Austinville Elementary
March 16 - 20 News
Mrs. Penley Selected as Decatur City Schools "Teacher of the Year"
Mrs. Melissa Penley graduated from Decatur High School in 1990. She attended Spring Hill College to reach her goal and become a teacher. She graduated with an Early Childhood Education degree in 1994.
Mrs. Penley began her teaching career at Woodmeade Elementary in the fall of 1994, and received her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of North Alabama. From 2002-2006, Mrs. Penley worked part time for the Decatur City Schools while also serving as Director of Children’s Ministries at Central United Methodist Church. In 2006, she returned to DCS as the Reading Coach at West Decatur Elementary. She has also worked for the Alabama Reading Initiative as a Regional Support Staff member for Region 1. This meant a temporary two year leave from DCS. Mrs. Penley joined the staff of Austinville this year.
She says, "The faculty and staff have welcomed me with open arms! I am so thankful for the colleagues I now have at Austinville, and the precious students I teach. I am also grateful for all of my former administrators, colleagues, and students along with my supportive family and friends, as I continue to learn and grow as an educator daily."
Mrs. Penley and her husband, Jamie have two sons, William and Harris.
Students Begin Recorders in Music
Fourth and Fifth Grade Honor Roll Egg Hunt
Spring Brings the Return of the Eastern Bluebirds
Historical Alabama Musical Program
Family Reading Night
Second Graders Visit Broadway Theater League Production at VBCC
Austinville Continues Third Grade Cabbage Project from Bonnie Plants
Students were given a care sheet and their cabbages and a deadline of September 20. We hope some of our Austinville students will participate in this activity. We certainly appreciate Bonnie Plants and Mr. Prater for including Austinville in this activity. For more information about this program, visit bonniecabbageprogram.com
Developing Your Child's Self-Esteem is Topic of Parenting Meeting
- Be careful what you say
- Be a positive role model
- Identify and redirect inaccurate beliefs
- Be spontaneous and affectionate
- Give positive and accurate feedback
- Create a safe, loving home environment
- Help kids become involved in constructive experiences
Fourth & Fifth Graders Enter Photography Contest
Photographs could be almost anything and due to many days of bad weather, students learned to work indoors and utilize inanimate objects. Mrs. Beth Young, Austinville's Art teacher even took the opportunity to teach a lesson about still life pictures.
Below you will find just a few of the photographs made by our budding photographers. We wish them well in this upcoming competition.
Maria Lopez
4th Grade
Luis Romero Saavedra
5th Grade
Atzel Gatica Torreblanca
5th Grade
Mauriciso Felipe
Alora Valdez
4th Grade
Ashley Salgado
Tylon Taylor
Kevin Romero Saavedra
Sergio Guidry
Tylik Echols
Janet Martinez Mendoza
Ryan Borden
2014-2015 Yearbook Completed!
Well it's not the mail, it's Austinville's yearbook. And in this case it was snow and ice, several days out of school and a child in the hospital. Mrs. Stacy Westbrook, the yearbook editor has had some annoying and stressful times in working on this year's edition. She even carried her laptop to the hospital when her son was there for two nights. We appreciate such dedication. As usual, we can look forward to an amazing yearbook!
Fortunately, an understanding yearbook company granted an extension due to weather. The deadline to pre-order yearbooks was also extended. Students last day to order was March 10. Even though everyone will be anxious to receive their yearbook, they won't be delivered to students until after testing in April.
Student Council Visits Habitat for Humanity
Harvard Comes to Austinville
Student of the Month for Consistency & Dependability
Student of the Month for School Spirit
Appreciating Our Own!
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, South America, Ms. Maritza Chase came to the United States in 1996. She began working at Austinville in 2000. She has four grown children; Abraham, Marilin, Dixie, and Roy. She is grandmother to three - Brayan, Oscar, and Johana. Most of the students on Ms. Maritza's hall are acquainted with Jo Jo! She is a frequent visitor to Austinville.
Ms. Maritza participates in many activities during the school year. She loves to help teachers in celebrating Cinco de Mayo by dressing and performing folkdances of Hispanic people. She is also the biggest kid in the building by celebrating Book Character Day and dressing up. Students and teachers love to see what costume she will appear in next! Ms. Maritza works hard at a thankless job. Austinville teachers and students want to say a big THANK YOU for keeping our school so clean.
Mark Your Calendar!
March
- 23 - 27 Spring Break
- 31st - Math Team Competition at Cedar Ridge Middle School
April
- 1 - Money Due for Sweet Potatoes - $ 10 for a 10 pound box
- 3 - Sweet Potatoes Delivered to school at 12:00 pm