ALA Community Update

ALA National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist

We are very proud to announce that Mizael Solis, ALA Senior, has been named a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist! Mizael is the only student in SAISD this year to be recognized for this honor. Students across the nation are eligible to qualify as a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist based off of their PSAT scores. You can read more about this prestigious honor HERE. Our community is proud of the work Mizael has done throughout his time at ALA. Since he was a 4th grader on our campus, he has demonstrated an outstanding ability to think critically and creatively. His teachers describe him as thoughtful, insightful and humble. They applaud him for always being willing to explore his passions deeply and think about the world through an empathetic lens. We celebrate this outstanding accomplishment alongside Mizael and his family!

September 30th Student Holiday

As a reminder, Monday, September 30th, 2024 is a student holiday for all ALA students. The purpose of the student holiday is to provide the ALA faculty with valuable time for professional learning. The overview of all of our school holidays can always be found on our 2024-2025 Instructional Calendar for ALA Euclid and ALA Tech.

TITLE 1 AND CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN PRESENTATION

We want to share the 24-25 Title 1 Presentation and Campus Improvement Plan Presentation with families. We will also be reviewing this content at the upcoming Gators Are Back events with Ms. Crystal Valdez, ALA Operations Coordinator, on September 25th at Euclid and September 26th at ALA Tech. Once you review the presentation, we ask that you complete the short Title 1 Survey or Title 1 Survey in Spanish. We value your feedback!

Parent and Family Engagement Opportunities

Please check out the parent sessions on various topics to support student learning through Region 20 and ESC 16. Find more information on this flyer if you are interested.

Family Field Trip

First Field Trip with Mrs. Chrissy will be Oct. 5 at the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival. This will be an opportunity for ALA Families to experience the event independently or in groups. Please fill out the google form so Mrs. Chrissy can keep you up to date with information for the event.

October 2024 Family Field Trip - Pollinator Festival (google.com)

Reminder

The CAST Network is working alongside ALA to create promotional materials for the community as we continue to encourage new families to join our school. We are actively looking for current ALA families that might be interested in submitting a video or text testimonial about their child’s experience at ALA. If you would be interested in participating, please review the document linked below for additional information. Your insight is highly valued as we share our ALA experiences with the broader community!

ALA Testimonial Request

Gators Are Back

Kinder through 3rd grade families, our Gators Are Back event is this Wednesday, September 25th from 5:00-7:00 pm. Please arrange childcare so you are able to participate and engage with your student’s teacher during this time, more information can be found on this ALA Euclid K-3rd Grade Gators Are Back flyer. Use this link to register for ALA PreK-3rd Grade’s Gators Are Back event and arrive between 4:15-5:00 pm as we will start promptly in your child’s classroom at 5:00 pm followed by two 30-minute choice session opportunities.

Arrival and Dismissal

Thank you for being respectful to our neighbors and their properties by allowing their cars to go in and out of driveways. Last week, members of our community stopped by to express their gratitude for your consideration. Let’s continue to show respect by ensuring that driveways remain accessible and by following all parking signage indicating where you can and cannot park. We appreciate your cooperation!

Girl With Grit School Workshop

Girl with Grit is one of ALA’s Advisory Board members and industry partners. They will host a Creative Construction workshop on campus on October 1st from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. This will be an opportunity for girls to explore careers in skilled trades, which are historically underrepresented by women. Girls will also build birdhouses during the workshop, gaining hands-on skills with tools.

ATHLETIC UPDATES

Middle School

• 7 on 7 Football Tournament; Sat., Sep. 28th: Spring Sports Complex 1000 Edwards 78204

• NO admission

• NO parking fee

• First Game 9:00 am

• Volleyball Tournament; Sat., Sep. 28th: Mission Concepcion Sports Complex , 714 E. Theo 78210

• $5 per carload parking fee

• NO Admission

• First Game 9:00am

• Boys Basketball October 1st.

• SportsYou sign up HERE

• Coach Brown @ tbrown8@saisd.net

• Girls Soccer October 1st

• SportsYou sign up HERE

Coach Sanchez @ ssanchez5@saisd.net

High School (9th -12th)

• HS Volleyball: Tech vs. YWLA Tuesday, Sep. 24th @ Tech 5:00(F) 6:15(JV) 7:30(V) SENIOR NIGHT for VARSITY

• HS Cross Country: Saturday, September 28th @ SW Legacy HS; contact Coach Martines @ rmartinez36@saisd.net

• Tech Archery SportsYou sign up HERE. Contact Coach Birmingham @ jbirmingham@saisd.net

• HS Track and Field (Spring) SportsYou sign up HERE. Contact Coach Maney @ rmaney1@saisd.net

All athletic tickets for SAISD venues will be purchased through Hometown Ticketing. NO CASH will be accepted at the gate.

Athletes and Parents: The one way gate from the fine arts parking lot to Buffalo Run has been fixed. Please plan on entering the parking lot from Flores and exiting Buffalo Run only.

PreK CIRCLE Assessment

Window: September 3rd - October 4th

2024-2025 ACT/SAT/PSAT NMSQT

We continue to be committed to supporting our students’ readiness for postsecondary choices by offering them the opportunities to take college entrance exams including the PSAT, SAT and ACT on a school day at no charge to the students or their families. Research demonstrates when we schedule the tests on a school day, students will experience greater levels of success when they take the tests. Success on these tests translates to greater opportunities for college choice, increased financial aid, and higher accountability ratings for our campuses.

Seniors will be allowed to take either the SAT or ACT at the district’s expense, but not both. Students will be asked to choose which assessment they would like to take during the school day. To ensure equity for all students, SAISD is only providing 12th graders with one assessment FOR INFORMATION ONLY during the school day. If students wish to take an additional assessment, they will need to sign up for a Saturday assessment through either ACT or SAT (College Board). Qualifying students may use SAT/ACT vouchers to help with the cost of an additional assessment if they would like to attend a Saturday administration. If students do not qualify and they would like to test an additional assessment on a Saturday, there will be an additional charge. Counselors and College Bound Advisors can assist students with registering for the Saturday test.

At the Advanced Learning Academy students will be testing on October 2 from 8:30am-1pm.

• 12th graders will test either SAT or ACT.

• 10th grade will test PSAT

• 11th graders will test PSAT/NMSQT.

All these tests are timed tests, so punctuality is imperative. All tests will start at exactly 9:00am, so students need to be sitting down at their desk no later than 8:30am. Please make sure your son/daughter eat a good breakfast, are on time and well rested. Each test will take 2-3 hours and most students will be done by 12pm, unless they are in an accommodated testing session. Once they are done they will eat lunch and return to a normal school schedule.

Parent Information : https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat-suite-benefits-students-parents

ACT district Testing Toolkit: https://success.act.org/s/article/The-ACT-District-TestingCommunication-Toolkit

PSAT student study guide: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/psat-nmsqt-student-guide.pdf

SAT student Study guide: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/sat-student-guide.pdf

ACT student study guide: https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf

Each link below has a drop down at the top to select the menu view (either breakfast or lunch). Dinner is offered but not pictured in either menu.

ECE = PreK menu

Academy = Kinder - 8th grade menu

Special Campus = High School menu (9th-12th grade only)

If an ALA family is not receiving the Community Update, please ensure they have not unsubscribed to School Messenger (the SAISD communication platform used to send out messages and emails) and also check their junk email. Families are also welcome to email their campus Operations Clerk for additional assistance, Brenda Cantu (bcantu2@saisd.net) at ALA Tech or Ce’nese Wooten (cwooten1@saisd.net) at ALA Euclid.