Panther Blog

Greetings PHS Team & Pfamily:

Thank you for a highly productive week, and Panther PRIDE is definitely STRONG! Thank you, Teachers & Staff, for all they do to take care of our students and meet their needs as we continue to ensure academic growth! #WeGrowStudents

Our first pep rally of the year was full of Panther PRIDE! Huge shout-out to all our student organizations, staff, and students for bringing the energy and representing PHS! Let’s Go Panthers!

We are also very excited to recognize our Class of 2026 Summer Graduates! We are so proud of their perseverance and commitment as they completed the graduation requirements necessary to earn their high school diploma. Their hard work has truly paid off!!!

Please see the updates below, and have a GREAT........PANTHER WEEKEND!

HUGE Thank You to our Staff, Students, and Panther Community for making this growth possible! #Teamwork

As we continue to maintain a high focus on academics, parents/guardians, please continue to monitor your child's grades in Skyward and connect with their teachers, counselors, and/or administrators as we work together to ensure all of our students excel academically.

Here are the links to the Parent Skyward Portal and the PHS Staff Directory. Our Teachers are working closely with students and providing rigorous lessons as we aim for high academic achievement, and monitoring our students' grades (academic progress).

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to our 2026 Summer Graduates!!!!! We are Panther PROUD of all of them and excited for their future endeavors!

Our PHS Special Olympics Athletes competed at the Area Top Golf competition today. Our Falcons did great and the results are as follows:

- Brandon Figueroa earned a Silver

- Kayden Kauff brought home a Gold

Congratulations to our Falcons, we are so very proud of each of them! Please help us in congratulating these beloved athletes on their accomplishments!

We had a packed house last night for our College Application Boot Camp! Great job to our Seniors for working hard toward your goals. Keep up the great work and remember the College & Career Center in A109 is always here to help!

Amazing turnout, 46 students at our first FCCLA meeting! FCCLA-Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is off to a great start! #PantherPRIDE

PHS Website

https://phs.pfisd.net/

PHS Staff Directory

https://phs.pfisd.net/about-us/staff-directory

PHS School Profile

PHS Parent Compact 26-27

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U6qWszUwQ15qtLccbvljAcpJw3dWwzES/view?usp=sharing

PHS Parent Compact 26-27 Spanish

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oMiU8TbN1NaIao2WbgrI_GTJTe4Efa5N/view?usp=sharing

PHS Parent Compact 26-27 Vietnamese

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FWzRFEDnt-uvPqxMqmSMlBNuFG2IiFf8/view?usp=sharing

• 8/31 Freshmen Meeting PHS PAC (ACE)

• 9/07 Student/Staff Holiday
• 9/17 Legacy Ranch) Varsity Football @ 7PM - Pfield (Senior Night & Pep Rally)
• 9/29-30 TSIA2 Reading and Writing

• Athletic Schedules: Rank One

On Wednesday, August 26th, your student brought home an important form from their 2nd period class, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Form. This form helps our campus qualify for free or reduced price meals for every student and plays a key role in securing important funding that benefits our entire school community.

The campus will be reaching out DAILY to families who haven’t yet returned their forms, so please be sure to complete and sign the form on the back to avoid any follow up calls.

To add a little extra fun, the first TEN classes to return 100% of their forms will earn a pizza party.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Main Office for additional assistance.

Go Panthers!

The free meals program provided by the USDA and Texas Department of Agriculture for all PfISD students during the pandemic has ended. Students must complete the necessary form to receive free or reduced meals during the 2026-2027 school year.

*** Benefits Included - more than just meals!

• Breakfast entrées with up to two fruit sides and milk
• Lunch entrées, with up to two fruit sides, two vegetable sides and milk
• Two waivers for SAT fees
• Four additional SAT score reports
• SAT online course, discount $40.00
• Two waivers for ACT fees
• Four college application waivers

Please note that the link is not currently active to submit your application Click here for instructions on applying for free and reduced meals (English).

PfISD encourages families who feel they may qualify for the free/reduced meal program to complete the forms this year as it will give their students coverage for the first 30 days of next school year. Then, they must complete an application at the beginning of next school year to receive benefits all year long.

Please take note: the free meals that have been available to all students, regardless of their application status, are ending. Students who have previously been part of the free/reduced meal plan or newer students who enrolled in PfISD may be eligible for the traditional program and need to apply to continue receiving free or reduced meals at school next school year.

MySchool Bucks Account

Per the Texas Education Code 25.092, also known as the “90 percent rule”, a student may not be given credit or a final grade for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered.

Note: Both unexcused and excused absences count towards the 90 percent rule.

Attendance records can be viewed in the Skyward parent portal.

Teachers take attendance for students.

If you or your student have questions regarding your student's absences, please email the teacher(s) directly.

The Fall semester has 82 required school days (41 A days and 41 B days) and the Spring semester has 94 days (47 A days and 47 B days). To calculate the 90/10 split, you must take into account whether the days missed are A or B days; and, if there are continuous class period absences within the semester to affect the make-up hours calculations (see below footnote*).

If a student is denied credit, he/she will receive notification from the Front Office with instructions to see the Front Office staff to make arrangements to make up class hours.

There are opportunities for a student to make up their hours. Listed below are some examples of how to make-up hours:

• After school in our D-Hall room A113 4:30pm-5:30pm Monday—Thursday
• Tutoring before school and after school

Make-up hours will be required on the student’s 5th absence/per class (including excused absences with a parent/medical note) for the Fall semester and on the student's 6th absence/per class (including excused absence with a parent/medical note) for the Spring semester.

Students will have a hold placed on their credit at the end of each semester unless they have completed the make-up hours that are owed. If you have any questions about make-up hours, please email:

Students with last name A - L: Email Lisa.Acedo@pfisd.net or call 512-594-0523

Students with last name M-Z: Email melissa.harris@pfisd.net or call 512-594-051

If your student owes make-up hours they are ineligible to request VOE’s (VOE Order Form For Texas Dept of Public Safety), attend Prom and Homecoming.

If you have any questions please email: Claudia Torres at claudia.torres@pfisd.net

To submit documentation for an absence us the link below:

Student Personal Device Guidelines

During the state’s 2025 legislative session, lawmakers passed and Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that prohibits students from using personal devices during school hours.

House Bill 1481 took effect the 2025-2026 school year and requires all Texas school districts to prohibit students from using "personal wireless communication devices," which the law defines as “any wireless electronic communication device, other than a device provided to students by a school for instructional purposes, capable of transmitting and/or receiving data.

Please visit the link below for additional details and FAQ:

https://www.pfisd.net/parents/hb-1481-cell-phone-guidelines

For safety purposes, students are expected to wear their Student ID on a lanyard whenever they are on campus or attending a school sponsored event, in accordance with PFISD and campus policy.

Students had the opportunity to receive a new Student ID free of charge during the first week of school. Returning students are encouraged to continue using their Student ID from last school year if they have it.

As of August 18th, students are now charged $5 for a permanent ID or $1 for a temporary ID. As of August 19th, additional administrative consequences may apply to students who continue to receive temporary IDs or do not comply with the Student ID requirement.

Thank you for helping us keep Panther Nation safe!

For Dress Code questions use the link below:

• PfISD Dress Code refer to District Website

• Note: The dress code is adopted by the PfISD School Board and enforced by campuses. Please take a close look at the policy above as we will be working to enforce it this school year.

Didn’t make it to Meet the Teacher? You can still order your shirts here using the link below:

https://www.phspanthercelebration.com/

Your prom tickets are now live on the website linked below! The prom will be held on April 24th, 2027 from 7pm to 11pm at The UT Etter-Harbin Alumni Center located at 2110 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78712. Tickets are currently $50 and available for PHS seniors to purchase. Guest tickets will become available at a later date. Get your them now as prices increase as the year goes on.

Prom Tickets

Seniors have a special discount to our Homecoming Dance! Admission to the dance will be $5 when your homecoming ticket is purchased with your prom ticket using the link above.

Click here: https://www.jostens.com/.../students-and.../yearbook-ads

Pricing through Christmas:

$350 for whole page

$215 for ½ page

$140 for a ¼

$85 for an 1/8