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From the Principal's Desk
AMAZING! Thanks to all of your hard work our school is shining, organized and clean! Our classrooms have all of their desks and everything is in the right place! YOU ALL ARE UNBELIEVABLE! We appreciate the time you spent with us on Saturday as well as all of the sweat and elbow grease! Special thanks go out to our Knighs of Columbus who provided us with food and drink all morning long. Also, THANK YOU to David Silvestro for organizing this day on behalf of our Parents' Club, your extra efforts went a long way in helping us get ready for a great year!
Just a few more days of summer remain! Hurry - get out there and enjoy one more day or evening as a family and find a way to thank God for another wonderful summer. The teachers have been in to school and busy making their rooms captivating learning environments!
We cannot wait to greet each of you on Tuesday AM to start our new year together sharing our faith and learning! Dont' forget to get a good night's sleep on Monday night!
In Spirit & Peace,
Mrs. Donna Woodard
Principal
Back to School Social - hosted by Parents' Club
Please join the St. Austin's Catholic School community as we
kick off the
new school year! Parents, students and siblings are
invited to continue
our favorite back to school tradition. Snowcones will be
provided by the St. Austin's Parent's Club.
Event: Back to School Social
Date: Friday, August 22, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: Zilker Park Pavillion, by the playscape (Map
weblink)
Caution: All students/siblings will be asked to stay
within the pavillion and playscape areas. All students/siblings will be
discouraged from walking down to the Barton Springs water spill area.
This is a safety issue that will require everyone's cooperation to keep kids
out of non-supervised areas and allow us to continue to meet at Zilker Park.
We look forward to seeing everyone on Friday August 22, 2008.
That first day morning....
Remember that parking in the mornings is available on the outside of the fence and along the streets. The meters are not running until 8am, so until then- FREE! Our school zone signage should be up, so remember that San Antonio street is reduced speed. We have a new walking gate along the fence on San Antonio St. - between the drive in and the building for safer pedestrian traffic. So, if you are parking - please walk your child to the courtyard area.
If you are dropping off, please approach North on San Antonio St. and pull through the blacktop (chain link fence). Faculty will be there to greet you and your child and point them in the right direction of where to go. You can then proceed to take a left on the alley up to 21st St.
Students will gather between 7:30am and 7:50am. Students are not to arrive before 7:30am. Kindergarten through 3rd grade students gather in the cafeteria and 4th through 8th grade gather in the courtyard. Parents are welcome to stay and chat and meet other parents. At 7:50am the first bell will ring and students will be dismissed to their classrooms. Parents may join them - but just this first day! At 8:00am the tardy bell will ring and we will begin our day in prayer. Parents are welcome to stay in the classroom through prayer or join other parents in the courtyard for prayer (the PA works outside, too). Parents will be asked to leave immediately after prayer to allow our classes to begin their exciting first day! (Kindergarten parents, Mrs. Galvan is giving you a little bit more time.)
Lunch orders still being accepted! With the craziness of summer, Patricia has offered to let us extend the ordering time for our lunches. If you would still like to order, please let us know! The menu and order form for August 19 - 29 can be found on the school website on the Lunch Program page. Click here to go directly to that page. No money is to be turned in at this time.
Uniform Information
A few calls have come in regarding two uniform areas.
1. Shoes need to be ALL white or ALL back. Logos should not be of a different color. These shoes may be harder to find, but can be found at many shoe stores around Austin. (I had luck at the Round Rock Outlet at various stores.)
2. PE Uniforms (3rd - 8th grade) are our gray spirit wear T-shirts and black shorts. One has been ordered for each child. They will be here the first day of school - our treat! Extras will be available through our Booster Club as soon as they arrive. Black shorts should be solid, but may have stripes on the side.
3. Ties are backordered at Parker until September 15. We can give some wiggle room, but you should order them NOW. Boys in grades 3-8 are to have our school tie for Mass!
Kindergarten Parents
Mrs. Galvan has posted information about the first day on her webpage. Please click on the link to the left to check it out! We are so excited for these new little eagles to join us!
Back to School Curriculum Nights
Our teachers will be hosting curriculum nights the last week of August. This evening will be for the teachers to spend time going over the curriculum and classroom expectations. Please plan to attend as you will learn a lot about the expectations for your child. Room parent presentations will most likely take place at our first Parent's Club meeting in September so that the teachers can focus on academics this night.
Kindergarten - 2nd Grade August 26 6pm to 7pm
3rd - 5th Grade August 26 7pm to 8pm
Middle School August 27 6pm to 7:30pm
Volunteers Needed
Mom, Dad, Grandparents.... are you interested in helping out at school? Once a week? Once a month? We need volunteers to help us out on a regular basis in a couple of areas. All volunteers will need to complete the EIM training course. For these positions siblings are welcome to come, too. Please email Mrs. Woodard if you are interested in... Lunch Order Coordinator - Comes into the school when orders are due and tallies them up and creates class reports of orders.
Lunch Room Monitors - We need volunteers to help faculty supervise students in the dining hall - opening lunch items, getting through line, heating items in the microwave, escorting to the bathroom, etc. There are three lunch times to choose from. Once a week, once a month - any time will help.
Recess Monitors - Volunteers are needed to help faculty supervise our three lunch recesses. Monitors watch for student safety on the big toy and the blacktop.
Green Team - We need assistance in mowing the South and West sides of the building, cleaning out flowerbeds and sweeping sidewalks. Volunteers are needed at least one day per month. The school does have a mower on campus.
Office / Clerical - Help filing, organizing, preparing mailings, making copies, organizing binders and other various tasks.
We have lost of WISHES ...
As you know, we cannot forward our mission without your support. Some of our wishes are small items (glue sticks) and some of them are large (sound system). Please consider fulfilling the wish of one of our teachers by donating an item from our wishlist. We appeciate any way you can help!
Eagle's Nest Registration
If you will be utilizing Eagle's Nest, our After School Care Program, this coming year please email Ms. Turner . She will need to know if you will be registering FULL TIME and be billed $150 per month September - May or DROP IN at $10 per day. All payments will be made through our monthly secondary bill through FACTS.
Secondary Billing
On August 1st we will be mailing out your secondary FACTS bill. This bill will come to you each month with misc fees for your payment. This month you will see your $50 technology fee - per student and school supplies charges if you pre-ordered your supplies last spring. In September you will also see lunch fees and Eagle's Nest fees. These should be paid online or directly to FACTS. Please call Ms. Turner if you have any questions. |
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What's cooking in the Kitchen? In preparation for the new school & ministry year the Newman Hall kitchen is getting a much needed makeover. The parish recently replaced our commercial refrigerator, which had reached the end of its lifespan, and bringing in professionals for a deep cleaning and to refinish the floor. We are also exploring the cost of repairing or replacing the gas stove.
Now we desperately need to replace the stainless steel worktables which are the heart of the kitchen. We would like to purchase three or four new 30" x 60" tables with adjustable feet from Mission Restaurant Supply for $258.95 each. If you'd like to support our parish ministries and St. Austin School by providing financial assistance for the purchase of new worktables, please contact Jennifer Anderson at 512-477-9471 ext. 303 or janderson@staustin.org. |
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Summer Reading Don't forget to send in your summer reading list as you return to school! Congrats on working so hard this summer and keeping your brains sharp! |
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Summer Clipping Contest Remember that our summer Box Tops/Campbells Labels for Education Family Clipping Contest is going on this summer. Please staple your labels 10 per sheet to a blank piece of paper or use the "Box Top Buck" which can be
printed from the school website: http://www.staustinschool.org/documents/bucks.pdf
The family with the most entries wins a great movie night prize package! |
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Required Volunteer Training On January 1, 2002, the Austin Diocese instated new policies on Ethics and Integrity in Ministry for all those who work in the church, whether in paid or volunteer positions. Anyone-volunteers, paid staff or clergy-who works with minors or vulnerable adults in a parish or diocesan setting is required to complete a Secure Online Application, agree to a criminal record check, sign the Diocese of Austin Code of Ethics, and attend a Protecting God's Children workshop.
If you plan to volunteer for the school, be a room parent, event coordinator, or field trip chaperon for St. Austin Catholic School, you must be in compliance with these policies in order to participate. All parents are encouraged to take advantage of this educational opportunities regardless of your level of volunteerism.
Any questions about the Ethics and Integrity in Ministry program can be directed to the parish office.
Protecting God's Children
Protecting God's Children teaches the Catholic understanding that each individual must be respected and honored. The schedule of upcoming Protecting God's Children workshops is available via the diocese Ethics & Integrity in Ministry web page. Please register for workshops ahead of time by calling the phone numbers listed. You may attend any workshop in the Diocese. Workshops typically last 2.5 to 3 hours and are given by a trainer who has been approved and trained themselves by the Diocese of Austin.
At the workshop you will be given a signed beige certificate. Please give a copy of this certificate to the parish office to be filed. The Code of Ethics ("blue form") you sign at the workshop will be mailed to the parish and kept on file as well.
Protecting God's Children workshops at St. Austin
Saturday, August 23, 2008
9 a.m. - noon
Hecker Hall
Please RSVP by August 18, 2008 so that enough materials will be available.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
9 a.m. - noon
Hecker Hall
Please RSVP by September 22, 2008 so that enough materials will be available.
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