Tiger Talk Back 2 School Edition #5
08/09/21
Today's Edition: Visitors and Volunteers on Campus
Please watch for our daily editions, weekdays 8/3 - 8/16!
We are SOOOO excited to start the new school year!!! And, we suspect that you might be, too!
To prepare us all for August 18, we are publishing Special Edition Tiger Talks each weekday leading up to Meet the Teacher Day and the First Day of School. In each Special Edition, we will cover a topic that we hope you will find reassuring and helpful.
And, certainly, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be of assistance to our Tiger Families.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
A Welcome From our Principal
It is with great pleasure that I extend a warm welcome to all of our new and returning families to West Cypress Hills Elementary School! There are so many reasons to celebrate our school, and it starts with your being a part of this magnificent community. West Cypress Hills Elementary is a learning community where every learner is nurtured, respected, and challenged. Here at WCHE we believe learning should be a social, inspiring journey full of dynamic experiences that build the love of life-long learning in all of our students. This year we will continue to explore all of the ways West Cypress teachers build personal, inspiring and authentic educational experiences for our learners.
I am thrilled that you have chosen West Cypress Hills Elementary as your child’s school. Our staff is highly-qualified, hard-working, and dedicated to growing strong learners and leaders here on our campus. We deeply appreciate your sharing your wonderful children with us here at WCHE. We treasure the opportunity to learn and grow together with our WCHE families.
If convenient for you to do so, please stop by our school Library, Wednesday, August 18, around 7:42 am, so that I can visit with you in person over a cup of coffee. Our fabulous PTO is sponsoring a Principal's Coffee the morning that our Tigers start their new school year. I look forward to meeting you there.
With warmest regards,
Melanie Beninga, Principal
Campus Security
Safety and security is our top priority. We believe relationships are critical to successful schools, and ultimately, our families and students are the best partners in keeping our campuses safe. Our principals and school administrators investigate every reported tip or threat. We work with law enforcement and take quick and appropriate action, including notifying families, if there is a valid danger on campus.
We ask all of our families and students to please share any information regarding school or student safety by either directly contacting a school staff member or by using the Cavs Who Care Tip Line, our anonymous alert system. As LTISD grows, we will continue to explore and collaborate with other school districts to find new ways to improve safety and security at our campuses.
Standard Response Protocol
A critical ingredient in the safe school recipe is the classroom response to an incident at school. Weather events, fire, accidents, intruders and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by students, teachers, staff and administration.
LTISD is expanding its safety program to include the Standard Response Protocol. The SRP is based on these five actions: Lockout, Lockdown, Evacuate, Shelter and Hold. In the event of an emergency, the action and appropriate direction will be announced on the PA system.
Students and staff will be trained and the school will practice these drills over the course of the school year.
Visiting our Campus
We invite all visitors to our campus to self-screen for COVID symptoms and reschedule appointments to visit our campus if COVID symptoms are present.
After the first day of school, parents, guardians and others who have scheduled appointments are welcome to visit our school on or after August 30. (Kinder parents are allowed to walk Kinder students to class the 1st three days of school.) All volunteers, parent-teacher conferences, meetings, etc., must be prearranged. For the safety of those within the school setting, all visitors are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of courtesy and conduct. Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. All visitors must immediately report to the Receptionist to sign in and receive a visitor pass to wear while on campus. We recommend that visitors and volunteers wear masks while on campus.
Raptor Visitor Management System
For the safety and security of our students, LTISD has implemented the Raptor Visitor Management System at all campuses. Raptor is the nation's leading provider of integrated school safety technologies and is designed to ensure that adult visitors on campus are identified and do not pose a threat to any students or staff.
Upon entering an LTISD campus, visitors will be asked to present one of the following forms of identification:
- Valid Driver’s License (any state)
- Passport State-Issued Identification
- Card Work Visa Green Card
Licenses or identification cards will be scanned and returned. Once cleared, visitors will be issued a visitor's badge, which must be worn at all times while on campus. Upon departure, the visitor's badge must be returned to the Receptionist.
Visitors and Volunteers
Once your photo ID has been scanned into the Raptor Visitor Management System, it should retain your personal information, making it possible for you to obtain your own visitor or volunteer badge at one of our Raptor kiosks without a need to have your photo ID scanned into the system again. The kiosks are located in the Front Office.
Once you have obtained your visitor or volunteer badge, please be sure to wear your visitor or volunteer badge while you are on our campus. As you depart, you can electronically sign out and return your badge to the Receptionist.
When signing in, It's important that you correctly identify yourself as either a visitor or volunteer. The Raptor system helps us to track your volunteer hours of service, and we like to recognize our volunteers for their service. We don't want you to miss out on any opportunities to be appropriately recognized and thanked for your service.
Volunteers can perform any job that does not require working alone with students. Note: If volunteers plan to work alone with one or more students, they must agree to a complete criminal background check to be conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Inquire with the campus Volunteer Coordinator for more details.
- Volunteers will be required to sign in through Raptor each time they visit.
- Volunteers will be required to sign a Confidentiality Pledge each school year. (inside Volunteer Handbook)
- Volunteer opportunities are available as soon as the campus is ready to receive assistance.
Our fabulous PTO is holding its first General Assembly of this school year in our school cafeteria on Thursday, August 26, at 9:30 am. Please sign yourself in as a visitor at our Raptor kiosk and attend this informative meeting about our WCHE volunteer opportunities. Thanks for being a volunteer! The PTO will also have Confidentiality Pledge forms available for you to sign.
Upcoming Events
All Summer.............Tales & Tails WCHE Summer Reading Camp
07/01/21................LT Extended Care 21-22 Registration Opens Learn More
5 pm 8/7 to noon 8/11.....Apply via Skyward for Online Learning
08/09 - 08/17/21....WCHE Office Open Weekdays 7:30 am to 4:00 pm
08/15/21.................LTEF Kinder Car Parade @ LTHS, 3322 RR 620 South, 3 - 5 pm.
08/17/21.................Meet the Teacher Day
08/18/21.................1st Day of School 7:40 am - 3:00 pm
08/18/21.................Coffee with the Principal 7:42 am WCHE Library
08/23/21.................1st Day of Online Learning
08/26/21.................PTO General Assembly - Tiger's Den - 9:30 am RSVP
09/02/21.................Curriculum Night, KG-2nd 5:30 - 6:15 pm & 3rd -5th 6:30 - 7:15 pm
09/06/21.................No School - Happy Labor Day!
More Information about WCH
West Cypress Hills Elementary
Email: wchprincipal@ltisdschools.org
Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/WCHE
Location: 6112 Cypress Ranch Boulevard, Travis County, TX, United States
Phone: 512-533-7500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ltisdschools
Twitter: @principalwch