Cougar Nation-

As the countdown to Winter Break begins, we want to make sure you are aware of the happenings in and around Smallville USA.

Calendar for next school year:

You will soon receive an email from AISD in regards to your input for the academic calendar for next year. Much like politics, we cannot share our preference as to which one we prefer; all we can do is encourage you to vote. Please vote so AISD can hear your voice and use the data to provide our students and staff with the best possible schedule for next year.

Speaking of next year’s schedule, there has been a lot of news of late about how many classes students will have and whether or not we will still be able to use our current block schedule. I am proud to announce that during a secondary principals meeting this Wednesday, the assembled middle and high school principals all came together and lobbied for the continuation of a block schedule and eight classes for next year. In fact, the schedule voted upon most by the constituents was our modified block schedule, with the difference being that C-day would run on a Monday instead of Friday. This makes the most sense to us since Monday is the most common day of the week holidays fall on. I was honored to have my voice heard in such an important discussion and even more honored to be amongst a group of professionals whose only concern was doing what is best for kids.

School Safety:

There is no greater task for the principal than keeping students safe. In fact, when students ask me what I do all day, I immediately respond “keep students safe...and write emails.” That being said, do know that our team is always prepared and takes any and all threats extremely seriously. Whenever our office receives word of a threat (verbal, online, social media) we jump into action and begin investigating thoroughly. When it comes to threats of violence against the campus, others, or themselves, there is no such thing a “just making a joke” or
“being funny.” We are thankful that the vast majority of the incidents reported to the office are not deemed legitimate and always use the opportunity to teach the student in question about the severity of making threats, regardless of intent. For us to remain safe and secure, we are counting on our students and staff and remind them that if they see something, say something. On social media, if they read something, say something. If in the halls and they hear something, say something.

Winter Assembly:

Taking a cue from Late Night Television, we will be broadcasting this year’s Winter Assembly Live via tape delay. It will be filmed in front of a live studio audience in the morning and then shared with the masses during the afternoon. We will send a link to the video through this communication and also post it on the website. That’s right, on Friday, December 17th you will be getting an early Holiday present courtesy of our amazing Fine Arts department.

Thank you for reading and for allowing us to work with your student each day. If you ever have any concerns, questions, or even kudos, please feel free to contact me.

Matthew Nelson

Principal

Clint Small Middle School

(512) 841-6705

www.smallmiddleschool.org

matthew.m.nelson@austinisd.org

Hi everyone, I am Amanda Elliott the new attendance specialist at Small. I am excited to be working with everyone and look forward to getting to know you. We have updated the Small Website Attendance page and can submit notes online. This will allow for less paper and will help make Small a Greener Campus. On the Attendance Page you can now enter an absence and request an early pickup. Remember when picking up students early to give us at least an hour notice. This will ensure you are not waiting for your student for up to 15 minutes to arrive when you get here. It helps saves you time as well and will make sure you get to where you need to go as well. You can still handwrite an excuse note as well if needed. Don't forget that school starts right at 8:20. If you arrive after that your student will be marked Tardy. Please feel free to contact me with any questions by email at amanda.elliott@austinisd.org or directly at 512-841-6702. Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

Hola a todos, soy Amanda Elliott, la nueva especialista en asistencia de Small. Estoy emocionado de trabajar con todos y espero conocerlos. Hemos actualizado la página de Asistencia a sitios web pequeños y podemos enviar notas en línea. Esto permitirá menos papel y ayudará a que Small sea un campus más ecológico. En la página de asistencia ahora puede ingresar una ausencia y solicitar una recogida anticipada. Cuando recoja a los estudiantes temprano, recuerde avisarnos con al menos una hora de anticipación. Esto asegurará que no espere a que su estudiante llegue hasta por 15 minutos cuando llegue aquí. También le ayuda a ahorrar tiempo y se asegurará de que llegue a donde necesita ir. También puede escribir a mano una nota de excusa si es necesario. No olvide que la escuela comienza a las 8:20. Si llega después de eso, su estudiante será marcado como Tarde. No dude en comunicarse conmigo con cualquier pregunta por correo electrónico a amanda.elliott@austinisd.org o directamente al 512-841-6702. Que tengas una maravillosa temporada navideña.

https://small.austinschools.org/parents/attendance

An easy way to help is to order on Amazon and have it shipped to Small at 4801 Monterey Oaks Blvd. Austin, TX 78749 - Please wait until we get back from Thanksgiving break :)

Have your heard the new jingle staring our 6th grade choir? Check it out here.