Middle School Night
Thanks to our CM2 families and Middle School participants for joining us for our Middle School Night this evening. We enjoyed sharing about our fantastic program. And thank you to our Middle School team: Ms. Sandrine, Ms. Susan, Mr. Olivier, Ms. Marta, Ms. Valerie, & Ms. Prema, and Mr. Mark and Mr. Jacques for your participation!
Middle School Swap Day - Mon., 10/18
Each year, the Middle School and CM2 have a special day called Swap Day. It will take place next Monday, Oct. 18. It’s a chance for our CM2 students to discover our AIS middle school! That's right, our middle school students will be returning to Elementary for a day with our CM2 teaching team, while our CM2 students head to middle school!
Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Ups - Sat., 10/23 at 10:00 am
In support of health and safety measures related to the pandemic, Parent-Teacher Conference will take place virtually via Google Meets. The PTC Conference Manager will open for sign-ups on Saturday, October 23rd at 10:00 am and will remain open for sign-ups until Thursday, October 28th at 10:00 am. Families can access the Conference Manager by visiting https://austinis.schoolsoft.com/ and either logging on (returning families) or creating a new account by clicking the REGISTER NOW button. To ensure that you receive emails from the Conference Manager, we recommend adding "appointments@schoolsoft.com" to your Address Book.
Progress Reports Disseminated - Mon., 10/25
Progress Reports will be sent home on Monday, October 25th via email. Please read the email message sent with the progress report link for an explanation of the progress indicators on the progress reports. These documents are available through the link for 14 days, so don’t forget to save them for your records. If you have any questions about your child's progress report, feel free to reach out to your child's teaching team directly.
AIS Board Meeting - Wed., 10/27, 6:30 pm
The AIS governing Board of Directors will meet virtually on Wednesday, October 27th beginning at 6:30 pm. All members of the community are welcome to attend and observe the open session of the board meeting, which is structured to enable our volunteer board and the Head of School to conduct school business that requires board involvement. At the end of the open session, there will be approximately ten minutes allocated for public comments, during which members of the AIS community may voice feedback to the board.
Halloween at AIS - Thur., 10/28
Student Class Celebrations
Our students will celebrate Halloween with their classmates this year on Thursday, October 28th before early release. Unfortunately, due to our COVID protocols, we won't have parents joining us for the class celebrations. However, stay tuned for information from Room Parents and/or your class teachers for signup or volunteer needs for craft activities or refreshments.
Halloween Costumes
Students in CP and up may wear Halloween costumes to school per the following guidelines.
- no scary, bloody, or gory costumes
- no weapons or anything that resembling weapons
- no alcohol, tobacco, or drug-related props or accessories
- no suggestive costumes inappropriate for children
- all students must wear regular face masks (not Halloween masks).
Maternelle students may not wear costumes to school but may wear Halloween themedattire and colors.
Parent-Teacher Conferences/Half Day of School-Thur., 10/28
The school will close early on Thursday, 10/28 to conduct Parent-Teacher Conferences with our families beginning at 1:00 pm. All students will need to be picked up between 11:30 and 12:00 pm. We will adjust the announcement time on PikMyKid accordingly. Due to COVID restrictions, we do not have any childcare available. Please refer to the sign-up instructions above to secure a PTC session with your teachers.
AIS ADULT Spirit Night x 2! - Thur., 10/28
Thursday the 28th is a jam-packed day! We will host an Adults-only Spirit Night Event on Thursday, October 28th. We are excited about 2 exciting ways to participate in a fantastic Wine, Cheese, & More Tasting Class in partnership with Antonelli's Cheese Shop. Here are the 2 ways to celebrate with other AIS community members:
- Join us for an in-person Tasting to learn about 7 Styles of Cheese, along with Charcuterie, Snacks, Wine, and Chocolate....what more could you need? This event will take place at Antonelli's Cheese House with a limited (25) spots for vaccinated community members from 7-9 pm on Thursday, 10/28. Purchase your tickets for this in-person Spirit Night fundraiser here for $95/person.
- Once those fill up, or if you prefer the comfort of your own home, join us for the same experience virtually! Antonelli's will host a Virtual Wine, Cheese, & More Tasting from 6 -7 pm. A cheese and charcuterie tray with the same snacks, chocolate, and a bottle of wine will be available for pickup from the school to enjoy with your virtual experience. Purchase your tickets for this virtual Spirit Night fundraiser here at $95/person.
Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School - Fri., 10/29
We will hold Parent-Teacher conferences on Friday, October 29th. This is a staff workday and no childcare is available. Please refer to the sign-up instructions above to secure a PTC session with your teachers.
Head of School Coffee-Thur., 11/4 9:00 - 10:00 am
Join our Head of School, Jacques Weber, for a virtual Coffee from 9:00 - 10:00 am on Thursday, November 4th. The HoS coffees alternate with the PTO community coffees on the first Thursday of each month. This month's coffee will focus on Middle School! CM1 and CM2 parents, please join us!
AIS COVID Protocols: Move from Level 3 to Level 2
Based on current public health data and guidance, Austin International School will be moving from Level 3 to Level 2 protocols for face coverings, physical distancing, and cohorting. Though full details for our adaptive health and safety protocols can be found on page 9 of our 2021-2022 Campus Opening Guide, the following changes will take place beginning on Monday, October 18th:
- Masks continue to be required indoors at all grade levels.
- Masks are now recommended, though not required, while outdoors.
- At least 6’ of distance is required when masks are not being worn.
- Cohorts within the same grade level (e.g., CE1a and CE1b) may mix together indoors.
We continue to monitor the key indicators for staging each day in Austin and meet with officials from Austin Public Health each Friday morning. Our decisions to change adaptive protocol levels will always be data-informed and based on prudent recommendation from health experts. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jacques directly.
Family Directories
Some parents have inquired about email addresses for classmates. If parents have elected to share their contact information, you may access this from your Family Portal following these steps.
- Login to your ParentWeb account
- Open up the menu on the left under School,
- Look under Directory,
- Then to the right, you will see a directory of AIS families.
- You may search by name or filter by grade to find contact information.
We Need Your Feedback! Be Part of AIS's Next Strategic Plan
With our current strategic plan coming to an end in 2021, the Strategic Committee of the AIS Board of Directors is seeking community input as it plans for the next big steps in AIS’s future. Please share your thoughts—no matter how brief or how long—through this open-ended survey. Responses may be submitted in English, French, or Spanish. We truly value the input of all our community members and wish to thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts, hopes, and dreams for the future of our community!
October Student Birthdays
Happy Birthday, bon anniversaire, and feliz cumpleanos to the following students with October birthdays: Brooklyn T., Samuel K., Eleanor K., Carew A., Margot M., Yelena K., Atticus C., Marc-Olivier M., Daniel A., Ella M., James R., Mateo K., Gabriella V., Olivia E., Elijah C., Ines G., Giulia P., Livia P., Claire W., & Jacques W.
Save the dates
Mark these important upcoming dates on your calendars.
- 10/15 Middle School Night
- 10/18 Middle School Swap Day
- 10/25 Progress Reports Sent
- 10/27 Board of Directors Meeting
- 10/28 Class Halloween Celebrations
- 10/28 1/2 Day of School/1/2 Day PTCs
- 10/28 Adult Spirit Night-Cheese & Wine Class
- 10/29 No School/Parent-Teacher Conferences
- 11/1-11/5 CM1/CM2 Fort Davis Field Trip
- 11/4 Head of School Coffee
- 11/9 State of the School
