Happy Summer Everyone ALMOST J!
With only 2 weeks of school left, this is the last newsletter of the year. Can you believe it? Another year has come and gone. The last weeks are packed with lots and lots of activities and of course end of the year academics. We made it through another year of State testing and the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students, teachers, and administration are very happy that it is behind them. Still ahead are end of the year parties, 5th Grade Memories Celebration as well as the 5th Grade traditional High Five (walking the halls of CHE for the last time). I am sure you are looking forward to a less hectic time relaxing time with your family and friends this summer. The faculty, staff, and administration are looking forward to some down time too. It has been another FANTASTIC year here at Castle Hills. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your children’s lives during the 2017-2018 school year. I appreciate the parent support that you give to the faculty, staff, and myself every day. As I finish my sixth year here at Castle Hills I am reminded of how lucky I am to be a part of this community. Although all of the students who walk through the doors every morning put a smile on my face and are special to me, this group of 5th graders hold a special place in my heart. These 5th graders entered “The Castle†with me 6 years ago. It has been an honor to watch them grow as they moved through each grade level.
Faculty and Staff changes – Every year changes of faculty and staff take place. Some changes happen before school ends and then of course there are always the surprise changes that happen after the summer begins. There will be only 5 classes in 5th grade next year. Therefore, there has been some movement within grade levels. Mrs. DePaul is moving to 2nd grade, Mrs. Hardison and Ms. Hurst are moving to Kindergarten and Ms. Huntsman is moving to 4th grade. Mrs. Birch is going to join the faculty of McAulifffe Elementary in Highland Village (still LISD). McAuliffe is her neighborhood school which will make her work/home life much easier having 2 little ones. Ms. Brown, one of our special education teachers is moving back home to Maryland. Ms. Lindsey Gunter from Valley Ridge Elementary (LISD) an experienced special education teacher will join us taking Ms. Brown’s place. As our overall enrollment numbers move lower, we have lost a specials position for the 2018-2019 school year. Therefore, Mrs. Alsbrook will move to another school within the district. Mrs. Alsbrook has been an integral part of Castle Hills since its doors opened and will be missed. Since library will be in the specials rotation for a couple of grade levels, we welcome Becca Zuch as our new library aid. She comes to us from Donald Elementary (LISD). With an increase number of transfers, we are adding another kindergarten class. Hence, we will have a new kindergarten teacher when our doors open for the 2018-2019 school year. This new teacher is Mrs. Dunham. Mrs. Dunham comes to Castle Hills will 6 years of kindergarten experience.
STAAR Results – STAAR Results for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students are expected back in mid-June. You will be able to access the scores through skyward. The district will notify you when the scores are available in skyward.
Class placement – As I do understand how unsettling it can be waiting to find out who your child’s teacher will be next year I will again send out postcards through the mail that you will receive by the end of June or early July. These postcards will be YELLOW! Please keep an eye out for these postcards. Not only will the postcard have your child’s teacher for next year it will have important back to school dates. It is important that you understand the process that we have gone through to place your child in his or her class. The process for placing students started about 6 weeks ago. I can honestly say that each child, each class, each mixture of children, all special programs, etc. are carefully scrutinized for a proper balance and good mix, requiring many (many!) hours.
Students who participate in any special program at school are placed in classes first. After these students have been placed the rest of the student body is placed. Every student’s current teacher is involved in placing your child with his or her next teacher. Current teacher input is very important, as these individuals know your child best within the academic setting. We then take a step back and look at the class as a whole and continue to move students (with teacher input) until we are confident that every student has been placed in a class where they can excel. There were many rounds of working on classes over the 6 – week period. Hopefully you can understand that a lot of thought goes into the process and we do not just pick names out of a hat. As this is a very long process that I take very seriously, I need you to understand that I will not change any student’s placement before the end of the first grading period, unless there is an absolutely critical issue that we somehow weren’t made aware of or unless something highly unusual occurs over the summer which might impact your child’s placement. It is important that placement be given a chance before any changes are made. Any time we move one student, it creates a ripple effect through the whole grade level. Since you will already know who your teacher will be for the 2018-2019 school year student placement will not be posted. Thank you for your understanding.
Skyward – Forms for next year can start to be filled out on or about July 23rd. The district will send out notification. Once notified you need to go into your Skyward account and complete the back to school online forms. This is also a great time to update phone numbers and emergency contact information too.
The office will be open until June 20th (Shannon’s last day). My last day is Thursday, June 28th. Until that time, I will be in and out as I have signed up for a few trainings. I return the week of July 16th but will be on and off campus because of meetings. Shannon will re-open the office July 24th. At that time, I will be back on campus consistently. All LISD offices are closed on Fridays starting the week of June 11th through the week of July 15th. Regular hours resume the week of July 23rd. As always, I will monitor my email off and on during my break so you know if you need to get in touch with me just email me. I look forward to seeing everyone in August for another great year here at Castle Hills.
Again, thank you for being a partner in the education of your children. It is your support that makes Castle Hills the best elementary school in LISD. I wish you and your family, a fun and safe summer.
Donna J. Taylor, M.Ed
Principal, Castle Hills Elementary
Please take our National PTA School of Excellence and CHE PTA Program Survey to help us continue to provide the best programs and events for your students here at Castle Hills Elementary. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PG7ZF6C
CHE asks that there be no lunch visitors the last week of school due to the number of other activities planned. The last day you can eat with your child is Friday, June 1st.
