The Tartan Tribune

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Welcome to the 2025–2026 school year at McCullough Junior High! We are excited to welcome your child and family into our Highlander community. This newsletter includes important information to help you and your student feel confident and prepared for orientation and the first days of school. Below, you will find all the details for our orientation days. We’re looking forward to a fantastic year filled with growth, connection, and success!

• This Tartan Tribune is primarily focused on Orientation and this upcoming week.
• Please read through the following information carefully, take a look at all the pictures and maps, and get yourself acclimated to the layout and process of the event.
• With all the construction going on, the campus will look completely different to many of you that have been here before!
• Please understand that unforeseen circumstances could arise due to construction, and that could lead to changes in the details or layout of the event.
• The goal of this newsletter is to give you a good visual representation of what everything will look like, where everything is laid out, and what to expect from the event.
• I will put out another full newsletter on Monday, August 11th with detailed information about the first couple weeks of school, procedures, maps, etc.

Student orientation at McCullough Junior High is scheduled for:

• July 31st for incoming 8th graders
• August 1st for incoming 7th graders

Students will be able to pick up their tentative schedules and tour the building. Additionally, parents/guardians can sign up for PTO membership and purchase school clothing/gear. Some Important Notes:

• The child, or the child's official parent/guardian, must be present to pick up materials.
  
• Students' schedules will only be available during their time slot so that the line will move quickly for all.
• You child will only receive their Fall schedule. They will receive their spring schedule when they return from Christmas break.
• For purchase of materials, please note that some areas will be able to accept credit cards and others cash/check. Having both payment options available will make for a smoother experience.
  

Attendance is not mandatory. Should a student be out of town on his/her assigned date and pick up time, he/she can obtain a copy of his/her tentative schedule at:

• Our front desk starting of August 5th during office hours of 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• During our Orientation Lite the evening of August 4th from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Here are the available parking areas for the event. You are welcome to park in the East parking lot closest to Woodlands Parkway as well, but be warned that there is no sidewalk or path available to the building yet from that parking lot. You would have to walk through the grass to reach the building.

• You WILL be allowed to park inside the fenced area in the far West parking lot. This is the "rough" parking lot on the West side of the campus that is surrounded by a black fabric construction fence.
• The area is normally reserved for construction crews, but they will not be on campus these days due to orientation. The gates to that area will be left open for parent parking.

After you park, proceed to the wooden covered pathway that is next to the Bock Auditorium. See the pictures below for reference. This covered walkway will lead you to our "Car Rider" doors to enter the building. FYI, These will be the doors that students will use if they are a car rider during the school year!

Once you enter through the new "front doors," you will proceed to your left towards the Bock Auditorium and main hallway. Once you reach the main hallway, you will take a right and head towards the cafeteria!

• We will have signage and people directing you in the right direction, no worries.
• Areas on the maps with a red "X" are off limits due to construction. there will be temporary walls up that are surrounding those locations.

Once you enter the cafeteria, there will be an "assembly line" starting on your left. You will pass through several stations as you make your way through the process. These are opportunities for you to take care of some beginning of the year "to-do's" if you haven't had a chance to. These include:

• Signing up for PTO or purchasing McCullough swag
• Checking in with nurse or dropping off student medications
• Signing up for free and reduced lunch (Lots of benefits if you are eligible!)
• Registering your Parent Portal account
• Signing up for your bus transportation

Once you make it through the different stations, you will get in line by alpha to pick up your students schedule.

• There will be signage for the different alphas so you know which line to get in. See the following pictures from last year as an example of what it will all look like!

Counselors will have limited availability, but will be on hand to address the following schedule concerns:

• Missing a class period- Student has a blank on the schedule page.
• Duplicate course- Student took the same course last year (8th grade only).
• Incorrect placement (honors/levels)- Student should be placed in level or honors and is scheduled incorrectly.

For all other schedule-related concerns, please email your grade level and alpha counselor.

• Christina Augustine, caugustine@conroeisd.net 7th grade students with last names A-K
• Jana Goforth, jgoforth@conroeisd.net 7th grade students with last names L- Z
• Amber Bentley, abentley@conroeisd.net 8th grade students with last names, A-K
• Krystal Gibson, kngibson@conroeisd.net 8th grade students with last names L-Z

• Administration
• Counselors (Limited availability, see above)
• PTO
• Nurse
• Registrar (by appointment only @ nvalenzuela@conroeisd.net)

*Teachers will not be available as they will still be on Summer break at the time

• North Houston Athletics (clothing)
• Representatives from various organizations and clubs including:
• Football
• Boys Athletics
• Girls Athletics
• Cross Country
• Color Guard
• Fishing Club

*Teachers will not be available as they will still be on Summer break at the time

Well, you have a couple of options! You can........

• Head out to a late breakfast or early lunch!
• Head back to PTO table to sign-up or purchase McC swag
• Take a brief (self-guided) tour of the building
• McC Cheerleaders will be on hand to help direct you
• Signage will be posed throughout the building
• Please be aware that some hallways may be blocked and some areas of the building will be off-limits due to construction

• Please keep in mind that parking is limited, and there will be new sets of families in different alphas arriving for the next time slot!
• Please try to due your best to limit your time on campus to your assigned hour for your alpha. Due to construction, things will be hectic and tight!

Due to the tight corridor and limited space of the new "front" entrance where you came in, we will have you exit out of the door next to our front office and nurse's office.

• If you are lost or confused, don't stress! We can point you to the right direction!
• Once you exit that door you will take a right and proceed under the wooden, walkway cover back out to the parking lot.
• Please see the map below for exit location.

Unlike in years past, PTO will not be offering pre-packaged school supplies for sale to families. The rising cost of the supplies combined with the diminished quality did not justify proceeding with the pre-packaged supplies this year. Here is a list of school supplies as well as optional items to donate!

Please see the chart below for Texas Minimum State Vaccine Requirements for Students K-12.

• Most of our incoming 7th graders need one or more immunizations prior to school starting in the fall.
• For more information please visit the Conroe ISD Health Services page at the following link:

• https://www.conroeisd.net/page/healthservices
• If you have any additional questions about health related services, you can contact our campus nurse:
• Samantha Neve @ sneve@conreisd.net

The 89th Texas Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 12 which requires school districts to obtain written permission from a parent/guardian before providing health-related services to that individual’s child. Only life-saving care can be given at school without the written consent provided in this document by the child’s parent/guardian.

• School health-related services are most often provided by the school nurse. However, additional school staff may also provide first-aid and care of ill or injured students. This would include:
• Teachers
• Athletic trainers
• Administrators
• Counselors
• Clinic assistants
• Other staff charged with supervising children.

Please see the following forms for more information and permission slip to authorize permission for your child to receive health-related services.

If there was EVER a year to try out your kiddo as a bus rider, this is it!! Car rider this year will be much slower and congested due to construction this year. 😮Here are a couple of important links that you may want to check out as the new school year draws closer. Be aware that they might not update with the most current information until right before the start of the school year.

• Free and Reduced Lunch Information
• Links to sign up for Free and Reduced lunch
• View school meals

Last year we had our first-ever BTS Bash and it was a huge hit! I had debated not having it for just this year due to the construction and changes around and on campus. However, I really want to make this school year as "normal" as possible, and I know the kiddos had a blast last year. So, we WILL have BTS bash on Thursday, August 7th from 1pm to 3pm! Look for another message later this week with online ticket sales, details, etc. The 8th graders who came last year as 7th graders will kind of know what to expect. To our incoming 7th graders, it is a great time to hang out and have some fun before the school year kicks off the following week! The Bash will include:

• Inflatables
• Basketball and Volleyball in gym
• Karaoke
• DJ
• Concessions
• Various games

More details to come! I just wanted y'all to put it on your calendar! 😊

Texas has passed a new law prohibiting cell phone usage at schools. CISD has changed our cell phone policy in accordance with the new state law. We will be updating posters that hang throughout the building. Here are some of the details;

• Texas House Bill 1481 says that student use of personal electronic devices, such as cell phones, personal iPad, etc. is prohibited during instructional time. The CISD School Board has adopted a policy supporting HB 1481 stating electronic devices will be prohibited for the entire day. Electronics should be off and away for the entire school day. This means once students arrive on campus they must put the electronics away. This is in the hallways, in the classrooms, and during lunch.

• While this is similar to what out incoming 7th graders had in intermediate school, I know this will be an adjustment for our 8th grade students and parents who are used to the previous policy, but I believe we will see benefits in classroom engagement, interaction, and content retention.

Parents,

As discussed in Highlander Heads-Up, here is "Scotty" as a visual to our dress code policy.

• Pajama pants are not allowed unless communicated by the school as being part of a specific dress-up day or PJ day.
• While no "fingertip" rule is still in effect, please make sure that shorts and skirts are at an appropriate length and cover the rear fully when moving or bending.
• Midriff's aren't allowed, and belly buttons or lower backs should not be visible either stationary or during movement.
• Here is "Scotty", that shows the McCullough dress code and coverage. Like mentioned before, it is basically a "box" from the shoulders down to below the bottom/private area.

McCullough Junior High Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a group of parents, family members, staff, and teachers who work together to enhance academic achievement and enrichment for all students.

McCullough Junior High 2025-26 PTO Memberships for Incoming 7th and 8th Graders are available now. If you'd like to get a head start on 2025-2026, please click on the link below to purchase your PTO Membership and support the faculty and staff at McCullough. Thank you for your support!

If you haven't already done so, please take some time to look through our construction newsletter. There are a lot(!) of changes happening at McCullough! I will update the newsletter regularly as things progress, logistics change, or any other important updates that may pop up. Be sure to read through it so you are aware of the changes and what is going on with our construction project!👷‍♂️

Parents, Guardians, and Staff,

There are currently parent/guardian and teacher openings for Conroe ISD's 2025-2026 District-Level Planning & Decision-Making Committee. Learn more at the DLPDMC website, then please fill out the interest form at the link below. The deadline to apply is Friday, August 1, 2025.

Here are a few dates you'll want to put on your calendar for the beginning of the school year.

• More detailed information will be sent regarding each event as we get closer to them, but I wanted you to go ahead and have the dates on hand!
• Please know that some times may be tentative, and dates could change due to construction.
• I will BOLD dates when I add or update them to the list so you know they are new or current.

July 31 - 8th Grade Orientation (8:30 am - 1:30 pm)

August 1 - 7th Grade Orientation (8:30 am - 1:30 pm)

August 4 - Orientation Lite Evening (5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: For those who could not make 7/31 or 8/1)

August 7 - Back to School Bash (1:00 pm - 3:00 pm) *More details to come!*

August 7 - Highlander Football 101 (6:00 pm)

August 8 - New Students to CISD Orientation @ McC (12:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

August 9 - Football Equipment Issue Day

August 13 - First Day of School!

August 14 - Open House 7th Grade (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)

August 18 - Open House 8th Grade (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)

August 27 - School Picture Day

August 28 - School Picture Day

Counselors

• Christina Augustine, caugustine@conroeisd.net 7th grade students with last names A-K

• Jana Goforth, jgoforth@conroeisd.net 7th grade students with last names L- Z
• Amber Bentley, abentley@conroeisd.net 8th grade students with last names, A-K
• Krystal Gibson, kngibson@conroeisd.net 8th grade students with last names L-Z

Assistant Principals

• Delvin Sims, dpsims@conroeisd.net, 8th grade students with last names A-K
• Farrin Ormes, formes@conroeisd.net, 8th grade students with last names L-Z

• Crystal Kocian, ckocian@conroeisd.net, 7th grade students with last names A-K
• Ingrid Sosa, isosa@conroeisd.net, 7th grade students with last names L-Z
• Kuljit Dhaliwal, kdhaliwal@conroeisd.net, Instructional AP

Associate Principal

• Dan Bulick, dbulick@conroeisd.net,

Principal

• Josh Hughes, jrhughes@conroeisd.net

Main Office.....................................832.592.5100

24-hour Attendance Line...............832.592.5111

McCullough Fax.............................832.592.5116

Clinic...............................................832.592.5122

Clinic Fax........................................832.592.5127

Counselor's Office..........................832.592.5194

Registrar..........................................832.592.5114