Stay In-the-Know: This Week’s Top News You Can’t Miss
- This week is Custodian Appreciation Week! Thank you to our Casis custodians!
- Make sure to pay your field trip fees by October 17th. Links below
- This Thursday is Austin High Future Maroon Night at House Park Stadium at 6pm. More details below
- Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up in October. Keep an eye out for communication from your teacher to schedule a conference
- Get excited for Carnival on October 24th! Links below to sponsor, volunteer, buy wristbands, and host an auction party
Cougar PRIDE Families,
It’s going to be another great week at Casis! Our first Administrators’ Coffee Chat of this school year was very engaging. It was great for myself, Ms. Beckham, and Ms. Davis to dialogue with parents about how the year has been going so far, as well as share thoughts about various school topics. Well October is here and it’s ‘Casis Carnival Month’! The planning for our ‘Enchanted Casis’ extravaganza is in full swing and you won’t want to miss it, so everyone should mark their calendars for Friday, October 24. It will be magical! Fall Parent Conferences are also getting underway, so families should be hearing from your teachers about that. And while learning certainly remains to be our top focus, we’re going to have a lot of fun too. Please see important information for the week below.
Mr. Tinnon
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL
CUSTODIAN APPRECIATION WEEK
Monday, September 29 – Friday, October 3 is recognized as Custodian Appreciation Week in AISD. This week, we recognize and appreciate the hard work of our campus Custodial Team. Casis has been so very fortunate to have an exceptional group of individuals who take excellent care of our school. On a daily basis, they work to keep our modernized facility looking new and well-maintained. Kudos to our team: Richard Castro (Head Custodian), Kenneth Brown, Alvaro Hernandez, and Norma Sarinana. We love and appreciate you all so very much!
AUSTIN HIGH FUTURE MAROON NIGHT
Casis Elementary is a part of the Austin High School Vertical Team of Schools. Thursday, October 2, at 6:00p.m. will be ‘AHS Future Maroon 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 (Austin High vs. Dripping Springs). The first 100 elementary students will be admitted for free (adults must buy a ticket). See flyer here: AHS 2025 Future Maroon Night Flyer. It’s always a great night of family and fun. Hope to see many of you there!
VISION AND HEARING SCREENINGS
The Texas Department of State Health Services requires that all children enrolled in public school have a vision and hearing screening. During the months of September and October, Casis Elementary Health Staff will be screening the following grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Grades 1, 3, 5, and any new students to AISD. Here’s the Casis Health Screening Letter with additional information and the specific screening dates for our campus. If you have any additional questions, please contact Angela Evington, School Nurse, at (512) 414-7169.
WALK, BIKE & ROLL TO SCHOOL DAY
Wednesday, October 8, 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. See more information HERE about this special community day. Get those steps in as much as you can!
GIFTED & TALENTED REFERRAL WINDOW
The Gifted & Talented referral window is now open and will remain open until Friday, October 17. To learn more about GT services in AISD and to submit a referral, click here for the English link. Additional languages can be found here. Prior to submitting a referral, it is recommended that parents notify their child’s classroom teacher. For additional information, you may reach out to our campus GT Advocates and Classroom Teachers, Primary Grades K-2: Lauren Vienne (K) and Intermediate Grades 3-5: Vickie Price (3rd).
FIELD TRIP INFORMATION
Field trips are wonderful extension experiences for students outside of the classroom learning environment. At Casis Elementary, we will offer a few field trip opportunities for each grade level throughout the school year. Parents will be asked to pay a bulk one-time ‘Field Trip Fee’ to cover the costs of these planned educational outings. Please see the following letters from each grade level, sharing the planned field trips and their associated fees: Pre-K, Kinder, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, & 5th Grade. Additionally, here’s a flyer that gives guidance on how to process payment: Fee Payment Flyer. All families will be asked to pay this fee by Friday, October 17. 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.
FALL PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Elementary Parent Fall Conference Day is scheduled on the AISD School Calendar to take place on Monday, October 20. This day will be a Student Holiday. At Casis Elementary, these important meetings will be scheduled within a ‘window of days’ during the month of October. Teachers will be scheduling 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 their AISD Parent Portal by November 4.
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 (hard copy delivered or emailed to casis@austinisd.org ). You may also use this link to: Report An Absence Note.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation and compliance with the above safety and security standards.
NEW PERSONAL COMMUNICATION DEVICE POLICY
In accordance with Texas House Bill 1481, all school districts are required to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting the use of personal communication devices by students on school property during the school day (first bell to last bell). Please see the official AISD Personal Communication Device Policy One-Pager. And here’s an Away For The Day Flyer, which summarizes this new policy in a more simple graphic representation. The preference is that no devices are brought to school at all, but if they are, please know that students will not be allowed to wear them during the day and will be asked to either turn the device off or put it on silent, while at school. We appreciate the cooperation and compliance of everyone.
STUDENT HANDBOOK & STUDENT SUCCESS GUIDE
Please see the most updated editions of our campus Student-Parent Handbook and the district Student Success Guide for this school year. In alignment with AISD, both of these documents act as guidelines for our school community practices and policies. Please review and reference them throughout the 25 – 26 school year.
EMERGENCY DRILLS ON CAMPUS
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. 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. For more information about safety protocols in AISD, visit: AISD Emergency Management website.
CHARACTER STRONG IMPLEMENTATION & PRACTICES
This year, AISD and Casis Elementary are implementing a new Character Education and Behavioral Support program called Character Strong. This program is meant to provide students with the necessary skills and strategies to be the very best humans that they can be in the world. Students will hear morning messages and receive lessons from their teachers about topics like respect, gratitude, honesty, courage and more. Teachers will be providing weekly lessons and sending home monthly information to families about the different program topics learned each month. The lessons derive from a program called, “Purposefull People”. Here’s a Family Introductory Letter about Purposefull People. Each month we will cover a different Character Strong topic and resources will be shared to help families have meaningful conversations at home about the learned trait. Here’s an Overview of the monthly topics that will be taught. The Character Strong trait for the month of October is Responsibility. Here’s the Family Connection Newsletter – Responsibility for this month’s theme. We are so excited to be ‘Character Strong’ at Casis Elementary!
IMPORTANT DATES
September – National Hispanic American Heritage Month 2025
Thurs., Oct. 2 – Austin High Vertical Team Night at 6:00pm (House Park)
Mon., Oct. 6 – Fri., Oct. 10 – AISD Principal Appreciation Week
Tues., Oct. 7 – CAC Meeting at 3:30pm (Community Room)
Fri., Oct. 10 – Student Holiday / PLED Day (No School for Staff)
Mon., Oct. 13 – School Holiday (Indigenous Peoples Day)
Thurs., Oct. 16 – Fall Individual Picture Day
Mon., Oct. 20 – Fall Parent Conference Day / Student Holiday (Diwali)
Mon., Oct. 20 – Fri., Oct. 24 – AISD Transportation Employee Appreciation Week
Thurs., Oct. 23 – Casis Carnival Parade at 8:10am (Front Circle Drive)
Fri., Oct. 24 – Administrators’ Coffee Chat at 8:00am (Library)
Fri., Oct. 24 – ‘Enchanted Casis’ Carnival Event at 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Fri., Oct. 31 – Annual 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 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.