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NHE News

August 12, 2025

NHE News August 12, 2025
NHE NewsAugust 12, 2025

NHE News is the school newsletter written by campus leadership. You'll find important dates and information about upcoming activities including evening events, school-wide assessments, and RISD area events. The newsletter will go out via email on Tuesday of each week. Please make sure your email addresses and phone numbers are up-to-date in Focus so that you receive each week's updates in a timely manner.

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A Note From Mrs. Smith A Note From Mrs. Smith

Hello NHE Families,


What an incredible first day of school we had at NHE! Our halls were filled with smiles, excitement, and the energy of students ready to Level Up in learning, friendships, and new adventures. From our youngest Falcons to our seasoned leaders, everyone stepped into the 2025–2026 school year with enthusiasm and pride.


We loved seeing so many happy moments at drop-off, in classrooms, and during the day. Now it’s your turn to share! 📸


Post your first day of school photos on social media and tag them with #RISDFirstDay and #LevelUpNHE so we can celebrate together.


⏰ Mark your calendars! The first day may be done, but the fun has just begun. Set your alarms for tomorrow and every school day to be here on time, ready to learn. Not sure what time the bell rings? You can find all school start and end times here: RISD School Hours.


We are so proud of our students, families, and staff for making today such a great success. Here’s to a year of growth, connection, and leveling up together!


Proud to be your Falcon Family,


Jenni Smith
Principal, Northwood Hills Elementary

Coming up @ NHE Coming up @ NHE

Please be aware of the upcoming events at NHE!

  • August 12: Spirit Night at Jeni's Ice Cream from 3-6
  • August 18-22: RISD Safety Week

  • August 23: Back to School Bash 9:00-11:00

  • September 4: PTA Meeting and Classroom Close-up event 5:30-7:00

  • September 15: National Dot Day

  • September 25: Early Release at 1:10 pm

Welcome to the Falcon Family Welcome to the Falcon Family

The Falcon Family enjoyed welcoming your students today as we began the new year! Click HERE to meet the new staff and check out some of their fun facts!

Meet The Teacher Recap Meet The Teacher Recap

What an amazing evening and turnout we had for Meet the Teacher! It was so great to see the excitement, smiles, and community spirit we had with everyone ready to kick off a great new school year! The energy was contagious and exciting. Let's keep it going! Thank you to all the families that came out and to all of our volunteers and school staff who made the evening go so well! Our Falcons are leveling up this year for sure!!

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RISD Backpack Bash Success! RISD Backpack Bash Success!

A special thank you to Spring Valley United Methodist Church for helping us host a very successful Backpack Bash!

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🍔 Lunch Notes 🍕 🍔 Lunch Notes 🍕

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  • Lunch visitors will begin the Tuesday after Labor Day. This will help us get Cafeteria expectations established for the first few weeks of school.

  • We ask that parents limit lunch visits to once per week.

  • We will not be accepting student lunches through delivery apps like UberEats or DoorDash.

  • Late lunches will go to the Lunch Cart area in the foyer. Please let your child's teacher know through Talking Points that it has been dropped off.

  • Please help us by sending items that your student can open independently. We want them to have as much time to eat as possible!

Talking Points for Parent/Teacher Communication Talking Points for Parent/Teacher Communication

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Richardson ISD is using TalkingPoints this year to drive student success through two-way communication with families. Talking Points is now live, and many teachers have begun sending text messages using the communications tool. TalkingPoints is the primary source of two-way text communication between staff and families.


When using TalkingPoints, parents do not need to download an app to communicate directly with RISD staff. Parents and guardians will receive text messages in the language they chose when enrolling students.

Please click here for more information about TalkingPoints for families.

Arrival & Dismissal Arrival & Dismissal

Video Explanation of Procedures - English Video Explanation of Procedures - English

Videos | Library | Loom - 31 July 2025

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Videos | Library | Loom - 31 July 2025

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Video Explanation of Procedures - Spanish Video Explanation of Procedures - Spanish

25-26 Arrival & Dismissal Map - Google Slides - 4 August 2025

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25-26 Arrival & Dismissal Map - Google Slides - 5 August 2025

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Important Updates for 2025-2026

AM Arrival (Map):


  • Please drop students off AT THE CURB through the circle drive.
  • NO LEFT TURNS coming out of the circle drive.
  • Both lanes will turn right coming from the circle drive.
  • The outside lane is for turning left on Meandering OR heading straight on Cliffbrook toward Hillcrest.
  • The inside lane is for turning right on Meandering.
  • DO NOT drop students off in the Teacher Parking lot. *This lot will be used for BUSES and PK ONLY
  • DO NOT drop students off on Meandering
  • Please use crosswalks when crossing the street.



  • Doors will open at 7:20.
  • Breakfast is from 7:20-7:40.
  • The Tardy Bell rings at 7:50.
  • Students will enter the building through the front door.
  • Students who ARE eating breakfast will go directly to the cafeteria.
  • As they finish, they will be released to sit in the gym until it is time to go to class.
  • Assigned staff members will be on duty in the cafeteria and the gym from 7:20-7:40.



  • Students who ARE NOT eating breakfast will go directly to the gym.
  • Students will be escorted from the gym to their classrooms at 7:40.
  • At 7:40, all teachers will greet students at their classroom door and begin instruction by 7:50.
  • Students who arrive between 7:50 and 8:59 are considered tardy.
  • Students who arrive after 9:00 are considered absent, which can count as an
  • Unexcused absence on their report card if we don’t receive an excuse note.



PM Dismissal (Map):

●There are 4 ways a student can be picked up.


○ Day Care, Bus, & Xplore:

  • A designated staff member will walk the students from each grade level to the cafeteria to wait for their daycare bus, school bus, or join Xplore.
  • The rider list will be checked each day, and all students will be safely escorted onto the bus. Students must have IDs to board the bus.


○ Car Riders:

  • Please get in the car line by turning onto Cliffbrook from Coit.
  • Please display the yellow card with the name of your student(s)

  • Each car will be assigned a colored cone, and your student(s) will wait for them to pull up.

  • Please remain in the line and pull forward to your assigned cone. If your student(s) are not ready at the cone when you arrive, a staff member will give you further instructions.

  • The line is long, but we are usually done with dismissal in 15 minutes or less.
  • Students will load cars at 5 colored cones in the front circle drive.
  • Students will wait with a teacher outside until they are called.
  • Please DO NOT attempt to pick up your student in any location other than your assigned cone.


○ Walkers (who walk home without a parent):


  • Students will leave the doors at the end of the hallway immediately after dismissal.
  • Older siblings will pick up younger siblings at their outdoor walker location
  • If your child walks home by themselves, please remind them of these important safety tips.
  • Use the sidewalk.
  • Cross the street at crosswalks.
  • Alert an adult if you see anything suspicious.



■ Parent Walk-ups (parents park their car and walk up to the door):


  • You must walk up to your child’s outdoor walker location
  • Students will not be allowed to walk across the street by themselves to get into a car.
  • Please park along the side streets (see map). Park and walk from Tanglecrest or Medowhaven ONLY
  • Do NOT park on the main roads surrounding the school. (Cliffbrook or Birchridge)
  • ***If you do need to park on Brichridge, please park on the Northbound side of the street ONLY. DO NOT attempt to drive south on Birchridge or cross Cliffbrook. During dismissal, Cliffbrook is for carpool ONLY.
  • Please use crosswalks (see map).



● If a student is not picked up by 3:25, a teacher will bring them to the office and help them call their parents. All parents who arrive after the carpool line has ended must come into the office to sign out their student(s)

🚌 Bus Badges 🚌 🚌 Bus Badges 🚌

Students’ safety is the top priority in Richardson ISD; therefore, effective at the start of the 2025-2026 school year, all Pre-K to 12th-grade students riding school buses to and from school must wear and scan a badge when getting on and off the school bus. For more information visit https://web.risd.org/home/transportation/

Need a ride to school?

See bus route information and sign up for student

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How to Sign-up for RISD Bus Transportation

Visit our RISD Transportation Page https://web.risd.org/transportation/ and click on Sign Up For Bus Transportation to complete the online Bus Enrollment Request form so that we can determine if your child qualifies for bus transportation service.




Please note that the RISD Transportation Department provides bus service from the bus stop to campus for students who live more than 2 miles away from their home campus.

Students who live within 2 miles are not eligible for bus transportation per state guidelines.


Special education students may qualify for door-to-campus bus service, but that qualification process is initiated by special education staff at your student's school.


If your child qualifies for bus transportation service, an email will be sent in early August to the parent/guardian email address on file that will include specific bus route information for the 2025-2026 school year.


PRE-K

ROUTE SERVICES


Transportation is available for RISD Pre-K students who qualify.


Each Pre-K route is equipped with 5 point harnesses and a bus monitor. Please contact student.transportation@risd.org or call 469-593-5922 for info regarding Pre-K transportation procedures and rider eligibility.


If you have questions related to this message or student transportation, please contact RISD Transportation at 469-593-5900 or message student.transportation@risd.org.

We look forward to serving your students in the 25-26 school year.

Household Data Form Household Data Form

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Richardson ISD is required to collect and report the socioeconomic status of each student to the Texas Education Agency for purposes of annual state accountability ratings and for federal reporting tied to federal funding. Parents of enrolled students are requested to complete this form for that purpose. The income information requested on this form is completely confidential; it is not shared with any entity outside of RISD, and is solely used to determine the socioeconomic status of RISD students. Only a student’s potential economically disadvantaged status, as determined by the information provided on this form, is reported to the Texas Education Agency, and TEA maintains that information as confidential. RISD practices are in accordance with the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). Additional information regarding PPRA can be found in the RISD Student And Parent Guidebook.


It is very important that RISD families complete this Household Family Data in order for RISD schools to receive Title I and State Compensatory Education funding. If eligible, this funding directly benefits your child's school through additional employees and resources like tutoring services, additional technology, and professional training for teachers at your child’s school. RISD wants to continue to provide these important learning supports at our eligible schools, but that is dependent on parent/guardian assistance through completion of this form.

Complete Form HERE
This form is how our school secures federal funding. We need a form from EVERY household.

Art Supplies Art Supplies

Optional supply list by grade

If you would like to purchase supplies to help support our bustling art room, Mrs. Perez has created a list of helpful items. Please see below to find out how you can support our amazing artists!

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Important Parent To-Dos Important Parent To-Dos

RISD welcomes students back to school for the 2025-2026 school year on August 12. Parents can find Back to School information and resources here


  • Create a Focus account – RISD provides electronic access to a student’s attendance, grades, and other information via the Focus school software system. https://web.risd.org/focus/


  • Download SchoolCafe app – RISD’s school cafeteria payment system is called SchoolCafe. https://www.schoolcafe.com/


  • Download RISD Mobile Parent app – Access student information, view the latest news, receive important alerts, review archive of parent messages sent by RISD, view school menus and lunch account balances, find your bus stop, access student schedules, assignment grades, attendance and more via the RISD Mobile Parent app.

NHE PTA News NHE PTA News

Join the PTA
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August 2025 Upcoming Events August 2025 Upcoming Events

Volunteers Needed

Mark your calendars for some really fun events coming up at NHE and we need your help!! Please let us know if you can volunteer at any of these events by filling out the form at https://forms.gle/9FKjYscuTZcTVj8w8 or emailing leana.dusek@gmail.com. Thank you for making our school great!!

Fall Spirit Events

Take a look at our Fall Spirit Events and mark your calendars! This is an easy and fun way to give back to our school, as a percent of your purchase goes directly to NHE. Grab your friends and plan to attend!

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Follow and Support Us

Want to stay in the know with all the amazing things happening at NHE? Follow us on Instagram and Facebook and don't forget to join your child's Facebook group by searching for "NHE 2nd grade (insert your child's grade level). Also take a look at some simple ways you can earn our school money!!

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Fundraising

Want to make a difference at NHE? Take a look at all the amazing things your money can do for our students. Your investment in our students is an investment in our school and community! Any amount helps! Follow the link below to donate. Thank you!!


https://northwoodhillspta.networkforgood.com/projects/255686-sponsor-a-student-for-25-26

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Spirit Wear

New spirit wear is here! Represent NHE in style with our new collection of gear! Deadline to order is August 22nd, so use the link below to order now!

https://nhe25.itemorder.com/

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Back to School Bash

It's time for our annual NHE Back to School Bash on August 23rd from 9am-11am! Come celebrate the start of another excellent school year with a foam truck, Tikiz shaved ice, and some water fun! Hosted by our PTA Future Falcons!

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Join PTA Here

Join the PTA – Every Voice Counts!

We’re excited to kick off another fun and meaningful school year, and so much of it is possible because of our amazing PTA community!


This year, our goal is to give every NHE student a voice through PTA membership—nearly 500 strong for 2025–2026. Anyone can join: parents, guardians, students, grandparents, neighbors, and friends of NHE. Memberships start at just $12, and your support helps fund student events, staff appreciation, and memorable experiences all year long.


Let’s keep the momentum going! Join the PTA today.


Thank you for helping make NHE a place where every student can thrive!

What is for lunch?
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NHE Breakfast & Lunch Menu

Learning Community News Learning Community News

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Junior Eagles Program Junior Eagles Program

This Fall, we will start our Junior Eagle Program! Students from Pre-K through 6th grade will have the opportunity to adopt one of the Varsity Richardson Eagle Football Players for the upcoming 2025 season!

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RHS is ranked one of the top 30 High Schools in Texas RHS is ranked one of the top 30 High Schools in Texas

The 30 Best High Schools in Texas: Top-Ranked Educational Institutions

Texas is home to some of the nation's most prestigious secondary educational institutions, offering students exceptional learning environments and

launch moneyinc.com
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New Volunteer Management System New Volunteer Management System

Before participating in volunteer opportunities in schools and district facilities, all RISD volunteers must complete a background check and an orientation through our NEW Volunteer Management System. We are using Verkada, the same program already in place for visitor management on every campus. Click here to complete your 2025-2026 Richardson ISD Volunteer Application.

Social Emotional Learning Social Emotional Learning

RISD offers Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons through Harmony SEL and are offered in our classes. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.


If you have any questions about these lessons, please contact Paige Pendery. Additionally, you can find out more about these programs athttps://harmony-academy.org/harmony-prek-6/

If you would like to opt your student out of SEL lessons, please fill out THIS GOOGLE FORM. You can opt your student out of SEL lessons at any time throughout the school year.

Helpful Parent Resources Helpful Parent Resources

✅Verify Your Student's Immunizations Are Up-To-Date✅


By law, Richardson ISD must have an immunization record for each student on file. These records should be up-to-date at the time of registration. https://web.risd.org/healthservices/immunizations


🔎Create a FOCUS Account🔍

RISD provides electronic access to a student's grades, attendance, and other information via the FOCUS software system. https://web.risd.org/focus/


📱Download RISD Mobile Parent App📱

Access student information, view the latest news, receive important alerts, review an archive of parent messages sent by RISD, view school menus and lunch account balances, find your bus stop, access student schedules, assignment grades, attendance and more. https://web.risd.org/home/risd-mobile/


🚍Need a Ride to School?🚍

See bus route information and sign up for student transportation: https://web.risd.org/transportation/


🥗Download SchoolCafe App🥗

RISD’s school cafeteria payment system is called SchoolCafe. https://www.schoolcafe.com/

District Links District Links

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Focus Parent Portal

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Library Opt-Out Program - Elementary

Updated information will be forthcoming.
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SEL Opt-out 25-26

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RISD Graduate Profile

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Parent Information

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RISD Student and Parent Handbook

How to Upload Your Attendance Excuse for Focus

25-26 Academic Calendar 25-26 Academic Calendar

Click photo for Spanish
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✍🏻Front Office Contact Information✍🏻 ✍🏻Front Office Contact Information✍🏻

Jenni Smith, Principal
(469) 593-4333
jennifer.smith@risd.org
Mark Bell, Assistant Principal
(469) 593-4328
mark.bell@risd.org
Martha Menezes, Dean of Students (habla español)
(469) 593-4275
martha.menezes@risd.org
Paige Pendery Counselor
(469) 593-4332
paige.pendery@risd.org, qwendolyn.dixon@risd.org
Crystal Hunt, Nurse
(469) 593-4250
crystal.hunt@risd.org
Sadaf Ramzan, Student Data Specialist/Enrollment
(469) 593-4251
sadaf.ramzan@risd.org
Leslie Ledezma, Executive Assistant (habla español)
(469)-593-4252
leslie.ledezma@risd.org

Northwood Hills Elementary
https://schools.risd.org/NorthwoodHillsES/

Want to Sign Up for This Newsletter?

Got this newsletter as a forward and want to sign up to receive future editions? Please click here to subscribe. Please note that parents of currently enrolled RISD students and current RISD employees are automatically sent newsletters from RISD and their school. It’s not necessary to subscribe. Parents or staff who wish to receive news from other RISD schools may subscribe using the link above.


This newsletter was sent through RISD’s Blackboard system, and current parents should be aware that unsubscribing from Blackboard messages at the link at the bottom of this message may prevent parents from receiving future messages from their child’s school.

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