Hello Explorer Parents!

We hope that you are having a great weekend and enjoying the beautiful weather! Tomorrow we will have no school in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Please click on the video below for some memorable quotes from Dr. King and consider ways that you can give back to our community during this time.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As we begin to finish out the month of January, students are encouraged to participate in the Great Kindness Challenge from January 25-29. We ask them to think of kind things that they can do for others to make kindness part of their every day lives. This is a great activity to do as a family too! We will send more information and ideas home this week.

Just a reminder...the instructional commitment form is due by January 22, 2021 for the 3rd nine weeks. You can log onto your PSS account at this link: https://haystx.teams.hosting/selfserve/EntryPointHomeAction.do?parent=true

Thank you for your continued support at home. We are looking forward to a great week of learning!

Have a wonderful week.

• January 11-Applications for Saturn V program for 2021-2022 (incoming 4th grade) will be available.
• January 22-Instructional commitment form for 3rd nine weeks is due.
• January 25-29-Kindness Week
• February 1-Beginning of 3rd nine weeks
• February 5-Report cards for 2nd nine weeks will be sent to parents
• February 11-Friendship Celebrations *Teachers will send home information soon.
• February 8-12-Counselor Appreciation Week
• February 12 and February 15-Virtual Learning Days/Teacher Planning. *A Google form for childcare spots will be sent home on February 5.
• February 1-28-Black History Month
• **March 31-School Picture Day (Individual student pictures only. More info will be sent home soon)

https://www.hayscisd.net/coronavirus

2020-2021 Tobias Elementary Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

ARRIVAL/DROP-OFF: 7:00-7:25 am

SCHOOL BEGINS: 7:30 am (Students are tardy after 7:35 am) Announcements begin at 7:30 am.

SCHOOL ENDS: 3:15 pm DISMISSAL/PICK-UP: 3:10-3:15 pm (K-5TH) & Pre-K 3:05 pm

A NOTE ABOUT SAFETY

Parents, we need your cooperation and patience in following these procedures to ensure that all of our students are safe. Any changes to how your child goes home must be made before 1:00 pm by contacting our school office at 512-268-8437.

CAR RIDERS/ PARENT PICK-UPS NOTE: Parking on Lox Lane is prohibited by the City of Kyle.

· Please display your student’s pick-up sign in the dashboard of the vehicle at pick-up time. Additional pick-up signs are available for families with multiple vehicles. Write your child’s first and last name, teacher, and grade in large black bold letters.

· Parent Pick-ups at the front entrance will NOT be allowed due to Safety and Health guidelines. Parents will pick up children in a vehicle in the car rider line.

· Parents who do not have a Car Rider/Parent Pick-up sign will be asked to verify identity. Please have your ID with you at all times.

· All car riders will be dropped off and picked up in the front of the school.

· Remember this is a school zone. Please keep speed under 15 mph at all times. Cell phone use is prohibited in school zones.

· All cars dropping off/picking up will enter at the light at Lox Lane. You must turn right, and loop around the school in order to get into the car rider lane. We DO NOT allow cars to turn left and cross the parking lot. We DO NOT allow cars to enter the line at Arbor Knot Drive. This will be a fair way to keep all cars in one line. Please observe patience in this process.

· Traffic cones will be placed in the car rider area. If your child is a car rider, he/she MUST be picked up in a vehicle. Please pull up to the cone as directed. A teacher will supervise for safety, but children must be able to exit the vehicle independently due to social distancing guidelines for our staff. We ask that children enter and/or exit from the right side of the car to keep them safe. If your safety seats are on the left side, please relocate them to the right side to allow for expeditious drop off/pick up.

· Drop off before 7:00 am is prohibited. Drop off after 7:35 am will require you to call the front office and a staff member will come and escort your student into the building to receive a tardy slip. Afternoon pick up begins at 3:05 pm. Please follow the dismissal times above for arriving to campus.

· In the afternoon, car riders will remain inside and with their grade level. Please display your student pick-up sign from your dashboard. Including your child’s first and last name, teacher, and grade in large black bold letters will help the teachers see it and move the line more quickly. We will load 5 cars at a time and then dismiss them. For student safety, please exit at a slow speed and proceed with caution. Always yield to students and staff at crosswalks.

· We ask that all visitors to our school property wear a mask and exercise safety and social distancing guidelines for the protection of our staff and students.

WALKERS/BIKERS NOTE: Parking on Lox Lane is prohibited by the City of Kyle.

· If your child will be walking (or biking) they will be grouped together with siblings or cohort groups and escorted by a teacher outside of the school building to the crosswalk. Walkers/bikers going to Post Oak will meet in the gym. Walkers/bikers going to Arbor Knot (Brookside Estates/Four Seasons) will meet in a designated location. Staff will walk them across the street ONLY. We strongly encourage parents to pick up students in the car rider lane as much as possible.

· Walkers/bikers from Brookside Estates and Four Seasons should use Arbor Knot Drive. Walkers/bikers from Post Oak should cross FM150 at Lox Lane only with the crossing guard. All walkers should walk along the sidewalks at all times. Bike riders should walk their bicycles across the street and once on school grounds. Walkers/bikers from Arbor Knot in grades 2-5 will use the west side entrance to enter the building. PK-1 students will enter at the front entrance.

· Students from Post Oak will enter through the front entrance only.

· Students may enter through the front doors beginning at 7:00 am and any time thereafter between 7:00-7:30 am. Parents may not enter the building. Please give hugs and goodbyes at the sidewalk away from the front entrance.

EXTEND-A-CARE/STEPPING STONE

If your child attends after school care at Stepping Stone, he/she will be picked up in the bus lane behind the school buses. If your child attends Extend-a-Care, they will be escorted to the cafeteria. Extend-a-Care parents can pick up on the east side of the building following EAC guidelines. Please be sure your child’s teacher knows about your after school childcare arrangements.

BUS RIDERS

Buses unload in the morning in waves beginning at 6:55 am. Students will go straight to classrooms. Breakfast will be in the classroom. Buses begin loading in the afternoon at 3:05 pm and dismiss as soon as they are loaded. Please expect delays when school begins in person as drivers verify their new routes and on rainy days, as it takes more time to load the buses in wet weather. The phone number to Hays CISD Transportation is 512-268-8476. You may call this office to check on the status of a bus or to inquire about location and/or bus schedules.

• Pencils
• Crayons
• Markers
• Folders
• Earbuds/headphones (this is crucial)
• Notebooks

Please contact your child's teacher for a specific list. Teachers do spend quite a bit of money on supplies out of their own pockets, so if you are able to help by sending in extras, I know teachers would appreciate it! Thank you!

Last year our PTA had 212 members and received 11 awards. They have a goal of 300 members this year. Parents can help by joining PTA and signing up family members too. Go to www.joinpta.org and find Hays CISD-Tobias Elementary. Membership is $5.50 per person. PTA funds directly benefit our students and staff. Our PTA Board appreciates the support that we give to help our school. Thank you to all parents and family members who have already joined!

PTA Board 2020-2021

President-Jordan Long

VP-VACANT

Secretary-Emily Anderson

Treasurer-Kristen Sierra