Pride Preview Vol. 12

Boo, and welcome back to another awesome week!

What an incredible week we had last week, and I was so happy to see us show up and show out at Trunk or Treat. Thank you all for putting in the time and effort to bring our community together. For those of you who participated and had a vehicle, enjoy some time back Monday after school without staff meeting.

As we approach Halloween, I am going to ask you all to enforce a no candy rule on campus this week. There are district and federal guidelines that prohibit us from giving candy out to students, and we want to model healthy habits even during celebrations like Halloween, a holiday not celebrated by all students. I will communicate this in the Compass as well, but please do not allow students to eat candy throughout the school day.

We have a number of updates this week below, but I also want to remind teachers to ensure that students are not in the hallways without a pass. I am seeing way too many students being released from class, and that poses a safety risk but also removes them from their valuable class time with you. Most classes have scheduled restroom times, and students should only be in the restroom when it is an emergency. When doing so, they need to have a pass, and there should be only one student out of class at a time. Buddies are permitted for younger grades.

We are fortunate to have a number of fun activities at school, but at the end of the day, our number one job is to teach and our top priority is instruction

The best part of our job is that it matters. The hardest part of our job is that it matters every day. Keep your expectations of your students high, and your expectations for your role even higher.

Let's have a terrific week! 🎃

🎉 Pride Member of the Week: Mrs. Sumners! 🎉 For your perseverance in bringing back a beloved campus tradition!

• Thank you to our Campus Connector, Mrs. Sumners, for committing to and believing in Trunk-or-Treat. Your leadership helped bring our staff and community together for a fun-filled, staff-run event — one we will continue to enjoy and appreciate for years to come. Your dedication embodies what it means to Roar & Rise at Lipscomb! 🦁💜💛

• SHOUT OUT!!! 👏 👏 👏 screaming from the rooftops THAAAANKKK YOOOOUUUU to every single person who contributed to the Trunk or Treat event!! It was a huge hit and this literally couldn’t have happened with out you all! We had such good feedback from the community and I just know this will be a tradition for years to come! 🦁 💜

I took out some comments left in the Feedback Survey from last week -- so this week's shout outs are from parents who left us some great feedback after meeting with you:

Mr. Ramirez

• “What an amazing teacher. We are lucky to have him!”
• “Very informative, addressed all of our concerns — super helpful.”
• “Ramirez is amazing! We are thrilled to have him again!”

Ms. Jackson

• “Ms. Jackson shows so many great traits of being a leader and helping young children the best she can! She truly guides these kiddos to success!”

• “I really appreciate the constant communication with parents about what’s happening on campus.”
• “They are doing an amazing job! I couldn’t have asked for better teachers for my daughter.”

Ms. Davila & Ms. Flores

• “They shared my daughter’s growth, next steps, and reassured me she was doing great.”
• “They’re truly wonderful, and I know my child is in great hands.”

Mrs. Hernandez

• “Very professional, thorough, and kind. I left with a clear idea of my son’s strengths and areas of improvement. Thankful she is our teacher this year.”

Ms. Gámez

• “Gámez is goals!!!”

Principal Carter & Assistant Principal Yetts

• “Principal Carter and Assistant Principal Yetts form a highly effective team.”

• “We had a great experience! They explained my child’s progress and we never felt rushed.”
• “It was so kind of them to have activities ready for my child during the meeting.”

• “We don’t always know how they act in class — it’s so good to hear those personal details. Thank you!”
• “Insight into my child’s activities in class was very informative. She is a great teacher!”
• “My child is doing extremely well with her new teacher in a new school environment. I’m very pleased with her progress!”

• Shout-out to Ms. Acevedo for seamlessly managing both the library rotation and the Book Fair! Your professionalism and passion for inspiring a love of reading in our students are truly commendable. 📚✨
• Shout-out to Mrs. Sumners for leading an amazing Trunk or Treat event with a phenomenal turnout! Despite the weather, your enthusiasm shined through—our students and families had an incredible time. 🎃🙌
• Shout-out to all teachers and teacher assistants who participated in the Trunk or Treat! Your creativity and teamwork made the event a huge success and brought so much joy to our community. 🍬💫
• Shout-out to our fourth-grade team for your flexibility during the second Academy 4 Friday! Thanks to your collaboration and commitment, our fourth graders continued learning and growing through it all. 👏🦁

We’re proud to celebrate our 2025–2026 campus honorees, chosen by their peers for their dedication, professionalism, and impact on our school community!

• Teacher of the Year – Ms. Gamez
• Teacher of Promise – Ms. Jackson
• Aspire Award – Ms. Smalley

I can't imagine Lipscomb without any of you, and I am honored to have you represent us this year!

• TA's clock in by 7:30am | Teachers clock in by 7:45 am
• 🎯Teachers, please pick up your students by 7:45 am from the auditorium.
• Morning Announcements, 5A.
• Morning Circle Lessons
• 🎯 Week 3: three grades per subject in Powerschool

Monday, Oct 27 (🔴👢 Kick Off in Style! Wear red and your favorite boots.)

• 🆕 3:45 PM | Student Activities Sponsors Huddle (until 4:00pm) (Sports, Coding, Debate, Cheer, etc.)
• Halloween Door Decorating Contest (thru Oct 31).
• 📚 Fall Book Book Fair
• Dia de Los Muertos-Honoring Pets
• National Mentoring Day

Tuesday, Oct 28 (🔴 Peace Out to Drugs! Sport your tie-dye and sunglasses to keep the good vibes going)

• 3:30–5:00 PM | Coding Club 💻
• 3:30–4:30 PM | Basketball Practice 🏀

Wednesday, Oct 29 (🔴 Pink Out Against Drugs & Cancer! Let's paint the school pink in support of staying healthy and strong)

• 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Principal for a Day with Bank of America President Jennifer Chandler
• Breakfast provided by Bank of America.

Thursday, Oct 30 (🔴 Follow Your Dreams! Stay cozy and wear your favorite pajamas as we wrap up Red Ribbon Week.)

• 3:30–4:30 PM | After School Instrument Ensemble
• 3:30 - 4:40 PM | E-Sports Club (4th and 5th) }

Friday, Oct 31 (🔴 Book Character Day! Step into the shoes of y our favorite story by dressing as a character from a book you love.)

• FCE Fall Parent Survey Closes
• Fall Door Decorating Contest
• Finalize grades for Progress Reports.
• PEIMS LPAC Snapshot
• 🍀 Samhain Day

Saturday, Nov 1

• Día de Los Muertos | Celebrating Loss Ones.
• 🎯 Bilingual Stipend | Required Professional Development
• ES Debate Student Workshop
• 🎂 Happy Birthday Ms. Morse!
• National Family Literacy Month
• National Homeless Youth Awareness Month
• National Native American Heritage Month
• 🚌 9:00-1:00 PM | Discover Dallas ISD @ Fair Park Automobile Building

Sunday, Nov 2

Please review the schedule below and ensure your grade level arrives on time to and from Specials. A few grades will see a 5-minute adjustment to protect:

• ✅ 50 minutes of Specials for students
• ✅ 50 minutes of planning for teachers

These times have always been correct on the Master Schedule — the posted schedule was slightly off and has now been updated to match.

Thank you for helping us stay consistent and on time!

As we enter Halloween week, thank you for helping us create a positive and healthy environment for every Lion on campus!

• Not all students celebrate Halloween. We want to ensure every child feels included, comfortable, and respected.

• We are modeling healthy habits. Please help us limit sugary treats that can impact learning.

• No candy brought from home or distributed in class. Teachers should not be providing candy to students during the school day.

Additionally, per Dallas ISD guidelines, campuses are allowed three designated school-wide parties each year:

1. Winter Party (last day before Winter Break)

2. Valentine’s Day

3. End-of-Year Party

While we will absolutely have fun throughout the year, teacher cannot host classroom parties outside of these approved dates.

Thank you for supporting a healthy, inclusive, and learning-focused environment this week and all year long! 🦁💜💛

We are proud to celebrate National Mentoring Day on October 27. A heartfelt thank you to our campus teacher mentors, Mr. Ramirez and Ms. Arredondo, for supporting Ms. Jackson and Ms. Valles in their first year of teaching. Your guidance strengthens our Pride. We also extend a huge thank you to our 50+ Academy 4 volunteers, who just completed their second Academy 4 Friday and continue to inspire our students through mentorship and service. Together we roar.

LEAD and SMU are launching recruitment for the 16th Aspiring Leaders Program, designed for educators pursuing a Master’s in Educational Leadership and future campus leadership roles.

Interested staff can join a brief virtual info session on:

• Oct. 28 | 4:30–5:15 PM

• Nov. 11 | 4:30–5:15 PM

• Jan. 15 | 4:30–5:15 PM

RSVP HERE

November 4 is a Flex Day for staff. Teachers who completed and received credit for the required summer training do not need to report to campus.

All other staff are expected to attend district training or report to Lipscomb for a normal workday. Any teachers who did not receive credit for the summer PD have already been emailed directly with next steps.

Thank you for planning accordingly.

WAIP Memo on Designated Supports:

• The window to capture supports on MyData Portal is October 15 – November 7, 2025.
• The responsibility to capture supports for eligible students requires collaboration among multiple campus stakeholders.
• For dually-identified EB students who receive special education/504 services, the respective committee in conjunction with the LPAC is required to make and document the assessment decisions in EasylEP/EdPlan. These supports will be imported nightly to MyData Portal.

The Dallas Education Foundation has invested over $10 million in Dallas ISD since 2020, directly supporting students, teachers, and campuses. The district has requested each campus to identify a Campaign Champion to help lead this year’s Employee Giving Campaign.

If you are interested in serving in this role for Lipscomb, please let Principal Carter know by Monday, November 10.

In partnership with Dallas ISD, we will be launching Operation: Math Magic to build math fact fluency and celebrate student mastery in grades 1–3.

Grade-Level Focus

• 1st Grade: Addition/Subtraction within 10

• 2nd Grade: Addition/Subtraction within 20

• 3rd Grade: Multiplication/Division up to 10×10

Soon, you will receive practice pages, assessment materials, classroom display templates, and we will be tracking schoolwide progress on a central poster for everyone to see.

Students will earn rewards as they meet proficiency milestones, and those who complete all six stages will receive a Math Magician T-shirt.

• 🎯Engage students in conversations about SMC1 data.

• 🎯Review data to adjust students goals.

• Multiple, varied Checks for Understanding (CFUs) throughout the lesson.

• Teachers adjust instruction in real time based on student responses.

• Students - not the teacher - do the majority of the thinking, talking, and work.

• Students engage in authentic dialogue, accountable talk, or collaboration.

• • Student Goal Setting Resources

• Please review the current MyPath data for your grade level below. As a reminder, our goal is to increase the percentage of students spending 30–49 minutes per subject per week. We are beginning to trend toward students spending too much time in MyPath, which does not always translate to stronger learning outcomes. Let’s help ensure time remains focused, intentional, and balanced with core instruction.

• The second metric we are monitoring is % of Lessons Passed, with our campus goal set at 70–100% year-to-date.

With quarter one behind us and fresh data in hand, now is the time to center students in the conversation. It is critical that we create space for students to reflect on their progress, revisit and refine their goals for the year, and take ownership of the next steps in their learning. These conversations not only help students see their growth, but also strengthen their agency and investment in achieving their goals.

• Student Goal Setting Resources

Video: How to create and manage a student plan in Powerschool Unified Insights

Naming Convention:

Student Initials_Student ID #_ConcernArea_Tier

Ex: TT_123456_Engagement_Tier2 or IC_654321_LanguageSpeech_Tier2

Important:

• All plans must be manually shared with: Ms. Timms, AP Yetts, Principal Carter, and other collaborative teachers (if necessary).

• To ensure students receive designated supports on assessments, they must have a documented intervention plan in Unified Insights.

Resources:

• BOY MTSS Slide Deck

• SST Meeting Prep video

For questions, contact Ms. Timms.

The Educator Collective is hosting one of their signature events, Well U!, as part of their initiatives to support teacher well-being programming. There will be breakout sessions such as meditation, nutrition, mindfulness, and yoga. Programming and meals are included at no cost to teachers!

event flyer with your teachers in the event any of them are interested and available to attend.

Registration is required.

E-Sports will be starting on Thursday, October 30th from 3:40 pm to 4:40 pm. There are only 10 spots available for eligible students grades 4 and 5.

The fall tournament will be held on Saturday, December 13th from 9am - 5pm at Obama Male Leadership Academy. Please contact Ms. Wilson for any questions.

Nov 1 (9:00-1:00 PM) Discover Dallas ISD - Fair Park | Automobile Bdg.

Nov 3 (4:00 PM) – PTA “Because of You” Event @ Garden Café

Nov 4 – Flex Day for Staff who completed Summer 2 Training

Nov 5 (8:30 AM) – Coffee with Principal Carter

Nov 6 – Online Test Security Training Due | 3rd FT to Perot | After School Ensemble

Nov 7 (2:30 PM) – Peace Pantry Distribution

Nov 8 – ES Chess Tournament (North)

• surrounding our campus are, in fact, not suggestions. 🛑
• To keep everyone safe (and citation-free), please stick to the green routes and avoid the red shortcuts shown below. The red paths may seem tempting, but let’s save our daring maneuvers for the hallway transitions, not Worth Street!

• Dallas ISD is participating in the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) cyclical monitoring process for special education. As part of this process, TEA is gathering feedback from staff and families on how special education services and supports are provided.
• The survey is anonymous and takes about 10–15 minutes to complete. Your feedback is valuable and will help strengthen how we serve students receiving special education services.
• Please take time to complete the survey and encourage families of students receiving special education services to participate as well. The survey is available in English and Spanish and will remain open through December 15, 2025.

• Dallas ISD is pleased to announce that all teachers and campus administrators now have access to Gemini Premium, Google’s advanced AI tool designed to support teaching, learning, and productivity.
• Gemini Premium helps streamline lesson design, provide real-time feedback, support differentiated instruction, and free up time for educators to focus on students. This year, a student version of Gemini will also be released to all high school students, expanding opportunities for learning at the secondary level.
• To learn more about Gemini and how it can be used to support instruction and streamline tasks, please watch this short video.
• Video Announcement: https://youtu.be/gpY7jvIMM14?si=TVO1VqXdQ9D6LvrF

• All core content DOI teachers are required to complete a minimum of 12 hours of district-assigned professional development by December 15, 2025.
• Eligible sessions completed in Cornerstone will count automatically, but any PD not listed in Cornerstone will require documentation and an administrator’s signature.

• The Kemper Foundation is accepting applications for its 2025 Read Conmigo Educator Grant, offering $3,000 to support classroom resources or professional learning that promote dual-language (Spanish–English) education.
• Up to 100 grants are awarded annually, with the fall deadline on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 11:59 PM.
• Learn more about eligibility and the application process on The Kemper Foundation website.

• From October 1 through December 12, 2025, teachers and staff can receive important seasonal and preventive vaccinations at various District locations.
• Flyer

NEW CATALOGUE

Action Items for Sponsors:

• 🎯 Student Waivers — All club members must return a signed waiver by the end of this week.

• 🎯 Rosters — Update Student Activities Rosters.

• 🎯 Sponsor Training — 100% of sponsors must complete the 2025 training. A passing score of 80%+ generates a certificate emailed to you. Please provide a copy to Ms. Valadez for recordkeeping in case of audit/campus review.

• Dallas ISD is offering a $500 incentive for EC–6 Core Content and Secondary ELAR teachers who earn ESL certification in 2025–26.
• Eligible teachers must attend a prep session, pass the TExES 154 exam, and add the certification to their license.
• 📎 Details and requirements are in the attached one-pager.

• Maker Space: Nearly $20,000 remains for our new maker space (to be complete by December). If you’d like to join the design team, let Mr. Carter know.
• PTA Wishlist - Don’t forget—you can request up to $500 through the PTA using this form. Before submitting, please check with Mr. Carter to confirm the item isn’t already on campus.