Nov. 18, 2022

Issue #16

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi

We are finally on Thanksgiving Break and it is well deserved! We had a great week of celebrating the season...our students had various Thanksgiving lunch activities all week and ended the week watching our annual Turkey Bowl flag football game. The best part was reading their Gratitude Grams that they wrote to our Texan staff because it showed how much they appreciate their teachers and the adults around them.

Please take time next week to enjoy family and friends and try to show your children what the true meaning of the season is...take them to volunteer at the food bank, donate items to a shelter, write Gratitude Grams to family/friends, complete a list of chores, etc. This will help them appreciate the things around them and not take things for granted.

We also hope everyone stays healthy during family celebrations. Remind your children to wash their hands, cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing. and to not share drinks with others. Again, attendance is important and we need your children here on Nov. 28, ready to learn.

Finally, please continue to have conversations with your children about making the right choices and meeting our campus expectations. Remind them that their education is important and should not be taken for granted; they have to focus and ensure their jobs as students aren't affected by negative choices. Help them work through their problems and find solutions that will help them be successful. We also need them to learn how to be respectful with each other and those around them, including adults on campus. Some students think it's okay to call each other names and tell teachers they don't need to do what they're asking them to do. This is not acceptable at all, and we want them to learn now how to be a better person.

REMINDERS:

1. Students should not be leaving the classroom the first or last 10 minutes of class because we want them to take advantage of every minute possible when they are in class. Their job as students is to learn and be active participants in their learning, not leaving the classroom and losing out on instructional time.
   
2. Texan Time is in effect all day, so remind your children to keep cell phones and ear buds out of sight. Please do not text or call them on their cell phones during the day; instead, feel free to call the front office and leave messages for your children. We will make sure they get them in a timely manner.
3. Students must follow dress code at ALL times. Do not let your children leave the house with inappropriate clothing because you may need to stop what you are doing to bring them a change of clothes.

Feel free to call 210-397-4100 if you need assistance with anything.

Keep checking our Texan Events calendar on our website for important dates; more dates will be added throughout the year. You can also follow us on social media to stay in the loop.

Have a great weekend!

Take Care,

Mrs. Correa

#TexansIgnited

Scoliosis screenings will take place the week of 11/28 for 7th grade girls and 8th grade boys. Nurse Rasti will pop in and out of PE/dance classes. Please contact Nurse Rasti at 210-397-4100 if you have any questions.

Did you know that a student who has more than 18 total absences is at risk of failing? Here is some information to explain -

• the difference between unexcused and excused absences,
• about medical appointment absences,
• why you need to send a note,
• what constitutes a tardy,
• what affects high school credits,
• and more.

Check out the details by clicking the link below:

• Secondary Attendance

It's that time of year again where we love to celebrate the holidays with our students. Please see the information below to see the fun ways your children can participate and earn prizes. : )

11/28 5th grade Elective Fair 5:30 pm

11/30 Virtual 5th gr. Texan Elective Night 5:30 pm

Girls Bball vs. Ross (7th @ Neff/8th @ Ross)

12/1 Boys Bball vs. Ross (7th @ Neff/8th @ Ross)

12/2 Progress Report grades due @ 4 pm

Choir Concert 6:30 pm

1. Your children need to have up-to-date immunizations, so please make sure to turn a copy of those updated records to Nurse Rasti. You can email them to her at jenifer.rasti@nisd.net.

2. Commercial food deliveries (Uber Eats, Door Dash, etc.) to students are not allowed; however, parents/guardians are allowed to drop off food for their own children. You will need to park your car and come to the front office and show your ID to drop it off. Students cannot meet you outside because this is against our safety procedures. Again, we have to do everything we can to keep our students and staff safe.

3. All visitors to campus will need to sign in, show their ID and wear a visitor's pass while on campus.

4. Students will not be allowed in the building until 7:45 a.m., so please do your best not to drop them off before then. Our staff is not on duty until 7:45 a.m., so students who are outside waiting are left unsupervised.

5. The latest you can check out a student early is 3:35 pm. This is a district policy that we need to enforce because the campus starts preparing for dismissal, which means it's difficult to pull a student from class early.

Click here to see what we're serving for breakfast and lunch.

https://schools.mealviewer.com/school/PatNeffMiddleSchool

Please feel free to reach out to your child's counselor if you need to talk to them regarding schedules, resources, guidance groups, etc. They can be reached via phone or email:

Ms. Vela - Last names starting with A-K

priscilla.vela@nisd.net 210-397-4126

Ms. Aguero - Head Counselor - Last names starting with L-Z

adriana.aguero@nisd.net 210-397-4125

Ms. Correa - Principal

yvonne.correa@nisd.net 210-397-4110

Ms. Heim - Academic Dean

theresa.heim@nisd.net 210-397-4122

Mrs. San Roman- Associate Principal - 8th grade administrator

laura-i.sanroman@nisd.net 210-397-4115

Mr. Castellanos - Asst. Principal - 7th grade administrator

joseph.castellanos@nisd.net 210-397-4117

Ms. Campbell - Asst. Principal - 6th grade administrator

mirella.campbell@nisd.net 210-397-4116

Don't forget to reach out to our Family and Community Engagement Liaison, Mr. Villa, if you are needing additional resources/support to help your child be more successful during virtual/in-person learning.

For more information regarding family services please contact:

Bryant Villa

Family and Community Engagement Liaison

bryant.villa@nisd.net

Please support our local PTA by becoming a member. All you have to do is go to JoinPTA.org, select Northside ISD and the Pat Neff Middle. Our board members would appreciate your membership!

Twitter: @NISDPatNeff: #TexansReunited

Instagram: @nisdpatneff

Facebook: Pat Neff Middle School-Northside ISD