News for the Nest

Hello Cardinal family, what an amazing week! It is incredible to see our students blossom as we wrap up the 5th (!) week of school. Fall parent/teacher conferences are underway through the month of September. Please look out for an invitation from your child's teacher. We thank you for your partnership as we work together to help your child learn and grow.

A big THANK YOU to our PTA for hosting an informative guest speaker on Wednesday's meeting, Sergeant Amy Gonzales. Sergeant Amy Gonzales is an expert on internet safety for children. She shared strong evidence for why we should actively teach our kids to be safe online. Thank you PTA for this learning opportunity.

Thank you all for your continued support and communication as we get in the groove this school year. I appreciate you!

With Cardinal pride,

Karen McCollum

Nan Clayton Elementary principal

Monday, September 19

• Gifted and Talented nomination window open (closes Oct 7)

Thursday, September 22

• 7:45 AM Parent info meeting for gifted and talented in Clayton Library

Saturday, September 24 - Happy Birthday, Lauren Schwab!

Looking ahead - October 7 early release for students at 1:30 PM, October 14 No School

Please check out our events for the current semester (link). This is a list of combined school-led and PTA-led events. All events are subject to change.

Link to Austin ISD district calendar

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.

Your child's attendance at school is so important to us. When students attend school regularly, they are more likely to grow academically and feel a sense of belonging at school. Texas has a Compulsory Attendance Law and also a 90% law. The 90% law explains that, in order to receive credit for a final grade for a class, a student is required to attend class 90 percent of the days a class is offered.

Clayton administrators will contact families throughout the year if attendance drops, so we can support your child and help them have a successful year. Types of unexcused absenses include family trips, vacations, and attendance at non-school sponsored events. Clayton teachers are not required to provide work to families before a student is absent.

For more information, please visit AISD's attendance policy (link).

All AISD students are to follow our Student Success Guide. Please review the guide (link) and reinforce our expectations with your child. Thank you so much for your support.

Are you interested in subbing in a Clayton classroom for 90-120 minutes so a teacher can complete training and other tasks? Please complete this Google Form (link). Thank you for supporting our school!

The Gifted and Talented Referral Window is open! To refer your child for gifted and talented testing, please complete the form HERE.

AISD offers virtual information sessions for gifted and talented in the two following sessions:

September 19 via Zoom from 6-7 PM and September 20 from 12-1 PM. Click HERE for Zoom link and information.

Please bring your driver's license every time you arrive on campus to check your child out of school. This is a safety measure that we follow at all times as part of our routine processes. Thank you for your understanding.

Clayton will host a virtual information session about how the AISD bond affects our students on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 6:30 PM. The Zoom link will be shared in a few weeks in this newsletter.

We are pleased to announce that assemblies are back! Our assemblies will celebrate the whole child by acknowledging birthdays, recognizing students for exhibiting the Clayton Flight Plan (respectful, responsible, motivated, kind, honest), showing leadership, meeting reading goals, and more.

Family members are welcomed to attend the assembly after checking in at the front office.

Where: Clayton cafeteria

Time: 7:45-8:15 AM

When:

• September 30 - Assembly for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades all together
• October 7 - Assembly for PreK, Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade all together

Assemblies will occur monthly. The first Friday of the month will celebrate PreK through 2nd graders. The last Friday of the month will celebrate 3rd through 5th grades.

Our staff is excited to celebrate our amazing students!

P.E. Volunteers: Our PE team is doing amazing work and we want to support them. Come assist in the gym and/or outside by playing games with students and cheering them on. Fill out this form if you would like to join our PE team for a few hours a week.

Cafeteria Monitor Volunteers: We need your help! Come hang out with us in the cafeteria- finally meet this "Mr. Chris", the cafeteria manager that all the kids talk about. Fill out this form if you want to join our volunteer team.

ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST COMPLETE A BACKGROUND CHECK HERE: https://austinpartners.org/

In the event that your child will be missing school, please follow these steps:

1) Email both your child's teacher and Deanna McDonald, attendance clerk, at deanna.mcdonald@austinisd.org

2) Please include your child's first and last name

3) Please provide the reason for the absence so we can code it correctly in our attendance system.

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

Your child's safety and well-being are so important to us.

If you’re feeling sick

If you or your child are feeling sick, regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not, please stay home and contact your medical provider and campus as soon as possible.

If you test positive

Those who test positive will need to stay home and report their case by contacting your child's teacher. The teacher will then notify administration, who will send out a notification to families that we have a positive COVID case.

Returning to school

After testing positive, you need to wait five days before returning to school (the day you tested positive is Day 0). Anyone who tested positive will need markedly improved symptoms and to be fever-free for 24 hours before returning.

Students or staff who return to campus on the sixth day after a positive result will be required to mask for five more calendar days.

If you child has COVID and you have questions about when they may return to school, please contact our school nurse, Jenny Ribera, at jenny.ribera@austinisd.org

Please visit https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/covid-19 for more information about AISD COVID protocols.

7:15 - campus opens

7:15-7:35 - breakfast served in cafeteria

7:35 - 1st bell rings

7:40 - SCHOOL STARTS

3:05 - dismissal begins

3:10 official end of the school day

• Website: Clayton has a beautiful and informative new website: https://clayton.austinschools.org/

• Twitter: @claytoncardinals

• Weekly News for the Nest: weekly newsletter to families from the principal, Karen McCollum