Cougar News
Week of 11/13/17 - 11/17/17
Letter from Principal Nelson
Cougar Nation-
We have one full week before Thanksgiving break, then only a little over 3 weeks before the first semester comes to an end. This is the shortest 6 weeks of the year (6 weeks is a term, not a time frame) so it is imperative your student stays on top of h/her grades and turns in all assignments. If your student feels h/she is falling behind or not grasping a certain concept, encourage attending tutorials. Our teachers are available at least an hour before or after school each week to meet with and help students. Remember, tutorials aren’t only for students who are failing; it’s for students who want to get ahead.
As for assignments over the Thanksgiving Break, please have your student read as much as possible. We don’t necessarily care what it is h/she reads (comic books, newspapers, magazines, fiction, etc..), as long as reading takes place. As with most things, the more you read with them and show them that reading is a lifelong skill, the better chance they have at sticking with it.
Fun Run: If you haven’t signed your student up for the Fun Run yet, please do so soon, so we can continue bringing in pledge dollars to help our school purchase much needed technology and enrichment items. We’ve said it time and time again, AISD does a great job of providing our students with the basics for a phenomenal education. We are never one to be without books or materials in our classrooms. The Fun Run is for the non-basic materials we use every day to get our kids excited about, and engaged in, school. With the money raised from the Fun Run we have been able to purchase laptops and computers for classrooms, projectors and televisions so teachers can display their lessons, ipads, nooks, and kindles for our libraries, as well as activities and items to celebrate student success. Once we learned we weren’t receiving portables this year, we used our Fun Run money to turn non-traditional areas into learning spaces and made sure our students had access to technology throughout. This is why we say this fundraiser levels the playing field; it allows us to take care of our kid without district assistance. Please see the link below for more information.
Lockdown Drill on Tuesday: On Tuesday at 10:10 am we will be having our first lockdown drill of the semester. Please remind your student this is only a drill and we do these from time to time to make sure we are prepared in the event of an actual emergency. To date, they have participated in 3 Fire Drills and 1 Bad Weather Drill; make them aware this drill is similar to the others. If your student is concerned, or requires a little extra TLC during this time, please contact your grade-level counselor.
Have a great week! We’re looking forward to seeing all of you here on the 17th for the Fun Run.
Matthew Nelson
Principal
Small Middle School
(512) 841-6505
@smallprincipal matthew.m.nelson@austinisd.org
Fun Run Week!
Our 2nd annual Zombie Fun Run is currently accepting Pledges. We have one more week to reach our goal of $25,000. Here are some shortcuts to make it easy..
- Click here to Register your Student
- Click here to see the leadership board
- Click here for all the Fun Run Details
- Click Here to build a Fun Run Team
- Click Here to Sign-up to Volunteer Fun Run Week, or Fun Run Day
Note: If you would like to support the Fun Run without the Social Media aspect. Your Child can bring in cash or check to the front office and we can put the money in their name and they will still get the individual prizes and their Pride class will get credit. Email Jennifer.newell@austinisd.org with any questions.
Thanksgiving Pies for Small Staff
Parents -
It's that time of year to honor our annual tradition to give thanks to the legion of Small's teachers, administration and staff bydonating a pie! We are in need of 110 homemade or store-bought Thanksgiving treats to teachers, staff and administrators.
Please click on the link to sign up. Then, drop pies off in the school office on Friday, November 17th before 11:00am.
If you are able to help on 11/17, we will also need a few individuals to help distribute these delights between 11:30am - 1:30pm.
Thanks,
Small MS PTA
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b48aead2ba1f85-thanksgiving
Parent Cloud
Science Department Fundraiser
Please support the CSMS Science department and all of the great labs that they do - - Dry Ice! Sheep's Eyes! Digestion Simulations! - - by purchasing a coupon book. The books are $25 and contain lots of great deals for local restaurants. The book also comes with a code so that you can download it on your phone - - so you don't need to carry the book around with you! These can be purchased from any CSMS student to help them win some prizes - - or you can contact Ms. Komnick (pamela.komnick@austinisd.org) to get a book. Thanks for your support!
A message from the PTA
Dear Cougars,
Here are some ways you can support Small Middle School.
Volunteers for the Cougar Cage. Signup at https://sites.google.com/site/smallpta/get-involved
Volunteers for the Fun Run. Signup at
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090948a8a62ea0f58-zombie
Send us your Box Tops. Just have your student drop them off at the Small library.
Need a new shirt to show your Cougar pride? The Cage has new shirts.
Sign up for Amazon Smiles at https://smile.amazon.com and add Texas Congress 645 Clint Small Jr Middle School as the organization you support.
Thank you,
Small PTA
Parent GT Nomination Form
The parent nomination window is now open and will close at midnight on November 15! (Late nominations not accepted) To nominate your child to participate in the AISD GT program, complete this form. This year, GT testing and portfolio building will take place over two days, Feb 15-16, during school hours. If your child is already identified in the GT program, you do not have to re-nominate. Every year the Clint Small GT program expands to include more exciting activities! This year, we added the Great Thinkers club. Apply now to see if you can join the fun!
Click here to nominate your child for Gifted and Talented - The link has been fixed.
In other news...
2017-2018 Yearbooks On Sale Now!
You can order your yearbook online anytime. Click here
Clint Small, Jr. Middle School
Email: jennifer.newell@austinisd.org
Website: http://www.smallmiddleschool.org/
Location: 4801 Monterey Oaks Boulevard, Austin, TX, United States
Phone: (512) 841-6700