Austin International School
April 23, 2014
 

It's April Break long weekend, so we'll keep it short! Please read on for lots of info for the rest of the month, including Friday's deadline to order yearbooks, a new link for online donations to the library Literary Circle fund, and summer camp table dates.

Field Day Tug o' War!
Field Day Tug o' War!
And don't miss this great video of last Friday's Field Day Finale! Wasn't that a fun (teamwork-filled) day?!
Announcements

Pre-Order Your Yearbooks by April 25

We're excited to be wrapping up our yearbook this year after lots of hard work by CM1 and CM2 students in Yearbook Club. Members have been typing, designing and photographing their way to a really lovely document of the school year. We hope you'll share the fruits of their labor by ordering your copy of this year's yearbook. Simply fill out the online pre-order form and mail or drop off your check or cash payment to the school (no credit card/online payments). 

 
The details:
Yearbooks are sold by pre-order only for $37. Please place your order by Friday, April 25. Books arrive during the last week of school. Books are full-color, hardcover, 116 pages.

Parents, if you haven't yet, please check your folder to retrieve the last progress reports of the school year for the after school activity.

After school activities end the week of May 9 (Friday). Please check our calendar for make-up classes, as we do have quite a few due to school closures in winter.

April mini camp is full
Thank you to parents who enrolled their child(ren)! The schedule of activities is posted on the bulletin board. For children from PS to GS, please bring a set of extra clothes on Friday, as they will enjoy water games.

Summer camp
Join the awesome Les Explorers team during their enrollment/information tables, on May 2 and May 8. Come join us in front of the school, 3:15 pm to 4:00 pm and get jazzed about summer camp!

Community Book Drive
Several AIS Girl Scouts are conducting a charity book drive to benefit BookSpring of Austin. If your child's home library is getting a little full, now is the time to donate some of those gently used (or new) books to a good home. Look for the donation box near Hilary in Reception. Thanks for helping us support our community! For any questions, contact Tracey Manuel: 512-897-7994 or jtcmanuel@gmail.com. 
Annual Fund - Last Push!

We are so grateful for the incredible generosity you have already shown in support of this year's Annual Fund. As you know, our ultimate goal is to have 100% participation from our parent community. 

We're almost there! If we got just one new gift every day from now until the last day of school we would reach our goal! Every donation is important, no matter the amount, and each donation helps us get closer to our goal. If you haven't made your fully tax-deductible gift to the Annual Fund yet, and have just five minutes to give five dollars, you can help us reach 100% participation from our community. 

Why is 100% participation so important? Not only does it show a sense of solidarity and a strong foundation of support from our community, but it is also something that most outside funders ask to see when considering awarding grants to the school. Read more about the importance of the Annual Fund and how you can be a part of it here. 

We will be launching our "official" final campaign for the 2013-2014 Annual Fund on Monday, April 28 through the last day of school, Friday, May 30 - however you can give or pledge your support at any time starting today!


Many thanks again to everyone for your amazing support. Have a great break! 
04-23-2014 17:43:06 PM

Hello everyone! The International Book Fair will be held next month on May 8 and 9. We will be working with two vendors, Barefoot Books and French Media Resources. The book fairs at AIS are some of my favorite things... Read More...»


Library and Media Center Founding Donors
Celebrate Literacy with Us!
We have already received more than $17,000 in committed donations for the library - thanks to our amazing grandparents and two very special leading gifts above the "Muse" level made in honor of students Harry and Will Jacks and Alan and Duncan McEwan. We are so incredibly grateful for your generosity and for your commitment to your children and grandchildren's education. 

Donate securely online or with the Donation cards (attached) are in the reception area - just fill one out and drop it in the grey box! If you would like to be part of supporting the library, but prefer to make your gift in the 2014-15 year or wish to make a larger donation in installments, you can commit your contribution via our online pledge form to be paid at a later date. Please contact Kyle for more details or to further discuss these options. Thank you!
Summer Camp -  The Global Kitchen @ Les Explorers
Session One of our Les Explorers Summer Camp (for the 7-12 year old group) is the Global Kitchen, led by seasoned cooking club leader and AIS French teacher Charlotte Favrin. Charlotte is a very engaging camp counselor with a real flair for teaching children the joy of cooking! She will be taking campers on a culinary journey through the different regions of France, from the seafood of the coastal north and Brittany's buckwheat galette, to the vegetables, cheeses, berries and fruit down through the central to southern regions - you'll soon be asking for an adult camp too! It's a delicious experience that immerses children in another culture with practical cooking and grocery experiences.
 
Give your child a taste of France with this interactive game with French regions and recipes (and ask them to make you something they've learned!). Learn more about our Les Explorers Summer Camp on our webpage.

"My daughters absolutely loved summer camp at AIS. Never before have I seen both children excited to get up in the morning, and they couldn't wait to get started each day! They are very proud of learning new languages and about other cultures. The instructors are kind and gentle, and make everyone feel welcome. This program is a winner for us!" - parent Stacie George
Dates to Know

Did you know our full school calendar is available online?  

 

April 24 and 25

April Break
Thanks to all of the families who signed up for our April Break childcare; the childcare is now full.

May 2 | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Summer Camp Information & Enrollment Booth
Join Laurence Raud, our amazing summer camp coordinator, outside during pick up time and let her give you all the fun information and helpful details about this year's Les Explorers Summer Camp. Don't miss the action - camp begins in June!




CM2 Graduation Ceremony
Save the date for our CM2 graduation ceremony, to be held in the foyer. We look forward to celebrating our fifth graders' successes and sending them off to a new educational journey!
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.
 
Campus Cleanup on May 10
On May 10, the PTO will be sponsoring a Campus Cleanup. We'll start at about 9:30 am and pick up trash and do what we can to tidy up our beautiful campus before the end of year performance and picnic.  The PTO will provide snacks and gloves and bags. Please come and join us and bring the kids for this community activity.

 

End of Year Picnic
On May 17, the PTO will host the End of Year Picnic on campus. The PTO will provide a water slide, bounce house and snow cone, you just bring some lawn chairs, blankets and lunch and enjoy a fun afternoon with friends!  These festivities will run from about 11 a.m. until about 2 p.m. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for this fun annual event.

 

PTO Bakery Sale
There will be not bakery sale this week (since we'll all be off!), but next week (May 2), the PTO will be back with our sale. On that day, all the profits from our sale will go to the AIS 5th grade class - CM2 - for their trip to France this year.  Please come out and support this excellent cause!  We'll have more pain au chocolat because of the great demand we've seen the last couple of weeks, so be sure to save your pennies and come see us!

 

Teacher Appreciation Day is Friday, May 16

On Teacher Appreciation Day, the families at AIS show appreciation to our wonderful teachers and staff at AIS by giving them flowers. Each teacher and staff member has a flower bucket that will be labeled with their names on it. And when students arrive that morning, they bring the flowers in and put it the buckets for their teachers and any staff that they would like to show appreciation. The students really enjoy giving flowers to their teachers and staff. And the teachers and staff really enjoy the beautiful flowers and more importantly, know how much they are appreciated! 

 

Flower Orders through PTO

Once again, the PTO will be offering flower sales at school for this special occasion as a convenience to our busy parents this year and to support the school.  There will be an assortment of fresh cut flowers to select from and you will be able to place your orders ahead of time.  No need to rush out to the store.  Order your flowers from the PTO and help raise funds for the school!  Pick up will between 7:30 and 8:45 a.m. on the morning of Friday, May 16th at the school entrance.  Proceeds from the flower sales will go to the school. Order forms will be in your folder(s) at school by April 23rd.  If you choose to participate in the school fundraiser, please review the order form carefully and submit your orders along with payment by April 30th. Parents may choose to buy the flowers themselves and bring them to school.  You may also label your flowers to let the teachers and school staffs know who the flowers are from. 

 

A Great Volunteer Opportunity: This was a lot of fun for the volunteers last year and very rewarding!

We are looking for any volunteers that might be able to help out.  Here are the volunteer spots we need filled.  Hanifa Smine can provide more details on these if you have questions.

  • Help PS, MS and GS students - 3 parents volunteers to help the younger children in PS, MS and GS classes with making name tags and putting flowers in the buckets for their teachers. The little ones really like doing this but need help.  About 1 hour of your time from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. on Friday, May 16th.  This is lots of fun!
  • Flower Distribution - 5 parents volunteers to help with distribution of flowers to the kids during the pick up

If you are a parent who has a business and would like to donate goods or services for the teachers for teacher appreciation day or would like to volunteer, please contact Hanifa Smine (hanifa_smine@dell.com or 512-775-9597). We count on parent volunteers to help make this event a success. 

 

Box Tops Countdown - Class Competition Ends May 1

We've collected about 5500 Box Tops so far! The class competition ends MAY 1, and the competition is strong!  Please place all Box Tops in the Yellow Box Tops folder in the PTO section near the school reception desk with your child's class name on the collection sheet, envelope or bag.  Every Box Top pays 10 cents to the school, and they add up quick!


As you plan your summer travel adventures, please consider effortlessly earning even moreBoxTops for our school online through the Box Tops Marketplace. Just sign in at www.boxtops4education.com as a supporter of AIS, school code 956890, then choose your favorite store or travel site from the Earn Online Marketplace page. Participating sites include Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Expedia, Travelocity, Marriott Hotels, Choice Hotels, Hotwire, Ramada Hotels, Ibis Hotels, Sofitel, Novotel, Wyndham Hotels, Sea World, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Hotels.com and lots more.