Pioneer Weekly News

This is Ms. Collum's 26th year teaching and her 10th year here at Patton. Ms. Collums graduated from Sam Houston State University. Her favorite part of coming to Patton every day is THE KIDS! Ms. Collums loves what she does and we are lucky she calls Patton home! Congratulations, Ms. Collums!

Each year, a teacher brand new to the profession is chosen as a "Teacher of Promise". This person shows dedication and drive for the role. Additionally, the Teacher of Promise is someone who plans to stay in the profession and continue making a difference. Way to go, Ms. Walzel ~ we are so happy you're at Patton!

Couldn't make the pop up Thursday? That's ok! Shop online until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT at www.kendrascott.com and enter Patton's unique code: GIVEBACK-DGWGQ. 20% of all proceeds will benefit the PTA!

The Texas legislative session starts in a little over a month and ACPTA (Austin Council of PTAs) has asked that we send this survey to our PTA community to help narrow down priorities to focus on this session. If you have time, please fill out the quick survey to ensure the focus is on the issues most important to us as a community.

The ACPTA will be collecting input through the end of December and will have a list of ACPTA Legislative Priorities available for our PTA's to vote on in January.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScILeh4nL5L_0cneKnsT5pojLNLTxJiFuY61UEVgZ3fQsyvHw/viewform

• The Online Registration and Transfer Request portals will open on January 9, 2023 for the 2023-24 school year.

• New families will be able to continue registering online for the current school year throughout the spring semester. It will not be necessary to complete paper packets as in prior years.

• Additional information related to enrollment, registration, and transfers is listed below.

Important links to share with families regarding enrollment, registration, and transfers:

1. Enrollment page: https://www.austinisd.org/enroll

2. Important dates and deadlines: https://www.austinisd.org/transfer/dates-deadlines

3. For questions, please direct families to Let’s Talk https://www.austinisd.org/letstalk

and click on “Student Services: Enrollment, Records, & Transfers”

Note: The online registration for the 22-23 school year and the 23-24 school year will be open concurrently starting January 9th (new this year). Families enrolling in the current school year will not have to complete paper registration packets. In addition, out of district families will be able to register online.

If you know any Austin ISD students living in food-insecure households, or would like the opportunity to donate to a worthy cause, please access the resources below. Families can use the community resources below to find free meals in their area while Austin ISD offices and schools are closed for the fall break November 21-25:

• Central Texas Food Bank
• United Way for Greater Austin - ConnectATX
• Texas Health and Human Services - Call 2-1-1 or (877) 541-7905 to speak to a live operator.

Looking for a new activity to do with family and friends over winter break? Want to extend learning at home? The Creative Learning Initiative has adapted two arts-based Creative Teaching strategies used in classrooms — Model Making and Soundtrack — for our community members to use for fun, engaging conversations. Click this link for these activities in Arabic, Burmese, English, Kinyarwanda, Mandarin, Pashto, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese.

Dr. Mays, our Interim Superintendent, is challenging our school community to read one million minutes this school year. The reading challenge is open now and runs through April 30, 2023, across all AISD campuses. Students will log their minutes read on this Google form, so you might want to bookmark it or record by going to the Library Blend Course and clicking on the Million Minutes icon.

For ease, you might want to record in the form once a week by adding up your child's minutes read at home on a weekly basis. All reading counts!

Interested in how we're doing compared to other schools? Check us out HERE.

Good luck, PATTON Readers! Let's show this city how much we Pioneers read!