Hutsell Herald

Dear Hutsell Families,

I hope each of you had a wonderful summer filled with fun, relaxation, and special memories with your loved ones! I have truly missed seeing our little Hornets and their families, and I cannot wait to welcome everyone back to Hutsell Elementary for another incredible school year.

As we prepare to kick off the 2026–2027 school year, we are excited to welcome students back on Wednesday, August 12th! Our staff has been hard at work getting everything ready to ensure a successful start, and we are looking forward to another year of learning, growth, and unforgettable experiences.

Please take a moment to review the important dates and information below as you prepare for the first day of school. We look forward to partnering with you to make this the best year yet because at Hutsell, The Future Starts Here!

We can't wait to see our Hornets buzzing through the halls again soon!

With appreciation,

Mrs. Smith

• Aug 10: Meet the Teacher - 5-7 PM
• Aug 12: First Day of School
• Aug 29: Parent Orientation

Please join PTA for the 2026-2027 school year! Your membership helps bring amazing programs to our students and staff throughout the school year. It also gets you awesome discounts at lots of businesses and companies and DOES NOT require you to volunteer, though we would love to see all of you around the school and at our family events!

Join PTA

Meal Prices

As the 2026 – 2027 school year approaches, we'd like to remind you of an upcoming change to school meal prices.

In response to federal regulations and economic impacts, breakfast and lunch prices will increase beginning this school year. While these adjustments are necessary to help us continue providing high-quality, nutritious meals for our students, we understand that any increase can affect a family's budget. That's why we've worked hard to keep meal prices as affordable as possible. In fact, this is the District’s first meal price increase in more than 10 years.

Beginning with the 2026 – 2027 school year:

• Breakfast at all campuses will increase from $1.25 to $1.50.
• Elementary lunch will increase from $2.25 to $2.75.
• Junior high and high school lunch will increase from $2.75 to $3.25.

Please note that these changes do not affect Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) campuses. Students at participating CEP campuses will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch throughout the school year.

Message from Chief of Police - David Rider

July 28, 2026

Dear Katy ISD Parents/Guardians and Staff,

As we prepare for the 2026 – 2027 school year, student safety remains Katy ISD's highest priority.

Katy ISD Police, along with local law enforcement, have seen an increase in accidents and injuries involving electric motorcycles, dirt bikes, minibikes, pocket bikes, ATVs, go-karts and other high-powered motorized vehicles operated by children and teens. Many of these vehicles are not designed or legally authorized for student transportation to and from school.

It's important to understand that these vehicles are different from traditional bicycles, standing electric scooters and electric bicycles (e-bikes). Under Texas law, e-bikes have fully operable pedals and meet specific speed requirements, while high-powered electric motorcycles and similar vehicles are subject to different laws and may require registration, insurance and a driver's license.

To help keep students and staff safe, Katy ISD permits traditional bicycles, standing electric scooters, and Texas law-compliant e-bikes on campuses, provided they are operated safely and responsibly.

Electric motorcycles, dirt bikes, minibikes, pocket bikes, ATVs, go-karts and other similar high-powered motorized vehicles are not permitted on school property. High school students who drive a car or street-legal motorcycle to school must have a valid driver's license, current registration and proof of insurance.

Before school begins, we encourage families to review safe riding practices with their children. Working together, we can help students make safe choices and ensure a safe start to the new school year.

Thank you for your partnership in keeping our schools and community safe.

No Lunch Visitors at this time.

We are so excited to welcome students back to the library in the coming weeks. 3rd Graders will receive their CLASS 1:1 Chromebook during the first week of school. Please be on the look out for specific 3rd grade 1:1 information in the coming days.

Our summer reading challenge is still going on. Students can complete the challenge for awesome rewards through September 15th.

Mrs. Hancock and Ms. Davis

Library Staff

Library Facebook page

Library Website

Library Twitter

We're so excited to launch Beanstack for this year's reading challenge! Use the link below as a quickstart guide for logging books through the Beanstack tile in MyKaty Cloud and through the Beanstack app for Apple and Android users. Watch the video to learn more about the student experience in Beanstack.

Join PTA today and help support our students and staff.

Click on the link to get directed to our Facebook page where you can see pictures, updates, and important information about everything PTA is doing for our school!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095534200990

Attendance is key for student success. Every time your student is absent, he/she loses learning opportunities. One of our goals this year is to increase attendance and reduce tardies. Statistics show that students that show to school everyday have a greater chance of graduating high school and attend college. Please join us in our incentive program "Race to School" and help your student win the school reward and PBIS points for their house.

Scan the QR code or click the link below.

https://katyisd.revtrak.net/elementary-schools/elementary-a-h/hutsell-elementary/#/list

Students are tardy if they arrive after 7:50am. If you arrive after 7:50am, you will be required to walk your child into the school and check them in using the iPad in the front office. Students are counted as a late pick-up after 3:25pm. Car rider tags will stop being recorded in the line at 3:25pm. If you are not in the line by 3:25pm, you will be required to come into the building to pick up your child and check them out using the iPad in the front office. Students arriving to school with time to spare have the luxury of settling in, greeting their teachers and classmates, completing morning work, and focusing their minds on the lessons to come. Students arriving late miss out on this natural transition period, and chronic tardiness may cause students to struggle with academic focus and relationships with peers. Showing up on time to school every day can help students develop the habit of being punctual, illustrates to them your commitment to their learning and friendships, and helps reduce classroom interruptions and distractions for all students.

School starts at 7:50am

If you are here after that time, you must park and come inside to fill out the google doc before your student may come inside.

If you arrive after 9:15am for a reason that is unexcused, the student will receive an absence for the day, and you will receive the automated phone call from the district in the afternoon at 4:15pm.

Please send in any excuse notes within 5 days of the absence.

Please see the link below for all attendance rules and regulations: https://www.katyisd.org/Domain/3790

brandiacoppens@katyisd.org

281-237-6508

Free Meals at Hutsell for Students

7:25 am - Staff arrives

7:30 am - Doors open and students go to classrooms

7:43 am - First bell

7:50 am - Tardy bell

3:00 pm - Dismissal

3:25 pm - Staff leaves

Join our volunteer community by registering using the QR codes below. Required for all Katy ISD Volunteers

The WATCH D.O.G.S. continues!

WATCH D.O.G.S. is one of the nation’s largest and most respected school-based, family, and community engagement, organizations in the country. In 1998, the very first WATCH D.O.G.S. program launched at Gene George Elementary in Springdale, AR. Today, more than 6,800 schools across the country have launched a WATCH D.O.G.S. program of their own. Each school year hundreds of thousands of fathers and father figures make a positive impact on millions of children by volunteering millions of hours in their local schools through this amazing one-of-a-kind program.

If you or another father figure in your family would like to sign-up, please fill out your information using this link: WATCH D.O.G.S. Sign Up You must also complete the district volunteer registration.

Order your t-shirt at dadsofgreatstudents.com. Shirt is required to volunteer.

Thank you for your support!

Please contact the clinic with regards to your children taking medication during the school day, so we can discuss the proper forms to be filled out.

If you have any questions, please call 281-237-6525.

Website: https://www.katyisd.org/HE
Location: 5360 Franz Road, Katy, TX, USA
Phone: (281)237-6500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HutsellElementary/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialhutsell

Shauntá Smith - Principal

Timothy Hurt - Student Support Principal

Brooke De La Garza - Assistant Principal

Rocio Sokol - Assistant Principal

Katherine Hodgins - Counselor