JNE'S Friday Newsletter
Friday, January 16th
JNE's Weekly Campus Update
Principal's Message
Dear Longhorn Families,
It has been a full and exciting week at Neill Elementary! We were proud to host our campus Spelling Bee and celebrate the hard work and confidence of our participants. Our 5th graders also had the opportunity to visit their future middle school, helping ease the transition ahead, and our 4th graders enjoyed a memorable field trip experience that brought Texas History to life.
We hope you’ll join us this evening at 16 Handles to support our PTO Spirit Night—we appreciate your continued support of our Longhorn community.
As a reminder, Staff and Students have a holiday on Monday, January 19th in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Upcoming Events
Monday, January 19th- Staff/Student Holiday- Martin Luther King Jr Day
Wednesday, January 21st- JNE PTO General Assembly @ 9:30am
Thursday, January 22nd- 4th Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip Group 1
Friday, January 23rd- 4th Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip Group 2
Friday, January 23rd- 3rd Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip Group 1
Friday, January 23rd- Harvest of the Month
Week of January 26th- Marco's Pizza Spirit Week
Friday, January 30th- 3rd Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip Group 1
Items in our Newsletter Include:
- Campus Flyers
- Lunch Visitors Announcement
- Campus Reminders
- Attendance Information
- FBISD Whole Child Health
- Fort Bend Education Foundation Announcements
- Staff Contact Information
Sincerely,
The JNE Admin Team
🌟 STRONGER TOGETHER LEARNING CHALLENGE 🌟
Students can earn a Golden HERD Buck by completing their learning challenge by January 31!
Grades K–1
📘 Complete 10 DreamBox lessons
Grades 2–5
📘 Complete 10 DreamBox lessons and
🧠 Answer 30 IXL skill questions
✔️ Work may be completed at school or at home
🔑 Students log in through Clever or may ask their teacher for help
💛 Stronger Together — when we practice consistently, we grow as learners!
3rd Grade Service Sentinel Project – CAP Donation Drive
Our 3rd grade Longhorns are gearing up for their Service Sentinel field trip to Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP), and we are excited to support their service project! We will begin collecting donations Tuesday, January 20th through Monday, January 27th. Donation bins will be located in front of the library.
CAP has shared that the following items are most needed at this time. Please send only the items listed below:
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Newspapers (no ads, please)
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Hand soap
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Dog training treats (soft and small)
Thank you for supporting our Longhorns as they serve our community and put compassion into action!
Campus Flyers
NEW: Enter an Absence Request in Skyward
Dear JNE Families.
FBISD has introduced an easier and more convenient way for parents to submit student absence notes! Soon, the district will begin to limit the number of absence emails sent directly to campus attendance inboxes.
Parents and guardians can now submit absence requests directly through Skyward Family Access under their student’s profile.
To submit and upload an absence in Skyward:
- Log in to your student’s Skyward Family Access account.
- Select your student’s profile.
- Click on the Attendance tab.
- Choose Absence Requests.
- Click the green “+ Add Absence Request” button and follow the prompts.
- Upload your doctor’s note or parent note (if applicable).
Once your absence is submitted, the campus attendance team will review and confirm your request.
We hope this new feature makes it easier for families to ensure student attendance records are up-to-date and accurate. Thank you for your continued partnership and support!
Warm regards,
JNE Attendance Team
Long-Range Boundary Planning Survey
Fort Bend ISD now seeking community feedback on proposed boundary plans, including possible campus consolidations/closures, through a feedback survey. Your feedback is critical as we work to balance enrollment across elementary campuses and establish the attendance boundary for the opening of Amy Coleman Middle School.
The survey launched today and will stay open through January 25th at 11:59 pm.
- FBISD Parents, listed in Skyward as Parent 1, received a direct email from FBISD to the email address provided to the district. Please check your junk and/or SPAM folders, also.
- FBISD Staff members received a direct email from FBISD to their work emails.
- All other Community members, including additional parents/guardians of FBISD students, can use the General Survey Link option posted on the district’s website at www.fortbendisd.com/attendanceboundaries
The survey will only take a few minutes to complete. Please take a moment to share your feedback.
Your voice is an important part of this work, and your input will help guide decisions that support students, families, and the community during this upcoming time of change.
Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together to build a strong and sustainable future for Fort Bend ISD.
Premier Opportunity: Service Sentinels
We are excited to offer Service Sentinels, part of the Fort Bend ISD Premier Opportunities, right here at James C. Neill Elementary! This is more than a service project—it’s a chance for our students to become true agents of change in our community.
Service Sentinels encourages students to propose community service projects that meet real needs in our community. It’s an opportunity for them to learn collaboration, compassion, and humility while putting their ideas into action.
Examples include:
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Tours or partnerships with local agencies (police department, conservation sites)
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Environmental or community clean-up projects
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Service-focused initiatives tied to student interest and local needs
Why It Matters
Service Sentinels isn’t just about “doing good”—it’s about growing as citizens, learning to see needs around us and taking initiative to make a difference. It gives students authentic roles and voice, and helps them develop leadership skills in a real-world context.
It also aligns with the district’s vision to infuse deeper experiential learning into our curriculum. It’s also a great way to fuse service with learning and deepen our culture of care at Neill.
We can’t wait to see our Longhorns shine as Service Sentinels!
January GT Parent Newsletter
Multilingual Programs Newsletter- Winter Edition
Student Activity Calendar
Celebrating our January Staff Birthdays! 🎂
This month, we’re celebrating the Longhorn teachers who are marking another trip around the sun in January! We’re so grateful for the passion, care, and dedication they bring to our students each day. Join us in wishing them a happy birthday when you see them around campus!
JNE PTO Flyers
Lunch Visitor Sign Up
Lunch Visitors
Neill Elementary School will be inviting parents or guardians to join their children for lunch. Only one guest per student will be allowed into the cafeteria. We strongly encourage parents to sign up only one time per week if space allows.
Due to space constraints with large grade level enrollment, as well as to ensure the safety and security of all students, staff and visitors, we will ask that lunch guest sign up to join us ahead of time. Each week in our Friday Newsletter, we will post the link to a sign up genius for the upcoming week.
Please remember to bring a photo id with you to campus as this is required to be signed in to campus as a visitor.
We thank you for supporting us as our current practice is set in the interest of safety and fairness to everyone who would like to enjoy lunch with their child.
Lunch Times for the 2025-2026 School Year:
Kindergarten- 10:00am-10:30am
First Grade- 10:45am-11:15am
Second Grade- 11:20am-11:50am
Third Grade- 12:00pm-12:30pm
Fourth Grade- 1:15pm-1:45pm
Fifth Grade- 12:35pm-1:05pm
Dietary Restrictions through the Child Nutrition Department
The Child Nutrition Department can offer dietary accommodations for students at no extra cost for students or families when it is medically necessary. The request forms must be signed by a physician or recognized medical authority and submitted to the Child Nutrition Department by:
Fax: 281-634-1862 attn: Dietitian
OR by email: DLCNDSpecialDiet@fortbendisd.com
A new Request for Dietary Accommodations form does not need to be submitted each school year unless there are any changes.
JNE Reminders for First Time Lunch Guests
- Lunchtime guests will be signed in to visit in the cafeteria only.
- Please be on time for lunch so that you and your student are able to enjoy the full lunch time together. Thank you for exiting the building through the front doors at the end of lunch.
- Guests can only join a student for lunch if they are an approved emergency contact in Skyward Family Access.
- Guest must have a photo ID to be allowed onto campus.
- Visitors may only bring food for their child.
- Families who need an allergy-free seat during lunch may leave a note in the comment section of the sign-up genius.
- Please exit the cafeteria at our 5-minute remaining mark to help us prepare for our next lunch and to allow students time to rejoin their class and prepare to return to their classroom.
- We will not be able to host lunch visitors during state testing or special events on campus.
District Diversity Calendar & Days of Fasting
Fort Bend ISD is happy to serve a community with families from all around the world. We are proud to be culturally diverse and celebrate our unique traits as a community of compassionate citizens.
We recognize that fasting practices occur throughout the calendar year. As a school community we are sensitive to and accommodate students and staff observers who express they are fasting.
If your family would like the campus to be aware of your student's wish to fast, please send an email to your child's classroom teacher so that we can be aware of any needs that may occur during an observance. Our partnership with our school community is important to us and we thank our families for their communication with the campus regarding special occasions and observances that may impact the instructional day.
Campus Reminders
Attendance Information
Neill Elementary School recognizes the value and importance of school attendance and encourages regular attendance to help our students be successful through the school year. Please email the attendance office within five days of the student’s recorded absence explaining the reason for the absence or the absence will be marked as unexcused. You may send an email to attendancejne@fortbendisd.gov.
Become an UPLIFT Mentor for the 2025—26 School Year
Fort Bend ISD is looking for mentors for the 2025—26 school year!
If you are a member of our community or part of the FBISD staff and are interested in making a meaningful impact in a student’s life, we invite you to fill out the UPLIFT Mentor Interest Form.
What to expect:
- Meet with your mentee once a week for 30-45 minutes
- Read books and provide support at elementary level
- Provide support at secondary level
Questions? collaborativecommunities@fortbendisd.gov
Clinic Reminders
Clinic Reminders
Clothing reminders:
- We kindly ask that all families place a change of clothes for ALL students, as well as extra shoes for little ones– soiled, torn, accidents, spills etc. happen to everyone.
- Please consider to donating gently used black girls stretch pants in various sizes especially larger;
- Please consider to donating some gently used ELASTIC waist boy gym shorts and sweat pants (now that it is winter) in larger sizes
Health Reminders:
- If your child is ill – keep them home.
- Parents please medicate or treat for allergy symptoms at home.
Contact Reminders:
- Please make sure the clinic has the most up-to-date contact information for parents, guardians and emergency contacts.
- Please add the clinic phone number to your contact list so urgent phone calls do not come up as SPAM – 281-327-3768.
Birthday Treats
Birthday Treats
Students will be allowed to celebrate their birthday at the end of the day, by bringing individually packaged store-bought food products, provided by the parent or grandparent. Treats may be distributed to classmates on or near (i.e. bring treats on Monday when the birthdate was on a weekend) the student’s birthdate.
Prior to sending any treats, we ask that you contact your child’s teacher to discuss the date you will send treats. The nutritional label must be attached to your store-bought item. A parent or guardian must bring them into the building and fill out the proper form which is submitted to FBISD’s Child Nutrition office.
Parents or grandparents of a student at Neill may provide one birthday treat per child to share with the student’s homeroom class only. This may be in the form of ONE individually wrapped edible or ONE small tangible item (such as a pencil) with the value of the individual item not to exceed $5.00.
We require single serving items, which must be pre-packaged and individually wrapped, such as mini- cupcakes, cookies, brownies, or Krispy treats.
We respectfully request no cakes, drinks, balloons, flowers, donuts, stuffed animals, or goody bags. To preserve instructional time, additional party favors ARE NOT permitted. Birthday treat time is not a “party” but a simple, quick recognition of the child’s special day.
Please keep in mind that we have several students with food allergies. For this reason, products containing peanuts or manufactured on equipment that processes peanuts are prohibited. No nuts please, due to allergies.
Neill Elementary Parking Lot is a Hands- Free Zone as per Texas Transportation Code 545.425
FBISD Whole Child Health
Staff Contact Information
Principal: Margaret Murphy
Margaret.Murphy@fortbendisd.gov
Assistant Principal: Felicia Holmes (Grades K, 1st, 4th)
Felicia.Holmes@fortbendisd.gov
Assistant Principal: Natacha Isaac-Bonaventure (Grades 2, 3, 5)
Executive Assistant: Vickie Zellers
Victoria.Zellers@fortbendisd.gov
Registrar: Jamie Fish
Front Office Receptionist: Michelle Munoz
Michelle.Munoz@fortbendisd.gov
Counselor: Janelle Moses (Grades K, 3, 4)
Counselor: Jordan Massey (Grades 1, 2, 5)
Campus Compliance Coordinator (Special Education, 504, STAAR): Bobbi Threatt
Roberta.Threatt@fortbendisd.gov
Nurse: Vesna Scarborough
James C. Neill Elementary School
Email: margaret.murphy@fortbendisd.gov
Website: https://www.fortbendisd.com/jne
Location: 3830 Harvest Corner Drive, Richmond, TX, USA
Phone: 281-327-3760
Twitter: @JNE_Longhorns

