The Rhino Report

What an exciting week of book fair, grandparents, appreciating Hispanic Heritage month, and celebrating our teacher grant winners!

Parents, we need your help, pretty please!! Our doors open at 7:30 AM, and the tardy bell rings promptly at 7:50 AM each day. Please help students get here as close to 7:30 AM as possible so that they have plenty of time to unpack, get settled, and be ready for announcements and instruction that begin at 7:50 AM. Thank you for helping our Rhinos have a GREAT start to each day. We appreciate your support and hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 🩷

Serving in Love,

Jia Paek

Your Grateful RHINO Principal 🦏

Week of September 28th at Rylander:

MONDAY (9/28)

• Robotics After School

TUESDAY (9/29)

• Tuesday Morning Choir
• First 26-27 Campus Advisory Team Meeting at 3:30 in the Library
• Soccer Stars After School

WEDNESDAY (9/30)

• Hula Hoop Team Practice

THURSDAY (10/1)

• Bluebonnet Author Julio Anta Visits
• Willow Fork Fire Station Visits Pre-K
• October Awareness:
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Dyslexia Awareness Month
• Fentanyl Poising Awareness Month
• National Bullying Prevention Month
• National Crime Prevention Month
• National Pedestrians Month
• National Principal Month
• Persons with Disabilities History and Awareness Month

FRIDAY (10/2)

• School Custodian Appreciation Day 🎉
• Spirit Sticks Sold During Lunches
• Student Council Elections

Coming Up Next:

10/5 Read Deed Run Afterschool Begins

10/9-10/13 Fall Break Staff and Student Holiday

• 🚗 Stay in your vehicle while in the car rider line.
• 📵 Stay phone-free while in the car rider line to help keep everyone safe.
• ➡️ Keep traffic flowing by pulling forward when directed.

• 🦏 Follow staff directions to help keep our Rhinos safe.
• 💚 Show patience and kindness to fellow Rhino families.
• 😊 Give grace! We all have the same goal: a safe arrival and dismissal for our Rhinos!

Katy ISD’s Partners in Education invites you to support families who could use a little extra help during the winter break through our Food for Families campaign. Campuses identify students in need, and with support from the community, Partners in Education will provide grocery gift cards and a heartfelt note.

Each gift is delivered by a campus staff member, reminding students that their Katy ISD family cares.

Help us turn a gift card into something more: Donate to Katy ISD Food for Families by Thursday, December 10 through Katy ISD Pay N’ Go or by check payable to Katy ISD Food for Families and mailed to:

Partners in Education

Katy ISD ESC

6301 S. Stadium Lane

Katy, TX 77494

Read, Deed, Run is an all-encompassing program for the WHOLE child. Students in grades 3, 4, & 5 commit to a 26-week program in which they will read 26 books (or 2600 pages), perform 26 good deeds in the community, and run a total of 26.2 miles. Meetings are held after school approximately every other Monday, from 3:00 – 4:00. During this time, students will run a mile and complete a good deed towards the program requirements. Students run their final 1.2 miles in a “race” to earn their Finisher’s t-shirt and medal at Legacy Stadium with more than 18 other schools. This program requires commitment from the student and their family.

Please click the link to fill out an application. Students accepted into the program will be contacted at the end of September and given further information. Program fees are $40. After school meetings begin October 5th and end April 19th followed by the final race at Legacy Stadium on April 24th.

Applications are due by September 24th, 2026.

Every parent should have received this QR code at Meet the Teacher or on the first day of school. If you did not, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher for a copy. The QR code is also provided below or you can use the following link: https://tinyurl.com/RRE1stdaypacket26-27

Nominate an Outstanding Educator for the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards!

The H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards honor outstanding public school professionals who go above and beyond for their students and communities every day. Since 2002, H-E-B has awarded more than $14 million to teachers, counselors, principals, school boards, districts, and early childhood education centers across Texas. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize the incredible educators who inspire, lead, and make a lasting difference. Use the link below for your nomination. Let’s celebrate and spotlight the amazing educators who make Rylander Elementary School and Katy ISD so special!

Parents, we need YOUR help to help our rhinos arrive on time for school. Teachers and other staff members arrive at their duty station and classrooms to receive students at 7:30 am. Please ensure that your child arrives at school between 7:30-7:50 am. The tardy bell rings at 7:50 am. This means that students must be inside the school building by the 7:50 am tardy bell to be considered at school on time. We highly encourage that our students be brought to school as close to the 7:30 am time when our doors open to allow them more time to get unpacked and settled into their classrooms to be ready to begin their day of learning and instruction. School announcements begin promptly at 7:50 am.

For all students that arrive later than the designated 7:50 am tardy cut-off time, they will be directed to the front office for a late arrival check-in. Parents must bring a current physical government issued ID (ex. Driver’s License and/or passport) and escort their child(ren) into the school building to be checked-in tardy at the front office. Students are not allowed to walk in without an adult after 7:50 am as safety is our number one priority. Parents may be called if this policy is violated.

Thank you so much for your understanding and support in helping all of our Rhinos have a great start to each day! ❤️

In accordance with Texas Education Code 28.004 and Senate Bill 9, 5th grade students will receive instruction on the required health TEKS specific to abuse prevention and violence prevention.

Under Texas statute, parents/guardians must provide consent for their student to participate in the lessons that address the topics of abuse prevention and violence prevention.

On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, parents/guardians will receive information via email on how to view associated lessons and record their decision for student participation in these lessons.

Below are the windows for both the parent consent and when lessons will be taught:

Parent Consent Window: September 1, 2026 – September 30, 2026

Instruction Window: November 3, 2026 – December 17, 2026

PurposeFull People

PurposeFULL People is the character education program that Katy ISD has adopted for elementary students. The curriculum focuses on fostering the whole child through social-emotional learning and character development. Each month, the program highlights a certain character trait and provides social-emotional lessons and activities that correspond with that trait. During the month of September, our Rhinos will be learning all about Respect. One way to define Respect is “taking action and understanding the impact of our choices.” Taking action can mean doing the right thing or completing the tasks you have been assigned. Understanding the impact of our choices means that our actions matter. Positive and responsible actions can help people and irresponsible actions can hurt others. Take some time this month to talk with your children about Responsibility and what that may like at home and/or school.

Love ang Logic Parenting Classes

Love and Logic parenting classes will be offered during the Fall semester of 2026. Katy ISD families from any campus may register to attend.

Families who wish to participate in Love and Logic courses may pay $10 for the cost of the Love and Logic workbook through the Pay 'N Go system.

Please reach out to the campus Love and Logic facilitator to sign up and arrange to pick up materials.

Abuse and Violent Prevention Lesson (5th Grade Students)

In accordance with Texas Education Code 28.004 and Senate Bill 9, 5th grade students will receive instruction on the required health TEKS specific to abuse prevention and violence prevention. Under Texas statute, parents/guardians must provide consent for their student to participate in the lessons that address the topics of abuse prevention and violence prevention. On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, parents/guardians will receive information via email on how to view associated lessons and record their decision for student participation in these lessons. Below are the windows for both the parent consent and when lessons will be taught:

Parent Consent Window: September 1, 2026 – September 30, 2026

Instruction Window: November 3, 2026 – December 17, 2026

If you have any questions please contact, Cristina Figueredo, School Counselor, at CristinaFigueredo@katyisd.org.

Volunteer Registration Katy ISD is grateful for the thousands of volunteers who make a difference in our schools each year. To help maintain a safe and secure environment for our students and staff, all volunteers serving on or off campus during or outside the instructional day are required to register annually through the district's Raptor volunteer management system.

A valid government-issued photo ID and email address are required to complete registration. Your information will remain confidential and will not be shared outside of the volunteer program, except for applicants who register as a Community Volunteer (not a parent, grandparent, or guardian of a current Katy ISD student) or as a KEYS Mentor. For these volunteer roles, the information required to complete a background check will be shared only with our authorized background screening provider, JDP. Once registered and approved, volunteers can:

• Sign up as a campus volunteer by completing the volunteer recruitment form provided by their campus organization(s) or by contacting the campus volunteer coordinator.

• Track volunteer hours through their volunteer profile for every Katy ISD campus where they serve.

• Quickly and easily submit individual off-campus volunteer hours.

Volunteer Application - English

Volunteer Application - Spanish

Volunteer Portal - Log Your Hours

Beginning with the 2026–2027 school year, the Front Office will be closed daily from 2:50–3:20 PM for all office business and visitor assistance.

During this time, our entire team’s priority and focus will be ensuring that all students are dismissed safely, efficiently, and to the correct dismissal locations. Limiting Front Office activity during this important part of our school day will allow our staff to remain fully focused on the safety and supervision of our students. Once dismissal has concluded, the Front Office will reopen for visitor assistance until 3:45 PM.

We appreciate your understanding, cooperation, and support as we implement this new campus procedure. Thank you for partnering with us to help ensure a safe and smooth dismissal each day for all of our Rhinos!

How do I pay for the insurance?

• Select insurance during the annual enrollment update. You will get an email with a link to pay for the insurance ($20).
• If you do not see the email, it will be under STUDENT FEES in Pay N’ Go

If you did not select insurance during Enrollment or PowerSchool Annual Update, you can send an email to changemyrequest@katyisd.org and provide the following information: Student’s Name, Student’s ID, Student’s Campus

Meal Prices

As the 2026 – 2027 school year approaches, we'd like to remind you of an upcoming change to school meal prices.

In response to federal regulations and economic impacts, breakfast and lunch prices will increase beginning this school year. While these adjustments are necessary to help us continue providing high-quality, nutritious meals for our students, we understand that any increase can affect a family's budget. That's why we've worked hard to keep meal prices as affordable as possible. In fact, this is the District’s first meal price increase in more than 10 years.

Beginning with the 2026 – 2027 school year:

• Breakfast at all campuses will increase from $1.25 to $1.50.
• Elementary lunch will increase from $2.25 to $2.75.
• Junior high and high school lunch will increase from $2.75 to $3.25.

Please note that these changes do not affect Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) campuses. Students at participating CEP campuses will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch throughout the school year.

To help ensure student safety, Katy ISD actively monitors online activity whenever students are logged into district accounts. This includes both district-issued Chromebooks and personal devices.

As part of ongoing efforts to enhance student safety and digital wellness, the district recently transitioned its online activity filter from Content Keeper to GoGuardian Beacon. GoGuardian Beacon provides improved tools to help schools identify and respond to concerning online behavior while promoting responsible digital citizenship.

Families can learn more about GoGuardian Beacon and its student safety features by visiting www.goguardian.com/beacon.

Do you shop at Kroger? If yes, you could be earning money for Rylander Elementary at no extra cost to you. The Kroger Community Rewards program gives nonprofit organizations in the community a percentage of the sales everytime you shop at Kroger. Reward members that have RRE linked to their card raise funds for Rylander Elementary. Below is how to link your card if you are interested.

Thank you for your support.

1. Go to krogercommunityrewards.com

   
   

2. If you don't have an account, click Create an account

   
   

3. If you already have an account, click Sign in

   
   

4. Enter your zip code, email address, and create a password

   
   

5. Click My Account and use your email address and password to continue

   
   

6. Add your card number or create a virtual card number

   
   

7. Select Community Rewards

   
   

8. Select Enroll Now or Edit

   
   

9. Enter the name or NPO number of the organization you want to support 9. Enter the name (Roberta W Rylander Elementary) or NPO number (UL070) of the organization you want to support.

Here is a fun way to celebrate your child’s birthday by donating a book to the Rylander library! Your child will select a book from our shelf of new books that he/she wishes to donate to the library. A book plate will then be put into the front of the book with the child’s name and birthday on it. Students will also present his or her book on the daily school announcements.

CLICK HERE to view Cafeteria Online Payment Instructions for Breakfast & Lunch.

Latest Info from the PTA