The Rhino Report
September 19, 2022 - Rylander Elementary School Newsletter
Highlights from Ms. Heard
Rylander Family,
Instead of hosting an Open House this year, we will host a Curriculum Night on October 27 from 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM. During the curriculum night parents will get a hands-on experience with your child’s grade level content as well as experience some activities during Specials. Please bring your student with you for Curriculum Night.
Tuesday, September 20th - Come out to support PTA Fundraiser at Raising Canes:
4:30PM-10:00PM
9730 Gaston Road
Katy, Texas 77494
Gifted and Talented Screening for 5th Grade Students
Deadline to return/submit parent forms is September 21, 2022 at 4:00pm. NO LATE CHECKLISTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. See link to form and additional information under the repeated information section in the newsletter.
World Rhino Day is Thursday, September 22nd. Wear any campus Rylander Rhino t-shirt to celebrate Rhinos!
Friday, September 23rd is a student holiday and a professional development day for teachers. Teachers will also us this date to setup parent-teacher conferences. Please look for communication from your child's homeroom teacher regarding setting up a parent-teacher conference.
Looks like the first Rhino Cart was a huge success. Thank you, PTA, for facilitating the Rhino Cart and supporting the campus Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program (PBIS). Students will be able to cash in Rhino Bucks every other Friday.
Katy Outdoor Learning Center 4th Grade Fieldtrip is Monday – Wednesday. Please check with your child’s homeroom teacher regarding which day your student is going on the fieldtrip to make sure he/she has a sack lunch brought to school or purchased a sack lunch from the cafeteria.
Have a Rhino-tastic Week!
Tanya Heard
Principal
Rylander Elementary School
New Information!
World Rhino Day Thursday September 22nd. Wear your favorite rhino gear!
Dear Rhino Families:
On September 19th, RRE will be starting our Character Education Program: PurposeFull People. Our character trait for the next 3 weeks is: RESPECT.
This program teaches skills that will help students be successful in school and in life. PurposeFullPeople is more than a set of lessons - it is a partnership between schools and families to create a place where students feel like they belong and learn skills that will help them be the best they can be! PurposeFull People has three main goals for students: Be Kind, Be Strong, and Be Well.
Each week an activity will be provided here so that you can reinforce each character trait at home. We invite our families to join the fun.
Cristina Figueredo, RRE Counselor
Activity:
Respect is “seeing value in all people and things & treating them with care.”
PurposeFull Pursuits:
As a family. find a time to sit in a circle together and celebrate all the ways you have seen each other
practice Respect. Take turns sharing responses to the following prompts or make up your
own! Remember to practice Respect as you listen to each other.
● What family member(s) do you want to celebrate for their Respect?
● What are some ways that you have been a good friend lately?
Save the Date! Rylander Spirit Night @ Spring Creek BBQ
Repeated Information!
Lunch visitors are welcome to come starting on Tuesday, September 6th. Please keep in mind that Fridays are very busy and each student is allowed to have lunch visitors once a week. Please coordinate with extended family members. The Parent Permission for Elementary Lunch Visitors yellow form was sent home in the first week packet. If you need another form, just stop by the main office. Please make sure that all lunch visitors have a current government issued ID.
To maximize our lunch visitors’ time with students, please encourage all lunch visitors to arrive 5 minutes before the grade level lunch begins to get his/her ID scanned through Raptor. The front office is extremely busy during lunch time. After lunch, all visitors must return to the main entry to exit and are not allowed to walk students to his/her classroom.
Gifted and Talented Screening for 5th Grade Students
Students in fifth grade who are not currently identified for the elementary Challenge program have the opportunity to be screened for the Gifted and Talented Program with service to begin in the fall of sixth grade. Secondary gifted program options are available in English, reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students may be screened in any or all of these content areas. Screening will occur during the months of October through December. Parents will be notified of the placement decision in January.
Deadline to return/submit parent forms is September 21, 2022 at 4:00pm. NO LATE CHECKLISTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Please complete one of the following:
There is a FAQ page on the Katy ISD GT/Advanced Academics website for more information about secondary screening that can be accessed at: https://www.katyisd.org/Page/4410
For all questions regarding screening, please contact Karen Cooper, Karendcooper@katyisd.org
Field Day!
Field Day - 3rd grade - 5th grade - November 15
Field Day - Kinder - 2nd grade - November 16
Community Event
Naomi's Grace was founded in 2019 by Jessica Guderian Mollon, after the tragic loss of her daughter, Naomi. On Memorial Day 2019, as Naomi's parents prepared to go home after a day full of fun with family & friends, Naomi snuck into a hot-tub and drowned. Naomi's family knew that she was destined for more and has since made it the mission of Naomi's Grace to reduce the number of pediatric drownings by increasing water-safety awareness and providing drowning prevention resources to the Greater Houston community.
Naomi's Grace officially began operations post-Covid in December 2020. We partner with local organizations and networks to raise water safety awareness and fund swim lesson scholarships and programs to children ages 0-10 within our area.
On October 15th, Naomi's Grace will be hosting our 2nd Annual Naomi's Race- 5K & Family Fun Run. This event helps us raise the money needed to fund our swim lesson scholarship and expand our programs within the community. We would LOVE for you to support our mission by promoting this event. We are currently looking for sponsors, vendors, and participants. I have included the flyer that provides all information for the event. Additional details on sponsorship and vendor opportunities can be found on our website at www.naomisgracetx.org/naomis-race.
Rylander Elementary is excited to partner with Koger in their Kroger Community Rewards Program. This program is at no cost to you and will provide funds to RRE when your Kroger rewards card is linked to our campus. After enrolling in the program, swipe your rewards card at Kroger when making a purchase and a percentage will go to Rylander.
Please click on the link below to enroll.
Once logged into your Kroger account you can search for Roberta W Rylander Elem. Katy ISD either by name or UL070 and then click Enroll. New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a rewards card.
Thank you for your support. :)
Family STEAM Night 3rd - 5th Grade Students
PE Corner
The RRE PE department would like to share a month’s worth of health & fitness activities to keep everyone in the family busy when there is a little free time. Please see the attachments below for some fun & different family activities for the entire month of September.
Dress Code
Just a reminder that we will follow district dress code policy. We have not had any major issues, but I wanted to be proactive and send out the campus procedure. If a teacher notices a student out of dress code, that student will be sent or walked to the nurse's office. Nurse Maher will double check the dress code and contact parent if a change of clothes is needed. A couple things to keep in mind is crop tops and small shorts for female students. Please see the discipline management plan below if you need more information regarding dress code violations.
Early Pick-up/Emergency Contacts:
Early Pick-up/Emergency Contacts:
Emergency contacts are listed for the campus to use in case we are unable to get in contact with you when there is an emergency with your student. We do not automatically release a student to an emergency contact, we still need to know that you give permission for the emergency contact person to pick-up your student. Please email RRETransporation@katyisd.org when anyone comes to pick-up your student and are not listed as a guardian. You must send us something in writing with a copy of your government issued ID. This is the only way we will know that you as the guardian gives permission for your child to be picked up by someone else. We understand that this may be an inconvenience, however, for safety reasons we do not want to release your child to a person who has not been approved by the parent or guardian. Early pick-up ends at 2:30 pm daily.
Birthday Treats:
Birthday Treats:
As a reminder, to avoid interruption of classes, messages will be delivered to students only in extreme emergencies. Delivery to students of flowers, balloons, food (including birthday treats) and other such items are prohibited at school per Katy ISD policy in the Student Handbook (pg. 48).
Rock-in_Rhinos Twitter Account
Rylander Elementary is now on Twitter - Follow @Rockin_Rhinos
Sign-up for Remind
Please email RRETransportation@katyisd.org to request dismissal transportation changes by 2:00 pm daily.
Walker Permission
There are two types of front/back walkers—independent and parent pick up. Independent front walkers are escorted to the corner of Falcon Landing Blvd. and Westheimer Pkwy. They walk home independently from that corner. All 2nd through 5th grade students default as independent walkers. Younger siblings (in grades PK-1st) of those students can walk home with the independent walker ONLY IF The Walker Permission form is filled out and returned to school. Here is the link for the Walker Permission Form.
PK-1st grade students default as parent pick up front walkers. These students are matched with their parents at the northeast corner of the building by the bike racks. These students can ONLY be released with a physical number tag that matches the number on the student’s dismissal tag. No photos of the tag will be accepted. If the tag is not present, the student will need to be picked up at the front office. Parent must present a government-issued ID.
Bikers are also dismissed with the independent front walkers. They follow the same procedure as independent front walkers. They must walk their bikes on school property.
Helpful Information
Link to District Transportation Page
Link to find out your student’s bus information
School Meals
All breakfast and lunches are no longer free.
Please feel free to complete the free/reduced meal program application.
Link to Nutrition and Food Services Information
In May 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) concluded its free breakfast and lunch meal service that was available to all students, regardless of eligibility. To determine eligibility for free meals for the 2022-2023 school year, families with students who do not attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) campus will need to complete a Meal Benefits/Free & Reduced meals application. More information about free and reduced benefits can be found here. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child Nutrition Programs Income Eligibility Guidelines can be found here.
New to SchoolCafe? Setting up an account is easy!
Fill out a Meal Application, access student purchase history, view school menus, set-up a la carte purchasing restrictions, and MORE! Here is an easy step-by-step GUIDE to help set up an account for your student.
Meal Payment Information:
Payment for meals is encouraged to be cashless through the Pay N' Go App.
Cash and checks for meal payment will be accepted in the lunch line for students and change will be deposited on the student’s account. Students’ positive and negative cafeteria account balances from last year have rolled forward to the current school year.
Pay N' Go Link (see instructions below for accessing application)
Student Required items for purchase online:
Planners - $3.00
(only grades 1st, 2nd, and 3)
Lanyards - $3.00
Badge Sleeve - $1.00
Badge Clip - $1.00
Directions & link to A+ Pay N Go.
Below is the link that will get you to the log in, or create an account. Click on LOGIN.
Directions that will help you navigate the website:
After they log in, on the far right of the screen they will see a box that says Elementary Schools, click on that.
Next screen, bottom right click Elementary R-Z box.
Next screen, top row, right side, under LOGIN, click Rylander Elementary box.
On this screen click on the tab you want to pay.
Please ignore the word replacement on each of the items title . New orders are labeled replacement. It is the way the system is set up.
Elementary School Supplies' List
Below is the Katy ISD Elementary School Supplies' list in case you were not able to pre-order school supplies. All Pre-order sales are closed.