Pioneer Press

February

African American Heritage Month

2/17- No School / Parent & Teacher Conference Day

2/20- PTA Sponsored Black History Month Market

2/24-2/28- Food Service Appreciation Week

2/27- 1st Grade Show: All That Jazz, Soul, and Rock & Roll- doors open 5:30, show at 6pm

2/28- Class Pictures & Individual Spring Pictures

March

3/3- Safety Drills

3/6- Patton GT Showcase: 4:30-5:30pm

3/6- 2nd Grade Show: Doors open 5:30, Show at 6pm

3/8- Patton Clean Up Day @ 8am (info below)

3/12- Kinder, 1st, 2nd Track and Field

3/13- 3rd, 4th, 5th Track and Field

3/14- NO SCHOOL

3/17-3/21- Spring Break- NO SCHOOL

3/27- CAC @ 5:30pm & PTA @ 6pm

REGISTRATION for KG+ for the 25-26 school year is CLOSED until April 1st's General Registration.

ONLY PK4 Early Bird TUITION Registration is open until March 7th. (DL programs/campuses do NOT participate in the Early Bird. Families wanting to apply to PK DL programs have to wait until April 1st.)

April 1st: General Registration including PK begins.

2025–26 Early Bird Tuition-Based Pre-K4 Guidelines

• Students must be four years of age on or before September 1, 2025 to apply
• Students must live within Austin ISD boundaries (i.e. no out-of-district transfers)
• Pre-K4 Dual Language programs and Winn Montessori are excluded from Early Bird Pre-K4
• Programs follow the Austin ISD School Year calendar
• Full-day curriculum runs from 7:40 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Monthly tuition for full-day Pre-K4 is $700 (proposed price)
• Seats are limited and will be allocated based on a randomized selection process
• There will be no waitlist or priority selection

• Families will be notified by email of the selection outcomes on March 14, 2025

• Families selected for Early Bird Pre-K4 will be required to accept their seat by March 28, 2025
• Selected families will also need to submit a deposit to secure their seat, which will be applied to the first month’s tuition

Austin ISD is holding a virtual GT showcase for gifted and talented student projects around the theme "This is Our Story". Click Here for the AISD GT Showcase information. Click here for more detailed ideas to help get students started.

Patton Elementary is holding our FIRST EVER GT Showcase Event on March 6 from 4:30 - 5:30 PM to celebrate our students hard work on these projects. If your child is participating in the event, please fill out the form linked below.
Students will have a table area of 30"x36" to showcase their work.

This form is due by February 24 and GT Showcase Projects are due to Patton by March 3. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's homeroom teacher.

Location: Performing Arts Center (PAC),
1500 Barbara Jordan Blvd.

The African American Heritage Celebration began in 1983 under the leadership of former Austin ISD Associate Superintendent William Charles Akins. With a 2025 theme of “Unity in Diversity," this event showcases the academic achievements of our students, the dedication and leadership of our staff, and the commitment of our community partners. Austin ISD awards our Top Senior Scholars with a textbook scholarship for their college of choice, as well as prizes for winners of the essay and art contests. The 2025 celebration will feature hosts and student performances from Akins Early College High School.

When: August 4th and August 5th, 2025 (Student come both days in one session)

**** AM Session: 9:00 am - 12:00pm

**** PM Session: 1:00pm - 4:00pm

This camp is for students who wants to get comfortable with how middle school works and learn their way around the campus. It is geared toward 6th grade to help them understand the nuances of middle school, but 7th and 8th graders are welcome if they need a refresher.

Camp is $25 Please click the link below to pay online. If you would like to pay by cash or check in person come by the the Small MS Main office before June 5th.

What to expect at Cougar Camp
- Tour and Scavenger hunt (to familiarize with all areas of campus)
- Understanding Bell Schedule/AB Calendar
- Lots of Games and Activities (Fun and Icebreakers to get to know classmates)
- Learning locks (Gym & Band)
- Small terminology and traditions (Cougar PAWS Pledge)
- Where/how to get help
- FAQ for New to Small Students

If you have any questions, please email Jennifer.newell@austinisd.org

This session will provide you with support and resources for mental health and

social-emotional learning, helping you to use these practices at home with your

children.

Wednesday, March 5

12pm & 6pm

Zoom Link Here: bit.ly/SpEdEmpowerHour

Click here for a list of all the scheduled "Power Hours"

We are learning about Habit 6: Synergize

This habit teaches us that working together and utilizing each other's strengths makes us better! Teamwork is the key.

After school clubs will be dropped off at the club classroom location during dismissal by a grade-level teacher. Parent pick up will be at the front circle drive when the club is finished. Please be sure to communicate with your child(s) teacher about any clubs you have signed up for so they are prepared to get them to the correct after school location on those days.

Campity Camp is a free online resource that allows parents to more easily find summer camps for their kids. A lot of parents don't know that summer camps need to be booked by February. After that time, all the good camps get booked up way before summer begins. Finding summer camps can also be such a time consuming task. With Campity Camp, all you need to do is enter info such as your kid's age, zip code, and price range. Then campity Camp generates all the camps within your filters in your area - all free with no sign up needed. Also, starting February 1st, there will be a convenient option to book your summer camp through the website to make signing up for summer camps even easier.

Click below for information from our AISD Middle Schools!