VIEW YOUR CHILD’S GRADES ONLINE

Parents can view their student’s grades online. Beginning August 29 after 9:00 AM, parents can use Parent Connect online to view grades for their children. Parent Connect is the parent side of the GradeSpeed program used by teachers. Creating an account is quick and easy. All the information will be on the Klein I.S.D. website ( and it will also be sent home during the first week of school. You may also access this information through the Kuehnle website.

GIFTED AND TALENTED

The Office of Advanced Academics has adopted a district-wide testing timeline this year. If you would like to refer your Kindergarten-5th grade child for Klein’s Gifted and Talented Program, please stop by the campus and pick up a referral packet from the counselor. (Please note, Kindergarten referrals are new this year). The deadline for returning the packet is September 23. If you have questions about referring your child for G/T, please contact Kuehnle counselor, Melodi Howard at 832-484-6631. Please check the Advanced Academics website for location and time.

CAFETERIA INFORMATION

The elementary breakfast is available at a cost of $1.00 and the lunch at a cost of $1.75. Milk is 40 cents per carton. Prepaying for lunch and/or a la carte items is an efficient way to pay for your child’s school meals. Deposits to their account can be made before school. Any amount may be deposited on any day. The cashier will remind the student when his account is getting low. You will find additional information from our Food Service department in this packet.

Breakfast will be served from 7:45 AM – 8:10 AM. It is expected that students eating breakfast will finish breakfast and be in their classroom when the tardy bell rings. Students may use the same personal food service account they use for lunch.

Please remind your child that the only food that may be consumed at school is that which is provided by the cafeteria, the classroom teacher for instructional purposes, or food brought to school by themselves for their consumption. They may not share or trade food. We have some students with severe food allergies. Please help us educate all students the importance of not sharing foods.

Free/Reduced Price Lunch Applications

Please be informed that we are required by the Texas Education Association guidelines to give every K-5 student an application on the first day of school. Only one application is necessary per family. All applications (new or those who wish to remain in the program) are due to the food service department. Processing of the application will be faster if the following information is provided on the application:

  1. Student ID number, grade, school
  2. Correct address and zip code
  3. Social Security number
  4. Signature

DRESS CODE

Students may wear shorts that come to mid-thigh (“walking” or “Bermuda” type). Bike shorts are not permitted. Please note the Elementary Student Handbook now lists the consequences of students violating the student dress code. See pages 30 & 31 of the Elementary Student Handbook.

Feathers in the Hair

Feathers woven into the hair or colored hair extentions are best worn on weekends due to causing distractions in the classrooms. Thank you for your assistance with this.

STUDENT HANDBOOK

We encourage parents to acquaint themselves with the Student Handbook that is being distributed to each student today. This is a document that you will want to keep on hand as a reference material throughout the school year. There are pages in the front of the handbookthat require your immediate attention. Pages iv and vii, in the front of the handbook,will need to be completed and returned to the school. Should you have any questions, please give Mrs. Johnson a call.

ATTENDANCE

If your child is absent, please call the school attendance secretary at 832-484-6624 by

8:30 AM each day. It is also necessary for all students to bring a note from their parent or guardian stating the specific reason for the absence. For more information see attendance policy in the Student Handbook. Good attendance is necessary for successful learning and should a student be absent more than 18 days during the school year, credit may not be given without verified excuses.

Children are rewarded each 9 weeks for Perfect Attendance as well as at the end of the year.

The state compulsory attendance law allows for legal action, if necessary for excessive absences. A student who is absent more than 18 days during the school year may not be given credit except as noted below:

  • Illness of the student, as verified by a doctor’s written statement showing the dates of absence.**
  • A parent’s written request for a homebound teacher.

*Extenuating circumstances approved by the campus attendance committee consisting of the principal, and three classroom teachers.

**It is not necessary for a student to have a note from a doctor each time he/she is ill; however, if the number of absences exceeds 18 days in the school year, and if medical reasons are given for an additional absence, a doctor’s note will be required for the days(s) of illness in order to receive academic credit unless waived by the attendance committee.

Please note – absences automatically become unexcused if no parent note or doctor’s note is submitted within 5 days of the absence. As noted in the letter, we cannot remove these unexcused absences from the attendance system.

TARDIES

Attendance is recorded at 9:45 AM. If a student arrives at school after 8:20 AM, he/she will be marked tardy. If a student is tardy more than four (4) times in a grading period, (which is 9 weeks) the conduct grade will be lowered by one letter. Any further tardies will cause the conduct to drop a letter grade for each infraction. It is very important that all our students arrive on this campus in a timely manner.

Students may enter the building at 7:45AM and go to the cafeteria. Breakfast is served between 7:45 and 8:10 AM. Students will be dismissed to the classroom at 7:50 AM to prepare for the day. We are trying to teach students good habits such as being on time and ready to work to encourage this for their job one day.

YEARLY REGISTRATION

Registration cards are a state requirement and must be filled out each year. These will be sent home today and they will be partially pre-printed. Please check the information and make any needed corrections, fill in the remaining parts of the card on both sides and return to your child’s teacher on Friday, August 26th. Please be certain to have all guardians sign the card. Only those who have signed the card can remove the child for an early dismissal.

Contact Information

It is of upmost importance that we have the correct contact information to reach you in the event of an emergency with your child during school hours. Should contact information change during the school year please inform the nurse or the registrar.

NOTES FROM THE NURSE

Administering Medication

Klein school personnel are not permitted to give medication of any kind, including analgesics, similar preparations, or any other drugs, unless the parent requests in writing that there is a need for such medication and the parent provides the medication. If the circumstances are questionable, the school employee reserves the right to deny the parent’s request. Students will be scheduled to come to the clinic for medicines.

When administering prescription medicines, the school district would prefer to have a written statement from a physician or dentist licensed to practice in the United States. Information, however, placed on a prescription label, if it is precise and clear to the school nurse, may be substituted for the above-noted statement. The prescription must be filled by a pharmacist licensed to practice in the United States. If prescription medicine is required, it must be in its original container, kept in locked storage in the office of the school nurse or of the principal’s designee, and administered by the nursing staff or a school employee.

All prescription medications must be brought to and picked up at the clinic, by a parent or guardian. The school may accept a sufficient quantity of medicine for one month. Upon receipt, the medicine will be inventoried and discrepancies reported to parents. Only prescription medication needed for the student to remain in school will be administered. No vitamins, health food, or herbal preparations will be given by the school nurse. Non-prescription medications will only be administered for a period of two weeks with written parental permission. A physician’s note will be required for any non-prescription medication needed for longer than two weeks. Per the 2011-12 District Handbook, Elementary students should not consume medicines during the school day or on the school campus unless those medications have been delivered to the campus clinic by a parent and administered by school staff.

Illnesses

Your child will be sent home if he/she has a fever of 100 degrees or higher, is vomiting or has diarrhea. Your child may return to school once he/she has been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication. Please keep your child home if he/she has fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or any contagious disease. Please inform the nurse of such occurrences. If your child has a chronic disease, severe allergies, asthma or seizures please contact the nurse prior to the start of the school.

SCHOOL SCHEDULE

8:15 AMFirst Bell

8:20 AMTardy Bell

11:05 AMConclusion of Pre-Kindergarten

12:25 PMPM Pre-Kindergarten Starts

3:15 PMDismissal of all Classes

Students are encouraged to arrive at school prior to 8:00AM. The parking lot near the cafeteria is used for recess during the day and it is important that cars not park in that area. Please use the parking lot in front of the flagpole when you visit or pick up students during the school day. The parking area next to the kitchen should not be used for drop off.

For ARRIVAL at school, car riders will be dropped off at the door by the flagpole. Bus students will be delivered to the cafeteria entrance. Please see attached map.

Any student entering the building after 8:30 AM needs to be accompanied by an adult who must sign the child in at the front office.

For DISMISSAL from school, car riders will be picked up at the cafeteria entrance. Bus riders will be dismissed from the exit by the flagpole, and day care vans will use the exit by the bicycle racks. Please see attached map.If your child is a car rider, please make sure to clearly print your child’s LAST name and grade level on the provided bright yellow cardstock paper and display on the car dashboard.

END OF DAY DISMISSAL

Visitors are asked not to visit the instructional areas at the end of the school day. Safety and the need for teachers and students to complete their instructional day makes it necessary to require parents not to enter these areas before the 3:15 PM bell dismisses all Kuehnle students.

EARLY DISMISSAL

If you know that your child will have to leave early, please send a note on the morning of the early dismissal. Please do not e-mail the teachers as they are teaching during the day and may not open your e-mail until after school. The office will sign an early dismissal permission form; in addition, parents will be required to come in, show identification, and sign the child out before he/she will be allowed to leave the school. All early dismissals need to be before2:30 p.m. We are not able to get students from class after 2:30 p.m.

UNUSUAL DISMISSAL

If your child is to go home by any means other than his/her usual way, please send a note so that the teacher will be aware of your plans. Sending a note versus e-mail helps make sure your child receives the information.

Dismissal is safest and most efficient when:

  1. Students know exactly how to go home.
  2. Students are prepared to follow directions.
  3. Students have rainwear on days when it is raining.

MESSAGES

Only messages of an emergency nature can be relayed to students. Therefore, please be sure that your child knows what to do in unusual circumstances or raining weather. Please make sure that your child has the necessary items when leaving home each morning.

SCHOOL STORE

Supplies and materials will be available in our school store beginning

Monday,August 29. T-shirts are available in the office. The school store is open every morning at 7:50 and is located near the cafeteria.

TUESDAY FOLDER

You can expect your child to bring a folder home every Tuesday. It is our hope that you and your child will take this opportunity to go over the papers together before you sign and return the folder on the following day. Your child will appreciate your praise for accomplishment and progress made, as well as your encouragement and understanding in those areas where improvement is needed. The first folder will go home on Tuesday, August 30.

MAKE-UP ASSIGNMENTS

Upon request by a parent, make-up assignments will be prepared for students who have been absent for at least three (3) consecutive days. Please call the teacher(s) no later than 12:00 noon of the third day of the absence. The homework can be picked up in the school office.

LIBRARY BOOKS

All students will have the opportunityto check out library books. Students are expected to keep up with their books. Payments will be required for lost or damaged books.

TEXTBOOKS

State law requires that all textbooks be covered. Please use paper book covers only. Please do not tape the book cover to the inside of the book. DO NOT use clear contact paper or self-adhesive book covers. This damages the textbooks. Students are responsible for all textbooks issued to them and will be expected to pay for lost or damaged books.

CHILD SAFETY

Take time to go over the safety information with your child.

  • Discuss with your child how to travel safely to school.
  • Talk about pedestrian, bicycle, car and bus safety.
  • Make sure your child knows your phone number with an area code.
  • Teach your child how to dial for help in an emergency.
  • Tell your child your rules about coming home from school. For example, is it all right to go to a friend’s house?
  • Talk to your child about how to respond to a phone call or knock on the door if he/she is home alone.
  • Tell your child what to do if he/she misses the school bus.
  • Discuss what your child should do if a stranger approaches him. Please tell your child to be aware of strangers and to report to you and/or school authorities anyone who improperly approaches them. You can teach your child to be safe without making him/her fearful. At school we focus on safety. We’re sure you want to do your part to keep your child safe. (Information printed with permission from PARENT COMMUNICATION.)

DID YOU KNOW?

If you would like to treat your child’s class to cookies in celebration of his or her birthday, you may do so through Kuehnle Food Service. Please contact our cafeteria manager, RJ Melton, at 832-484-6630. The cafeteria sells birthday cookies on Fridays. Please allow a 2 weeks notice.

PTO NEWS

Thanks and appreciation goes out to our PTO Board who have already been hard at work organizing our Fall fundraiser.

The Kuehnle PTO Board for 2011-2012is:

PresidentLaurie Alter

Vice PresidentStephanie Rues

SecretarySamantha Nodine

TreasurerRanee Ables

ParliamentarianJosette Horaist

MembershipKambra Drummond

HospitalityJennifer Hill

Volunteer CoordinatorAnke Zebrowski and Lana Muenster

Thanks to the PTO for a Welcome Back Coffee and Coffee mugs for the faculty.

GIRL SCOUT RALLY NIGHT

There will be a Girl Scout Rally in the Kuehnle Cafeteriaon Monday, September 26th, at

7:00PM to sign up girls for scouting. This is a great opportunity for our girls.

Page 1 of 6