Rodriguez Elementary - August 23

What a great first week we had at Rodriguez! Our Knights were back with smiling faces, fresh haircuts, and squeaky-clean shoes! We had a great week getting to know each other, setting our campus-wide expectations, and starting our academic year strong.

For some of our students, this was their first-ever week of school. For others, they are beginning their year of "last time in elementary" moments. No matter where they are in their journey, we are excited to be part of it and look forward to all the memories and milestones ahead.

One of our big campus goals this year is to increase our daily attendance rate to 95% or better each day. We knocked it out of the park this week, with 3rd grade leading the way with an amazing 99% attendance rate! Let's go, Knights!

I also want to thank all of our families for their patience and grace during drop-off and pick-up. Overall, things ran smoothly, and each day dismissal got faster, cleaner, and safer. On the first day, our pick-up line was almost an hour and a half. By Thursday, we were down to about 50 minutes, and on Friday, we had all the cars out in just 40 minutes! Please keep encouraging your students to listen for their names to be called. If, for some reason, your student is not waiting at the color cone when you arrive and you are asked to pull up, please pull past the red cone so the line can continue to flow behind you.

Thank you again for helping us make a great start to the school year. We appreciate our Rodriguez families and are excited for all that is ahead!

Hello! My name is Georgina Gallegos, and I am excited to be joining the San Marcos community. I have been an educator for nearly 25 years, and throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working with and advocating for children and families.

I am new to San Marcos and look forward to learning more about this wonderful community and becoming an active part of it. Working with children has always been a passion of mine. Outside of education, I have been a foster parent to four boys and helped raise my two nephews, who are now 30 and 27. They have since blessed our family with two little boys, making me a proud great-auntie! I am especially excited to welcome my great-niece this coming November.

My Core Values:

The values that guide both my personal and professional life are respect, integrity, empathy, and lifelong learning.

August 28th- High School Football Season Opener and Little Rattlers Night

September 7th- School Holiday

September 8-11th- Attendance Spirit Week (Details Below)

September 8th- First Day Parents Can Eat With Students

September 10th- Grandfriends Bingo Night (Details Below)

September 12th- Homecoming Parade

September 17th- Title 1 Meeting 5:30 pm, Cafeteria, English and Spanish Presentation

September 25th- Parent Community Day (No School)

https://forms.gle/Xcy5BgrZ15NRiKNeA

If you are interested in getting involved in your child's school there are many ways to participate.

-Join the PTO

-Volunteer

-Join a Committee

We are currently looking for parents to join the CIP (Campus Improvement Committee, meets about 4 times per year) and the Parent and Family Engagement Committee (Meets monthly). If you are interested in joining either committee please call Mrs. Luera in the school office.

Bus routes should now be available for all students that registered for a bus route before August 2nd. Students that were registered for a bus after August 2nd, may not be placed on a bus roster for going home before September 9th.

• School doors open at 7:05 AM - please do not leave your student(s) unattended until they are received by school staff.
• Parents and guardians may use any route to access the school entrance round-about.
• Students will be greeted in the car rider lane and we ask that students are ready to go and on the passenger side while parents/guardians remain in the vehicle. If you plan to park on the street and walk your student(s), it is your responsibility to ensure that you walk them completely to the cafeteria to be received by school staff. It is an extreme safety concern for students to walk alone during the busy drop-off times.
• Students living in the neighborhood are allowed to ride their bikes to campus and secure them to a rack with their own lock. Please ensure your student understands bike safety and the importance of being alert.
• Once students are in the building, they may have breakfast in the cafeteria or proceed to their designated grade level pickup area. Teachers will pick up their classes beginning at 7:25 AM.
• Morning drop-off at the cafeteria ends at 7:35 AM and students will then need to enter through the front office entrance. After 7:35 AM, parents must walk their student(s) inside the front office to sign them in.
• Tardies will begin counting this week as our morning traffic continues to improve. Any student arriving after 7:35 will be counted tardy.

Students will not be released to anyone who walks up to the doors during our dismissal time due to safety. Parents and guardians may either utilize the carpool pickup lane, bus transportation, or dedicate their student(s) as walkers if they reside within 2 miles of the campus. Students that are walkers will need to stay with/behind the teacher leading the walking groups, please do not call your student out of the line before they reach you. Students should not enter the road before a staff member is present.

• Parents and guardians are expected to access the school entrance on the round-about highlighted by the purple pathway on the map below - the route indicated from Old Bastrop Rd. to Snowbell St. to William Moon have proven to be more efficient and allows emergency response teams easy access to the school, if necessary. Please be courteous of other parents by following these procedures. Please do NOT enter the carpool line through Esplanade Parkway, Van Horn Trace, or any other alternative route.
• Parents and guardians must have an official car tag issued from the school visible in order to pick up your student(s) from the carpool lane, beginning on the second day of school. Parents that attended Meet the Teacher received their car tag, everyone else will get one tag on the fist day. Beginning on August 20th if you do not have your car tag, you must proceed to front office and show ID to receive your student(s).

• Staff members will be escorting our walkers, who reside in the neighborhood, to the designated areas below. One group will be led to William Moon Way (Group 1), followed by the others, who will head towards Esplanade Parkway (Group 2). Please refrain from walking up to the school so that our staff may get all students to these areas safely.
• Students that are walkers will need to stay with/behind the teacher leading the walking groups, please do not call your student out of the line before they reach you. Students should not enter the road before a staff member is present.
• Walker Group 1 Streets: Sage Meadows Dr., Snowbell St., Lydon Dr., Gray Wolf Dr., Jane Long Dr., Camino Verde, Rosa Rd., Horsemint Way, Skyflower, William Moon Way, Bing Circle, Goldfinch Dr., Esplanade 109-113
• Walk Group 2 Streets: Spiny Lizard, Duck Creek Trail, Bosque Dr., Switchgrass St., Rexroat Rd., Shurgart St., Edward Gaytan, Rollingwood Dr., Sendero Trace Apt., Emerson Trace Apt., Salamander St., Las Lomas St., Flora Vista, Thunder Oak, Wagner St., Tortoise Trl.

🌧️DISMISSAL NOTE - Rain Reminder for Walkers:

In the event that it is actively raining, harder than a light sprinkle, all walkers will report to the front office and may be picked up by a parent or through the normal car dismissal.

What you need to know to start the school year off with good attendance!

DID YOU KNOW?

• Doors open at 7:05 and school starts at 7:35 AM & attendance is taken EVERY morning.
• Students arriving after 7:35 will be counted tardy.
• Campus Attendance Goal is 95% present everyday.