Cougar Nation-

“May Day! May Day!”

This week is all about celebrations, remembrances, and appreciations. Our Month begins with May 1st, May Day to all you fans of Summer, and the day Europeans dedicated to workers and international solidarity. It’s also the phrase people most associate when an aircraft is plummeting towards the Earth.

We then head over to May 4th, to one of our newest and coolest holidays on record: Star Wars Day. That’s right, Tuesday is an international holiday celebrating all things Star Wars and based on a pun. “May the fourth be with you…”

May 5th is Cinco de Mayo here in Texas and is the day we commemorate Mexico’s victory over Napoleon III and his French Army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Why is this a big deal? Well, back in the day Napoleon the 3rd and the French Army was the largest, most powerful fighting force in the world, and the fact that Mexico was able to not only thwart their attack but win, is a testament to the Mexican will and one of our favorite underdog stories. On campus this Wednesday, we’ll be celebrating this historical day by wearing green and taking an Algebra EOC exam.

Throughout these 3 separate holidays is perhaps one of the most special times of the year here in the hallowed halls of Smallville; Teacher Appreciation Week. The entire week is dedicated to acknowledging the hard work and dedication of those who take care of our most precious assets. This is the week we let our teachers know how much we appreciate their care and their craft. Tis’ nothing nobler than to serve as an educator, and we happen to have some of the best ones ever to grace the middle school environment. Being a teacher is not an easy calling. It’s not glamorous, nor is the pay equal to the time spent or impact created, but teachers do not share their passion and joy for either. Teachers teach because they firmly believe that the best way to positively impact the future is to train the minds of today. Teachers only want a better tomorrow for all people. The kids of today will be the voters/spouses/parents/students/lawyers/bankers/bakers/coders/athletes/scientists/musicians/caregivers of tomorrow and we need them to be able to accomplish any task they put their mind to and to overcome any obstacle placed before them.

Please take some time this week to celebrate and appreciate your student’s teachers. Send them an email thanking them for their work, write them a card (we still do that right?) to say you appreciate them, or even send them a token of appreciation via sweets or gift cards, Better yet, have your student participate and send a few “thank you” emails as well. However you feel best to show gratitude is the best way to do it, All appreciations will be readily and gladly accepted.

Have a great week and thank you in advance for thanking our staff. This year has been anything but normal and we are proud of our staff, our students, and this group of loyal readers for pulling together as a community to make it through. Our success is due to our solidarity.

May the forth be with you.

Matthew Nelson

Principal

Clint Small Middle School

(512) 841-6705

www.smallmiddleschool.org matthew.m.nelson@austinisd.org

Induction Ceremony for 2019-2020 (current 8th graders who were selected for NJHS as 7th graders last Spring) and for 2020-2021 (current 7th graders who have been recently selected) NJHS members will be held on May 20th at 7:30pm. Current NHS members from LASA will be hosting and welcoming new members and we will have a very special guest speaker! The virtual ceremony should last about half an hour (no commute time!)

Mrs. Manners, your NJHS sponsor, has the emails for the students in 7th and 8th grade as well as the adults-of-7th-graders and she will send a Zoom link to those emails closer to May 20th. If you are an adult-of-an-8th-grade NJHS member who would like to attend the virtual ceremony, please send an email to christie.manners@austinisd.org with the emails of anyone you'd like included (grandparents, bonus parents, etc). Please include the name of your NJHS member and "Zoom Link Request" in the subject line.

When: June 28 – July 1

Where: Small Middle School gym

Who:

• Boys and Girls entering 3rd – 5th grades 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
• Boys and Girls entering 6th – 9th grades 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Cost: $100 per camper

The Austin High Basketball Camp will focus on teaching the fundamentals of basketball and will provide campers the opportunity to improve and have fun with the game. Each camper will receive individual as well as group instruction from professional coaches. Coach Brad Ingram, head boys basketball coach at Austin High, will be the Camp Director. All equipment will be provided. Students will need to bring their own water bottle.

Sign up online at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI2AXbNcpoAvgQIcS-SKnkh2owOX_TIYkmqaDhCyvcUj2png/viewform link and pay at https://austinisd.schoolcashonline.com/ (search for Austin High Basketball Camp)

We have three dates available for TRYOUTS

(1) Thursday, April 22

(2) Thursday, April 29

(3) Thursday, May 6

If you are interested in speaking to our CAC using our Citizen Communication time, please email our CAC chair Co-Chair Chasee chappellhudgins@mac.com for the meeting Zoom details.

Citizens Communications. For all regular and other plenary meetings of the CAC, time at the beginning of the meeting shall be set aside for citizens communications. This time is specifically for non-members to make comments to the CAC. The Co-Chairs may limit the time for citizens communications and the time given to individual speakers. The Co-Chairs shall ensure that the district’s “Citizens Communications and Visitor Guidelines” are applied. Under these guidelines, except for requests for clarification, dialogue shall not occur between speakers and members. If the CAC is interested in hearing more from a speaker, the speaker may be invited to a future meeting and placed on the agenda specifically for that purpose. Or, the CAC may call a special meeting specifically for the purpose of open dialogue with non-members (e.g., a “community conversation”), but it must be posted for discussion on a specific topic or topics.

Parents, are you looking for a way to give back to teachers and staff at Small Middle School?

We (A handful of Small Parents) have found a free and very effective way to show some love and thought we would share it with you all.

RAVE: Recognizing All Valuable Employees

Let's send some sparkly gratitude to our faculty & staff this holiday season with an AISD RAVE submission!

• Does your student have a favorite teacher?
• Has someone at Small (or any other AISD School) gone above and beyond for you and your family?
• Do you want to support teachers and let everyone (Teacher, Principal, AISD District) know about it?

All of our faculty and staff have gone above and beyond this semester. The best free, easy, sparkly way to show our gratitude is via the RAVE form on the AISD website (link below.) It only takes a couple of minutes to complete!

This form is received by AISD administration. RAVE submissions mean a lot to teachers and staff. It's equivalent to a virtual hug! And, there's never been a better time to remind the Superintendent how indispensable they all are.

Please submit a RAVE for any teacher or staff member (current or from school years past.)

Maybe send one or two a day! You do need the first and last name of the employee you wish to RAVE about. Those can be sourced on Small's Staff Directory :

https://www.austinisd.org/schools/small/directory

Flooding AISD administration with positive feedback will make an important and lasting impact. Let's make this holiday season sparkle a little extra with RAVES!

https://www.austinisd.org/hr/customer-service/rave

Thank you,

Small Parents