Panda Parent Newsletter

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Hello & Happy New Year Panda Families!

Welcome back from Winter Break! We hope you had some time to rejuvenate and relax with friends and families. We are so happy to see all of our faculty, families, and scholars back on campus. Please refer to our December newletter for important information. We look forward to these final few weeks of school to wrap up the first half of the year!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Dimas

Greetings Panda Families,

My name is Linda Perez and I am your Anita Uphaus Early Childhood Center Parent Support Specialist. We hope you have had a wonderful first half of the year.

You can expect periodic newsletters from myself, and several of the classroom teachers to keep you up to date as to what is happening here at Anita Uphaus and in the classrooms.

A good way of staying up to date on school information is to visit our website at www.uphaus.austinschools.org . From there, you can find several sources of information that will keep you informed of all the happenings at Anita Uphaus. We are excited to begin the 2023-2024 school year. If at any time during the school year you feel the need to contact me, please feel free to call me, Linda C. Perez, Parent Support Specialist at (512) 414-5520 Ext. 58514 or by email at linda.c.perez@austinisd.org

We hope to partner and collaborate with you to have a successful school year. Your involvement and partnership is important. There is no one like you!

As your Parent Support Specialist, I can assist you in several ways. In working together, I can:

• Find resources you may need- I can help find assistance when needed.

Learn new things about school and how to help your child succeed. Look for workshops for parents throughout the year!

• Become leaders in our school!

Your input and participation in the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) and other school committees such as Campus Advisory Council (CAC)

• Become a Parent Volunteer! Volunteers are welcomed and needed!

Everyone who volunteers will need to attend a volunteer orientation and complete a successful background check.

• Doors open: 7:10 am
• Arrival Time: 7:10 thru 7:40 am
• Tardy Bell: Rings at 7:40 am
• Dismissal Time: 3:10 pm

Families,

As the school year begins, here are a few reminders that will assist with our arrival/dismissal procedures. Attached you will find our map for Arrival & Dismissal. Please assist us in following traffic rules. We thank you in advance for helping to keep our staff, scholars, and parents safe.

During morning drop off, parents and parent guardians will be allowed to:

• walk their child(ren) up to the designated campus entrances at the school.

• If you are walking them to the designated drop off areas, please make sure you cross at the student crosswalk for your safety. Parents must park in a designated parking spot and walk your child across.

• Go through the designated drive-thru entrances at the school

During after school pick up, parents and parent guardians will be allowed to:

• pick up their child(ren) at the designated campus pick-up areas at the school
• Go through the designated drive-thru exits at the school

Please do not:

Block the flow of traffic in and out of school premises.

Speed in a school zone.

Use cell phone in school zone.

Due to safety reasons, parents and parent guardians will NOT be allowed to walk children to their classrooms.

REMINDERS: Please be mindful of your speed during pick up & drop off. Speed limit should not exceed 5 mph.

NO CELL PHONE use in an active school zone. Please put your cell phones down.

Panda Families,

• Please place your car sign on your windshielf for parent pick up. Our dismissal process goes much faster when all signs are visible.

• PK4 & Kinder families- Please allow PK3 families to go around the outer lane to drop off their scholars on the far right side. Reminder: Outer lane (PK3) & Inner lane (PK4 and Kinder).

• Parents- Please ensure that your scholar is in the back passenger side of your car. Your assistance allows us to keep the traffic flowing quickly.

• Scholars will NOT be dismissed after 2:30 from the office. Buses and dismissal procedures are in place at this time. All staff are on duty getting scholars ready to go home.

Thank you in advance for your assistance with this!

Students currently have temporary badges and will soon be receiving permanent ones. Please review the policy below for lost badges. Your student must bring their name badge to school every day.

Monday is Uphaus T-shirt day (if your scholar has one).

Friday is Colleget T-shirt day (if your scholar has one).

Access, Attendance, and Grades: Please be mindful that in order to receive grades as prescribed in the Texas Education Code, Section 25.092 and Senate Bill (SB) 140 of the 82nd Legislative Session, a student must attend 90% of the given class. Students must also receive instruction in the subject matter for which the grade is given.

ALL AISD students will receive a technology device. ALL devices will remain at school.

Parents,

Anita Uphaus will be participating in the Brighter Bites program which provides healthy fruits and vegetables to families. We hope you can sign up to receive these delicious foods.

Our Brighter Bites Enrollment Forms are available online! Scan the QR code to enroll.

One application per family. If you have multiple students enrolled, please only fill out 1 application. If you need assistance, please contact our Parent Support Specialist, Mrs. Linda Perez.

If you would like to volunteer to help with Brighter Bites....please sign up on the link below (APIE).

Campus Lunch for Parents:

Campus will open for parents to eat lunch with their scholar beginning Oct. 2. Parents must sign in at the front office and get a visitor sticker. Parents will have to sit in the area provided outside of cafeteria doors. Scholars must eat their lunch during their designated 30 min lunch time. Scholars must return with their class when their designated lunch time is over.

Reminders:

• Parents may only be allowed to eat with their own scholar.
• No phones allowed during lunch time
• Be mindful if your child has a hard time with you leaving.
• Parents need to sign out at the front office when the lunch is over

Uphaus Lunch menu is sent in a hard copy to families. Please let us know if you need one.

Happy New Year!

Check out the January @AustinISD elementary school menu. You can view daily, weekly, and monthly menus for all schools at http://SchoolCafe.com/AustinISD. Menus are subject to change.

¡Feliz año nuevo! Consulte el menú de la escuela primaria de Enero de @AustinISD

. Puede ver los menús diarios, semanales y mensuales de todas las escuelas en http://SchoolCafe.com/AustinISD. Los menús están sujetos a cambio.

Panda Family,

We want to welcome our newest Panda Family member, Mrs. Elia Diaz-Eskew! She has officially accepted the role of Assistant Principal for our campus. Ms. Eskew was currently serving as a substitute Assistant Principal. She has worked in various capacities for the district such as Principal, Assistant Principal, Reading specialist, Literacy coach, and teacher. Mrs. Diaz- Eskew comes to us with over 29 years of experience in education. We are so happy she is here and we want you to help us welcome her to our Panda Family! Welcome Mrs. Diaz-Eskew!

The Central Texas Food Bank’s social services team is continuing to assist clients with applying for SNAP (along with Medicaid, TANF, Healthy Texas Women, Medicare Savings Program, CHIP and CHIP Perinatal). We offer help with applications remotely and on-site. Our offices are located at 6500 Metropolis Drive, Austin, Texas 78744.

For the safety of our staff and the community we serve, we have implemented social distancing models and can see a limited number of clients at one time on-site at the Food Bank. To get help with applications on-site, please call our hotline to make an appointment first at 855-366-3401.

El equipo de servicios sociales del Central Texas Food Bank continúa ayudando a los clientes a solicitar SNAP (junto con Medicaid, TANF, Healthy Texas Women, Medicare Savings Program, CHIP y CHIP Perinatal). Ofrecemos ayuda con las aplicaciones de forma remota e in situ. Nuestras oficinas están ubicadas en 6500 Metropolis Drive, Austin, Texas 78744.

Para la seguridad de nuestro personal y la comunidad a la que servimos, hemos implementado modelos de distanciamiento social y podemos atender a un número limitado de clientes a la vez en el sitio del Banco de Alimentos. Para obtener ayuda con las solicitudes en el lugar, llame a nuestra línea directa para programar una cita primero al 855-366-3401.

Please note: if you are planning to volunteer for any event at school you must go through a

back ground check. You can do that clicking this link: https://austinpartners.org/get-involved/austin-isd-school-based-volunteer/

More information to come.

Please support the Uphaus PTA

PTA is an organization of parents and teachers coming together to advocate for our children and students. Your membership alone will give us a BIGGER voice in our school and community!

Membership is $10 for the year. This money goes towards student events, teacher appreciation and much more. PTA membership flyer going out soon!

January is School Board Recognition Month

Jan. 1-- Happy New Year!

Jan. 8- No School for Scholars/Staff Development

Jan. 9- Scholars Return to Class

Jan. 15- No School for Scholars & Staff (Martin Luther King Day)

Jan. 18- Brighter Bites Distribution Day

Jan. 25- Parent Book Club

Jan. 26- Parent Coffee Chat @ 8:30 pm

Jan. 30- CAC @ 3:30 pm

Jan. 31- Lead w/Love Session with Trustee Zapata - Linder Elementary 8:30-9:30 am

Jan. 31- 100th Day of School Dress up Day! Dress up like you are 100 years old!