Principal's Bulletin
Week 1: August 22-26th
Jerry D. Allen Elementary School
Message from Mrs. Zagala
Dear Allen Families,
Welcome back to what we know will be another successful and exciting school year. We hope your summer was restful and enjoyable. The staff of Allen Elementary has been working hard and preparing for our students’ return. We are honored to serve, support, and work with you as we continue our relentless mission of providing our students an outstanding, rigorous education in a safe, caring, respectful, and disciplined environment.
Although we have high academic standards that we will continue to focus on this school year, student safety continues to be our top priority. As a campus we regularly review and revise our safety plans and procedures to enhance campus security and safety. Keeping our students, staff, and school safe requires continuous work and communication with all our campus stakeholders. Community members can always anonymously report any suspicious activity or unsafe behaviors to the Northside Safeline at 210-397-7233 or by texting safe@nisd.net. The NISD Safeline is available 24 hours a day. Our community are our eyes and ears, and we appreciate your vigilance.
As the standards for academic growth and achievement continue to increase, we are confident we will meet the challenge by maintaining our high expectations and focus on excellent teaching and learning. One of the most important ways we can ensure our students are learning everything they need to know, understand, and do for their current grade level and be fully prepared for the next grade level is ensuring they come to school every day. Daily school attendance will continue to be one of our major school improvement goals. We were at 88% attendance last year and our goal for this year will be to increase our attendance to 93%. Simply put, if your child is not attending school, they are not learning.
We will continue to implement “Success For All” (SFA) Reading in PK-5. This is an outstanding curriculum; and for each child to be a success, it is important that parents have an understanding and involvement in their child's learning and school work. In addition, in math we will continue to focus on ensuring students gain a deep understanding of math concepts through the use of manipulatives and by expecting them to explain and show their work orally and/or written in daily in guided math groups. Finally, we want them to develop math facts automaticity by practicing their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts every day.
To assist you in understanding our instructional programs, Jerry D. Allen Elementary will have a PTA PARENT ORIENTATION/OPEN HOUSE on Thursday, September 8th at 5:45 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Please attend this very important meeting so that you may become involved in assisting your child(ren) with their education and fully understand the grade level expectations for promotion.
The beginning of a new school year is an exciting time for all. Expectations for excellence are a goal for each student, parent, and teacher. These expectations can become reality with a unified effort of cooperation between the school and the home. We want our students to enjoy the adventure of learning. With a positive attitude, support from home, and exemplary teaching and learning in school, your child's school year will be both rewarding and exciting. We also encourage you to unite with us in advocating for our students by joining and being active in the PTA. I am looking forward to meeting and working closely with each of you. We want this school year to be the best year of your child’s elementary schooling!
YOU MUST BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE,
Sincerely,
Mrs. Zagala
Principal
First Day Procedures
- Doors open at 7:00 AM
- For the first day of school only, parents are allowed to accompany their children to their classrooms from 7:15-7:40 AM
- At 7:40 AM we begin our instructional day so all visitors will be asked to leave the building
- All students will dismiss at 3:00 PM from the front of the school
- All parents are asked to remain in their cars and drive through the pick up line.
- Please make sure that your car tag with your child's name and grade level can be easily seen from the windshield
We would like to thank you for your patience ahead of time as the first few days of school the dismissal process will take a little longer than normal.
Morning Procedures Effective Tuesday, August 23rd
- 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
Parent Volunteer Orientation 9.2.22
**Parents and guests will be required to obtain a visitor's pass, please bring a valid driver's license or state issued identification card.**
Safety is Top Priority
As Northside ISD prepares to welcome back staff and students for the new school year, we want to make you aware of several guidelines in place at all of our schools. Visitors to our campuses should plan and prepare for increased security measures. Please be patient and expect to be asked where your visitor badge is (if not wearing one) and your reason for being in the building. Some points to follow and be aware of:
● Always enter through the main entrance (security lobby for all elementary schools).
● Be prepared to provide your credentials, license, and/or identification card and reason for
entering the building. A visitor badge will only be provided after getting clearance through
Raptor or a records review.
● Always keep your visitor badge visible for staff to see.
● If you are regularly in the building (visiting your child’s classroom, going for breakfast, or
volunteering) please visit with campus administration for completing a background check
While in the building if you “see something, say something” – whether it be to your child’s teacher or any NISD staff member wearing a NISD issued badge. NISD also has a SafeLine (210-397-7233) to report any suspicious behavior 24/7. We have two police officers at every high school, one at every middle school, and additional officers that patrol elementary schools. Additionally, we have numerous security cameras in all of our buildings and school buses. That being said, it takes ALL of us to be safe.
Please review our Back To School website that provides additional information including a link to our district safety page. For specific information regarding procedures for Meet-the-Teacher, PREP Days, or First Day of School, please visit your campus web site. We remind you while these changes in practice may be inconvenient, they are made with the safety of your child in mind. Thank you in advance for your patience.
Meet the Teacher Night
Allen Staff is IGNITED for the New School Year
Buy Your Allen Spirit Shirts!
Box Tops for Education: Help Us Earn Money for our School!
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!
STAY CONNECTED: Four Easy Ways to Stay Informed
Erika L.M. Zagala, Principal
Email: allen@nisd.net
Phone: 210-397-0800
Twitter: @NISDAllenES