The Ocelot Observer – August 24 – Oak Creek Elementary School PTA

A Message From The Principal

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We are bursting with excitement as we prepare to welcome back all of our Ocelots and say hello to our new families joining us! We have no doubt that this will be a fantastic school year. This is my third year serving as Oak Creek Principal. I am a New Braunfels native and reside in my hometown with my husband and 3 children. I am honored to work with all of our amazing staff and to be able to serve our students and their families. As you may have seen, our motto and theme this year is “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” This is a motto that our entire campus has adopted and we can’t wait for our students to become a part of it too. The meaning behind is, we as a campus strive to know all kids and families, not only by name but by needs as well. This is our highest goal and I have no doubt our teachers and staff will accomplish this goal each and every day.

This newsletter will help prepare for the first weeks of school as well as provide helpful information as this new school year begins. You may have seen the growing community around us which means we will be welcoming more ocelots than ever before. With this growth, we will continue to hold true to our traditions and community and are excited to have new faces joining in with us. Because of the growth, we are seeing more traffic and construction that may make drop off and pick up more challenging. Please know we are navigating these challenges as they arise.

I hope the following information helps familiarize you with our campus procedures and guidelines as they are explained more in depth to ensure consistency and shared understanding. Thank you in advance for your support. It’s going to be an amazing year! As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Valerie Harari

Principal

First Day of School Information

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

As we get back in the swing of things, please remember to be patient in the first few weeks of arrival and dismissal at Oak Creek. We will take great care in ensuring students get to their dismissal locations, and with that, it will take some time to learn the system. Our processes for arrival and dismissal are not changing, so returning students and families will be familiar with them. Again, please be patient and understanding of those learning our procedures for these times of the day.

On the first day of school for safety reasons, it is a district wide protocol that parents will not be allowed to walk their children into the school or classroom.

Kindergarten Parents

Kindergarten will have a later drop off option beginning at 8:00 at the front of school.
Kindergarten students can also be dropped off at normal time, beginning at 7 a.m. Any student being dropped off at 8 a.m. will be greeted by their teacher in the front of the school and parents will have the opportunity to take photos during this time.

First through Fifth Grade Parents

Beginning at 7 a.m, parents may drop their child off.
Breakfast will be available for students from 7:00 to 7:30.
Car rider will begin promptly at 7 a.m. and students will be able to enter the building at this time.

We will have various staff stationed throughout the building to assist and support students getting to where they need to be. We have no doubt it will be a fantastic first day!

On the first day of school, dismissal will be begin several minutes earlier to ensure all students are getting home the correct way, mitigate long lines, and to practice rules and procedures. This will not be the norm, but with a growing campus and construction, we want to utilize as much time to ensure a prompt dismissal for the entire year. Please be mindful of any extra wait time that may occur during these first few days.

Arrival and Dismissal Helpful Tips

Arrival Helpful Tips

Students should be ready to exit the car when you pull up to the cone. To help with this, backpacks, lunch boxes, and other items should be in hand so students can exit quickly.
There are 14 cones for morning drop off. Please pull all the way up to the next available cone before you child exits the car.
To maintain safety, students should walk on the grass once they exit the car.
Students should begin unloading from the cars beginning at 7:00. There will be minimal staff at the drop off line at this time so students will need to open their own car doors. Staff or other help will arrive at 7:10 to assist with opening car doors. Any student requiring additional time or support should pull up to cone 0.
There is no supervision outside near the cafeteria until 7:00. Please be mindful of letting your student arrive earlier.
The tardy bell rings at 7:35 and the gate and cafeteria door will be closed. At this time, students will need to be checked into the front office by an adult.

Dismissal Helpful Tips

All students will be dismissed through their indicated mode of transportation. Any changes of transportation must be done by 1:30, by calling the front office. Please do not call, email, or send a Remind message to teachers as it is not always guaranteed they will see it before the end of the day.

If you did not receive a car or walker tag, please stop by the front office where extras are available to be picked up. If you do not have a dismissal tag, please be prepared to produce an ID to ensure allowable pickup for the student.

Yearly School Information

Attendance Information

Attendance FAQs

1. Comal ISD only allows 8 parent notes per school year. After the 8 parent notes are reached, it will have to be a doctor note to excuse an absence.

2. NOT all parent notes are excused.

A list of examples for which an absence may not be excused is in the parent/student handbook you received electronically when registering your student and can be found here.

3. Comal ISD does not excuse traveling, being out of town or vacations.

The only exception is if you have to go out of town for a funeral or a family emergency.

4. Parents do not need to call and let us know that your student will not be at school.

A phone call or voicemail does not excuse the absence. All you need to do is send a parent note or doctor note upon return to campus. You can email notes to martha.garcia@comalisd.org or your student can turn them into the front office.

5. ALL notes need to be turned in or emailed within 2 days of the students return to campus. This prevents notes from being denied due to an attendance timeframe being close and attendance no longer able to be adjusted.

6. ALL parent notes NEED to have a reason for the absence on the note. It does not need to be in detail.

EX: “Death of a family member” “Kept home from school because of illness.” “Family medical emergency.”

7. It is NOT always excused when a student goes home from the nurse.

It is the parent’s responsibility to verify with the nurse if this is nurse excused or not. If the nurse explains that she cannot excuse the student for going home, you will need to send a parent note or doctor note to excuse the class periods missed.

Updated Nurse Information

Dear families,

This is to inform you of a change in medication administration procedures on campus beginning

with the 2024-2025 school year.

In past years, Comal ISD nursing staff have administered over-the-counter medication supplied by

a student’s parent/guardian with parent/guardian consent and have not

required physician, podiatrist, or dentist authorization. The Texas Board of Nursing has given

guidance to school nurses regarding this practice, and over-the-counter medications will no

longer be given by licensed nursing staff WITHOUT a physician, podiatrist, or dentist

authorization AND parent authorization. Comal ISD, in partnership with our Consulting Medical

Physician, currently has standing medical delegated orders to include some over the counter

medications for specific circumstances.

If your student needs over-the-counter medications not listed on the standing medical delegated orders, nursing staff will require a physician, podiatrist, or dentist authorization to administer the medication in accordance with the Texas Board of Nursing licensing standards. Student Health Services understands this is a shift in previous practice, and we will continue to support our student’s health and learning needs at school while implementing this practice standard. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Kelli Brooks, Comal ISD Director of Student Health Services, at the contact information below.

Kelli Brooks (Director of Student Health Services): kelli.brooks@comalisd.org

Allyson Swain (Oak Creek School Nurse): allyson.swain@comalisd.org

Comal ISD Health Services Standing Medical Delegation Orders

Medical Forms and Documents

District Health Services Information

Reminder for Parent/Teacher Communication

Comal ISD has created Remind Accounts for all staff and administrators. If you have not set up a Remind Account, please see the attached flyer for directions. Your child’s teacher and administration will utilize Remind for classroom and campus wide reminders/updates.

Remind Parent Information

Please keep in mind that if you need to contact your child’s teacher to please do so through email, phone, or through the Remind app. Teachers will respond as soon as possible during their conference period and within business hours (7 am to 5 pm).

Other Ways for Oak Creek Communication throughout the year include:

Monthly newsletter from the campus.
Call outs from School Messenger system for reminders, severe weather updates if needed, and other in the moment information sharing.
School Facebook page with announcements and student celebrations/happenings.
Remind App to keep families up to date on daily information either from the school and/or from the classroom teacher.
Emails and/or phone calls from grade level teachers.
Grade level newsletters sent home weekly/bi-weekly.

Birthday Treats and Lunch Procedures

We must consider students with allergies so 24 hour notice to your child’s homeroom teacher of treats being brought is required so that the teacher can alert a family of a student with allergies that their kiddo will need to bring an alternate snack.

If you are bringing your child a treat for their birthday, there will now be a cart in the foyer for you to drop off your items. On this cart, you will find designated stickers for you to write your child’s name, teacher, and grade level. All treats must be store bought and delivered by 11 a.m.

This same protocol will be followed for any lunches being dropped off.

Student Electronic Policy

Although elementary students are allowed to bring cell phones and smartwatches to school, devices that allow texting, phone calling, photos and videos must be stored in the backpack with the volume off during the school day.

Students in elementary schools are supervised by an adult at all times, with the exception of when they are in the restroom. If a student needs to call home, they can make the request to their teacher or the adult on duty.

If students are found to be using and wearing their smartwatches, they will be asked to remove the watch and store in their backpack. More district information regarding elementary technology devices can be found below.

Student Water Bottles

In an attempt to keep our campus clean, we are asking that if your child is bringing a water bottle, that it has a completely closed lid, not one with a straw. If your child does bring a water bottle, it must contain only water and nothing else. With water bottles getting left in the classrooms and around the school, we don’t want to attract any unwanted pests with open bottles that contain sweet, sticky drinks. We appreciate your understanding and working with us on this!

District Child Nutrition Information

Comal ISD is now partnering with SFE! SFE is a high-growth, culinary-based foodservice management company dedicated exclusively to K-12 nutrition. Focused on nourishing students to reach their highest potential, the company provides superior food with more focus on “fresh-from-scratch”, more menu options and more onsite support than any other K-12 provider. SFE is based in Arizona, partnering with 6000+ employees in 15 states to serve over 300 million meals per year.

Meal Prices for the 2024-2025 School Year
Breakfast Prices:

Elementary, Middle, and High Schools – $1.95 (paid)
The 88th Texas Legislature provides funding that reimburses schools for serving breakfasts to reduced-price eligible students at no cost.
Faculty/Visitor – $3.15

Lunch Prices:

Elementary Schools – $3.20 (paid) $0.40 (reduced)
Middle and High Schools – $3.40 (paid) and $0.40 (reduced)
Faculty/Visitor – $4.25

Lunch Money Now

How to add funds to student accounts?

A Lunch Money Now account must be created to view balances, monitor spending activity, or add money to a student’s meal account. Click here: https://www.lunchmoneynow.com/lmncco/splash.php

Check Payments:

Make checks payable to your child’s school cafeteria (example: “Freiheit Elementary Cafeteria”) and include your student’s name and ID number on the check. Checks can be brought or sent to the cafeteria.

Cash Payments:

Cash may be brought to your student’s campus cafeteria for deposit into their account, or they may pay with cash daily.

Gifted and Talented Information

CISD G/T Services

NOW ACCEPTING

REFERRALS

Parents who want their child screened for gifted and talented services must complete a referral form. Forms are available online through the CISD Gifted and Talented webpage at

www.tinyurl.com/ComalISDGT or scan the QR code.

DEADLINE:

OCT. 1: GRADES 1-11

DEC. 1: KINDERGARTEN

School Master Schedule

School Safety

One of our top priorities each and every day is your child’s safety. Below are the guidelines when visiting our campus.

Office staff will grant access to the front office for check-in. All exterior doors will be locked as ringing the doorbell will be mandatory to enter the building.
Visitors will be asked to provide a valid, state/federal issued identification card, which will be scanned using our visitor management system, and to identify the purpose for their visit.
If the scan meets school/site criteria, the visitor will be allowed appropriate access after receiving a visitor’s badge.
All visitors must wear their visitor’s badge at all times while in the facility.
The visitor will be requested to return to the office to return their badge, and check out when their visit is completed to be logged out of the system.

Anonymous Alerts

Introducing Anti-Bullying, Safety App Called Anonymous Alerts

Comal ISD is excited to partner with Anonymous Alerts – an anti-bullying and safety app that allows students, parents and community members to send safety alerts anonymously to district administrators.

Anonymous Alerts empowers students, parents and staff to speak up by confidentially reporting bullying, cyber-bullying and other sensitive topics. Students are still encouraged to reach out to a teacher, school administrator or counselor to report an incident. Anonymous Alerts is another tool for them to use.

How to make a report:

Download the Anonymous Alerts app for free from the Apple Store, Google Play store, or the Chrome store. Open the app and enter activation code: comalisd.
Go directly to https://tips.anonymousalerts.com/comalisd. This link is available on the Comal ISD website.

Standard Response Protocol

A critical piece of school safety is the uniform response to any incident at school. Weather events, fires, accidents, intruders and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by school and district administration and staff.

Comal ISD uses the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), which provides common language around five protective actions campuses can take when an emergency arises. The SRP is based not on individual scenarios, but on the response to any given situation. The actions used are Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate and Shelter.

Parents will receive messages containing these actions during the school year. Students are taught these terms along with drills according to the action. Here is what these different actions mean.

Hold – In your room or area. Clear the halls.
Secure – Get inside. Lock outside doors.
Lockdown – Locks, lights, out of sight
Evacuate – To the announced location
Shelter – Hazard and safety strategy

Learn more about the SRP at the “I Love U Guys” website.

Comal ISD Safety Guidelines

Title 1 Information

What does it mean to be a Title 1 Campus?

Title 1, Part A is a federally funded program under the Every Student Succeeds ACT (ESSA). The purpose of Title 1 under the ESSA is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. While ESSA has many requirements, there is a strong focus throughout the law on parent and family engagement notification and involvement, particularly as it relates to:

Ensuring that high-quality academic assessments, accountability systems, teacher preparation and training, curriculum, and instructional materials are aligned with challenging State academic standards so that students, teachers, parents, and administrators can measure progress against common expectations for student academic achievement.
Affording parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children.

Oak Creek PTA Corner

2024 – 2025 Oak Creek PTA Board

President – Anthony Webb

1st Vice President of Membership – Cristine Barger

2nd Vice President of Fundraising – Danielle DardenTreasurer

Secretary – Deanda PineParliamentarian

Greetings, Ocelot Family!

My name is Anthony Webb, and I’m the proud father of one amazing Ocelot. At the end of last year, I had the honor of being elected as the president of the OCES PTA board. Let me tell you, it’s been quite the learning experience—unlike any other nonprofit organization I’ve ever worked with. The people working behind the scenes are incredible, and their passion for this school and our children is truly inspiring. I’m grateful to have such a dedicated team guiding me through this term. A special thank you goes out to our past president, Deanda Pine, for her immense personal sacrifice and unwavering commitment to the PTA.

With new leadership comes fresh ideas, and I’m excited to share some exciting updates that will help improve engagement and make the PTA more accessible to all our members. Here’s what we’ve been working on:

1. New PTA Website!

I’m thrilled to announce that our new website, NBPTA.org, is live and ready to serve as our new “community center.” This platform features a member portal for fast and easy communication, volunteer sign-ups, direct messaging with board members, electronic meeting minutes, subscription calendars for real-time notifications, emailed newsletters, text message alerts for major events, and so much more! This has been a major project, and we’ll continue to make improvements as we transition from our old online presence.

2. Chairperson and Leadership Openings!

This is not a solo act—we need you! Our talented and motivated Ocelot families are essential to making this work. To make PTA involvement more accessible, we’ve posted open positions on our website and are developing remote roles with flexible schedules and a commitment of fewer than 2 hours a week. Visit NBPTA.org to learn more and see how you can get involved.

3. Sponsorships!

We’re expanding our sponsorship program to engage local businesses to fuel our efforts. While funding for necessities is great, funding for those special extras is even better! You can help by sending an email to president@nbpta.org with any business contacts you have. Together, we can build partnerships that take our mission to the next level.

I have a simple favor to ask of you. No membership required!

I’m not asking for a donation or a lot of your time—just a few simple clicks. Please visit our Facebook page and click the like and follow links. Then, find us on Instagram @nbpta. These simple actions can make a huge impact by expanding our reach in the community and improving our ability to attract sponsors. Your actions today could make all the difference in getting those little extras every teacher needs for their classroom.

Lastly, if you or someone you know is on the fence about joining the PTA, consider this: for little more than the cost of a single Happy Meal, you could have a real impact on not just your child’s life but on every child and teacher at Oak Creek Elementary.

Thank you for your time and support. Let’s make this year a great one!

Sincerely,
Anthony Webb

Oak Creek PTA Website