Tiger Tribune
September 2022 Edition
A Message from Mrs. Taylor
Dear Theiss families,
Fall is just around the corner, and it's hard to believe that we have already been in school for 5 weeks! Welcome again, for those of you who have just moved into our area and started at Theiss in the last month. We are a growing community and love that our school is abounding with more students than ever! We have had to make some transitions as we add classrooms to balance out large class sizes, and we thank all our families for being so supportive and understanding of these transitions.
Our first grandparents event was a huge success! Thank you all for participating by sending in photos of grandparents and attending the "Reading is GRAND" event this week. Our students have enjoyed sharing their family members with us. We love a great reason to celebrate reading, too! We have a lot of exciting opportunities and events coming up in the next month and hope that you will read this newsletter thoroughly to find out more.
Sincerely,
Jessica Taylor
Principal
Fall Festival - Save the Date - 10/21/22
Key Tips for Arrival and Dismissal
Our arrival and dismissal is a well oiled machine now, thanks to all of you! Thank you for following our campus procedures and being patient through the first few weeks as we fine tuned our process with students. Below are a few extra tips to continue to help us make dismissal efficient and, above all, safe for all.
- Please keep your car number visible to staff until your car is loaded.
- Car tags are most visible when hanging in the middle of the windshield (ie: from a hanger on the rear view mirror, or hanging from the visor etc...). When simply placed on the dashboard, we cannot see when walking by your vehicle.
- Dismissal can be a great time to network with other families. We highly encourage families who want to stick around to chat or play during dismissal to utilize the park near the clubhouse until dismissal is complete.
- The playground is off limits until dismissal is complete, usually by 4:00.
Attendance Basics & Updates
Attendance is very important to your child's education. Our attendance rate has a direct impact on student's learning and, ultimately, our overall accountability ratings. We know that sometimes students will need to be absent due to illness, family emergency etc. Please arrange vacations, out of town trips and doctor appointments to limit school disruption as much as possible. You can view student holidays here on the Klein ISD student calendar. When students accumulate absences at 5, 10 and 15, letters are sent to parents to keep you updated. After 18 absences, a committee must review the child's case to determine if the child needs to be retained due to absences.
It's also important for students to be on time to class. This year, the tardy bell rings at 8:10. Tardies will be entered into Skyward this year. Classes begin right after this bell rings, so student entering late are missing out on key instruction and interventions.
Attendance Tracking
1. Compulsory Attendance: When we track attendance in this way, we are looking for students who are missing school based on benchmarks of 5, 10, 15, and 18. Even when absences are excused, we still must track how many days of instruction students are missing and evaluate at the end of the year if the amount of absences has created such instructional gaps that a student would need to be retained. Parents will receive a letter when a child reaches 5, 10, 15 and 18 absences. Administration will be reaching out to families at 10 and 15 to devise a recovery plan to recoup lost learning. At 18 absences, families will receive a "Denial of Credit" letter, meaning that the campus attendance committee will review absences and determine if retention should be considered.
2. Truancy: We track truancy by identifying students who have 3 or more unexcused absences within a short time period. This means, we have no information about why the student has not been at school, and are therefore obligated by law to investigate further. One way to avoid these letters being sent home is to submit absence requests into Skyward as soon as you know your child will be absent from school. Parents notes and medical notes are the best and easiest way to prevent truancy issues or concerns.
Letters are already begun to generate for this school year. If you have received one already, we hope that this helps clarify what you can do to help remediate attendance concerns.
Early Dismissals
Legal Paperwork Updates
Young Rembrandts Classes starting soon!
Birthdays
However, sending invitations to school to pass out will not be allowed. Instructional time cannot be used to support or promote private social events such as birthday parties.
At this time, we will not be accepting birthday treat bags. If you would like to arrange for an edible treat to be shared for your child's birthday during the lunch period, please follow the KISD protocols and begin the process 2 weeks in advance. No food brought up to the office will be allowed without going through this process. Thank you for your cooperation.
Complete your Free and Reduced Lunch Applications now!
This year, meals are not free for all students as they have been the past 2 years. We do offer free and reduced prices to those who qualify. To complete a free and reduced lunch application, please create an account through School Cafe and complete the application in the app.
Our breakfast line is open from 7:45 - 8:05 to allow time for students to be on time to class. For lunch times, please contact your child's teacher for their specific lunch time. Please make sure your child keeps their SMART tag on their backpack for purchasing breakfast.
Please utilize our new app School Cafe to add money to your child's account, set up autopay, set limitations on additional purchases and more! Items such as snacks, second meals, extra drinks and desserts are available for an additional charge. With this new app, you can control how many extras your child is allowed to eat and even specify dates when this may be available.
Please remind your child that we do not share or trade food. The only food that may be consumed at school is that which is provided by the cafeteria, the classroom teacher for instructional purposes, the PTO, or food brought by themselves for their consumption.
For specific questions related to the Theiss cafeteria, please contact Ms. Allen, our cafeteria manager, at 832-484-5980.
Parents Lunches Coming Soon!
Tuesday: PK, 1st, 3rd
Wednesday: Kinder, 4th
Thursday: 2nd, 5th
We will continue to allow visitors to eat with students on their birthday. If your child's birthday was over the weekend, visitors can use Monday or Friday to eat with your child for their birthday.
Gifted and Talented
The Gifted and Talented Identification window will close on September 30th. The link below has more information on how to complete a referral.
Want to learn more about the Gifted and Talented program in Klein ISD? Check out the Advanced Academics page on the Klein ISD website for resources and information.
Library News
School Store and Spirit Items
Theiss is on Twitter!
Facebook: Theiss Elementary School, @TheissKISD
PTO needs your help!
Big Kahuna Catalog Fundraiser starts Sept. 20!
Important Events
Sept. 15 - Volunteer Brunch, 9 AM
Sept. 19 - Chick Fil A Spirit Night
Sept. 20 - October 3 PTO Big Kahuna Catalog Fall Fundraiser!
Sept. 29 - 30 Hearing and Vision Screening
Sept. 29 - 4th Grade Field trip
Planning Ahead?
Oct. 3 - 3rd Grade Field Trip
Oct. 4 - Fall Individual Pictures
Oct. 21 - First Annual Fall Festival
Oct. 28 - Divas and Donuts
Oct. 28 - Storybook Character Parade
Check Out Happening at Theiss!
@TheissKISD! @KleinISDscience #ScienceInAction #wildaboutlearning
Theiss Elementary
Website: theiss.kleinisd.net
Location: 17510 Theiss Mail Route Road, Spring, TX, USA
Phone: 832-484-5900
Facebook: facebook.com/TheissElementary
Twitter: @TheissKISD