AIS Friday Flash
Friday, January 7, 2022
Happy New Year, Bon Année, & Feliz Año Nuevo!
We hope all of you had a nice holiday break. As we welcome the new year, we are ever thankful for being part of such a wonderful community who gave generously to our fall giving campaigns, shared cards, or tokens of appreciation before the holidays, and for continuing to partner with us as we face new variants and ongoing challenges. As a school and community, we are more resilient, healthy, and stronger, when we all come together, resolute, and steadfast in our adherence to practices and policies, no matter how difficult and disruptive, (sometimes confusing), and just "over it" we may be. Thank you for doing your part to grow our school, keep it safe, and watch out for each other. It truly takes a village, and it is a village I am happy to be a part of. Let's keep it strong and healthy, and here's to a progressively better 2022!-April
COVID-19 Reminders and Updates
Please carefully review the January 7th Head of School eCommuniqué from Jacques with important reminders and updates about COVID-19 operations at school. This eCommuniqué includes information about:
- Symptomatic students who must have a doctor’s note to return to school
- Revised isolation guidelines for COVID-positive individuals
- Revised quarantine guidelines for close contacts
- Availability of rapid testing on campus
We appreciate your continued commitment and support of our health and safety protocols. Through our combined efforts, we will be able to move forward through the omicron wave of the pandemic.
École des Loisirs December Books are Here!
If you signed up for the École des Loisirs French book subscription, then be sure to check your children’s backpacks today! We were very excited to receive some great new titles from graphic novels to chapter books, and more. Thanks to the great number of subscriptions received through the school, we were able to add eight fantastic French titles to the AIS library for kids of all different ages this month. Bonne lecture !
Student Helpers
It was a rigorous screening process, but our cycle 2 students who applied for student jobs began their work this week as gardeners, pizza servers, attendance takers, and outdoor librarians. They are taking their tasks seriously and doing a fantastic job already!
We look forward to joining the Austin School Fair on Saturday, January 8th from 9:00 - 11:00 am at Dave and Buster's to chat with prospective families about our school.
Spring ASA Registration Begin Next Week
Today is the last day to make changes to your registration for the Spring Afterschool Activities. Classes begin next week, on Monday, January 10th. For any class or registration questions, please reach out to Jhino.
MLK Day/ No School - Mon., 1/17
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, AIS will be closed on Monday, January 17th.
Report Cards Disseminated - Wed., 1/19
Student report cards will be sent out on Wednesday, January 19th via email. You will receive a link to your child’s report, which will be valid for 14 days. We recommend saving a digital copy and printing a copy for your records within two weeks of receiving the link.
Virtual Board Meeting - Tue., 1/25, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
All community members are invited to join the AIS Governing Board for the open session of the Virtual Board of Directors Meeting on Tuesday, 1/25 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.
January Spirit Night @ Austin Spurs - Thur., 1/27, 7:30 pm
We hope you can join us for our January Spirit Night on Thursday, January 27th at 7:30 pm as the Austin Spurs take on the Sioux Falls Skyforce! AIS will have a group spirit section to watch the game. We strongly encourage AIS members who are fully vaccinated to attend and follow current CDC-recommended guidance regarding COVID-19 protocols. All AIS guests must remain masked in our section unless snacking.
PLUS, as part of our spirit night, AIS students in CM1 and up are invited to perform our AIS school song at the game! So, purchase your tickets for this mini-fundraiser here and join us to cheer on our students. All adults or students/siblings who are not performing are $28. Tickets for AIS students who will be performing will be $14. Performers must be pre-registered here and we need at least 10-15 students to participate. Stay tuned for rehearsal information for our singers. Go Spurs!
MAP Assessments - Mon., 1/31
Austin International School uses the Northwest Education Association's (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth assessment to track individual student growth during their time at AIS. Students in Kindergarten and up complete assessments three times per year, after which student growth data is shared with teachers and families. MAP Growth data points are important in identifying areas of strength and areas of focus for each student. As such, MAP forms an important part of the work that we do to support individualized student learning at AIS. The next session of MAP assessments will begin on Monday, January 31st. Stay tuned for more details regarding testing dates by class and review this video here for more information. Remember to pack healthy snacks and for students to get a good night's sleep on testing days to perform their best.
Virtual Open House - Sat., 2/5
AIS will host a Virtual Open House on Saturday, February 5th to introduce prospective new families to our school. Save the date and stay tuned for more information about how you can help participate.
January Student Birthdays
Happy Birthday, bon anniversaire, and feliz cumpleanos to the following students with January birthdays: Lucie B., Colome C., Miya N., Mahé M., Youssef E., Nia D., Yannick Z., Sam S., Olivia N., Madeleine W., Samuel N., Noah G., Mathieu F., Aurelie G., & Galen V.
Save the dates
Mark these important upcoming dates on your calendars.
- 1/8 Austin School Fair
- 1/17 MLK Day/No School
- 1/19 Report Cards Disseminated
- 1/25 Board Meeting
- 1/27 Austin Spurs Spirit Night
- 1/31 MAP Assessments Begin
- 2/5 New Year Open House
Austin International School
Email: info@austinis.org
Website: www.austininternationalschool.org
Location: 4001 Adelphi Lane, Austin, TX, United States
Phone: 512-331-7806
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AustinInternationalSchool
Twitter: @austinintschool