Austin Elementary Newsletter
May 2021
A Message from Dr. Pierson,
PreK and Kindergarten Registration is Underway! Enroll now for the 2021-2022 school year by creating an account in the Family Portal. Scan the code or go to tiny.conroeisd.net/uygrb
Requirements for registration
- Birth Certificate: Kindergarten students must be at least 5 years old on or before September 1, 2021 to attend kindergarten. PreK students must be at least 4 years old on or before September 1, 2021.
- Proof of Residence A current utility bill with parent/guardian’s name & address
- Proof of Guardianship Photo ID of parent or legal guardian
- Child’s Social Security Card
- Immunization Records
To be eligible for PreK, a student must meet one of the following criteria:
- Unable to speak and comprehend the English language
- Educationally Disadvantaged (eligible for the national free or reduced-priced lunch)
- Dependent of the United States Armed Forces, member of the National Guard, or member of the Reserves who are currently on active duty or who were injured or lost his/her life on active duty
- Homeless
- In or has been in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services
- Dependent of a person eligible for the Star of Texas award
- Receives Medicaid or Medicaid Plus benefits
Toys!
Upcoming Events
May 3 to May 7-- Teacher Appreciation Week
May 10-- Public PTO meeting @ 2:00 at Austin Elem.
May 11- 3rd and 4th Grade STAAR Math Test
May 12- 3rd and 4th Grade STAAR Reading Test
May 13-- Title I Night (Virtual Event for all Austin Families)
May 17--Kindergarten Graduation
May 18-- Kindergarten Graduation
May 19--STUCO Party
May 21--4th Grade Celebration
May24-- Field Day #1 (PK-1st)
May 25-- Field Day #2 (2nd-4th)
May 26-- Early Release & LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!
PK News
Hello May! This year has gone by so fast, and our little ones have grown so much! As we enter into the last month of school, we will continue to encourage and challenge our little learners. We are continuing to work with our letters and sounds, as we become beginning readers and writers. We are having so much fun looking at and reading the books we’ve made in class, books in our library, and our own books we’ve made. We will continue to review our numbers and counting, however, we will begin learning about adding to and taking away using math stories. It is always fun to use our manipulatives to tell a story. As Earth Day finishes, we will continue to learn about how to take care of her and changes that we see on the Earth and in the sky, in science. In social studies, we will be learning about consumers. We will learn about how people shop and buy things. This is the perfect time to let the children have a pretend shop in our dramatic play area. Continue to encourage your child to share what they have learned at school with you and practice the concepts. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us, as we will be happy to help in any way possible. Have a happy and safe summer!
Kindergarten News
Wow! Can you believe it is May already? These sweet Kindergarteners have been working so hard and have learned so much! As we start to tie things up please remember to keep working with your child at home. Some ways you can work with your child are reading a fiction book to them and have them retell you the story. What happened in the beginning, middle, and end? What was the setting of the story, and who were the characters in the story? You can also read a nonfiction book to them, and ask your child what are 3 things they learned from the book? Why did the author write this book? Furthermore, have your child continue to practice writing cvc words like hat, mat, sit, and, etc. Have your child count backwards from 20 and forwards to 100. If your child has already mastered that, have them practice counting backwards from 30 and see how high they can count past 100. In class we will be focusing on subtraction and addition, reading, and writing. Let’s finish this year off strong!
Kindergarten Graduation:
Monday, May 17
- 1:30 Ms. Grande and Ms. Hernandez
- 5:00 Mrs. Diaz and Ms. Kellums
Tuesday, May 18
- 1:30 Ms. Kragh, Ms. Shaw, and Ms. Williams
- 5:00 Ms. Hill and Ms. Schneider
Pro Tip: Birthdays
**COVID-19 UPDATE: Cupcakes will not be allowed. Only items prepackaged and sealed by the manufacturer will be allowed.
1st Grade News
May the force be with you as we push through the last month of school! We made it to the last month of school, only 4 weeks left! All your students hard work is seen and appreciated. We will end the year finishing up our imagination writing unit. The last 3 weeks we will focus on research in reading, writing, and science. Students learn the beginnings of how to take notes, look at different sources of information, and apply that knowledge to writing a paper or creating a presentation to share all they know and learned about an animal. We will research from books and the internet to find interesting facts and important information. In Social Studies and math we will end the year with our financial literacy unit. Students will learn about charity, income, savings, and how to make good choices with their money. We will mimic an income with our cub buck system and students will have chances to spend or save their money. At the end of the unit, we will host a 'movie day' where students use their 'money' to buy tickets and goodies for the movie theatre. This is a great opportunity to introduce them to the importance of saving and using their money wisely. We will discuss the concept of income and how you have to work hard and do a job in order to make money (their jobs will be things like coming to school on time, bringing all of their materials, completing their work, and following classroom rules). Literacy testing will come to an end as we find the final levels your student will be working at. A great way to ensure your student doesn't lose any of their hard work over the summer is to read every night if you can! We are all so blessed and appreciative of your students and want to thank you for hanging in and giving us grace through this tough year. We are proud of your students and cannot wait to see all that they become in future years. Have a safe and amazing summer!
2nd Grade News
3rd Grade News
Third Graders are gearing up for STAAR Wars! Yes! The Staar is coming to our school this month. Third graders will ROCK the STAAR by: getting good sleep each night, eating good food, reading at least 20-30 minutes daily, and completing their math and reading STAAR review activities.
4th Grade News
Following the STAAR, the students will begin working to complete a research project over a topic of their choice. These projects will require the students to create questions, gather information, and present a project to their classmates. Preparations have also begun for the Reading STAAR test which the students will complete in May. In order to get ready for the exam, students will work with all different types of selections including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. We will review over the skills learned throughout the year and continue to work on any areas that we feel need to be strengthened.
As always, we encourage everyone to read for at least 20 minutes a night and complete their homework.
In Math, students will begin discussing the elements of Financial Literacy. In this unit, students will explore the financial institutions and ways to save, spend, or donate monies. Students will discover the many types of expenses and how to calculate a profit from a business perspective. The Math department will also be preparing students for their end of the year Math STAAR test. This test will be administered in May. Students will be reviewing previous skills and activities to help achieve mastery of concepts. It is very important that students are present each day during this time.
The 4th grade students have worked really hard this year despite all the changes that have occurred. We are so proud of our students and will continue to provide educational and social support to help them to become productive students as they travel their educational ladder to success.
As always, we encourage everyone to engage in Dreambox for at least 30 minutes a night and complete their homework.
Pro Tip: Student Check Out & Transportation Changes
- Always remember to bring your ID if you will be checking out a student.
- Students cannot be checked out of school after 2:30.
- Transportation changes can be made calling the front office no later than 2:00.
Lifeskills News
We have made it to the final stretch of the year. This has been a challenging year to say the least but I'm happy to report our students have risen to the challenge and made this a successful year despite it all. This is always a bitter sweet time, as we send our 4th graders off we wish them luck at their new schools. STAAR ALT testing is complete and End of Year testing is in progress. 3rd and 4th grade STAAR Mathematics is May 11th and 3rd and 4th grade STAAR Reading is May 12th. The Unique Learning System Unit for May is all about plants and how they grow and exploring life cycles. We wish all our students a safe and enjoyable summer! I want to thank all our parents for their support this year. "Thank You"
Specials News
Our Librarian is spreading the love of reading through book clubs. Students are randomly chosen to participate in small group book clubs known as "Mr. K's Bookworms". The students are so excited to read some of their favorite books with Mr. K. To top it all off, they get to keep the books!
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In Mrs. Schaffer's art class, students are ending the year with a glowing project! For our last project of the year, we are drawing ocean animals and painting them with fluorescent paint. At the end of class, we turn off the lights so that we can see our artwork glow!
Austin Elementary
14796 Highway 105 E, Conroe, TX 77306
936-709-8400