AIS Friday Flash
Friday, October 18, 2019
State of the School Address
We would like to extend a very big thank you, merci, and gracias to all of the families who attended the State of the School, either in person or on the Facebook group! We were very happy to share strategic and financial updates with our community and to share with you all of the ways you can donate to our school throughout the year. For those who were unable to attend, the video of the State of the School presentation is on the Facebook page (thank you to Holly Johnson for broadcasting live). You will also find a link to the slide presentation here. Thank you to every single family for your incredible support of our community!
Annual Fund Launch Party!
Thank you to all of you who joined in on our fun Annual Fund launch celebration after school today! We would also like to extend a big thank you to Small Wonders Puppet Theatre for their performance & dance party and Faces by Juliet for the awesome balloon creations! We thank you, our awesome community members, for your donations, kicking off a great start to our Season of Giving and Annual Fund Drive. Be on the lookout for more information about our Annual Fund Drive soon, and make sure to check out the State of the School presentation.
Exoplanet Hunter Live Science
Our CM1 students had a great experience live streaming with Frédérique Baron.Frédérique is an astrophysicist and she is interested in scientific communication. She specializes in the search for giant planets that orbit a star other than the Sun using the direct imaging method. She is currently the Scientific and Education and Public Outreach Coordinator at the Institute for Research on Exoplanet at the Université de Montréal. Check out the video here.
Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Up–Sat., Oct. 19 at 10:00 am
The PTC Conference Manager will open for sign-ups on Saturday, October 19th at 10:00 am and will remain open for sign-ups until Thursday, October 24th at 10:00 am. Families can access the Conference Manager by visiting https://austinis.schoolsoft.com/ and either logging on (returning families) or creating a new account by clicking the REGISTER NOW button. To ensure that you receive emails from the Conference Manager, we recommend adding "appointments@schoolsoft.com" to your Address Book.
Parent-Teacher Conference Childcare Sign-Up–Sat., Oct. 19 at 10:00 am
Please be advised that limited childcare is available on Thursday, October 24th from 12:45-5:00 pm. Families may register children for childcare which will go live on Saturday, October 19th at 10:00 am along with the conference sign-up. Children not registered for childcare on Thursday, 10/24 must be picked up by 12:25 pm. As a reminder, there is no childcare is available on Friday, October 25th.
Due to necessary student-supervisor ratios, space is limited to 20 students from Maternelle and 20 from CP-CM2 for our onsite childcare on Thursday and we cannot accommodate drop-ins. Registration on a first to sign-up basis, as available, and is required even if you are enrolled in regular flat-rate afterschool care as flat-rate is not applicable on school closure days. The links are below (but are closed until 10am tomorrow).
Parent Teacher Potluck Social-Sat., Oct. 19
Stacey & Dan McDougal are graciously hosting a Parent-Teacher potluck party this Saturday, October 19th, from 7:00 pm until...…..it ends (or 10:30 if you need to estimate for a sitter) at their home. This is an adult only event - but all AIS parents in our community are welcome to attend. You are invited to come as you are and prepare to have fun! An American potluck is a meal or party where each guest contributes a dish and beverages. So, come and join the community in celebration and bring your favorite dish and your favorite drink(s) to share.
Monster Dash Fund Run Registration Closes Mon. Oct 21!
Join us for one of the most exciting AIS events of the year, our annual Fund Run! On the day of the race, students run laps around the outside of the school, gathering bracelets for each lap run. Ahead of time, students gather contributions and pledges in flat donations or per lap from friends, neighbors, and loved ones in support of their run. We celebrate as a community after with treats and awards.
This year our run will be on Friday, November 1st, and we will celebrate with a Monster Dash! Participants MUST be registered to participate by Monday, October 21st!!! Registered participants will receive a cool race shirt (on display along with sizes at reception). This shirt can be worn during the race - or this year to continue the Halloween fun, you may also wear costumes. After you register, start collecting those donations to support our fundraising goal of $10K (as registration just covers the cost of the t-shirts and supplies).
To participate, follow these steps:
1. Fill out the online registration form here (or use paper copy sent in backpacks)
The student registration, volunteer links, and family sponsorship signups are all included
within this form.
2. Pay for your registration, sponsorship, and/or donation payments here. Or submit a
check or cash at the box in reception.
3. Collect pledges or provide donors with the online payment link in step 2.
4. Get ready to race! T-shirts will be passed out the week of the event.
Contact April with any questions or for more information.
Día de los Muertos Storytelling-Tue. Oct. 22
On Tuesday, October 22, AIS will host a program for PS-CP students presented by Millwood Library about Día de los Muertos. This program will highlight different methods of storytelling to explore Día de los Muertos to include books, rhymes, songs, dance and music. We are looking forward to hosting this program next week!
6è Shadow Days-Wed. Oct. 23 & Wed. Oct. 30
Due to the number of participants for our 6è Shadow Day, we will have two days this year! Groups of CM2 students will visit our middle school on 10/23/19 and 10/30/2019. On these days they will benefit from all the "perks" of being an AIS middle schooler, including getting their own badge and locker for the day. The middle school is excited to host them soon!
Parent-Teacher Conferences/Half-Day of School-Thur., Oct. 24
School will end at 12:25 pm on Thursday, October 24th as we host families for our Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences. You must sign-up for a conference time as outlined above. Limited childcare will be available on Thursday only as also detailed above. There will not be any afterschool care available.
Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School-Fri., Oct. 25
We will hold Parent-Teacher conferences on Friday, October 25th. However, this is considered a school closure day and no childcare is available.
Cross Country Meet-Fri., Oct. 25
Families of students in CE2 through 4e who are interested in joining this year’s Cross Country please refer to the email from Coach Annie for more information or to sign-up to participate. The first meet of the season will be on October 25th at the Strickland School. This competition will include the 1 mile run for 3rd-5th graders and 2 mile run for 6th-8th graders. We will keep you updated with meet details so our community can join us in cheering our runners on. The championship will take place on November 6th. Go AIS Owls!
Viva la Vida Parade & Festival-Sat., Oct. 26 11:00 - 1:00 pm
We look forward to participating for the third year in Mexicarte's annual Viva La Vida Parade on Saturday, 10/26. The parade will march from 12:00 to 1:00 pm, and the streets of downtown are closed in front of the museum for a festival until 6:00 pm. Sign up here to participate. Come join us to walk the route and show your AIS pride or join in the festival. This year we will be marching with the OWLS!
Spirit Week-Oct. 28 thru Nov. 1
We will be having a week of fun to show our school spirit at the end of the month. Each day will be a themed spirit celebration.
10/28 Monday- Crazy Hat Day: Show off your craziest hat!
10/29 Tuesday- Pattern Day: Wear as many patterns as possible, from head to toe!
10/30 Wednesday- Texas Day: Dress in your best Texas attire!
10/31 Thursday- Halloween: GS-4è can wear costumes to school and PS/MS will change after naptime.
11/1 Friday- AIS School Pride-wear: Wear AIS shirts and school colors or Fund Run shirt to show your #AISowlpride. Volunteers will be on hand to decorate for the Monster Dash with tattoos and hair spray in the morning.
Visits from our French network Pedagogical Advisors
This month is a busy month for official French visits! We just welcomed Mme Jullien (Mlf Pedagogical Advisor) who visited classes and worked with cycle 3 French teachers on writing workshops based on Lucy Calkins methodology. Her workshop supplemented the one all elementary teachers attended during our in-service. Mme. Jullien enjoyed her visits and time with the team.
In a couple weeks, we will welcome Mme Madamour (Aefe Pedagogical Advisor), who will work with Maternelle French teachers on language acquisition. This training will nicely build on the training on Sign Language that all our Maternelle teachers and assistant teachers attending in August. We look forward to welcoming her on October 29-30.
Halloween Parade & Classroom Parties-Thur., Oct. 31 2:30-2:50/2:55 - 3:25pm
On Thursday, October 31st, we will celebrate Halloween with a school-wide parade followed by classroom parties. The parade will take place from 2:30 - 2:50 pm followed by the classroom celebrations until 3:25 pm. Family members are invited to campus to watch the parade and attend class parties. The school will have dismissal at 3:25 pm as usual.
Costumes
PS and MS students may wear Halloween colors to school but should not come to school in costume. They will change into their costumes after their 11:55 am recess.
GS - 4è students may wear their costumes to school.
Please be mindful of our costume guidelines and restrictions:
- no scary, bloody or gory costumes
- no weapons or anything that resembling weapons
- no alcohol, tobacco or drug-related props or accessories
- no suggestive costumes inappropriate for children
Monster Dash Fund Run-Fri. Nov. 1 4:30 - 6:00 pm
Before the Run - See the registration information above.
The Day of the Run - Get plenty of rest, bring your refillable water bottle from home, and eat a good breakfast and lunch to stay energized! We will NOT HAVE ANY disposable cups! - You MUST bring a reusable water bottle for the water station.
Celebrate the day and get pumped by showing your school Spirit. Wear school blue and green colors in creative ways: clothes, face paint, bows, ribbons, hair, etc. We’ll also have volunteers at the school to decorate hair and apply temporary tattoos in the morning. You can change into your run shirt before the event OR wear your favorite Halloween costume for the run.
Pickup - Students will need to be picked up at the regular time, as we need the time from 3:30 - 4:30 to set up for the race. Thank you for taking your student, unless registered for afterschool care, on a break to have a healthy snack and return at 4:15 to get ready for the race and warm-up which will start promptly at 4:30 pm. The parking lot will be blocked off in the afternoon. Please plan on utilizing street parking.
The Run - Walk or run around the perimeter of the school (approx .2 miles) as many times as you want within a one hour time period. You can do your laps all at once or take breaks in between. We will have different lanes for younger and older kids. Parents, you are welcome to run with your kids. After your laps, enjoy a fun treat. Some refreshments will be provided as well.
Schedule:
4:30 - 4:45 pm Fun Warm-up
4:45 - 5:45 pm Lap Running
5:45 - 6:10 pm Awards, snacks, celebrating
6:10 - 6:30 Clean-up
6:30 Campus closed
Volunteer
We also need lots of volunteers to make this year's event a success! Thank you for signing up for a shift to help out during this fun-filled event on Friday November 1, 2019, during the week to help with preparation, Friday morning for set-up, or during the event for activities such as water station, handing out bracelets (per lap), awards, refreshments, or clean-up. Sign up to volunteer here.
Hispanic Heritage Month
We had a wonderful celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at AIS! We would like to send out a BIG thank you to the PTO, who financially sponsored events for the school throughout the month, to Tyresse Horne for helping with the coordination of the French Mexican Bake Sale, and to Christina Aimard who set up the beautiful display in the library and provided contacts for Flamencura, Ballet Folklorico Mexikayotl, Danza Peru ATX and the Mexican Consul General. The students were exposed to a variety of beautiful cultural arts from different Spanish-speaking countries during our assemblies. Check out pictures from this week's assembly and the Flamencura performance thanks to student photographer, Ian Rockey. And we were also happy to welcome parents into the library to read books about Hispanic people who have had a global influence in various ways. We are looking forward to our next cultural celebration: International Week!
Picture Orders
If you forgot to order individual pictures for your student(s) and wish to do so, you may go to the photographer's website using this specific code: IQ320952.
Retake pictures (individual and/or siblings) will take place on November 20. Please use this link to sign up for retakes.
Developmental screenings-Tue. Nov. 5
On November 5, we will welcome Capital Area Screenings who will perform vision, hearing, speech and motor screenings at AIS for a $25 fee. Please use this link to register for these screenings. If your child is due for a mandatory screening and you are declining screenings organized by AIS, you will need to provide a screening record for your child including the following data: child's name, type of screening, date, screener, and screening results by November 1st, 2019. Please bring your screening record to the reception. Thank you.
CM2 trip to France meeting-Wed. Nov.6 5:00 pm
We look forward to seeing our CM2 families at our first trip to France meeting that will take place in the CM2 classroom on November 6 at 5 pm.
Head of School Coffee-Thur. Nov. 7 8:30 - 9:30
Join Jacques for an informal discussion and chat over coffee in his office.
Save the Dates
Please save the date for these upcoming events. More details to come.
- 10/22 PS-CP Dia de los Muertos storytelling
- 10/23 6e Shadow Day
- 10/19 Parent-Teacher Potluck Social
- 10/22 PTO Mtg/AIS Board Mtg
- 10/24 Parent-Teacher Conferences - Half Day of School!
- 10/25 No School / Parent-Teacher Conferences
- 10/28-11/1 Spirit Week
- 10/30 6e Shadow Day
- 10/31 Halloween Parade & Class Parties
- 11/1 Monster Dash FUNd Run!
- 11/5 Development Screenings
- 11/6 CM2 France Trip Mtg
- 11/7 Head of School Coffee
- 11/9 AltEd Festival of Learning-Mueller Hangar
- 11/12 Kendra Scott Spirit Night
- 11/16 French Market Festival-St. Edward's University
- 11/18-11/22 International Week
- 11/22 International Community Potluck
Austin International School
Email: info@austinis.org
Website: www.austininternationalschool.org
Location: 4001 Adelphi Lane, Austin, TX, United States
Phone: 512-331-7806
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AustinInternationalSchool
Twitter: @austinintschool