JNE'S Friday Newsletter

Dear Longhorn Families,

We have a wonderfully full week ahead at James C. Neill, and we’re excited to share several special opportunities with you. Our Book Fair begins next week, and each grade level will enjoy shopping during their outclass time. We’re also looking forward to welcoming families on campus for Lunches with Loved Ones—always a highlight for our students. To round out the week, we hope you’ll join us for Literacy Night as we celebrate the joy of reading together.

It’s a perfect way to honor books, stories, and the loved ones who make reading meaningful—right before we head into our holiday break.

Upcoming Events

Week of November 17th- Fall Book Fair

Monday, November 17th- Harvest of the Month

Tuesday, November 18th- 5th Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip (All Classes)

Wednesday, November 19th- 4th Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip (All Classes)

Wednesday, November 19th- Kindergarten Book Character Parade

Thursday, November 20th- Lunches with Loved Ones

Thursday, November 20th- Literacy Night & Fall Club Showcase

Thursday, November 21st- Lunches with Loved Ones

Week of November 24th- November Break

Monday, December 1st- Students Return to School

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

SEPAC Updated: Special Needs Planning- NEW!

FBISD Instructional Calendar Website

November Outclass Calendar

SEPAC October Parent Information

Yearbook Purchase Flyer

Yearbook Photo Submission Tips Flyer

FBISD Medication Policy

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!

November 14, 2025

Dear Fort Bend ISD (FBISD) Community,

Our District is committed to ensuring that every student learns in an environment that is safe, supportive and designed for long-term success. As FBISD enrollment begins to stabilize across the district, we are conducting a long-range boundary planning process. This is a multi-year planning process designed to balance enrollment across our campuses over time and create an attendance boundary for the opening of Amy Coleman Middle School.

In case you missed it, we recently hosted community meetings to share an overview of the long-range boundary planning process. You can review the full presentation by clicking on the thumbnail below.

As with any long-term planning process, timelines are subject to change. During the recent community meetings, the timeline indicated draft boundary scenarios were tentatively scheduled for presentation to the community in December. Please note, this timeline has since been updated, and boundary scenarios will be presented to the community for feedback in January 2026.

Your voice is an important part of this work. We encourage you to share your feedback by completing the survey at the end of the presentation below. Your feedback will help us support you and the community during this upcoming time of change. Please note, this survey is about the process and does not include boundary scenarios.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together to build a strong and sustainable future for Fort Bend ISD. For more information visit www.fortbendisd.com/attendanceboundaries.

Our Longhorn students have been earning HERD Bucks for demonstrating Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Excellence—and they’re so excited to spend them at the HERD Store!

We’re looking for volunteers to help stock shelves, organize items, and assist students as they shop. If you’d like to be a part of this positive experience, please sign up here:

Thank you for helping make the HERD Store a place of fun, growth, and recognition for our Longhorns!

This month, we’re celebrating the Longhorn teachers who are marking another trip around the sun in November! 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.

Link to JNE's Lunch Visitor Sign Up Genius

On Monday, November 17th through Wednesday November 19th, we will not be hosting lunch visitors due to our Book Fair shopping schedule during student's outclass time. On Thursday, November 20th and Friday, November 21st; students may invite no more than two loved ones to join them for lunch. Guests Must Sign Up Prior to Attending Lunch.

Our Lunches with Loved Ones sign up is for lunch only, students and guest will not shop at the book fair during their lunch time . All guest may join our Literacy Night events starting at 5pm on Thursday, including shopping at the book fair.

Please remember to bring a photo id with you to campus as this is required to be signed in to campus as a visitor.

We thank you for supporting us as our current practice is set in the interest of safety and fairness to everyone who would like to enjoy lunch with their child.

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 K, 3, 4)

Janelle.Moses@fortbendisd.gov

Counselor: Jordan Massey (Grades 1, 2, 5)

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