Travis Early College High School
Fall Newsletter 2020
A Message from Ms. Arredondo, Principal
October 22, 2020
Dear parents/guardians,
I hope this message finds you well.
This week is midterm week at San Antonio College. Please review your child’s college grades (10-12th grade) in their ACES accounts. Many students are doing very well as they continue to work from home or from the campus. However, there are a few students struggling to keep up their grades and with attending their classes. Most of the students of concern are working from home. We are asking you review their progress and have a discussion on what their plan is to bring up their grades. If support is needed, ask students if they’ve reached out to their professors for support. They must take this first step to ask if they still have a chance of passing their class(es). Moving forward, they must be present in each class and submit all remaining assignments. Struggling students should also reach out to the campus to talk to one of the counselors or administrators. Travis teachers have been working with students since the college semester started in August. AVID teachers are ready to support students.
Ultimately, students who fail a class may not proceed to the next tentatively scheduled class, such as History 1302 or English 1302. They will return to the campus to complete their high school credit in January, and will still need to retake the current class they do not pass. Students will considered off-track from completing the Associates Degree. Moving forward after January, students off track will need to meet with the counselor to discuss options for possibly getting back on track.
Thank you and take care,
Adrianna L. Arredondo
Travis ECHS Principal
210-738-9830
Flu Shots by CVS
Lunch Bunch
Students can sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/TravisLBSignUp
Calming Kits distributed to students and staff courtesy of the Travis Counseling team
“Given the stressful times that students are currently experiencing, the activities provided in the calming kits can help students feel less overwhelmed by the situations faced on a daily basis, such as social distancing, feeling isolated or experiencing overwhelming fear for their health or the health of their family members,” said Adrianna Arredondo, principal at Travis. “It’s important to everyone’s individual stress level and happiness that we have at least one activity that we do regularly just for fun.”
These kits include a journal, mini-cube puzzle, Play-Doh, stress ball, mandalas and crayons.
“Whether it be writing in a journal, using Play-Doh, or coloring, these activities allow students and adults to ‘blow off steam.’ Students will be able to better handle the responsibilities that they must take care of at school and at home,” said Arredondo. “These activities can change attitudes toward life’s stressors so that students are less reactive to stress when they experience it.”
The kits were the brainchild of Kamilah Antoine, one of the two a counselors at Travis.
“We recognize that remote learning, whether you are on campus or at home, is really, really stressful,” Antoine said. “Students are stressed, their parents are probably stressed. Everybody is going through something really difficult right now and we want to help them by giving them this bag with tips and tools to help them relax.”
Antoine and fellow Travis counselor Jovita Ratnayeke were on-hand to give the bags of bliss to their students in a drive-through event last week.
“We are encouraging staff and students to appropriately use the contents to reduce tension and stress,” said Arredondo. “Although the items in the kits may seem simple and even a little juvenile, when used to appropriately de-stress, they are proven beneficial.”
How Can We Help You?
PSAT Exams for 10th & 11th Grade Students
9/11/12th grade will stay home to work asynchronously. (there, they will stay home on this day. DO NOT FORGET TO LOG IN)
PSAT/SAT Exams
October 14th is the designated date for 11th and12th grade PSAT / SAT exams. Only 11/12th grade students will be on campus to take the exams face to face.
Junior and Senior students will be excused from their college classes with the exception of students taking the ACT exam.
All high school classes 9-12th grade will be asynchronous.
10th grade students with college classes on the 14th will be expected to attend.
Mask Protection
Bacteria and viruses can live on cloth fabric for up to 8-12 hours. Part of wearing a mask is WASHING a mask. Please do not wear a mask with a vent or a gaiter mask to school.
What’s the best way to take off a face mask?
- Wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.
- Don’t touch the front of the mask or your face.
- Carefully remove your mask by grasping the ear loops or untying the ties. For masks with a pair of ties, unfasten the bottom ones first, then the top ones.
- If your mask has filters, remove them and throw them away. Fold the mask and put it directly into the laundry or into a disposable or washable bag for laundering.
- Clean your hands again.
How do I clean my face mask?
- Masks made of fabric, such as cotton, can be washed in your regular laundry using hot water.
- Disposable, blue surgical masks cannot be laundered or cleaned and should be thrown away when it is visibly soiled or damaged.
- After laundering your fabric masks, tumble dry them in the dryer on a high setting.
- You can also hand wash your mask, using hot, soapy water. Scrub the mask for at least 20 seconds, and dry them on high heat in the dryer.
- Store clean masks in a clean place when you are not using them.
Attendance
Please see below for the attendance for Monday and Tuesday, October 26 & 27.
October 26th
Attendance for the day: 97.9%
9th grade – 94.4%
10th grade – 100%
11th grade – 97.9%
12th grade – 100%
October 27th
Attendance for the day: 96.7%
9th grade – 94.4%
10th grade – 97.6%
11th grade – 97.9%
12th grade – 97.3%