Greetings Thunderbirds! E-folder 04/07/21

THES Virtual Book Fair
Dates:  4/19-5/2
Our Book Fair is online and helps our students discover new books, favorite characters, and more! Every purchase earns our school rewards for much needed resources. Plus, shipping is free on book-only purchases over $25.

Use the promo code SHARE10 for 10% off every order, applied at checkout! Remember, every purchase means 25% in rewards back to your school.**

Link will be active on 4/19

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/homepage.do?method=homepage&url=travisheightselementary

Principal Update & Coffee Chat April 30
Our next schedule Principal Update & Coffee Chat is Friday, Apr 30, 10-11am.  The Coffee Chat theme is:

How to get Children to Help with Chores is the topic for our next coffee. We will share tips on ways to have our kids do chores around the house as a way to contribute to the family household.

• April 30 at 10:00am
• https://zoom.us/j/96476232276?pwd=d2xsYlhGb3U0NVVXR2hsdXVlWllMQT09
• Meeting ID: 964 7623 2276
• Passcode: joinus

Hooray for PreK and Kindergarten Orientation Day!
Leap Into Kindergarten and Hop into PreK Orientation will be offered on the week of April 12 – April 16, 2021 at all elementary schools in the Austin Independent School District. To advertise and encourage participation, the Week of the Young Child will also be celebrated the same week.

Week of the Young Child: The Early Childhood Department will be promoting this fun and exciting week celebrating young children. We are asking campuses to tweet and promote the fun activities they will do with their current and future students. Please find information about #WOYC21 here. WOYC Activity Resources and AISD calendar of social media branding and daily events. Week of the Young Child 2021.

Hop into PreK and Leap into Kindergarten: At these orientation events, parents will receive information about the Austin School District’s prekindergarten and kindergarten programs. This includes curriculum, daily schedules, attendance requirements, the school year calendar, how to help a child prepare for school, and information specific to the individual campus.

Please find the orientation packet with materials for kindergarten and prekindergarten orientation here.

Prekindergarten Registration: Prekindergarten eligibility confirmation for the 2021-2022 school year can begin on April 1, 2021. This year families will complete an eligibility screener. All eligibility except language qualifications will be approved by the Early Childhood team. Campus staff will continue to provide language testing for those students who qualify for PreK as an emergent bilingual. Please find the steps for the screening process here.

Dual Language
Austin ISD parents and families are invited to a series of virtual conversations to discuss the district’s recommitment to Dual Language and understand Dual Language programming’s benefits.

These sessions will occur at several of our schools, planning exciting changes in their Dual Language programming for the upcoming school year. The format will be an interactive panel discussion with campus leadership, parents, and the AISD Multilingual Education Team members.

All events will include both a Spanish and an English session back-to-back. These events are part of an ongoing effort to expand access to quality Dual Language programming and embrace the value of multilingualism in AISD.

Event details are included below and registration links can be found on the AISD website.

For more information: Norma Garza at 512-414-0023 or at norma.garzamittanck@austinisd.org
Más información: Norma Garza en el 512-414-0023 o vía norma.garzamittanck@austinisd.org

Community Retreat Part 3: Eliminating Disparities in Discipline and Punishment – Workgroup Updates &  Action Steps on April 14 from 5:30 – 7:30.

*Due to the inclement weather and school closures for last week and this week we are rescheduling the March 24 community retreat #3 to April the 13th.*

At this third meeting, each workgroup will provide an update on the progress it has made and share the next action steps it will take for eliminating racial disparities in discipline and punishment.

• Join Zoom Meeting
• https://zoom.us/j/96134361744?pwd=VVBsei9tM0FwR0dlWGF1SGpMN1gzZz09
• Meeting ID: 961 3436 1744
• Passcode: 147980

Prime Time Summer Program
The summer program is free for AISD students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Program features include:

• Virtual field trips
• Engaging activities: arts, technology, sports, science and more
• Live, Interactive sessions and fun video sessions

Contact Info :

• primetime@austinisd.org
• https://www.austinisd.org/prime-time
• 512-414-0154
• Fliers:  English  and Spanish

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.

STAAR Testing Dates @ THES
Testing Window:  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 

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.

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.