Principal's Message

Important Dates

Survey for Astor's Spanish Speaking Families

Astor's 2nd Annual Warm Welcome!

Community Care Day

Staff Leaving Us and Changes for 2022-2023

School Supply Lists for 2022-2023

Class Lists for 2022-2023 (repeat message)

SMART Reading Program - 2022-2023

Facilities Updates

Hello Astor Families,

We are past the halfway mark of the summer! This is a quick newsletter update to let you know about some of the calendar of events occurring prior to and immediately after the start of the school year. There have also been a few changes around Astor and we want to be sure that you know about them. We also have the school supply lists for middle school students below, too!

You will be receiving a message about your child's teacher for the 22-23 school year in mid-August. Our office reopens on August 9th, so please reach out if you have any questions about the upcoming school year. And, in August, you can expect a welcome back letter from me regarding other important information.

I'm looking forward to our school year together, but, until that day, I hope that the rest of your summer is safe and filled with wonderful family time.

Warmly,

Blake Robertson

Principal @ Astor

August

9th - Astor Office Reopens

11th and 12th - Astor Office Closed due to District Meetings

18th at 5:30pm - Connect to Kindergarten @ Astor

24th- First Day for Teachers

27th from 9am to 12pm- Project Community Care Day

29th from 4:30pm to 6:00pm- 2nd Annual Warm Welcome at Astor -

30th - First Day of School for Grade 1-8

September

1st - Half of Kindergarten Has Full Day

2nd - Other Half of Kindergarten Has Full Day

6th - First Full Day for All Kindergarteners

(This is a survey for our Spanish Speaking families)

¡Feliz verano, familias latinas de Astor! Quisiéramos invitarles a organizar el primer evento latino de nuestra escuela Astor. El evento sera el miércoles, el doce de octubre a las 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Las maestras Renee Espinoza (segundo grado) y Alexandra Hagen (escuela intermedia) estan empezando a planear el evento y necesitamos sus ideas y apoyo y comunidad! Por favor, contesta las siguientes preguntas y pónganse en contacto con nosotros con cualquier comentario.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVYzGhuc20iYThJ6v8fpfQOJ7rpTIYGtZ8FpQLVALwV4kJNw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Monday, August 29, 2022 | 4:30pm-6:00pm

Attention all Astor students and families! It's our second annual warm welcome at Astor! You can find information about the event here. We hope to see you there.

Saturday, August 27, 2022 | 9:00am-12:00pm

Project Community Care is a wonderful opportunity for community members to help beautify our school grounds before students return for the school year! Volunteers come together to complete tasks from weeding, to picking up litter, to spreading mulch around flower beds.

Together we can grow a sense of community and school stewardship.

Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Your time and energy will make a direct impact on students, families, teachers, and the neighborhood. PPS appreciates all of the effort and enthusiasm that goes into making this event possible!

Since the end of the 21-22 school year, we've had a couple changes for the upcoming school year. First, Ms. Thomason has made the difficult decision to retire. I know that she will be missed by students, families, and colleagues alike. She has served our community for so many years as a kindergarten teacher. Please join me in wishing her well in her retirement and thanking her for all she's done for the Astor community. Thank you Ms. Thomason!

Also, Ms. Deacon has decided to take a position outside of PPS. She will be missed at Astor, and we've appreciated all she's done as our 6th grade teacher these past two-years. Thank you Ms. Deacon!

We are in the process of hiring new staff for these roles. These hiring teams are made up of admin, teachers, and parents. Thank you to these teams for their work over this summer to ensure that we are fully staffed in the fall. At this time, there are no other staffing changes for the 22-23 school year.

Finally, we are excited to announce several increased and new positions. Ms. Oswald, our MS counselor, is increasing from half to full time! And, Ms. Theresa, our social worker, is increasing from half to full time, as well! We are adding a student success advocate and an educational assistant (both in process of hiring) to our staff, as well. These additional funds were provided to TSI and Middle Schools after the end of the school year.

Kindergarten to 5th grade

Supplies are purchased by the school for students in grades K-5. We kindly ask that parents send a donation of 30 dollars if possible to support the cost of these supplies. Parents may certainly donate more or less, as well. We appreciate the help purchasing these materials for our students.

Middle School

This year, we are asking for students to bring their own school supplies. You can find a list of these supplies here and below. We will make supplies available for any students that need assistance acquiring them.

• 2.5 inch D-Ring binders (suggested, sturdy brands: Office Depot, Avery, or Cardinal)
  
• Zipper pouch with holes to fit 3 ring binders and pencil box
  
• pens (blue and black)
  
• pencils (4 packs of 12 - suggested brand Ticonderoga)
  
• pencil sharpener (that collects shavings)
  
• colored pencils (12 or more colors)
  
• highlighters (assorted colors)
  
• clear ‘scotch’ tape--individual dispensers
  
• Loose-leaf college ruled lined paper pack (around 150 per pack)
  
• White out tape
  
• White erasers

Our process for creating class lists for the 2022-2023 school year is complete. This process includes teachers in students' current grade level creating a new balanced grouping of students for their future grade, a review of the lists by our student intervention team, special education, student support team, and administration. The final piece of the list creation is placing teachers with their lists for 2022-2023.

This will all be finalized in early August and parents will receive notification of their child's teacher at that time. We do not send it out sooner as staffing changes (although we hope unlikely) may occur.

As a reminder, we are not able to honor requests for specific teachers. Thank you for your understanding with this.

SMART Reading is a program that connects our students with free books and a positive reading experience during school with volunteers. This year, we did not have the volunteer component of this program due to health and safety protocols. However, next year, we are looking to involve volunteers in this work again.

If you are interested in volunteering once a week to read to students or to take on the role of volunteer coordinator at Astor, then please reach out to Blake Robertson at brobertson@pps.net. He'll connect you with the SMART reading program. Thank you!

Below are a few updates about our facilities and some exciting new upgrades around campus. A huge shout out to our custodial staff (led by Ms. Shiwaye) for their work preparing the school for next school year. And, a big thanks to the PTSO for the endless work in creating an incredible and welcoming playground space.

Updates

• All the water fixtures in the school are currently being replaced. The new water fountains will have added filtration and bottle filling.
• The entry at the back of the school is getting a new camera and call button. The NE hallway on the school is getting a badge reader, as well. These are safety and security upgrades. As a reminder, all visitors should always utilize the front entrance of the school and sign in when on campus.