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Travis Heights Elementary School PTA > PTA > Thursday’s Thunderword! 08/26/2021

Thursday’s Thunderword! 08/26/2021

HAPPY THURSDAY, THUNDERBIRDS! 8/26/2021

Have an announcement or other great news to share? Please submit your info to communications@travisheightselementary the week prior to the e-folder publish day (Thursdays at 10am). 

 

TBird Image with HeartTHUNDERBIRDS REALLY ROCK!

What a great start to a new year! Our Thunderbirds are staying safe and are ready to learn! Good job on getting to school on time – and calling the campus with your questions. Austin ISD continues to promote a safe environment and require masks to be worn by all staff and students. Our campus also maintains sanitizing stations in every classroom as we diligently work to keep our school community healthy.

 

SHOUT OUT!

Thank you to Alda Studio Landscaping for beautifying our campus. We appreciate you helping to create a beautiful space at Travis Heights Elementary! 

 

WELCOME OUR NEW COUNSELOR, RAQUEL BROWN

Mrs. Brown has been working with children in education and mental health for six years. This is her 3rd year as a school counselor and her 1st year full time at THES – she enjoys individual, small group, and classroom counseling lessons. Prior to working in AISD, Mrs. Brown worked with children in Florida, France, Tennessee, and Georgia. She specializes in diversity appreciation, positive behavior supports, trauma therapy, and SEL groups. She has a cat named Charlie, and enjoys yoga, art, music, and philosophy. She is on campus Monday through Friday.

Mrs. Brown is dedicated to nurturing mindfulness at our school and is interested in creating outdoor spaces for our children. We have a lot of areas that we can transform to be more mindful for outdoor activities. 

  • The Peace Garden
  • The walkway outside the gym 
  • The benches by the butterfly garden
  • The butterfly garden itself
  • Near the flagpole
  • Near the chicken coup
  • The walkway around campus

We will probably start with the Peace Garden – creating a pathway, planting some citronella / marigold to keep bugs away, upcycling bottles and using them as planters for the kids to start growing stuff. 

The butterfly garden also needs some love, for sure! We want to put up mindfulness signs along the walkways and have students paint stones around our garden spaces. Over time we can make this campus a wonderland of mindfulness and creativity. 

If you’re already thinking of ideas / suggestions then you’re exactly who we want on this committee! 

 

SPIRIT WEEK
September 7th – 10th

Save the dates (right after Labor Day)! All of THES will be celebrating the beginning of the school year with some school spirit!  We are looking forward to seeing our Thunderbirds get spirited!

  • Tuesday will be School Spirit Colors
  • Wednesday will be Wacky Tacky Day
  • Thursday will be Fancy Pants.
  •  Friday will be Thinking Hats On!

 

CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK

The Central Texas Food Bank’s social services team is continuing to assist clients with applying for SNAP (along with Medicaid, TANF, Healthy Texas Women, Medicare Savings Program, CHIP and CHIP Perinatal). They offer help with applications remotely and on-site at 6500 Metropolis Drive, Austin, Texas 78744.

For the safety of our staff and the community we serve, we have implemented social distancing models and can see a limited number of clients at one time on-site at the Food Bank. To get help with applications on-site, please call the hotline to make an appointment at 855-366-3401.

 

ATTENDANCE MATTERS

To receive the maximum benefit from classroom and instructional participation it is important that your child report to school on time each day. The Attendance Matters Webinar has been created by the district to help parents understand the importance of regular attendance. Thank you for taking the time to invest in your child’s success!

https://attendanceworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/AW-Infographic-2.12.1311.pdf

School doors open at 7:10 am
School begins promptly at 7:40
Students arriving after 7:41 am will be counted tardy.
PK: 7:40 am – 3:10 pm
K-5th: 7:40 am – 3:10 pm
Office Hours: 7:15 am – 4:00 pm

Please call the school if your child will be absent from school (512) 414-4495.

 

TECHNOLOGY FOR VIRTUAL THUNDERBIRDS

Need a new Chromebook, iPad or hotspot? Exchanges, repairs, missing parts? Skip the lines and get right to what you need, when you need it. Use the calendly link below to choose a time best for you to come to the computer lab and we’ll get you fixed up!

https://calendly.com/kent-hawes

 

PRE K3 & PRE K4 AVAILABLE

THES is excited to announce that we have spaces available in our Early Childhood programs. Our 3-year-old program is a half-day and it includes dual language and traditional class options. Our PreK 4 program is a full-day and it includes dual language and traditional class options. Classes are FREE to qualified families, and there are a limited number of tuition-based places available. Spread the Thunderbird word – we want you to join our nest 

 

AFTER SCHOOL CHILDCARE OPTIONS:

YMCA/EXTEND A CARE

Registration for the 2021-22 school year is open!  2021-22 After school Fees information:

  • Registration fee: $40
  • Monthly fees by district:
  • AISD: $280 

Financial Assistance is available. Some schools are already receiving a reduced rate option. Refer A Friend: Know someone who needs childcare? Refer a Friend to the EAC YMCA Afterschool Program and you can earn a $25 credit added to your account! All they need to do is mention your name on their application. Refer as many friends as you want! 

2021-22 Parent Policies:

Read the 2021-22 EAC YMCA Afterschool Parent Policies here

Due to high demand, a number of our afterschool programs are full. Please complete our online application (register here) to get your name added to our waitlist. We will start adding children to the program by Sept 13, if not sooner. We make every effort to meet the enrollment demands of each school. Families directed to our waitlist will be sent email updates about program availability and projected start dates.

 

SIDE BY SIDE KIDS

Founded in 1996, Side by Side Kids (SBSK) is a neighborhood recreational after school program in Austin’s St. Johns community – an area where 97% of families are economically disadvantaged. SBSK provides Austin’s only free faith-based afterschool program (grades Pre-K-5) through a collaboration of 30 partners and 50 volunteers, serving approximately 270 students in 5 elementary schools every week. SBSK’s after school program has a 98% success rate. Learn more here.

We journey side by side kids, encouraging and equipping them to reach their highest God-given potential as everyday leaders and heroes of tomorrow.

Registration:https://www.sidebysidekids.org/about/our-program/
Contact Information: 512.371.9393

 

CREATIVE ACTION

Our high-quality, onsite, licensed after school program engages students in visual art, filmmaking, music, puppetry, creative writing, acting, and more. These programs deepen connections to lessons learned in the classroom, all while expanding the development of social and emotional skills. Students participate in hands-on activities led by professional teaching artists to create projects that improve the community and the world around them.

  • After school runs every day of the AISD calendar from the end of the school day until 6 p.m.
  • Cost for the 2021-22 school year is $285/month/child from August – May. We also offer financial aid for those that qualify.
  • All After School programs include snack time, free play, arts programming, and opportunities for homework.

At the end of each semester, students’ family and friends are invited to join us for a showcase where students display special projects they’ve worked on during Creative Action After School!

Registration Link

https://campscui.active.com/orgs/CreativeAction?orglink=camps-registration&_ga=2.22081084.622428309.1629737857-516037913.1629737857

Financial Aid 2021-22 After School Application: https://airtable.com/shrOfVrOKJ01kvC2f

Creative Action
1023 Springdale Rd, Bldg 3
Austin, TX 78721
512.442.8773
Info@Creativeaction.Org

 

 

DISMISSAL

Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we refine our dismissal procedures.  As the year goes we will continue to refine to make it the most safe and efficient way for students to leave school.

Walkers
Parents please wait in the designated area for your child to be called.

Car Riders
Please see the map showing traffic flow during dismissal for car riders.  

Students are dismissed at 3:10.  Students not picked up by 3:30 will go to the office.

ALL cars should line up north of the kindergarten hallway.  Please DO NOT try to skip the line as that creates an impassable lane of traffic that only delays moving cars through.

The campus is divided into three areas.  PK and Kinder; 1st-3rd; and 4th-5th.

Line up, drive along the curb with your yellow card on the dash showing your child’s name, teacher and grade.

Continue to drive along the curb to each area to pick up your child from that grade level.  Once you have everyone, then exit up Rosedale (if you only have a PK or K student) or exit to the middle lane.  (See the map.)

 

Following this procedure has shown that we can dismiss the entire school within 20 minutes.

Thank you!

 

 

 

PTA NEWS

Greetings Thunderbirds,  

More than a full week in and hey, so for so OK? Yeah, it hasn’t been without a hiccup or two, but Thunderbirds are a resilient bunch and I know we’ll get through this, too. 

Of course, I again want to remind everyone to take a moment and join PTA, if you haven’t already. It is something you need to do each year and it only takes a minute. Visit https://www.travisheightselementary.com/join-the-pta/ 

We have had a few parents step up to fill some vacant roles in PTA, but there are still several that need to be filled. If any of the following interests you (or you want more info) please reach out to me at ptapresident@travisheightselementary.com  

  • Volunteer Coordinator
  • Teacher Appreciation 
  • Historian
  • Translation
  • Technology / Website

The list goes on, but these are some of the morse pressing needs. If you have just a little bit of extra time, please consider joining in and helping us out to support all our Thunderbirds. 

Stay safe out there Thunderbirds, and we look forward to seeing you soon! 

Merrideth Jiles 
THES PTA President

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