Cougar Nation-

Next week is all things STAAR on campus, so here are a few tips, tricks, and schedules to get you ready for the event.

Who is testing? Every student in grades 6, 7, and 8 will be testing when on campus Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday, the 18th, will be the Math STAAR test, and Wednesday, the 19th, will be the STAAR Reading test. So, if your student is on campus, h/she will be testing. The only exception will be for Algebra students who have already taken the EOC Math test. Those students will learn synchronously in the Library on the 18th and then test with all other students on campus on Wednesday for Reading.

What about 8th grade? On Thursday, our 8th grade students on campus will take the Science STAAR exam while grades 6 and 7 will follow their normal schedule. Likewise on Friday, when our 8th grade students on campus will take the STAAR U.S. History exam.

Books? Regardless of which day your student is testing, please make sure they have a book or something to read upon completion. We are dedicating 4 hours to the exam and if they finish sooner, they’ll need to do something to occupy their time. ChromeBook use, phones, and even drawing are prohibited until all students in the testing room are done. We will have books available, but tis’ better to be prepared.

Can they eat? Since students will be eating a tad later than regularly, we suggest they bring some healthy snacks for the morning. Just make sure they are not too messy (cheetos for example) or produce an odor that may distract fellow testtakers (I’m talking to you Cool Ranch Cornnuts).

Test Hack #1: Remind students to pace themselves and to check and double check each answer before they submit. If they find themselves spending too much time on one question, make sure they know to skip it and to come back to it later. The future questions and answers may jog their memory or they feel more confident after a series of successes.

Test Hack #2: On these exams, there are 4 choices per question and one is always obviously not the answer. Once they eliminate that one, there are but three. One of the three will be way less correct than the other two, eliminate that one and then they will be left with only two choices. Worst case scenario then if they are still lost is that it basically a coin flip: 50/50. If they can use this strategy for questions they are unsure of, they’ll be much more successful.

Math Hack: One thing STAAR loves to do in regards to mutli-step problems is place the answer of step one, or step two, in the answer choices when there is still a 3rd step to complete. This makes the test more of a brain teaser, but they do it anyway. Make sure your student works out all the steps of the problem before h/she looks at the answer choices. Often times students will work step 1, see it as an answer choice, then immediately fill it in and move on. Make sure they know that TEA is deliberately trying to trick them into this answer and to continue working out the problem. We hate this technique because it’s not simiilar to real-world probems and just plain unfair. However, if they read and reread the question in its entirety and know how many steps they will need to reach an answer, they should be fine.

Where will they test? The majority of students will be testing on one of three locations: the Big Gym (7th grade), the Small Gym (8th grade), and the Cafeteria (6th grade). Exceptions will be for students who are receiving oral or small group accommodations. These students will test in four rooms on their academic floor: 100s (8th grade), 200s (7th grade), and 300s (6th grade). Your student will be given their testing room assignment on Monday and we will also have a list printed for them Tuesday morning hanging outside the cafeteria in the courtyard.

Testing Schedule: Attached is the schedule for testing next week. Next week's schedule If your student is on campus, they will follow the testing schedule. If learning remote, they’ll follow the online learning portion. Remote learners will have a similar schedule to what they are experiencing now, but with an extended lunch period. It is advised to use this extra time for reading since we will not be having PRIDE all week and that is when we normally require silent reading on certain days.

On-Campus Basics: The tardy bell rings at 8:15, Students are let into the building at 8:00 am. Each student must wear a mask, have their temperature taken and pass a covid-19 screening app to be let into the building. You can find the covid screener in the AISD App. Students are expected to finish the day after the STAAR exam. Make sure they have their schedule either printed or on their phones so they know where to go for their afternoon classes. School ends at 3:50, but we do a stagger release starting at 3:35.

There. That’s all we got for next week as of this writing. Chances are there will still be changes made prior. If and when those changes do occur, we will do our best to let you know before hand.

Have a great weekend!

Matthew Nelson

Principal

Clint Small Middle School

(512) 841-6705

www.smallmiddleschool.org matthew.m.nelson@austinisd.org

Induction Ceremony for 2019-2020 (current 8th graders who were selected for NJHS as 7th graders last Spring) and for 2020-2021 (current 7th graders who have been recently selected) NJHS members will be held on May 20th at 7:30pm. Current NHS members from LASA will be hosting and welcoming new members and we will have a very special guest speaker! The virtual ceremony should last about half an hour (no commute time!)

Mrs. Manners, your NJHS sponsor, has the emails for the students in 7th and 8th grade as well as the adults-of-7th-graders and she will send a Zoom link to those emails closer to May 20th. If you are an adult-of-an-8th-grade NJHS member who would like to attend the virtual ceremony, please send an email to christie.manners@austinisd.org with the emails of anyone you'd like included (grandparents, bonus parents, etc). Please include the name of your NJHS member and "Zoom Link Request" in the subject line.

When: June 28 – July 1

Where: Small Middle School gym

Who:

• Boys and Girls entering 3rd – 5th grades 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
• Boys and Girls entering 6th – 9th grades 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Cost: $100 per camper

The Austin High Basketball Camp will focus on teaching the fundamentals of basketball and will provide campers the opportunity to improve and have fun with the game. Each camper will receive individual as well as group instruction from professional coaches. Coach Brad Ingram, head boys basketball coach at Austin High, will be the Camp Director. All equipment will be provided. Students will need to bring their own water bottle.

Sign up online at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI2AXbNcpoAvgQIcS-SKnkh2owOX_TIYkmqaDhCyvcUj2png/viewform link and pay at https://austinisd.schoolcashonline.com/ (search for Austin High Basketball Camp)

We have three dates available for TRYOUTS

(1) Thursday, April 22

(2) Thursday, April 29

(3) Thursday, May 6

If you are interested in speaking to our CAC using our Citizen Communication time, please email our CAC chair Co-Chair Chasee chappellhudgins@mac.com for the meeting Zoom details.

Citizens Communications. For all regular and other plenary meetings of the CAC, time at the beginning of the meeting shall be set aside for citizens communications. This time is specifically for non-members to make comments to the CAC. The Co-Chairs may limit the time for citizens communications and the time given to individual speakers. The Co-Chairs shall ensure that the district’s “Citizens Communications and Visitor Guidelines” are applied. Under these guidelines, except for requests for clarification, dialogue shall not occur between speakers and members. If the CAC is interested in hearing more from a speaker, the speaker may be invited to a future meeting and placed on the agenda specifically for that purpose. Or, the CAC may call a special meeting specifically for the purpose of open dialogue with non-members (e.g., a “community conversation”), but it must be posted for discussion on a specific topic or topics.

Parents, are you looking for a way to give back to teachers and staff at Small Middle School?

We (A handful of Small Parents) have found a free and very effective way to show some love and thought we would share it with you all.

RAVE: Recognizing All Valuable Employees

Let's send some sparkly gratitude to our faculty & staff this holiday season with an AISD RAVE submission!

• Does your student have a favorite teacher?
• Has someone at Small (or any other AISD School) gone above and beyond for you and your family?
• Do you want to support teachers and let everyone (Teacher, Principal, AISD District) know about it?

All of our faculty and staff have gone above and beyond this semester. The best free, easy, sparkly way to show our gratitude is via the RAVE form on the AISD website (link below.) It only takes a couple of minutes to complete!

This form is received by AISD administration. RAVE submissions mean a lot to teachers and staff. It's equivalent to a virtual hug! And, there's never been a better time to remind the Superintendent how indispensable they all are.

Please submit a RAVE for any teacher or staff member (current or from school years past.)

Maybe send one or two a day! You do need the first and last name of the employee you wish to RAVE about. Those can be sourced on Small's Staff Directory :

https://www.austinisd.org/schools/small/directory

Flooding AISD administration with positive feedback will make an important and lasting impact. Let's make this holiday season sparkle a little extra with RAVES!

https://www.austinisd.org/hr/customer-service/rave

Thank you,

Small Parents