Stay In-the-Know: This Week’s Top News You Can’t Miss
- The Casis Health Office is looking for clothing donations for all ages PK4-5th
- Casis Author Visit is this Thursday! More details below
- Administrative Coffee Chat this Friday 8am in the Community Room
- Help Ms. Navickas complete her dissertation by filling out a quick survey about whole child development. See more below
- Nominations are open for four positions on next year’s PTA Board. Read more below
Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! There will be all kinds of action-packed events happening this week, like another Parent Tour for our new families and an Administrators Coffee Chat for our current families. And of course, the kids and staff are most excited to welcome Raul the Third to Casis Elementary this week for our annual Author Visit Day. Wow! As we continue our work this school year, there is still much to learn, to do, and to look forward to. We will also continue to focus on student learning growth and enrichment opportunities, as well as on safe and secure practices. Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL
FOOD SERVICE WORKERS APPRECIATION WEEK
Monday, Februay 24 – Friday, February 28 is set aside to appreciate the work of our wonderful Food Service Staff in AISD and at Casis Elementary. Rose Pardo (Manager), Magdelena Gonzalez, and Scarly Perez work hard every day to make sure that our children and staff receive nutritious meals. Their important role on our campus does not go unnoticed. We are truly thankful that we have such a caring and dedicated team of people on staff to provide such great service to our learning community. Please join me in showing them some appreciation. We love our Food Service Team!
SCHOOL COMMUNITY SURVEY REQUEST
Our own Assistant Principal, Katie Navickas, is currently completing her doctorate in Educational Leadership at Baylor University. Her dissertation will examine school staff and family perceptions of whole child development through an anonymous survey. With permission to conduct her research in AISD, Ms. Navickas is seeking the support and feedback of our Casis school community, as well as other selected schools in AISD. Both the district and school names will remain confidential in both the survey and the dissertation. The survey takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete and will close on Friday, February 28th. Following is the link to the survey in both English and Spanish. English Version/Whole Child Development Survey / Versión en español / Encuesta de Desarrollo Integral del Niño. We hope that many will consider participating in this survey to assist the future Dr. Navickas in reaching her professional goals!
PK4 EARLY BIRD TUITION SEATS PROGRAM
AISD will be offering early PK4 tuition-only seats for in-district AISD Families. The enrollment timeline for this special program will be Wednesday, February 5 – Friday, March 7. Seats will be selected and offered through a random lottery system. Please note that (1) staff members and (2) families who anticipate qualifying for free PK4 (See Criteria Here) should not enroll during this early period. The next PK4 application window will begin on Tuesday, April 1. The following documents provide additional clarifying information about this program: (1) Parent Guide Slideshow (2) Early Bird Website and (3) Early Bird Flyer. Participating families will be notified about the lottery outcomes by Friday, March 14.
CLOTHES DONATIONS FOR THE CASIS HEALTH OFFICE
The Casis Health Office is in need of any clean, gently used clothing items for PK4 – 5th. While they will take all donations, bottoms (pants/shorts) are needed the most and items for older students as well. Feel free to send in these items with your child with a note attached stating that they are for the Health Office. Any and all donated items are greatly appreciated.
SPRING CLASS PICTURE DAY
Tuesday, March 4 will be Class Picture Day at Casis Elementary. Please watch for a hard-copy flyer in your students’ Friday Folder(s). On the informational flyer, it references the photo company website here: https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/#/, which also has ordering and Picture Day ID (EVTDTNTDB) as well. Can’t wait to see all those smiling faces!
CASIS HEALTH ROOM CORNER FOR FEBRUARY
During the month of February, while it’s important to spread love to those special people in your life, it’s also just as important to spread the same love to your own heart. Here are some ways to ensure that your child has a happy and healthy heart! Check out the following health links: Your Child’s Heart Health, Heart Disease Prevention Starts In Childhood, and Keep Busy Kids Focused On Heart Health. If you have any questions about health guidelines in the school, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Health Room Staff, Natasha Gosek (School Nurse) and Alicia Henry (Clinical Assistant).
PROSPECTIVE PARENT TOUR
Prospective Parent Tours are great opportunities for families to get to learn about our school culture and programming, as well as take a tour of our new facility and amazing outdoor learning spaces. School Administration and PTA Leadership will lead these adult only tours. We look forward to sharing and showing all of the things that make Casis Elementary such a stellar educational choice for their children. The next tour of this school year will take place on Tuesday, February 25 at 9am – 10am. Can’t wait to show these potential new families our amazing school community!
ADMINISTRATIVE COFFEE CHAT FOR FEBRUARY
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, Ms. Davis, 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, February 28 at 8:00a.m. in the Casis Community Room. We look forward to having some very authentic conversations with our learning community.
FAMILY LEARNING & ENGAGING SESSIONS
AISD’s Special Education, Section 504, and Dyslexia Departments are sponsoring Family Empower Hour Sessions throughout the 2024 – 2025 school year. These one-hour sessions are designed to provide valuable information, resources, and support to families on various topics. These sessions will be recorded and accessible on the AISD Special Education website. We hope that families will avail themselves of these community learning and engagement opportunities throughout this school year.
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 lens of fairness and equity for all, no matter the differences among us.
The SEL word for the month of February is Conflict Resolution. Conflict Resolution is when two or more people work together to peacefully solve a problem. Some common steps to solving a problem include (1) naming the problem, (2) thinking of solutions, (3) exploring what might happen with different solutions, and then (4) picking the best solution together.
The Equity word for the month of February is Upstanding. Upstanding means what it sounds like – STANDING UP. An upstander speaks up when they see someone being attacked and bullied. They work to promote justice and fairness everywhere they go. They recognize and interrupt stereotypes in their community and even in their friend group.
Following is a resources sheet for the month of February that will help support these two important concepts, both at school and at home. FEBRUARY RESOURCES SHEET
IMPORTANT DATES
February – National African American Heritage Month
Mon., Feb. 24 – Fri., Feb. 28 – Food Service Workers Appreciation Week
Tues., Feb. 25 – Prospective Parent Tour at 9am – 10am
Thurs., Feb. 27 – Casis Author Visit Day (Raul the Third)
Fri., Feb. 28 – Administrators’ Coffee Chat at 8am (Community Room)
March – Women’s History Month
Tues., Mar. 4 – Group Picture Day
Tues., Mar. 4 – CAC Meeting at 3:30pm (Community Room)
Fri., Mar. 14 – Professional Learning Exchange Day & Student Holiday
Mon., Mar. 17 – Fri., Mar. 21 – Spring Break
Mon., Mar. 24 – Fri., Mar. 28 – AISD Pride Week
Mon., Mar. 31 – Cesar Chavez/Dolores Huerta Day & Eid-al-Fitr
TRAFFIC SAFETY PROCEDURES
Please adhere to the guidelines in your particular arrival/dismissal area (Front Circle Drive or North Parking Lot). See 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 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 safely by-pass the ‘Circle Drive’ vehicles to enter the parking lot.