Austin International School
April 30, 2014
 

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Annual Fund - See the Big Picture!

Kyle and a parent discuss the Annual Fund Drive.
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. 
Contribute today and helps us see the bigger picture!

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! 
Summer Camp -  Creative Geniuses: Bilingual Arts and Sciences @ Les Explorers
Session Two of our Les Explorers Summer Camp (for the 7-12 year old group) is Creative Geniuses, led by two dynamic AIS teachers. Emily Hopkins will be teaching the science side of this fun arts and sciences combo sessions. She'll lead the kids through the study of scientific forces, traction, gravity and gears, culminating in a fantastical Rube Goldberg machine. Spanish teacher Diane Rivas will be leading her experiments of the artistic sort through the work of artists hailing from Spanish speaking countries. Students will learn a little art history, study the artists, and dabble in the important work of replicating the masters. AIS is always full of amazing things - with Les Explorers you can now really take home an original Picasso!

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
Be a Library and Media Center Founding Donor!
Celebrate Literacy with Us!
We have already received more than $18,500 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. 
These students love their library!
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!
Dates to Know

Did you know our full school calendar is available online?  

 

Parents, remember we're a nut-free school! Help keep all of our students safe and save the nuts for at home! Thank you.

 

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!

Support the library and stock up on your child's summer reading by shopping for English, French and Spanish-language books during our book fair, a library fundraiser. The library will team up again with Barefoot Books to provide you with a fantastic selection of high quality reading material. Find fun details in next week's newsletter.
 
Come check out these great finds:
French Media Resources:
  • high quality French language materials
  • translated and original works
  • fiction, non-fiction, multimedia & literature
  • books with CD 
  • french materials for ages 2 to middle school

English and Spanish resources:
  • Great selection of Spanish and bilingual Spanish/English
  • Titles include children's fiction & nonfiction books, including topics in multiculturalism, folk tales and nature.


Yearbooks arrive!

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!
Announcements

After School Activities
Chess tournament on Tuesday May 6, 4:35 p.m. at AIS
Piano recital on May 10, 2:00 pm, at Steinway Piano Gallery Recital Hall

End of regularly scheduled classes: Week of May 9 is the last week.

Make-up classes: (same time as usual)
  • Tennis I through IV: May 12
  • Basketball, Chess I & II, Cooking I and II, soccer, Sportball: May 13 
  • Abrakadoodle: May 14
  • Fiesta: May 15
  • Piano I & II, Science CM2, Science in Spanish, Yoga I & II: May 16 and 23
  • Basket, soccer and Sportball: May 20

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. 
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 Starbucks coffee!) 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 am until about 2 pm.  Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for this fun annual event.  This event is FREE to all AIS families but we do asks that you clean up after yourself  
 
PTO Bakery Sale
The bakery sale is BACK! And this week 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  - *Flower orders extended through Friday, May 2!!*  

Order forms were placed in your folder(s) at school last week.  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  EXTENDED TO MAY 2! 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. 

 

Parent-Teacher Potluck

The annual parent teacher (and staff!) potluck hosted by the Loyd's will take place on May 24.  Please mark your calendar for this annual, fun event!

 

Final Week! Box Tops Class Competition Ends May 1

 

The class competition ends THURSDAY, MAY 1, and the competition is strong!  We've collected more than 5600 Box Tops already!  Please place all your remaining 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 zipper bag.  Every Box Top pays 10 cents to the school, and they add up quick!

Thank you for your support!  As you plan your summer travel adventures, please consider effortlessly earning even more BoxTops 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!