Ride Connection

Sally K. Ride Elementary
4920 W. Panther Creek
The Woodlands, TX 77381
Email: donotreply@conroeisd.net
Website: ride.conroeisd.net
Principal's Message
Dear Challenger Families,
It was such a joy to see so many of you at Parent Information Night this week! Our teachers worked hard to share all the wonderful things happening in their classrooms, and they truly loved the opportunity to connect with you. If you weren’t able to attend, please don’t worry—just reach out to your child’s teacher for a copy of the presentation.
We’re all looking forward to the upcoming three-day weekend! Please remember that Monday, September 1st is a student holiday in observance of Labor Day.
This week, our students have been busy with MAP testing in reading, math, and fluency. MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) is an adaptive assessment that helps us see exactly where each child is on their learning journey. The results give teachers valuable information to personalize instruction, set goals with students, and measure growth over time. Once testing is complete, teachers will share results with you so that together we can celebrate progress and support areas of need.
We are so proud of our RIDE Challengers! The Texas Education Agency (TEA) Accountability Ratings have been released, and RIDE has received an A rating for the second year in a row. In addition, our campus earned 5 Academic Distinctions. Distinctions are awarded only to schools that perform in the top 25% of campuses across the entire state in areas such as academic achievement, progress, and closing learning gaps. Earning multiple distinctions is very difficult to achieve and is a clear reflection of the incredible work of our students, staff, and families.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We are so grateful for all you do to make Ride such a special place for our students and staff.
So Proud of Our Challengers!
Laura Collins
Proud Principal of Ride Elementary
Important Dates
September
1 Holiday - Labor Day
7 National Grandparents' Day
8 Int'l Literacy Day
9 Ride Grandparents' Day Lunch - PK/ ECSE, KG, 2nd
10 Ride Grandparents' Day Lunch - 1st, 3rd, 4th
10 First Day of Choir
10 First Day of Chess 3:10 - 4:30 pm
11 Patriot Day / Texas First Responders Day
15 Hispanic Heritage Month Begins
15 Fall Individual Pictures
16 CISD Board Mtg 6:00pm
17 Read for a Better Life - CPHS Readers visit Ride
29 Fall Fundraiser Pep Rally & Kick off- Challenger Day!
30 Watch Dog Kick Off Pizza Party
Picture Day is coming on Monday, September 15!
You can place your order on mylifetouch.com using your Picture Day ID: EVTWVMN46. Order before midnight on Picture Day to get FREE shipping!
Your child can also bring their completed flyer with cash or check on Picture Day. Orders after Picture Day must be placed online only on mylifetouch.com.
In the Know
Please check out the links below for important campus information.
Conroe ISD Instructional Plans and Materials Webpage
Calling All 4th Grade Parents
Peek at the Week
PTO Membership
Today, Friday August 29th, is the last day to purchase a PTO membership for our membership drive! Any PTO memberships purchased by today count toward your child’s classroom earning a frozen treat party from the Carousel’s Icery truck!! The classroom with the highest percent of memberships purchased wins the party. The winner will be announced next week. Visit: https://ridepto.membershiptoolkit.com/store to purchase your Household Membership today for only $20.00! And remember, there is no commitment to volunteer or come to meetings required to join if you don’t have the time. Think of your membership purchase as a small donation to help the school!
Transportation Changes
All transportation changes must be received by 2:00 p.m. Please send all changes of transportation to ridetransportation@conroeisd.net. The e-mail must include the date, your child’s full name, homeroom teacher, bus number (if applicable), and the guardian's full name. All emails must be received before 2:00 p.m. If you submit a transportation change by email, it must go to the email address referenced above; transportation changes should not be emailed directly to the teacher. If an emergency arises, please contact 281-465-2800.
Please send a new email for each day the change occurs. We cannot accept notes for multiple days or with multiple changes. District policy states that a student may only ride the bus they are registered to ride; therefore, students may not have a transportation change to ride a different bus.
Save the Dates
Grandparents' Day
Be sure to enter through the bus ramp and cafeteria doors.
We are excited to invite you to join us for Grandparents' Day Lunch! You will need to sign-up on the link below to ensure we have a visitor tag for you and ample seating for this event.
Hats Off to Reading
September 24 The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion will host Hats Off to Reading from 5:30-7:30 PM. This free event celebrates reading with fun and festive literacy-based activities for kids followed by a free concert by the Houston Symphony. Several CISD librarians will be on hand volunteering and assisting. We hope to see you there!
Introducing SEPAC – A New Parent Advisory Group for Special Education
We’re excited to introduce the Conroe ISD Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC), a new parent-led group created in collaboration with the CISD Special Education Department. SEPAC is here to connect, support, and empower families of students with IEPs or 504s. SEPAC is focused on building stronger partnerships between families and our district's special education services. Learn more and get involved: https://conroeisdsepac.com Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates and events: https://facebook.com/conroeisdsepac https://instagram.com/conroeisdsepac
Destination Imagination
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to announce that Destination Imagination (DI) sign-ups are now open for Kindergarten through 4th grade students! This creative problem-solving program runs from October through the end of February, with a final competition at the end of February. Students selected for a team must be committed to participating through the end of the season and attending the competition.
Before placement, teachers will provide input regarding each student’s behavior, cooperation, and communication skills to ensure a positive group experience. Teams will meet weekly at school, and additional meetings may be scheduled as needed. Each team will require two parent volunteers to help lead, while a teacher will be present to provide support. Families will be notified if their student is selected to participate on a DI team at Sally K. Ride.
If your child is interested in applying, please email celewis@conroeisd.net to request a short survey to be sent to you so that we can gather more information on your child’s interests. Students who have been in the program will be given first priority. Please submit your child’s name to be on or before September 12th at 3:30.
Thank you for supporting this exciting opportunity for our students. We look forward to another fun and successful year of Destination Imagination!
Sincerely,
Christy Lewis, 2nd Grade Teacher
Sally K. Ride Elementary
SCHOOL HOURS/ATTENDANCE/TARDY POLICY
School hours are 7:55 a.m. - 3:10 p.m. Students must be in their classroom before the 7:55 a.m. bell rings, or they will be considered tardy. Please note that 7:30 a.m. is the earliest time that your child may be dropped off. We do not have staff available to supervise students until that time.
Attendance is vitally important to your child’s current educational growth and future development. Research confirms that attendance is one of the greatest factors contributing to student achievement. Please note that if your child comes in after 9:00 a.m., it will count as an absence unless your child has a medical appointment and brings in a school excuse from the doctor.
Tardy Policy
A student is tardy if not in the classroom at 7:55 a.m. If your child is tardy, parents must sign him/her in at the front office. When a student is tardy, an e-mail will be sent to the student’s guardian for notification.
Chess Program After School at Ride & Clinics
Grow Our Playground
If you have a gently used riding car, tricycle, or scooter you’d like to donate, please drop it off at the front office. Thank you for helping our students enjoy active, outdoor fun!
We need your help-Stay Connected
Volunteer at Ride or any CISD School
We value the contributions you make to Ride to support our outstanding students, teachers, and programs. It is our goal to provide a safe environment for our students and visitors. If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the Volunteer Application. This includes working in the classroom, reading to students, working in the library, etc..
Stay Connected
Vacation Planning
BIRTHDAY TREAT GUIDELINES
We love celebrating birthdays at school and welcome birthday treats! To ensure the safety and well-being of all students, we ask that families follow the guidelines outlined in the graphic below. These guidelines help us manage allergies, classroom time, and school policies. Thank you for helping us make birthday celebrations safe and enjoyable for everyone!
LUNCH VISITOR INFORMATION
** Please consider limiting lunch visits to once or twice per month for each student, so that all parents have an opportunity to visit for lunch.
**Please limit the number of visitors to no more than two.
**Students may enjoy lunch with their parents/family only; please do not invite other students to eat lunch with your family.
**Please keep students and other children at the tables with you; do not allow them to run or play during lunch time.
NEW FOR 2025:
**We want to ensure the safety and security of everyone as they enjoy time together while visiting at lunch. If a grandparent or other family member wants to visit your child during lunch, the parent must send in written permission to the front office. The note will only need to be sent in once per school year, and at that time a notation will be made in the visitor system so that the school will have a record of the permission being granted. If a note is not sent, we will call a parent to grant permission before the visitor is allowed to join a student for lunch. Notes can be sent to: cvanloh@conroeisd.net
Lunch Visitors
Monday - Pre-K, Kinder, 1st, 4th
Tuesday - ECSE, 2nd, 3rd
Wednesday - Pre-K, Kinder, 1st, 4th
Thursday - ECSE, 2nd, 3rd
Friday - All grade levels
Lunch Times
ECSE 11:45am-12:15pm
Pre-K 12:00pm-12:30pm
Kinder 11:30am-12:00pm
1st 11:30am-12:00pm
2nd 11:45am-12:15pm
3rd 11:45am-12:15pm
4th 12:00pm-12:30pm
Child Nutrition Information
CISD Charge Policy
Child Nutrition offers meal service for breakfast and lunch to the children of Conroe ISD from EC-12th grade on a daily basis during the school year. Per CISD Board of Trustees Policy CO (Local), students are allowed to charge 15 days of meals (one breakfast and one lunch). After the 15 days of meal charges have been reached, the student is no longer allowed to charge.
How to Pay for Lunch?
My School Bucks - My School Bucks allows you to pay for school meals using a credit/debit card. *Please note, beginning August 1, 2025, the program fee will increase to a $3.50 fee per transaction to cover processing fees. Cash and check do not incur any additional fees.
Cash/Check - Cash/check can be deposited in the lunch line. If you choose to pay with cash or check, please label the envelope with your child’s name, ID number, and grade to ensure crediting to the proper account. Checks should be made payable to CISD Child Nutrition and include a Driver’s License # and Date of Birth. If a check is returned unpaid by your bank, we will collect a returned check fee and we will not accept any checks from you for the remainder of the school year.
Lunch Money Refunds - For account refunds, account transfers, or questions concerning MySchoolBucks, please complete the form below. Any money remaining in the account at the end of the year will automatically carry over to the next school year. Please disable any automatic payments prior to entering the refund request.
Free & Reduced Meals
A new application must be submitted each year to determine eligibility, which has additional benefits in addition to healthy meals for school lunch.
To apply for free and reduced meals visit Free and Reduced Meals Application and select Conroe ISD.
School Discipline
Transportation
Register for Transportation Online
If you did not register for transportation during your child’s initial school registration, you can register for transportation online. You will need your child’s I.D. Number and Date of Birth to complete the process. It may take up to five (5) business days to process depending on the volume of request. Once in effect, you can find your child’s new route by clicking the “Find Bus Route” Link.
If you have requested an alternate stop location, the Routing Department will process your request and transportation services will start as quickly as possible. This may up to five (5) business days depending on the volume of request. Once in effect, you can find your child’s new route by clicking the “Find Bus Route” Link.
For more information about walk to stop distances, see the FAQ section regarding “Walk to Stop Distance."
SMART tag™ - Student ID Badges
The District's purpose for implementing the Smart tag program is to ensure authorized riders board our buses and improve the safety and security of students who utilize our bus transportation services. Every effort has been made to offer the most current and accurate information possible on our transportation website. The information on our website has been reviewed and updated using a variety of resources. Please note that information is subject to change. There will be updates made on our website as we continue to gather data and update information. See the SMART tag™ Parent App below for instructions on how to sign up for text notifications.
ELECTRONIC DEVICE POLICY
Students may not use personal communication and electronic devices during the school day in accordance with Texas House Bill 1481.
This includes (but is not limited to) phones, smartwatches, tablets, and wired/wireless headphones such as AirPods.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
The Conroe Independent School District (District) as an equal opportunity educational provider and employer does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in educational programs or activities that it operates or in employment matters. The District is required by Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as Board policy not to discriminate in such a manner.
For information about Title IX rights or Section 504/ADA rights, contact the Title IX Coordinator or the Section 504/ADA coordinator at 3205 W. Davis, Conroe, Texas 77304; (936) 709-7752.