Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! Fall has arrived and the cooler mornings feel so wonderful to me. Hopefully more cooler days are on the way. Learning will continue to be our primary focus, along with having fun and maintaining a safe school environment for all. Parent-Teacher Conferences will continue this month, we’ll have our first ‘Early Release Day’ this week, and Carnival activities are on the way. Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
Custodian Appreciation Week
Monday, October 3 – Friday, October 7 is recognized as Custodian Appreciation Week in AISD. This week, we recognize and appreciate the hard work of our campus Custodial Team. Over the last few years of pandemic and construction, our particular team of custodians have had to take on the very challenging tasks of keeping our school facility both healthy and clean. Casis has been so very fortunate to have an exceptional group of individuals who have taken excellent care of our school during these times. And they’ve done their jobs well, while we made the transition into a brand new building. Kudos to our team: Richard Castro (Head Custodian), Kenneth Brown, Alvaro Hernandez, and Norma Sarinana. We love and appreciate you all so very much!
PRINCIPAL APPRECIATION MONTH
A friendly reminder from the PTA: October is Principal Appreciation month! We are so appreciative of all Mr. Tinnon does for our Casis Community. Don’t hesitate to drop off at any time this month a little show of love and appreciation for the best principal in the land – Mr. Tinnon!
FALL CAMPUS CLEAN-UP DAY IS THIS SATURDAY
Bring the Whole Family to Rake, Weed & Mulch the Casis Flower Beds!
Have a green thumb? In need of service hours? Or do you just want to help make the Casis grounds as beautiful as its buildings? Please join the Grounds committee this Saturday morning, October 8th from 8 am – 12 pm ~ even if you can only come for an hour, we need you! Bring the whole family! We will be raking, weeding, and mulching the flower/plant beds, so please bring rakes, brooms, shovels, clippers, gloves, and any other gardening tools you have to use and share. All ages are welcome, with parent supervision. Please sign up here! Questions? Contact Julie Cardillo for more information.
GRADE-LEVEL SHIRTS HAVE ARRIVED!
Be on the lookout! Grade-level t-shirts have arrived and will be going home today, Monday, October 3rd, in your oldest child’s backpack. Please note, if you also purchased spirit wear and other swag from the online pop-up shop, those items will be distributed to your child’s backpack by mid-October. If you have any questions, please contact Kristin Pohl, Jenny St. George or Sara Trantham.
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Early Release Days
There are two Friday early release days on the 2022 – 2023 AISD School Calendar, October 7, 2022 and February 17, 2023. Elementary School will be released at 1:30p.m. on these two days. Breakfast and Lunch times will follow the regular schedule. At Casis Elementary, our afternoon dismissal times will be 1:20p.m. (PK – 2nd & Older Siblings) and 1:30p.m. (3rd – 5th). AISD Bus Transportation services will be provided to all eligible students. Our After-School Program (EAC/YMCA) will also be on campus early to receive students who are enrolled in their program and they will close at their usual time.
2022-2023 Fall 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.
Gifted and 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.
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.
Field Trip Fees
Field trips are wonderful extension experiences for students outside of the classroom learning environment. At Casis Elementary, we offer a few field trip opportunities for each grade level throughout the school year. Parents are asked to pay a Field Trip Fee via AISD’s School Cash Online system. A letter was sent home last week outlining the process for payment, as well as sharing intended field trip events from each grade level. All families are asked to pay this fee by Friday, October 7. We are hopeful to get full participation from all of our families, but regardless, please know that no student will be excluded from any of the year’s field trip events.
Walk, Bike, & Roll To School Day
Wednesday, October 12, is ‘International Walk, Bike, & Roll To School Day’. Join children and adults around the world to celebrate the benefits of walking and bicycling, and in spotlighting the importance of traffic safety. Days like these intend to make routes to school safer for active trips or by encouraging children to be more physically active in their lives. We want to encourage as many Casis families as possible to participate. Get those steps in as much as you can!
Emergency Drills
Student and staff safety are a top priority in the district and at schools. At Casis Elementary, we will have monthly rotating drills that practice safety measures that are taken, in the event of campus emergencies. Since the beginning of the school year, we have already practiced the following drills: Evacuation, Lockdown, and Shelter (Hazmat). Here’s a visual poster that is in every classroom, explaining all of the drills that will take place during the school year: SAFETY POSTER. If parents happen to be volunteering or visiting during any of our monthly drill exercises, they will be expected to participate and follow the group that they are closest to at the time. It’s important for students to be aware of our safety measures and to participate in these practice drills. Please know that staff members are expected to speak about the topic of safety, using child-friendly language and terms, so as not to cause undue anxiety or stress around these required drill activities.
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.
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 Practices
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 lense of fairness and equity for all, no matter the differences among us.
The SEL word for the month of October is Compassion. When you have empathy for others, you can say or do many things to show your care and concern. Showing care or concern for others is called compassion.
The Equity word for the month of October is Inclusion. Inclusion makes sure each person at Casis feels welcome to be their authentic selves. Look around your class today and find each person’s strengths. Think about how you can include people in your class and community in a way that honors their truest self.
Following is a resources sheet for the month of October that will help support these two important concepts, both at school and at home. OCTOBER RESOURCES SHEET
Important Dates
Mon., Sept. 26 – Fri., Oct. 21 – Parent-Teacher Conferences
October – National Principals Month
October – National Bullying Prevention Month
Mon., Oct. 3 – Fri., Oct. 7 – Custodian & Groundskeeping Appreciation Week
Tues., Oct. 4 – CAC Meeting at 3:30p.m. (Community Room)
Fri., Oct. 7 – Early Release Day at 1:30pm (Elementary)
Sat., Oct. 8 – PTA Sponsored ‘Fall Campus Clean-Up Day’ at 8am – 12Noon
Mon., Oct. 10 – Indigenous People’s Day
Fri., Oct. 14 – Student Holiday/Staff Professional Learning Day
Mon., Oct. 17 – Fri., Oct. 21 – Transportation Employees Appreciation Week
Thurs., Oct. 20 – Carnival Parade (More Information Coming)
Fri., Oct. 21 – Casis Fall Carnival at 5pm – 8pm
Mon., Oct. 24 – Fri., Oct. 28 – Red Ribbon Week (Drug Awareness)
Fri., Oct. 28 – Administrators Coffee Chat at 8am – 9am (Community Room)
Mon., Oct. 31 – School-Wide Crazy Hat Day!
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.