Straus

Straus Families,

We believe that a strong school community is essential for student success, and our partnership with you, our parents and community members, is invaluable. Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication. Together, we are creating a nurturing and enriching learning environment for our children. We look forward to continuing this important partnership in the coming months.

We've seen your generosity firsthand through:

• The overwhelming success of our fundraising events, which directly benefit student programs.
• The countless hours volunteered by parents and community members, helping with everything from classroom support to organizing school events.
• The enthusiastic attendance at school events, showing your commitment to our students' success.

Career Day Volunteers Needed!

We're excited to host Career Day and would love for you to represent your occupation! Share your expertise and inspire our students about their future. If you're interested in volunteering, please fill out the attached form.

National School Counseling Week: February 3-7

Join us in celebrating National School Counseling Week! Let's show our appreciation for the vital contributions of our school counselors. Participate in the themed days (details attached).

Upcoming Events:

• February 10th:

  • PTA General Meeting - 8:45 AM, Library
  • Donuts with Dads (immediately following the PTA meeting) - A chance to learn more about our MAV Dads program!

• February 21st: Friendship Dance (see attached flyer)

• March 1st: Beginning Band Instrument Placements - By Appointment. The band director will send an email with scheduling information after course registration for next year is complete.

Important Information:

• Solar Cars: Students interested in learning more about solar cars can find details attached below.

• Student Course Requests: Students are currently selecting courses for next year. You will receive their final course requests next month.

We value our partnership with you and believe open communication is key. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns – we're here to work together to support your child's success.

Warm Regards,

W. Autumn Peralta

It’s time for 6th and 7th graders to look ahead to next year.

The application for the 2025/2026 AVID program is officially OPEN!

AVID is an incredible program designed to help prepare students for college, career, and military readiness. For 7th grade students, AVID is an exciting elective! For 8th grade students, AVID will replace MAPS/Com Apps and is a high school credit class, where students will earn 1 high school credit and will fulfill their speech requirement.

Click this link to explore the requirements, Middle School AVID Flyer and make sure your motivated student scans the QR code on the flyer or uses this link to apply! https://bit.ly/6and7AVIDapp

If you have any questions about the AVID program, please contact Mrs. Young at: lori.prukopyoung@nisd.net

The application deadline is February 14th!

First Fridays

PTA is excited to host a VIP party for all student PTA members on the First Friday of every month! PTA membership offers many benefits for your child and is easy to join. Scan the QRCode on the flyer to get your child started on a year of fun!

We are excited to announce our upcoming Career Day on February 28th! This event is a wonderful opportunity for our students to explore various career paths and gain insights from professionals in the community.

We would love for you to participate! If you are interested in volunteering to speak with our students about your career journey, please sign up!

Feel free to share this message with friends and family who might also be interested in participating. The more diverse experiences we can offer, the better!

Thank you for your support in making Career Day a success!

A reminder that our administrators are responsible for supervising students during lunches (11:15 AM - 1:35 PM), before school, and after school until our buses arrive at 4:35 PM. We encourage making appointments for meetings to ensure we can dedicate the necessary time to address your concerns.

Counselors will be visiting with current 6th graders and 7th graders this week about choosing classes for next year. Please go over the attached planning guide with your child to decide what classes they would like to take. Students will finalize their registration during the week of February 5th-14th for next year. Attached are the rising 7th and rising 8th grade planning guides. Reach out to your child's counselor if you have any questions.

Please check HAC on a regular basis and set up notifications for grades and attendance.

Northside has begun issuing Attendance Warning Notices for any student with three unexcused absences in any class period. To avoid these warnings, ensure that any notes or documentation regarding absences are submitted within 2 days. This will help us change unexcused absences to excused and prevent Attendance Warning Notices. If you feel there is a discrepancy in tardies or absences, please email the teacher that marked your student and CC carla.brown@nisd.net

This year, we anticipate a student body of approximately 1450 students and our priority remains the well-being and safety of every individual on campus. To ensure a secure environment, we will continue our policy of limiting visitors. Please note that Straus is a closed campus which means no lunch deliveries from parents or external services. We understand that students will forget their lunch on occasion and we only ask that any lunch be dropped off by 9:45 in the morning. Students should either bring lunch from home or plan to enjoy a meal from our cafeteria.

Maverick families, please take time to read through this national research based initiative to help transform schools by increasing student engagement and reducing negative social distractions. Away For The Day encourages cell phone free spaces that allow students to thrive socially and academically. Our expectation is that students put away their cell phones, earbuds, and gaming devices at 8:35 every morning in their backpacks or lockers and to be used again at 3:50 at the end of the day. Telephones are available in all classrooms and all campus offices in the event that a students needs to contact a parent.

All Lost and Found items can be found in the Library classroom and will be donated at the end of each marking period. In addition, the campus cannot be responsible for lost/stolen items. We encourage everyone to leave expensive items at home. Please remind your child that they should not be borrowing, trading, or loaning personal items while on campus. In addition, all PE/Athletics lockers should remain locked at all times.

At Straus, we are fortunate to have a very active PTA that works closely with the school to meet student needs. Please join our Straus PTA!

PTA (strausmspta@gmail.com)

Become a NISD Volunteer or Mentor

NISD requires that anyone volunteering on campus complete a background check. This can be completed on the district website at https://hrvolunteer.nisd.net

Our Attendance/Withdrawal staff is as follows:

Carla Brown carla.brown@nisd.net 210.398.2558

Claudia Duby claudia.duby@nisd.net 210.398.2582

• February 1: Band Instrument Fittings
• February 1: Girls Basketball Tournament
• February 3-7: School Counselors Week
• February 3: Band Fundraiser Begins
• February 4: Spanish Placement Test
• February 4: S2S Field Trip to UTSA
• February 6: Panorama Survey
• February 6: PTA Founders Day
• February 7-8: Boys Basketball Tournament
• February 8: Theater Contest Performance
• February 10: Fine Arts Pictures
• February 10: PTA General Meeting @ 8:45 AM
• February 10: NJHS Applications distributed
• February 10: Golf Tryouts
• February 10: Orchestra Concert
• February 10-14: Random Acts of Kindness Week
• February 12: Reading Interim Test
• February 12: GT Parent Awareness Session
• February 15: Resource Office Day
• February 17-21: Kindness Week
• February 17: Student Holiday/Staff Development
• February 18: Track Meet
• February 19: GT Field Trip
• February 19: Band Contest
• February 19: GT Spherolympics
• February 21: Friendship Dance, 6th Grade (4:00-5:30), 7th & 8th Grades (6:00-7:30)
• February 24-28: National Public School Week
• February 25: Track Meet
• February 26: Special Olympics
• February 26: Student Deadline for missing assignments
• February 28: Career Day