HPES Parent Update
04/13/2020
Happy Easter!
From the Principal
I hope this message finds you well and that you enjoyed the long 3-day weekend at home, where you have been cooped up for some time now! Nonetheless, I hope you and the kids got to rest and enjoy yourself!
As you may have heard, Austin and Travis County have extended their shelter in place orders through May 8, which will push back any reopening of schools. Additionally, Governor Abbott has indicated he will release more information on school closures this week, which could impact us. Please know we will take guidance from the Governor, as well as the cities and counties in which we reside when making any determinations for reopening schools.
We will continue our learning at home and through technology. We appreciate everyone's hard work, and everyone's grace during this unusual and stressful time. We know that each of our families have their own unique situation. With multiple students in the house, we certainly understand how it could be difficult when sharing technology.
Some of our students that requested technology before March 30th received notice about how to receive that from our district. If you are still in need of technology, the link to make your request is included in this newsletter.
During this time that students are away from teachers and their classmates we are making every effort to create a sense of community with our students. please have your child remember the times he or she is supposed to meet with their teacher and classmates if they are doing zoom class meetings.
Please know that we will be flexible with you and your family. We want this to be a positive experience. We are in this together, so thank you for learning with us.
Try your best to stay home, and keep yourself and your family healthy!
Warm Regards,
Lizbeth Ruiz
Important Staff Contact Information
Teachers and campus administrators have Google Voice accounts so that they can call parents. Many of us do not answer phone calls from numbers we do not recognize. (Trying to avoid telemarketers!) If a staff member calls you and you don't answer they will leave a message. Please check your messages. You can call the staff member back using that same phone number.
Teachers are available to support distance learning from 9:00 - 12:00 Monday through Thursday. That entails answering questions, giving feedback, technical support, etc. During this time, they are required to be available to all students and parents in their class.
In addition, teachers have designated virtual conference times set aside to conference with parents should the need arise. Please see conference times below:
PK: 10:15 - 11: 05 a.m.
Kinder: 11:00- 11:50 a.m.
1st: 9:00-9:50 a.m
2nd:11:00-11:50 a.m.
3rd:1:30-2:20 p.m
4th: 11:00- 11:50 a.m.
5th:9:10- 10:00 a.m
Intervention:1:00- 1:50 a.m.
Special Education: 11:00-11:50 a.m
Specials:11:00-11:50 a.m.
If you would like to have a parent conference, please email your child's teacher and they can set up a conference with you.
Grading Update
Due to emergency school closure, suspensions of normal operations and adjusted instructional methods, PfISD will adjust its current grading regulations and seek approval from the PfISD Board of Trustees this Thursday to waive certain policies that govern grade advancement, awarding of course credit, GPA, and class rank. Our complete grading guidelines will be released following Thursday’s Board meeting. In the meantime and in consideration of the new and extreme circumstances of this school closure, teachers will begin collecting grades this week.
PK-5 Grades
- Starting April 13, one assignment per week for ELA/SLA and Math must be recorded in the grade book each week. One Science and Social Studies grade must be recorded in the grade book every other week. For example:
- The week of April 13 might include a grade for ELA, Math, and Science. Then the week of April 20 might include a grade of ELA, Math, and Social Studies.
6-8 Grades
- Starting April 13, one assignment per teacher per subject must be recorded in the grade book each week.
9-12 Grades, to include middle school courses that award high school credits (i.e. Algebra I)
- Starting April 13, only one assignment per teacher per subject must be recorded in the grade book each week.
Monday Morning Announcements
Click on the link to access this week's Monday morning announcements:
https://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkES/videos/2364750756890480/
Principal Read Aloud
Click on the link below to watch the read aloud- This week I will be reading "Dragons Love Tacos"!
Click on this link for the English video:
https://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkES/videos/150580463055829/
Click on this link for the Spanish video: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkES/videos/2685820778408186/
Next week is our HPES Virtual Spirit Week!
PfISD Board of Trustees Meeting
Due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the April 16 PfISD Board of Trustees meeting will be conducted by videoconference, pursuant to Governor Abbott's Temporary Suspension of Open Meetings Law. Please note that there is no physical location for this meeting to ensure safe social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quorum of the Board will be participating by videoconference or telephone call.
Members of the public may access this meeting via live stream on the District's YouTube channel. A recording of the meeting will also be available for viewing later on the District's website.
Consistent with Board Policy, citizen comments will be limited to topics on the agenda. Individuals wishing to address the Board of Trustees must say their full name and leave a voice message of no more than three minutes in length on April 16 between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Any message left before 4:30 p.m. or after 5:30 p.m. will not be included in Citizen's Comments. This recording will be played during the Public Comment portion of the meeting. Please leave your name, the topic you are speaking about, and your comments at the sound of the tone.
Let's Talk Platform
Administrators are Dividing and Conquering
HPES Families, we appreciate all the support and encouraging words we have received as we roll out distance learning. Nothing can replace face to face interactions with our young bulldogs but we are excited to see them be delighted to continue to learn and achieve greatness under these unprecedented circumstances. With that being said we still have over 650 kids and 80 staff to communicate via email with daily. Our administrative team has decided to divided and conquer so we can make sure everyone is taken care of in a timely manner. See below our new communication guide (this will help you get your questions and concerns to the correct administrator):
Anna Vazquez: PPCD(Pegasus)/PK, and Office Staff
Lizbeth Ruiz: Kinder, 1st Grade, Intervention team
Gina Lochner: 2nd Grade and 3rd Grade
Jesus Olivas: 4th Grade,5th Grade, and Special Education team
If you reply to this HPES Parent Newsletter, please include your child's name and grade in your reply. I recently realized some of the correspondence was going to my spam inbox and I have fixed the issue. If you had sent me something and received no response, please email me once again. I am now checking my spam inbox daily as well. I try really hard to respond within 24 hours!
Help your neighbors stay informed
We have many email addresses and families that are on this email list, however, if you hear that someone is not receiving my emails or district emails, please send their email address and name to me at lizbeth.ruiz@pfisd.net. Spread the word! The more informed we are, the better!
REMOTE LEARNING PACKET LOCATIONS
Remote Learning Packets are now available via newspaper mailboxes at the following locations:
Pflugerville High School
Dessau Middle School
Kelly Lane Middle School
Park Crest Middle School
Westview Middle school
Copperfield Elementary
Northwest Elementary
Pflugerville Elementary
Wieland Elementary
Windermere Elementary
They are placed at the grab-and-go meal locations across the district. Packets will be returned at the same locations from 8-9 am and 11 am – 1 pm on Mondays .
Curbside Meals Update-
Pflugerville ISD is providing free grab-and-go breakfast/lunch/ dinner meals to all PfISD students at ten locations across the district. Grab-and-go meals will be available for curbside pickup at the following times. Families can pick up meals curbside in the carpool lanes at the campuses listed below. Parents may pick up breakfast and lunch at the same time. For those who do not drive and need to walk to pick up the meal, you will be allowed to walk and pick them up to go. Access to enter the buildings will not be available.
- Breakfast: 8 - 9 a.m.
- Lunch: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Texas Department of Agriculture recently adjusted requirements for parents picking up meals without children present. Pflugerville ISD will begin going forward with TDA guidance starting Monday, April 6.
What to expect at each meal distribution site:
1. Be prepared to present one of the following through the window upon meal pick-up:
- Official letter/email from school listing children enrolled
- Individual student report cards
- Attendance record from parent portal of school website
- Birth certificate for children
- Student ID cards
2. Parents may not receive meals for other children.
3. Each meal provided to parents on behalf of children must be documented by the organization.
- Pflugerville High School
1301 W. Pecan Street
Pflugerville, Texas 78660
- Dessau Middle School
12900 Dessau Road
Austin, Texas 78754
- Kelly Lane Middle School
18900 Falcon Pointe Blvd.
Pflugerville, Texas 78660
- Park Crest Middle School
1500 N. Railroad
Pflugerville, Texas 78660
- Westview Middle School
1805 Scofield Ln.
Austin, Texas 78727
- Copperfield Elementary
12135 Thompkins Drive
Austin, Texas 78753
- Northwest Elementary
14014 Thermal Dr.
Austin, Texas 78728
- Pflugerville Elementary
701 Immanuel Rd.
Pflugerville, Texas 78660
- Wieland Elementary
900 Tudor House Rd.
Pflugerville, Texas 78660
- Windermere Elementary
429 Grand Ave. Pkwy.
Pflugerville, Texas 78660
EDUCATING WITH ZOOM
Teachers and staff have the opportunity to use Zoom as a way to communicate with your child(ren) to provide instruction and support through technology. Zoom is a leader in modern business video communications, with an easy and reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars on mobile devices, desktops, phones, and room systems.
As we start educating with Zoom, we want to share some rules with you and give you the opportunity to exclude your student from live interactions. All meetings will be held under district- established guidelines.
Click this link and complete this form ONLY if you would like your child to opt out of zoom lessons. https://forms.gle/RiduyPKn5KmA3qEQ9
In addition, some teachers have opted to use other district approved platforms to send pre-recorded lessons to students such as Class Dojo, Seesaw, Classtag, and Google Classroom. Please double check with your teacher on what platform they are using.
PARENT ADVICE FOR MONITORING TECHNOLOGY
Parents,
Monitor, monitor, monitor your children's access using phones and computers during these next couple of weeks and beyond. Adults outside of education, with bad intentions, may be using this unprecedented online access to communicate with children. Students will also be reaching out to one another to connect during these uncertain times and we are not available to assist in monitoring these interactions and conflicts that arise.
Suggestions for safe usage:
- You should be able to access your child's technology at any time.
- Check their last post, Tik Tok upload, Instagram dms and text, etc..., frequently.
- Check their stored photos
- Have online access in an open space such as the kitchen or living room - if a bedroom is the only option, the door should be open, and make the rounds frequently to check on their activity.
Sending a student into a closed bedroom for hours with an unsupervised laptop or cell phone can be very dangerous for children. Let us know how we can help!
TROUBLE PICKING UP FOOD OR PACKETS FROM ONE OF THESE LOCATIONS?
Please reply to the Highland Park Newsletter email. We will contact you to help find a solution so that your child will be able to get their meals and/or paper based learning.
If you know of someone else who might be having difficulty going to pick up the food or paper based learning, please let us know as well.
ELECTRONIC DEVICE ACCESS
If your student does not have access to an electronic device or Internet, please use one of the links below to apply for technology assistance.
Gifted & Talented Information
Current GT students have the option of continuing to work on their independent project from home. Students have already selected a topic and began their research during Pflex. Please contact Lydia Headley @ Lydia.headley@pfisd.net if you have questions.
Students nominated for the GT program will receive parent notification of results by mail. Letters will be going home by May 1st. Please contact Anna Vazquez @ anna.vazquez@pfisd.net if you have questions.
A Special Message from our "Specials" team!
https://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkES/videos/216091769715933/
Section 504
All current 504 plans have been emailed to parents. You may contact Anna Vazquez @ anna.vazquez@pfisd.net if you have not received your child’s plan.
Special Education
Students currently served under Special Education will continue services. Our Special Education team is collaboration with our classroom teachers to ensure that we are best serving each student. Emails and ARD invitations will come from Miranda Barcena. Please contact your child's teacher or our Assistant Principal Jesus Olivas at jesus.olivas@pfisd.net if you have questions.
A Note from the Counselor; Anna Vazquez
A note from our Librarian; Ms. Reyes
Let's keep our students reading!! Click on the link below for some really great ideas in English and Spanish!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17QzoXavFZ_JgUDfkivGpF7qYD0PnvhkEpiDEkVIwuNE/edit?usp=sharing
Backpack Pfriends:
Students receiving Backpack Pfriends will have the option to pick up items Thursdays at any pick up location. You will need to verify your student’s name and campus to receive your items.
PRE-K & KINDER REGISTRATION
Based on current events, PreKindergarten and Kindergarten registration will not be held as originally scheduled for April 14-16. Registration for these grade levels will be rescheduled at a later date.
We encourage families to monitor the PfISD website, Facebook, and Twitter for updates
CANCELED EVENTS
Due to the ongoing circumstances the following events have been canceled:
- STAAR Testing
- Kinder Egg Drop
- Spring Concert/Choir
All scheduled activities related to Pflugerville ISD schools are cancelled during the school closure. This also includes all district and campus events and competitions.
Access Clever at Home
Clever is a portal that PfISD uses for students to access many educational resources.
Go to PfISD.net>student tab>clever. The login is your student’s “s” number and password. Most students have this memorized by this point. If not, reach out to your child's teacher.
Click on the link below to watch a video that will teach you how to access CLEVER from home!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GwVgmDFWknECL6MzP5N3WT-DDO8haOvh
FREE ONLINE READING RESOURCE TO USE AT HOME
MYSTERY SCIENCE
Great news. Mystery Science has opened up all their videos for distance learning. Your student can look at which videos are of interest, and there are some fantastic ones. Happy viewing.
FREE HOME ACCESS FOR STUDENTS TO ABC MOUSE, ADVENTURE ACADEMY & READING IQ DURING SCHOOL CLOSURES
Age of learning is providing free resources while our campus is closed. All three programs can be used on tablets, computers, and smartphones. Click on the link below and follow the instructions.
https://www.ageoflearning.com/school_closure_pdf/ParentLetter_AofL_SCHOOL7581.pd
CHARACTER AND FITNESS VIDEOS AT HOME
We hope this resource serves not only as a helpful diversion while the kids are home, but also as an opportunity for families to engage in character-building conversations while also staying active at home.
http://boosterthoncharacter.com/
Code: ONLINE
* There’s no cost to register
* 75 + streaming videos with character topics and fitness exercises (PBIS, SEL, STEAM, etc.)