Menchaca Families,

Happy March, Woman's History Month, Pride Week, and Happy Ramadan - Ramadan mubarak! This is a time in which we celebrate the achievements of woman, and the diversity and inclusiveness of our community.

Below is a link for a family survey. Please take the time to complete this. This helps us improve our practices and services for our students, families, and community. More in-depth information is found in the counselor's corner. Thank you in advance!

Link to survey:

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/austinisd/family

STAAR Testing is coming up for our third through fifth grade students. The campus is closed to visitors and volunteers during these three days of testing.

April 18 - Reading

April 27 - Science (5th grade only)

May 4 - Math

Celebrations:

• Pollinator Garden Day - Thank you so much to all of our wonderful volunteers!! There was a great turn out last month! If you didn't know we have a garden across the way from parent pick up. Menchaca Elementary's Pollinator Garden was established last spring under the guidance of members of the Balconies Canyon lands Certified Naturalists Association. Our amazing group of volunteers cleaned the beds, planted early bloomers, and our students brought rocks from home to paint and add to the garden. This day was coordinated by Ms. Norris and Ms. Beard.
  
• Menchaca Mustang Voices Assembly - This was an amazing assembly that was a result of counseling lessons and work in our essential areas classes. Arthi Sighn, our school Board President was our guest speaker. Students chose a cause to research and advocate for. Our students have amazing things to say!
  
• Campus Spotlight - We wanted to take the time to highlight some key figures in our school that you might not know about. This month I wanted to give a shout out to Vedria Millage who is our Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP). She provides wonderful support to our students and their families with complex needs. We are so lucky to have her!! To know more about her please read our Campus Spotlight.
  

I wanted to remind you of a couple of things:

• School tours are available on Fridays at 10 am. Please call the front office to make an appointment.
  
• March 30th at 7:30 am come and have coffee! Please check in at the Front Office with your ID.
• March 31st is Cesar Chavez & Dolores Huerta Holiday - No School.
• April 1st is our Mustang Round Up Carnival at 12 pm - 4 pm.
  
• In April and May we will be having STAAR Testing for 3rd - 5th grade.
  
• April 7th is a Student Holiday - No School.
  

• Can only bring and have lunch with only their child. Per AISD rules parents are not allowed to bring food for other children.
  
• Please clean up after their visit and ensure no trash is left behind as it litters our campus. Trash bins have been provided next to the benches to ensure this.
  
• Are to have lunches on the benches by the cafeteria or by the oak tree.
  
• We ask that you not eat inside the cafeteria in the booths or with the class. That is why we have benches outside the cafeteria.
  
• Limit your stay to the time of your child's grade level 30-minute lunch duration to free up room for the next grade level parents.
  
• Cannot walk children to their classrooms/recess.
  

Dear Menchaca Families,

It's that time of year again!! The yearbook is available for pre-order!! Be sure to grab one so as to not miss out on this school year's worth of memories and experiences!!

Yearbook Pre-Order:

• Softcover yearbook.
  
• Sale ends on May 13th.
• Deadline to submit any photos to be considered for the Yearbook is April 5th!

Yearbook Ads:

• Create and order custom business and student recognition ads for the yearbook!
  
• Sale ends on April 3rd.
• The buyer of an ad can choose the size of the ad but not where it is placed or who they are next to.
• Submissions for Ads must be done by April 5th.
  

The link to order: http://www.yblive.net/MenchacaElementary/home3/Bookstore.jsp

For instructions on how to do so please refer to the flyers below.

Thank y'all so much!!

Menchaca Families,

Our Mustang Round Up Carnival is right around the corner!!!

Saturday, April 1st from 12-4 pm!!

For the MRU Newsletter and Frequently Asked Questions please click on the link below:

https://www.smore.com/s0w8x

We are so excited for this year's MRU on Saturday, April 1st.

The school carnival will take place from 12-4pm on campus. There are many volunteer opportunities and we hope you will sign up for a 2-hour shift to help out.

As a token of appreciation, each volunteer will receive one MRU wristband for free ($25 value). This grants unlimited access to rides for one person.

We appreciate your help in making this annual event such a success!

Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040c45adaa2da5f49-mru2023#/

Dear Parents,

If you'd like to help we are currently seeking Drink Donations.

Prek - 2nd grade: Gatorades

3rd - 5th grade: Water Bottles

Donations can be left at the Front Office. Please let them know they are for PTA Mustang Round Up!

Last day to donate will be Thursday, March 30th as there will be no school on Friday, March 31st.

Thank y'all so much!!

The Dyslexia Department has been facilitating the state-mandated dyslexia screener for all first graders in AISD. Many families will be hearing about dyslexia for the first time and may want information. The Dyslexia Department is happy to support community meetings and provide reputable resources. They have Tools, Tips, & Ideas for Family Information Meetings with reputable resources to use and can put you in touch with the campus Dyslexia Designee. Please let the Dyslexia Department know how we can support you in providing information when needed.

Dear Families,

Our district values your feedback! We are currently surveying Menchaca Elementary families in order to gain insight into your perception of our school and district effectiveness. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.

To administer these surveys, we have partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our 2023 Family Survey. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses

confidential. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete, and will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and district as

good as they can be.

The survey is currently open and will close on Saturday, April 8th. You can use a computer, tablet, or smartphone by visiting the website: surveys.panoramaed.com/austinisd/family

Link to survey:

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/austinisd/family

The survey's language has the option to be changed to Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic. Just look on the upper left and click on the drop down menu.

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses!

Dear Menchaca Parents/Guardians,

We're looking for individuals to be part of our Career Showcase.

It highlights people in our community and showcases the various career/professional options.

Career exploration like this exposes students to occupations that they may have never known about. Sharing information about your world of work and how you got to where you are today will help empower students to set goals and understand the connection between work and school.

There are different options on how to participate. Let us know if you prefer to meet students in person on campus, submit a pre-recorded video of yourself answering questions, or do a live Zoom Q&A.

Videos can include workspace, what you do, how you got there, etc.

Ex: Pilot took a video in the cockpit and spoke about the importance of math for their profession.

If you or someone you know are interested, please email marisa.oconnor@austinisd.org with your name and profession.

April 6th would be the deadline to submit videos. The showcase would take place the week of April 10th.

Hi all,

Parents can access FREE healthcare for their children AND establish a primary care physician (pediatrician) for their child.

Please give the following link to this pediatrician's website to your parents:

https://www.liriospediatrics.org/

Hello Mustang Families!!

Our Health Room has run low on clothes to give to children whenever they have an accident or if they have a scrape and their clothes get torn.

Primary Clothes in need are pants/leggings sizes 6-8

But all clean and gently used clothes will be happily accepted from PreK3 to 5th grade.

These items can be dropped off at the Front Office just write on the sticky notes they provide that they're for the Health Room or Nurse.

Thank you so much!!

Dear Families,

This is a friendly reminder that if you need help getting your child eye glasses to please reach out to our school nurse - Ms. Peterman and our Parent Support Specialist - Ms. Alvarez. They can help.

Upcoming

• March is Women's History Month & Disability Awareness Month
  
• March 20-24 - Austin ISD Pride Week
• March 30 - Coffee with Principal Loyola
  
• March 31 - Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Holiday - No School
  

Next Month

• April 1 - Mustang Round-Up Carnival
• April 3 - CAC Meeting at 3:30 pm
  
• April 3 - 7 - Assistant Principal Appreciation Week
  
• April 4 - Librarian Appreciation Day
• April 5 - 6 - Essential Areas Day
• April 7 - Student Holiday
• April 11 - Student Market Day
• April 18 - Reading STAAR Test
  
• April 26 - Administrative Professionals' Appreciation Day
  
• April 27 - Science STAAR for 5th grade
  
• April 28 - Principal's Coffee