Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! This week will be filled with more learning for students and some activities for parent engagement. Administration will host our first parent ‘Coffee Chat’ event of the school year this week. Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
ADMINISTRATIVE COFFEE CHAT FOR SEPTEMBER
Casis Administration will host a series of meetings during the school year, to engage with parents about various school topics and happenings. During these informal meetings, Mr. Tinnon and Ms. Navickas will share school information and dialogue with parents about school topics of their choice. The goal of this platform is to build our shared knowledge and make community connections. Our first ‘Administrative Chat’ will take place on Friday, September 23 at 8:00a.m. in the Casis Community Room. We look forward to having some very authentic conversations with our learning community.
GIFTED & TALENTED NOMINATION WINDOW
Parent-referred nominations for the AISD Gifted & Talented (GT) Program are being accepted for K – 5 students from Monday, September 26th – Friday, October 21st. Parents who were unable to attend our ‘Information Session’ last week can view the presentation here: Parent Information Presentation. Please note that there is only one window for all AISD students in K-5. Parents should first discuss their intent to nominate their child(ren) with they classroom teacher(s). After discussing at the Fall Conference, the classroom teacher can provide you with the link to the google nomination form. Please submit the google form by Friday, October 21st. AISD Advanced Academics Team will also be hosting two Virtual District-Wide Gifted and Talented (GT) Information Sessions on Monday, September 19th (6-7pm) and on Tuesday, September 20th (12-1pm). A flyer for these events can be found here. For more information about the Gifted & Talented program in AISD, go to the following website link: AISD Advanced Academics.
2022 SCHOOL BOND INFORMATION
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees have called for a $2.44 billion bond package for the November 8, 2022 general election. On the ballot in November, voters will see three propositions that comprise the 2022 Bond. If approved by voters, the 2022 Bond would fund capital projects, such as upgrades to safety and security, repairing failing building systems, new facility construction and renovations, technology upgrades and other improvements. While Casis has just completed a fully modernized facility (2017 Bond), our school is also included in the 2022 Bond package and would receive additional bond items. Please see the following links for more information about the bond and it’s impact for our campus, feeder schools, and district facilities. (1) 2022 Bond Presentation (2) 2022 Bond Fact Sheet (3) 2022 Bond FAQs Sheet (4) Casis ES Facility Project Sheet. For more information about the 2022 Bond Program, visit AISDFuture.com.
CHECKING STUDENTS IN & OUT DURING THE SCHOOL DAY
We certainly understand that students will have occasional appointments during the school day. For the safety of your child(ren) and for accountable documentation purposes, please know and adhere to the following campus protocols:
- Students will not be sent to the office prior to parent arrival.
- Plan accordingly and arrive early enough to anticipate some delay in your child(ren) coming to the office.
- When bringing your child(ren) back to school, please accompany them to the main office to check them back into school.
- A note documenting the reason why the student missed part of the instructional day should be submitted to the Attendance Clerk (email or hard copy).
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation and compliance with the above safety and security standards.
2022-2023 PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Elementary Parent Conference Days are scheduled on the AISD School Calendar to take place on the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 – 29. At Casis Elementary, these important meetings will be scheduled between Monday, September 26 – Friday, October 21. Teachers will begin to schedule times during the day and/or after school. During these meetings, Teachers will share information about your child(ren)’s academic and emotional well-being, with a specific focus on individual learning growth, as well as discussing any factors that might hinder that growth this year (learning needs, attendance, behavior, etc.). Parents can then expect ‘1st 9-Weeks Report Cards’ to be available in late October to early November.
STUDENT-PARENT HANDBOOK
Please see the most updated edition of our Student Parent Handbook for this school year. In alignment with AISD, this document is a set of guidelines for our school community practices and policies.
2022 – 2023 STUDENT SUCCESS GUIDE (FORMERLY STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT)
Austin ISD has approved the 2022 – 2023 Student Code of Conduct, now called the Student Success Guide (SSG). The SSG has been revised and renamed, based on feedback from community stakeholders, teachers, students, parents, administrators, and central office departments. Here’s a link to this updated document: Student Success Guide. Families can find this document on the AISD website, as well as our Casis website, under the ‘About Casis’ – ‘Policies’ tab.
SEL & EQUITY PRACTICE
In Austin ISD and at Casis Elementary, we believe that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is at the heart of equity-centered systems and structures. Our goal is to use and grow our social and emotional skills, while creating brave, respectful, collaborative spaces that support all students, staff, families and communities throughout our district and in our learning community.
Throughout the school year, we will teach specific skills-building strategies to our students, in order to develop important character traits, like respect, empathy, compassion, and friendships. Mindfulness strategies and principles will also be a common core of this instruction as well. Administration, Teachers, and Support Staff will all be working with students throughout the school year to develop a strong social/emotional foundation, that includes building a lens of fairness and equity for all, no matter the differences among us.
The SEL word for the month of September is Empathy. Empathy is a feeling or understanding of what someone else is feeling. Focusing your attention on a person’s face or body can help you know how they’re feeling. When you have empathy for others, you can say or do many things to show your care or concern.
The Equity word for the month of September is Equity. Equity means that everyone gets what they need. Equality is when everyone gets the same thing. Think about someone that wears glasses. Equality means that everyone has to wear the same glasses. Equity means everyone wears the glasses that are just right for them. Everyone has different needs and circumstances. It’s important to recognize each person’s individual needs and to honor them.
IMPORTANT DATES
September – National Hispanic Heritage Month
Fri., Sept. 23 – Administrative Coffee Chat at 8am (Community Room)
Wed., Sept. 28 – Thurs., Sept. 29 – Parent Conference Evenings (More Information Coming)
Fri., Sept. 30 – American Indian Heritage Day (Texas)
October – National Principals Month
October – National Bullying Prevention Month
Mon., Oct. 3 – Fri., Oct. 7 – Custodian & Groundskeeping Appreciation Week
Fri., Oct. 7 – Early Release Day at 1:30pm (Elementary)
Mon., Oct. 10 – Indigenous People’s Day
Mon., Oct. 17 – Fri., Oct. 21 – Transportation Employees Appreciation Week
Mon., Oct. 24 – Fri., Oct. 28 – Red Ribbon Week (Drug Awareness)
TRAFFIC SAFETY PROCEDURES
Please adhere to the guidelines in your particular arrival/dismissal area (Front Circle Drive or North Parking Lot). See our Arrival & Dismissal Plan here. We continually ask for your patience and cooperation in exercising safe practices in your area.
Additionally, please see the following reminders/updates:
- Walkers should use crosswalks at all times.
- Bikers should park bikes at bike racks and walk bikes through crosswalks.
- Drivers should ALWAYS be aware of our foot and bike traffic.
- Drivers should consider TURNING OFF ENGINES when not moving forward.
- Avoid Parking in the Casis Village, if conducting school business.
- Front Circle Drive & Hillview are available for parent parking during the day.
- The North Parking Lot is designated for staff parking only.
- Vehicles using the North Parking Lot during arrival and dismissal (3rd – 5th) should be aware of all walkers who are using the parking lot crosswalks.
- Vehicles cued on Northwood for Circle Drive afternoon pick-up should TURN ON THEIR HAZARD LIGHTS and remain in one moving line to avoid double-parking.
- Vehicles who need to enter the North Parking Lot for morning/afternoon drop-offs/pick-ups of 3rd – 5th graders may by-pass the ‘Circle Drive’ vehicles to enter the parking lot.
We ask that everyone exercise extra caution and patience. Adherence will help to maintain safety for all. We truly appreciate everyone’s compliance with the above requests.