Blackland Prairie Leadership Academy - Round Rock ISD

Four circular badges showing certifications: HRS Level 1 Certified in blue, Level 2 Certified in yellow, Level 3 Certified in green, and a gold Leader in Me Lighthouse School seal.

A Note from the Principal

Hello, Blackland Prairie Families,

This week, Blackland Prairie Elementary focused on Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind, encouraging students to set goals and take purposeful action toward achieving them. Classrooms engaged in meaningful discussions about leadership and personal responsibility, reinforcing the principles that guide our Lighthouse Campus designation.

We were honored to host members of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, who visited to learn more about our leadership model in action. Our student presenters shared what it means to be a Lighthouse School, articulating how leadership and academic excellence are integrated into the culture of Blackland Prairie. Visitors were especially impressed by our students’ confidence, communication skills, and depth of understanding. Additionally, our Pre-K students demonstrated exceptional leadership and engagement during classroom walkthroughs, showcasing how leadership begins early at Blackland Prairie.

Our second-grade students successfully completed CogAT testing this week, and families will receive additional information regarding results in the coming weeks.

It was a week that reflected the continued commitment of our students and staff to academic excellence and the development of leadership skills across all grade levels.

As always, stay safe and take care out on the Prairie! Enjoy your extra day off.

Did You Know?

Did you know our Intervention Support Team does so much behind the scenes to help students and teachers succeed:

Provides reading, math, and behavior intervention for students PK–5
Coordinates Student Support Team (SST) meetings and manages Full Individualized Evaluation (FIE) paperwork, referrals, and observations
Supervises Intervention Educational Assistants
Supports teachers with intervention plans, Frontline setup, and screeners (Amplify, Aimsweb+, i-Ready)
Participates in 3rd–5th grade RLA and Math Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
Serves as Early Career Coaches and leads New to BPE meetings

Their work ensures that every student receives the support they need and that teachers are equipped to help them thrive!

New This Week

There will be no school on Monday, October 20th, 2025

Fall pictures are this Wednesday, October 22nd. We are excited to have 1st Photo on campus for our school picture day! Pictures will take place on October 22nd, so please have your student dressed to impress. Here is how to preorder: www.1stphototexas.com Click on the tab labelled “SCHOOL_AH25” Enter Blackland Prairie’s online prepay code: 501725F38

Yearbook Cover Art Contest - Our yearbook theme this year is Forever Wildcats: 25 Years of Leadership! Students are encouraged to submit their artwork for the yearbook cover. All submitted work must be original artwork by a current Blackland Prairie student on a 8.5x11 inch piece of white paper, must reflect the yearbook theme, and must have "Blackland Prairie Elementary 2025-2026" on it. Artwork must be submitted by October 24th and may be turned in to the front office, PTA box, or emailed to bpeptapresident@gmail.com.

Submit your Volunteer + Visitor Application With a new school year comes a new volunteer + visitor application. Are you planning to help in the classroom? Do you want to attend events on campus? If so, please take 5 minutes to complete the application. The application must be submitted and approved in order to volunteer or attend events on campus this year (even if you filled one out last year).

STAAR Interim Assessments Start Next Week for 3rd-5th Graders- We are writing to share information about the STAAR Interim Assessments your student will take this school year. These are online assessments provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to help us better understand your child’s progress in reading, math, and science throughout the year.

What is the purpose? Think of the Interim Assessments as "check-ins," not report card grades. Their main goals are:

To Monitor Progress: They help teachers track how well students are mastering the skills and knowledge outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum before the end-of-year STAAR test.
To Inform Teaching: The results give our teachers valuable, timely data on which specific concepts or skills need more focus in the classroom. This allows us to adjust instruction and provide targeted support to meet each student's needs.
To Build Comfort: Since the Interim Assessments use the same online platform and question types as the final STAAR test, they give students practice and familiarity with the testing environment, reducing anxiety later in the year.

Important Note: These assessments do not count as a grade on your child’s report card, and they are not tied to accountability for students or schools. They are simply a diagnostic tool for our educators.

We appreciate your partnership in supporting your child’s learning. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher or our campus testing coordinator.

Arrival and Dismissal Reminders- Part 2

Thank you for your continued support and adherence to our morning arrival and afternoon dismissal procedures.

We are excited to share the progress we've already made in 2 weeks! On the first day of school, dismissal took us almost until 3:35 p.m. to have all students exit the building. By the week during normal dismissal (outside the rainy day/lightning delay) we improved to 3:08. So impressed with all of your efforts with following the rules. Below are a few reminders to keep us safe and one update (shared above as well in the NEW this Week Section):

Reminders

Our student safety patrol is back on schedule. You will see students in yellow vests assisting with opening and closing doors.
Back carider lane does not allow for left turns out of the parking lot. This is posted on the STOP sign and can cause a serious collision for those traveling on Fernspring.
Back walkers should enter the campus via the sidewalk closest to the pond. No walkers should cross from Trailing Vine to this location. All walkers need to utilize the crossing guards that are stationed at the two 4-way stops located at the front of the school and in the back by the pond.

Update

You will now see cones placed in the front parking lanes next to our crosswalk for our district busses during MORNING drop-off. There has been additional busses add to our campus this year and the times are adjusted where they are not coming in right at 7:10 am. Car rider parents, please be aware of this change and following staff directions to keep this section open for this campus need once the busses arrive on campus.

Any student arriving late (after 7:35 AM) must be signed in at the front office by a parent or guardian. Please do not drop off your child without signing them in if they are late, as we will need to call you to return and complete the process. Thank you for your understanding.

Coming Up

October 20 No School

October 22 Fall Pictures

October 24 Round Rock Fire Department Public Education, Life & Fire

October 27 to October 31 Red Ribbon Week

October 29 Whiskers Fun Run