- Attendance
- Birthday Celebrations
- Book Orders
- Change of Address
- Change of Clothes
- Communication
- Conferences
- Daily Folder
- Discipline
- Dress
- Field Trips
- Homework
- Independence
- Kindness
- Library
- Lunch
- Money
- Nurse
- Parental Involvement
- Parties
- Photographs
- PTA
- Reading
- Report Cards
- Schedule
- Separation Anxiety
- Snacks
- Tardies
- Toys
- Transportation
- Writing
Attendance
Kindergarten is a continual learning experience, with each day’s learning built on the
day before. Therefore, it is imperative that your child be here as often as possible. If your child must
be absent, be sure to call the office at 704-0700 the day of the absence or send a note the next day
stating the reason for the absence. You can also refer to the RRISD Handbook for the district’s policy
on attendance.
Birthday Celebrations
Your child’s birthday is a special day in our school! We will celebrate in the classroom with the
birthday child receiving a crown and song. If sharing a treat is important to you, please contact me. If
you want to distribute private party invitations to classmates during the school day, it is RRISD policy
that every child in our class gets an invitation. Otherwise, you have to mail them or hand-deliver
them after school hours to avoid hurt feelings. Summer birthdays will be celebrated in May.
Book Orders
Our class will participate in the Scholastic Book Club for Kindergarten. This program allows us to earn
points that we use to purchase more books or materials for use in our classrooms. More information
will be send home with the first order form in September.
Change of Address
It is very important that the information we have on file is current. If your address, phone number, or
place of employment changes during the year, please send a note to notify me as well as the office.
Change of Clothes
It would be very helpful for your child to have a complete change of clothes (pants or shorts, shirt,
socks and underwear) labeled with their name to be kept at school. Accidents and spills do happen,
and your child will be much more comfortable in his or her own clothes than in some borrowed from
the nurse.
Communication
Open communication is vital to your child's success so please feel free to contact me with any
questions or concerns. You can do this by sending a note in your child's Daily Folder or by caling
me at 704-0730. In order to minimize interruptions to learning, phone calls will be directed to my
voicemail during class time and I will return your call either during planning time from 10:00 to
10:30 or after school. If you have an emergency, please call the office at 704-0700 and they will
get in touch with me immediately. You may also reach me by email at
pam_nagar@roundrockisd.org.
Conferences
There will be two parent/teacher conferences during the year to discuss your child's progress. The
Fall conference is required for all families to inform you of your child’s goals, what they will be
learning in the year, and how you can help them be successful. Our Spring Conference is to show
you the growth your child has made during the year and is not required unless specified by you or
the teacher. Other conferences may be needed to discuss discipline, academic concerns or social
concerns.If you would like to meet outside of these conference, please contact me and we will
arrange a time.
Daily Folder
This is your child’s biggest responsibility. Students need to bring the folders back and forth to
school daily. I need you to help by checking for notes and other information.
Discipline
At Callison Elementary, we believe our “Cougars have H.E.A.R.T.” Students are
positively praised and rewarded for their efforts with "Cougar Cash" when showing the following
traits:
Helpfulness
Engaged learning
Awesome attitude
Responsible
Trustworthiness
At the end of the week, children have the opportunity to visit the class store to purchase Items
with their Cougar Cash. These items include “smellies”, stickers, coloring pages, no shoes, extra
computer time, lunch with a friend or teacher, and treasure box. Children who are consistently
showing these traits may even get a “Cougar Pride” note to the office, which is the highest honor
in our school. The office will call you to celebrate this honor and you will be invited to the 7:15
am Cougar Pride Assembly at the end of the 9 weeks.
Dress
Kindergarten is a very busy place that sometimes gets messy. Please dress your child so that he or
she is ready for action. Our kindergarteners play on the playground every day, so tennis shoes or
other closed-toe shoes that your child can put on and fasten or tie by themselves are best. Flip-
flops or other open-backed sandals can be difficult to keep on during active play and are not
recommended. Please save shoes with higher heels for out-of-school wear as these can easily
cause injury during our active days. During cold weather, we will go outside to play unless it is
extremely cold so please dress your child appropriately.
Field Trips
We will have at least one field trip this year. Details will be provided when the time approaches.
Permission slips must be signed and returned to your child’s teacher before the field trip in order for
your child to participate.
Homework
Homework is done to compliment classroom instruction and to foster responsibility in your child. Of
course, at this age homework responsibility is greatly dependent on the parents. I will count on your
help in making sure this important school work habit is established early.
Independence
Your child is now in "Big School"! This is a time for him or her to learn responsibility. Please allow
your child many opportunities to do things independently at school and at home. Being able to fix an
inside out sleeve on a jacket, zip, snap and button clothing and tie shoes are important skills that
your child will feel proud of mastering themselves.
Kindness
Students in our classrooms are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class, as well as
others, with kindness and respect. Hitting, fighting, name-calling, and making fun of others will not
be tolerated.
Library
Information and permission slips to check out books from our school library will be sent home in
September.
Lunch
Our lunch time is from 10:45 to 11:15. Each student has a lunch account into which you can
deposit money. When your child’s account starts to get low, your child will receive a note to take
home letting you know. To add money to their lunch account you can send cash or a check for the
amount you would like to deposit or go online at
Round Rock Online payment
Please be aware that ice cream and snacks are offered for purchase in addition to their meal. If
you do not want your child to purchase these items, please send a note to flag their account.
Typically, kindergarteners are encouraged to only buy ice cream on Fridays. However, we can not
stop a child from purchasing these options on a daily basis unless their account is flagged.
Student Breakfast $1.35
Reduced Breakfast $0.30
Adult and Child Guest Breakfast - a la carte
Student Lunch $2.05
Reduced Lunch $0.40
Adult and Child Guest Lunch - $3.00
If you feel that your child may qualify for free or reduced lunch, you will need to fill out the application
that is in your back to school packet. Please be aware that the application may take up to 10 days
to be processed and you are responsible for any full price charges made prior to the application
approval.
Money
All money that is sent to school should be in an envelope, labeled with your child’s name and what it
is to be used for.
Nurse
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful nurse at Callison Elementary. I will take care of minor
hurts in the classroom, such as small scratches and scrapes. Most of the time students will only be
sent to the nurse if they are ill or if they are involved in some sort of accident. If your child needs
to take medicine during the school day, you must take the medicine to the nurse’s office. To
ensure the safety of all students, children may not keep medications in their backpacks or
lunchboxes for any reason. This includes over-the-counter products such as chap stick and cough
drops. The nurse is the only person allowed to administer medicine to children. In addition, please
do not send your child to school with a fever, and a child needs to be "fever-free" for 24 hours
before returning to school.
Parental Involvement
You are your child's first teacher and I look forward to working with you to ensure your child's
success. There are many ways to become involved: joining the PTA, offering to volunteer for school
activities, helping with homework, and attending family events.
Parties
We celebrate the Winter Holidays, Valentine's Day, and the End-of-the-Year with parties. Information
on these events will be sent home as they approach.
Photographs
On occasion, your child’s photograph may be posted on our class webpage. Please sign the
appropriate handbook page if you do not want your child’s picture posted.
PTA
Callison has a wonderful PTA that does so much for our school! We hope everyone will join this year
and support our school. Please try to attend our PTA meetings or visit their website at
http://teacherweb.com/TX/CallisonElementary/CallisonPTA/apt2.aspx.
Reading
Your child will learn to read in kindergarten! Of course, this will not happen overnight, and your
help will be needed. Studies have shown that those children whose parents are activily involved in
the reading process will become the best readers. Reading to your child and listening to them read
to you at home is of the highest importance. Reading happens in stages. Your child may come to
school already reading at some level. It is my job to move your child to a higher level and to make
sure all of the phonological and comprehension skills are in place. This is achieved by matching
your child to the appropriate text and by providing some challenges, but not too many. We want
your child to LOVE reading. Reading is a complex process for a child and all attempts and
successes must be celebrated! You will receive information throughout the year about how to help
your child with reading.
Report Cards
Students will receive report cards at the end of each nine weeks. These will reflect the results of
assessments and classroom observations completed during that nine weeks. We ask that you sign
and return them to school as quickly as possible.
Schedule
Please see the Class Schedule link for a detailed listing of our day.
Separation Anxiety
Kindergarten is an exciting place for parents, teachers, and children. However, there may be some
anxiety at the start of the new year as well. If your child is anxious about going to school, or is
experiencing a tearful separation from you on school days, try to remember that the feelings these
behaviors may represent are natural and will most likely pass as familiarity with the school routine
and trust in the teachers develop.
Snacks
We will have a snack each afternoon. Each student should bring in a healthy snack and water, if
desired. I respectfully request that you do not send candy as a snack.
Tardies
Please make sure that your child is on time to school each day. Good habits begin early. When your
child is late, he or she misses out on important announcements and instructional time. It is also
disruptive to the rest of the class to have students arrive during a lesson. School begins at 7:45.
Students may arrive at school at 7:00 to go to the cafeteria for breakfast and are allowed in the
classroom at 7:15.
Toys
Toys, books, and treasures sometimes come to visit. Unless your child has been asked to bring in an
item for our "Star of the Week' activity, all toys are better kept at home as they may become lost or
damaged.
Transportation
If there is a change in the way your child is getting home from school, please send a note or call the
office before 1:30 p.m. to notify us of the changes. Your child will not be allowed to change his/her
transportation without parent notification. This protects your child as well as the school. Please try
very hard to keep changes to a minimum to reduce confusion during a very busy time of day. Thank
you for your cooperation!
Writing
Research shows that children go through different stages in writing. All types of writing are
encouraged and accepted. This “KID WRITING” is very important and demonstrates the concepts
your child knows and the type of instruction we must do next. Through various lessons, your child
will be taught new strategies that will improve his writing. This will, of course, take time! You can
help by encouraging all types of writing that your child does. By the end of kindergarten, most
students’ writings will be “readable” and many students will be writing stories. It is amazing to see
the progress they make!