Welcome back Cougar PRIDE Families! I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable summer and been able to spend quality time with family. I have definitely enjoyed the slower pace of the summer months and have also taken some time off to spend with family and exercise some self-care. We now approach another school year with new and exciting possibilities for learning. Please know that we will keep student learning at the forefront, while we continue to uphold practices that will keep us all healthy and safe.

I’m excited to see everyone this week, both new and returning families. Here’s a recap of our upcoming August activities:

~ Thursday, August 15^th, 4pm – Class Lists Posted [Front White Gates]

~ Friday, August 16^th, 8am – Pre-K & Kindergarten Parent Information Meeting

~ Friday, August 16^th, 9:30am – 1^st & 2^nd Grade Parent Information Meeting

~ Friday, August 16^th, 11:00am - Social Camp (Special Education Families)

~ Friday, August 16^th, 1pm – 3^rd – 5^th Grade Parent Information Meeting

~ Monday, August 19^th, 9am – 10am – Open House & Information Fair

~ Tuesday, August 20^th, 7:40am – 3:10pm – First Day of School!

Before parents meet with their grade level teacher teams in the above scheduled Parent Information Meetings (PIMs), join myself and Jessica Pieratt, PTA President, for a brief opening session in the Cafeteria. This will be a time for parents to receive a brief overview of important information from administration and PTA. PIMs are parent-only events. Pre-ordered school supplies will also be delivered to classes ahead of time. A limited amount of supply kits will be available for purchase at our Open House event on Monday. Families can also go to the following link for a list of needed school supplies as well: Casis 24-25 School Supply Lists.

This year’s staff focus will again be multi-layered with both district-level and campus-level initiatives. Under the leadership of our Superintendent, Matias Segura, Austin ISD’s Elementary Team will prioritize Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, Primary Numeracy & Literacy, New Curriculum Implementation, and Special Education Compliance. As a campus, we will continue to support and implement these initiatives, while meeting the specific needs of our own Casis Learning Community. Our staff theme for this school year is ‘Casis Elementary: Telling Our Own Learning Story!’. We are excited to continue to strengthen our Professional Learning Community (PLC), creating a narrative that reflects the excellence and legacy of our school. The collaborative and strategic work that we do will refine our instructional practices, as we laser-focus on student-centered planning. We will support students in their acquisition of early literacy and numeracy skills, provide targeted student support when needed, and ensure extended learning opportunities for all students. We want every student at Casis to have an exceptional elementary school experience. This is our commitment to the Casis Cougar PRIDE Community. And as I begin my twelfth year as the Principal of Casis, I can’t tell you how elated I am to continue to lead this campus of extraordinary human beings.

Finally, please check out our Parent Information Hub here, where you can review some important documents that will help ensure that we all get this new school year off to a great start.

Again, I look forward to seeing everyone this coming week. Here’s to another great year of living, loving, laughing, and learning together!