This morning, the Richardson Independent School District welcomes more than 34,000 students back to school.

LH Today, together with the RISD Office of Communications, offers the following helpful hints to help you and your students get a fresh start the new school year.

The 2009-10 academic calendar is available online through the district. Parents and students alike will find important dates to remember, enrollment information and the inclement weather phone line. To download a PDF of the 2009-10 calendar, click here.

Additionally, the RISD Office of Communications welcomes all district parents to subscribe to its free, electronic newsletter, RISD "School Times Now!"

Information on how to subscribe to the district's e-newsletter can be found here.

RISD also offers an online service entitled StarPortal™. This is a technology resource that gives parents secure online access to information about their student’s education.

StarPortal™ allows parents to view their child’s up-to-date cumulative average, report card grades, period-by-period attendance, and unofficial transcript throughout the school year.

According to the district, due to data and security concerns, StarPortal™ accounts must be renewed each year. Users who had an account during the 2008-09 school year, need to know that account has been deleted. Parent access to StarPortal™ for the 2009-10 school year will begin by September 8, 2009.

Directions for creating a StarPortal™ account can be found on the district’s website here.

Also, be on the lookout for a new Student/Parent Guidebook. At the beginning of the school year, each student should receive one, along with a Student Code of Conduct handbook.

This two-part booklet explains admissions, attendance requirements, grading, student programs and academic performance, discipline management, school records and parental responsibilities, general information such as weather closings, field trips, health services, lockers, and more, including expected standards for student conduct.

Students will be asked to take the handbooks home so that parents may become familiar with practices and policies within RISD. The district recommends that parents read the entire handbook to better understand the partnership between home and their neighborhood school.

For more details, including links to lunch menus, after school programs and additional district information, visit http://www.risd.org.

Be sure to also visit the LH Today Schools page for a complete listing of websites and links to all our Lake Highlands schools and PTA groups.

Have a great first day, Lake Highlands! Welcome back!