Wednesday eFolder – January 15th, 2020

HAPPY WEDNESDAY THUNDERBIRDS!
Hopefully, everyone is settling back into the school routine — just in time for another day off on Monday, January 20th for MLK Day! We encourage you to start a conversation with your child about the importance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy on American civil rights. 

REMINDER — DUAL LANGUAGE + TRANSFER APPLICATIONS ARE DUE!
Applications must be received by January 31, 2020. You can find complete instructions HERE about submitting your applications. 

BENCHMARK ASSESSMENTS
Benchmark assessments are administered at key points in the year and are designed to assess student mastery of curriculum from 3rd through 5th grade. The data collected helps teachers drive instruction and scaffold students learning. Various forms of district-level assessments are conducted throughout the school year, each serving a different purpose and providing different kinds of information about student performance. Please help our students by getting a good night’s rest and being on time to school every day. Please avoid scheduling any appointments on those days.

Benchmark Test Schedule:
1/15: 4th Grade Writing
1/21: 3rd & 5th Grade Math
1/22: 4th Grade Math & 3rd & 5th Grade Reading
1/23: 4th Grade Reading & 5th Grade Science

FALL AWARDS ASSEMBLY — starts tomorrow!
January 16 & 17
Join us in the cafeteria as we celebrate your child’s awesome achievements from the Fall semester.
January 16 (K-2nd)
2nd: 8:10 am
1st: 9:00 am
K: 9:50 am
January 17 (3rd-5th)
5th: 8:10 am
4th: 9:00 am
3rd: 9:50 am

THUNDERBIRD SHOWCASE — tomorrow night!
January 16, 6pm
Please join us for our annual Thunderbird Community Showcase as students and teachers highlight the amazing Project Based Learning (PBL) work that has taken place in our Pre K4 through 5th-grade classrooms. The Thunderbird Showcase provides students the opportunity to share their learning and demonstrate the processes and products that has taken place throughout the year. Everyone is welcome — we would love to see potential new THES students and families! 

COMMUNITY POTLUCK — next week!
January 22, 5-7pm
All parents are invited to bring a food item to share with the THES Community. Do you have a special recipe your family enjoys? This potluck is an opportunity for all families to get together and learn more about each other and meet other folks from the neighborhood. There will be a movie playing for the children which will give parents a chance to mingle and meet new friends. Please contact Ms. Dianna Perez with any questions.   

REFUGEE AWARENESS EVENT
Wednesday, January 22, 4-8pm at the Thinkery Museum
The AISD Refugee Family Support Office will be partnering with Thinkery Museum to host a Community Night Spotlight that celebrates Refugee Awareness. The goal is to shine a light on the refugee communities in Austin and create a space for communities to come together to celebrate each other. Wednesdays are their FREE night, which includes museum exhibits, storytime, educational activities facilitated by staff and special community presenters. AISD will be providing transportation for refugee families. The shuttle will start at 5:30pm with shuttle service running every 30 minutes. The return time from the Thinkery will be 7:45 pm. See below a list of locations for pick-up and drop-off:

Webb Middle School – 601 E St Johns Ave, Austin, TX 78752
Navarro High School – 1201 Payton Gin Road, Austin, TX 78758
Travis Heights Elementary – 2010 Alameda Drive, Austin, TX 78704

Families can sign up HERE.
For more event details visit the Thinkery Community Program page 

FUN UPCOMING WAYS TO SUPPORT THES
Buy Mañana sugar cookies!
The THES holiday cookie fundraiser was such a success ($250 raised) that South Congress Hotel’s coffee and bakeshop, Mañana, wants to continue their donation through 2020! They will donate $1 from every purchase of the monthly sugar cookie (created uniquely for THES). Be sure to let the staff know you came for the cookie and thank them for their partnership! If you are interested in purchasing cookies by the dozen, the kitchen needs 72 hours’ notice. Please email Sophia Stout: sophia.stout@mananaaustin.com

THES SPIRIT NIGHT AT Torchy’s on South Congress
Thursday, January 30, 4-8pm
Our neighborhood Torchy’s Tacos is hosting a Spirit Night supporting Travis Heights Elementary School. Join THES family and friends from 4-8pm and 15% of the evening’s sales will be donated to our school You must show this flyer so we get credit. Please share it with neighbors, friends, and family. The more people that dine in spirit of THES, the more support our school receives!

Pizza Profit Share at Home Slice Pizza
Monday, February 10
February 10-14 is the annual I ♡ THES no-hassle fundraiser and Home Slice is helping us kick it off by generously donating 10% of sales all day to our school! Dine-in or take out. 

Save the dates for I ♡ THES on February 10-14. More details soon!

CALL FOR STEAM 2020 VOLUNTEERS AND PARTICIPANTS!
Our STEAM planning team is gearing up for our annual Travis Heights Elementary STEAM Day on April 21. STEAM Day is an annual THES event when professionals from across the science, technology, engineering, arts, and math fields facilitate hands-on workshops for students (3rd-5th grades). Some past workshops have included coding, veterinarian science, working with drones, civil engineering, fabric art, ceramics, songwriting, and mask making for theatre… to name just a very few! For our Pre-K to 2nd-grade students, we organize a science or art demonstration so they get a preview of what’s to come in the upper grades.

Who are we looking for…
Volunteers to shadow / help us organize this year’s event.
Our team of three co-chairs will be “graduating” from THES this year, so to keep STEAM alive after 2020, we need new volunteers to learn how STEAM Day works.

Workshop Participants
If you are in science, engineering, technology, math or arts-related fields and would like to facilitate a workshop to the upper-grade students, we need you!

How can I learn more?
Come to our next meeting on January 24 at 7:45 in the cafeteria or
Email Bob O’Dair (bobodair@gmail.com), Soo Lee Spaw (sooleespaw@outlook.com) or Renée Pinchero (pinchero.renee@gmail.com) for more information.

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Thank you!