Rosedale proudly presents: Presence are our presents:

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to get caught up in the to-do lists, therapies, the news, appointments, and endless responsibilities. We, as parents, are chauffeurs, personal assistants, social life coordinators, and cooks, but amidst all those titles, our presence is our most valuable gift to our students.

Being genuinely present—setting aside distractions, listening with full attention, and sharing simple moments—creates lasting memories and deepens our connection with our students. The beauty of this gift is that it goes both ways: our gift to them is being with them, and their gift to us is the same.

Our children remind us to slow down, notice the small joys, and appreciate the world from a different perspective. Whether it’s a shared laugh, a quiet moment, or a new milestone, these experiences genuinely matter.

Let’s make a conscious effort to embrace the present. Put the phone down for a few extra minutes, enjoy the conversation, and cherish our time together. These moments are fleeting, but the love and connection they build will last a lifetime.

All our children want from us is to be present in their lives and to love them unconditionally. That's about it, and thankfully, we can all provide this with great energy without any need for reciprocity.

I'll close with a quote from Leo Tolstoy: "Future love does not exist. Love is a present activity only."

Rosedale Ride Walk & Roll: All-accessible, all-abilities, all-inclusive event for all-of-us!

For the first time ever, the Rosedale Ride (info below) will host an All Abilities Walk & Roll! Raccoons, supporters of our students, and riders of all ages can walk, roll, or ride along the safe and supervised 1/2 mile closed loop surrounding The Pitch Austin. Complete as many laps as you can during the 30-minute event. Rally your friends and family to pledge donations for each lap you conquer. After your adventure enjoy face painting, balloon art, and tasty food and drinks from The Pitch. The Walk & Roll starts at 9:30 am and is free for all Rosedale students and their families! Tell your friends and neighbors about the event and see if they can sponsor you and your student as you earn money for Rosedale in a healthy, all-inclusive manner.

Matthew Nelson

Principal

Rosedale

7505 Silvercrest Dr.

Austin, TX 78757

512-414-3617 ext. 70744 office

To reward our fantastic staff and provide job-like training to some students who can only leave campus occasionally, we will offer free snacks to all staff each afternoon!

For this to be as successful as possible, we will also need your help. You have the power to make a difference. Please donate snacks to the school, which we will disseminate to our staff. Any individually packaged snacks or drinks (non-alcoholic) will work. You can drop them off at the office, send them with your student, or even have them shipped here from anywhere in the USA.

We thank you in advance for your gifts and for wanting our students and staff to feel the love.

We are so excited about this year's Rosedale Ride and hope you are! This year, we are adding a walk-n-roll so everybody can participate. As you know, this ride is our primary fundraiser throughout the year, and this year promises to be the best one yet! For it to be bigger and better than ever before, we need your help. Please send the above information to everybody and help get the word out. Whether or not your friends, coworkers, and family members are riders, walkers, or rollers, it doesn't matter if they're fans of supporting our students and the special needs community.

Each month, we will showcase a few of our outstanding caregivers and ask probing questions that nobody in particular ever wanted to know...except us. We'll learn more about what makes them tick, what makes them tock, and what they think of TikTok :) Enjoy!

1. What skill would you like to master? I would love to be able to master teaching behavior skills to all students. (I think I know a place) I want to help them be able to handle all environments. (again, pretty sure I know a place)

2. What is your favorite food? Street food from Bangladesh! My favorite dish is Futcha, have you ever heard of it? (oh, you mean a crisp fried hollow ball, filled with spicy peas and potatoes, topped with tangy tamarind water, garnished with slivers of onion, cucumber, and cilantro?) So you have heard of it! (no, but I've heard of Google)

3. What has been the highlight of this last week? On campus, it has been working with the students researching Black History Month contributors and preparing our living museum display and food. At home, it has been helping my son rehabilitate to regain his strength.

4. Do you collect anything? I love plants! I had such a massive collection of plants in California that I had to give away when we moved back to Texas. (Because we have too many Cali transplants?) No, because they wouldn't survive! I now go to the nurseries every weekend to purchase new plants for my collection.

5. What is your favorite sport? Futbol. (me too, go Cowboys!) No, not "football," but futbol. I think it's called soccer. (So, no Cowboys? Then what's your favorite team?) I love Brazil. (How bout them Vaquieros!)

1. Do you have any pets? Not personally, but our family has a dog we've had for several years named Oscar (is it a wiener dog...heh heh heh). Yes. He's a Dachshund who currently lives in Arkansas with my parents.

2. What is your claim to fame? When my father met Carly Simon for a news event, he straight up lied to her face and told her that he named me after her. (You're so vain...) No, he was making conversation. ( I bet you think this song is about you.) The truth is, I was named after Carly Rae Jepsen. (Don't you, don't you...oh, now you're lying to me. Well done)

3. What is your favorite restaurant near here? Pinthouse Pizza. Hands down. But I don't go for the pizza (careful, this is a family newsletter). I go for the pepperoni rolls!

4. If you could trade places with anybody for a week, who would it be and why? Sutton Foster. She's a Broadway performer, and I love her. (Popular?) You're right! I take that back; I would instead trade places with Ariana Grande! (We hit a brief pause as Carly proceeds to sing the song "Popular" then slides into "What is this feeling?") Ok, basically, I want to live in the world of Wicked!

5. What is your pet peeve? Besides, people who interrupt me when I'm singing songs from, it would have to be answering random questions with no time to prepare. (ouch....Wicked.)

Caregiver Social

Tuesday, 3/4 at 11am

Mozart’s Coffee Roasters

3825 Lake Austin Blvd

Austin 78703

A time to meet and chat with other families who have children with disabilities. Open to all Rosedale families and anyone else in the disability community.

March PTA Meeting

Tuesday, 3/11 from 11:30am-1pm

Rosedale Community Room

Lunch will be provided!!

Spanish Interpretation available in person and on zoom.

Resource topic: Presentation from Abby’s Learning Center

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83194825369?pwd=RO8Bu9r4apxJ9AblF6nZErQ6z6YKNE.1

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We need books for our new Lending Library for parents, caregivers & community members.

Resource books that have helped you, books to share with siblings, neighbors or friends. Books that discuss disabilities to promote understanding, awareness & inclusivity.

We have a cart in the Community Room for the lending library

Thank you,

Kimberly Johnson

Rosedale Proud Parent

Please use this form (click above) for your student if h/she is going to be arriving late or will be attending any doctor's appointments or therapies. For questions, please contact Tracy Castillo at (512) 414-3617 ext. 57110

tracy.a.castillo@austinisd.org

https://www.schoolcafe.com/austinisd

Austin Unite is a social group that provides low-cost opportunities to young adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ages 17-25 in the Austin community. In the past, events have included UT sporting events, park picnics, arcades, and more! At the events, participants are paired with trained, college-age volunteers in a ratio that best reflects their level of need/ independence.

Here is the link to the website: www.austinunite.org. To get your child involved, navigate to the "parent interest form" under the participants tab.

Social Emotional Learning

Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services