Austin International School
October 23, 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

Did you know our full school calendar is available online? 

 

October 24 | 3:30 - 5 p.m.

Early Years Program Learning Journey

Parents in PS, MS and GS will have received their invitation from Christine Christy to join the Early Years Team for a visit with your child in their classrooms, to spend time with the teaching team and enjoy refreshments in a casual setting. It will be our pleasure to welcome Early Years parents to this special event and the team really looks forward to seeing you there.

 

October 28 | 9:00 a.m.

Individual photo retakes 

Parents who would like their children to have their photos retaken should please e-mail Ester Muyot Snodgrass so she can retrieve students from their classrooms. 

 

October 28, 29, 30

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

Please sign up on the sheets in the reception corridor for your time slot.

 

During the Parent Teacher Conferences, AIS will provide garderie (Afterschool Care) as usual. Parents who have Parent Teacher Conferences after 3:45 p.m. are welcome to leave their children in garderie free of charge for the time slot of their meeting ONLY. Regular after school charges will apply to any child left in garderie any time while meetings are not taking place.

 
Please also be reminded that during the conferences there will be no After School Activities (as per our program brochure).

November 5 | 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Teacher/Staff Thanksgiving Lunch
Parents, please take note: the Teacher/Staff Thanksgiving Luncheon will be Tuesday, November 5. Start looking through your recipe boxes now for a dish to prepare to drop off that morning to show our wonderful teachers and staff how much they're loved! Please contact volunteer organizer Tracey Manuel with inquiries.

 

November 8 | 4:30 p.m.

Third Annual Fun(d) Run. 

The 3rd Annual Fun(d) Run will be held next month on the AIS campus. You should have received a flyer with details and pledge form in your parent folder. This fun event raises money for the school's recreational spaces, promotes being healthy and active, and encourages a lively spirit of competition among the students and classes.

For more details and to register your child online, please visit our online events page. You can also register in person by filling out the form at the reception desk and putting it in the designated blue box. 

We need parent volunteers to help this event be as much fun as it was last year! Please contact Tracey Manuel if you can help: (jtcmanuel@gmail.com or 512-897-7994).   

 

November 16 | 10 a.m.

Information Session for Prospective Parents

We're hosting our first information session of the school year next month. 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.

Annual Fund Challenge! 

 

We are excited to announce that AIS has the chance to raise up to $2,500 for our school through a generous challenge grant from the William and Salome Scanlan Foundation. 

 
If we can increase our AIS community participation (from parents, staff, and board members) in the Annual Fund to 50 percent before Friday, November 1, the foundation will award us $1,000! To reach 50 percent participation we only need 25 more donations. 
 
But that's not all - If we can go even further and get at least 45 new gifts to the Annual Fund, the foundation will contribute an additional $1,000! 
 
And, as an added bonus, if at least five of these new gifts are $250 or more (that is only $25 a month!) we will receive another $500!
 
Please know that gifts of ANY amount are appreciated and ALL donations to the Annual Fund help us reach 100 percent participation. We encourage you to give whatever amount you feel comfortable with. And why not make it even easier with a monthly recurring gift? Giving just $10 or $15 a month goes a long way toward reaching our goals. 
 
Help us win this challenge! You can give online and Kyle will have a table set up all next week. Stop by before or after your Parent-Teacher Conference to make your donation or set up a recurring monthly gift.  
 
Many thanks again to everyone who has already contributed to this year's Annual Fund - we cannot thank you enough for your incredible generosity. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to join you in your support! Tell them that by donating now through November 1, they will increase the impact of their gift, be a part of the 100 percent AND help us raise more funding for our exceptional school. 
 
Read more on why the Annual Fund is so important here, and always feel free to contact Kyle with any questions. Thank you!
  

 

 

Announcements 

Camp during the break was fun! 
Children had the opportunity to talk about Día de los Muertos and Halloween, made masks with papier-mâché, painted vivid artwork with an Autumn theme, made a scarecrow, and learned tons of new games! Please check the bulletin board to see some pictures of your children. 
 
 
 
"El Gallo de Boda" in 3rd Grade
Spanish storyteller Gregor Machín visited Austin International School's 3rd grade class to tell the Latin American children's tale "El Gallo de Boda" (aka "La Boda del tío Perico"). Machín tells the story of the rooster who gets sparkling clean to attend his uncle Perico's wedding. Read our blog post to watch the video!
PTO News 
 
The next PTO meeting is Wednesday, November 6, at 5:30 p.m.
 
The AIS Facebook Group is the unofficial hub of PTO chatter, and it's bustling! Join up and get in on the conversation.

  

Parent Teacher Conference Refreshments

Shachon Leaf has generously volunteered to organize snacks and refreshments on behalf of the PTO for the teachers and staff during Parent-Teacher Conferences next week. She is looking for some help with set-up and clean-up on Monday, Tuesday and  Wednesday. If you have an early or late conference, this is a great way to get involved! Please contact Shachon and let her know if you can help out.

 

Have you heard?  At our last PTO meeting we voted that our project this year will be to landscape the front of the school (you know where all that soil runs into the parking lot every time it rains? There!). We would like know if you have a business that can help! Are you a landscape architect who can help us draw up a plan and give us step-by-step instructions for implementation? Are you a licensed irrigator or irrigator technician who can help us with the sprinklers? Do you do earth work? Build walls? We want your help! Before looking for these specialties in the greater community, we'd like to give the work to our own AIS community. Please contact the PTO here if you have any of these specialties and you think you may be able to help.

 

Stay tuned if the only help you can provide is digging holes and moving dirt! We still need you!

 

Have you been to the Artisan Bistro in Lakeway? YUM! The PTO is working to organize an exciting fundraiser where we bring you their delicious baguettes and croissants (and maybe more) each Friday for purchase right here at school. Right now we're looking for a volunteer who may live or work in the Lakeway area to transport the yummy goods from the bakery to the school on Fridays. Please contact us if you may be able to help with this delicious project. 

 
Box Tops for Education 
The fall Box Tops for Education submission deadline is coming up on November 1. The more Box Tops we submit by then, the bigger this fall's check will be to AIS. Each Box Top brings 10 cents directly to AIS, and so far we expect a check for more than $400 this fall. Please bring Box Tops to school by Friday, October 25, to help us increase our total before the fall deadline. Just place them in the yellow Box Tops collection folder (among the PTO folders in the parent mail stand), and we'll take care of the rest.  Thank you!