The Hoot Owl

As of today, we are at 95%.

Spring Break is right around the corner! We hope your family is looking forward to some well-deserved rest and quality time together. When we return, we will move right into spring conferences, and before we know it, the end of the school year will be here. This time of year always seems to fly by!

While students are enjoying their break, we encourage families to keep learning going at home. Even a little practice each day makes a big difference. Reading together, journaling about daily activities, practicing math facts, playing board games that involve numbers, or having your child write a short story are great ways to keep skills sharp and continue growing in reading, writing, and math.

As the weather begins to warm up and spring clothing comes back out, please remember that our children have grown since they last wore those outfits. Before sending your child to school, take a moment to check that clothing fits appropriately and comfortably for a full day of learning and movement.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. We are looking forward to a strong and successful finish to the school year!

In order for us to continually improve to meet the needs of all our families, we are asking that everyone take the survey at the link below. It is asking feedback on events that we have this school year, communcation preference as well as a few safety questions. It should take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

We value your feedback and would appreciate you taking time to complete the survey.

Parent Survey

Please read through the upcoming PTO information.

• Thank you to everyone who supported PTO Booster Fundraiser. We made just over $15,000 which exceeded our goal. Thank you!
• March 6 is Field Day. We will be sending a sign up to help. Please consider coming to help that day or at least part of that day.
• 27 - PTO Store

We are currently accepting nominations for PTO officers for the 26-27 school year. If you cannot be an officer, would you at least consider being the chair for one of the many events we do throughout the year. In order to continue to be successful, we need more volunteers!

Please complete the Nomination Form below for either an officer position or a volunter to chair an event position.

Nomination Form

Yearbooks are on sale at the link below. We are very low on sales currently so if you are interested, please order your yearbook now!

Help us with communication by emailing us at contactore@conroeisd.net. This includes changes of transportation, sick notes, or any other communication you have with our school. We monitor this email address frequently throughout the day and will ensure to see it. If you email directly to the teacher, we cannot guarantee that it will be seen as the teacher might be absent.

Tardies start at 7:56 a.m. With us opening our doors at 7:15 a.m., tardies are less this year than in the past few, but it is our goal to have even fewer than we currently have.

In order to allow our staff to be at their assigned job starting at 8:00 a.m., we are asking that if you arrive after 8:00 a.m. that you park your car, walk your child inside the building and sign them in at the front desk.

This applies to anytime after 8:00 a.m. For example, your child is late due to a doctor's appointment, please park, walk your child in the front office, deliver the doctor's note, and sign your child into school. It is not safe for them to be dropped off at the front doors.

The district has created coding guidelines for absences. Please see the linked below with a description of our new coding guidelines.

We’ve had several recent requests to change students from car riders to walkers. As a reminder, only students who live within the one-mile “no transportation” zone are eligible to be walkers. All other students must remain car riders or bus riders.

Please note that periodic checks are conducted to verify walker eligibility, and parents will be contacted if their child does not qualify to walk.

Additionally, walking is a privilege. Students must follow directions from the adults who monitor the walker line. If a student cannot keep hands to themselves or follow expectations, their walker privilege may be revoked, and they will need to ride the bus or be picked up in the car line.

Rainy day dismissal occurs for several different reasons. When it does, walkers will be held at the school and car rider will load 2 students at a time.

What determines rainy day dismissal?

• heavy rain in the immediate area
• lightning warning within 10 miles of the school

The school has a specific weather app that gives us weather warnings based upon weather specifically at Oak Ridge High School. While it might appear to be a decent day outside, if lightning registers in the area, we must be safe and load 2 cars at a time. The warning is for 30 minutes at a time (much like swimming pool rules). If the warning expires during dismissal, we will transition to loading 6 cars a time.

We appreciate your understanding of this situation.

Reservations can be made at the link below. When you arrive for lunch, please have your picture identifcation available as you will not be allowed in the school without a picture id. You will be directed to the cafeteria to meet your child and join them for lunch at the special reserved "Parent Table." We consider it a treat that you are coming to have lunch with your child so we want to make it special by having a reserved table just for you and your child.

Lunch reservations

If you need to pick up your child early, please remember we close that option at 2:45 p.m. We ask that you arrive prior to 2:45 p.m. to get your child. We will not release students after 2:45 unless it is an emergency and emergencies shouldn't be very often.

If you arrive after 2:45 p.m., you will be directed to join the car rider line or offered the opportunity to wait in the front until all car riders have been dismissed.

Once again this year we will have a Watch D.O.G.S. program here at ORE. This is a program that encourages dads, uncles, grandfathers, or other important men to take an active roll in supporting our school. This person must be at least 21 years of age and completed the Volunteer Background Check before serving our school.

FAQs:

What is a Watch D.O.G.S? - It is the Dads of Great Students.

What do I do? We are flexible and work with your schedule. Here are some options -

• work the morning car rider line
• work the afternoon car rider line
• volunteer half day - check premises for security, read to students, help with math, support in the cafeteria for lunch duty
• volunteer all day - check premises for security, read to students, help with math, support in the cafeteria for lunch duty, help with recess, etc...

How many times a year do I volunteer? - as often as your schedule will permit

Is there a cost? No! Some Dads choose to buy their own Watch D.O.G.S. shirt but we have them for daily loan.

Where do I start? Complete the CISD Volunteer Check here. Once you have completed that, email us at contactore@conroeisd.net or call the school and ask for Mrs. DeAlencar. She will get you scheduled.

What do I do when I arrive? Let the front office know you are here as a Watch D.O.G.S. volunteer. Mrs. DeAlencar, Family Engagement Liaison, will walk you through everything you need to know about the day.

Please note that our school hours have changed per the state and district guidelines. Our new school hours are 7:55 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.

Doors will open this year at 7:15 a.m. We ask that you do not drop students off prior to 7:15 a.m. as we have no one to supervise them prior to the doors opening.

Students are tardy at 7:56 a.m.

Dismissal begins at 3:10 p.m.

Students should be picked up by 3:30 p.m.

Visitors on campus:

Things to know about visiting our campus.

*Arrive at the front door and ring the doorbell (facing the doors to your right)

*Let the front office staff know what you need.

*Once you have communicated with front office staff, you will be buzzed into the front vestibule.

*An ID will be required to enter the main part of the building or check a child out. Please make sure you have it with you as you will be sent to get it.

Volunteering on campus:

Please remember that in order to volunteer on campus (reading to a class, going on a field trip, helping with PTO, attending class parties, etc...), parents must have completed the Volunteer Background check for the district. This must be completed each year for every school where you will volunteer so if you have students at 3 different schools, you must complete it for all 3 schools.

Volunteer Background Check

Before school starts, it is highly recommended that you register your child to ride the bus whether you plan on using transportation or not. There may be times when you need your child to ride the bus because of an emergency. If they are not registered, they cannot ride. Register for bus here.

Transportation the first few weeks of school runs slower than normal. Please be patient. If we all work together, follow expectations set forth, things will get faster. Bus drivers are learning routes, students and their families and car riders are learning the process. By the third week of school, things should smooth out and get into a normal routine.

BUSSES -

Please make sure you have registered your child for the bus, even if they rode last year. Also, if your child has an alternate route - such as dropping off or picking up at an alternate address or daycare, you MUST complete the alternate bus request PRIOR to your child being allowed to be picked up or dropped off at an alternate location.

The first couple of weeks busses will run 20-30 minutes behind the projected schedule. Drivers are working hard to make sure students are delivered to the right location safely so please be patient. Things to know about bus riders:

• PK and Kinder students will receive a "PK" or "K" sign added to their backpack. Please leave it on there.
• Parents will receive a bus rider sign where you will add your child's name. A person over the age of 18 must be present at the stop with the sign, in order to get the child off the bus. If no one is there, the child will be returned to school and the parent will have to come pick them up at school. The sign will be given out to parents at Meet the Teacher night.
• Good behavior is expected on the bus. For the safety of all, please review expectations with your child.
• talk to your seat mate or the students across the aisle
• remain seated at all times
• use an "inside" voice when talking to friends on the bus, refrain from yelling or screaming
• keep your hands to yourself

CAR RIDER LINE

Car rider line is typically done by 3:30 p.m. daily.

Things to know about car rider line:

• Parents are not allowed to park and walk up to the porch for drop off in the morning or the afternoon.
• Students may not be dropped off in the parking lot nor near the playground fence.
• Students may not be dropped off or picked up on the outside of the covered drive-through.
• Car rider signs must be displayed in window when picking up students.
• Parents may not enter car rider line from our driveway entrance. See map below.
• Parents coming north on I-45 feeder must join the line using Oak Ridge School Road, between the hotel and Saltgrass.
• Please allow merging at that stop sign.

How does the car rider line work:

• Your child's name will be entered into a car rider spreadsheet when the staff member comes by your car. (This is from your car rider sign so please have it displayed for easy access)
• Your child will come to the front of the school to a specified location.
• Your child will then be brought to the outside of the building to one of 6 locations.
• Please pull all the way forward, even if you do not see your child.

Parents who cut the line will be asked to move forward past the car rider line and wait for your child. This will take a few minutes as we find your child and get them to the front office.

WALKERS/BIKERS

Students can be walkers ONLY IF they live in the no bus zone. This is typically the 1 mile zone of the school according to transportation. If your child is eligible for bus service, they are not eligible to be a walker. We do monitor this and will notify parents if your child cannot be a walker.

Walkers are delivered to parents in the cul de sac at the fence cut through. We expect parents to be present to get their children from this area. If there is not adult at this location, your child will be brought back to school and you will need to walk over and get them from the front office.

If weather dictates that children cannot be walkers, parents will receive notification via text message through the district notification system. At that time, parents will be able to join the car rider line or walk to the art room door to retrieve your child. This decision is based upon lighting, heavy rain, or other hazardous weather situations.

TRANSPORTATION CHANGES

If you find that you need to change your child's method of transportation, there a couple of ways to make that happen.

If you know ahead of time, the best option is to send a handwritten note to the teacher in the child's folder.

If you need to change during the school day, please email the change to contactore@conroeisd.net including your child's name, teacher name, specific change of transportation requested. This will only be put into place for the one day requested.

As a last resort, please call the front office and let them know the change of transportation.

Once the school day has started, we ask that you NOT email or text change of transportation to the teacher. This will help prevent a miscommunication due to something like the teacher being absent or not having time to check email during the school day.

ALL CHANGES MUST BE MADE BY 2:30 P.M.

The district has changed the policy for students who charge their lunches when their lunch accounts are out of money. Students will be allowed to charge up to 15 days. Once that limit has been reached and the account has not be updated, students will be given an alternate breakfast and lunch.

Please ensure that your child's account is kept updated. If you need assistance due to finances, please take time to apply for the free/reduced lunch at the application above.

MARCH

6 - End of 3rd nine weeks

6- Field Day for all students

9 - 13 - Spring Break

16 - Students return to school

20 - War Eagle Challenge for fourth grade

26 - 1st grade program at 2:00 p.m.

27 - K Graduation Pictures/PTO school store

APRIL

2 - Fitness with Fathers 7:00 - 7:45 a.m.

3 - School holiday

6 - Student holiday

9 - ExplOREtorium Night

15 - STAAR Reading for 3rd and 4th

24 - PTO School Store

29 - STAAR Math for 3rd and 4th

MAY

4-8 - Teacher Appreciation Week

15 - K and 1 End of Year celebrations

18 - Morning at the Museum - 3rd grade

19 - PK, 2, 3 and 4 end of year celebrations

20 - Kinder Celebration

21 - 4th grade program/confetti parade

22 - Last day of school/early dimissal