FAlcon FAMILY 

Weekly Newsletter

August 28- September 1

Week 3

Courtney Brandel

Principal

courtney.cullum@kellerisd.net

Mrs. Brandel's Message

Dear Falcon Families, 

It has been such a great full week at FES!  I have had the opportunity to visit so many of our classrooms this week and students are already diving in deeply.  It has been wonderful to move from grade level to grade level and to see the progression of knowledge and skills that they build upon from year to year and can't wait to see the growth of our students from  the first to the last week of school!  

As we round out our first five-day week of the year, our students should all sleep well this week as they have been busy, active, and engaged in learning. I loved seeing our kindergarten and lower elementary students who strutted into the hallway with confidence, wearing their red, white, and blue on Elementary Independence day, as well as the older students who shared their spirit and support! We also had our PTA volunteers who joined us this week for orientation and we are grateful for their time and contribution to ensuring that our teachers have all the materials they need, ready to go!  Thank you, parents! Partnership with you is such an important part of the work that we do, and we are grateful to serve our students with your support and teamwork! Thank you to our Kindergarten and 2nd grade families who joined us for orientation night last night!  We look forward to welcoming the rest of our grade levels next week for orientation (See schedule below).

There are so many exciting things coming up in the month of September as we kick off our PTA fun run, celebrate our Tribal Feeder pattern spirit with KHS Homecoming and we welcome our grandparents!  So, save the dates and keep your eyes on our newsletter for more information as we get closer to each event!  I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone next week for week 3! 

 In Falcon Spirit, 


Courtney Brandel

Highlighting the tradition of excellence at Florence Elementary School!

Kindergarten Recycles!  Working together to clean up and to recycle paper.

Mrs. Hetherington conferencing with her 4th grade students. 

Fun with 2nd grade in theatre with Mrs. Kleine!   

Mrs. Rice guiding our 3rd grade students in place value strategies during math class. 

Celebrating Independence day with red, white, and blue! 

Celebrating Independence day with red, white, and blue! 


Celebrating Independence day with red, white, and blue! 


Celebrating Independence day with red, white, and blue! 


upcoming events:

August  28 -1st Grade Parent Orientation 5:00 PM -5:30 PM (Hybrid Math Parents please plan to stay until 6:00 for the hybrid math orientation to follow.)

August 28 -3rd Grade Parent Orientation 6:00 PM -6:30 PM (Hybrid Math Parents please plan to stay until 7:00 for the hybrid math orientation to follow.)

August 29 -4th Grade Parent Orientation 5:00 PM-5:30 PM

August 29 -4th Grade Hybrid Parent Orientation 5:45 PM-6:15 PM 

August 30 -Fun Run Kick-Off (More information to come)

September- National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 1- College Colors Spirit Day!

September 4- District Holiday- No School

September 5- Keller High School Homecoming Parade 5:15 @ KMS

September 5-8  FES Spirit Week for KHS Homecoming

September 5- Decades Day- Wear your best from a decade past!

September 6- Neon Day- Wear Bright, Neon Colors

September 7- Crazy Hair Day

September 8- Wear your FES Spirit Shirt or your blue and gold!

September 5-22nd- Beginning of the Year MAP Assessment Window (teachers will communicate your child's specific testing date)

September 7- Student Council Information Session for 3rd and 4th grade students 3:30-4:00 in the cafetorium

September 8- Fun Run

September 19- Watch Dog Dad 5:30-6:30 

September 22- PTA Spirit Store

September 28- October 3- Book Fair

September 28- 29- Lunch with Grandparents (More information coming soon!)

October 2- 1st Grade Performance & PTA Meeting

October 4- College Color Spirit Day

October 5- Fall Yearbook Picture Day

October 6- End of the 1st 9 Weeks

October 9-13 Fall Break- No School

New news

👟Fun Run Kickoff and Event🏃

If you have not participated in our Fun Run, you are in for a treat! This is one of the major fundraisers from FES’s PTA. Beginning on August 30th, students will receive pledges for the number of laps they will complete during the fun run event that will be held on September 8th. Boosterthon does an incredible job in making this a fun, family event. T-shirts are provided for our students which will be sent home with them next Friday, September 1st. Parents are encouraged to join us during their child(ren)’s designated time and cheer them on! Families will be required to check in outside at the gates prior to entering the Fun Run area. You will need to provide your driver’s license in order to check-in. Teachers will provide specifics on what time their class will be running. 

⬅️One- Way Exits➡️

During arrival and dismissal times, parents who drop off or pick up in front of the school (3rd-4th grade), please be sure that you only turn left on Harrell so that we are able to continue the flow of traffic on our K-2 side.   

Likewise, parents who drop off on the north side of the school (K-2) please be sure to only turn right when exiting the building. This helps to ensure the flow of traffic is smooth and not congested in front of the school.

🐶 Watch-Dog Dads 

Thank you, to those who have confirmed your interest in being a part of Watch-DOGS! Watch DOGS kick off meeting is September 19th  from 5:30-6:30 in our cafeteria. You are not required to attend to participate in the Watch D.O.GS. program however,  this is when more detailed information will be shared. Once that meeting has occurred, Mrs. Bowen will share the link to the Watch D.O.G.S. calendar to those who have forwarded their volunteer approval email to her (angelina.bowen@kellerisd.net). The first day for Watch DOGS will be October 2nd. (For more information- please see last week's information in the "in case you missed it" section of the newsletter below)

🎨 Co-Curr Corner🎵

The link for our co-curricular class information (Art, Music, PE, Theatre, and Library) has been added to the useful links at the bottom of the newsletter.  You can also access it here- https://sites.google.com/kellerisd.com/co-corner/?usp=sharing  to see information from each of the teachers including the schedule, upcoming events, and other helpful information. \\

First Nine Weeks KISD Math Curriculum Newsletter

The newsletter contains an overview of upcoming material, important concepts, student misconceptions, ideas for supporting your student at home, and DreamBox support. (Click here for the newsletter)

🥵Alternate Recess Schedules

Our teachers and staff are continuing to monitor weather conditions.  This week, we followed an alternate schedule to allow each grade to have their recess time in the morning before it got too warm, however, in some cases, the day warmed up quickly (even as early as 9:30 AM) and indoor recess was followed.  We will continue to monitor and adjust, as needed with the goal of ensuring that all students have outdoor playtime, however, if it is an exceptionally warm morning, we will change to indoor recess. Let's hope for a "cold front" sometime soon! 

We LOVE VolunteerS!

✅Get Cleared to Volunteer! All volunteers must complete a yearly background check. Click the link to apply for a volunteer position through KISD.  

Click here to access the KISD background check application. 


✅Check out our events and let us know how you can get involved! Click here to sign up to help!


✅Check the PTA Website for upcoming volunteer opportunities. 

https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer


Join the PTA and Register Online

Parents please register your family on the PTA website ASAP. This will allow you to have access to the volunteer signups, important school activities, Spirit Wear and the school directory. We would like to see all parents register. 

https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/home


 Please Join PTA, every membership helps our school tremendously! Lets make sure every students in our school as a voice! JOINPTA.org


Spirit shirt orders

🤩Florence Families…Spirit Shirt orders that were made on Meet the Teacher Night will be ready in about 3 weeks. We will notify everyone via your student’s grade level Groupme of how/when shirts will be distributed. ✅Additional orders will be able to be purchased on the PTA Website by the end of the month! Use the link below 

⬇️ Register on PTA Site first in order to purchase spirit shirts⬇️ 


https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/spirit_wear 


Fun Run!

📣Attention Florence Families, this is the first day to register your child (children) on mybooster.com 

✅ Mark your calendars for Sept 8th Florence Obstacle Run! Let’s work together to fundraise for our school in the next couple of weeks. You should be getting information very soon in your child’s take home folder! 📓 

Spirit Week!

September 5-8

Tuesday: Decades Day 

Wednesday: Neon Day

Thursday: Crazy Hair Day

Friday: Spirit Day- Wear your FES Spirit shirt or blue and gold!

Homecoming Parade/ Donations Requested

 KHS Homecoming Parade is September 5th. If you are interested we would love for your child to ride the HOCO float this year!  Kids & parents may wear their Florence T-Shirts. Our theme this year is Magic School Bus!


*We are asking for donations of candy (no chocolate please) and mini footballs to throw out to the parade spectators. We will begin our collection of these items this Friday until the day of the parade. A box will be located in the front office to place your donation. Thank you in advance! Here is the link to the footballs that are needed. ⬇️  


Amazon Footballs 

Upload your photos for the yearbook!

Don’t forget to upload your pictures from meet the teacher and first day of school by the end of this month. The yearbook pages are created 30 days after the event. Upload them now using Treering.  

Spirit store & volunteers needed!

Spirit store will take place during lunch. If you want your child to participate in purchasing spirit gear or fun items, please send small bills only ($1 or $5). 

Mark your calendar for Spirit Store! We will need VOLUNTEERS for the September 22nd FES SPIRIT STORE. Please use this link to signup to help. https://florenceelempta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer 

In Case you Missed it last week

🕒 Arrival and UPDATED Dismissal Times:

Drop-off begins at 7:25 a.m. with class beginning at 7:55 a.m. Students are tardy after the 7:55 a.m. bell.


Thank you, families, for your collaboration and feedback during this first week of dismissal. Now that our students have mastered finding their dismissal location and procedures at the end of the day, we will implement to our regular dismissal schedule. Please note the updated times below for our staggered dismissal:


The following are the times in which our students should be exiting the building:

3:15 Bus/Daycare

3:20 Walkers/Clayton

3:25 Car Riders


🤝 Parent Orientation Meetings

Parents and families, please join us for your child's teacher's orientation session to learn more about your child's classroom and ways in which you can partner with our teachers to support our students! (See the calendar above for specific dates and times by grade).  This is also a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about what to expect this year!  Those parents of students in hybrid math grades 1-4 are asked to remain for 30 minutes after for a separate session where you will meet with your child's hybrid math teacher. If students are attending with parents, we ask that they join you in the classroom, as there will not be child care available. 


🥞 Breakfast

If you want your child to eat breakfast in the morning, please arrive around 7:25 a.m. to allow plenty of opportunity to finish prior to 7:55 a.m.. The breakfast line will close at 7:50 a.m.


🍲Dropping off Lunch

You are welcomed to drop off food/items for your child. Once you check in, the office staff will ensure the food/items are delivered to your child.

*No Food Delivery Services accepted for students (Door Dash, Uber Eats, Restaurant delivery.)


🥘 Join Us for Lunch!

We love having our parents and family members joining our students at lunch time.  For the first couple of weeks, however, we encourage you to wait until the third week, as lunch is a great opportunity for students to get to know their new classmates and friends and especially for our younger students to adjust to the routines and procedures.  When you come to join us for lunch, please keep in mind:


🎂 Birthday Treats 

Birthdays are a big deal and it is so fun to celebrate with our students! If you would like to send a treat to share with the class, we encourage non-edible treats.  If edible treats are sent in, they must be store bought and individually wrapped.  All treats will be given to students at the end of the day to put in their backpacks to eat at home. Birthday invitations may be given to either the entire class, to all the girls, or all the boys in a class if distributed at school.


☀️Alternate Recess

As we monitor the temperature and weather, we may move to an alternate or indoor recess plan, depending on the circumstances.  Under district policy, students will not go outside if temperatures or heat index are at or above 98 degrees Fahrenheit or if the wind-chill or temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  If temperatures are between 32-40 degrees outside activity will be limited to 20 minutes. If Ozone levels reach red of purple, there will be no outside activity. 


🗓️Attendance

If your child is going to be absent for any reason, please contact Leah Dimmitt in the front office 817-744-4700 or by email at leah.dimmitt@kellerisd.net. If we do not hear from you before the absence, we will give you a  courtesy call to let you know that your child is absent. 


🧥 Lost and Found 

We have an area in the cafeteria where we put all of our lost and found items. If your child is missing a shirt, coat, water-bottle, etc. please check our lost and found. Once our lost and found has too many items, we will make a donation. Of course, we will provide parents plenty of notice prior to donating. 


🐶 Watch D.O.G.S. Dads

Dads, uncles, grandparents, etc. join us for a day. They help in their child’s classroom, as well as in other areas. Our counselor, Mrs. Bowen, provides a schedule of activities beginning with helping with arrival and dismissal. We aren’t sure who enjoys the day more - you or your child! When signing up to be a Watch D.O.G.S. Dad, please sign up at LEAST two days before you plan on volunteering. This allows teachers to plan for you and me to have time to make a schedule. Thank you! We would love to have a Watch Dog dad on campus daily!

If you would like to volunteer as a Watch D.O.G.S. Dad, please complete a KISD background check and forward your approval email to Mrs. Bowen (angelina.bowen@kellerisd.net)  when you receive it. At that time, I will share the SignUp.com link with you to sign up. 

Link for Volunteer Background Check - Also available at kellerisd.net - quick links:

Visit  kellerisd.net. >  Select “Get Involved” > Volunteers.

 You will receive an email once your application is approved. Please do not wait until the last minute to complete an application as it may take up to two weeks for approval. 


⭐Student Council

Third and fourth grade students are interested in running for Student Council, please plan on attending the Student Council Information session on Thursday, September 7th from 3:30-4:00 in the cafetorium. If they are unable to attend the meeting, please see Mrs. Bowen, our school counselor, to receive the information. 


🚨 South Parking Lot

In order to help with traffic flow and safety during arrival and to minimize the line of cars in front of the surrounding neighborhood homes, all parents who are entering the south parking lot (in front of the school) should enter the drop off line and go around the loop. If you plan to park in front of the school, please follow the flow of traffic around the loop for the drop off line and park once you are in front of the school. 


🙋Volunteers

Parents are always welcome at FES and we are grateful for our volunteers as an essential part of our school!  If you are interested in volunteering this year, please fill out the Keller ISD Volunteer Application.  


Free/ Reduced Lunch Application for the 23-24 School Year

For information about free/ reduced lunch please visit the KISD website for more information. 


Cafeteria Menu- August 2023

August Cafeteria Menu- FES.pdf

Cafeteria information 

https://kellerisd.sodexomyway.com/


What time is breakfast? Breakfast will begin at 7:25. The line will close at 7:50 for students to be in class at 7:55. 

How do I add money to my child’s cafeteria account? You may place money on your child's lunch account by setting up an account for them on School Cafe. The link is below and you will need your student's ID # to do so. 

Sodexo - Breakfast and Lunch.


Contacts

FES Front Office: 817-744-4700


Allison Stetz- Front Office / Substitutions: allison.stetz@kellerisd.net

Leah Dimmitt- Front Office/ Reception/ Attendance: leah.dimmitt@kellerisd.net

Terra Peters-  Campus Secretary:  terra.peters@kellerisd.net 

Sue Piehler - Nurse: susan.piehler@kellerisd.net 

Kelly Roberts- Librarian: Kellene.roberts@kellerisd.net 

Angelina Bowen - Counselor:  angelina.bowen@kellerisd.net 

Tammy DeLeon - Assistant Principal: tammy.deleon@kellerisd.net 

Courtney Brandel - Principal: courtney.cullum@kellerisd.net

Jessica Fry - PTA President: ptaflorencees@gmail.com 



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