Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! Fall has arrived and 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 week and this Friday will be our highly anticipated Casis Carnival. We’re so excited that ‘Carnival Week’ is finally here! Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
TRANSPORTATION WORKERS APPRECIATION WEEK
Monday, October 17 – Friday, October 21 is set aside to appreciate the work of all district Transportation Workers in AISD. Our bus drivers ensure that students go between home and school safely every day. These employees get very little recognition for transporting our most precious cargo – our children. We publicly thank and recognize these wonderful individuals for their service and commitment to students. They are a very important member of our school district and learning communities. We love our AISD Transportation Workers!
ADMINISTRATIVE COFFEE CHAT FOR OCTOBER
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 next ‘Administrative Chat’ will take place on Friday, October 28 at 8:00a.m. in the Casis Community Room. We look forward to having great conversations with our learning community.
AUSTIN HIGH VERTICAL TEAM NIGHT
Casis Elementary is a part of the Austin High School Vertical Team of Schools. Friday, October 28, at 6:30p.m. will be ‘AHS Vertical Team Night’ at the House Park Stadium (1301 Shoal Creek Boulevard). Students are invited to attend, wearing their school shirts, and will run through the AHS Football Team tunnel on the field to signal the start of the game. See flyer here. Hope to see many of you there!
SCHOOL-WIDE CRAZY HAT DAY AT CASIS
We’ll celebrate ‘Crazy Hat Day’ on Monday, October 31. In lieu of costumes, all grades (students and staff) are invited to wear a fun, unusual, or unique (purchased or home-made) hat of their choice. Please see ‘hat wearing’ guidelines: (1) Must be appropriate in nature (no violent or inappropriate depictions/words), (2) No halloween-type masks are allowed, and (3) Teacher discretion as to when worn during the class time. We look forward to seeing all of the wonderfully interesting ‘crazy hats’ in the hallways of our school. And Mr. Tinnon will be giving away a hat to staff members every hour on the hour throughout the whole day. Hope that everyone joins in on this fun annual event!
MORNING ARRIVAL WINDOW REMINDER
A noticeable amount of our families are arriving to school right after the 7:40a.m. school bell rings. Please remember that students are considered ‘tardy’ if they arrive after this time. We purposely have a 30-minute window of time for all students to arrive at school everyday (7:10a.m. – 7:40a.m.). This window of time gives families ample time to plan their arrival. If you are a family that typically arrives right at 7:40a.m., please consider adjusting your morning routines by 5 – 10 minutes to ensure an ‘on-time’ arrival to school. It’s so very important that students have enough time to settle into their classroom and begin their day of learning. Consistent and timely routines help ensure that students are at their very best and able to be the most successful student that they can be for the school day. Thanks in advance for your compliance and cooperation with this request.
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 have scheduled 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 & 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. 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.
NEW STUDENT HOLIDAY & STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY
The AISD Board of Trustees approved Tuesday, November 8, 2022 as a Student Holiday and Staff Development Day for this school year. This is also an Election Day. As a school district committed to being a ‘culture of voting’, school employees will also be allowed to take up to two hours of paid time off for voting. Please update and mark your calendars for this new addition to the AISD School Calendar.
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. 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)
Fri., Oct. 28 – Austin High Vertical Team Night at 6:30pm (House Park)
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.