The Mustang Message

Dear Tom Daniels Elementary Families,

Welcome to an exciting new school year at Tom Daniels Elementary School! We are thrilled to begin another year of learning, growth, and success with our amazing Mustangs. Our school theme this year is "Level Up: Every Student, Every Day," and we are committed to helping every child reach new heights academically, socially, and emotionally each and every day.

As we embark on this journey together, we are excited to partner with our families to ensure that all students have the best year ever. We know that when schools and families work together, students thrive, and we look forward to building strong relationships that support every Mustang's success.

Throughout the school year, you will receive a weekly newsletter called The Mustang Message, typically delivered on Friday afternoons. This newsletter will be our primary source of communication and will contain important information about upcoming events, school news, reminders, celebrations, and opportunities to get involved. We encourage you to take a few moments each week to review it so you can stay connected and informed.

We also recognize that the recent flooding has impacted families in different ways. Please know that our Tom Daniels Elementary family is here to support you. If your family has been affected and is in need of assistance, resources, or additional support, please reach out to us. We are committed to helping connect families with available resources and ensuring that every student has what they need to begin the school year successfully.

Thank you for entrusting us with your children each day. We cannot wait to see all of our Mustangs back on campus and look forward to an incredible year of learning, growth, and achievement as we Level Up: Every Student, Every Day!

Go Mustangs!

Warm regards,

Katie Miller
Principal, Tom Daniels Elementary School

At our school, we are committed to creating a safe, supportive, and positive learning environment for every child. One way we do this is through Capturing Kids’ Hearts®, a program focused on building strong relationships, fostering respect, and creating a culture where students feel valued and connected.

Through Capturing Kids’ Hearts, students and staff work together to establish expectations, practice kindness and empathy, and develop skills for positive communication. By building meaningful connections and a sense of belonging, we help students feel confident, engaged, and ready to learn each day.

When students know they are cared for and respected, they are more likely to succeed both academically and socially. Capturing Kids’ Hearts helps us strengthen our school family and ensure that every child knows they matter. ❤️🏫

August 2nd: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Zirkel!

August 4th: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Witt!

August 7th: Kerrville ISD Community Pep Rally at 7:00 p.m.

August 10th: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Dominguez!

August 12th: LS and 1st-5th Grade Meet the Teacher 4:30-6:00 p.m. (see details above)

August 13th: Kinder Parent Meeting and Meet the Teacher 5:30-6:30 p.m.

August 19th: 1st Day of School

August 22nd: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Parramore!

August 26th: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Rudolph-Hart!

August 26th: DES Back to School Bash from 5-6:30 p.m. (more details to come)

Each Tuesday at Daniels, our staff will be trying to help promote CCMR (College, Career, and Military Readiness) by wearing shirts of different colleges, careers, and branches of the military. Although attending college is a great option for students when they graduate from high school, it isn't the only option that can lead to a rewarding and successful future. Our students may be young, but their future is bright! We invite all of our Mustangs to join in on Tuesdays and wear their favorite CCMR shirt!

Please note the following procedures that will be in place to help this process go smoothly.

• Visitors MUST check in at the front office by presenting their ID and obtain a visitor's pass.
  
• Visitors will be able to eat with their student in the designated seating. No friends or classmates will be able to join.
• Visitors are not permitted to sit at the student tables with homeroom classes.
• You are welcome to bring food for your student, but it cannot be shared with other classmates.
• Visitors will NOT be able to walk with students back to their class after lunch or attend recess with them.
• Visitors MUST sign out in the Office before leaving campus.

Scheduled Lunch Times

Kindergarten: 10:45-11:15 a.m.

1st Grade: 11:05-11:35 a.m.

2nd Grade: 11:25-11:55 a.m.

3rd Grade: 12:35-1:05 p.m.

4th Grade: 12:05-12:35 p.m.

5th Grade: 11:50-12:20 p.m.

Our campus goal this year is 96% school-wide attendance. Regular attendance is extremely important. If your child is absent from school, please call or email your child's homeroom teacher and our Attendance Secretary as soon as you know they will not be attending school that day. Please include the reason for the absence. Excused absences are illness, medical appointments, or death in the family. Notes, calls, or emails must be received within 3 school days of the child returning. Unexcused absences may result in your child being placed on an attendance plan, prevent your child from being promoted to the next grade level, or may result in truancy charges being filed. Attendance is taken each day at 10:00 a.m. A student must be on campus at that time to be counted present.

Students are counted tardy if they are not in their class by 7:45 a.m. Parents are required to bring the student into the office to check them in if arriving after 8 a.m. Chronic tardiness will be addressed by administration. It is vital that students arrive to school on time. This time is important to helping develop social skills, organization skills, and learning to begin the day prepared. Students that arrive after 7:45 often come in behind the rest of the class, causing anxiety and stress on the student. Always allow time for traffic delays due to weather conditions and the first few weeks of school.

All visitors and volunteers must sign in at the front office before entering the campus. Our Raptor system requires a valid photo ID for all first time visitors. Each year this is reset. Visitors will be unable to enter the campus if they have not signed in with proper ID, even if the DES team knows you. We will not allow visitors to be released to classrooms unless the teacher has previously let the office staff know.

Parents are welcome to visit at lunch time during your student's grade level lunch time starting Monday, August 31st. We will continue to have a visitor's table.

At the conclusion of their visit, all visitors MUST sign out in the office before leaving campus.

Birthday treats must be store bought with a nutrition label. Treats from bakeries must also include a nutrition label.

Birthday treats may be dropped off in the front office. Visitors will not go to classrooms for birthday celebrations. Teachers will celebrate the last 15 minutes of the day, prior to dismissal. Flowers and balloons are not to be sent to school for delivery for any student.

If your student needs a transportation change for the day, please contact the office by 2:00 p.m. As it gets closer to 3 p.m., it can sometimes be difficult to locate students as the dismissal process begins. We understand that emergencies happen and will assist when those arise.

We also ask that students who need to leave early are picked up by 2:30 p.m. as well. This will allow our office staff to focus on dismissal and to ensure that it runs smoothly.

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!

Breakfast and Lunch are offered on campus daily. Please check the menu frequently to see any changes that might occur.

2025-2026 Meal Prices

Breakfast Paid Student - $1.75

Breakfast Reduced Student - Free

Lunch Paid Student - $3.25

Lunch Reduced Student - $0.40

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.

Kerrville ISD is utilizing PBIS on all four elementary campuses.

At Daniels, we have adopted the acronym of PRIDE. Our Mustangs are expected to show PRIDE in all they do and in all areas of the school. Students are asked to wear their badge so they can be rewarded for showing PRIDE throughout the school and by all staff members. Students are able to use their points to shop in Teacher Stores and to participate in school-wide incentives.