The Serene Scoop
Serene Hills Elementary School --- Oct. 1, 2021
Message from the Principal:
Enrichment classes start Monday! Please make sure you update Smart Tag dismissal and place an exception for every date your student has enrichment.
This has been such a wonderful week full of fun, excitement, spirit, and APEX! Apex is here helping our PTO raise money toward our very own STEM Lab!
Today's Gold Medal winner is Coach McClead's KG class! AGAIN!!!
Tonight's challenge is the Participation Challenge!! The class that has the most students who go home this weekend and receive at least one pledge will be doing the Apex Pie Panel in class on MONDAY!! They will get to Pie their apex coach of CHOICE!
Top 5:
1. McLead ($135/OB)
2. Fedora ($96/OB)
3. Annabelli ($90/OB)
4. Keating ($71/OB)
5. Miller ($56/OB)
In addition, the video below gives information on a friendly competition between our SHE Sailors and those LWE Mustangs down the road! Let's show our Serene Hills Pride and get those pledges in! We can do it, Sailors!
Warmly,
Keegan Luedecke
SHE Principal
Upcoming Dates:
Sept. 27th-Oct. 7th: Apex Fun Run Fundraiser
Oct. 4th & 5th: Mile Run #1
Oct. 6th: Fall Photos
Oct. 7th: End of First Grading Period / Apex Obstacle Course Fun Run
Oct. 8th: Student Holiday / Teacher Professional Development Day
Oct. 11th: Student & Staff Holiday
Oct. 11th-15th: LT Homecoming Week: Dress Up Days
Oct. 12th: Beginning of 2nd Grading Period / Hawaiian Day
Oct. 13th: Western Day
Oct. 14th: Hat Day
Oct. 15th: Red & Black LT Spirit Day
Next Week in Second Step:
Learning happens every day at our school. An important skill for learning is focusing attention. When we focus our attention we use our ears, our eyes, and our brain! This week, encourage your children to put on their attent-o-scopes and notice how they help them listen and learn.
Picture Day is One Week Away!
Serene Hills Elementary
Picture Day: Wednesday, October 6
Picture Day ID: EVTQ7K76W
Order your child’s school pictures at mylifetouch.com. Please submit your order before Wednesday, October 6.
Lake Travis High School PTO to Host 2021 Homecoming Parade & Extravaganza: What You Need to Know
We look forward to seeing you Wednesday, October 13 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the 2021 LTHS Homecoming Parade & Extravaganza! This dynamic community event is designed to celebrate our LTHS students and bring our community together. The extravaganza, coupled with the parade, creates an unforgettable Lake Travis experience for all attendees. The event raises funds to support the endeavors of our teachers and students through the LTHS Parent Teacher Organization.
This community-wide event boasts an anticipated attendance of more than 2,000 as adults and children of all ages enjoy the festivities! Vendors and food trucks will set up for the extravaganza in the parking lot in front of the LT Performing Arts Center, so come prepared to feast from our local businesses. Hill Country Indoor and the Special Olympics will sell $5 wristbands for the children to participate in loads of inflatable fun. The parade will begin on the left side of campus at 6:30 pm and conclude in front of the main building at the extravaganza site. All student floats are encouraged to toss candy to the waving children and creatively decorate their floats in hopes of winning cash prizes for their respective booster clubs. Immediately following the parade, the LTHS Pep Rally and the Homecoming Court presentation, will take place inside of Cavalier Stadium.
T-shirts will be on sale at the PTO booth during the event. Event parking will be available throughout the campus and via shuttle (beginning at 5:15 pm) at Baylor Scott & White Lakeway. For more information on the event, please contact homecoming@lthspto.org.
NEW! COVID Reporting Forms
In accordance with our Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, parents must report a student who is test-confirmed COVID positive to the campus nurse and/or campus administrator:
To report a positive student COVID-19 case, please click here.
Additionally, in accordance with rules published by the Texas Education Agency, any student living in the same household as a COVID-19 positive person will be required to quarantine and may not re-enter school until 10 days after their date of last exposure to the positive individual. If a student begins exhibiting COVID symptoms or tests positive, the student must remain off campus until the applicable re-entry criteria have been met:
To report a LTISD student household close contact, please click here.
Thank you for your support as we work together to keep our community safe and healthy.
School board calls tax rate election for November
The Lake Travis ISD Board of Trustees has called a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, or VATRE, set for November 2.
The purpose of a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election is to ask the community to consider approving a tax rate to maximize funding. If passed, the proposal would allow Lake Travis ISD to keep an estimated $3 million locally without increasing the total tax rate.
The Lake Travis school district is funded primarily through local taxes and state funds. Local taxes are collected and go into two different funds: Maintenance and Operations, or M&O, and Interest and Sinking, or I&S. The M&O side pays for everyday district operations including salaries, books and building maintenance, while the I&S side is similar to a mortgage and can only be used to pay the debt on voter-approved school bonds. Bonds pay for new school construction and other capital improvements.
The board has set the total tax rate at $1.2301, $0.8826 for M&O and $0.3475 for I&S. If voters approve the $1.2301 total tax rate, our board—by resolution—has already approved reducing the I&S tax rate by two cents, from $0.3475 to $0.3275, and increasing our M&O tax rate by two cents, from $0.8826 to $0.9026. The result of this exchange will generate an estimated $3 million annually for Lake Travis ISD, and doing so will not affect our total tax rate. The revenue is not subject to the recapture system of school funding, commonly known as “Robin Hood.” Funds will be used to sustain additional instructional support positions for students and staff and tutorial services for accelerated learning once federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds are depleted.
If the VATRE does not pass, Lake Travis ISD will not be able to retain $3 million locally. Instead, those funds will be sent to the state under Robin Hood. Whether the tax rate election passes or fails, there will be no increase to our district’s total tax rate.
It is important to note there is a difference between the tax rate and a homeowner’s overall tax bill. Although the school district’s tax rate will not change as a result of the election, an increase in property value will inevitably result in an increase in a homeowner’s tax bill.
The LTISD board of trustees has called for the Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, however, the voters are the ones who decide the outcome of the election. All eligible, registered voters are encouraged to become informed and exercise their right to vote in this election. Early voting begins Monday, October 18 and continues through Friday, October 29. Election day is Tuesday, November 2. Voting locations and additional information can be found on the District’s website at www.ltisdschools.org/vatre.
Gifted and Talented Nominations
Gifted and Talented Nominations
The yearly nomination window to have your child tested for the LTISD Discovery (Gifted & Talented) Program is currently open. The deadline for nominations is October 15, 2021. You can find the nomination form here or on the district GT website. The form is accessible in both English and Spanish. Information on the LTISD Gifted & Talented Program can be found in the attached slideshows (English and Spanish). Please review the slideshow if you are interested in having your child evaluated for the program. We will hold question and answer sessions with parents/guardians at the following times:
Elementary GT Question and Answer Meeting
October 1, 2021 11:30 - 12:00
Elementary GT Information Meeting Link for October 1 at 11:30
Secondary GT Question and Answer Meeting
September 29, 2021 4:30-5:30
Secondary GT Information Meeting Link for September 29 at 4:30
Substitute Teachers Desperately Needed!
Message from Nurse Bobbi:
***Please remember to screen your children each morning before school.***
If your child has even one of the symptoms on the screening list, they should stay home.
Symptoms are:
★ Feeling feverish or a measured temperature greater than or equal to 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit
★ Loss of taste or smell
★ Cough
★ Difficulty breathing
★ Shortness of breath
★ Headache
★ Chills
★ Sore throat
★ Shaking or exaggerated shivering
★ Muscle or body aches
★ Diarrhea
★ Fatigue
★ Congestion or runny nose
★ Nausea or vomiting
Please know that children who come to school with symptoms will be sent home. When it doubt, please keep your student home and call or email Nurse Bobbi for further guidance robertsbo@ltisdschools.org.
Want to Illustrate the Yearbook Cover?!?
Requirements:
- Submit paper sized 8.5 x 11
- Incorporate "Serene Hills Elementary School" name into the drawing/picture
- Incorporate this year's theme: True Grit
- It must be original artwork
- Students may work individually or with another SHE student
- No student names may be written on the front, but should be written lightly on the back of the paper.
All submissions due by October 13th by 3 PM.
Your child may turn in submissions to their homeroom teacher or the front office.
-Elle Norman and Traci McClead
Thanks so much!
-Elle and Traci
FRESH START RUN CLUB IS BACK!
Dear Parents,
Kids and parents have been asking, and we have settled into the school year, so run club is back! S.H.E. run club is open to 1st-5th graders who would like to start their mornings off with a run on the track. We are going to meet in the mornings from 7:20-7:40 up on the track. All are invited. Students must be on time. If they come after 7:25 we will send them to class. We will kick off the first spring run on September 13th. Please be on time!
Students will report to the gym between 7:20-7:25 to leave their belongings inside, grab their EZ scan card, and then head to the track. A coach or adult will lead them up. The first week will be a bit hairy as we get kids EZ cards out from their class box.
Your child will need to be dressed PE ready. It is a privilege to come to the run club. Students’ behavior and effort must meet expectations.
Run club helps students get a fresh start to their morning and enter the classroom ready to learn.
All 1st-5th grade levels can come Monday-Thursday. If it gets too crowded we will split it back up. We will not meet on Fridays.
If it is rainy or the weather is below 40 degrees we will not meet.
I am looking forward to working with your kiddos and helping them start their mornings off on the right foot!
COACH Z
Useful Links:
Useful Links:
Serene Hills:
Serene Hills Elementary Homepage
2021-2022 School Supplies Lists
Transportation:
Food and Nutrition Services (FANS):
Serene Hills Elementary School
The Serene Hills Elementary community commits to engaging every student in innovative, collaborative learning focused on growth and to igniting a passion for learning in which everyone is valued.
Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/SHE
Location: 3301 Serene Hills Drive, Lakeway, TX, United States
Phone: 512-533-7400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenehillspto/
Twitter: @SHEsailors