Virtual State of the School
Thanks so much to all of you who attended our annual State of the School this week. The governing Board of Directors and administration shared our highlights from the last fiscal year and a look ahead at the current 21-22 school year. Here are the slides from the evening. Be on the lookout for follow-up information regarding our season of giving next week!
MAP Family Workshops
Thank you to the families that attended the MAP Family Workshops over the last two weeks. It was a pleasure to explore the ins and outs of the NWEA MAP Growth assessment with all of you. As a reminder, information about MAP Growth--including recent session results--can be found on the Measures of Academic Progress of our website. The MAP Family Toolkit is a fantastic resource for families who would like to learn more about MAP. If you feel like working through some of the questions our students may see, you can even work through some sample tests! The next MAP session will take place in the winter, in late January/early February. Once we wrap up that session, we will offer another set of MAP Family Workshops for those who weren't able to attend this time around.
November Spirit Night
Thanks to all of you who dined with us or picked up takeout at our November Spirit Night at Blaze Pizza yesterday. We will keep you posted about the event proceeds. Thank you to Blaze for your partnership!
Middle School Mythology
As the culmination of the Middle School unit on Mythology, our AIS 8th graders performed for the rest of the Middle School this week. We are excited to announce the winners of the middle school Mythology pageant. Isabella Cruz won for best speech/monologue and Quinn Johnson for best dressed. Isabella portrayed Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, and Quinn portrayed Hermes, the god of transition and boundaries. All students did a fantastic job!
We Need Your Feedback! Strategic Plan Survey Due by Sun., 11/14
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!
AIS Dress Code
Now that the year has settled in, we will be enforcing the school's dress code policy per the Elementary and Middle School Handbooks beginning this week. Please refer to the email from our Principal, Mark Rosenbaum, with detailed information and this slide deck. Here are the uniform guidelines.
Tops (shirts and sweaters):
- Color: Solid navy or white
- No external logos (except the AIS logo)
- Shirts must be collared (except for Maternelle)
- Friday only: AIS T-shirts are permitted at all grade levels
Bottoms:
- Trousers, shorts, skirt, or leggings. No denim.
- Color (Pants): Solid navy
Socks or Tights:
- Color: solid navy or white
Shoes:
- Rubber soled
- Closed toes and heels
- Must be suitable for active play
- No shoes with lights or wheels
Jewelry:
- Accessories that could pose a choking or strangulation hazard are strictly not allowed.
- Easily removable jewelry is not permitted.
- We encourage the students to leave rings, bracelets, necklaces, and items of value at home.
Condition:
- Clothing must be in good repair.
- Torn or tattered clothing is not permitted.
International Week at AIS - 11/15 - 11/19
This special week truly represents the vision, mission, and core values of AIS. Our students have been busy exploring New Caledonia, India, Niue, Egypt, China, Kenya, French Guiana, Mexico, Croatia, and Vietnam! The students will present their countries to other AIS students all week. We will make sure to take plenty of pictures and videos to share with our community for you to join in the fun as well! We look forward to this journey across the world the week before our Thanksgiving break
AIS Board Meeting - Tue., 11/16 6:30 pm
The AIS governing Board of Directors will meet virtually on Tuesday, November 16th 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.
Thanksgiving Break - 11/22 thru 11/26
The school will be closed the full week of November 22nd for the Thanksgiving Break. We hope you all enjoy your time visiting and celebrating with your friends and family. Thank you in advance for remaining thoughtful and diligent about COVID, travel, and quarantine protocols to keep our community healthy and safe.
COVID-19 Vaccination Records
With the recent authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11, we know that a number of AIS families have already scheduled or plan to schedule COVID-19 vaccinations for their children. If you elect to vaccinate your child, please remember to submit the vaccination record to our school so that we may include it in the student file. Austin Public Health provides flowchart-based contact tracing and quarantine guidance and an important part of this is knowing whether or not the exposed individual has been vaccinated. You may submit a copy of your child’s vaccination record via email to records@austinis.org.
CDC Guidance for Holiday Celebrations
As we approach the Thanksgiving and Winter holidays, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked schools to share reminders with families about safer ways to celebrate the holidays. Be mindful of transmission rates, ventilation (prioritize being outdoors if possible), and consider masking depending on who you will be seeing. If you are considering traveling for a holiday or event, visit CDC’s Travel page to help you decide what is best for you and your family. CDC still recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated. If you plan to travel internationally, please be aware that there have been many changes over the past week, which you can read about on the International Travel section of the CDC’s website. Please feel free to reach out to Jacques if you have any questions about current CDC travel guidance.
On-Campus Vaccine Clinic
Some families have asked about the possibility of offering a vaccine clinic on campus. We are in talks with some pharmacies about offering this on campus for interested families. Unfortunately, many of them are booked out through January. If we are able to get one booked on campus before the winter holiday, we will communicate that in the Friday Flash.
Save the dates
Mark these important upcoming dates on your calendars.
- 11/15-11/19 International Week
- 11/22-11/26 Thanksgiving Break
- 12/1 Vision, Hearing, & Spinal Screenings
- 12/2 PTO Coffee
- 12/4 Winter Open House
- 12/6-12/7 Kendra Scott Spirit Events
- 12/14 AIS Board Meeting
- 12/17 Winter Class Celebrations
- 12/20-12/31 Winter Holiday Break/No School
- 1/3 Staff In-Service/No School
- 1/4 Students return from Winter Break (not 7th)
