HAPPY WEDNESDAY THUNDERBIRDS!
January 8, 2021
Happy New Year Thunderbirds! Welcome back. We hope you and your family have had a wonderful Winter Break and excited and ready to start the new year.
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. — Harriett Tubman
As an essential service, Austin ISD will resume on-campus instruction for those who choose it the week of January 4. We will also continue to offer remote instruction for families for the remainder of the school year. And, if a family wants to transition their children from on-campus to remote instruction, we will make the change upon request.
Please know that safety continues to be our top priority. If there is a surge in cases at any of our campuses or facilities, we can and will close as the need arises. As a reminder, COVID-19 Rapid Testing is available at every Austin ISD campus for staff and students. And, we will continue to be vigilant in asking students and staff to complete the COVID screening daily as well as monitoring cases and doing contact tracing. You can access the AISD COVID dashboard here https://www.austinisd.org/openforlearning/dashboard
We will be taking advantage of the TEA’s allowance to offer asynchronous learning. In Austin ISD all learning activities will be virtual on the following Fridays: Jan. 29, Feb. 26, March 5 and April 9. Please take a moment to mark these dates on your calendars.
PROSPECTIVE PARENTS
If you have a friend or neighbor who is interested in THES for their child, they can find out more about our school JOIN US for the virtual Parent Tour on Wednesday, January 13th from 11:30-12:00 to learn more about the school, deadlines for registration, and to visit with administration.
Parent Virtual Tour
Topic: Parent Virtual Tour
Time: January 13 @ 11:30 am
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96476232276?pwd=d2xsYlhGb3U0NVVXR2hsdXVlWllMQT09
Meeting ID: 964 7623 2276
Passcode: joinus
DUAL LANGUAGE APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR.
Monday, January 11, 2021 – 7:00 am to
Friday, February 26, 2021 – 5:00 pm
Applications for enrollment into dual language programs for the elementary 2021-22 school year are being accepted January 11 through February 26, 2021.
Find more information about the application process on the Dual-Language page.
COVID NEED TO KNOW
The Center for Disease control provides guidance for best practices to avoid infection and available resources. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/need-to-know.html
DISTRICT OF INNOVATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS
(No school for students)
Travis ECHS Vertical Team DOI Days: 02/12/2021 and 03/12/2021. These dates are student holidays and staff development days. Please be sure to mark your calendar.
AISD MOBILE APP INFORMATION
The app will allow all AISD students, staff and families to receive notifications from the district and campuses for which they wish to subscribe. Other helpful tools include COVID-19 Screen and Go, an efficient self-screening process for users to complete before coming into contact with others or before leaving home for work or school. The screening feature is available to students, staff and visitors. The app also allows for quick access and links to:
- Parent Cloud
- Parent Self Serve
- WheresTheBus
- School Café
- School Directory
VOTE ON NEXT YEAR’S AISD CALENDAR
Austin ISD is currently working on the calendars for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. The Calendar Task Force has worked very hard to prepare two (2) calendar options. Please take a minute to vote on the calendars that you prefer for each school year.
Please click on this link to view the calendars and to vote: Vote here
Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://austinisd.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9FakodMJbJHPro1
AISD TO CONTINUE FREE MEALS
Through the 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) recently announced an extension of current school meal programs through the 2020-21 school year. Through the federally-funded program, all Austin ISD students will receive free school meals through June 3, the last day of school.
For students participating in remote, off-campus learning, free 7 day meal packs will be available each Thursday at more than 40 curbside locations throughout Austin. While Austin ISD plans to continue curbside service as long as needed, meal sites are subject to change as more students transition to on-campus learning.
Meal locations, dates and times are subject to change.
Curbside Meal Sites:
Each Thursday, curbside meal sites will provide free 7 day meal packs at more than 40 locations throughout Austin. These locations are listed below.
Families are advised to stay in their cars and not enter buildings during meal pick up. Families who come by walking/biking/transit will still be able to receive food outside the campuses.
Meal Site Location Map
**NOTICE**
The beginning of the transfer season for 2021-2022 will be delayed. The frozen schools announcement will also be delayed. Please check back on this website for updates as they become available. All deadlines will be pushed back as well. Thank you for your patience.
More Information:
For the quickest response, you can send us a message at: https://www.austinisd.org/contact-us (Choose Student Transfers).
Please call if you have questions about transfers for the 2020-2021 school year (512-414-1726).
SHOW YOUR THUNDERBIRD PRIDE
2020-2021 T-Shirts are here!
In addition to the FREE shirt for every student (and staff member), we have a limited number of adult sized shirts (Unisex and Ladies cut) for sale to parents. We also still have some stock of the very popular Thunderbird shirt (and hat and water bottle) from last fall. These items will need to be purchased IN ADVANCE from the THES Square Store https://travis-heights-elementary.square.site/
Quantities for these items are limited and will be on a first come, first serve basis. Also, please understand that there will be no try on or returns available. If in doubt, go for a larger size. While shopping, please consider a donation to your THES PTA to help cover the cost of the shirts we are providing to all our Thunderbirds!
E-BOOKS THROUGH AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Due to the Austin Public Library currently being closed to the public, we are emailing students who already have a 2019-2020 APL Student Card account in our system, their card number and password. Your APL Student Card number (user ID) and password (PIN) can be used to access the online learning resources on the APL Homework Help page here: https://bit.ly/2wAqGSv
Have a question about the Student Card and/or online learning resources? Ask us here: https://bit.ly/2UriuwX OR 512-974-7475! You can reset the password (PIN) here: https://bit.ly/2QNfybJ
MASKS
As a reminder, if you are coming to campus, please be sure to bring your masks. We have masks here but invite parents to send students with a mask and also a back up mask. Thank you!
FRIENDLY REMINDERS
- Download the AISD App today for iPhone and Android.
- Keep up with what’s happening in the District by watching this week’s AISD in 3.
- Visit Austin ISD’s Community Learning Spaces webpage.
- BLEND is Austin ISD’s online learning platform. Tutorials are available in English and Spanish.
- Austin ISD is now offering free seven day meal packs at curbside sites.
- Follow Austin ISD on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.