Thursday Thunderword 05/05/2022

HAPPY THURSDAY, THUNDERBIRDS! 05/05/2022

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.

Coffee Chat – May 6th

This school year we have covered so much ground with our social emotional learning. As our students prepare for their STAAR test and we close out the school year, we want to share with you some important information on how to manage test anxiety and improve social, emotional, and physical well being. Join us for our final Coffee Chat in the Library this Friday where we will discuss the three types of self care!

5th Grade Commencement

Attention 5th grade families!
Believe it or not, it’s almost time for our kids to finish their time at THES and move on to middle school.

SAVE THE DATE for a fun ceremony to celebrate our graduates: Friday, May 27, 2022 (the last day of school). There will be a ceremony in the gym with certificates and a slide show, starting at 12:30 pm. Parents are encouraged to attend, followed by a reception outside.

We would love for you all to attend, and look for more details soon!

We need VOLUNTEERS (CLICK HERE to sign up) to help come up with ideas, decorate, set up and clean up. If you can volunteer or want to donate or have questions, please contact 5th grade parent Melissa Livingston at melissalokelani@yahoo.com or text 512-773-5657‬

Wrapping up Poetry Month

To end poetry month, THES celebrated Poem-in-your-Pocket day on Friday, April 29! Librarian Mrs. Harris helped students make pockets and distributed free poems to go inside. Any K-5 Thunderbird that read their poem (self-published or borrowed) to five different friends on Friday received a sweet treat at the end of the day! In addition, 3rd and 4th grade classes had poetry slams throughout the day. Mrs. Harris set up an “open mic” stage and the students gave snaps after each performance. Find a photo album of all our poetic accomplishments here.

Garden Club Final Donations

Calling all plant lovers! After our last No Place For Hate Kindness Rocks activity, the Garden Club installed a beautiful heart space in the center of our campus. Garden Club has been helping to maintain the campus gardens after our campus beautification this spring. And we will be meeting for the last time on May 11th. If you would like to donate any plants to our campus gardens, this is the time to do so!

Teacher Appreciation May 2-6

Thank you to PTA and parent donations for making this a special week for our teachers and staff!

Consider saying “thank you” to your child’s teacher by writing a RAVE!

STAAR TESTING — no visitors, please.
May 9th-13th

Due to STAAR testing for 3rd–5th Grades, visitors or volunteers will not be allowed on campus Monday, May 9 through Friday, May 13th in order to create a quiet testing environment. This means parents are NOT allowed to come to lunch on Wednesday, May 11th or Friday, May 13th. Please do not call 3rd-5th-grade classrooms directly; you may send a Dojo message, email your child’s teacher, or relay your message to the office to be delivered when testing is completed. We appreciate your cooperation and support!

Preparing Your Student for STAAR

Test anxiety and self care are important this time of year. Here are some tips to remember as students prepare for the STAAR and during test week:

• Get at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night, make sure that the devices are away from the bed.
• Ensure your child arrives at school ON TIME, especially on testing days. This will set the tone for the day, and you don’t want your child feeling rushed.
• Try using scents and candles to relax along with calming music while coloring or stretching to manage test anxiety the night before.
• Healthy breakfast and snacks with whole grain fibers, natural sugars, and protein will keep them energized, focused, and alert.
• Make sure that they wear layers or bring a sweater in case they get cold during the test.
• Practice positive thinking about the test. Practice positive affirmations about their ability to take the test, and to work through it at their own pace.
• Look forward to something at the end of each day during test week, whether it’s ice cream after school, movie night, or a playdate with friends.
• Let them know you believe in them! They can do it and they will be fine!

Awards Assemblies

Don’t forget! The End of Year Awards Assemblies will be held in the gym on the following dates during the last week of school.

Kinder: Tuesday, May 24th, at 9:30 a.m.
1st Grade: Wednesday, May 25th, at 8:30 a.m.
2nd Grade: Wednesday, May 25th, at 9:30 a.m.
3rd Grade: Thursday, May 26th, at 8:30 a.m.
4th Grade: Thursday, May 26th, at 9:30 a.m.
5th Grade, Friday, May 27th, at 12:30 p.m.

Last Day of School
Friday, May 27

It’s hard to believe it is almost here! Please note, there is no early release on this day. Contact your teacher for the end of year celebration activities for their classroom. Report cards and supply lists for the next school year will go home on the last day. Happy Summer, Thunderbirds!

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.

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.
Follow the school on FB: https://www.facebook.com/TravisHeightsES
Follow the PTA on FB: https://www.facebook.com/TravisHeightsElem