The Mustang Message
Friday, October 23, 2026
Dear Mustang Family,
It sure is a great time to be a Tivy fan! Our Antler football team continues to rock and roll each week and our Volleyball team is headed to the playoffs! Our Cross Country team are both headed to the Regional Cross Country Meet tomorrow, and the Band will be competing at Area competition this weekend!
We are also excited to finish the month of October strong! Below you will find a few reminders to help this week go smoothly.
📢 Did You Know? 📢
A student who arrives at school at 8:00 a.m. just one day each week will miss approximately 9 hours of instruction by the end of the school year. 😲
Our tardy bell rings at 7:45 a.m., and students are not counted tardy until after morning announcements have finished. Arriving on time ensures students don't miss important lessons, morning routines, and valuable time with their teachers and peers. 📚✏️
Let's help our Mustangs be present, prepared, and on time every day! 🐴💙 Together, we can make every minute count! ⏰✨
❤️🎗️ Red Ribbon Week: October 26-30 🎗️❤️
Join us as we celebrate Red Ribbon Week, October 26-30! This special week is an opportunity to encourage healthy choices, promote a drug-free lifestyle, and build a strong, positive future for all of our Mustangs. 🐴✨
We invite all students and staff to participate in our fun dress-up days throughout the week! Be sure to check out the High Score Highlights section of this newsletter for the daily themes and start planning your outfits. 🎮👕🌟
Let's come together to show our Mustang pride and commitment to making safe, healthy choices every day! ❤️🙌
🎃🏃♂️ Field Day is Coming! 🏃♀️🎃
Get ready, Mustangs! Our annual Field Day will take place on Friday, October 30th and is sure to be a day full of fun, teamwork, and school spirit! 🐴💙
📅 Field Day Schedule:
- 3rd-5th Grade: 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
- K-2nd Grade: 1:15 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
🌦️ In the event of inclement weather, Field Day activities will be moved indoors.
🎃🍪 If you volunteered to donate cookies or pumpkins, please ensure they are delivered to campus by October 28th so we can make sure we have everything needed for a successful event.
⭐ Please Note: Due to Field Day activities, there will be no Cactus Star Store on October 30th.
Thank you for your support in making this a memorable day for our Mustangs! We can't wait to celebrate with our students! 🎉🐴💙
With Mustang Pride,
Katie Miller, Principal
Weekly Homeroom Attendace Leaders
Average Daily Attendance
#LeadingWithCharacter
Saddle Up for the Week
Reb Ribbon Week is Here!
We Love our Bus Drivers!
Field Trip Fun for Kinder and 2nd Grade!
GT Parent Informational Zoom Meeting
Save the Date for Book Fair!
Veterans Day Rememberance
We are excited to honor Veterans for our upcoming Pep Rally and during the Book Fair! If you would like to submit a photo that you need returned, please ensure your student's name is on the back so we can get it back to them at the completion of the Book Fair and Pep Rally.
Veterans Day Performance
Tivy HS Game Day Themes
Shoutout for Mrs. Ortega!
Send us a Staff Affirmation!
October Leadworthy Trait: Self-Direct
What does it mean to Self-Direct?
Self-Direction is the ability and learned skill to cast a vision of future goals and then take intentional steps toward who, where, and what we want to be. Instead of focusing on things to control or avoid, we emphasize our responsibility to make positive choices related to our emotions, attitudes, and actions.
Why focus on Self-direction?
- Self-direction strengthens relationships. Self-direction helps to grow social skills and develop meaningful, positive relationships with others.
- Self-direction teaches personal responsibility. Learning to self-direct teaches students to take responsibility for their own actions.
- Self-direction helps us to regulate emotions: Self-direction empowers students to regulate their impulses and emotional responses to situations and circumstances in their life.
Self-Direction in Action:
- Practice goal setting and action planning. When we establish goals and develop action plans, we learn to take intentional steps to successfully achieve goals.
- Monitor and adjust. Provide students with regular feedback and opportunities to self-assess progress toward goals to make adjustments and improvements in their behaviors.
- Reflect and evaluate. Facilitate discussions and reflection to prompt students to examine what they do, think, and say against their goals and vision for their life and learning.
A Note from Mrs. Mohnke
Why join the PTO?
💙💛 Mustangs, we need YOU! 💛💙
Join the Tom Daniels Elementary PTO and be entered to win exciting rewards every 6 weeks! The more you participate and volunteer, the more chances you have to win.
Let's work together to make this school year unforgettable for our students!
DES Staff Favorites
Mark Your Calendar: Meeting Dates for the 26-27 School Year
Spring Fling is BACK! Save the Date!
October 26th-30th: Red Ribbon Week (dress up days)
October 27th: World Occupational Therapy Appreciation Day
October 29th: Life Skills Field Trip to Jenschke Farms
October 30th: DES Field Day
October 30th: Schreiner Football on Campus from 12-1 p.m.
November 2nd-6th: School Psychology Week
November 4th: Wear Green for CKH Trait of the Month: Teamwork
November 6th: End of the 2nd 6-Weeks
November 9th: Professional Learning Day/No School for Students
November 10th-13th: Fall Book Fair
November 10th: Start of the 3rd 6-Weeks
November 10th: PTO Meeting at 12 p.m. in the Library
November 11th: Turkey Lunch Day (more details to come)
November 11th: Burger King Spirit Night from 4-8 p.m.
November 12th: 2nd 6-Weeks Report Cards Go Home
November 12th: Happy Birthday, Ms. Nathanson!
November 12th: Happy Birthday, Ms. Crider!
November 12th: Literacy Night from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
November 13th: Happy Birthday, Mrs. McDonald!
November 13th: 2nd 6-Weeks Academic Pep Rally at 8 a.m. and Veterans Day Performance
November 15th: Happy Birthday, Ms. Knoulton!
November 16th: Happy Birthday, Mrs. Mohnke!
November 20th: 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Doseum
CCMR Awareness
Each Wednesday at Daniels, our staff will be trying to help promote CCMR (College, Career, and Military Readiness) by wearing shirts of different colleges, careers, and branches of the military. Although attending college is a great option for students when they graduate from high school, it isn't the only option that can lead to a rewarding and successful future. Our students may be young, but their future is bright! We invite all of our Mustangs to join in on Wednesdays and wear their favorite CCMR shirt!
Lunch Visitors
Please note the following procedures that will be in place to help this process go smoothly.
- Visitors MUST check in at the front office by presenting their ID and obtain a visitor's pass.
- Visitors will be able to eat with their student in the designated seating. No friends or classmates will be able to join.
- Visitors are not permitted to sit at the student tables with homeroom classes.
- You are welcome to bring food for your student, but it cannot be shared with other classmates.
- Visitors will NOT be able to walk with students back to their class after lunch or attend recess with them.
- Visitors MUST sign out in the Office before leaving campus.
Scheduled Lunch Times
Kindergarten: 10:45-11:15 a.m.
1st Grade: 11:05-11:35 a.m.
2nd Grade: 11:25-11:55 a.m.
3rd Grade: 12:35-1:05 p.m.
4th Grade: 12:15-12:45 p.m.
5th Grade: 11:50-12:20 p.m.
Attendance
Our campus goal this year is 96% school-wide attendance. Regular attendance is extremely important. If your child is absent from school, please call or email your child's homeroom teacher and our Attendance Secretary as soon as you know they will not be attending school that day. Please include the reason for the absence. Excused absences are illness, medical appointments, or death in the family. Notes, calls, or emails must be received within 3 school days of the child returning. Unexcused absences may result in your child being placed on an attendance plan, prevent your child from being promoted to the next grade level, or may result in truancy charges being filed. Attendance is taken each day at 10:00 a.m. A student must be on campus at that time to be counted present.
Tardies
Students are counted tardy if they are not in their class by 7:45 a.m. Parents are required to bring the student into the office to check them in if arriving after 8 a.m. Chronic tardiness will be addressed by administration. It is vital that students arrive to school on time. This time is important to helping develop social skills, organization skills, and learning to begin the day prepared. Students that arrive after 7:45 often come in behind the rest of the class, causing anxiety and stress on the student. Always allow time for traffic delays due to weather conditions and the first few weeks of school.
Campus Visitors
All visitors and volunteers must sign in at the front office before entering the campus. Our Raptor system requires a valid photo ID for all first time visitors. Each year this is reset. Visitors will be unable to enter the campus if they have not signed in with proper ID, even if the DES team knows you. We will not allow visitors to be released to classrooms unless the teacher has previously let the office staff know.
Parents are welcome to visit at lunch time during your student's grade level lunch time starting Monday, August 31st. We will continue to have a visitor's table.
At the conclusion of their visit, all visitors MUST sign out in the office before leaving campus.
Birthday Treats
Birthday treats must be store bought with a nutrition label. Treats from bakeries must also include a nutrition label.
Birthday treats may be dropped off in the front office. Visitors will not go to classrooms for birthday celebrations. Teachers will celebrate the last 15 minutes of the day, prior to dismissal. Flowers and balloons are not to be sent to school for delivery for any student.
Transportation Changes and Early Pickups
If your student needs a transportation change for the day, please contact the office by 2:00 p.m. As it gets closer to 3 p.m., it can sometimes be difficult to locate students as the dismissal process begins. We understand that emergencies happen and will assist when those arise.
We also ask that students who need to leave early are picked up by 2:30 p.m. as well. This will allow our office staff to focus on dismissal and to ensure that it runs smoothly.
Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!
HB 1481: Student Communication Devices
Title 1 Family Compact
Cafeteria Menu and Prices
Breakfast and Lunch are offered on campus daily. Please check the menu frequently to see any changes that might occur.
2026-2027 Meal Prices
Breakfast Paid Student - $1.75
Breakfast Reduced Student - Free
Lunch Paid Student - $3.50
Lunch Reduced Student - $0.40
Mustangs Show PRIDE
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and wellbeing. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.
Kerrville ISD is utilizing PBIS on all four elementary campuses.
At Daniels, we have adopted the acronym of PRIDE. Our Mustangs are expected to show PRIDE in all they do and in all areas of the school. Students are asked to wear their badge so they can be rewarded for showing PRIDE throughout the school and by all staff members. Students are able to use their points to shop in Teacher Stores and to participate in school-wide incentives.
Standard Response Protocol (SRP)
The safety of our students and staff remains a top priority. To support a coordinated response during emergencies, our campus follows the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation. The attached graphics explain the five SRP actions and what they mean. We encourage families to review this information so we can partner together in promoting a safe school environment.