JNE'S Friday Newsletter

Dear Longhorn Families,

We want to take a moment to congratulate our students and staff on a strong week of Math STAAR testing. We are proud of the focus, effort, and determination shown across our campus.

It is hard to believe that next week brings us to the end of April. As we transition from testing, we are excited to shift our focus to exploring future opportunities during our annual Career Week. We look forward to welcoming guest speakers for our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students on April 29th, and for our 3rd through 5th grade students on April 30th.

We are also excited to host our Field Day on Friday, May 1st. Thank you to our families for supporting this event through volunteering, participating in PTO efforts, and donating water. Your partnership plays an important role in making these experiences possible for our students.

This week, we also recognized Volunteer Appreciation Day, and we want to take a moment to share how grateful we are for our volunteers. The time, energy, and care you give to our campus does not go unnoticed. We look forward to celebrating our volunteers at the start of May, now that testing season is behind us, and taking the opportunity to recognize the impact you make on our students and staff each day.

Upcoming Events

Week of April 27th- Career Week

Week of April 27th- MAP Fluency Testing (Grades K-2 only)

Wednesday, April 29th- Career Day for Grades K-2

Thursday, April 30th- Career Day for Grades 3-5

Friday, May 1st- Field Day

Friday, May 1st- THS Senior Walk at JNE

Friday, May 1st- Rockin Longhorn Performance at THS

Week of May 4th- Teacher Appreciation Week

Week of May 4th- MAP Growth Reading Testing (Grades K-5)

Tuesday, May 5th- Grade 4 Performs the National Anthem at Constellation Field

Wednesday, May 6th- CPAC Meeting

Thursday, May 7th- Festive Thursday

Thursday, May 7th- JNE's Volunteer Appreciation Reception

Friday, May 8th- Notably Neill Choir performs at the FBISD Choral Festival

Friday, May 8th- HERD Event Day

Friday, May 8th- Field Day Make-up Date (if Needed)

Items in our Newsletter Include:

• Campus Flyers
  
• Lunch Visitors Announcement
  
• Campus Reminders
• Attendance Information
  
• FBISD Whole Child Health
• Fort Bend Education Foundation Announcements
• Staff Contact Information

Sincerely,

The JNE Admin Team

Thank you for your continued support in helping our arrival process run smoothly. As a follow-up to our previous message, we wanted to share a few friendly reminders to help keep both arrival and dismissal safe and efficient for everyone.

• Using the designated car rider line for drop-off and pick-up helps keep traffic flowing smoothly
• We kindly ask that families avoid parking in nearby daycare lots or surrounding neighborhoods
• Out of respect for our community, please help us by keeping crosswalks and driveways clear and avoiding parking in private residents’ driveways
• Remaining in your vehicle in the car rider line and staying attentive to students and pedestrians helps ensure everyone’s safety

These same practices are especially helpful during afternoon dismissal, as traffic increases and we work to keep the process moving safely for all.

We truly appreciate your partnership and care in supporting a safe environment for our students, staff, and neighbors.

Thank you again for your continued support!

April & May Lunch Menu

FBISD Medication Policy

Field Day Water Drive begins Monday, April 6th!!

To keep our little Longhorns hydrated on Field Day, we are asking for water donations. If you can donate, please drop off cases of water on the cart outside the front entrance of the school during the month of April!

Dear JNE Families.

FBISD has introduced an easier and more convenient way for parents to submit student absence notes! Soon, the district will begin to limit the number of absence emails sent directly to campus attendance inboxes.

Parents and guardians can now submit absence requests directly through Skyward Family Access under their student’s profile.

To submit and upload an absence in Skyward:

1. Log in to your student’s Skyward Family Access account.
2. Select your student’s profile.
3. Click on the Attendance tab.
4. Choose Absence Requests.
5. Click the green “+ Add Absence Request” button and follow the prompts.
6. Upload your doctor’s note or parent note (if applicable).

Once your absence is submitted, the campus attendance team will review and confirm your request.

We hope this new feature makes it easier for families to ensure student attendance records are up-to-date and accurate. Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

Warm regards,

JNE Attendance Team

We are excited to offer Service Sentinels, part of the Fort Bend ISD Premier Opportunities, right here at James C. Neill Elementary! This is more than a service project—it’s a chance for our students to become true agents of change in our community.

Service Sentinels encourages students to propose community service projects that meet real needs in our community. It’s an opportunity for them to learn collaboration, compassion, and humility while putting their ideas into action.

Examples include:

• Tours or partnerships with local agencies (police department, conservation sites)

• Environmental or community clean-up projects

• Service-focused initiatives tied to student interest and local needs

Why It Matters

Service Sentinels isn’t just about “doing good”—it’s about growing as citizens, learning to see needs around us and taking initiative to make a difference. It gives students authentic roles and voice, and helps them develop leadership skills in a real-world context.

It also aligns with the district’s vision to infuse deeper experiential learning into our curriculum. It’s also a great way to fuse service with learning and deepen our culture of care at Neill.

We can’t wait to see our Longhorns shine as Service Sentinels!

This month, we’re celebrating the Longhorn teachers who are marking another trip around the sun in April! We’re so grateful for the passion, care, and dedication they bring to our students each day. Join us in wishing them a happy birthday when you see them around campus!

Neill Elementary School will be inviting parents or guardians to join their children for lunch. Only one guest per student will be allowed into the cafeteria. We strongly encourage parents to sign up only one time per week if space allows.

Due to space constraints with large grade level enrollment, as well as to ensure the safety and security of all students, staff and visitors, we will ask that lunch guest sign up to join us ahead of time. Each week in our Friday Newsletter, we will post the link to a sign up genius for the upcoming week.

Lunch Visitor Link

JNE is excited to host lunch visitors on Monday and Tuesday of this week. We will not be able to host lunch visitors on Wednesday through Friday due to schedule changes with career day presentations and field day.

Lunch Times for the 2025-2026 School Year:

Kindergarten- 10:00am-10:30am

First Grade- 10:45am-11:15am

Second Grade- 11:20am-11:50am

Third Grade- 12:00pm-12:30pm

Fourth Grade- 1:15pm-1:45pm

Fifth Grade- 12:35pm-1:05pm

Dietary Restrictions through the Child Nutrition Department

The Child Nutrition Department can offer dietary accommodations for students at no extra cost for students or families when it is medically necessary. The request forms must be signed by a physician or recognized medical authority and submitted to the Child Nutrition Department by:

Fax: 281-634-1862 attn: Dietitian

OR by email: DLCNDSpecialDiet@fortbendisd.com

A new Request for Dietary Accommodations form does not need to be submitted each school year unless there are any changes.

Link to Request Form

• Lunchtime guests will be signed in to visit in the cafeteria only.
• Please be on time for lunch so that you and your student are able to enjoy the full lunch time together. Thank you for exiting the building through the front doors at the end of lunch.
• Guests can only join a student for lunch if they are an approved emergency contact in Skyward Family Access.
• Guest must have a photo ID to be allowed onto campus.
• Visitors may only bring food for their child.
• Families who need an allergy-free seat during lunch may leave a note in the comment section of the sign-up genius.
• Please exit the cafeteria at our 5-minute remaining mark to help us prepare for our next lunch and to allow students time to rejoin their class and prepare to return to their classroom.
• We will not be able to host lunch visitors during state testing or special events on campus.

Fort Bend ISD is happy to serve a community with families from all around the world. We are proud to be culturally diverse and celebrate our unique traits as a community of compassionate citizens.

We recognize that fasting practices occur throughout the calendar year. As a school community we are sensitive to and accommodate students and staff observers who express they are fasting.

If your family would like the campus to be aware of your student's wish to fast, please send an email to your child's classroom teacher so that we can be aware of any needs that may occur during an observance. Our partnership with our school community is important to us and we thank our families for their communication with the campus regarding special occasions and observances that may impact the instructional day.

Neill Elementary School recognizes the value and importance of school attendance and encourages regular attendance to help our students be successful through the school year. Please email the attendance office within five days of the student’s recorded absence explaining the reason for the absence or the absence will be marked as unexcused. You may send an email to attendancejne@fortbendisd.gov.

Fort Bend ISD is looking for mentors for the 2025—26 school year!

If you are a member of our community or part of the FBISD staff and are interested in making a meaningful impact in a student’s life, we invite you to fill out the UPLIFT Mentor Interest Form.

What to expect:

• Meet with your mentee once a week for 30-45 minutes
• Read books and provide support at elementary level
• Provide support at secondary level

Questions? collaborativecommunities@fortbendisd.gov

Clothing reminders:

• We kindly ask that all families place a change of clothes for ALL students, as well as extra shoes for little ones– soiled, torn, accidents, spills etc. happen to everyone.
• Please consider to donating gently used black girls stretch pants in various sizes especially larger;
• Please consider to donating some gently used ELASTIC waist boy gym shorts and sweat pants (now that it is winter) in larger sizes

Health Reminders:

• If your child is ill – keep them home.
• Parents please medicate or treat for allergy symptoms at home.

Contact Reminders:

• Please make sure the clinic has the most up-to-date contact information for parents, guardians and emergency contacts.
• Please add the clinic phone number to your contact list so urgent phone calls do not come up as SPAM – 281-327-3768.

Students will be allowed to celebrate their birthday at the end of the day, by bringing individually packaged store-bought food products, provided by the parent or grandparent. Treats may be distributed to classmates on or near (i.e. bring treats on Monday when the birthdate was on a weekend) the student’s birthdate.

Prior to sending any treats, we ask that you contact your child’s teacher to discuss the date you will send treats. The nutritional label must be attached to your store-bought item. A parent or guardian must bring them into the building and fill out the proper form which is submitted to FBISD’s Child Nutrition office.

Parents or grandparents of a student at Neill may provide one birthday treat per child to share with the student’s homeroom class only. This may be in the form of ONE individually wrapped edible or ONE small tangible item (such as a pencil) with the value of the individual item not to exceed $5.00.

We require single serving items, which must be pre-packaged and individually wrapped, such as mini- cupcakes, cookies, brownies, or Krispy treats.

We respectfully request no cakes, drinks, balloons, flowers, donuts, stuffed animals, or goody bags. To preserve instructional time, additional party favors ARE NOT permitted. Birthday treat time is not a “party” but a simple, quick recognition of the child’s special day.

Please keep in mind that we have several students with food allergies. For this reason, products containing peanuts or manufactured on equipment that processes peanuts are prohibited. No nuts please, due to allergies.

Principal: Margaret Murphy

Margaret.Murphy@fortbendisd.gov

Assistant Principal: Felicia Holmes (Grades K, 1st, 4th)

Felicia.Holmes@fortbendisd.gov

Assistant Principal: Natacha Isaac-Bonaventure (Grades 2, 3, 5)

Natacha.Isaac@fortbendisd.gov

Executive Assistant: Vickie Zellers

Victoria.Zellers@fortbendisd.gov

Registrar: Jamie Fish

Jamie.Fish@fortbendisd.gov

Front Office Receptionist: Michelle Munoz

Michelle.Munoz@fortbendisd.gov

Counselor: Janelle Moses (Grades 1, 3, 5)

Janelle.Moses@fortbendisd.gov

Counselor: Jordan Massey (Grades K, 2, 4)

Jordan.Massey@fortbendisd.gov

Campus Compliance Coordinator (Special Education, 504, STAAR): Bobbi Threatt

Roberta.Threatt@fortbendisd.gov

Nurse: Vesna Scarborough

Vesna.Scarborough@fortbendisd.gov

Email: margaret.murphy@fortbendisd.gov
Website: https://www.fortbendisd.com/jne
Location: 3830 Harvest Corner Drive, Richmond, TX, USA
Phone: 281-327-3760
Twitter: @JNE_Longhorns