Thursday Thunderword 12/16/2021

HAPPY THURSDAY, THUNDERBIRDS!  12/16/21

Have an announcement or other great news to share? Please submit your info to the school the week prior to when you’d like to see it in this newsletter.

Coffee Chat

December 17th @8:00 am

Happy holidays to our THES community. This month we are putting a focus on personal safety and kindness as well as holiday cheer! We have a lot of fun activities planned to lift the spirits of our community during this time. We want to embrace the cultural diversity of our school and encourage all of our students to find joy and peace however they can as the end of the year approaches. We have almost made it halfway through the school year and we want to acknowledge you for everything you have done to help us get here. As we go into the new year, we can and we will make the necessary adjustments to finish this school year strong. Let’s lift each other up and make this a special holiday season, spreading cheer and wellness to everyone we know.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/97408397150?pwd=RCtFNnQ4SGtiNkNpYi96TWNqa3VyQT09

Meeting ID: 974 0839 7150
Passcode: joinus

Request for Parent Volunteers to monitor lunch.

Wow! How fun is this?  Now that we have moved lunch to outdoors we need help  to make sure our Thunderbirds stay safe while eating and visiting with friends.  This is a greater opportunity to engage with our students.  If you are interested, please follow the process for becoming an authorized Travis Heights Elementary Volunteer by following this link https://www.travisheightselementary.com/volunteering/ before completing this form for lunch monitoring https://forms.gle/65MSrrToKSUaqLjQ8.  Our Assistant Principal Samantha Barrett will contact you to coordinate scheduling.  Thank you!! 

Access to Healthy Food During the Winter Break

With many AISD students living in food-insecure households, access to healthy food may be challenging when the district is closed.  Families can use the community resources below to find free meals in their area while AISD offices and schools are closed for the winter break:

• Central Texas Food Bank – Find Food Now 
• United Way for Greater Austin – ConnectATX
• Texas Health and Human Services – Call 2-1-1 or (877) 541-7905 to speak to a live operator. 

The last day Food Service will distribute meal packs for virtual learners is Dec. 8.  On this day, families will receive eight meal packs, to provide food through Dec. 17. 

Dual Language is for Everyone: AISD Virtual Dual Language Workshops

Interested in learning more about Dual Language programming?
Whether your child currently participates in Dual Language or you’re exploring options, we’ve got you covered.

Wednesday, Jan 12, 6–8 p.m. Join via Zoom: https://bit.ly/DLJAN12

Each event will include workshops facilitated in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Vietnamese.

For more information, contact Janeth Medrano at 512.414.9648 or janeth.medrano@austinisd.org.

Flyer: Dual Language Workshop

Prospective Parent Tours

Travis Heights Elementary is a proud community supported In-District Charter School. Our current families are the best way to share great news about our school. We have exciting events coming up that we would love for you to invite your friends, neighbors, or coworkers to attend and learn more about THES. No RSVP is needed to attend any of these events. Prospective parents should bring a photo ID and are welcome to bring their child.

January 14: Tour at 8:30 am
January 18: Tour only at 5:30 pm

Like and visit our Travis Heights Heights Elementary Official Facebook Page!

https://www.facebook.com/TravisHeightsES
Check here for the latest updates and parent resources.

Attention 5th Grade!

• Applications for middle school are now open: https://my.austinisd.org
• The deadline for submission of applications is January 7, 2022 
• Please take a look at your students choices on the AISD website:

School Choice | Austin ISD

Dual Language in Middle School

Did you know dual language is offered at 13 AISD middle schools and 4 high schools? Continue the benefits of a bilingual education to middle school and high school! Please see linked video and flyers for more information:

Video: https://www.loom.com/share/41e990165ed740349ed3e92f1885803f 

Secondary Schools with DL programs: AISD Multilingual education
Middle School DL: MS Flyer
Enroll for DL in MS or HS: Enrollment Flyer

THES Chicken Coop Reimagined

The Coop has been a part of the THES landscape since 2014. Originally a Girl Scout project, the Coop became a featured learning space where our students were able to study the life cycle of animals and cultivate nurturing skills. Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll, and the beloved Coop is no longer safe for students or chickens. 

But we have a plan to reinvigorate the space! Our youngest Thunderbirds (PreK and K students) need an area to foster holistic and authentic learning. This could be a space where we read, paint, draw, write, engage in dramatic play, garden, create stories, and create memories. We would like this to be a place where our earliest learners at THES participate in extensions of our learning targets while making meaningful connections to the real world. 

To make this happen, we need your help! Please fill out the Google form linked to let us know how you can help us make this a reality. We have a clear vision of what this space will look like and of the exact supplies we need. We also need people knowledgeable in small structure demolition, people with trucks, people with trailers, people with gardening skills. Do you have any connections to donated dirt, plants, rubber mulch? We also need financial donations. 

We have phases planned. The first one is demolition and removal of the structure. We will be repurposing the signage, so we need someone who can help us preserve the legacy of The Coop! We appreciate all of your support and dedication to our THES Family.

Please sign up to help us bring new life to The Coop. This will not happen overnight! 

Our work began on Sunday, December 5 for phase 1.  Additional phases coming SOON!

If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Moore at amanda.a.moore@austinisd.org or Sarah Wakefield at sarah.wakefield@austinisd.org. We will get back to you within 24 hours. 

https://forms.gle/4eoudnTemEGALZ2G8

Science Festival 2022

The Austin Energy Regional Science Festival is one of Texas’ largest regional science fairs with about 3,000 students from 3rd through 12th grade. It encourages and rewards innovative student research and provides scientists, engineers and other professionals a chance to volunteer in the community. The Austin Energy Regional Science Festival serves students from Central Texas whose projects won at their schools’ science fairs. The deadline for submissions is January 27, 2022. For more information please visit  https://sciencefest.org/

Winning Junior/Senior Division projects advance to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair. Best of Fair Senior Division projects advance directly to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.

Shout out to your Travis Heights Team!      

Did one of our own deliver for YOU?

Teacher and Employee well-being is essential to our overall success as a school. The benefits of expressing gratitude and recognizing staff are limitless. Please join us in prioritizing our RAVE Employee Recognition program! 

What is a RAVE? 
The RAVE (Recognizing All Valuable Employees) program helps us honor our AISD team who take the extra steps to provide equitable and exceptional experiences for our students, families, staff, and community members. 

Submit a digital Rave online ! The District shares all positive Rave submissions with each employee and their Principal or Supervisor.

Please spread the word about Raves with your community.