JNE'S Friday Newsletter

Dear Longhorn Families,

It’s been wonderful having our Longhorns back on campus this week!

Storytime met service as our kindergarteners enjoyed a special visit from FBISD Police Chief Sanders, who shared his book as part of the district’s new Premier Opportunities initiative.

Neill Elementary is proud to be part of the Service Sentinels, a group of campuses focused on service and leadership. Through classroom enrichment and hands-on learning, our students are exploring the important roles of community helpers—like FBISD Police Officers—and how they keep our schools and neighborhoods safe. Our Kindergarteners will also have the chance to visit the FBISD Police Department to see officers in action and learn more about how they serve our community during the first week of November.

We’re also looking forward to our 2nd Grade Musical Performance next week on Tuesday, November 28th! Students will perform for families during the 5:30 PM program, following our PTO General Assembly.

While Friday is Halloween, we’re asking students to stick with our Red Ribbon Week theme—school-appropriate pajamas! Please remember that costumes should not be worn to school. Students who come in costume will be asked to change.

Additionally, students may not bring candy, treats, or other items to share with classmates. Our campus follows the district's guidelines regarding the Distribution of Non-School Related Items, which limits sharing to designated campus identified times, such as a student's birthday. Please see our JNE Student/Parent Handbook (p.13-14) for more information.

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe, fun, and distraction-free learning environment for all our Longhorns!

Upcoming Events

Week of October 27th- Red Ribbon Week

Monday, October 27th- Fall Picture Day

Tuesday, October 28th- Parent Lunch and Learn: Parent Volunteer Orientation (12:00-12:30pm)

Tuesday, October 28th- JNE PTO General Assembly at 4:45pm (Cafeteria)

Tuesday, October 28th- 2nd Grade Musical Day (Evening Parent Program at 5:30pm)

Wednesday, October 29th- 2nd Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip

Thursday, October 30th- Kindergarten 50's Day

Thursday, October 30th- 2nd Grade Service Sentinel Field Trips

Friday, October 31st- Harvest of the Month

Monday, November 3rd- 3rd Grade Service Sentinel Field Trip

Tuesday, November 4th- Kindergarten Service Sentinel Field Trip

Wednesday, November 5th- Kindergarten Service Sentinel Trip

Thursday, November 6th- 5th Grade Field Trip to HMNS (provided by JNE's PTO)

Friday, November 7th- Festive Friday

Friday, November 7th- 1st Grade Field Trip to Dewberry Farms (provided by JNE's PTO)

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 October Parent Information- NEW!

Updated October Outclass Calendar- NEW!

Yearbook Purchase Flyer

Yearbook Photo Submission Tips Flyer

Picture Day Packages Flyer

FBISD Bullying Awareness and Prevention Flyer

Week of October 27th: Red Ribbon Week Flyer

FBISD Medication Policy

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!

Next week, Neill Elementary will join the nationwide Red Ribbon Week campaign to promote healthy, drug-free choices! This year’s theme, “Life Is a Puzzle—Solve It Drug Free,” reminds students that every decision they make is an important piece of their future.

Each day, students will bring home a short family activity to complete on a puzzle piece, focusing on topics such as medicine safety, saying no, and making healthy choices. Over the weekend, families will assemble their completed puzzle into a “Healthy Choices” poster.

Students who return their finished puzzles on Monday, November 3rd will earn a mystery amount of HERD Bucks for showing Longhorn PRIDE and teamwork at home!

We’re excited to invite you to a brief Virtual Volunteer 101 Session to learn more about how to get involved at James C. Neill Elementary! 💚💙

During this session, we’ll cover:

• The basics of volunteering on campus

• Expectations and guidelines for our volunteers

• Upcoming opportunities to get involved this year

📅 Date: Tuesday, October 28
🕛 Time: 12:00–12:30 p.m.
💻 Location: Microsoft Teams – Join the meeting now

This session will be recorded and shared afterward for anyone who can’t attend live.

We’re so grateful for our incredible parent community and can’t wait to partner with you in making Neill a wonderful place to learn and grow!

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 October! 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

Monday, October 27th is picture day, we will not host visitors this day due to schedule changes and volunteers on campus supporting this event. On Tuesday, October 28th, JNE will have a schedule change due to student-centered musical performances in the cafeteria and will not host lunch visitors.

As a reminder, 2nd grade classrooms will be on a field trip this week, with half the grade level attending on Wednesday, October 29th and the other half attending on Thursday, October 30th. 2nd grade students will NOT be available for lunch with their parent on their field trip day as lunch will be eaten off-site.

Classroom off -site on 10/29- Ms. Hodges, Ms. Wiggins, Ms. Jackson, Ms. Paz, and Ms. Jemela.

Classrooms off-site on 10/30- Ms. Lee, Ms. Onyia, Ms. Posey, Ms. Gonzalez, and Ms. Chastain

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.

Use of a wireless communication device is prohibited in a school zone unless the driver is using a hands-free device or the vehicle is stopped, according to Texas Transportation Code. Statewide, drivers face $200 tickets if caught using cell phones in school zones while the car is in motion

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