Alexander Elementary

Attendance Awareness Month

September is Attendance Awareness Month, a month dedicated to showing how regular school attendance is essential to academic achievement. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. As we approach September, let's help Katy ISD students build a habit of good attendance early and often!

This month’s focus is Respect. One way to think about Respect is “seeing value in all people and things & treating them with care.” Many people feel Respected in different ways. We hope this month inspires discussions with your family about what Respect means to you and how you can practice it together!

REMINDER- Wear YELLOW on Tuesday, September 5 to represent Respect! (your child can earn a house point for participating 😊)

Lunch Visitors Start Tuesday, 9/5

Due to space and safety concerns, lunch visitors are restricted to parents/step parents/guardians and grandparents (accompanied by a parent or with written permission from a parent) and campus mentors ONLY. Due to our limited space, we are limited to two (2) guests per student per day on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays ONLY. School aged siblings may NOT attend, strollers are also not allowed. We do NOT accept lunch visitors on Mondays or Wednesdays & on other days we have campus wide events or any other unusual circumstances must be approved by the principal.

Due to a limited amount of space in our cafeteria, once our tables are full we can't take any more visitors.

Parents must complete the attached Lunch Visitor Form prior to attending a lunch visit. Please sign and date this form. We need an updated form each year. Thank you.

Campus Advisory Board - Interest Due Friday, 9/8

Alexander Elementary has a site-based management plan. This plan includes a Campus Advisory Team (CAT), which is composed of teachers, parents/guardians, community and business representatives. The Campus Advisory Team meets for the purpose of implementing planning processes and site-based decision making in accordance with Board policy and administrative procedures and shall be chaired by the principal (Board Policy BQB Local).

A campus election process selects teacher and staff members and the community and business members are appointed by the principal. The parent/guardian members will be selected by lottery from those who show interest in serving on the team. We are looking for 3 Parent Representatives at this time.

Selected Campus Advisory Team members are asked for a two-year commitment. CAT meeting dates for the 2023-2024 school year are: September 27th, November 8th, February 28, 2024 and May 15, 2024. The meetings will be held at 3:25pm via Zoom for now.

If selected through the lottery system, the first meeting will be an overview of your role and responsibilities.

If you are interested in submitting your name for the lottery, please email your interest to catherinewestervelt@katyisd.org by Friday, September 8, 2023.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Grandparents Day will be celebrated on Friday, 9/8

Please be on the look out for information from our grade levels about Grandparents Day!

Calling all 4th and 5th graders… Are you interested in being part of the RAE Photography Team this year? This team will meet 8-10 times per year and take photos of schoolwide events like House Rally Day, HooRAE Day, and campus performances.

The application in the following link must be submitted by Friday, September 8, 2023 if you are interested in the Photography Team: https://forms.gle/rJ9cF7ANRwcPNKWv9

We will have a parent meeting via zoom on September 14th.

Special thanks to our PTA for awarding the Smile, Snap, and Capture the Moment grant to Mrs. Watson in May of 2023 to purchase photo and video equipment that will be used during our club meetings/events.

Please contact the campus sponsor, Olivia Watson, at OliviaAWatson@katyisd.org with any questions.

5th Grade GT Screener Checklists Due Wednesday, 9/13

Students in fifth grade who are not currently identified for the elementary Challenge program have the opportunity to be screened for the GT Program with service to begin in the fall of sixth grade. Secondary gifted program options are available in Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Students may be screened in any or all of these content areas. We will accept parent observation forms to initiate the GT screening process for students in 5th going to 6th from August 21st - September 13th at 11:59pm. NO LATE CHECKLISTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Screening will occur during the months of October through December. Parents will be notified of the placement decision in January.

Please choose one method to complete and submit your child’s checklist:

Log into your Katy ISD Parent Portal on MyKatyCloud and complete the checklist found on the Gifted and Talented tile
Visit this link and select the correct checklist for your child on the right side.
NO PAPER CHECKLISTS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THE 2023 – 2024 SCHOOL YEAR. ALL CHECKLISTS MUST BE COMPLETED ONLINE.

An online information session for KAP and KAP/GT will be held on zoom on December 7, 2023.

For information on the screening process and testing window dates please visit THIS LINK. For all questions regarding screening, please contact Olivia Watson at OliviaAWatson@katyisd.org

Title III: Family STEAM Night - Friday, 9/15

The Office of Other Languages (OOL) will host an event for parents and families of emergent

bilingual (EB) and immigrant students in grades 3-6. At the Robert R. Shaw Center for STEAM. This family event will focus on hands-on learning activities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.

Music News: Attention 4th Graders!

The 4th Grade Musical Performance, A Star-Spangled Tribute, will be presented on November 9, 2023 at 6:00 PM in the RAE Gym for parents, families, and the community. There will be a performance in morning for RAE students and staff. All 4th grade students will be participating in this exciting event!

Online payment and information form is due by September 29, 2023.

Musical Fee, $15. to cover their performance shirt, props, and supplies. https://tinyurl.com/4thMusicalPAY2023.
Google form to let us know their size and other information at https://tinyurl.com/4thGradeMusical2023-2024.

Student Transportation Tags & Family Numbers

Please help us keep all students safe, by leaving on their RAE transportation tags on their right, backpack strap (this should include their tag, RFID, circular dismissal number & emergency contact information. When picking up your child as a walker/biker, it's important to have their transportation number visible. All car rider parents, need the transportation number hanging on their rear view mirror until they leave the property with their child. All bus riders are expected to have their RFIDs so they can tag on AND off of their bus.

Doctors Notes

A signature of the health care provider is needed on all Doctor notes (dr., nurse, therapist, etc.). We are unable to accept unsigned doctor notes.

Update Your PTA Family Account Today!

StingRAE Families! The PTA family account you created last year needs to be re-verified. Please check your information but more importantly update your student's Homeroom Teacher!! If you are new to RAE and haven't created an account, it only takes a few minutes to create an account! RAE PTA website www.raepta.org Thank you!

Special Buddies for 4th Grade

Special Buddies is a unique program at RAE where fourth graders can partner and take the responsibility of befriending a special buddy within our school community. This program allows an opportunity for inclusivity and engagement for our neuro-divergent friends in our school.

Parents, if you think your fourth grader would be interested in participating, please be on the lookout for how to sign up in early September.

Yearbook

The RAE 2023-2024 Yearbook Pre-Sale has begun! In addition to class portraits, some of the fun events featured are HooRAE day, Book Character Parade, Fall Fun Run, International Festival, and so much more!

When you're pre- ordering the yearbook for your child (children), please make sure to include their homeroom teacher's name (even though the Jostens site says it is optional)

Euijeung Kim RAE PTA YEARBOOK Yearbook@raepta.org

Library volunteers needed!

If you are interested in volunteering in the RAE library, either weekly or a few times per school year, please fill out this form. Volunteers at RAE are an integral part of the success of the library program! We greatly appreciate their help and all RAE students greatly benefit from library volunteers.

Birthday Book Club

Celebrate your child's birthday with RAE Birthday Book Club! The student will receive a special book plate in a library book of their choosing, a birthday pencil & bookmark, and their photo on the wall in the library. Additionally, their library book choice will be checked out to them for a full month, as an extra check out! If your child's birthday is May - August, we will celebrate the student’s half birthday. To participate, click here to go to Katy ISD’s Pay N Go.

Birthday Marquee Messages

You may now purchase a special birthday wishes for your student that will appear on our marquee in the front of our school. You have the option to choose to display for 1 day, or for 1 week. Due to space limitations, the maximum of ten birthdays will be displayed on a first come, first serve basis. Attached are the links to purchase your students birthday message.

Purchase Birthday Marquee Messages - Click Here!

Katy ISD Legacy Parent Academy 23 - 24

Please visit: https://www.katyisd.org/Page/10257 for more information.

September Dates to Remember

4 - No School for students & staff

5 - Respect, wear yellow, First day for lunch visitors

7 - PTA Executive/membership meeting & RAE watch meeting

8 - CAT lottery, grandparents day, grade level house meetings

12 - First day of choir

15 - Picture day

18 - RAE auction opens

19 - Special buddies kick off

21 - 4th grade field trip

22 - No school for students

25 - RAE auction ends, 4th grade field trip

27 - CAT meeting

28 - Choir group picture

29 - ESL coffee & conversations

Front Office Safety Procedures

With the addition of our campus security officer, Mr. Garcia we have had the opportunity to reevaluate some of our practices. Effective immediately, if you visit our vestibule we ask that all visitors show their ID on camera. If dropping off a forgotten item, it MUST be dropped off by 10:00 a.m. Place a teal tag on it with your child's information, then place on the black rolling cart. If coming to drop off a tardy student or to check a student out early, please use the slip on the table to let us know who to grab.

Katy ISD Discipline Presentations with Students & Admin

Our campus Leadership Team has finished meeting with our PK - 5th grade students to go over campus and district discipline procedures & expectations. As you know, we have a safety first mindset that allows us to keep all the big & little stingRAE's safe when on campus.

Click HERE to view the Pre-K - 1st grade Student Discipline Presentation

Click HERE to view the 2nd grade Student Discipline Presentation

Click HERE to view the 3rd - 5th grade Student Discipline Presentation

Calling ALL KISD Volunteers!

Katy ISD requires all volunteers serving on or off-campus during or after the instructional day to register with the district through its Raptor security system.

Once registered and approved, individual volunteers can:

Sign up as a campus volunteer by completing the volunteer recruitment form provided by your campus organization(s) or contact your campus volunteer coordinator.
Submit and track hours via their volunteer profile for every Katy ISD campus at which they volunteer
The system also provides quick and easy submission of individual off-campus volunteer hours

Volunteer Application-English

Volunteer Application -Spanish

It All Adds Up!

Thank you for volunteering in Katy ISD.

Change of Transportation

If you need to change the way your student goes home, please send a written note to school with your child on that day. Include the student’s full name, homeroom teacher and exactly how the student will be going home. In cases of emergency, such as sudden illnesses, hospitalization, etc. (this does not include severe weather), parents may send the request via email to RAEcommunications@katyisd.org or fax (281-644-1585) to the receptionist. This request must include a parent signature and a copy of identification from the parent/guardian email we have on file. Please also call 281-237-7100 to inform the front office that the request has been sent. This communication must be received by 1:30 p.m. For safety reasons, phone calls alone will not be accepted.

A change of transportation form can be found on the RAE website at: RAE Change of Transportation Form

RAE Spirit Wear/Field Day T-shirts

RAE Spirit Wear / Field Day T-Shirt is available for purchase through Pay ‘n Go for $12.00. T-Shirts will be delivered to your child’s teacher. Purchase here: https://katyisd.revtrak.net/

1. Login

2. Elementary Schools

3. Elementary A-H

4. Alexander Elementary

5. RAE-Field Trips

6. Select Grade

7. RAE-Field Trip T-Shirt

New SMART Tag ID system for Eligible Bus Riders

On Wednesday, August 16 a new SMART Tag ID system will be rolled out across Katy ISD school buses to help monitor ridership, including when and where a student is picked up or dropped off by a school bus. This new system will replace Katy ISD’s Edulog Lite App.

As part of the new process, the school identification (ID) cards of eligible bus riders will incorporate a SMART Tag ID, which they will use every time they enter and exit their school bus.

Parents and guardians will also have access to the SMART Tag Parent Web Portal — a cloud-based platform that will enable them to monitor their student’s ridership and bus route. Parents of eligible riders will need to register with the SMART Tag Parent Web Portal to take advantage of these features. More information about the registration process will be provided to parents of eligible riders, via the email address on file with the district, within the coming week. To sign up for the new system, parents will need the student’s ID number, date of birth and name of campus the student attends.

In the meantime, additional information about the SMART Tag program can be found on the Katy ISD Transportation Department’s Smart Tag webpage.

About Us

Dr. Charmaine Hobin, Principal

Mrs. Cathy Westervelt, Principal's Secretary

Mrs. Laura Josefsson, AP for Kinder, 2nd & 4th grade

Mrs. Jeannette Rodricks, AP for 1st, 3rd & 5th grade

Mrs. Lauren Rice, Counselor

Mrs. Dora Gonzalez, SEL Coordinator

Mrs. Corali Varela, Instructional Coordinator

Mrs. Stacey Colton, ELA/SS Instructional Coach

Mrs. Laura Flood, Math/Science Instructional Coach

Our vision can be stated in three words: NURTURE, CHALLENGE and ACHIEVE. We understand the value of relationships, get excited about the challenges ahead of us and set goals that we achieve together as a school community.

6161 South Fry Road, Katy, TX 77494, United States 281-237-7100 katyisd.org/RAE

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