It's the PALS Press!

We are excited to share news about the upcoming Elementary PALS Picnics. We can't wait to see you there, elementary friends! We will meet on May 8th at Dick Nichols Park from 9:30-12:30 and on May 15th at Northwest District Park. We will have low ropes activities, art-based reflection on the year, and opportunities to practice creating mindful connections with students from other schools. If you are an elementary PALS supporter and this is all news to you, please contact me for more info and to RSVP.

All over the District, we are hearing of exciting service project ideas for next year, accomplishments of current PALS, and looking forward to celebrating each of our current PALS and the beautiful mentoring relationships they've been able to cultivate over the school year. Congratulations are due all around.

Something that's been burbling up a lot this year has been service opportunities. One common refrain among secondary folks in particular is that gathering students to do good work for their school and community is hard--schedules are busy, transportation isn't always reliable, kids are...kids, not master schedulers. And this makes me wonder what would happen if each campus had a set series of events that could appear on the syllabus that PALS and their families could plan on.

If you have regular events that your students help to do--Blue Out Bowie, International Women's Day, Pink Week, Teen Dating Violence Awareness, Tree Folks Planting, or MLK March Participation--please let us know. And if you have a step-by-step approach to making your community event happen, let us know that, too!

If you find yourself with questions about PALS selection, scheduling, or training for next year, we're here to help figure out anything that comes up. And, as always, keep the good news coming. We are always happy to trumpet your and your PALS accomplishments.

All the best,

Stacia, Monica, and the PALS support team.

Dates to remember:

4/25 - PALS Teacher Social Hour: 4:30-6:30 pm, 6406 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd #1100, Austin, TX 78752

4/23-4/30 - STAAR grades 3-8 Math & EOC Algebra I

4/30 - Last day for make-up STAAR/EOC test make up for grades 3-8 math and Algebra I

5/4 - SAT

The end of the year is for reflecting on the year and celebrating successes and the people who made those successes possible. Often times that means selecting and celebrating a PAL of the Year. While this is by no means a mandatory practice, highlighting the gifts that certain PALS bring to their group and to their school is important work that requires some thoughtfulness.

Elementary PALS of the Year will be presented with their certificates and recognized at the Elementary PALS Picnics. You can pull a template from Canva or MS Word and make it a fancy as your PAL of the Year. Of course, you can also create commemorative terrariums, design flags, or perform an interpretive dance. They sky (and your time) is the limit!

Secondary PALS of the Year should be recognized in a class celebration. Consider using part of the block for your PALS final to reflect on the year, highs and lows, and to celebrate your super students. Again, certificates are convenient but by no means the only option.

Please share your PALS of the Year with us. We'd love to recognize them here as well.

You can always look for service opportunities at https://www.givepulse.com/search

Some upcoming opportunities to serve around town are:

Tree Planting with TreeFolks: Join TreeFolks and the City of Austin's Urban Forestry Program to plant trees at various parks and preserves throughout Austin, Texas.

Volunteer at the Food Bank! Our key opportunities include volunteering in our warehouse, lending a hand in the garden or kitchen, or helping at one of our mobile food pantry distribution sites.

Warehouse- You'll inspect, clean, sort, box and make food donations ready for distribution to our Partner Agencies and the families they serve. Youth ages 8+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Kitchen- The Food Bank facility includes a 4,200-square foot commercial production kitchen that supports on-site meal preparation for multiple programs. Youth ages 15+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Garden- The Food Bank’s Garden serves as a replicable model of sustainable growing practices and teaches clients the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Come help empower your community as you assist our gardener by planting seeds and seedlings, pulling weeds, shoveling compost, harvesting produce, and cultivating the garden beds! Youth ages 15+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Mobile Food Pantry- Asking for help can be the hardest thing folks have to do. We rely on volunteers to ensure our mobile food pantries are welcoming, respectful places for clients to get the help they need. Distributions occur at sites across our 21-county service area, including Austin, Lexington, McLennan, Bartlett, Lott, Cedar Park, Mustang Ridge, Fredericksburg, San Saba, Johnson City, Uhland and Kosse. Youth ages 15+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Education Supplies Prep Come join us at Austin Creative Reuse for a low-key evening volunteering, chatting with friends, and networking! You'll help our Education Coordinator prepare re-use materials for all of our educational programs! You might: bundle materials for the Creative Cache, create educational kits, or process supplies. But one thing is for certain; we're gonna have a fun time! This is an indoor, seated event located at Austin Creative Reuse in Windsor Park (just 10 minutes from campus!).

This project is very well suited for all ages, including children as young as 9 years old! Just make sure that any participants under the age of 15 are accompanied by an adult.

Craft Supply Donation Sorting and Packing Come join us at Austin Creative Reuse for a high energy night volunteering, chatting with friends, and networking! You will help us sort and package craft or office supply donations to be sold at our creative reuse center. This is an indoor, seated/standing event located at Austin Creative Reuse in Windsor Park (just 10 minutes from campus!).

Austin Creative Reuse is a Austin based non-profit that aims to foster conservation, education, and community building through the creative reuse of old items and the reuse of creative items! We take in ~50,000 lbs. of donations every month and we rely on volunteers to help us process all those donations! Most items we resell at our center at very accessible price points, but we also teach people new creative skills in our classroom, donate supplies to schools, and attend community events to teach our youngest generations about creative reuse.

PALS is a cross-age peer mentoring program founded at Crockett High School in Austin, Texas in 1980. PALS support K-12 students at all levels of their education, and are at work at campuses across Austin ISD.

Email: sbowley@youthlaunch.org
Website: austinisd.org/pals
Location: 4000 South Interstate 35 Frontage Road, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 9176931344
Facebook: facebook.com/AISDPALS