
The Panther Press
August 19, 2022
Panthers Always Pursue Excellence!
First Day of School Reminders
- Our doors open at 7:00 am. School starts at 7:30 a.m., however, as long as the car line is running we will not be counting tardies.
- All Morgan Panthers students are required to wear their SMART tags every day. Your child’s SMART Tag will be issued by their teacher during the first week of school.
- All parents will be able to walk students in on the first day of school. Tuesday and Wednesday only the parents of Pre-K and Kindergarten students will be able to walk in with their child
- For the 1st week of school, we are asking that there be no lunch visitors to allow our Panthers time to learn routines and procedures in the cafeteria.
Back to School Checklist
New ID Badge Requirements
This year, as an increase to our safety measures, students and staff are required to wear their identification badge at all times. Student badges will serve as the student ID and SmartTag all in one card.
We will also provide all students and staff with an emergency safety card to be worn with their ID Badge. This requirement is just one of several new safety additions that we are incorporating this year. The safety card contains Lamar CISD's Standard Response Protocol, important emergency numbers, as well as a QR code that links directly to the District's anonymous tip line. Badges will be distributed with student SMART Tags.
Smart Tags Guidelines
Ensuring the safety and security of the students riding on buses is our highest priority. To facilitate and support this safety initiative the District has implemented the Smart Tag system to promote and ensure a positive school bus riding experience for all Lamar CISD students. Students are issued Smart Tag ID cards with an electronic chip Smart sensor (please do not modify the ID cards, or place holes in the card). The student’s name is printed on the front of the card, and there is no student information stored on the card.
SMART Tags will be provided during the first week of school. If your student has a SMART tag from last year, please send it to school with your child until the new one is issued.
PK and Kindergarten Bus Riders
PK/KG students must have one or more Transportation Release Guardians listed within the student’s Smart Tag Parent Portal. Drivers will only release a KG student to approved guardians at the stop. Parents must register this information within their student's Smart Tag profile via the Smart Tag Parent Portal.
Students must have one or more Transportation Release Guardians listed within the students Smart Tag Parent Portal.
To ensure the safety of the children, parents/guardians or an authorized person is encouraged to be at the bus stop each day when their child is picked up and dropped off.
- Parents must register this information within their students Smart Tag profile via the Smart Tag Parent Portal.
- Parents are also responsible for keeping the information current.
- Parents/guardians and children should know their route number, school name, and stop location.
- Children in grades Pre-K/KG (i.e., Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten) MUST be received by an adult, parent, or authorized receiver at the designated bus stop and designated time. This could be an older sibling.
- Parents should be at the stop ten (10) minutes prior to bus arrival.
- Individuals receiving a Pre-K/KG student from a bus, will need to be in possession of a picture ID so the driver can verify release authorization via the Smart Tag system. If a driver is unable to verify release authorization the student will be returned to campus.
- Should there be no one at the stop to receive a PK/KG student, the child will be taken back to the school for the parent to pick up.
- Should this occur more than twice in a semester, the third occurrence may result in the child losing bus riding privileges.
Bus Guidelines
Bus transportation is available for all students. Information on bus routes can be accessed through the Parent Portal.
How Do I Complete The SMART Tag Registration?
How Do I Add Guardians To My Child's SMART Tag Profile?
LCISD Safety Standards
To access the safety video, CLICK HERE.
Beginning of the Year Forms
For the 2022-2023 school year, all required Lamar Consolidated ISD beginning-of-year forms must be completed online through the Skyward Family Access Center.
Offering these forms digitally allows you the convenience of not only updating information that has changed from last school year, while also helping us maintain accurate information in our student information system.
Online forms will be available through the Family Access Center starting August 1 and all forms need to be submitted no later than September 16th. Your student’s schedule will not be available online through the Family Access Center until all of the beginning-of-year forms are completed for your student and after the campus has released schedules. Student schedules will be available online on Wednesday, August 17th if all online forms have been completed.
Instructions, important dates and technical assistance regarding the online forms can be found at https://www.lcisd.org/students-parents/family-access/beginning-of-year-forms
General Traffic Overview
The entrance and exit onto the campus grounds are located right off of 1093, directly in front of the Weston Lakes subdivision.
Four temporary traffic signals will be utilized to control east and west-bound traffic on 1093 and traffic coming to/from Weston Lakes until the permanent ones are installed.
Transportation
All cars, school buses, and daycare vans will turn off 1093 onto Fulshear School Rd.
Once on Fulshear School Rd., daycare vans, busses, and staff will enter at the staff entry/exit point off Fulshear School Rd.
Parent Drop Off
Parents dropping students off during morning arrival/afternoon dismissal will continue to drive up Fulshear School Rd. and turn left onto School Hill Road.
Cars will then go all the way to the end of School Hill Rd. and turn left to enter the “parent entry” as illustrated on the traffic flow map.
Cars will enter the path in a single file line. The path opens into two lanes, and vehicles will need to merge as they get closer to the point of student drop-off in front of the school. (Please see traffic flow map below)
Car Rider Arrival Guidelines
- Our doors open at 7:00 am. Please do not drop off your child before then as we do not want them left unattended.
- Please drive all the way up to the first drop-off point where a staff member/safety patrol student will be ready to receive cars. We ask that your child is ready when it is time to unload. This includes having their Morgan lanyard w/Smart Tag on, water bottle/lunch kit and backpack on.
- For safety reasons, we are not able to unbuckle safety restraints.
- All students will exit the car on the passenger side.
- Please stay in a single-file line and refrain from passing any vehicles.
- For safety reasons, the only place parents/guardians are permitted to drop students off is at the “parent drop off” in the front drive of the school, where staff and safety patrol will be positioned daily to help students exit safely from cars. Please help us keep our students safe by adhering to this guideline.
- The staff and visitor entrance will be coned off beginning at 7:00 am during morning arrival daily. For the safety of everyone, parents are not permitted to park in the front parking lot and walk students up to the front door. The staff and visitor entrance will be coned off at 7:00 am during morning arrival daily. A staff member will be stationed there to assist parents who might need front office assistance.
Car Rider Dismissal Guidelines
- Please remember that the school day ends at 2:55 pm. All cars should be in line by this time so that we can effectively coordinate dismissal.
- Utilizing the same traffic pattern as morning arrival, please enter the car rider line on Fulshear School Rd.
- Please place your car rider tag on your rearview mirror with the number facing out. A staff member will be walking the line, recording your car rider tag number.
- You will pull up to the first available cone and the staff member will match the car rider number on your car tag to the number on the child’s transportation tag. If you are carpooling, you must have the tags of all the students you are picking up. We will not release any students without an official car rider tag.
- If you do not have the car rider tag, you will need to park and come into the building to check your child out in person, making sure you have valid identification.
- Check-out from the office will occur once the car rider line is clear.
- For safety reasons, we are not able to buckle safety restraints.
- Please do not attempt to pass another car while in the car rider line.
- Please stay in a single file line until you exit the driveway.
- If you arrive after all numbers have been inputted into the system, you will be advised to park and check your child out in the office.
On-Site After School Care at Morgan
We are pleased to share that Morgan will now have after school care provided by the YMCA on our campus. Need more information? Contact Tylan Blades at Tylan.Blades@ymcahouston.org or (281) 341-0791
Cafeteria
Lunch Visitors
We'll be working hard with our Panther teachers and students on cafeteria procedures. We are excited to welcome parents to school to eat lunch with their child(ren). So that we have a smooth, safe, and efficient process for enjoyable lunch visits, we are asking that everyone follows all school check-in procedures. During the first week, we will be practicing cafeteria procedures with students. We will open lunch to parents the second week of school.
Upon arrival, you will be required to show your identification in the front office to receive a Raptor badge. Only adults approved by the custodial parent/guardian and on the emergency contact list will have approval to eat lunch with a child. Anyone not on the emergency contact list will not be permitted to visit with the child at any time
Cafeteria Guidelines
Once in the cafeteria, all visitors must sit at the visitor table and wait for their child to join them.
School-age visitors (in district or out of district) will not be permitted to eat lunch. This includes students on a modified schedule, Elementary, Junior High, and High School.
- During the first week, we will be spending time learning new procedures and systems
- Only students eating with eligible visitors may eat at the designated table.
- Parents should bring food for their children only.
- Visits at lunch are limited to 30-minute lunch period. Parents should say their goodbyes at the cafeteria door and return to the front office to exit the building. Visitors should not expect to follow students out to recess or back to the classrooms.
- Parents are not allowed to remove their children from the cafeteria for any reason without permission from a staff member on duty in the cafeteria. A parent wishing to check out their child must do this through the front office.
Lastly, please be assured that Lamar CISD will strive to keep the following measures in place:
- Campuses will be cleaned and sanitized on a routine basis.
- Hand sanitizers will continue to be readily available throughout our campuses.
- Visitors will be expected to self-screen and monitor themselves for any illness.
Student Meal Rates
During the 2022-2023 school year, all students will be charged for meals, including breakfast and lunch. Meals are no longer FREE for all students. If you would like to apply for a free or reduced payment, click the link below.
Lost and Found/Left Behind Items After School
- Be sure to label all your child's personal belongings with their name (First and Last) and grade level. If your child leaves something behind here at school, we want to be able to organize it into our lost and found for quick identification.
We teach our students organizational skills and responsibility by ensuring they have everything they need before leaving their classrooms at the end of the school day. Our classrooms may be locked, or teachers could have after-school meetings at the end of the school day, so we won't be able to accommodate students and parents going to classrooms to retrieve left behind items.
General Reminders
- Our doors open at 7:00 am. School starts at 7:30 am; however as, long as the car line is running, we will not be counting tardies.
- If you arrive after the bell rings at 7:30 am, for safety reasons parents will need to park and come in with their children to get them checked into the front office. This will allow us to get our staff into the building to begin their very important work of teaching our Panthers. Please remember that breakfast is served from 7:00-7:30. If your child is eating breakfast at school, please drop them off in the mornings with enough time to allow them to eat in the cafeteria, as all students are required to be in class by 7:30 am. Thank you for your assistance in ensuring a successful and productive learning environment for our students.
- In order to minimize interruptions during instructional time, classroom deliveries will only be made at 10:00 am each day. Items that may be delivered at this time include snacks, birthday treats, and library books. Exceptions to this policy include eyeglasses and coats. All homework assignments will be placed in the teacher's mailbox for pick up at the teacher's earliest convenience. All items brought to school for delivery must be labeled with the student's name and teacher's name.
- Balloons, flowers, gifts, and party favors, etc., for students are not to be delivered at school at any time as they can cause a disruption in the classroom.
- Any changes in the normal transportation of your child must be stated in writing with a parent/guardian signature. We ask for everyone's help in not making changes frequently. However, we understand that unexpected changes will need to happen in rare cases. These can be called into the front office by 2:00 pm. We are not able to process changes after 2:00 pm. This includes parents that come to the campus without prior notice to pick up their child. Any change in transportation arrangements for any student requires a note to the teacher. Make sure you write your child's first and last name, teacher's name, and indicate the date (s) for the change and how the child is going to get home. We ask that parents not email the change since there may be times that a teacher is not in attendance or does not have a chance to read their email.
Spring Creek Barbeque Spirit Night - September 8th
Grandparent's Day
Parent Orientation
Watchdog Kick Off
Mark Your Calendars
August
August 22nd- First Day of School
September
September 6th - Labor Day Holiday
September 8th - Spring Creek Spirit Night
September 13th - Grandparents Day Lunch
September 15th - Parent Orientation
Session 1 5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Session 2 6:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.
September 29th - Watch Dogs Kick Off Night 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Friends of Morgan
Follow our Friends of Morgan on Facebook and the website by clicking the buttons below. Friends of Morgan is our Parent Teacher Organization that will support the faculty, students and parents of Morgan Elementary.
Since we are a new school, they are currently working through the process for being able to fundraise to provide amazing opportunities for our Morgan Panther staff and students.
We love volunteers! As we work to build our volunteer base and systems, FOM will be working with the campus to coordinate volunteer activities. More information to come.
Contact Information: friendsofmorgan1@gmail.com
Morgan Elementary Parent Handbook
This handbook has been designed to give you a quick, brief list of answers to questions, which
may arise, concerning Morgan Elementary School’s operational procedures.
Our campus wide newsletters will supplement the information herein, but if procedure or policy questions are still unanswered you may refer to the Elementary Student Handbook or contact our school to clarify these concerns.
Dress Code Reminder
Students can wear the clothing of their choice, as long as it conforms to the LCISD Dress Code Policy. Access the dress code policy in the LCISD Elementary Student/Parent handbook. (Dress and Grooming: Pages 34-36)
Spirit Wear Days
Mondays - Themed Day - Panthers Glow for Success
Fridays - Charger Fridays - wear your Charger spirit wear or grade level Friday shirts.
Procedures for Electronic Devices
We will update our page as often as possible to share as much as we can about Morgan and the achievements of the students and staff, as well as other relevant campus and district information.
Messages for school staff will not be checked or responded to on Facebook. If anyone would like to reach school staff, please do so by calling the campus or emailing the appropriate staff member for assistance. Our campus phone number will be posted soon.
Additional Information
Fletcher Morgan Jr. Elementary
Jana Simoneaux, Asst. Principal jsimoneaux@lcisd.org
Jill Medve, Counselor jill.medve@lcisd.org
Catherine Noriega, Administrative Assistant catherine.noriega@lcisd.org
Email: bgibson@lcisd.org
Website: https://www.lcisd.org/campuses/morgan/home
Location: 32727 School Hill Road Fulshear, Texas
Phone: 832-223-6200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FletcherMorganES