Cougar News
The Weekly Newsletter of Clint Small, Jr. Middle School
March 6th - March 10th
Letter from Principal Nelson
Cougar Nation-
I am back from San Diego and excited to report back. Firstly, to those of you who consider me fortunate to escape to what is considered the best weather in the country, I regret to inform you that the temp never rose above 56 and that it rained for the entirety of our trip. Add a blackout to the Mission Valley area and you have one homesick Texan.
High School High is all about Problem Based Learning to the utmost. In lieu of teachers and curriculum writers coming up with the scenarios, the school invites business owners, non-profit heads, and other entities into the school and have them present “real world” situations/problems to the students. The students then research, analyze, create, re-create, tweak, research again, re-create yet again, then present their solution to the problem. They have as long as they need (usually 4-6 weeks) and have a PBL project in all of their classes. Students need to be able to cooperate, collaborate, and communicate their vision to others in order to be successful. As for what successful means, it’s the journey more so than the destination.
Throughout my visit to the High School, the Middle School, and the Elementary, I couldn’t help be proud of the work we are doing here on campus. We know that students need to be challenged, and that the last thing our teachers use to do so is a textbook or worksheets. Teachers know that kids need to solve real-world problems in school in order to solve real-world problems. Whether it be Ms. Dunaway’s math class calculating the surface area of all the columns in school in order to buy enough paint, or our Green Tech and 6th grade Advanced Math students creating proposals for the Superintendent for new portables on campus, the buy-in is immediate whenever our students see applications that extend beyond the classroom. Use your student’s embedded curiosity and natural inclination to help solve problems the next time your household faces a dilemma or you need to figure out a better system for sorting laundry. Who knows, maybe one of their ideas will make its way from the household and onto the set of Shark Tank.
Go Love Now: Next week all grade levels will participate in a Go Love Now assembly in the gymnasium during PRIDE. Think of this as a Pep Rally for Positivity! We want our students to love one another and to celebrate our differences and the Go Love Now team is here to help through assemblies, workshops, and one-on-one conversations with kids. We are extremely excited about the partnership and can’t wait to share all the good news.
Have a great week! If you have the inclination to, be sure to send our very own Marlo Malott an email congratulating her on her appointment as the new Principal of O. Henry Middle School. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to work with her are better off for having done so. She is a total pro, through and through, and the community of O. Henry is lucky to have her. True, we will miss her immensely here on campus, but the gifts and treasures she leaves behind (advanced programming, Green Tech, PTLW, and on and on and on and on) will stay with our campus and community for many years as it is what’s best for kids. Good luck Marlo!
Matthew Nelson
Principal
Small Middle School
(512) 841-6505
@smallprincipal www.smallmiddleschool.org
7th and 8th grade Girls:
Track clinic on Monday, March 6 from 3:45-5:00.
Any girls interested in Track please plan on attending.
Ultimate Frisbee Club
7th & 8th Grade Boys Track Tryouts/Time Trials
Time: 3:45 - 4:45
- Meet in the locker room
- Must have a physical on file with the coaching staff.
- Wear athletic clothing and running shoes.
Attention Incoming 6th Graders
Band Instrument Selection Night
The Clint Small Band will be having our Instrument Selection Nights in March! Any students who are interested in taking band class in 6th grade should attend.
Oak Hill Students
- Tuesday, March 21 at Oak Hill Elementary - 4:15-6:00
Patton & Mills Students
- Wednesday, March 22 at CSMS Cafeteria - 4:45-7:45
If you are unable to attend one your designated night you may attend the other one. Find more info on our website: http://clintsmallmsband.weebly.com/beginning-band.html
Coupons/In-Kind Donations/Sponsorships
We asked the kids what they want for prizes at the carnival for games and they overwhelmingly said... Free Food (Teenagers!) - Since our Carnival is a fundraiser, offering food as prizes is out of our budget. So, we asked, would they like coupons for free food instead. The answer was a resounding YES!!!!
This is where you can help...
Do you have a connection to a local business that would be willing to donate to our Carnival?
We are looking for...
- Coupons - Free or buy 1 get 1 free coupon to local restaurants or middle school friendly businesses (Think: Altitudes or Wendy's Frosty)
- In-Kind Donations - items we can raffle off that the kids would be interested in (Think: Party packages to Paint Ball, Gift cards to clothing stores...)
- Sponsorships - Monetary sponsorships of Booths or activities at our Carnival to help underwrite our carnival expenses. (We will offer sponsorship packages to build a partnership with local businesses and Clint Small Middle School
Please send all leads for this part of Carnival to our PTA President and Silent Auction Chair Ms. Alyson Spier at alysonspier@icloud.com or Carnival Chair Jennifer Newell at jennifer.newell@austinisd.org
Thank you!!!!
Mountain Laurel Seeds - all colors wanted
Thanks!
2017-2018 Registration
Online registration for school year 2017-18 begins March 1st.
All current\new to AISD students need to register for the upcoming school year.
Please click here for step by step instructions.
Any questions? Call Diane Ewing 512-841-6710
6th Grade Learning Walk
Mr. Nelson will be hosting a parent learning walk specifically for parents\guardians of current 6th grade students. Parents\guardians will have an opportunity to observe the 7th grade classrooms in action and get a feel for the classes offered.
7th Grade learning walk to be scheduled after spring break.
If you have any questions contact Jennifer.newell@austinisd.org
Austin High School Football
Mark Your Calendars NOW
AHS Football Booster Club Meeting THURSDAY, MARCH 30 at 6:30 pm
Where: Maroon Room at AHS
Get All the Scoop from Head Coach Mike Rosenthal about the Freshman, JV & Varsity Teams
Hear from the Boosters Chairs about Membership, Volunteer Opportunities & More
BE INFORMED, JOIN THE BOOSTER CLUB, WIN PRIZES (Oh Yea)
The next meeting will not be until August, so here’s your chance to be ON THE BALL!
Questions: Contact AHS Football Booster Club Chairs
Ashley Unbehagen--ashleyunbehagen@yahoo.com or Jill Scott- jill@icheckout.com
Message from the PTA
The following openings are the one we will have for the 2017-2018 school year: Vice-President Position, Treasurer Position, Cougar Cage Chairperson, and, Spring Carnival Chairperson.
Please contact Alyson Spier, alysonspier@icloud.com or 512-965-4251, at your earliest convenience for more information.
Clint Small, Jr. Middle School
Email: jennifer.newell@austinisd.org
Website: http://www.smallmiddleschool.org/
Location: 4801 Monterey Oaks Boulevard, Austin, TX, United States
Phone: (512) 841-6700