Dear Allen Families,

This week we celebrated "Freedom Week." Thank you to all of our students that participated in the fun activities that reminded us about our freedoms .

I would also like to thank all the grandparents that joined us for Grandparents Breakfast this week. Our students were so excited to have some of the most special people in their lives join them for breakfast.

We are now entering the mid-point of the first nine weeks of school and all of our classes are in full swing. I encourage you to stay connected to your child's teacher in Class Dojo. Although teachers can be contacted by phone and email, Class Dojo is often the quickest way to get in touch with them.

I wish you all a great weekend and I look forward to next week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Zagala

Principal

Beginning the week of September 19th, our school library will be open to students and their parents Monday-Thursday from 3:00-3:30. Parents who would like to visit the library will need to check in at the front office and obtain a visitor's pass. Students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian in order to visit the library after school.

The University Health System Bus scheduled to come to Allen Elementary on Wednesday, September 21st from 9:30 AM-12:00 PM has been postponed. We will get you the rescheduled date as soon as possible.

Our first Early Release day will be on Wednesday, September 21st. All students will be dismissed at 11:45 AM. Students who are not able to be picked up at 11:45 can stay at school until 3:00 PM where Allen Staff will be monitoring them as they engage in educational activities.

A flyer with more information went home this week with students.

Progress reports for students in 1st-5th grade will go home on Friday, September 23rd. If you have any questions or concerns about your child's progress please reach out to your child's teacher.

*All parents will be invited to a parent conference by during the first semester of school.*

We will hold our first School Advisory Team (SAT) Meeting and Parent Family Engagement Committee on Wednesday, September 28th at 3:20. We are looking for parents and community members that would like to serve on this committee to come more involved in the decision-making process of our campus. If you are interested in joining us or if you have any questions about this opportunity please contact Ms. Zagala (210-397-0800 or allen@nisd.net ).

The week of September 19th-23rd during their guidance class time, our school counselors will begin guidance lessons on safety and security and begin introducing "Active Threat Drills" to students. These guidance lessons are developmentally appropriate and created by the district's counseling department. As part of their lessons they will utilize a book called "Lockdown Drill at Superhero School." This book explains to students what they would need to do during an "active threat" drill.

As a follow up to the guidance lesson, on September 30th, students in 3rd-5th grade will view the district's Run, Hide, Fight Training video. Although this video is not intended to cover all scenarios, it was created to provide our students with the tools they will need to be safe in the event of an active threat . Our counselors will continue to be involved with the students after the video is shown to 3rd-5th graders.

I have linked the video below and encourage parents to preview the video prior to September 30th so that you can have discussions with your child(ren) at home. A letter will be sent to parents of 3rd-5th graders with more information one week before the video is shown. If you have any concerns about your child viewing the video, please reach out to Ms. Zagala so that different arrangements can be made for your child.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

● Fever or chills ● Diarrhea

● Cough ● Headache

● Shortness of breath/difficulty ● New loss of taste or smell

breathing ● Sore throat

● Fatigue ● Congestion or runny nose

● Muscle or body aches ● Nausea or vomiting

How do I communicate with the school if my child has seasonal allergies, chronic migraines, gastrointestinal issues, asthma, etc.?

1. If there is a medical history of these symptoms, please provide a doctor’s note to the school nurse for documentation. Students will be assessed by the school nurse to determine if there is a change in the student’s normal baseline.

When can my student return to school after being diagnosed with, and/or testing positive for COVID-19?

1. Students may return to school after 5 days of isolation (return on the 6th day) if symptoms are improving and they have been without fever (100.0 F or above) for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication.

2. If the student has tested positive or has been diagnosed with COVID-19 but has not had any symptoms, they can return after 5 days have passed since the date of the positive test/diagnosis (return on the 6th day).

What do I do if my student is at home or is sent home from school with a fever (100.0 degrees or greater) and/or any other symptoms of COVID-19?

1. Contact your healthcare provider for guidance.

2. Students who have been without fever (100.0 F or above) for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication and have improvement of other COVID symptoms, may return to school in fewer than 5 days with a written clearance from a healthcare provider or with a negative COVID-19 test performed by a healthcare provider/testing facility.

3. Students who are not evaluated by a healthcare provider or tested by a testing facility may return to school after 5 days of isolation (return on the 6th day), if symptoms are improving and they have been without fever (100.0 F or above) for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication.

Attendance is essential to school success, but too we do not realize how quickly absences — excused and unexcused — can add up to academic trouble. Did you know that chronic

absence — missing 10 percent of the school year, or just 2-3 days every month—can translate into third-graders unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing courses and ninth-graders dropping out of high school?

We are here to help and want your child to be successful; but, if they are not in school we cannot teach them. Making sure that your child come to school each day and on time will help your child be more successful. We understand that sometimes your child may have an appointment, but even early outs contribute to learning loss.

If you have any questions or need any assistance with your child's attendance please reach out to us. We are here to support our community!

Each month we will be sharing Reading and Math challenges for our families to participate in. Please see the link below to see our first installment of our Reading and Math Family Monthly

This week in Ms Clark’s Class:

Ms Clark read us a story about responsibility called Do I Have To and we completed a read and respond.

In Writers Workshop we began to edit and publish our Ouch Personal Narrative Stories using our writing stories and the sharing microphone.

In Reading Class we continued to study our shared story using story maps and Cleo and Theo.

In math class we explored two dimensional shapes and worked together in Math Workshop to sort and identify polygons and non examples of polygons after exploring their attributes.

It’s been a fun week.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a new federal benefit that helps pay for internet service and devices. Sign up now and you’ll receive:

Get $30 a month

to buy internet service. This means some internet plans are free! If you live on Tribal lands, the benefit is $75 per month.

Get $100

to buy a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet.

Beginning the second day of school please be advised of the following morning procedures:

• The doors to the school open at 7:00 AM
• All parents and adult guests going to the cafeteria must obtain a visitor's pass from the front office. A valid driver's license or state ID is required to get a visitors pass.
• Any parent eating breakfast with their child will be asked to eat at the family table located on the stage.
• For safety and security is our campus policy that parents and visitors do not go to the classrooms in the morning

We appreciate your patience and support as we continue to implement our new dismissal system. For everyone’s safety, students will remain in the building until there is someone here for them. To ensure that our system works smoothly, we ask that all parents, guardians, and caregivers remain in their vehicles and drive through the pick up line for their child. Remaining in the pick up line will minimize the congestion in the front of the school and will allow us to get the children to their cars more efficiently. Parents that “walk up” to pick up their child are likely to wait longer in the weather elements than the parents that remain in their vehicles. Please make sure that your car tag with your child’s unique code is easily visible in the front of your windshield. Parents that walk up to pick up their child(ren) are also asked to present their tag to the staff dismissing students.

Any students that are not picked up by 3:15 PM will require a parent or guardian to pick them up from inside the building and sign them out.

Allen Spirit Shirts can be purchased from the front office for $12 (cash only). All students are invited to wear their spirit shirts every Friday for our weekly spirit days.

Join us in earning cash for our school by using the Box Tops app. It’s an easy way to make a difference. All you have to do is buy Box Tops participating products (like Cheerios!) and scan your grocery receipt. Box Tops are worth $.10 each and they add up fast! Twice a year, our school receives a check to help pay for whatever we need - equipment, supplies or experiences the kids love!

Use this referral code B1KG0OSL when you sign up and you’ll get 20 Bonus Box Tops when you scan your first receipt now through 05/31/2023, while supplies last! Download the Box Tops for Education app here: https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=B1KG0OSL

At the end of the school year, the grade level that has earned the most Box Tops will win an Ice Cream Party!

Receive important messages and reminders from Allen ES by push message on your phone. Simply download the NISD Mobile App and select which schools you would like to receive notifications from. Follow us on Twitter @NISDAllenES, join our school on Class Dojo and ensure that your email address is up to date in the office.