Cougar News
Week of 10/11/21 - 10/15/21
Reminder, No school on Monday (10/11)!
Letter from Principal Nelson
Cougar Nation-
No rest for the weary, except, of course for your weary students who will be off-campus this upcoming Monday so your talented staff and I can get in some training and catch up on all of the rigmarole we have accumulated since August. We get an opportunity to come together to celebrate and learn and then plan the path that will take us up to Thanksgiving Break and beyond. Teachers need this time to get with their professional learning communities to discuss what has worked, what needs tweaking, and how they can engage our students who have got it while finding ways to address the needs of those who haven’t as of yet.
Normal’ish:
Check out this chart below and let it guide your discussions with your student about success in secondary. We have to remind ourselves of this each day as we deal with students and their struggles adapting to the somewhat new demands of middle school. Say what you will about this year still not being considered normal (the wearing of masks, sign-in seating for the cafeteria, limited activities, etc…) but whatever we have during this campaign is certainly more traditional than the last 18 months. What is most abnormal is our students’ emotional maturity in contrast to their physical growth. We constantly need to remind ourselves as educators that perhaps the reason they are behaving this way is that they have yet to be taught the correct behavior nor have had many opportunities to put what they have learned into practice. We are using kids’ gloves at this point in regards to consequences and taking advantage of every learning opportunity we can in an effort to get them on the correct page and up to par.
HB4545, Accelerated Instruction, and Small Groups:
As you are well aware by now, TEA has passed HB4545 to help with the disruption of the 2020-2021 school year. For any student who did not pass the STAAR Assessment in Math or Reading, campuses will now provide 30 minutes of Accelerated Instruction once a week for the remainder of the school year. Likewise, if your student did not take the STAAR tests, h/she is also required to receive lessons/tutorials in both English and Math. If your student did not take the STARR tests last year, h/she will not need to participate in Accelerated Instruction if they passed the beginning of the year (BOY) MAPS Growth test. If your student did not take the STAAR Assessments and did not meet the score in the BOY MAPS Growth tests, then h/she will need to participate in Accelerated Instruction.
We will be notifying families about Accelerated Instruction next week via email and letter. The letter will ask for your permission to opt out of the 3:1 Student to Teacher Ratio TEA originally attached to HB4545. With your permission, we will be able to service more students at a time and will not need to pull from electives, have to offer Saturday School, after-school tutorials, or summer school. We do not want to disrupt our students’ day in any way and would hate to have to pull them from a beloved elective class to participate in these tutorials. Please opt-in for larger tutorial classes and email me with any questions or concerns.
Traffic:
Now that we have a crossing guard posted on Monterrey Oaks before and after school, we’re seeing less congestion, and kids are, for the most part, all present and accounted for before the 8:20 bell. However, like all things in life, there are still things we can do to improve the situation. One thing we need from all of you is to have you continue to pull all the way up during drop off and pick up...even during the rain. We can stack 8 cars at a time after the crosswalk, 9 is some of them are sedans, which gets kids inside faster and safer. Please pull all the way forward if you are the first car in line and then all other cars please “mind the gap” and try not to leave too much space between vehicles.
Thank you in advance for your careful consideration of others during pick-up and drop-off times and for reading this newsletter. Have a great three-day weekend with your student and be sure to send me an email if you ever have any questions, concerns, or even kudos.
Matthew Nelson
Principal
Clint Small Middle School
(512) 841-6705
Come on out and cheer on our Volleyball Team!!!
Our 7th Grade girls VB team is playing in the City Championship
When: Thursday, Oct. 14
Where: at Burger Stadium
What Time: 6:00 pm game time
Vs. Who: O.Henry.
How to get tickets:
Tickets are available online only. Go to https://gofan.co/app/school/TX76643
LETS GO COUGARS!!!!
Sponsor Small?
Girls Basketball Tryouts
** Cougar Swag Bag Giveaway**
Haven’t joined PTA yet? Now’s the time!
Sponsored by the Clint Small PTA
- Join Clint Small PTA by November 1st, 2021 and be automatically entered to win a Cougar Swag bag with lots of Cougar gear and other goodies!
- Already joined PTA? Great. You are automatically entered!
- Drawing will be on November 4, 2021 and the winner will be contacted via the email provided to PTA.
Questions: contact membership@clintsmallmspta.org
Don’t delay, join today! www.joinpta.org
Ya eres parte de la Asociación de Padres? (PTA)
Ahora es el momento!
**Rifa de una Bolsa de regalo con artículos COUGAR**
Patrocinado por la Asociación de Padres de Small MS
- Inscríbete para ser parte del PTA antes del 1o de Noviembre del 2021 y entra automáticamente a la rifa de una bolsa con artículos COUGAR!
- Ya estás inscrit@? Perfecto! Participarás automáticamente en la rifa!
- La rifa se llevará a cabo el 4 de Noviembre del 2021 y el ganador será contactado al email que proporcionó al inscribirse!
Tienes preguntas?Contactános en membership@clintsmallms@pta.org
No esperes más, inscríbete ahora!
Order a Yearbook
Have your heard the new jingle staring our 6th grade choir? Check it out here.
Library
ATTENTION to all Small Business owners!!!
Do you want to be part of our newest Fundraiser?
Small is playing catch up from missing 4 big fundraisers for the last year and 1/2.
How can you help? By donating a small amount while advertising your business.
We are printing 4 x 4 banners with your logo and placing them on our school fence where traffic, parents and staff can view them.
Fundraiser will start in October and it ends August 2022.
If you are interested please contact Alejandra at mabm0378@gmail.co
ACL Music Festival PARKING
Park close to ACL on Friday, Oct 8
Benefits Austin High Girls Basketball
and Austin High Girls Softball
Buy Austin High ACL Parking for Friday, Oct 8
Team App:
https://austinhighgirlsbasketball.teamapp.com/clubs/566621/store/items/75156?_detail=v1
Venmo:
@Bballbooster
Purchase online and print or save your receipt on your phone for check-in.
Please put your name in the “Notes” section at checkout.
Email ahsladybball@gmail with any issues with payment.
Or pay in person on arrival, while space is available.
Paying online in advance guarantees parking only and not a specific spot or parking lot. All donations are final. Park at your own risk. The Austin High Girls Basketball, Austin High Girls Softball and Boosters are not responsible for theft or damage to your vehicle. We offer no in-and-out privileges.
WHERE DO I PARK?
East Side Lot: From MoPac, exit Cesar Chavez and take the first right just past Austin High (down and to your right as you head toward downtown), take the sharp U-turn to the east side of Austin High. Entrance to parking is straight ahead.
West Side Lot: Follow the instructions above, turning left on Stephen F Austin Dr after the U-turn, continue around the school property to the west side.
Both lots are also accessible via travel from Lake Austin Blvd onto Stephen F Austin Dr (west lot will appear first on your left) or from downtown exiting just as you approach Austin High.
How do I get from Austin High to ACL?
Walk west on the hike and bike trail, walk south on the pedestrian bridge below Mopac, continue east on the hike and bike trail towards the festival.
NJHS Meetings for SY 2021-2022
All students inducted into NJHS this spring are encouraged to attend as part of participating in NJHS. Meetings will be in Mx. Manners' room, 204, from 4:00-4:45. Students have been invited to join a BLEND course for NJHS and the BLEND course will be the best place for communications and updates regarding NJHS.
- Thursday, Sept 9
- Thursday, Oct 14
- Thursday, Nov 4
- Thursday, Jan 13
- Thursday, Feb 10
- Thursday, Mar 10
- Thursday, Apr 14
- Thursday, May 5, 19
Current 7th graders who are interested in NJHS: Watch the Cougar News in October for information about applying to NJHS! If you have any questions for contact Mx. Manners at christie.manners@austinisd.org
Join PTA
We have an enthusiastic new team of parents heading up the PTA this year. We are excited to partner with these amazing volunteers. If you have any questions regarding PTA, be sure to email our president Celeste Schooley celesteschooley@gmail.com with any questions.
In the meantime show your support for Small by joining the 21-22 PTA at https://www.joinpta.org/
Did you know as a PTA member, you have access to discounts for car rentals,
hotels, theme parks and more? Check out this link for more perks:
Cougar Club
Check out the flyer below
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