The Brauchle Post

💙🐾 Good Evening Brauchle Cougar Families! 🐾💙

We hope you are having an amazing summer making memories, relaxing, and soaking up every minute together! ☀️💙 I know… I know… it feels like summer just started, but if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already started getting all of those back-to-school emails and supplies! 😄 The excitement is definitely starting to build!

We are SO excited to welcome everyone back for what is going to be an incredible 2026–2027 school year! We truly cannot wait to fill our hallways with smiling faces, laughter, learning, and lots of Cougar spirit once again!

🐾 Join us for Meet the Teacher on Thursday, August 6th!

This is one of our favorite events of the year because it’s the beginning of something special! During your 30-minute session, your family will have the opportunity to:
💙 Meet your teacher
📚 Visit your classroom
🎒 Drop off school supplies
⭐ Learn about your grade level and important campus information
🙌 Get everyone hyped and ready for an amazing first day of school!

And because every celebration is better with a sweet treat… 🍧 join us for Paletas with the Principals! We can’t wait to see everyone, visit with our families, and welcome both our returning and brand-new Cougars to the Brauchle family.

This year’s theme is Driven with Purpose, and that’s exactly how we’re approaching this school year. We are committed to helping every child grow academically, socially, and emotionally while creating a school where every student feels loved, challenged, and inspired to do their very best.

Thank you for trusting us with your children. It is truly an honor to partner with your family. We know this is going to be a year full of growth, success, friendships, celebrations, and unforgettable memories.

Parents will receive a welcome message from their child’s new teacher on Monday, August 3rd.

Let’s make this our BEST year yet!

💙 We are Brauchle.
⭐ We are DRIVEN with Purpose.
🐾 We can’t wait to see you on August 6th!

April Mata-Tausch, Brauchle Principal

Dear Brauchle Families,

Welcome to another incredible year at Brauchle Elementary! We are so excited to welcome both new and returning families as we begin a school year that is sure to be filled with learning, growth, laughter, and unforgettable memories.

Our theme this year is Driven with Purpose, and it reflects our commitment to ensuring that every decision we make, every lesson we teach, and every relationship we build is centered around what matters most—your child.

At Brauchle, we want every Cougar to walk through our doors feeling loved, safe, challenged, and inspired to reach their fullest potential. We believe every child can succeed, and together with our families, we'll build confidence, celebrate growth, and create meaningful learning experiences that last a lifetime.

Thank you for trusting us with your most precious gift. It is truly an honor to partner with you in your child's educational journey. When families and schools work together with a shared purpose, amazing things happen.

Below you'll find our Campus Handbook, which serves as a supplement to the NISD Elementary Student-Parent Handbook. We encourage you to review it as we prepare for an exciting year ahead.

Thank you for being part of our Cougar family. We can't wait to see all that we'll accomplish together.

Here's to a wonderful year of being Driven with Purpose!

With gratitude,

April Mata-Tausch
Principal

Patric Rivas
Associate Principal

The Learning Tree program is offered at Brauchle Elementary. Please contact the Learning Tree Staff at 210-397-8108 with questions or concerns.

When dropping off your child, please pull up to the next available car sign to help the traffic flow smoothly. Students may enter the school building at 7:00 a.m. when supervision begins. Students may eat breakfast in the cafeteria and then go to their assigned area at 7:15 to wait for the bell to ring at 7:35. In the mornings, Pre-K will wait at the first three tables in the cafeteria. Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade students will wait outside their hallways and 3rd through 5th grade students will wait in the gym. We will have teachers supervising students during this time.

If you are dropping off your child off in the front, please adhere to the city code of ordinances which prohibits the use of cell phones while driving on school property. This will help keep our students, parents and staff safe.

Parents who choose to walk their children to class after the first day of school will need to check into the front office to receive a visitor badge. If you will walk your child to class more than once a week, you may want to fill out a FAST pass form. This will make it easier and faster for you to grab your printed badge with Mrs. Debbie Leal outside in the front of the campus doors.

If you would like to walk your child to class, we ask that you arrive no later than 7:40 to make certain that your child will not be late.

Attendance is extremely important for all students to be successful in school. The instructional school day begins at 7:45 a.m. Children arriving after 7:45 a.m. are tardy and must go to the office to obtain a tardy slip. A child who is not present at 9:00 a.m. is counted absent for the day, unless they were at a doctor’s appointment, and the parent brings in the doctor's note with their child upon checking in their child for the day. A child who arrives after 9:00 a.m. should be accompanied by the parent to the school office and must provide the school a written note explaining the reason for the late arrival. When your child is absent, a note must be provided to the teacher explaining the reason for the absence upon their return. Attendance communication can also be emailed to our attendance secretary, Debbie Leal at debra.leal@nisd.net.

Family Vacations: Family vacations are not considered excused absences. If a student is absent for more than three consecutive days due to illness, a healthcare provider's note will be required for the absences to be considered excused. Regular attendance is essential to student success. Every school day provides valuable learning opportunities, classroom experiences, and connections that are difficult to replace. We appreciate your partnership in helping ensure our students are at school, engaged, and learning each day.

We will have attendance celebrations as a way to give back to students and acknowledge their dedication to coming to school every day and demonstrating excellent attendance. Celebrations will be scheduled 4 times throughout the year. Classroom Teachers will monitor students’ participation by ensuring that students do not have any absences, and no more than 3 tardies or early outs.

Birthdays are such an important, magical day for our students, and we know they need to be celebrated. Please feel free to bring store bought treat(s) for your child’s class to celebrate. Birthday celebrations will be in the classrooms. No food may be given in the cafeteria, other than for your own child, as per state guidelines. We do not permit balloons or flowers in the classroom. Birthday party invitations can be distributed to classmates as long as all boys, all girls, or all students receive an invitation. We do not want any of our students to feel left out.

Breakfast will be served from 7:00-7:35 a.m. Students must be in the cafeteria during that time if they would like to eat breakfast so they are not tardy to class. Teachers will be sharing lunch schedules with parents through class dojo.

We are asking parents to refrain from coming to school to eat breakfast or lunch with their children the first week of school. We want our students to get into the routine of the day, learn lunchroom procedures to ensure a safe, positive environment for them to all enjoy lunch while socializing with their friends. When parents visit for breakfast and lunch the first couple of weeks, our students (especially our younger ones) struggle with parents leaving and then they have difficulty with the rest of the day.

Beginning the 2nd week of school, parents will be able to come and enjoy breakfast and lunch with their children on stage. Parents are only allowed to take their child on stage to eat with them. Parents are able to bring food for their child only and not other students/friends in class. Thank you!

Our stage will not be set up for breakfast and lunch the first week so we can ensure that we teach our students the procedures and safety within our lunch room.

Our Campus Core Beliefs are what our campus strives for every day:

• Every lifelong learner deserves the freedom and empowerment quality instruction provides.

• Supporting and celebrating the whole child allows learners to reach their highest potential.

• Student success is enhanced by valuing the relationships within the Brauchle community.

Students should not have their cell phones on during school hours. Cell phones should be in their backpacks and silenced. If the phone becomes an issue, we will need to take the phone and notify parent to pick up at the end of the school day.

Students in Kinder-5th grades will attend Discovery classes for 45 minutes each day. They will be participating in PE, STEM, Music and Art class throughout the week.

The dismissal bell rings at 3:00 p.m. We will continue implementing our dismissal process where parents are given numbers / car signs to pick up children in the car line. Please have your car tag up so we are able to quickly input the number. Please pull up to the first car sign to help with traffic flow and expedite our pick up process. Once we begin dismissal all car numbers will be entered and students will begin to position themselves at the waiting area cones in front of the campus. Parents walking up to get their child will wait in the area at the flagpole. This will help with student safety in ensuring our students are all accounted for and in class until parents come to pick up. Parents at the flagpole will need the car tag to pick up their child. Children attending day care will be accompanied to the daycare bus. At 3:20 p.m., all children remaining are brought to the office and staff will begin to contact parents. After 3:20, students must be signed out of the office. Parent(s)/guardian(s) will need to go to the office with proper ID in order to sign out students. There is no supervision after 3:20.

We highly recommend all parents driving to pick up their child to drive through our front pick up lane. This helps with student safety and minimizes the number of students we are having to cross. We will begin entering parents who are picking up in car line first prior to parents picking up at the flag pole due to traffic. We will not begin entering parent numbers waiting by the flag pole until 10 minutes after dismissal to get our traffic down.

If you are picking up your child in the front, please adhere to the city code of ordinances which prohibits the use of cell phones while driving on school property. This will help keep our students, parents and staff safe.

We know that there are times when dismissal changes may happen, please notify your child’s teacher of any changes in writing. Our teachers are busy at work teaching throughout the day, therefore if you are going to send a class dojo, please ensure you send the message of dismissal changes the day prior so teachers have enough time to see the change. Please do not ask your child to verbally let their teacher know as sometimes the information does not get to teachers accurately. If you need to make immediate changes the day of, please call the front office at 210-397-1500 prior to 2:15pm.

Brauchle’s dress code policy for students is in accordance with Northside’s policy as explained in the Student-Parent Handbook. Unconventionally colored, multi-colored, spiked or Mohawk hairstyles are specifically prohibited. Students are encouraged to wear rubber-soled shoes the day they have PE. Flip-flops are not considered safe footwear and should not be worn. For safety reasons, shoes with wheels are not to be worn.

House Bill 1481 introduces new statewide policy requiring campuses to implement procedures that prohibit the use of student cell phones, smartwatches, and other personal electronic devices during the school day.

At Brauchle Elementary, we are committed to adhering to this policy. Students are expected to:

• Keep all cell phones powered off or on silent and stored inside their backpacks throughout the school day.

• Place smartwatches on silent mode in their backpacks or leave them at home.

This policy ensures that we maintain a focused and distraction-free learning environment while remaining in full compliance with state and district expectations.

We do our best to offer a variety of extra curricular activities for our students. Please be on the lookout for more information on different clubs that we will have throughout the year.

The nurse is permitted to administer first aid only. The nurse does not diagnose illnesses, but takes notes of symptoms and notifies the parent of the observations. A child with a temperature will need to be picked up. A student should be fever-free for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school. Please try and schedule medications to be given at home. In circumstances where medication needs to be given at school, it should be taken directly to the nurse by the parent. No medications may be kept in the classroom. Only medication prescribed by a physician may be taken at school; this includes over the counter medication. A medication form must be completed and the prescription must be in the original prescription container. Long term medication may be administered only if the physician completes the school’s Special Health form. For more information, please visit: https://www.nisd.net/schools/health

We strive to provide our families with the best communication possible. Our campus will continue to utilize Class Dojo for communication. All teachers, staff and administration will be using this platform to communicate with our families. We will also send out call outs, and newsletters.

Please scan the QR code below to get access to our class dojo. Thanks.

The Brauchle Parent-Teacher Association extends a cordial welcome to all parents and urges you to join and participate in the organization’s activities throughout the year. Assisting our school through PTA benefits all children. PTA funds student field trips, different incentives for PBIS Cougar store, and other fun events/characters we may have on campus.

There are many ways parents may volunteer on campus including mentoring students, helping teachers make instructional materials (copies), and/or serving as a room parent or field trip chaperone. All parent volunteers must complete a criminal background check and be cleared prior to volunteering. Forms are available at: https://www.nisd.net/community/volunteer-mentor or you may come to the school library to complete the form online using one of the school’s computers.

Classrooms will have 3 party days held (Christmas) December 18th , (Fiesta) April 22nd, and (End of Year) May 26th. On these days, students are allowed to bring and eat food items, which are not normally permitted. Classroom teachers will send information as dates come closer. No food may be given in the cafeteria, other than for your own child, as per state guidelines. Balloons or flowers are not permitted and should not be delivered to school.

If you plan to attend a classroom party or any campus-wide event, all visitors are required to complete a Northside ISD volunteer background check prior to volunteering or participating. You can complete the quick application through Northside ISD by visiting:https://hrvolunteer.nisd.net/TempMod.nsf?Open. The safety of our Cougars is always our top priority. Thank you for helping us create a safe, welcoming environment where our Brauchle family can learn, celebrate, and grow together.

At Brauchle, we are a PBIS campus, Positive Behavior Intervention Support Campus. In all areas of our campus our students follow our PBIS expectations to BE SAFE, BE RESPONSIBLE and BE RESPECTFUL. Our students are celebrated for their positive behavior in many different ways.

We welcome all parents who desire to work together for the best educational setting. For security purposes, our visitors will go through the security lobby. All parents and visitors to our school campus must sign or check in at the security lobby, list the reason for the visit, and display his or her driver’s license or other government-issued form of photographic identification prior to proceeding elsewhere on campus. ALL VISITORS must present a picture ID (no pictures of ID will be accepted) that will be scanned through our Raptor System every time you visit our campus. No one will be allowed to enter the building without an ID. Visitor badges need to be visible at all times while on campus.

Security continues to be our number one priority at Brauchle. Point of entry & exit for all visitors will be through the security lobby. All visitors should be leaving campus through the security lobby doors only. We will continue to ID all visitors on campus and ensure they are clear to enter using our Raptor system. We will also continue with our Lock down/Safety Drills, Fire drills throughout the year. Anytime we conduct a Lockdown Safety Drill, administration will be notifying parents through Class Dojo. Teachers will also inform parents. Administration and custodial staff work very closely to ensure that all doors on campus are functioning properly.

If you are going to walk onto the campus, you will need to check into the office for a Raptor badge OR fill out a fast pass to have your badge pre-printed and ready to go each day.

Every Friday is Spirit Day! We want our students to “Finish Strong” and give their full effort EVERY learning week. All students are encouraged to wear Blue/White or their school spirit shirt on Fridays to finish the week off strong!

If you have questions or concerns directly related to your child’s interactions in their classroom, we ask that you speak directly to your child’s teacher first before coming to an administrator. Your child’s teacher will be the first point of contact as they are the most informed person when it comes to your child. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, please call or email an administrator.

April Mata-Tausch, Principal

april.mata-tausch@nisd.net

Patric Rivas, Associate Principal

patric.rivas@nisd.net

Office Staff/Nurse/Counselor-

Roseann Alvarado, Principal Secretary

roseann.alvarado@nisd.net

Debbie Leal, Attendance Secretary

debra.leal@nisd.net

Nadyne Wilson, Office Clerk

nadyne.wilson01@nisd.net

Lori East, Nurse

laura.east@nisd.net

Belinda Galindo, Counselor

belinda.galindo@nisd.net

We have our year at a glance for you all to plan accordingly. We know days get so busy. Please know that events may be added or changed as needed. We will let you know as soon as we have word of any changes. Thanks!

We are always in need of volunteers for different campus events. Please fill out the link below if you are interested in volunteering. Thank you!