Poe Elementary School

10/01/2023

Love it!

CONGRATULATIONS to Pax Davis - a Poe Elementary student in Mrs. Lopez's 5th Grade class on winning the Poe Carnival t-shirt contest!

This cool design will grace the front of our Happy Birthday Poe carnival t-shirts this year! Available for sale in the Carnival store poepto.org/carnival

10/01/2023

I'm VIPS approved! Are you???

It takes mere MINUTES to get VIPS approved - do it today and be ready to visit the school anytime all year! www.houstonisd.org/VIPS

08/07/2022

Hi everyone! The first day of school is 2 weeks away! The staff returns tomorrow (I’m so excited!) and we’ll be working on rebuilding our Poe Community this year with YOUR help! The Meet the Teacher Ice Cream Social is Thursday evening August 18 from 5-6:30. You’ll find out your child’s teacher then. No class list is set so if you are seeing or hearing anything, don’t believe it yet. Children are in classes but I’m moving them around, balancing classes, checking to make sure we have the right mix in the classroom and that kids are matched with the right teacher for them. Poe is fully staffed (although I’m awaiting some HR processing) but we should be good to go by August 22. Enjoy your last 2 weeks with the kids before you send them back to us. See you all very soon!

Oh, and help spread the word. Starting Tuesday, we are registering new students, Kindergarten, and bilingual PreK.

01/02/2022

Hi Poe Ravens!

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a great holiday and are refreshed and excited about 2022. Classes resume tomorrow morning at 7:30 am as we wrap up the final 2 weeks of our first semester. We’ve had some changes occur as COVID cases are again increasing. The CDC has issued new guidelines and HISD will be updating our online guidelines in the next week. While the district is recommending students get tested before returning to school, it is not mandatory. As always, we ask you to be diligent and honest in assessing your children so we can all remain safe. Our cases this year have been very low thanks to your, and our, efforts. Let’s keep it up.

Nurse Keely Lewis put the following information together for us. If you’ve travelled, been exposed, or feel you might have been exposed please read her letter very carefully. We will send out updates as we receive them. I hope to see you all as soon as possible. Stay safe, be sensible, and here’s hoping for a great second half of our year. Happy 2022!

Jeff Amerson- Principal

And here is Mrs. Lewis’ email:

As you all know, the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading rapidly and has already impacted our families, staff, and students. To reduce the spread of Covid-19, please do the following:

Keep your child home if they are sick. Common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, sore throat, fatigue, cough, diarrhea.
Notify the school nurse via email or phone ([email protected]) if your child tests positive or is exposed to someone who tested positive. She will give a return date for your student and start the enrollment process for HISD’s Temporary Online Learning school.
Email proof of your child’s Covid-19 vaccination to Nurse Lewis.
HISD is recommending that each student test before they return to school.
Read and follow the guidelines from the CDC about quarantines and isolation in order to keep our school safe and healthy.
The guidelines are from the Center for Disease Control and reflect the most recent CDC directives. Houston ISD has indicated that it will follow the most recent CDC guidelines but has not yet updated it’s Ready, Set, Go plan. If there are any changes, we will notify you.



If your child tests positive for Covid-19:

Stay home and isolate for 5 days. Day zero is the day of either the positive test result if asymptomatic or the beginning of symptoms. For example, your child has a fever and sore throat on a Wednesday and you have a positive rapid test result on Friday. Wednesday is considered day zero, Thursday is considered day one and Monday is day five. They will return to school on Tuesday (day 6) if their symptoms have improved and they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. If they are asymptomatic, they will return on day six as well. They will be enrolled in TOL to minimize absences and lost learning.



If your child is exposed to a positive case and they are not vaccinated (or have not completed their vaccinations):

Stay home and quarantine for 5 days. Again, day zero is the day of exposure and they will return on day 6. You will test on day 5 and will need to show proof of a negative test to return. If there is someone in the household that has Covid-19, everyone will need to wear a mask and the infected person should isolate as much as possible. They will be enrolled in TOL to minimize absences and lost learning.



If your child is exposed to a positive case and they are FULLY vaccinated (they have had two Covid-19 vaccinations and it has been 14 days since the second vaccine):

Your child will be able to remain at school, but you must email proof of vaccination status to Nurse Lewis ([email protected]). A test is recommended on day 5. If your child develops symptoms, stay home.



We will continue to contact trace and quarantine students who are deemed to be a close contact (closer than 6 feet for a combined 15 minutes in a day). Regardless of vaccination status, the nurse will contact parents of students who are close contacts. Vaccination status must be provided via email to the nurse to avoid quarantine. Parents/guardians will also be notified via email and hard copy of a case in their class.



Keely Lewis RN, BSN

School Nurse

Poe Elementary

5100 Hazard, Houston TX 77098

P (713) 535-3780

F (713) 535-3784

10/17/2020

Hello everyone,

Just sent this out over our eblast system but am attaching here, also, for you to see! See you Monday!

Hi Poe Parents,

Monday is going to be an exciting day here at Poe. To avoid confusion and chaos for those students returning to the building, I want to send you a simplified explanation of how to drop off and pick up your child from Poe. Please read all and read carefully:

DROP-OFF

Car-riders : Cars will come across the front of the school on Hazard. There, they will have their temperature checked while you wait. If you let your child out anywhere else, he/she will be treated as a walker. They will then be escorted into the main doors of the school and taken to their classroom areas.

Walkers and bikers (check below for your child’s grade level) :

• Kindergarten- Students will enter the center main doors and have their temperatures checked then walked to class.

• 1st grade- Students will enter the South front door by the art room and teacher parking lot and have their temperatures checked and then walk to their classroom while socially distanced.

• 2nd grade- Students will enter the North front door by the Poe Co playground and have their temperatures checked and then walk to their classroom while socially distanced.

• 4th grade- Students will enter the North front door by the Poe Co playground and have their temperatures checked and then walk to their classroom while socially distanced.

• 5th grade- Students will enter the North front door by the Poe Co playground and have their temperatures checked and then walk to their classroom while socially distanced.

We ask that siblings stick together and use the entrance of the YOUNGEST sibling so the oldest sibling can help keep the brothers and sisters safe.

REMEMBER TO SEND A LUNCH AND WATER all in ONE BACKPACK or BAG. NO outside deliveries of lunches or anything else during the day.

DISMISSAL

All parents need the PikMyKid app installed on your phone or other device. This includes those who are remaining virtual for now. We do have people here with iPads if you do not have it, but the entire process bogs down unless you have the app. When you register in the app, your information must match what we have here at school so be sure you use the phone number you gave us when you registered. If unsure, call our office and ask (713) 535-3780. If the name or phone number is off, your child won’t show up for you to see.

All car-riders will remain in their classrooms with their teachers. When the parent gets to the school they will announce their arrival using the PikMyKid app. One of our staff members will then check you in and the child will see you have arrived in their class and will come out.



All independent walkers (grades 3-5) will be released at 3 :00 pm when the bell rings.

For Parents walking up to get their children :

• Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be brought out to the back SPARK Park area. Parents will come into the park via the gate and announce your arrival using the app. When your teacher or child sees you, the teacher will dismiss your child to you.

• 4th grade parents will enter the side back gate on North Blvd near the outdoor classroom and wait against the fence. As soon as you announce yourself using the app, your child will come out of class and find you. Please exit through the gate immediately.

• Students in grades 2, 3, and 5 will exit through the front side doors. Parents of students in these grades will announce they have arrived using the app.

o 2nd and 5th grade students will exit the North Side Door by the Poe Co playground.

o 3rd grade students will exit the South Side Door by the teacher parking lot.

o Parents should come to the corresponding door before announcing they have arrived. Children will not be released if you are not there and will be sent back to class. Please wait until you are at the door, at least until you learn how long it takes for your child to come out each day. Then you can play with announcement timing.

As with arrival, siblings should stay together. All siblings should exit the door of the YOUNGEST sibling. So if you have a Kindergarten student and a 3rd grade student, please choose the same dismissal mode for each and tell your older siblings where to go meet the youngest.

Each child is dismissed by a Poe staff member in the system as they leave Poe from one of these dismissal modes. If they are in Little Heroes, our staff dismisses to the LH staff.



You need to choose the dismissal mode (how your child gets home each day). The modes are below with a description of each :

• Virtual – if your child is staying virtual please choose this mode. We need all children registered.

• K & 1- Walk Up Spark Park (for Kinder and 1st grade students)

• Car Line 1 (all car riders)

• Bus (all bus riders)

• After School ( Little Heroes )

• 4- Walk up ODG Gate (4th grade)

• 3rd – 5th Independent Walker

• 3- Walk Up South Door

• 2 & 5- Walk Up Door

It all seems confusing and it is at first. Just be sure your name and phone number match ours in the app.

Be sure to announce your arrival AFTER you actually get here so we don’t send your child somewhere to discover you aren’t there waiting for them.

Social distance from others and wear your masks.

If all of us do it correctly, dismissal can be reasonably quick, safe, and smooth.

Your teacher can help you or you can call us at (713) 535-3780. See you Monday!

Jeff Amerson- Principal

09/18/2020

This is SO long. I'm sorry!

September 18, 2020
Dear Poe Parents
(¡Enviaré una versión en español de esta información el lunes!)

Next week, you will have the opportunity to decide if you want face-to-face (in-school) instruction or virtual (from home or elsewhere but not at school) for your child. I realize this is a big decision and a tough decision for some of you. Because of this, I want you to have as much information as possible. I also want to make sure I am saying everything exactly right, so this communication is pieced together from a couple of Interim Superintendent Lathan’s messages with additional pieces by me to hopefully add clarification. There are also links to HISD webpages to give you even more information. It’s a lot so grab a glass of water and a highlighter to help you make the right decisions for your family.

Parent Selection/Learning Option
For the second six weeks of the 2020-2021 school year, HISD families will be required to select either in-person or virtual instruction for students. You will find more here: HoustonISD.org/LearningOption.

Parents will have from Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25, to make their selection through the HISD Connect Parent Portal “Forms” section. Parents will be able to log in and select in-person or virtual learning for the school year through the HISD Connect Parent Portal. Once a selection is made, the choice is valid for the entire school year. However, there will be opportunities to change a selection throughout the year, if needed. You may choose to change your selection after each six-week grading period.
Parents who have not yet signed up to access the HISD Connect Parent Portal should utilize the access code provided by their home campus to create their accounts online. You can sign up for the HISD Connect Parent Portal online here.

If you did not receive the access code from you child’s teacher, please contact her/him or call us at (713) 535-3780 and we can get it for you. Do not be left out of this important decision! You may also call us to tell us your choice.
Who Will Be Teaching?
I, Mr. Amerson, will be choosing virtual teachers from amongst our teaching staff. Teachers are currently choosing whether to apply to teach virtually or teach face to face. I believe we will need some of each. Applying does not guarantee selection. If enough teachers from Poe do not apply for virtual instruction, I will have the option to choose teachers from other campuses also or we may come up with other creative ways to serve our children. It’s hard to know before I know the exact number of students coming to school and staying virtual.
Virtual students will be assigned to a virtual teacher’s class while face to face; in-person students will have a face-to-face teacher. Teachers will not be teaching both groups at the same time. If your child’s current teacher becomes a virtual teacher, your child will be reassigned to another teacher’s class. Keep in mind our teachers are working diligently to stay as in sync with each other as possible. While the personality of the teacher may change, the work should not. And yes, I understand the relationship between the child and teacher is extremely important. When, or if, we all come back to the actual building, class rosters will again have to be reworked. Remember, this is the Year of Flexibility and to keep our students and staff safe and provide our children with the best possible educational instruction during the pandemic, we have to accept that there will be times when things change and we have to adjust. Since I have no way of knowing at this time which teachers will be virtual, you will have to make your decision solely on what you feel is best for the safety of your child and family.
We understand that many of you have questions regarding how face-to-face instruction will look.
• All CDC guidelines will be in place including social distancing and all people in the building wearing masks at all times except when eating or drinking.
• All staff members will screen daily. Parents will be asked to screen their own children each day.
• Students will eat their lunch in the classroom or teachers may take them outside practicing social distancing.
• Restroom breaks and times will be monitored. We must keep our children apart 6 feet at all times.
• Desks are separated so that students are seated 6 feet apart from the nearest person, including the teacher.
• Most of our classrooms will have no more than 10 students.
• Student movement will be limited and interactions will be 6 feet apart.
• Desks have been spaced 6 feet apart and are all forward facing.
• Water fountains will be covered.
• We will not use any of the student lockers.
• Outside lunch deliveries will not be permitted. Students will need to bring their lunch or eat the school lunch.
• Parent volunteers and other outside adults will not be allowed in the building during the first 6-weeks we return except for key PTO members who help us with things like the uniform store.
• Uniforms are not required in HISD schools this year but you will have the option to purchase shirts.
• Teachers will have the opportunity to take children outside as long as all safety protocols are practiced. Yes, recess can happen.
• Students should still bring their personal computing devices to school each day, but teachers will be teaching face-to-face and screen time will be limited.
• Our Poe teachers are still our Poe teachers.
This sounds like torture but our teachers will make sure Poe still feels like Poe as much as possible during this time.
The district has created a video for you to have an idea of what schools will look like October 19th. Ours will be similar, just older and way cooler!:
English: https://youtu.be/BtL7zzIlB6M
Spanish: https://youtu.be/O8YaQHWdEiw
HISD has provided a document for you on the reopening page along with the Communicable Disease Plan (CDP) here. The plan can also be accessed on our reopening page.
This plan was developed by the district’s CDP Task Force — a working group made up of employees, educators, parents, community members, and healthcare officials. The plan outlines the district’s health and safety protocols to ensure the safety of students and staff. Protocols developed by the district include school entry screening, physical distancing, personal protective equipment, hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, and infection.
I know this all sounds strict and hard. We will follow the district’s guidelines and if they change, we will adapt. I do not enjoy wearing a mask all day but I do it to protect myself and others. When we bring people together in our building each day, nothing is more important than ensuring their safety.
As a district we will continue meeting next week. As you make your decisions, I will have a better idea daily of how to plan for the numbers. As I get updates and more information, I will share with you. If you know now what your decision is, please select your choice Monday or Tuesday. If you need to think or need more answers, you might wait until later in the week. Anyone who does not make a choice by Friday of next week will default to in-school face-to-face instruction. You can call us if you need your access code or if you just want to tell us your choice. The form in the Parent Portal should be available Monday, September 21 (HISD Connect Parent Portal).
I know there will still be many questions. Please feel free to email your questions directly to me. I will make a list and find answers to each. Don’t expect an immediate response or answer but know I’ll work on it for you. Look for posts next week with the answers.
I wish you the best as you decide what is right for your family. Opening the school and bringing our children back is exciting. Let’s work together to do it right and keep everyone safe !
Sincerely, Jeff Amerson

En Español: Elección de enseñanza presencial o virtual para el segundo periodo comienza el 21 de septiembre Tiếng Việt: Cập Nhật Sự Cam Kết củ

08/28/2020

Dear Poe Parents
This has been an exciting and challenging summer for educators and parents. As we head into the new year, I know you have questions. I know your children are ready and excited for school and want to know how it will work this year. I also know I promised you phone calls and information a week ago that you haven’t seen yet. I’m sorry about that. There were some timelines and schedules I wanted to have ready, and thought we would, but between HISD upgrading to an all new data system, hurricanes, and everyone in trainings this week, as much as I wanted everything ready, they just were not. As late as this morning, things still continue to change as we get more updates from the state and the district as everyone works together to ensure we give our students the best school year possible. I appreciate your patience.
This coming Monday, August 31, at 7 :00 pm, I will host a Microsoft Teams LIVE meeting to get you as much information as I can. Be kind. This will be my first giant meeting like this and I’m hoping there will be no glitches. You don’t need to do anything to join except to click the link at the end of this message. The meeting will start at 7 :00 PM. If you click the link before that, you will see a message that says the event has not started. If you get that, you’re in the right place. I will go over what our instructional day will look like, talk with you about how kids will access lessons and turn in work, discuss grades and attendance, your school supplies, uniforms, and go over some key dates.
• Thursday, September 3, 3 pm – 5 pm, a virtual Meet the Teacher event
• Tuesday, September 8- the first day of instruction for students online
• Thursday, September 10- 5 :30 pm – 7 :00 pm- Virtual Curriculum Night (Open House)
Our teachers will go into more specifics about their classrooms and practices during the two Thursday events. We moved our curriculum night sooner in the year than we have in the past to get you information more quickly. Everything is different for you and for us. The sooner we all know how to partner and help each other, the better.
Your child’s teacher will also contact you early next week, really, to make sure your children have the technology they need to be successful. I expect us to start emailing you Monday afternoon. We’ve been calling and updating our lists all summer but I want to be sure we have this exactly right. In the next couple of weeks we will also offer some sessions to help parents help their children help their children with logging on and knowing where to go.
My staff has given their time all summer to learn and prepare for this challenge. Each day as we all learn more, we also learn how much more we wish we already knew. We are learning and growing and are ready to tackle this head on. You will have the opportunity to ask questions in our meeting Monday. You will probably ask about things we haven’t even thought about. I will answer as many as I can and will then create a document to address the rest. It’s important we all have the same information.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, it will be taped. I’m not sure yet how to make it available to you but I will figure it out by Monday. I hope to see you Monday. I’ve missed you. To join the meeting, just click the following link : https://bit.ly/2EkSbTG
Know that I’m terrified it won’t work. If it doesn’t, I’ll reschedule for the following day. My friends assure me it will work. I hope you have a great weekend !
Sincerely,
Jeff Amerson, Principal of Poe Elementary
[email protected]

08/24/2020

Camp SPARK
HISD @ H.O.M.E. is hosting a free, virtual interactive academic enrichment camp for all PK – 12th grade students from Monday, 8/24/20 through Friday, 9/4/20. More information can be found at the link below:

Houston ISD Camp Spark Academic Enrichment Camp 2020 Virtual Online Camp

08/10/2020

Hello Poe Community- I hope you are all safe and well. We are 4 weeks away from the start of classes for students. We've been working hard to prepare for virtual instruction beginning September 8th. In the next week or so, I will set up and schedule virtual community meetings to talk with you more about what will happen. I can tell you in advance things will be much more structured than in the Fall; we will follow schedules, all students will be expected to participate, and grades will count. For students who cannot follow the schedule, they will have the opportunity to watch taped lessons and do the work at their pace when they can. All teachers at each grade level will work together and will be teaching the same things and giving the same assignments on the same days to help those of you who are working with groups of children. This is truly going to be a team effort with us and with you. School supplies are arriving at Poe this week if you pre-ordered; we'll work out a distribution plan and schedule similar to what we did to pick up belongings at the end of last year. Starting next Monday, August 17th I'll have a skeletal crew in our office. We are not open for you to come in but you can call at (713) 535-3780.

For those of you with technology needs, your classroom teacher will reach out to you beginning August 25 to talk with you about your situation. At this time, we will focus on ensuring each household has at least one good working laptop or computer and internet access. I notice that Target has a Chromebook and another laptop on sale this week for $299 and $199. Chromebooks will work to access the lessons if they actually have them in stock. If you go to a store and they do not, try their website. I'm sure other places are also offering deals on laptops if there are any to be had.

Our Meet the Teacher (September 3) and Open House (September 10) will be online. Check our calendar at www.houstonisd.org/PoeES for updates. I'm trying to keep it updated weekly in case there are changes. If you watch the news, you know changes are certainly possible.

Finally, for today, the district has launched a virtual learning course for you, the parents. This course will help you understand the platforms we will use and how to help your children. It is the goal of the district, and the goal of those of us at Poe, to support you in supporting your children as much as possible. This is new to us all but together we will get through it. As always we appreciate your support, patience, and flexibility. I'm attaching the link to the survey below:

https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2020/08/03/hisd-to-launch-parent-virtual-learning-course/

10/13/2019

Monday is Columbus Day but WE DO HAVE SCHOOL in HISD! Monday is not a holiday for us.

But, this Friday (October 18) is Early Dismissal at noon.

So, school on Monday YES. Early Dismissal on Friday YES!
Hava a great week.

10/09/2019

We loved this tweet from Poe Elementary School teacher Tamica Lewis about the wonderful Joanna Hubbard teaching first graders about the behind-the-scenes work of theater before a performance of ! We've been lucky to have Joanna on our stages over the years in addition to being one of our former teaching artists. Thank you, Joanna, Poe, and parents for sharing your students with us and being part of MST! Poe Raven Vivienne St John Rebecca Udden MATCH - Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston

09/25/2019

Early Dismissal is this Friday, September 27 at 12 noon. This time has changed from last year and I had 11:30 on the marquee until yesterday. The actual early dismissal time is noon. I apologize for any confusion. Please be sure whoever is picking up your children knows. Thanks!