PfISD Pfamily Pflyer
Weekly Parents/Guardians Update: Sept. 17, 2021
Upcoming Events & Holidays
- Sept. 15 - Oct. 15 — National Hispanic Heritage Month
- Sept. 17 — Constitution Day📜 & POW/MIA Recognition Day
- Sept. 20 — National Pepperoni Pizza Day🍕 & National Queso Day🧀
- Sept. 27 — PfISD 17th Annual Pfestival of Bands
- Oct. 1 — FAFSA applications open
- Oct. 7 — PEF Schoolhouse Scramble⛳️🏌️♀️🏌️
- Oct. 8 — STUDENT HOLIDAY, Staff Development & Conferences
- Oct. 11 — NO SCHOOL: Student & Staff Holiday
Dear PfISD Parents & Guardians
Dear PfISD Parents & Guardians,
We ask that you please take a moment to talk with your students this weekend about the unfortunate TikTok trend of “devious licks" that are occurring across the country. This is a phenomenon where students are vandalizing bathrooms and posting videos of it on Tik Tok. Items may include soap dispensers ripped off the wall, telephones, pencil sharpeners, etc. Some of you may have seen this discussed on local news, as incidents have occurred in the Round Rock, Leander and Austin school districts.
We have noticed some of this behavior at some of our campuses and have been able to catch several students attempting to steal items. Students will face disciplinary consequences for theft, and depending on the item stolen, theft or destruction of property it could lead to the filing of charges. We do not want to see any charges filed so I am reaching out in hopes you can partner with us in putting an end to this latest trend.
Please talk to your students about respecting the property of others. This respect goes not only for our building (our home for eight hours a day), but also for our custodians who have to clean up the mess, for maintenance folks who have to repair damage and for their peers who deserve a clean, safe bathroom to use.
We have great students, and I am hopeful parents can help encourage their children to refrain from participating in this vandalism.
Big kudos go out to our Transportation team. They have been running low on drivers, but have been pulling together to make sure our routes happen! I appreciate the team that Executive Director Michael Brassfield has built and leads every day. You all are amazing!
As Wednesday marked the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, I am excited to see all the ways our campuses celebrate. Providing our students with examples of members from the Hispanic community who have made a difference or achieved great things can go a long way to inspire our youth today. One person’s positive influence can make a difference in a child’s life.
Speaking of positive influence, one of our own students made headlines this week and inspired me with what he’s done. Hendrickson student Ronnie Brown, who has Down syndrome, walked the runway during New York Fashion Week, a feat few get the chance to do. Ronnie, who was homecoming king at Hendrickson in 2019, just keeps setting the bar high. Congratulations to him and the staff members who have guided him along the way.
To get more on Ronnie’s story, check out the KVUE link: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/young-pflugerville-man-with-down-syndrome-walks-the-runway-in-new-york-fashion-week/269-9a01a0b7-e4fc-474b-8cf1-0c49cfeec2f6
As well as Ronnie’s accomplishments, we had all four PfISD high school varsity football teams win last week. Our Weiss Wolves even inspired Coach VanMeter to do a little dance: https://twitter.com/FlxAtx/status/1436547792500047872?s=20
Congrats to the football coaches and student-athletes at each of our high schools.
Our high school volleyball teams are now in district play, and each have been playing an exciting brand of teamwork, so stop by and check out one of their matches if you get a chance.
Our middle school coaches have also been busy, with student-athletes performing well in volleyball, football and cross-country recently. We even got to host a middle school football game at The Pfield this week, in what was surely a memorable event for those athletes.
Our high school bands have been over at The Pfield as well, performing halftime shows and leading fans during football games, and will head back as the spotlight falls solely on them on Sept. 27. Our annual Pfestival of Bands is an event you don’t want to miss, so mark your calendars for 7 p.m. Best of luck to Fine Arts Director Manny Gamez and his department staff as they prepare for the big event.
In the best interest of children,
Douglas Killian, Ph.D.
Proud Superintendent
Passionately Serving
Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month. From now through October 15 is an opportunity to celebrate the culture of where many in our community have come from. You can see the influence these cultures have had on our area and our everyday lives as these members of our community carry a little of their heritage with them through the generations.
This is a special time to recognize and honor some of the members of the Hispanic community who have helped shape our country and provide inspiration for our Hispanic students, who make up more than 48% of our student body. Representation matters and seeing someone like you succeed in chasing their dreams or making a difference can be just the spark a young mind needs to put themselves on a path toward achieving their dreams.
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, PfISD will be highlighting some of the achievements of Hispanic Americans who have made an impact in their community and our country. You can learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month and other months that honor diversity on our Diversity page at https://www.pfisd.net/domain/101.
Bus Notifications Update
Pflugerville ISD is no longer utilizing SafeStop to provide information on bus stops. For any parents who may have signed up for this service in the past, you may receive incorrect notifications. We ask that you please delete the SafeStop app.
We are in the final steps of the process of replacing this service with a similar program called Stop Finder. We will share information on how to download and log in to the system very soon.
New Cafeteria Menu App
In a partnership with Aramark, the app will now have menus for all PfISD campuses available. You can download the app from Apple's App Store or Google Play for Android devices.
After downloading the app, you can search for Pflugerville Independent School District or your specific campus. Searching for the District listing will provide a list of every campus that can be clicked on to view that school's menu.
PSAT Opportunities
PfISD will be administering the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT in October. The PSAT/NMSQT is available on October 13 to all 10th and 11th graders as well as 9th graders in Algebra II or above for their math class. The PSAT 8/9 will be administered on October 13 for all 9th graders enrolled in AVID I or Geometry. This test also is available at our middle schools to all 8th graders on October 20.
Each campus should be communicating with its parents soon regarding procedures for test day and any potential changes to the regular schedule that day. Every eligible student will automatically be enrolled to take the test by PfISD at no cost to the parents.
COVID-19 Dashboard
As we have indicated, for every lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case on a campus, PfISD continues to contact trace and notify staff and parents of students who may be considered to have been in contact with an individual with COVID. Additionally, we have continued to provide a dashboard that shows a weekly and cumulative total of all positive cases, both as a district and by campus.
Positive cases will be added to the dashboard throughout the week, and the total will be finalized every Friday for a weekly count.
In an abundance of caution this school year, we have expanded our contact tracing protocols to include all students within a classroom, not just those within a certain distance for an extended period. Last year we only sent letters to those who were within six feet of the positive person for at least 15 minutes. Because of these changes, we are sending letters to a larger number of parents and staff, and you may receive multiple letters, especially for our secondary students who interact with more students and staff. Again, we are doing this as an abundance of caution and to provide as much transparency as possible to our parents and staff.
If you receive one of these letters, please monitor your student, or yourself, for COVID-19 symptoms. At this time, PfISD does not require close contacts to quarantine. Only the positive individual is required to quarantine. Quarantine is optional for close contacts, and any students who choose to quarantine will have their missed days counted as an excused absence. Please contact your child’s school if you plan to quarantine your student. Staff who choose to quarantine as a close contact will utilize their leave days, as with other illnesses.
PfISD COVID-19 Dashboard: https://www.pfisd.net/Page/8013
*This is subject to change by TEA and DHHS
Pflugerville Education Foundation Events
The Pflugerville Education Foundation plays an important role in helping to raise additional funds for our teachers and students. Two of the Foundation's biggest events are coming up — the Schoolhouse Scramble and the Gala! Please read below for more details on these great events that support our schools.
- The Annual Schoolhouse Scramble is October 7, 2021 at the Star Ranch Golf Club. Teams and individual player reservations are still available, but they go fast! If you want to volunteer, contact Jennifer Fry at PEF.
- The Annual Gala is February 26, 2022, so mark your calendars now. This year’s talent show is going to be the best ever. By popular demand, schools will enter video performances of songs matching this year’s Hollywood Theme. Win $5,000, $3,000 or $1,000! Also back this year are campus-sponsored gala baskets. The school whose basket rakes in the most cash at the silent auction will win $500! Watch for more information and deadlines to submit your creative videos, like this one.
Schoolhouse Scramble
Get on the course at the Golf Club at Star Ranch for some pfun and pfriendly competition. Enjoy a barbecue lunch, drinks, snacks, contests and raffles.
Funds from the tournament benefit the children in the Pflugerville ISD by helping them experience innovation, creativity, and success in school!
Check-In/Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Shotgun start is 8:00 a.m.
For more information click HERE!
Thursday, Oct 7, 2021, 08:00 AM
2500 Farm to Market 685, Hutto, TX, USA
Pfestival of Bands
Our annual Pfestival of Bands event hosted by PfISD Fine Arts is back! After canceling last year’s event, our Fine Arts Department is proceeding with a scaled-back version of the event this year scheduled for Sept. 27 at The Pfield.
All four high schools will perform their UIL contest shows. More details will be provided as they are finalized.
Athletics Update
It was a perfect week for football! All four of our high school teams won their respective games, marking the first time since Athletic Director Todd Raymond joined PfISD that we went a perfect 4-0 in football.
PHS got the action started with a win over Glenn, followed by a road win over McCallum by Connally. Hendrickson got its first win of the season, besting Belton.
Capping off the week was an impressive 54-20 rout by Weiss over the No. 7-ranked Rouse Raiders! That’s a great win for the Wolves!
Volleyball started district play and Connally got a win over PHS for the early advantage within our own school district. Hendrickson and Weiss each won their opening district match.
This week, our PfISD teams will face each other across the net with Hendrickson hosting PHS and Weiss heading to Connally on Friday.
We hosted our annual Pflugerville Invitational and welcomed cross country teams from our area to compete at Travis County Northeast Metropolitan Park. At Weiss, we have quite the brother-sister duo tearing it up on the trails in Javier and Jitzell Mora-Ortiz.
Jitzell finished second in the girls 5A-6A 5K race with her time of 20:00.4 and was close on the heels of the winner. Javier crossed the boys 5A-6A race in third place in 16:48.6. It could be an exciting year seeing who will place higher between these two each time on the course. Great job, Jitzell and Javier!
DAAC Members Needed
If you are interested in serving on the PfISD DAAC, please complete the DAAC membership application. We are currently have vacancies for parents, community members and business representatives. Application forms will be kept on file for two years. Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee selection for service, but the application will be considered.
The following criteria apply to certain membership categories:
- Parents must live within the district and must be a custodial parent or guardian of a student currently enrolled in a district school. Parents may not also be PfISD employees.
- Community members must live within the district. Community members may not also be parents or PfISD employees.
- Business representatives need not live or work within the district. Business representatives may also be parents.
Receive PfISD Text Messages
Pflugerville ISD offers a service that will allow us to deliver important information to you via SMS text messaging. This service is intended to enhance the district's means of communication.
The district will only use the service to provide information that is timely and relevant. In order to participate in the new service, you must indicate your willingness to receive text messages to your phone. The process is simple and only takes a few seconds to complete.
Simply text any one of the following words to the number 68453: subscribe, opt-in, yes. You will know you were successful if you receive the following reply message:
Please note, only legal guardians whose contact information is currently tied to a student in the district’s student information system can opt-in to the text message system. If your number is not tied to a student in our district, the system will not accept your opt-in request for these notifications.
Please note, although the district does not charge you for this service, it does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving text messages. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges.
The service is provided by SchoolMessenger, the company which currently performs phone calls for absences and district emergencies. Subscribers may opt-out at any time by texting "STOP" 68453.
Athletics Ticket Sales Online Only
PfISD ticket sales for athletics events will be entirely online this year. Spectators will be provided electronic tickets, and will have the option to print out tickets to be scanned at the gate. Cash transactions will be prohibited on gameday.
The move to electronic ticket sales eliminates the need to exchange and handle cash, and proved to be efficient last year when implemented by PfISD Athletics.
PfISD also is eliminating season ticket sales, as was done last year. Reserved seat tickets will also not be sold this football season. However, certain passes, including Gold Passes, which allow senior citizens free access to athletic and fine arts events, will be accepted.
Spectators will be able to purchase tickets online as early as the Monday before each home game. Tickets will be available at 2021 GameDay Tickets: The Pfield .
PfISD high school varsity teams will each play home games at The Pfield. The district will host 20 home games at The Pfield this year. This week we have no football home games.
For the full slate of 2021 season games at The Pfield, see below.
Please continue to socially distance as much as possible, wash your hands and wear a mask. This school year, we will continue to find learning opportunities and activities to prepare our students for success in and out of the classroom.
Together this Pfamily can do anything, and through the challenges, we are #MovingPforward.
In the best interest of children,
Dr. Douglas Killian
PfISD Superintendent of Schools