The Weekly Splash

Dear Dolphin Parents,

A huge thank you to our Donald STEM Academy PTA for gifting the funds to furnish our staff lounge! Your generosity has helped create a more welcoming space where teachers and staff can gather, recharge, and enjoy lunch together around the table. We are so grateful for your support in making our campus feel even more like home!

Mrs. Kenely

Proud Principal of Donald Elementary 🐬💙

The Donald Elementary PTA knows that a strong partnership among our families, school leaders and community members is important to the success of our students and school. That’s why we are participating in the National PTA School of Excellence program, which grows partnerships between PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being of all students.

We need your help! As part of the process outlined by National PTA, we are requesting feedback from families, administrators and teachers at two points in the school year—the beginning and the end. Using the community feedback, we will build an Excellence Action Plan to strengthen family-school partnerships.

Please take 5-10 minutes to reflect on your experience at this school and complete this survey. Please complete this survey by October 15th.

Have you ever wanted to thank a staff member, teacher, or even the principal or assistant principal? We now have a quick and easy way for you to brighten someone’s day! Recognize Someone is a simple way to send a short note of appreciation. You never know how much your kind words can truly uplift someone.

When I attend my monthly Principal Meetings, I love receiving a stack of these recognitions for my staff and it's such an honor to even sometimes hear my name and message read by my chief. On our campus, recognitions for staff are shared during staff meetings and displayed outside classroom doors. This way, teachers and staff have a daily reminder—especially on tough days—that they are seen, heard, and valued.

Don't rush around cooking before STEM night on September 29th. Buy your family In-N-Out and enjoy a delicious burger before STEM night. The truck will be serving the meals from 5:30-7. Each ticket includes a hamburger or cheeseburger, chips and a drink for $8 and the PTA gets back $6 from each ticket sold. Tuesday September 23rd is the cut-off date for In-N-Out tickets. Tickets must be purchased in advance so buy your tickets here before it's too late! Email fundraising@donaldpta.com with any questions.

It’s attendance awareness month! Did you know that students who attend school regularly means success for tomorrow? As a reminder your student can be excused for 5 days (either whole OR parts of a day) by parent notification and 5 days for a pre-planned absence. If your student needs to be absent for a medical professional appointment for either the whole day or part of the day, please remember to send in the doctor’s note. Thank you for helping us ensure your student is Present for the Future!

If you are wanting to attend your child's field trips, help with events, or volunteer on campus you MUST have a VOLY background check complete. It is a very easy process and nice to get out of the way early before it's too late!

Lewisville ISD's VOLY site is open and ready to accept volunteers for the 2025-2026 school year. All volunteers on LISD campuses must have an approved background check on file. LISD uses LewisvilleISD.voly.org to post volunteer opportunities and to process background checks. Please go to the site and either create an account or update your account from a previous year. VOLY also has an app! You can find it in the app store for either Apple or Android products. Be sure to select that you want to work with Lewisville ISD. We look forward to having you on campus as a volunteer soon!

For the 2025–2026 school year, LISD will increase student and adult meal prices to align with federal guidelines and rising food service costs. This marks the first student lunch price increase since the 22-23 school year. Breakfast and lunch prices will increase by $0.30. These adjustments help ensure compliance with USDA requirements and reflect the district’s efforts to maintain high-quality, sustainable meal services.

All students that qualify as receiving reduced price meals at the previous price of $0.30 for breakfast and $0.40 for lunch will now get all breakfast and lunch meals for FREE at all LISD campuses for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. Find out if you are eligible and apply HERE.

You must apply each year for the Free and Reduced Lunch program. Complete the application by clicking on the button to see if qualify.

🐾 Join us for Junior Jags! 🏈
A community event hosted by Flower Mound Jaguar Football and FMHS Cheer Booster Club, where future Jaguars get the chance to experience Friday Night Lights at Flower Mound High School. ✨

📅 Date: October 3, 2025
📍 Location: Neal E. Wilson Stadium
⏰ Check-In: 6 PM (look for the signs by the stadium entrance)

Kids (K–8th) will receive:

🎟️ Complimentary football game ticket
🎒 Swag bags (limited — first come, first serve)
🐾 Jaguar Tunnel Run Through

No registration required! Parent and other attendee tickets available on the Hometown app.

It’s that time of year again for Destination Imagination to begin. For those of you not familiar with this program I’ve included a short description below.

Destination Imagination: DI is a project based learning experience that applies the creative process across seven different Challenge types - Technical, Scientific, Engineering, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Service Learning and Early Learning - allowing pre-k through 12 students to acquire and practice the skills needed to thrive in school, future careers, and beyond.

This year there will be a virtual informational meeting on September 23rd at 6:00 pm. I have attached the flyer and below is the zoom link for the virtual meeting.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84803347113?pwd=2KCSiClvABgITJNxaejyQEqxP74FEk.1

This year's theme, "The Future of Water", invites students to explore how ongoing challenges and emerging opportunities shape the future of water. Communities that depend on the Trinity River face long-term challenges in efforts to protect and manage water resources. Droughts, floods, pollution, and growing demand place constant pressure on our water systems. At the same time, these communities and the Authority are taking action through innovation, conservation, and long-term planning. By reflecting on past progress and current efforts, along with the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, this theme encourages a thoughtful and creative vision for the future of water in Texas.

The contest is open to 1st - 8th grade students who live in or go to school in TRA Board Counties (Anderson, Chambers, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Henderson, Houston, Kaufman, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Navarro, Polk, San Jacinto, Tarrant, Trinity, Walker) and 1st - 8th grade students living in or going to school in TRA customer cities outside of those counties (Flower Mound, Argyle, Northlake, Roanoke, Justin, and Venus).

Winners will be chosen from each grade level and will receive prizes and recognition! Entries will close on September 30, 2025.

I have attached the full information packet, or you can view it on our website at https://trinityra.org/art. The packet includes the contest rules, resources to learn more about the theme, and the entry form.

Website: https://donald.lisd.net/
Location: 2400 Forest Vista Dr. Flower Mound, TX 75028

Phone: 469) 713-5198

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donaldelementary

Twitter: @Donald_ES