News for the Nest

Thank you, families and staff, for a great start to the school year. Our students are settling into their new classes, making new friends, and already learning so much with their new teachers. Thank you for your support as we work together to make this an amazing year for your child.

I would like to send a belated THANK YOU to our PTA Beautification Committee for sprucing up our campus two weeks ago. The committee added mulch, cleared brush, updated the Butterfly Garden with new umbrellas, and provided beautiful planters at the entrance. Thank you to all who participated to make our school even more welcoming.

I hope to see you at our Back to School Night on Tuesday! Details are below.

With cardinal pride,

Karen McCollum

Nan Clayton Elementary Principal

Tuesday, August 30 - Back to School Night

• Schedule for PreK, Kinder, 1st grade, 2nd grade: 4:00-4:40 Teacher’s Session in the classroom and 4:45-5:30 Principal’s Session in the cafeteria

• Schedule for 3rd, 4th, 5th grades: 4:00-4:40 Principal’s Session in the cafeteria and 4:45-5:30 Teacher’s Session in the classroom

Monday, September 5 - Labor Day holiday for students and staff. Enjoy the 3-day weekend!

Monday, September 12 - 3:30 Campus Advisory Council meeting

Wednesday, September 14 - PTA meeting (check PTA website for details)

Thursday, September 15 - fall picture day (details to come)

Austin ISD uses the RAVE platform to Recognize All Valuable Employees. To send someone a RAVE, use the link/button at the bottom of this newsletter.

RAVES received this week:

Adrian Guerra - PE Coach

Cassandra Cantu - PE Coach

Congratulations! Thank you for all you do to support our students!

Please ensure your student is inside the school building by 7:40 AM each day.

Students are tardy if they arrive at 7:41. Our students get started right away at 7:40 in their classrooms with important activities, such as announcements, welcoming activities, and academics. Please make sure your child is at school on time. Thank you.

P.E. Volunteers: Our PE team is doing amazing work and we want to support them. Come assist in the gym and/or outside by playing games with students and cheering them on. Fill out this form if you would like to join our PE team for a few hours a week.

Cafeteria Monitor Volunteers: We need your help! Come hang out with us in the cafeteria- finally meet this "Mr. Chris", the cafeteria manager that all the kids talk about. Fill out this form if you want to join our volunteer team.

ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST COMPLETE A BACKGROUND CHECK HERE: https://austinpartners.org/

In the event that your child will be missing school, please follow these steps:

1) Email both your child's teacher and Deanna McDonald, attendance clerk, at deanna.mcdonald@austinisd.org

2) Please include your child's first and last name

3) Please provide the reason for the absence so we can code it correctly in our attendance system.

Congratulations to our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for launching a new website! Please check it out today. You will find loads of important information.

PTA website: https://claytoncardinalspta.membershiptoolkit.com/home

Please consider making your voice heard by joining the District Equity Advisory Committee = click link for more information.

Our Campus Advisory Council (CAC) is a decision-making group made of teachers, parents, community members, business owners, and school administrators. We meet monthly to review our campus goals and make decisions. Committee members commit to join CAC for two years.

Our meeting dates are:

September 12, October 3, November 7, December 5, February 6, March 6, April 3, May 8

If you served on the CAC during the 2021-22 school year and that was your first year, please join us for another year. Please email karen.mccollum@austinisd.org and let me know that you would like to continue on CAC.

If you would like to join the CAC for 2022-23 and 2023-24, please email karen.mccollum@austinisd.org.

The Trail of Resolution is a problem-solving path we will use at Clayton Elementary. The purpose of the Trail of Resolution is to address questions and concerns in an effective and efficient manner. If you have a question or concern, first contact the person who is directly involved in the situation. For example, if you have a question or concern about something in the classroom, first contact the teacher to seek clarification. Follow the trail if the concern persists.

Teacher → Assistant principal → Principal

The Texas Department of Health has ruled that students must be current with immunizations in order to attend school unless an exemption has been filed with the school in accordance with Texas Education Code.

Our nurse, Jenny Ribera, is in the process of contacting families whose children do not yet have immunization records on file. Each student shall have current immunization records (or a documented exemption) on file at Clayton by Monday, September 12.

Please visit https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/immunizations for more information.

For health reasons, parents are asked to not bring edible treats for student birthdays. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please see the attached notice (click for link), which explains where and when parents may access the AISD’s asbestos management plan and pest control plan.

We have a fire drill and lockdown practice coming up on August 25. A lockdown is when there is a threat or hazard inside the school building. In a lockdown, we use classroom and school security actions to protect students and staff from threat.

When we have a drill or practice, we will always do so in an age-appropriate way that makes our students feel at ease. Our goal is to equip students with basic steps so they can successfully follow their teachers' directions during a drill or in an emergency.

School grounds, including playground - Our playground is open for use by the public after 6 PM. Community members are not permitted to use the playground or school grounds from 7 AM - 6 PM. Only the Circle C Child Development Center has permission to use the playground from 3-6 PM. Thank you for your cooperation.

Lunch visitors - Adults will be permitted to come eat lunch with their child starting Monday, August 29. Be sure to bring your driver's license, which you will present upon entry. Please wear your visitor's pass sticker the entire time you are in the building, stay in the cafeteria area, and check out at the front office when lunch is over. More helpful information can be found at our Clayton website under Parents, FAQ's. (link)

Volunteers - We love volunteers at Clayton! Please visit our website (link) for more information if you are interested in volunteering on campus.

This visual shows the dismissal plan we have been following since Tuesday, August 16. One of the big benefits of our dismissal plan is that few changes need to be made in case of rain.

Lightning & Trail Walkers - If lightning is visible at Clayton at 3:00, we will hold our Trail Walkers until the lightning has left the area. Administration will send an email to all families if we are holding Trail Walkers due to weather, and also notify families when the Trail Walkers have been released. You are always welcome to pick up your child in a car if needed.

Your child's safety and well-being are so important to us.

If you’re feeling sick

If you or your child are feeling sick, regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not, please stay home and contact your medical provider and campus as soon as possible.

If you test positive

Those who test positive will need to stay home and report their case by contacting your child's teacher. The teacher will then notify administration, who will send out a notification to families that we have a positive COVID case.

Returning to school

After testing positive, you need to wait five days before returning to school (the day you tested positive is Day 0). Anyone who tested positive will need markedly improved symptoms and to be fever-free for 24 hours before returning.

Students or staff who return to campus on the sixth day after a positive result will be required to mask for five more calendar days.

If you child has COVID and you have questions about when they may return to school, please contact our school nurse, Jenny Ribera, at jenny.ribera@austinisd.org

Please visit https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/covid-19 for more information about AISD COVID protocols.

7:15 - campus opens

7:15-7:35 - breakfast served in cafeteria

7:35 - 1st bell rings

7:40 - SCHOOL STARTS

3:05 - dismissal begins

3:10 official end of the school day

AISD has a new medication form required for students who need to take medication during the school day. The purpose is to inform our school nurse, Jenny Ribera, of details from the child's physician regarding when the medication should be given, under what conditions, etc. The information provided in this form will result in being more aligned with guidance from the Texas Education Agency.

If your child needs any medication at school, including prescription OR over-the counter medication, please ensure this form is completed and provided to jenny.ribera@austinisd.org before the first day of school. In lieu of the form, the physician may provide in writing the student's name, date of birth, name of medication, dose, and time of administration; this information must be signed by the physician.

Link to form: https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/student-health/docs/Medication_Administration_Form_7.2022.pdf

Please reach out to Jenny Ribera with questions - jenny.ribera@austinisd.org

PreK, Kindergarten, and all students new to Clayton - District-owned devices will be issued to your child and delivered to your child's teacher

Returning 3rd graders - Please bring back their district issued iPads and chargers. This may be done the first week of school.

Returning 4th and 5th graders - Already have district issued devices; please follow your teacher's directions about when to bring the device to school

• Website: Clayton has a beautiful and informative new website: https://clayton.austinschools.org/ Check it out! Thank you to Jenny Daughtry, Clayton Elementary Bookkeeper, for your leadership and design work on our new website! Pro tip: previous News for the Nest newsletters are archived on our website for easy reference.

• Twitter: @claytoncardinals

• Weekly News for the Nest: my weekly newsletter to families