Happy New Year, Cadets!

 I hope every one of you enjoyed the holiday break. I am sure there were both happy and sad faces as we resumed school this morning. With each New Year, many adopt resolutions and changes they strive to make in the upcoming year. For many, it is lifestyle changes to promote health and wellness. For others, it is dedicating more time to important people or organizations. However, overall resolutions are to make the person or situation better.

My resolution for Connally ISD is to create a positive student experience for all students, yielding positive academic goals for our students daily. We have already established a committee that has gathered and reviewed data. They have also established what we want our students to experience daily. We are now working to create a plan to achieve these outcomes for our Cadets of all ages. We will be excited to share this plan with you once it is completed!

As I bring up the topic of change, there has been a change at the Connally Elementary School campus for the spring semester. Mr. Demetrius Ellis will now be the principal of CES. He has a wealth of experience as an administrator at the 4th—12th grade levels. He has been an assistant principal at China Spring Intermediate and University High School and, most recently, the associate principal at Connally High School. He is excited to get to know our elementary students and welcome them back to campus today. Please visit the Connally Elementary Campus newsletter link below for more information and to learn more about Mr. Ellis.

Mrs. Katie Redden accepted the Dean of Student Services position at Connally Junior High. She is excited to bring her expertise to bilingual education, 504, gifted and talented, and academic testing. She is even more excited to revisit some of the familiar faces and families she became acquainted with while they were at the elementary campus. 

This is a great time to remind everyone that ALL students and staff will have regular instructional days Monday through Friday during January. We have a student and staff holiday on Monday, January 20th, in observance of Martin Luther King Day. Please ensure your student is in attendance on all assigned instructional days. We will resume intervention Fridays in February.

I wish all of you a happy new year filled with health, happiness, and prosperity!

Warm regards,

Jill Bottelberghe
Superintendent

If you have not been outside or watched the local weather broadcasts, it is COLD outside! Please ensure your students are dressed appropriately for the current weather conditions. I also encourage everyone to take winter weather precautions to care for your plants, pets, and pipes during this cold snap.

Weather forecasts often change, but we are currently on the predicted borderline for rain or a mix of sleet and snow. However, we are in Texas, and this forecast can change at a moment's notice. The McLennan County superintendents have been provided direct access to the National Weather Service radar with timelines and precipitation levels for North and Central Texas. We will continue to monitor the weather conditions and forecast for later this week.

If inclement weather prohibits safe travel for our students and staff, you will be notified through Thrillshare text message to the primary phone number on file and the primary email on file with your student’s campus. I encourage everyone to ensure your phone and email address are current with your children's school campuses. In addition to personal notifications, local news stations will post school closures as they receive them.

The district will try to make the determination when we have the necessary information to make a valid determination that it is necessary to close the campuses. Part of that process involves district administrators driving each of our roads in order to determine whether or not they are safe. These decisions - whether they involve canceling school, delaying a start time, or dismissing early - are not made lightly.

Please keep in mind that any days missed due to inclement weather must be made up at a later date. Any updates to the Instructional Calendar will be shared with parents via email as soon as they are available.