The Serene Scoop

Thank you so much for coming out to our Back to School Bash! The energy, smiles, and sheer joy of seeing our whole Sailor family together in one place was something special. From our littlest learners taking it all in with wide eyes, to our returning students showing off the ropes, to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends who came along for the fun, it warmed our hearts to have all our Sailors together. Events like this remind us that Serene Hills isn't just a school, it's a family.

Over the last few weeks, we explored several core values here at Serene Hills including every person is safe and seen, extend grace, and to never settle. Our final core value is to "Be the Good" in all we do.

This one might be simple in words, but it holds a lot of weight. This means choosing kindness even when no one's watching. It means being the helper instead of the bystander, the encourager instead of the critic, the one who lifts others up rather than tears them down. It's about looking for ways, big or small, to leave things a little better than we found them.

This value protects the culture we've worked so hard to build here at Serene Hills. Our school feels the way it does, warm, welcoming, safe, because of countless small choices to be the good made by students, staff, and families. If we want that feeling to last, it has to be something we actively choose, every day, not just something we inherit.

Second, and maybe more importantly, it ripples outward. The habits our Sailors build here, noticing when someone needs a friend, speaking up for what's right, offering help without being asked, don't just live inside our building. They walk out the door with our students and into our neighborhoods and our world. Raising kids who instinctively choose to be the good is one of the most powerful things we can do, together.

We can't wait to see where this year takes us as a school and as a community that keeps choosing to be the good.

Kara Reeh

Principal

Serene Hills Elementary School

• To ensure safe and smooth dismissals, all student check-outs must be completed by 2:30pm. There will be no student check-outs allowed after 2:30pm.
• Please save the nurse's phone line in your phone so it is not directed to spam. Nurse Taylor can be reached at 512.533.7402.
• Items dropped off for students should be placed on the white shelves in the foyer by grade level and labeled with the necessary information. Deliveries will be made once daily at approximately 10:00am.

Sept. 1st: Campus open for lunch visitors.

Sept. 1st: Author Visit for 3rd-5th Grade during school.

Sept. 1st: All students arriving after 7:40 must be escorted and checked in at the front

desk to ensure the safety of all learners.

Sept. 2nd: SHE Spirit Night All Star Burger hosted by PTO 4:30-6:30

Sept. 7th: Student and Staff Holiday

Sept. 8th: Curriculum Night-See times below!

Sept. 9th: School Pictures

Sept. 9th-18th: Sailor Sprint

Sept. 21st-Student Holiday

Oct. 8th: Lions Club PreK & Kinder Vision Screening

This week's SHE library recommendation: Story Rug by Sophie Blackall; illustrated by Phoebe Wahl

Sophie Blackall's new book, Story Rug, is about students from classroom 203 who begin to bring scraps of cloth from home to braid. Each scrap includes a story from the child’s life. Together, the class makes a "story rug" for their classroom.

7:20am: Doors open for students to arrive

7:35am: 5 minute warning bell rings

7:40am: School starts! Instruction begins!

An adult must walk in with any student who arrives after 7:40 and will enter through the front office to receive a tardy pass.

3:00pm: School ends

3:15pm: Students must be picked up by this time

This year we encourage all students, staff, and parents to join us in showing our pride in our school and our Lake Travis Community.

Mondays will be Serene Spirit Days. Wear your Serene shirts or any combination of red/white/blue to show your school spirit!

Fridays are for our LT Cavalier Pride! Wear your favorite LT gear or red/black to cheer on the best district in the state!

It is our priority to keep students and staff safe and focused on high quality education. Therefore, we respectfully request that all visitors sign-in at the office upon entering through the front doors and wear a visitor’s badge while in the building. The badge verifies that you have checked in the office, presented proper identification and made clear the purpose for your visit. In addition, you must have a pre-scheduled meeting with your child's teacher in order to have a parent-teacher conference.

For the first few weeks of school, we will not have visitors for lunch. This allows students time to adjust to school procedures as well as build relationships with classmates. The cafe will be open for visitor lunch guests on September 1.

Deliveries of forgotten items to students should be limited to emergencies only so that important instructional time is not interrupted. Parents needing to drop off a lunch or other school items to their child(ren) will be able to do so by dropping the labeled item(s) in the drop box located outside the office area.

Labels should include:

NAME:

GRADE:

TEACHER:

Items will be delivered to the students as soon as possible.

Discovery, otherwise known as Gifted and Talented, is the enrichment program provided for students who have been identified as intellectually gifted and talented. All students are eligible to be selected for the Discovery program at each campus. In order to be identified as gifted and talented, each student must undergo a screening and selection process. The Discovery Program is now accepting parent referrals for GT Screening via Google form.

Elementary Form - For Grades 1, 3, 4, 5

• Second Graders will not need a referral. The entire grade level will be screened in October. More information to come.

• Kindergarten students can be referred for GT testing beginning in January 2027. More details will be shared regarding this process at the end of the first semester.

Secondary Form

Transfer students, who were already identified as GT coming from their previous district, should submit the Google form as soon as possible, as the transfer student screening will be set within 30 days of the first day of school. Parents should send proof of their child's selection/participation in the previous GT program directly to the campus GT coordinator. (This applies to families that haven’t already been in touch with the GT coordinator.)

Parents can submit referrals for screening by October 15, 2026. Testing will occur during the 2nd 9 weeks of instruction. If the referral and permission forms are not submitted by the deadline, the next opportunity for the student to be screened will be the following academic year. Spring screening is reserved for students moving in new to the district after the fall testing window is closed and for kindergarten students.

The forms, program information and campus coordinator names can be found on the district Gifted and Talented page.

Once the request is submitted through the Google form, the campus GT coordinator will contact parents via email after October 15th to share pertinent information.

You are also welcome to contact our campus GT coordinator, Carrie Latimer, at any time with questions.

Serene Hills:

Serene Hills Elementary Homepage

Transportation:

LTISD Transportation

Transfinder

SmartTag

Food and Nutrition Services (FANS):

LTISD FANS

My School Bucks

Menus

Lake Travis ISD Mobile App

LTISD Extended Care Program

The Serene Hills Elementary community commits to engaging every student in innovative, collaborative learning focused on growth and to igniting a passion for learning in which everyone is valued.

Website: https://www.ltisdschools.org/SHE
Location: 3301 Serene Hills Drive, Lakeway, TX, United States
Phone: 512-533-7400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenehillspto/
Twitter: @SHEsailors