Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! Last week was an amazing week of carnival activities. Our school really is “A World of Pure Imagination”. The On-Line Auction, Student Raffle, Candy Build Contest, Wacky Wonka Wednesday, Wonka Parade, and the Carnival itself were all huge successes and so enjoyable. And our school staff truly appreciated the delicious breakfast, free wristbands, and food vouchers that were provided. Special thanks to our exceptional Carnival Co-Coordinators (Allison Grossman, Jessica Pieratt, Laurie Pompa, and Taylor Wilson), their excellent Sub-Committees, our wonderful parent volunteers, and our outstanding Custodial Team. A special ‘Shout Out’ goes to our parent volunteers who created the ‘Casis Haunted Grove’ – what a great pivot to a new location and what an outstanding job they did! Everyone showed true Cougar ‘PRIDE’ with their teamwork, cooperation, and hard work, to make sure that we all had an unforgettable experience. Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
SILVER RAVE AWARD PIN FOR OCTOBER
The RAVE (Recognizing All Valuable Employees) program exists to recognize AISD employees who take the extra steps to provide equitable and exceptional experiences for our students, families, staff, and community members. Campus Principals have been provided with ‘Silver Rave’ pins to acknowledge local staff members each month. The recipients for the month of October are our First Grade Teacher Team: Rachel D., Ambyr L., Andrea R., and Elizabeth W.. This exceptional team of Casis Educators recently took on additional students in their classrooms, due to an unexpected staff change at their grade. Each class has 24 students now, whom these teachers graciously accepted without hesitation. This tenured team goes above and beyond everyday to ensure that all of their students receive excellent learning experiences. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated and exemplar group to serve our First Grade students. We just love our fantastic and fabulous First Grade Teacher Team!
CASIS CHESS CLUB COUGAR KUDOS
Congratulations goes to 8 of our Casis Chess Club members, who recently participated in the 2022 NYOS Scholastic Chess Tournament on Saturday, October 15. The following students represented Casis well in their very first competition: Ezra A., Maddie B., Quinn D., Lakshma H., Cooper H. [Medal Winner], Aron O., Bo R., and Rachel W. Despite a short preparation time, this group (representing in 3 teams) was only a few points away from receiving a team trophy and each team ended the day with positive points and a great experience. Special thanks to the parents and coaches of these students. We look forward to hosting a Community Tournament right here at Casis in January, 2023. Nice job Casis Chess Club!
ONE MILLION MINUTES READING CHALLENGE
Dr. Anthony Mays, Interim Superintendent, is challenging PK – 12th Grade students in AISD to read one million minutes this school year. Book titles and genres of interest will be recorded as well, to see and understand what our various learning communities are most interested in reading by age level. See the following information to participate: (1) Students should Log Minutes Here [Elementary Teachers/Parents should walk students through completing this form.], (2) Follow the reading competition on the Website Here, (3) See Flyer Here with QR code to post and log minutes as well. This healthy reading competition will result in the top school receiving a prize and a traveling trophy. This challenge will run through April 30, 2023.
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.
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!
CASIS FOOD DRIVE BENEFITTING ST.JOHN’S COMMUNITY CENTER
Casis Elementary is holding its annual Food Drive benefiting the St. John’s Community Center. Our two-week food drive will take place from Tuesday, November 1 – Friday, November 18. All of our food donations help the food bank families for several months, so the more we can donate, the better! This year we will have our collection bins located in the front courtyard each morning. Students will bring their donations at morning drop off and will be tallied for their class collection total. We hope everyone can contribute a donation to help those in need during this time of the year. If you have any questions about the Food Drive, please email Larry Chauvin.
1st 9-WEEKS REPORT CARD
Parents can expect ‘1st 9-Weeks Report Cards’ to be available by Friday, November 4. To obtain your child(ren)’s report card(s), you may go to the AISD Portal [Create a Portal Account] (AISD Families) or through Frontline Parent Self Serve [Parent Self Serve Instructions (English)]. These platforms also give families direct access to all of the services provided online to parents/guardians, including: online registration, district-wide information, contact information updates, schedules, grades, and attendance.
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.
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.
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.
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
October – National Principals Month
October – National Bullying Prevention Month
Mon., Oct. 24 – Fri., Oct. 28 – Love Your Brain 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!
November – Native American Heritage Month
Tues., Nov. 1 – CAC Meeting at 3:30pm (Community Room)
Tues., Nov. 8 – Student Holiday/Staff Work Day (Election 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.