Happy Thursday Thunderbirds!
03.24.21
New!
Check out the new THES Parent Support Specialist’s Resource Facebook page for everything THES needs to know. https://www.facebook.com/TravisHeightsES/
You can also find what you need on our website at https://www.travisheightselementary.com/blog/2021/02/24/city-of-austin-resources/
And https://www.travisheightselementary.com/blog/2021/02/24/basic-needs-resources/
Principal Update & Coffee Chat Mar 26
Our next schedule Principal Update & Coffee Chat is Friday, Mar. 26th, 10-11am. The Coffee Chat theme is:
Screen time has become a frequent and important topic discussed among parents. If you’ve ever had thoughts such as: “Am I letting my child have too much screen time? How much is too much? Will screens ruin my child’s development?” then our next counselor presentation is for you. Join Mrs. Piedra and Ms. Cano for our next parent coffee, where we will have a safe place to discuss frequent concerns around screen time and what healthy screen time means for each family.
- March 26 at 10:00am
- https://zoom.us/j/96476232276?pwd=d2xsYlhGb3U0NVVXR2hsdXVlWllMQT09
- Meeting ID: 964 7623 2276
- Passcode: joinus
THE GOOD SAMARITAN Food Distribution
Where: The Good Samaritan, 7000 Woodhue Drive, Austin, TX 78745
When: Every Tuesday and Thursday
Time: 8am to 10am
Professional Development Days (No school for students)
PD Day: 04/02/2021. These dates are student holidays and staff development days. Please be sure to mark your calendar.
New and Returning Student Registration for 2021-2022 School Year
Online Registration for the 2021-2022 school year is open! Parents will need to access the online registration through the Parent Portal. You can find specific registration directions HERE and attached below. If you need assistance please call the AISD Parent Support Line at 512-414-9187.https://www.austinisd.org/enroll
Student Registration Plans
Student Registration Plans for School Year 2021-2022 survey will be deployed through the parent portal on Monday, March 8, 2021. The invitation emails will be sent to parents’ primary email addresses. The survey is set to close on Friday, April 30, 2021.
Health Guidelines
Please review the information provided in the links below to learn more about how to respond if you believe your child has a positive COVID case and general guidelines for when to keep your child home from school. If you have any questions, please contact our school health room at 512-414-4495. Thank you!
When to Keep Your Child Home (English) or (SPANISH))
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
STAAR Testing Dates @ THES
Testing Window:
1st Administration – Window open Tuesday, April 6th and closes Friday, April 9th
- 4th Grade Writing – Tuesday, April 6th
2nd Administration – Window opens Tuesday, May 11th and closes Friday, May 14th
- 3-5 Grade Math – Tuesday, May 11th
- 3-5 Grade Reading – Wednesday, May 12th
- 5 Grade Science – Thursday, May 13th
STAAR FAQ
Why is it important for my child to take the STAAR?
STAAR assessments are an important tool for evaluating how much our students have learned in a given year. While we believe that a teacher’s assessment is most important, we recognize that data from STAAR can help us evaluate how our students are learning. We hope to have as many students as possible participate in STAAR this spring and are working to provide the safest testing environment possible.
Who takes STAAR?
STAAR is required by state law in,
- Grades 3–8 mathematics,
- Grades 3–8 reading,
- Grades 4 and 7 writing,
- Grades 5 and 8 science,
- Grade 8 social studies,
- High school Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History.
Find more information about the STAAR test for this year: STAAR FAQ
Imagine Learning
Imagine Learning is a valuable support for all Austin students to develop their language and literacy skills. It is available in English PK-8th and Spanish PK-2nd (expanding to 5th Grade next year.
Which Imagine Learning programs are available to my students and me?
- Imagine Language & Literacy: Adaptive, individualized English literacy instruction and language acquisition for all PK-6th Grade students + Emerging secondary Bilinguals.
- Imagine Reading: An optional blended learning literacy tool for 3rd (550 Lexile) – 8th (1280 Lexile) grade-level content.
- Imagine Español: Pk – 2nd-grade Spanish literacy and language acquisition skills.
Bike to School Training
Join Bike to School Day on May 5. AISD’s transportation and sustainability teams have partnered with Ghisallo Cycling Initiative for students to learn about biking, engage in physical activity and celebrate sustainable transportation in Austin.
Schools can participate by using the Bicycle Skills Challenge at Home program, a guided lesson plan for students to learn and practice bicycle safety and riding skills. The program is a modified version of the advanced bike rodeo clinic that the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative provides through AISD physical education programs. The dual-language, 30-minute program in English and Spanish can support both synchronous and asynchronous instruction.
Minecraft added to portal
During the second week of April, elementary students will be able to access Minecraft: Education Edition from their AISD Chromebook as well as a home computer. AISD Chromebooks will see a new icon for the Google Play store, in which Minecraft is the only installable software. Note: The older near-end-of-life Chromebooks will not be able to run Minecraft or see the Google Play store.
Device Exchange
A portion of student Chromebooks have reached their functional usefulness (aka, EOL or End of Life.) Those devices should be exchanged for a replacement Chromebook. Look for additional information regarding the Spring Technology Super Swap and how to exchange your device for a brand new Chromebook in the coming weeks!
Student Survey
We recognize that this has been an extremely difficult year for our AISD community, especially for our students and campus-based staff. As such, the AISD Student Climate Survey deadline has been extended to April 30, 2021. The original deadline was March 12, 2021.
Please connect with your child’s teacher to ensure students in grades 3-11 have an opportunity to take the survey. As a reminder, parents/caregivers have the choice to opt-out students from taking the survey. Please contact your campus contact, Ms. Cano, for information regarding the opt-out process.