnson
OKE Library Aide
Moniquea Aquilizan
OKE PTA MEMBERSHIPS ON SALE NOW
Our programs are made possible through the generosity of our members with their membership dues, Aussie Bucks donations, and fundraising events.
PTA dues are only $11.00 per person (a portion going to Texas and National PTA).
WHO CAN JOIN?
Anyone that wants to support your child's school (Parents, Grandparents, Community Members)
WHAT IS OUR GOAL?
Our goal is one member voice for each child enrolled at OKE.
OKE PTA strives to have 100% membership every year.
Thank you in advance for your support :)
OKE PTA VIPS KICK-OFF AND GENERAL MEETING
SAVE THE DATE - SPRING CREEK BARBEQUE SPIRIT NIGHT
We are so excited to have our first spirit night of the school year coming up on Thursday, September 22 at Spring Creek Barbeque!
Join us for a night of fun, food, & friends while helping support OKE!
Don't worry! If your schedule does not allow you to attend the Spirit Night event, you can still support our fundraising efforts as we partner with Spring Creek Barbeque for the bottle sauce fundraising program. Sales will continue through the night of the event. OKE will receive $10 from each pack sold and also earn the chance to be the top-selling school in the Houston area.
COUNSELOR'S CORNER
KILPATRICK BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB
GIFTED AND TALENTED SCREENING INFORMATION
Kindergarten Students
Kindergarten students currently have the opportunity to be screened for the Gifted and Talented Program in Katy ISD with service to begin in March of 2023. We are currently accepting parent observation forms to initiate the GT screening process for students in kindergarten. Screening will occur during the late fall and winter of 2022/2023. Parents will be notified of the placement decision by U.S. mail in February and classes will begin in March of 2023.
Deadline to return/submit parent forms is September 30, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. NO LATE CHECKLISTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
You may complete one of the following:
Please email all printable forms to ValerieHang@katyisd.org (OKE GT teacher and facilitator) or send it to school with your child.
For more information regarding K-5 GT screening for this school year, visit the OKE Screening Website or contact Valerie Hang at ValerieHang@katyisd.org.
PBIS IN THE OUTBACK
Mrs. Montesanto's Kindergarten class earned the opportunity to spin the wheel and were rewarded with a Mystery Reader experience. Thanks to our fabulous Pre-K teachers, Mrs. Dugosh and Ms. Bennett for being the special guest readers!
VOLUNTEERS & RAPTOR REGISTRATION
Katy ISD is excited to announce the implementation of the District’s Raptor Volunteer Initiative for the upcoming school year.
Beginning October 1, the district will require all volunteers serving on campus during the instructional day to register with the district through its Raptor security system.
Raptor ensures quick and easy volunteer registration allowing individual volunteers to create and manage a personal volunteer profile.
In addition, the Raptor Volunteer Initiative will:
- Provide an additional layer of protection for Katy ISD students, staff, volunteers, and campus visitors
- Unite all district volunteers into one Katy ISD volunteer community
- Measure and communicate the positive impact of Katy ISD volunteer organizations
The volunteer registration requirement will extend to all volunteers serving on or off-campus, during or after the instructional day effective January 4.
Join our volunteer community and register today!
Volunteer Application-English
Volunteer Application -Spanish
OKE BIRTHDAY MARQUEE REQUEST
ATTENDANCE INFORMATION 2022-2023
EDULOG BUS TRACKING APP
The Katy ISD route buses are equipped with GPS systems. With the GPS systems, parents, campuses, and Transportation personnel will be able to track buses in real-time through a downloadable application from Edulog.
The link below contains information on how to download the application.
https://www.katyisd.org/Page/7740
Your school’s GPS district code to use in the application is : 81160440
SPEAKUP ANONYMOUS REPORTING APP
CURRICULUM GUIDES AND PARENT HELP VIDEOS
Are you wanting to know what your student is going to be learning this year? Use the following link to take a dive into your child’s grade level and content curriculum. https://katyisd.instructure.com/courses/46406/pages/elementary-home-page Also on these pages are links to instructional materials and parent resources.
Do you need more information about how something is being specifically taught? Use the following link to view short videos on how to teach and help your students with certain topics with in Reading and Math https://katyisd.instructure.com/courses/84117 Also on this page are links for questions and answers, along with more parent resources for various topics like handwriting, fine motor, and phonics.
FREE & REDUCED MEAL APPLICATION NOW OPEN
To determine eligibility for free meals for the 2022-2023 school year, families with students who do not attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) campus will need to complete a Meal Benefits/Free & Reduced meals application. More information about free and reduced benefits can be found here. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child Nutrition Programs Income Eligibility Guidelines can be found here.
Please note that students who are attending an USDA designated Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) campus during the 2022-2023 school year will continue to receive free meals and are not required to complete a Meal Benefits application. More information about the USDA CEP program and eligible Katy ISD campuses can be found here.
HEALTH SERVICES
All students enrolled in Katy ISD must be in compliance with state required immunizations. Immunization requirements can be found on the Katy ISD Health Services Immunizations page.
Texas Vaccine Institute will be offering the following dates and times for any student enrolled in Katy ISD, insured or uninsured, to receive the necessary required immunizations for school entry:
DATES: September 1, 2022
TIMES: 2:00–5:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Katy ISD-Professional Development Annex building located at
6301 S. Stadium Lane, Katy, 77494
COST: $15 for one immunization; $25 for two; $30 for three or more
Accepting credit/debit cards or cash
BRING: Shot record and insurance card if you have insurance
For additional information you may contact the Health Services Department at 281-396-2629.
2022-2023 SAFE RETURN TO IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION (COVID GUIDELINES)
Katy ISD continues to apply recommended guidance from TEA, DSHS and local health authorities to assist our students and staff with contending with the COVID-19 virus.
Link to Guidelines (en Espanol)
Thursday, September 1
- Rotation Day 4
- PTA Executive Board Meeting - 9:00 a.m. (OLA)
Friday, September 2
- Rotation Day 1
- National College Colors Day
- Aussie Auction Ends
Monday, September 5
- Labor Day/School Holiday
Tuesday, September 6
- First Day for Lunch Visitors
- Rotation Day 2
- 4th Grade Musical Parent Meeting - 8:45 a.m. (Room 609)
Wednesday, September 7
- Rotation Day 3
- EureKa! (1st Grade)
Thursday, September 8
- Picture Day
- Rotation Day 4
- Fishing Club - 3:40-4:30 p.m.
- Watch DOGS Kick-off - 6:00 p.m. (Zoom)
Friday, September 9
- Spirit Day
- Rotation Day 1
- Grandparents Day