Cougar News
The Weekly Newsletter of Clint Small, Jr. Middle School
Newsletter for November 14th - November 18th
Letter from Principal Nelson
Cougar Nation!
We wish to thank all the parents and guardians who attended Wednesday’s learning walk and would love to see the number of participants increase for our next one. We met in the cafeteria prior to gauge what parents were interested in seeing, and then took three flights of stairs to check out all that was happening in our 6th grade academic classes. Upon entering each room, we were greeted by the sounds of students busily working in groups or eagerly answering questions presented by teachers. We paid special attention to the walls and boards which were adorned with anchors of support and made a point to check for agendas displayed prominently in each room. After our tour of science, math, and language arts, we debriefed in the hall to discuss what it was we saw and made sure to ask what it was we wish we had seen.
Parents loved the equal amount of enthusiasm from teachers and students and appreciated the engaging activities each class was involved in. The level of rigor was evident, and they even got to see a “slight of hand” magic trick Jill Smith performed for her Advanced Math class; she got them excited about classifying real numbers by teaching them first how to classify using cards with pictures of rappers, musicians, actors, and celebrities on them. This is what we in education refer to as “the Hook.” After our time on the third floor, we then made it down to the 400 wing to see artists, engineers, robotics experts, and performers (both choral and band) happily working in groups honing their crafts. Whether on the 3rd floor, or first floor, the take-away for all involved was that we have amazing, kid-centered teachers and students who love being at school.
Be sure to keep an eye out in future newsletters for the next date.
Fun Run Update: We are almost halfway to our goal of $25,000! Our no hassle, healthy way to raise funds for our school is catching fire and we fully expect to be at our goal by Friday of next week. Kids are reaping the rewards from earning pledges and we plan on doling out PRIDE, grade-level, and campus-wide rewards next week. That’s what makes this fundraiser so unique; we aren’t merely rewarding the individual, we’re incentivising teams to build unity. If you haven’t already, please sign up with the link below and register your student online and then send the info out to all your circles. www.thegetmovincrew.com
Check out our School Totals so far
Thanks for reading and we are looking forward to seeing all your friendly faces at the run on Friday. We’ve got quite the event planned on our .5 mile track (thank you Patton!) and want to make sure this is as memorable event as it is rewarding. We’re still in need of “swag bag” items and volunteers, so please let us know if you can help out.
Twitter Feed: If you’re curious as to what your kids are creating or learning during the day, be sure to follow me on Twitter @smallprincipal I try to update it daily with what is going on a school and share pictures from the various events I am lucky enough to attend.
Matthew Nelson
Principal
Small Middle School
(512) 841-6505
@smallprincipal www.smallmiddleschool.org
We are Thankful
We are collecting pies as a big "Thank You" to our Small Middle School teachers. We need your help to ensure we show our gratitude to our teachers for all of their hard work. Our goal is for each teacher and CSMS Staff member to take a pie home for the Thanksgiving break. At a minimum, we need to collect at least 100 pies and would appreciate your pie donations.
Pies can be homemade or store bought. They must all be covered.
If you would like to sign up to donate a pie or two, click the link below. Click the Sign up check mark and specify what kind of Pie you will bring.
Drop all pies in the main office starting Thursday at noon - Friday 3:00 pm.
Zombie Fun Run T-Shirts $6
Zombie Fun Run T-shirts will be on sale all week in the cafeteria at lunch time.
For sale during lunch this week Only $6!
Zombie Fun Run Cheat sheet!
Click the Big Yellow Star in the bottom right corner and the Students or Parents can create their page and connect to your PRIDE Team.
CSMS Zombie Fun Run Day Of and Prize Details: https://www.smore.com/rdhjv
Total School Zombie Run Income Level: https://secure.eventsonline.us/reg/getmovincrew/pub/school/483
PRIDE Class Leaderboard: https://secure.eventsonline.us/reg/getmovincrew/pub/school/leaderboard/483
Parents Register to run: https://www.smore.com/rdhjv
Sponsorship Information: https://sites.google.com/site/smallpta/zombie-fun-run-2016
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
Attendance is a major focus for AISD and CSMS. If students are not in class, we cannot instruct them and they cannot learn. In an effort to create a system to correctly track our absences, the district has implemented the school messenger attendance calling system. Absences will be reported to parents through an automated phone call each night. If you feel an absence is an error, please contact Julio Guerra, our attendance clerk, at 512-841-6702 or by email julio.guerra@austinisd.org
Did you know?
1.) You can submit an absence note online on our school website.
2.) If you need to pick-up your student before the end of the school day, you can send a note with the student to the main office before school starts. At that time, the student will be issued a "permit to leave" class. The parent still needs to meet the student in the main office at the time stated on the permit. If a student arrives late to school, he/she must check-in through the main office and be issued a "permit to enter."
3.) When a student is on a Field Trip, Mr. Guerra will make corrections to students attendance after he receives the list of students that actually attended the trip. This may take 1-2 days before you see the correction. As soon as he receives the list of students, he will promptly make the corrections to your student's attendance. You will be able to see this change on their attendance with the following code "FLD".
4.) Parents can also track attendance through the Parent Cloud, we highly recommend creating an account.
We thank you in advance for the attention you give in your cougars attendance.
Last week in pictures...
Students in Ms. Glaser’s class are working together to learn note counts.
Practice does make perfect in Ms. Miller’s Orchestra class.
Yearbook staff captures an engineering challenge in Mr. Kelly’s class.
Art and Theatre Teachers Ms. Hall and Ms. White having fun at the Texas Renaissance Festival
Thanks to Mr. Tabaras and Ms. White’s Art classes we have student work beautifying our Small hallways.
A Message from our PTA
All Zombie Fun Run Information can be found here HERE!
We are looking for Business sponsors for our Fun Run! CLICK HERE to learn how to Sponsor this event.
Attention 8th Grade Parents
8th Grade Students and Parents:
Plan to attend the highly engaging
Maroon and White Showcase Night at Austin High on November 30th!
This one-of-a kind event will allow future Maroons to explore all of the College and Career Ready programs that Austin High has to offer.
Tour the Culinary Arts Kitchen, the KAHS Film Studio, or learn more about the exciting opportunities in Project Lead the Way. Visit with teachers and students about the Academy of Global Studies experience, as well as our three newest academies, the Academy for Science & Innovation, the Academy for High Technology, and the Academy for Classical Studies.
The event will begin at 6:30pm in the Austin High Performing Arts Center, with a special performance featuring the many award-winning programs that Austin High has to offer. Families will then have time to visit with teachers and students representing all aspects of Austin High academics, electives, sports, and clubs. Mark your calendars for this exciting night!
Aaron Vohl
Austin High 9th Grade Administrator (M-Z)
(512) 414-7201
(512) 414-7373 fax
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