Timber Creek and other Keller ISD schools will start again on August 18, 2021 — and here’s Everything You Need to Know for the First Day of the 2021-2022 School Year.

Very first off, and most importantly, we’re EXCITED to see you back on campus at TCHS for the 2021-2022 school year. While we have a lot of information available in this article, there will be things that need to adjust slightly as the school year begins. Please note, right off the bat, that all information provided in this article is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it’s published. As things adjust, we’ll adjust them here as well, so if you’re unsure, check back here.

Thank you in advance for reading carefully and sending any additional questions to editor@timbercreektalon.com so we can get them answered for you!

LET’S GO!

Schedules

Let’s talk big picture and then student schedules:

The first day of school is Wednesday, August 18, 2021. It will be an “even” day, where students attend 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th periods on their schedule. On the next day, Thursday, August 19, students will have an “odd” day, where students attend 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th periods. Finishing out the first week, students will have another “even” day (1, 2, 4, 6, 8), on Friday, August 20.

Even and odd days then continue generally back and forth throughout the school year. Find the FULL SCHEDULE OF EVEN/ODD DAYS below.

In all Keller ISD High Schools, students attend 5 classes per day. 1st and 8th period will occur every day, while the even periods (2, 4, 6) and odd periods (3, 5, 7) alternate. Find the BELL SCHEDULE below to know the start and end times for each period.

Lunches are determined by the students’ 4th or 5th period and by the classroom they are in during that time. Use the two pictures below to see which rooms go to lunch at what times. 

PLEASE NOTE: These lunch schedules may change within the first weeks of school as schedules change and/or student balancing is completed. This is the lunch schedule as of Aug. 12, 2021.

FIRST FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

Student schedules were first made available during an Aug. 11 evening event. If you were unable to attend, student schedules should be available around August 13 on the AERIES student information platform. 

PLEASE NOTE: These schedules may need to be adjusted due to class size balancing, student class selections, schedule conflicts, and other issues. Follow the schedule shown on AERIES. To fix schedule issues, see the Counseling section.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS AERIES

For after-school events, such as club meetings, athletics, fine arts, and more, stay tuned to Talon, TCTV, and our campus calendars. 

COVID-19 Protocols

Copied from Keller ISD’s COVID-19 site:

As we prepare for the 2021-22 school year, Keller ISD is aware of updated guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding COVID-19 and wants to assure the KISD community that the District remains committed to keeping students and staff safe. 

Keller ISD will continue to observe the following practices: 

• Face Masks: Optional for students and employees
  Per Executive Order No. GA-38 from the Governor, school districts cannot require masks to be worn. However, Keller ISD will support any student or employee who chooses to wear a mask. 
• COVID-19 Vaccinations: Not required, but encouraged
  For those eligible, the CDC has recommended getting the COVID-19 vaccine, but an individual’s vaccination status will not prohibit them from entering Keller ISD facilities. 
• Health Self-Screenings: Requested daily
  Students and employees should perform a self-check of COVID-19-related symptoms prior to boarding a bus or entering a Keller ISD facility. Please do not come to school if you are sick or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
• Social Distancing: Encouraged, where possible
  When space and circumstances allow, students and employees are encouraged to maintain distance from others. 
• Hand Hygiene: Continued priority
  Hand sanitizer will continue to be provided throughout Keller ISD facilities, and students will be provided frequent hand-washing opportunities throughout the school day. 
• Facility Cleaning: Frequent
  Keller ISD’s Facility Services team will continue to focus on high-touch surfaces and deep cleaning any areas of concern. 

There will also be some changes in the procedure and notification of positive COVID-19 cases. In the event of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis: 

• The individual (or parents/guardians, in the case of a student) will be asked to self-report the diagnosis by filling out Keller ISD’s online Self-Reporting Form at www.KellerISD.net/SelfReport. 
• The individual must remain home for 10 days. Students remaining home will be treated as if they are absent for any other illness. There will be no synchronous learning option made available, but students will be provided access to lessons and materials through their class’s learning management platform. Last year’s TEA guidelines allowed for remote learning, but those guidelines have since expired. Employees will use their own leave time. 
• Close contacts will be identified and contacted, but will not be required to quarantine. Close contacts will be asked to monitor for symptoms and may choose to quarantine themselves. Students who choose to quarantine will be treated as if they are absent for any other illness, and employees will use their own leave time. Mass notifications will no longer be distributed to all campus families and employees in the event of a positive case. 

Other updates to Keller ISD’s safety policies include: 

• Visitors will be allowed on campuses, including parents or guardians who want to visit their student for lunch. Please follow each campus’s procedures related to welcoming visitors back to campus. 
• Those entering Keller ISD facilities will no longer be required to complete an online screening form. Anyone entering a school or district building will be encouraged to perform a self-screening of COVID-19 symptoms before arriving, and will be asked to remain home if exhibiting symptoms. 
• Parents or guardians may drop off items for their students. Each campus will have its own procedures for where and how to drop off such items. 

We are looking forward to a great 2021-22 school year, and with the help of our entire community, we are confident we can continue to provide exceptional learning opportunities while keeping all of our students and employees safe. 

New Administrators and Counseling Staffs

Say hello to the 2021-2022 administration and counseling teams! 

Students are served by counselors and/or administrators based on their last names. Please use the following tables to see their photos and alphabets.

2021-2022 Timber Creek High School Administration

Principal Shawn Duhon	Associate Principal HR Lugo	Assistant Principal Helene Kilianski Assessments
Administrative Associate Niki Gilley Last Names A-CI	Assistant Principal Sarah Willis Last Names CL-GOM	Assistant Principal James Johnson Last Names GON-LEV
Assistant Principal Phillip Daurio Last Names LEW-OS	Assistant Principal Melinda Schott Last Names OT-SI	Assistant Principal Todd Lacey Last Names SJ-Z

Say Hello to the 2021-2022 Timber Creek Counseling Team!

Lead Counselor Kristen Elam	Intervention Counselor Andi Gowins	College and Career Readiness Lindsey Hernandez
Last Names: A-CASTA Kelly Stewart	Last Names: CASTI-FOR Allison Voss	Last Names: FOS-JE Joshua Osman
Last Names: JI-MEL Kristy Phipps	Last Names: MEM-POZ Melissa Woodward	Last Names: PR-STEI Valerie Wolfenkoehler
Last Names: STEPH-Z Amy Perkins

Counseling

Now that you’ve met the counselors, you should know which one will be helping you out this year. However, if you have a schedule question or issue, here’s what you need to do.

Go to the schedule in AERIES. Go all to those classes. Do not go to the counselor office. If you need something fixed, use the following link:

CLICK THIS LINK FOR ANY ISSUES WITH YOUR SCHEDULE

Why? Because counselors will be using THAT LINK to help out students with issues as soon as possible. Sending them another e-mail will not help. Fill out that link (the one above this message) or scan the QR code that will send you to that link in a classroom. Don’t go to the counselor office. Don’t e-mail the counselor. Use the link.

This will allow counselors to fix student issues as quickly as possible. Trust us. Calling, e-mail, and going to the counselors office may actually slow down the process of fixing schedules for students. If counselors need to talk to a specific student about their schedule issue, they’ll be able to send a pass and bring the student down when they can.

Meanwhile, continue with the schedule you see in AERIES. Why? You’ll be counted absent if you’re not in class. Speaking of…

Attendance

Please read this carefully. It applies to you.

State law mandates that students are in class at least 90% of the time. Failure to do so will result in an accrual of “seat time”. If seat time is not completed by the deadline, course credit denial will be in effect.

• Students may not have more than 9 absences in 1st and 8th period(s).
• Students may not have more than 4 absences in 2nd-7th period(s).
• Every absence over in each class equals one hour of seat time.

Truancy is if a student fails to attend school without an excuse for 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period. They may be referred to the prosecutor of the truancy court of Tarrant County. The court can also file a criminal complaint against parents or guardians who contribute to the non-attendance of his/her student, regardless of the student’s age.

Currently, no Timber Creek student owes seat time due to the pandemic and closing of schools in the spring.

This year, Keller ISD and Timber Creek will be enforcing truancy, seat time and possible credit denial based on attendance.

Assistant Principals will meet with students in their Alpha who are struggling with attendance at least twice a 9 week grading period.

Seat Time will be posted every 9 weeks by Ms. Willis on the Brick Wall by the Attendance Office and in the cafeteria. All Assistant Principals will also have access to Seat Time and can work with their students in their Alpha.

Students who have seat time can pick up seat time forms from the Attendance Office and return them to the Attendance Office.

The options to complete seat time hours at Timber Creek High School are as follows:

1. Falcon Night School on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-7pm. Room TBD
2. Saturday School on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.  Students must arrive by 7:55am to meet the assigned staff member at the front entrance of our campus.
3. Students can spend time outside of the school day attending tutorials with their teacher to enhance/reinforce their knowledge of instruction.  Students will receive double-time for this option.

NOTE: Attending a required practice or rehearsal for athletics/fine arts is not an acceptable form of completion of seat time hours.

Last Updated: August 12, 2021

We’ll be continuing to collect and update this story with information as we get closer and closer to the start of school. Here’s where we’ll note any updates to the story.

• August 12, 2021: Initial publication. Tons of details!