FHS HOOF PRINTS
Stampeding Toward Excellence!
About Florence High School
Email: selder@florenceisd.net
Website: https://www.florenceisd.net/83427_2
Location: 401 FM 970, Florence, TX, USA
Phone: 254-793-2495
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Florence-ISD-276348685879446
Principal's Notes
Welcome to our eighth edition of the FHS Hoof Prints for the 2021-2022 school year!
The last few weeks of the semester are packed with a lot of activities on the campus. Academically, our teachers and students are pushing to finish strong. Along the way, our students that are taking STAAR tests are testing on December 7-10. During these final weeks, our schedule will also include finals and many other activities. These activities include basketball tournaments and games, a soccer scrimmage, and a band concert. Additionally, we have already begun planning for more events in the spring semester, including both academic and extracurricular. Needless to say, this is a busy time of the year.
Some of the bi-weekly content in our newsletter will include valuable process information for our parents and other interested stakeholders, pictures and information about school activities, departmental highlights, and any updates that may occur moving forward.
Best Regards,
Steve Elder
FHS Principal
Assistant Principal's Corner
Best wishes for the Holidays, and happiness throughout the coming year!
We have almost made it through the first semester of this school year. Time goes by so quickly!!!
I’m so glad that students have had the opportunity to have one fairly normal semester so far this year. I certainly hope that this continues into the new year. Our students need the safety and security of life getting a little closer to what they’ve always known.
As we make every attempt to finish out this semester on a positive note, please help us remind students to stay focused throughout these last few days that are so important to completing a successful semester. Grades and course work continue to be important, as does attendance. Please remind your students to follow the expectations for attendance during the week of exemptions.
I hope everyone has a blessed and happy holiday season. Spend time with family and friends and come back in January ready to tackle the second half of the school year.
2021 Fall Semester Exam Schedule
8:00-12:14 – Periods 1-9
12:17-12:47 – Lunch
12:50-2:08 – 1st Period Exam
2:12-3:30 – 3rd Period Exam
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
8:00-12:14 – Periods 1-9
12:17-12:47 – Lunch
12:50-2:08 – 4th Period Exam
2:12-3:30 – 5th Period Exam
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
8:00-12:14 – Periods 1-9
12:17-12:47 – Lunch
12:50-2:08 – 6th Period Exam
2:12-3:30 – 7th Period Exam
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Early Out
8:00-9:26 – Periods 1-3
9:30-10:47 – 8th Period Exam
10:50-12:07 – 9th Period Exam
12:10-12:30 – Lunch
Exam Bell Schedule
(With 3-minute Passing Periods)
1st: 8:00 – 8:25 a.m.
2nd: 8:28 – 8:58 a.m. (Tutorials)
3rd: 9:01 – 9:26 a.m.
4th: 9:29 – 9:54 a.m.
5th: 9:57 – 10:22 a.m.
6th: 10:25 – 10:50 a.m.
7th 10:53 – 11:18 a.m.
8th: 11:21 – 11:46 a.m.
9th: 11:49 a.m. – 12:14 p.m.
Cafeteria Lunch for Exam Students:
12:17-12:47 p.m.
Off Campus Lunch for Exempt Students: 12:17 p.m. - Off
1st Exam: 12:50-2:08 p.m. (1 hr, 18 min)
2nd Exam: 2:12-3:30 p.m. (1 hr, 18 min)
Attendance & Grade Requirements for Exemptions:
Students may be exempt from all courses if they meet the requirements listed below. All students must be present at school on each exam day for ADA purposes (per state requirements). The following guidelines will be used in determining exemptions for semester exams.
- The student must have no unexcused absences.
- The student must maintain an average of 85 or above in the class they wish to exempt.
- Co-curricular or UIL events are not absences.
Students assigned to DAEP lose the right to exemptions during a semester.
Students may be exempt from all courses if they meet the requirements listed above. All students must be present at school from 8:00 a.m. until 12:14 p.m. each exam day for ADA purposes (per state requirements), with the exception of Thursday, December 16 (early out schedule).
On Thursday, if students are exempt from both their 8th and 9th period exams, they will be released at 9:26 a.m. (after the attendance period).
FFA State LDE Results are in!
Florence FFA had three teams compete at the State LDE contest this past weekend.
Bryce Fisher won the State Champion Senior Creed Speaker. He also won the Senior Prepared Public Speaking contest this past summer, which means he has successfully been named the State Champion in the two biggest speaking contests FFA has to offer. We are very proud of this incredible accomplishment!
The Greenhand Chapter Conducting Team (consisting of Luke Nichols, Landon Loerwald, Jaycie Reese, Allison Trantham, Klareece Arldt, Weston Underwood, and Caidyn Wood) and the Greenhand Skills Team (consisting of Charley McAnelly, Yesenia Juarez and Katie Kuhn) were both State semifinalists.
FFA students are competing this week at the Williamson County Livestock show and youth fair. Stay tuned for results in the next newsletter!
Bryce Fisher - 1st for Senior FFA Creed Speaking!
Greenhand Chapter Conducting - State Semifinalists!
Greenhand Agricultural Skills - State Semifinalists!
John Moreland earns position in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band!
Congratulations to Senior Buff Band member John Moreland. This past weekend, John auditioned for a position in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. As John was performing his audition music, he was asked to stop playing mid-way through his performance and was extended an offer to be a part of the Aggie band. He was also singled out as the only incoming 2022 Corps freshman who had entirely completed the application and acceptance process, including acceptance into the College of Engineering.
Way to go John – the Mighty Buffalo band is very proud of you!
Boys and Girls Basketball teams win 1st at Holland Tournament!
The boys basketball team traveled to Holland Thursday - Saturday, December 2nd - 4th to play in the Holland tournament. On Thursday, Florence defeated China Spring 58–43, on Friday, Florence defeated Johnson City 58–22, and on Saturday, in the championship game, Florence defeated Holland 50-49 on a free throw with no time left on the clock by Beau Gilmore. That makes their record 7-0 on the season!
The Lady Buffs' Varsity also attended the annual Holland tournament and came out on top! Dropping their first matchup by only two points to Burton, they found themselves back in the competition for tournament champion after defeating Bartlett 40-17. Saturday, the Lady Buffs' faced off against the Chilton Lady Pirates, who had made it to the championship round after defeating the Buffs' first round opponent, Burton. The Lady Buffs' came out strong, recognizing the opportunity they had to compete in the championship match. They took a 23 point lead at halftime and hardly let up, as they came out on top 51-5. Junior point-guard Dekayla Salazar led the team with 20 points, followed by Senior Abbey Brown with 12 points. Brown also dominated the boards with 22 rebounds in the competition.
ESL students explore opportunities at CTC!
ESL Students took an education tour of the CTC Campus in Killeen on Wednesday, December 1st with Coach Rogers and Mr. Quintanilla. The tour was very eye opening for these students, as they had no idea there were so many affordable options for higher education upon graduating from Florence High School. They were able to tour the Health Science building and learn about careers such as nursing, EMT, paramedics, and massage therapy. Then they toured the Kinesiology building and learned about fields such as coaching and athletic training. The students were able to see all the amenities available to them as CTC students. Next, they met with the English Department that explained the classes available if students were struggling with English and needed foundational skills. One of the most interesting tours they took involved the Culinary Arts program. The students’ eyes lit up at the sight of the industrial kitchen, cake-decorating classes, and the delicious chocolate chip cookie provided as a “thank you.” The final component of the tour was the Student Center, where they saw the computer lab open for tutorials, pool and ping-pong tables, and TV’s to play games.
Our ESL students now know that they have numerous options after high school - money, language barriers, and fear do not have to stand in the way of them having a future in a career they desire.
FHS Food Drive ends BIG with 4,059 cans!
Florence High School wrapped up its "Collaborating To Fight Hunger" Food Drive on Friday, December 3rd. This year, 3,000 cans of food was the goal for the entire school, and each homeroom class competed against each other for a chance to win a meal from Chick Fil-A. We are excited to announce that FHS exceeded the goal in tremendous fashion, bringing in a total of 4,059 cans! Mrs. Grady’s class (pictured below) was the winning homeroom with a total of 1,175 cans. A big thank you to all of the students who participated!
Congratulations to Mrs. Grady's homeroom class - 1,175 cans!
ACE: Afterschool Centers on Education Program
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and ACE is definitely on Santa’s list of blessings this year! Our attendance has increased to having 168 Students attend our program this fall semester! Our daily class average for the afternoon is 38 students per day! We are so excited to see the growth in our program.
We have a few new programs coming on board:
We want to welcome Ms. Kana Bayer to our ACE Team. Ms. Bayer has started our Garden Club for ACE and they are meeting 4 days a week and have tackled both atriums in the High School, cleaning them out and preparing to begin planting for spring when we return from Christmas Break. We are also in the process of securing an area to start our ACE Community Garden project. We have had several community members and parents also commit to this project.
We also want to welcome a new Music Program that will be starting upon return from Christmas Break, called Beat 4 Beat. We want to welcome Mark Turk and his crew of musicians that will be joining us. We are excited to have this program 2 days each week.
To top it off, our very own Ms. Lori Crow will be beginning our Photography Club! We have had students inquire into photography and who better to lead our club! It will be so exciting to also have photos of all the activities in the works.
We closed out the month of November with a wonderful Family Painting activity hosted by Kimberly Keller. We had many families from Elementary, Middle School and High School attend this fun-filled night of Painting!
ACE will come to a close for this Fall Semester on Friday, December 10, and then we will be back in session when we return from Christmas Break and resume on Monday, January 10.
Gardening Club at ACE
Family Painting Night
Buff Life with Mrs. Leigh
FHS Meat Market is "Open for Business!"
"A CUT ABOVE..."
Located in the small, rural community of Florence, Texas, lies one of Central Texas' best kept secrets, The FHS Meat Market. The market provides its customers with a full-service meat counter.
The Florence Meat Science program provides many opportunities for FHS students. With the first hand experience of meat processing and fabrication, students graduate with a full knowledge of the meat processing industry. Graduates of the program will receive their meat processing certification and can begin employment with above entry level wages.
This is the 27th anniversary of the FHS Meat Science Program and the 21st anniversary of the Meat Market.
Business Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. , Monday- Friday
Closed from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for lunch
*Closed on school holidays*
254-793-3955
EVERY WEDNESDAY AT FHS IS COLLEGE DAY! BE SURE TO SPORT YOUR FAVORITE COLLEGE'S GEAR EACH WEDNESDAY!
Dress and Grooming (All Grade Levels)
The district’s dress code is established to teach grooming and hygiene, prevent disruption, and minimize safety hazards and maintains a positive learning climate Certain elective courses or extracurricular activities may require more stringent dress or appearance standards than for the general student body. Students and parents may determine a student’s personal dress and grooming standards, provided that they comply with the Florence ISD Student Dress Code as follows:
• All students are to wear clean and appropriate clothing to school and to school sponsored events.
• Clothing must be modest, worn with proper undergarments.
• Students shall not wear any item that is distracting, disruptive, gang-related, drug related (includes alcohol and tobacco products), or suggestive (wording, and/or symbols, implied or otherwise).
The following are not permissible:
• Visible undergarments or lingerie (or swim suit tops visible as lingerie);
• See-through or revealing clothes of any type;
• Short shorts or wind shorts with biker pants;
• Sleepwear/loungewear (or any facsimile thereof), except for designated days established by the campus principal;
• Excessively revealing tight fitting garments (leggings, “jeggings,” yoga pants may be worn under shorts, a skirt, a dress, or tunic no shorter than one inch below the student’s fingertips);
• Oversized garments that sag below the waistline or reveal undergarments, even if the shirt is not tucked in;
• Straps hanging down when designed to be over-the-shoulder;
• Hats, caps, or other headgear including hoods (worn in building);
• Dog collars, wallet chains, or any style of chain hooked to garments;
• “Spiked” accessories;
• Body art/tattoos, unless discreet/not offensive or covered;
• Coloration on hands, face, and feet without a reason, such as theater production;
• Trench coats, overcoats, or dusters (worn in building);
• Flip-flops on Elementary Campus (unless secondary footwear is brought for physical education (PE) and recess activities);
• Ornamented body piercings (including clear), except earrings.
(Covering the ornamented piercings with band aides does not make them acceptable.);
• Pants having holes three inches or more above the mid-point of the knee unless leggings are worn underneath the pants;
• Ear discs;
• Shorts, skirts, slits in skirts and dresses shorter than one inch below the student’s fingertips, regardless of whether leggings, “jeggings” or spandex are worn;
• Makeup in grades prekindergarten through 5;
• Exposed cleavage;
• Shoulder straps less than one-inch wide (such as spaghetti straps);
• Strapless tops, spaghetti strap tops, backless tops, halter tops, tube tops, tops with large armholes body suits or off the shoulder tops are prohibited unless worn over a t-shirt with sleeves;
• Footwear not applicable for daily activity such as running/jumping (or bare feet);
• Facial hair and sideburns longer than the bottom of the earlobe.
If the principal determines that a student’s grooming or clothing violates the school’s dress code, the student will be given an opportunity to correct the problem at school and return to the classroom. If not corrected, the student may be assigned to in-school suspension for the remainder of the day, until the problem is corrected, or until a parent or designee brings an acceptable change of clothing to the school. Repeated offenses may result in more serious disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.
Possession of Prohibited Items - Code of Conduct (pg. 11-12)
Students shall not possess or use:
• Fireworks of any kind, smoke or stink bombs, or any other pyrotechnic device;
• A razor, box cutter, chain, or any other object used in a way that threatens or inflicts bodily injury to another person;
• A “look-alike” weapon that is intended to be used as a weapon or could reasonably be perceived as a weapon;
• An air gun or BB gun;
• Ammunition;
• A hand instrument designed to cut or stab another by being thrown;
• *A location-restricted knife;
• *A club;
• *A firearm;
• A stun gun;
• A pocket knife or any other small knife;
• Mace or pepper spray;
• Pornographic material;
• Tobacco products; cigarettes; e-cigarettes; and any component, part, or accessory for an e-cigarette device;
• Matches or a lighter;
• A laser pointer for other than an approved use; or
• Any articles not generally considered to be weapons, including school supplies, when the principal or designee determines that a danger exists.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS!
The vast majority of our students with excessive absences fail to pass their classes. Students need to be engaged in class every day.
Our state funding is based on the percentage of students at school at 9:30 a.m. every day. Higher attendance rate = more money for resources for your student.
When a student ages 6–18 incurs unexcused absences for three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period, the law requires the school to send notice to the parent.
The notice will:
• Remind the parent of his or her duty to monitor the student’s attendance and require the student to attend school;
• Request a conference between school administrators and the parent; and
• Inform the parent that the district will initiate truancy prevention measures, including a behavior improvement plan, school-based community service, referrals to counseling or other social services, or other appropriate measures.
The truancy prevention facilitators for the district are the campus principals. If you have questions about your student and the effect of his or her absences from school, please contact the campus principal.
A court of law may impose penalties against the parent if a school-aged student is deliberately not attending school. A complaint against the parent may be filed in court if the student is absent without excuse from school on ten or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year.
If a student ages 12–18 incurs unexcused absences on ten or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year, the district, in most circumstances, will refer the student to truancy court.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR STUDENT’S GRADES AND ATTENDANCE:
Florence High School utilizes Ascender Parent Portal as a way to keep you up to date with your child’s most current grades and attendance. This system also allows you to access progress reports and report cards as well as see your child’s schedule and immunization record. You can create an Ascender Parent Portal account by clicking the following link. https://ascportal.esc13.net/ParentPortal/login?distid=246902
If you are new to Ascender Parent Portal here are a few helpful hints:
1. The email address that you set your account up with must match the email address we have on file for you.
2. You will need to obtain a Portal ID# in order to link your child(s) grade to your account. You can obtain this Portal ID# from our Registrar by emailing a request to rlewis@florenceisd.net
3. Your User Name and Password CANNOT be retrieved by FISD.
Who Should I Contact About...
Attendance – including absences, doctor’s notes, students needing to leave school early: Our Piems Clerk Rebecca Lewis, rlewis@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext. 5336
General School Information – Our Secretary Lori Crow lcrow@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext. 5380
Immunizations, illnesses, medications – Emma Gonzalez egonzalez@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext, 5339
Registration, Transcripts – Our Registrar Rebecca Lewis, rlewis@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext. 5336
Student Emotional Support, College Readiness, Student Schedules – Our Counselor John Tinsley jtinsley@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext. 5308
Athletic Program – Our Athletic Director Drew Bridges dbridges@florenceisd.net 254/293-2495, ext. 5304
Band Program – Our Band Director Peter Acosta pacosta@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext. 5361
Ideas for School Improvement, Student Discipline – Our Principal Steve Elder selder@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext. 5302 or Our Assistant Principal Rosi Tuck rtuck@florenceisd.net 254/793-2495, ext, 5342