HAPPY THURSDAY, THUNDERBIRDS! 04/07/2022
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.
WWW…. Wow What a Week!
Holy macaroni! What a great week we had. For the first time in two years, we had all kinds of stuff going on at the school. There are so many thank yous, I don’t even know where to start.
First, thanks to the teachers and staff that devoted time on Friday to repainting the blacktop area and other spots around campus, AND cleaning up the courtyard. Looks so much better.
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Saturday was quite a whirlwind. Campus Beautification was great and the front of the school is looking TIGHT! Thanks to the parents and STUDENTS that came out to help make THES look its best. While that was going on, the Third Thunderbird Thrift was in full swing. While we did raise a little money, more importantly, we got much needed clothing and home goods in the hands of families that really need it. So heartwarming to see. Thunderbirds know how to help their neighbors! Big thanks to Anna and all the others that helped with setup, the sale, and tear down. Mixed in with these great events, we had teachers helping get kiddos registered and nurses getting folks vaccinated. Talk about 0 to 60 in a short time!
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Equally fun (but luckily a bit more mellow), Monday brought us a Profit Share night with our friends at Pho Please. Numbers are not in yet, but I saw several Thunderbirds picking up dinner while I was there. Thanks for the support!
Our “next big thing” is Teacher Appreciation Week, coming in early May and planning for Spring Carnival. I’m not quite ready for sign ups yet, but please check back in next week’s Thunderword for chances to get involved in these events. We still have some great stuff we want to do this year and we will need EVERYONE’S help!
I was truly prouder than ever to be your PTA President last week!
Thank you Thunderbirds!
Merrideth Jiles
Book Fair
You can still shop at the Scholastic Book Fair! The book fair closes on this Friday, April 8th.
This event is an opportunity for students of all ages to purchase books for their home libraries and further their love of reading. As always, all purchases benefit our school.
Families will be allowed to shop in-person before/after school (7:10-7:40, 3:10-4:00). Cash or credit is welcome.
To make things easier, you can set up an eWallet here https://bit.ly/thesbookfair and you/your child can shop online or in-person!
You can also donate to students in need at https://bit.ly/bookfair_donations. Thank you for your generosity and support!
Adelante Bilingual Conference: Thunderbird Art Winners!
Congratulations to Ada Hernandez (4th) and Izzy Ader (4th) for winning art awards at the Adelante Bilingual Conference this year! These students were asked to create an image for this year’s theme: Keep Austin Bilingüe: Unidos en la lucha por la equidad. Ada won 1st place and Izzy won 3rd place. They were recognized during the award ceremony this past Saturday. We are so proud of our Thunderbirds! Way to go!
THES Family Fun and Fitness Day
We are excited to announce the return of THES Family Fun and Fitness Day! The pandemic has prevented us from having this event for the past two years, and we are excited for our Thunderbirds to get back out and have a morning full of physical activity and healthy eating.
There will be two separate days:
- April 21st for k-2
- April 22nd for 3-5
Both events will take place in the morning from 8-11:30
Please consider volunteering and/or contributing towards either a healthy snack or drink for the event. Please fill out the google form to let us know if you can help.
Family Fun & Fitness Day Volunteer/Donation Form
Upcoming Parent Workshops at THES
We are excited to host parent workshops in English and Spanish on the topics of Internet Safety and Effective Discipline presented by the Center for Child Protection.These topics were selected because they are relevant to the times we are living in. Our students are using the internet as part of their daily lives, and it is important we know how to keep them safe, as well as how to discipline and set limits for our children’s wellbeing. Come join us!
Register online: https://forms.gle/zUew5t4EgSvQj9rd7
Workshops will take place in the THES library.
April 13 – Spanish
4:00 – 5:00 pm – Effective Discipline
5:00 – 6:00pm – Internet Safety
You can download flyers in English and in Spanish.
Family Climate Surveys
Our district values your feedback! We are currently surveying Austin ISD families in order to gain insight into your perception of our school and district effectiveness. To ensure we continue to provide high-quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.
To administer these surveys, we have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our 2022 Family Survey. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses
confidential. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and district as
good as they can be.
You may complete the survey online between March 21, 2022 and April 8, 2022 using a computer, tablet, or smartphone by visiting the website
surveys.panoramaed.com/austinisd/family
We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses!
Picture Day Rescheduled
Class Picture Day Rescheduled – April 19, 2022
What is better than picture day in elementary school? Looking at your pictures 20 years later!! Picture day is coming fast and this year individual and class pictures will be taken on the same day! Be sure to have your best look on that day.
Access To Healthy Food
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:
- Central Texas Food Bank
- 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.
Lunch Time with your Thunderbird is back!
Parents you are welcomed to have lunch with your Thunderbird starting next week on Wednesday, April 13th! Please make sure to check in at the front office. If this is your first time checking-in, you must bring a valid picture id.
Lunch times are scheduled by classroom. Please check with your teacher for the exact time. Parents may come and eat lunch with their child only (they may not bring other students) on Wednesdays and Fridays only starting April 13th.
There will be designated tables where parents can sit with their child to have lunch. Please remember lunch is only 30 min., and students need to return back to their class lunch tables when it is time to return back to the classroom.
Please remember you are a guest at your child’s school. Appropriate behavior is expected at all times. We respectfully ask that you do not visit with other children that are not yours, share food with other children, or take pictures of other children. The safety and welfare of all our Thunderbirds is our number one priority. In addition, we ask that you respect our teacher’s lunch time and reach them during their planning time if you need to speak with them.
If you have any questions please reach out to the Travis Heights Administration Team.
We Love Our Volunteers!
Interested in volunteering to be a lunch monitor? Or would you rather help with making copies or decorating bulletin boards? If you want to help, we have plenty that needs to be done!
If interested, please follow the process for becoming a Travis Heights Elementary Volunteer by following this link https://www.travisheightselementary.com/volunteering/.
Our new volunteer coordinators Anna Roth, anna.m.roth@gmail.com, and Sura Jasim (Parent Support Specialist), sura.jasim@austinisd.org, will be in touch with you.
Reminders
To condense the length of our E-folder, some important news has been moved to a page of its own.
Registration Information for all students.
You can find out about meals and snacks at THES Meals
Follow the school on FB: https://www.facebook.com/TravisHeightsES
Follow the PTA on FB: https://www.facebook.com/TravisHeightsElem
Up & Coming
April
8 Family Climate Survey due
13 Parent Workshop at THES in Spanish
15 No School
19 Class Pictures
For district-wide events you can view the AISD calendar here: https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/calendar/Calendar_2021-2022v3.pdf