News for the Nest

Dear Families, we've had a great week at Clayton! A few reminders as we head into next week:

Traffic reminders:

1. All vehicles must turn right out of the driveway onto LaCrosse Avenue. Turning left is not safe, as people are crossing in the crosswalk.

2. Pull all the way forward before your children exit your vehicle; do not leave gaps between vehicles

If picking up your child early:

After checking in with the front office, remain in the front porch area until your child is released to you. Please do not wait in your car.

Fundraiser update:

Thank you for every share and donation you all have contributed to our fundraiser. We appreciate everyone’s support as we raise funds for a part-time intervention teacher and device manager, campus improvements, classroom support. If you haven’t registered your student on mybooster.com, it’s easy to do this weekend.

Then, consider sharing with extended family and friends. And if you are able to, consider making a donation as well. Every share and donation adds up to make a BIG difference for our school.

If your family does get a donation this weekend, you’ll be part of the Weekend Challenge! Any student that gets $3 per lap or a total of $90 in NEW donations logged on mybooster.com will receive a BONUS prize!

Thank you for supporting our school.

Sincerely,

Karen McCollum

Nan Clayton Elementary Principal

Sunday, Oct 22- Happy Birthday Amy Crenshaw, 3rd grade teacher

Monday, Oct 23

• Booster Fundraiser Continues

Tuesday, Oct 24

• Happy Birthday Michele Franklin, 3rd grade teacher

• Booster Fundraiser Continues

• Wear rainbow colors for Love Your Brain Week

• Booster Fundraiser Continues

• Dress like a friend or staff member for Love Your Brain Week

Thursday, Oct 26

• Happy Birthday Jacky Joisten, 3rd grade teacher

• Booster Fundraiser Continues

• Silly socks and hilarious hair for Love Your Brain Week

• 3:15 UIL Practice for students who have joined
  

Friday, Oct 27

• 🔹Booster Fun Run!🔹 (schedule below)

• Sprit day - wear your Clayton shirt

Looking ahead

Oct 30 - Nov 3 - Fall Book Fair

Nov 2 - Fall Picture Retakes

Nov 10 - 8:30-9:15 am Veteran’s Day Program

Clayton leaders are hosting a Caregiver Circle on Friday, November 3 from 8-9:30 am and invite caregivers who have a 4th or 5th grade at Clayton to participate. The purpose of a Caregiver Circle is to help build and maintain a healthy community in which all members feel connected and respected.

This gathering is not a presentation by administration, but rather an opportunity for administrators and counselors to listen and learn. Questions we will explore are: What is important to our community? How does Clayton reflect our community's values? What opportunities might we have to develop and grow as a school community?

The circle will be facilitated by our counselors and our administrators will participate. We hope you can join us!

The Clayton Fun Run is the biggest school fundraiser of the year! Volunteers help organize children, supervise, and help wherever needed. All volunteers MUST undergo the background check and be cleared before the event. Complete that here if you haven't already since the start of the school year.

Both Volunteers and Visitors must check-in at the Front Office before heading to the Fun Run location (which will be near the 5th grade hallway doors if outside; cafeteria if inside).

In the event that the Run needs to be moved indoors because of weather, volunteers will be the only non-staff adults permitted to attend, due to space limitations. So sign up below and ensure you can be there!

SignUp Genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4FACA72FA0FA7-45166000-booster

We're excited to host a "Book Fair Bon Voyage" - our Fall Scholastic fair - from October 30 - November 3. The fair always excites our readers, and our 25% profit funds our part-time clerk position. Students will visit during the day, and we'll be open after school on Monday-Wednesday until 4:15, and Thursday until 6:30. (We close at noon on Friday.). Want an easy way for your kids to pay? Check out Scholastic's ewallet option. And for a front-row seat to all the fun, sign up to volunteer with our Signup Genius.

On October 19 we launch our big school/PTA joint fundraiser, the Clayton Fun Run. The Fun Run is a longstanding Clayton tradition and this year we are partnering with Booster to help us organize the event. PTA and Clayton Elementary join forces for this event and this year our goal is to raise $65,000.

The portion that Clayton Elementary receives will go towards funding two important staff positions, our Device Manager and our Part-time Content Interventionist. Our Device Manager is Deborah Arya and our Part-time Content Interventionist is Cindy Little. Both positions are not funded by AISD, but we feel these are important to student learning. We fund these positions thanks to donations from our community. Also, the portion that our PTA receives goes towards grants for all teachers to use towards their classrooms, curriculum resources, and school improvements.

In the past, we have partnered with Apex. With input from our community and staff, we are trying a new company this year, Booster. We feel that Booster will offer engaging lessons for our students, a seamless donation experience, and a safe and fun Fun Run. We are open to your feedback, so please let me know if you have any feedback about Booster. I also welcome you to join our PTA and get involved. Our next meeting is November 15 at 6 pm.

Please see our links below to register your child for our Booster fundraiser. Registration allows others to donate to our fundraiser. All Clayton Cardinals get to participate in our Fun Run regardless of whether or not they raise funds. Thank you for your support!

Caregivers will soon be able to submit a Prideline for your child for this year’s yearbook. Pridelines are optional and are available for purchase from Balfour (use same link as yearbook purchase).

If you choose to submit a Prideline feature, please be aware of the following standards:

• Prideline submissions should be about your own child

• The purpose of a Prideline is to send your child to middle school with a position note

• Prideline submissions should be positive statements that affirm the student

All yearbook content and entries are subject to review by Clayton Elementary administrators. Please contact our principal, Karen McCollum, with any questions at karen.mccollum@austinisd.org.

The Trail of Resolution is a problem-solving path we will use at Clayton Elementary. The purpose of the Trail of Resolution is to address questions and concerns in an effective and efficient manner. If you have a question or concern, first contact the person who is directly involved in the situation. For example, if you have a question or concern about something in the classroom, first contact the teacher to seek clarification. Follow the trail if the concern persists.

Teacher → Assistant principal → Principal

Has someone at Clayton gone above and beyond for your family? Austin ISD uses the RAVE platform to Recognize All Valuable Employees. To send someone a RAVE, use the link/button at the bottom of this newsletter. The employee and principal receive an email to celebrate their recognition. Thank you!