The Weekly Splash

Dolphin Families,

Thank you to all of our Dolphin families who came out last Thursday for STEM Night! It was wonderful to see so many families spending time together exploring, creating, and learning through hands-on STEM activities. I loved seeing our students excited to share their learning with their families!

A big thank you to our teachers, staff and PTA for all of the time and effort they put into making this night a success!

Sincerely,

April D. Kenely

Principal

As part of the Long Range Plan: Imagine 2030 we will be administering the parent and student surveys twice this year so we can monitor our progress on our goals.

Parent Survey

The first parent survey for the 2026-27 school year will be sent out on October 22nd. The window will run from October 22nd to Nov 5th. The survey will contain the 7 questions below. The spring survey will contain these questions and some additional ones.

Parents/ Guardians will receive an email with a link specific to them on the 22nd. I highly encourage you to participate so that we can receive valuable feedback.

• Do students have to come in special clothing/costumes? No! We know students are coming from or are headed to other activities. If you want to wear your autumn/harvest/Thanksgiving shirt, awesome! If you need to be dressed for your soccer game immediately after, that’s fine!

• How long is the performance? 30 mins max

• Performing 4th graders should be here at 5:45, performance starts at 6:00

• PTA General Meeting is first at 5:30

Our third graders put on their surgical thinking caps and became Text Feature Surgeons! During this engaging, hands-on activity, students identified and labeled nine different text and graphic features while exploring how each one helps readers better understand informational texts. Students followed surgical procedures, worked independently, and explained how specific text features support reading comprehension. What a fun way to bring literacy to life! Way to go, third-grade surgeons!

As we work together to keep our Dolphins healthy and ready to learn, Nurse Hopper wants to remind families of the guidelines for when students should stay home or be sent home due to illness.

Students must be fever-free (below 100°F), and free from vomiting and diarrhea for 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school. Other symptoms, such as uncontrolled coughing, unexplained rashes, or feeling too ill to participate in classroom activities, may also require students to stay home.

Please review the attached document below for the complete list of symptoms and guidelines. Thank you for helping us keep our Pod healthy!

We would like to kindly remind all families of the importance of ensuring students arrive at school on time each day. Arriving on time helps students start their day prepared for learning, participate in morning instruction, and develop positive habits that support academic success. When students arrive late, they may miss important announcements, classroom activities, and instructional time. Please plan ahead to allow enough time for morning routines and transportation to our doors open at 07:15am and close at 07:40am.

*****ALSO, very IMPORTANT if you have a pre-planned absence, please ensure that you fill out the absence form that needs to be pre-approved by the principal (please see attached or follow the link below) A WEEK IN ADVANCED.

Please be aware that our district allows up to 10 parents excuse absences which are divided into 5 parent notes and 5 pre-planned absences.

Absence Limits & Notes

• Parent Notes: Up to 5 parent-note absences allowed per school year for any reason.

• Healthcare Notes: Absences verified by a provider's note and submitted within 3 school days are excused and do not count toward parent-note or pre-planned limits.
• Partial Days: If a student attends part of the day but misses time for a medical appointment, proper notes prevent it from counting as an official absence.

  
  

Pre-Planned Absences

• Students may have up to 5 pre-planned absences for family trips or outside activities.

• Submit request at least 1 week before the first absence date.

• Complete and attach the Pre-Planned Absence Form in Family Access.

• Requests submitted >30 days in advance remain pending until inside the 30-day review window.

  
  

Parents and guardians should submit all absence and pre-planned requests through Skyward Qmlativ Family Access (Skyward Qmlativ Family Access)o:

• Submit absence requests directly to your child's attendance record.

• Upload supporting documentation (parent notes, medical notes and pre-planned form)

• Track the status of pending and processed requests.
• Update existing requests with additional documentation at any time.

Attendance for Credit & Texas Law Requirements

90% Rule for Credit: Under Texas law, students must attend class at least 90% of the timeoffered. Falling below this threshold—regardless of reason—results in loss of course credit. To restore credit, a plan must be set by the campus principal or Attendance Committee.

Truancy Warning: More than 3 unexcused absences in a 4-week period or 10 in a 6-month period (including late arrivals and early pick-ups) may result in court referral or legal charges filed against parents. For details on legally excused events (religious holidays, driver's license, college visits), consult the LISD Student Handbook.

Have Questions?

If you need help reporting an absence, contact your child's school clerk Attendance Clerk.

We love to have spectators at our annual Dolphin Dash to cheer on our runners! Please see the signup below to spectate during your student's race time. Deadline to sign up to bypass going into the office is Thursday 10/29. Thanks!

Would you like to be a guest speaker for our Career Day in November? Please click HERE for more information and to sign up to present. Times for each grade level are listed on the linked form. If you have not completed your Voly, please do so ASAP as it is required to be a participant in Career Day. Any questions- feel free to reach out!

Is there a teacher, staff member, principal, or assistant principal who has made a difference for your child or family? Take a moment to Recognize SomeONE and let them know their hard work is seen and appreciated!

As my mama would say, “Give people their flowers while they can still smell them.” 💙 A few kind words can mean more than you know—and it only takes a minute to make someone’s day!

The name that is entered in Voly must match the full legal name that is on your government id (driver’s license and/or passport.) If the information entered is incorrect, you will not be able to volunteer until it is corrected. This is a policy to help insure the safety and security of our students.

If you are wanting to attend your child's field trips, help with events, or volunteer on campus you MUST have a VOLY background check complete. It is a very easy process and nice to get out of the way early before it's too late!

Lewisville ISD's VOLY site is open and ready to accept volunteers for the 2025-2026 school year. All volunteers on LISD campuses must have an approved background check on file. LISD uses LewisvilleISD.voly.org to post volunteer opportunities and to process background checks. Please go to the site and either create an account or update your account from a previous year. VOLY also has an app! You can find it in the app store for either Apple or Android products. Be sure to select that you want to work with Lewisville ISD. We look forward to having you on campus as a volunteer soon!

It's that time of year again for Destination Imagination. This is a competition where student teams solve open ended hands on STEAM challenges. Principals, please share the flyer HERE with your families regarding Destination Imagination for the 2026-2027 school year. In addition, they can visit this site HERE for more information. Deadline to form a team in LISD is October 31st.

All students will have 30 minutes for lunch and 30 minutes for recess each day. Additionally, they have have 50 minutes per day to participate in Specials: Art, Music, PE, or Computer Science (library is part of the 5th grade Specials rotation). Your teacher will be sharing the specials rotation schedule with you soon. Please ensure your student wears tennis shoes on PE days for their safety. They will NOT be able to participate in PE if they do not wear tennis shoes!

If you need to schedule a doctor's appointment during the school day, we recommend doing so during lunch, recess, or specials to minimize disruptions to their classroom academic time.

Website: https://donald.lisd.net/
Location: 2400 Forest Vista Dr. Flower Mound, TX 75028

Phone: 469) 713-5198

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donaldelementary

Twitter: @Donald_ES

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donald_elementary/