NOT CURRENT- Campus Handbook
2020-2021
Straight to the Source: Contact Information
Principal: Erin Mathe- 936-709-1707 emathe@conroeisd.net
Secretary to the Principal :Lupita Cartaya- 936-709-1707 gcartaya@conroeisd.net
Assistant Principal: Sarah Radford- 936-709-1706 sradford@conroeisd.net
Assistant Principal: Erin Anderson- 936-709-1791 eanderson@conroeisd.net
Counselor: Shawn Nixon- 936-709-1708 snixon@conroeisd.net
Nurse: Melissa Wiles- 936-709-1710 mawiles@conroeisd.net
Registrar/Attendance: Michelle Lutes- 936-709-1711 mlutes@conroeisd.net
Speech Pathologist: Micaelen Wright - 936-709-1720 mdwright@conroeisd.net
Diagnostician: Meghan Schuetz - 936-709-1714 mschuetz@conroeisd.net
Librarian: Elizabeth Collins - 936-709-1716 ekcollins@conroeisd.net
Transportation: 832-592-8800
Powell Cafe: 936-709-1773
Websites
Powell Website: http://powell.conroeisd.net/
Transportation Website: http://www.conroeisd.net/department/transportation/
Child Nutrition Website: http://www.conroeisd.net/department/child-nutrition/
Parent Access Center: http://www.conroeisd.net/parents/
CISD Calendar: http://www.conroeisd.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2019-2020-Calendar.pdf
School Supply Lists:
Volunteer in CISD: http://www.conroeisd.net/parents/get-involved/
Join the PTO: http://powellpto.com/index.html
Communication
The Powell staff is committed to keeping our students and parents informed. Follow us on Twitter @PowellCISD to see the amazing things happening in our classrooms. Every Friday we send via email an overview of the next week’s events. We also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Powell Website. Powell’s website provides up-to-date school information. Various items can be viewed and printed including our calendar of school events and daily lunch menu. Our website also provides links to all teacher email accounts. Powell Website Communication is vital to our student’s success. Your child’s teacher will further explain their methods of communication at Parent Information Night.
Building Security
- Enter through the front/main entrance only, all other exterior doors will remain locked
- Sign in & out at the front office
- Present a valid, state issued ID to be scanned into the Raptor System
- Wear a visitor’s tag at all times when in the building
- Refrain from taking group photos of students, especially at lunch and/or recess. Pictures may be taken during classroom events at the teacher's discretion.
- Adhere to school dismissal procedures
- Pick up students who need to leave early before 2:30pm.
Other Safety Guidelines
- We regularly conduct campus safety drills and will be teaching your child procedures to follow in the event of an emergency.
- A guardian and/or a sibling must accompany all guests at Powell. Extended family members and friends may come to lunch or other classroom activities if they are listed on the child’s emergency form. Changes or updates can be made at the front office.
- All classroom volunteers must complete the CISD Volunteer Application.
- Please help us maintain order in our hallways before & after school by allowing your child to walk to his/her classroom independently and to get to the assigned area at dismissal.
School Hours
School begins promptly at 8:00 am and dismisses at 3:10 pm. Plan to arrive at school between 7:40 am and 8:00am. Supervision is not available before 7:30am.
- 7:30-7:40 am Students are directed to the gym awaiting homeroom dismissal
- 7:40-8:00 am Students are dismissed to homeroom
- 8:00 am Students are tardy if they are not in their homeroom at 8:00 am
Attendance
If your child will not be at school for any reason, please notify our school registrar, Michelle Lutes, at mlutes@conroeisd.net. Upon returning from an absence, always send a note explaining the reason for the absence. Notifications may be sent via email. Please try to schedule routine medical appointments outside of school hours. Likewise, please schedule vacations during school holidays/long weekends. It is extremely important to maximize our instruction time.
- Tardies -Students must be in their homeroom by 8:00 am. If late, they will be given a tardy slip from the front office. Please make arrangements so that your child arrives on time. Each time your child is tardy, you will receive notification via email. After the 6th tardy each grading period and EACH tardy thereafter, a discipline referral will be generated. We will begin recording tardies on Tuesday, September 4th.
- N.E.A.T.-All College Park High School feeder schools (including Powell) have established attendance incentives for students who are N.E.A.T. - Never Ever Absent or Tardy. These students receive N.E.A.T. certificates and are eligible for incentives each grading period.
Transportation
Thank you for sharing our concern about safety and for helping us follow procedures allowing all children to arrive home safely. All students will receive a bar code tag that will be scanned before leaving the building. Please be sure this tag remains on your child’s backpack all year.
Choose dismissal transportation from the following:
- Bus
- Daycare
- YMCA
- Car rider
- Cochran’s Crossing walker/biker/blader (or any other non-motorized rolling device)
- Capstone walker/biker/blader (or any other non-motorized rolling device)
The Transportation Department website contains bus arrival and departure times and valuable safety information which will help you teach your children about bus safety. Please note that bus route adjustments may be made during the first few weeks of class due to changes in student and neighborhood populations. Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students will not be dropped off at a stop unless a parent is present. http://www.conroeisd.net/department/transportation/
We have specific procedures in place to keep our student’s safe. However, if a student happens to board the wrong bus, the bus driver will contact Powell immediately. The driver may be instructed to take the child to his/her bus stop or to bring the child back to Powell. This may take a while because the bus driver may complete the route. In either case, please keep in contact with the front office and call us immediately when the child arrives. If he/she is brought back to school, we will contact the parents. After 4:00pm, any concerns regarding bus transportation should be directed to The Woodlands Transportation Center at 832.592.8800.
Daycare Pickup- If your child typically attends daycare and will be absent for any reason, please notify the daycare.
YMCA- Students are dismissed to the gym and remain in the care of YMCA employees until they are picked up by parents.
Car Riders – We ask that parents do not park or leave their car. For safety reasons, we do not allow parents on the front porch at dismissal. Signs will be issued to put in the car windshields; this will help speed up the car rider line. If you have multiple children, please put all names and grade levels on your car rider sign.
Capstone and Cochran’s Crossing Bikers/Walkers/Bladers - Please do not come on campus during dismissal time if meeting your child to walk them home. A teacher will walk students across the street. Kindergarten students must be met by an adult or accompanied by an older sibling. These procedures are put in place to ensure the safety of our students. DO NOT park in the Capstone or Cochran’s Green subdivisions at dismissal. Only students who walk to their homes should be walkers.
Rainy Day Dismissal- Rainy Day Dismissal notifications will be sent via Twitter at 3:00pm. (Please follow us on Twitter!) If your child walks to Cochran’s Green, you may pick up your child at the front of the school at the far-right doors. If your child walks to Capstone, you may pick up your child at the outside doors by the structured play area, across from the art room. Walker/Biker students who are not picked up will be placed in the car rider line. Please note that our weather changes drastically in a matter of minutes. Principals use their judgment in favor of student safety...be patient when the weather changes.
Transportation Changes
Please note your child may not ride the bus home with friends unless permission has been given by the CISD Transportation Department. This may not be a problem if they ride the same bus; however, if they ride different buses, the transportation department gives permission based on space availability and other considerations. Please call the Transportation Department at 832.592.8800 if you have further questions. Above all, if you have a problem and need our help, please call us. The safety of our students is our top priority!
Checking in and Out
- Parents must come into the front office to check students in and out. A valid, state issued identification must be presented and you must be listed on the child’s emergency form.
- Parents are not permitted to walk directly to the classroom to pick up a student. To maximize instructional time and to minimize interruptions, teachers will be notified and students will proceed to the office.
- For safety reasons, we do not allow students to be checked out after 2:30 pm.
Report Cards and Grades
STAAR Dates
- 4th Grade Writing: April 7th
- 3rd and 4th Grade Math: May 11th
- 3rd and 4th Grade Reading: May 12th
Lunch and Recess
For the safety of our students, only Powell staff and students will be allowed on the playground. Also, pictures may not be taken on the playground due to confidentiality.
Breakfast
- $1.35 full price student breakfast
- $2.30 non-student/2nd student breakfast
Lunch
- $2.85 full price student lunch
- $3.55 non-student/2nd student lunch
Specials
Conferences with Teachers
School Clinic
Illness/Absence
- It's recommended that children should remain at home until fever/vomiting has ceased for at least 24 hours
- If your child will be absent due to illness, email the school registrar, Michelle Lutes, at mlutes@conroeisd.net
- Students are never allowed to bring or transport medication to school...do not send it with your child in the backpack
- Adults must bring any medications to the school clinic and give specific information before medication can be dispensed at school (please refer to the CISD Student Handbook for information and requirements relating to medications at school)
Dress Code
- All hair color should be a natural hair color or color that does not cause a distraction for other students in the classroom
- Shorts should be mid-thigh or longer
- No tank tops/spaghetti straps
- No cosmetics
- No flip flops (students may wear sandals with a back strap)
- Shorts should be worn under dresses/skirts
- We encourage students to wear tennis shoes/closed toed shoes on days they will be attending P.E.
- Students should make sure their shirts are not offensive or violent
Students who violate dress code will be sent to the clinic to call home for a change of clothes.
Powell Spirit
Celebrations
Students often request to pass out birthday invitations in their classrooms. Invitations may be passed out only if the entire class is invited or if all the girls or all the boys in the class are invited. Passing out invitations to the entire grade level is not permitted. Please contact your child’s teacher if your child plans to pass out birthday invitations at school.
Field Trips
Notice to Parents with Court Orders Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship
Personal Items
Radios, IPods, electronic games, laser lights, toy guns, electronic devices, fidget spinners, and other toys should not be brought on the school campus unless they are used as part of a classroom project or requested by the teacher. Students may bring cell phones to school, but they must be turned off and in their backpacks during school hours. Knives or other dangerous objects are never allowed.
Possession and Use of Electronic Devices
The District permits students to possess telecommunications devices including cell phones. Generally, these devices must remain turned off during the instructional day, including during all testing. The use of any device that has the capability to take pictures or audio or video record is prohibited in locker rooms and restroom areas. These items are also prohibited if used to cheat, audio/video record, or photograph another student or staff member without that person’s permission, or when the use creates a disruption.
A student who uses any item, electronic or otherwise contrary to campus or District rules may have the device confiscated. Confiscated devices that are not retrieved by the student or student’s parent will be disposed of after the notice required by law. Any disciplinary action will be in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. If a student does have an electronic device, it should be put away in a secured locker and turned off during the school day. Permission to use the device at school should come from the principal or classroom teacher. Without such permission, teachers will collect the items and turn them in to the principal’s office. The principal will determine whether to return items to students at the end of the day or to contact parents to pick up the items. The District is not responsible for any damaged, lost, or stolen electronic devices.
Students are prohibited from sending or posting electronic messages that are abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal. This prohibition applies to conduct off school property if it results in a substantial disruption to the educational environment. In limited circumstances and in accordance with law, a student’s personal electronic device may be searched by authorized personnel. Any person taking, disseminating, transferring, or sharing obscene, sexually oriented, lewd, or otherwise illegal images or other content will be disciplined according to the Student Code of Conduct and may, in certain circumstances, be reported to law enforcement. If a device is believed to contain illegal contraband, the device will be turned over to law enforcement as required by state law. The device will not be returned to the student or his parent until the illegal contraband is removed from the device. This could take a substantial amount of time, particularly if the device is considered evidence of a crime.