ATTENDANCE/TRUANCY NOTICES:  Please do not panic if you receive what appears to be a truancy letter.  The district letters automatically populate at 3, 5, 7, and 9 absences or tardies whether they are excused or unexcused.  These letters provide you with information and are a good reminder if you haven’t turned in a written note or email after your child returns from illness.  If we are concerned about excessive absences, we will reach out to you directly to discuss and follow this process:

• Level 1 Absence Concern - Notification Letter (10 or more absences or tardies)

• Level 2 Absence Concern - Phone Call from School

• Level 3 Absence Concern - Student Support Team Meeting

• Level 4 Absence Concern - Plano Attendance Review Board

• We would never file truancy court charges these levels to you.  

Please know that we are aware of illnesses this time of year and will always take that into consideration before ever considering filing for truancy court.  We know these letters can feel “threatening” and hope the small note attached assures you that we are needing to send these out per district guidelines, yet we will always communicate with you before considering Plano Attendance Review Board or Truancy Court.

ABSENCES DUE TO ILLNESS

If a student is ill and will be missing school, please call Wells’s absence hotline at 469-752-3700.

ABSENTEE NOTES

When a student is absent and returns to school, by state attendance laws, he or she must present a written note from the parent or guardian even if a parent or guardian called the attendance line. The note should include:

• Student name

• Student ID number

• Reason for the absence

• Date(s) of absence(s)

• Phone number where the parent or guardian may be reached

Notes from a doctor may be submitted in lieu of a parent note. Notes should be given to the attendance office before 9:00 a.m. on the day the student returns. After three school days, notes may not be accepted, and the absences may be deemed unexcused. Absences from school to extend holidays are discouraged. Be sure to check the school calendar prior to making travel arrangements or purchasing tickets. Excessive tardies and unexcused absences will result in truancy filings. See school board policy FEA Legal for more details.

We are excited about our “Parent Lunch with Child” Reservations for the 1st Nine Weeks. Sign up to have lunch with your child HERE!

• There are two slots per day per grade level due to limited seating.   As a courtesy to other parents, we ask that you do not sign up for more than one slot a month unless you still see an open spot the day before that is unused.

• Students may get lunch from the cafeteria or parents can bring lunch.  Parents will not be allowed to purchase lunch from the cafeteria since cafeteria visitors are not allowed.

• IF SLOTS ARE FULL - As another alternative, parents can sign their child out for their lunchtime and have lunch at the park, the bench in front of the school, or in their car and then return their child to the front office after lunch is over and sign them back in for the rest of the day.

• Please bring your driver’s license when checking in for lunch.  Parents will need a badge that we create using their driver’s license or legal ID through our RAPTOR system.

• We are so excited to see you in school for lunch!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:   Thanks to all the many volunteers we are already putting in countless hours to support Wells! . Go to https://plano.voly.org/ to complete your annual background check and sign up for volunteer opportunities.  Some opportunities are linked below:

• Kindergarten GLC Centers Support

• Kindergarten Lunch Help

• ROAR Store Volunteers

• Reading Rockstar Volunteers

• Afterschool Programs: Fall Robotics & Coding Club , Fall Chess Program , Fall - Think Like an Engineer , Fall Encore Kids - Act, Sing and Dance club

• For direct link to browse all Wells Volunteer Opportunities, please visit:  Wells Volunteer Opportunities

You can only sign up to volunteer once you have cleared your background check.  If you have difficulties signing up for volunteer opportunities at Wells please contact: emily.gaitan@gmail.com ,Wells Elementary PTA VP of Volunteers 

CARPOOL DISMISSAL

• NEW:  Starting the first day of school, carpool students will be supervised inside the building until their parent arrives in the carpool lane.  Your child will be dismissed to the pole number which is also supervised by a staff member.  

• “Carpool Dismissal” means your child is picked up by a car in the front carpool lane.  

• A staff member will hold up a number of fingers (1-5) as you drive by the entrance of the carpool lane indicating which pole number to stop your car at. 

• CARPOOL TAG:  Parents should display their carpool tag at all times until the student is in the car.  If you didn’t get a carpool tag today or don’t have one from last year, we will be handing more out at dismissal on Wednesday.

• Students need to be able to independently climb into their car with their school items after their car door is opened for them.

WALKERS DISMISSAL

• Walking students will be dismissed to their family member/designated person by the large tree in the northeast side of the building in the front walkway area parallel to the front/east carpool lane.

• Grade level cones will mark where the family member/designated person needs to stand to help us release the students to the correct person after they are escorted out of the building by grade level.

• Sibling connections for walking students will be done outside the building.

• Please hold up your carpool tag to indicate to the teacher who you are picking up.  If you didn’t get a carpool tag today or don’t have one from last year, we will be handing more out at dismissal on Wednesday.

SCHOOL AND DAYCARE BUSES:

• Grade level groups of students will be escorted out to the north carpool lane where they will board their bus or daycare bus/van accordingly.

• If their daycare bus/van is not present at dismissal time the students will wait inside the cafeteria or just outside the cafeteria at the tables until the daycare bus/van arrives by 3:00 p.m.

PASAR

• Grade level groups of students will be escorted down to the gym/cafeteria area and handed off to a PASAR representative. 

All Plano ISD students in K-5th will be administered the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test over the next few weeks. MAP tests measure student achievement in reading (K-5th), math (K-5th) science (3rd-5th), and language usage (3rd-5th). Plano ISD has administered and used the information from MAP testing for many years to provide teachers with valuable information about student learning. MAP scores help teachers know what your child has mastered and what your child is ready to learn.   This test is adaptive so the difficulty of each question is adjusted to the student’s answer on the previous test question. If a student answers a question correctly, the questions become more difficult. If a student answers a question incorrectly, the questions become less difficult. Because of this technology, the MAP system can assess students at various achievement levels. More detailed information is provided in the MAP Parent and Student Guide document available at https://www.pisd.edu/Page/1316.  Also, after testing, you can find your child’s score on the Plano ISD Parent Portal’s Performance section for your child.  Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions about your child’s MAP testing.

Do you enjoy interacting with children and investing your time in others? Just 30 minutes one day a week, and you can make a difference in the life of a child. The mentoring program at Wells is open to parents, grandparents, former Wells parents, and community members. If you know of any business or community partners that would be interested, please feel free to share this information with them.

Please see the link for more information about the mentoring program if you are interested!  Wells Mentoring Program 2023-2024 - Google Docs

Please complete the google form if you are interested in becoming a mentor.  Wells Mentoring Interest Form - Google Forms