AIS Staff Holiday Party
Our AIS faculty and staff were able to come together last night for our annual staff holiday party. We all wish each other and our AIS families and partners a happy holiday season. Thanks for waiting for this week's Saturday edition of our Flash.
Spring ASA Registration Open until Wed., 1/5
Check your inboxes for the RW email from Jhino sent on Monday, outlining registration instructions for our Spring Afterschool Activity options for next semester. Registration has already begun and please note these important dates:
- Wednesday, January 5th: Last day for ASA registration
- Friday, January 7th: Last day to change activities
- Monday, January 10th: First day of After School Activities
Kendra Scott Spirit Events
We hope you were able to shop and find beautiful baubles at our Kendra Scott Spirit Event this week! Thanks for participating and we look forward to updating you once we here about our proceeds. Thanks to our shoppers and to Kendra Scott!
Uniform Exchange
The school would like to thank Karen Rodriguez and Nikl Burke for organizing and manning our uniform exchange this week. We will continue to host upcoming opportunities. We currently have A LOT of items and are running out of storage space. Please hold onto any items you have to donate or exchange until we are able to find new homes for the inventory we have in stock.
The AIS Library Needs your Help!
In preparation for a relaunch of the AIS Library in January 2022 (hooray!), we are calling on all families to please double-check your homes for any AIS library materials. Our library database indicates that we have about 130 overdue books still checked out to our current AIS families. You will recognize our library books by the call number sticker on the bottom of the spine, as well as a bar code label with “AUSTIN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL” on either the front or back cover. Please ask your child to bring the books to school to drop in the morning with a member of our team. Please also keep an eye on your email for a message from the AIS Library about any material that may still be checked out under your child(ten)’s name. Thank you for your support with this effort!
December Virtual Board Meeting - Tue., 12/14 6:30 pm
All community members are invited to join the AIS Governing Board for the open session of the Virtual December Board Meeting on Tuesday, 12/14 at 6:30 pm. The open session of the board meeting 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.
Winter Class Parties - Fri., 12/17 2:50 - 3:15 pm
Students will celebrate the winter break on Friday, 12/17 during class. Stay tuned for more information from your teachers and room parents.
Winter Break/School Closed - 12/20 - 1/3
AIS will be closed over the Winter Break from Monday, December 20th through Friday, December 31st. Monday, January 3rd is a staff in-service day. We hope you all enjoy a healthy and relaxing break, and we look forward to seeing you return on Tuesday, January 4th.
From Austin Public Health: Preparing for a Healthy Holiday Season
As the holiday season quickly approaches, it is important to keep friends and family safe and healthy. The best way to minimize COVID-19 risk and keep your family and friends safe is to get vaccinated, if you’re eligible. 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. With changing restrictions regarding national and international travel, you may consult this CDC link outlining travel recommendations by location. The CDC recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated and also recommends that people not fully vaccinated get tested for COVID-19 with a viral test before travel and get tested again and self-quarantine after travel. The CDC has posted Safer Ways to Celebrate Holidays to help guide safe holiday celebrations and traditions.
Community Vaccination/Immunity Survey
As we continue to navigate the complexities of providing rigorous, world-class education during the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to making data-informed decisions that are also guided by sound medical advice. An important data point that helps us establish relative risk levels for our community is that of our AIS community vaccination/immunity rate. These data will—along with other data points—help guide our school's decision to make adjustments to our adaptive health protocols around masking, distancing, and cohorting. Full participation from our community is important in order to help provide us with the most reliable information possible. We ask that all families take a few minutes to submit this online form, even if you decline to provide a vaccination status. All information submitted through this form will remain confidential. Thank you in advance for helping our team make the most informed decisions possible!
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.
Save the dates
Mark these important upcoming dates on your calendars.
- 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
- 1/6 Head of School Coffee
- 1/17 MLK Day/No School
- 1/19 Report Cards Disseminated
- 1/25 Board Meeting
- 1/27 Austin Spurs Spirit Night
