Austin International School
October 2, 2013
Greetings!

Please take a quick moment to inform yourself on our newest announcements. If you have an item to submit, please email Suzanne Krause by Tuesday for publication the following Wednesday.
Dates to Know

 

October 16 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

AIS and the French Embassy in the U.S. Host Pierre Escudé

This event is free and open to the public

Join us for an engaging discussion by Pierre Escudé, a lecturer at the Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres (IUFM). Pierre Escudé will present the Intercomprehension between Related Languages approach. He will give a broad
overview of the general method, of the research findings and of the applications existing both in France and in the United States. The Intercomprehension between Related Languages method makes the learner work on two or more languages of the same linguistic family in parallel. More information at www.unilat.org. Please share our event via Facebook.

 

October 14 - 18

October Break

Classes are dismissed during October Break.

 

October Break Camp

Celebrating Fall season, in French, Spanish and English! 
Registration is closed; camp is full! Thank you to all who registered.
Campers will be celebrating Autumn, El Día de los Muertos and Halloween during the camp! 
 

November 16 | 10 a.m.

Information Session for Prospective Parents

We're hosting our first information session of the school year on Saturday, November 16, at 10 a.m. Please spread the word to family, friends and coworkers who may be interested in learning more about our unique program. It's easy to share our event via Facebook. We welcome everyone to get to know us by coming to meet our teachers, ask questions and tour the campus.

2013-2014 Annual Fund

 

Many thanks to all of the parents and families for your generous donations to the 2013-2014 Annual Fund. We still have a ways to go to reach this year's goal of $40,000 but with your support we know we will get there!

 

A special thanks to all of our dedicated staff and faculty who have shown their support for the Annual Fund - we have reached nearly 100% participation from our teachers and administration! Many thanks for going one more step above and beyond and contributing to the Annual Fund. We appreciate your help in reaching our critical goal of 100% participation from the entire AIS community. Thank you.  

 

Please consider giving a monthly recurring donation of just $15, $25, or $50. It is one of the easiest ways to give and will make a huge impact toward reaching our goals. You can set up monthly gifts online of whatever amount you choose or fill out a brochure at reception. One-time gifts are always greatly appreciated as well, of course! 

 

Want to give but not quite ready? Make a pledge now to fulfill before the school year is over; simply send us this form. 
 
And don't forget about matching gifts from your employer! You can reach out to your HR department or Kyle Carroll for details on how to double your donation. 
 
Please contact Kyle if you have any questions or comments. We can't thank you enough for all of your support and for the many different ways you give to our school! 
Announcements 
 

Consul Général of France in Houston visit

Thank you to all of the parents who came out to our reception with Mr. Sujiro Seam, the Consul Général of France in Houston. The consul toured the school and met our board members and parents.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Label Student Belongings 

Parents need to label their child's belonging, particularly bottles, lunch boxes, and navy blue sweaters, as they all look similar and it is easy to confuse the owners.  

 

Safety

For security reasons, all parents and visitors must exit through the reception doors after 8:15 a.m. and not through the foyer glass doors. We have noticed that these doors have not been properly shut when parents exit, leaving the school vulnerable to unmonitored entrants. 

  

Green Committee for Students
We had our second visit by the Austin Resource Recovery/Keep Austin Beautiful program. Alecia at KAB helped the older students get started with their garden. Now, for the 4th and 5th graders, their mission is to water every day until the germination. These two classes are officially Clean Creek Campus classes! The 3rd raders will build another garden bed and will do the same activities next spring with KAB. Alecia did a great job.


PTO News 
 
The next PTO meeting is Wednesday, October 9, at 5:30 p.m.
 
Please check out the PTO pages of the AIS website with new information on fundraising and PTO news.
 
The AIS Facebook Group is the unofficial hub of PTO chatter, and it's bustling! Join up and get in on the conversation.

  

The PTO has been soliciting ideas for the past few weeks for a way to make a donation to the school that also incorporates a service project.  To date the only idea submitted has been to landscape the front of the school.  The plan would be to hire someone to draw up a plan who would provide a detailed breakdown of how the work should be completed (step-by-step instructions).  PTO volunteers and the AIS community would then implement the plan over time, providing the "sweat equity" to make our budget go farther.  We've had several suggestions for adding decorative bricks, or the like, which would be done by our families, and as we plan the landscaping that may be something we can work in (so thank you for that idea!).  Please plan to attend the next PTO meeting to tell us what you think.  If you are member of the PTO (and if you're not you can still sign up!), you can participate by voting for or against this project. See you October 9!
 
The PTO is looking for a volunteer to help organize snacks and refreshments for the teachers during Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 28, 29 and 30.  The PTO will provide a budget, but we need your help planning and organizing this treat.  If you can help with this, please contact us!
 
Pizza Friday
Following the October 9 PTO meeting, Linda Connor will be holding a brief Pizza Friday information session for volunteers. She will be discussing the new Pizza Friday procedures since there have been some changes since last year. If you volunteer for Pizza Friday, especially if you are NEW volunteer, please plan to attend. The session will start at about 6:30 and should take only about 15 minutes. 
 
Box Tops for Education 
AIS participates in the Box Tops for Education program as an additional, easy way to raise money for school supplies and equipment. Get more information at the Box Tops PTO page of the AIS website.