Cougar News

Clint Small Middle School
Weekly Newsletter

Week of September 16, 2024

A Letter from Ms. Bedford

Hello Smallville,

I hope you had a fantastic week! I’m looking forward to enjoying the weather this weekend and catching a few football games. Last night our community came together for our annual Dual Language Potluck. It was a beautiful night filled with lively conversations, music, and informative presentations about our high school dual language pathways. Thank you to Mr. Hopkins and Ms. Gonzalez for hosting such a rewarding night!

As we continue to venture through this school year, I would like to provide everyone with a few reminders so that we can ensure that we maintain smooth systems that support our students. Thanks for helping us keep our Cougars safe and our drop-off/pick-up process running smoothly!

Drop-Off Zone: Please avoid dropping off your student along Monterey Oaks. Even if your Cougar is quick to jump out, this can create big traffic jams and safety issues. Let's keep those roadways clear!

Crossing Guards: Our crossing guard on Staggerbrush is there to keep everyone safe, but they’re often working solo. Please pay close attention to their directions and don’t drive through the crosswalk while students are crossing, which has happened a few times this week. Safety first!

Pull Forward: “Pull forward please!” Mr. Poehl’s favorite line during morning arrival. He wants to remind you to pull as far forward as you can in the drop-off line. This keeps things moving swiftly and avoids bottlenecks.

Morning Rush: We get it—some mornings are a whirlwind. But to ensure everyone’s safety, please follow all signage, directions, and procedures even when you are in a time crunch.

Lunch Drop-Off: If you’re dropping off lunch, make sure it arrives before your child’s lunch period. Students will get a pass to the front office to pick it up, and while we’ll try to call their classroom, it’s up to the student to use the pass. Our front office staff is always busy, so we can not take responsibility to hand deliver food to students. If you know you will drop food off to your students, please let them know beforehand. Please note, that we can’t accept deliveries from services like DoorDash.

Stay Present Cougars,

Bedford

Small MS Pumpkin Patch & Fun

Small MS Pumpkin Patch & Fun
Sunday October 6th, 2024
11 am to 4:00 pm.

🎃 Join Us for a Spook-tacular Fall Fun Fest! 🎃

Imagine our football field transformed into a pumpkin paradise, bursting with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes just waiting for a new home! Picture this: Teachers, Admin, Staff, and Students all gathered on a Sunday, spread out at booths, ready to hand out tickets for exciting games, face painting, arts and crafts, and all things fall fun! It’s our First Ever Fall Fundraiser, and we need YOUR help to make it a smashing success!

How can you get involved? 🤔

Spread the Word 📢: This event is for EVERYONE! Help us reach out by sharing the news with all elementary schools, neighborhood newsletters, Nextdoor, Ring groups, and any place you think families might be interested. If you spot our event on Facebook, hit that "Going" or "Interested" button to help boost our visibility!
Shop Our Wishlist 🛒: We’re starting from scratch and need all the goodies—decorations, games, prizes, and supplies. Check out our wishlist and send something our way. You can even have it shipped directly to us at Small!
Donate Snacks & Drinks 🍿: We’ll be selling snacks and drinks to keep everyone fueled for fun. Help us keep costs down and profits up by donating prepackaged snacks and drinks.
Volunteer 🙌: We need enthusiastic helpers to run games, manage booths, and sell pumpkins. Sign up on Voly and lend a hand!
Get Your Pumpkin & Play 🎃: Pre-purchase your pumpkin and tickets online, then swing by to pick out your favorite gourd, play some festive games, and enjoy tasty fall treats! The Link for online pre-purchase of pumpkins and tickets will be available in next weeks newsletter.

Just like our Splashfest in the spring, all proceeds from this event will support the activity funds of participating departments and clubs. This means extra funds for teachers to buy supplies and create engaging lessons that make Small Middle School uniquely awesome!

Let’s make this Fall Fun Fest a memorable event for all ages. See you there!

This amazing event is sponsored by Jersey Mikes!
Go get a sub this week and tell Mannie thanks for partnering with Small MS!

Snacks for Counseling Dpt.

Counseling Department is asking for Snacks.

Our Counseling Department would love some prepackaged healthy snacks that they can give out to kids in need. Please send in things like Goldfish crackers, Nature Bakery Fig Bars, Chewy Bars, Belvita Crunchy bars, Nutra grain bars.

NO Chocolate or Peanut snacks please.

Egg Cartons Wanted

Our Agribusiness class is getting ready to start up their egg club. They are in need of empty egg cartons. If you have any to donate, please send them into the main office.

GT Referral and Screening Process

All campuses in Austin ISD offer Gifted and Talented screening in grades K-12 based on referrals submitted at http://bit.ly/2024AISDGTStart. If you are interested in seeing whether your child demonstrates a need for Gifted and Talented Services, please follow the link above. When a referral is submitted for a child, their parent or caregiver will be prompted to complete a Parent/Caregiver GT Observation Form.

Referrals are received by the Campus GT Advocate, who facilitates the implementation of GT assessment and services at the campus level. For questions about the GT identification process or services at your campus, please reach out to your Campus GT Advocate.

Referral Window for SY2024-25: August 20-October 7

Los padres y cuidadores pueden proporcionar el nombre de su niño al representante de Dotados y Talentosos (GT, por sus siglas en inglés) de su escuela para que sea considerado en el Programa de Dotados y Talentosos. El representante GT de la escuela podrá darle información más detallada.

Periodo de tiempo para el ano escolar SY2024-25 sera el 20 de agosto al 7 de octubre.

Virtual Gifted & Talented Information Session:
September 24, 2024 @6:00 pm or September 25, 2024 @ noon. (https://Bit.ly/AISDGTINFO). Contact advancedacademics@austinisd.org with questions or for more information.

Virtual Dotados y Talentuosos información sesión:
24 de septiembre, 2024 @6:00 pm o 25 de septiembre, 2024 @ 12 (https://Bit.ly/AISDGTINFO). Contacto advancedacademics@austinisd.org para mas información.

A Message from our Nurse

Thank you all so much for your donations. The Nurse has what she needs for now!

Vaccination Information

A free Vaccination clinic is coming to Small on October 16th from 4 to 7 pm. If you plan on coming, Please download and fill out these forms. Vaccination Forms

Teacher Tutoring Schedules

If you student is needing some extra help in any of their classes, here are our teachers tutoring times for this year. Any before school tutoring requires a pass from the teacher, have your student talk to their teacher ahead of time for a pass. Afterschool they can just show up.

Before school tutoring starts 7:45 and afterschool goes until 4:30

Note: Some teachers may start earlier in the mornings, or go later in the afternoons have your student confirm with their teachers to coordinate parent transportation. THERE IS NO LATE BUS

To download a pdf. version of these schedules, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pyzlYOghfsHgGDFIelyFcPbnPKk7PQ9j/view?usp=sharing

Rave's of the Week

Every day, our amazing Teachers and Staff go above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of our students. Yet, they rarely get the recognition they deserve from our Small community.

But did you know? AISD has a fantastic program where parents, staff, and community members can shout out when a staff member truly shines! Each week, we highlight these incredible moments as "RAVES of the Week."

If you’d like to submit a RAVE about anyone here at Small, simply visit AISD RAVE. Let’s show our appreciation and let them know their hard work is noticed!

Angie Bush

She is the best teacher because she always supports me when I'm scared of something new, she is sweet, and calm! I hope you read this message soon, good-bye

Loren Crow

Ms. Crow is a wonderfully positive and unflappable advocate for our students and a shining example of what a colleague can and should be. To say that our students are lucky to have her would be a grand understatement. We as staff on this campus are also outrageously lucky to have her on our team.

Bell Mullen

Ms. Mullen somehow has as much energy as she has knowledge of Greek and Roman myths. My 6th grader comes home every other day, anxious to retell a new myth, often in real time. The way she describes Ms. Mullen’s teaching style reminds me of a college course, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that my child has the opportunity to be taught by such a stellar educator.

Award winning PTA news

We’re excited to invite you to our Small Clean-Up Day Sunday, September 29th. We’ll meet at 9am and work to trim overgrown bushes and trees, pick up trash, and clear out the walkway areas to make Smallville shine. Your help will make a huge difference, and we promise it’ll be a fun and rewarding day!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45AFAF2FA4FAC07-51362429-small

Volunteers & Donations Needed

We currently have several opportunities for families to support our campus. Click below to learn more about each opportunity.

Connect with the PTA

Our PTA Facebook & Instagram pages are a great way to stay up to date and make sure you never miss volunteer opportunities, event details, meeting info and more! Be sure to like us on your social platforms so you see everything we're sharing that's PTA related.

https://www.facebook.com/smallmspta

https://www.instagram.com/smallmspta

We also have a new Linktree account for quick access to all the most useful links you'll need. Check it out!

https://linktr.ee/smallmspta

Cougar Cage

The Cougar Cage is open for business and we need your help! The Cougar Cage is the CSMS school store and helps to raise money for the PTA. To learn more about the Cougar Cage and what a volunteer shift entails, click the Sign Up below. If it’s your first time volunteering, be sure to sign up for a “Trainee” shift.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45AFAF2FA4FAC07-50975400-cougar

You can also support the Cougar Cage by purchasing items from our wish list. You’ll find some of the most popular Cougar Cage items listed here. Help us keep the Cougar Cage well stocked for our students!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3P00T28AAQ0WS?ref_=wl_share

Parent Portal Grade Check Meetings

If you missed the meeting last week regarding how to use the parent portal for Grades/Attendance and blend, check out the Video and/or presentation below.

Presentation

AISD App

Have you downloaded the AISD app yet? The more we play with it, the more we feel this will become your one stop shop for all Small MS Communication.

Set your preferred school to Small and stay in the know with everything that is Small MS

In the palm of your hand you will find:

All calendar events
This newsletter
Upload an attendance note
See the AB calendar/Daily Schedule
Get important push and emergency notifications
Live feed
Club listings
Plus much more!

Download it today

Clubs are starting to form

As the students and teachers agree to club terms and conditions they are filling out this google form. To find out what clubs are being offered on what dates check out our Clubs page on our website, or in the app! If you student would like to join any of these clubs, tell them to just show up!

Small Library News

Coming soon...a book vending machine!

That's right, a vending machine just for books!

The Small Middle School Library was selected for a $10,000 grant from the Austin Ed Fund to purchase a vending machine and books to fill it with!

This vending machine will have free books for students and will hopefully be here before the end of the fall semester. A huge thank you to the Austin Ed Fund for fostering literacy and a love for books here at Small and in AISD.

It will look something like this, but it will have a custom wrap just for our school:

Click the Small Library Newsletter to learn more about what is happening for the month of Sept. in our Small Library.

Join the Small Cap10k teams!

Let’s run/ walk together in the Austin Cap10k. We have a Cap10K Small team for students, teachers and staff called Small MS Cougars. We also have one team for their parents, family and friends called Small MS Family and Friends. Join the Cap10k team. It is cheaper for the students, teachers and admin if you join under a team.

https://www.cap10k.com/

Dual Language Section

Upcoming Dual Language Events

Click here to volunteer to Chaperone the Dance

New AISD Online Pay system

Did you know there is a new system for online pay this year? You can pay for things like lab fees, enrichment fees, Cougar Club, Uniform Fees, Library Fines, Chromebook fines plus much more. You can also make donations to feed Animals, as well as donate to our Green and or Tech academies.

Check out the new AISD Online Pay system https://small.myschoolcentral.com

Current Fundraising Events

Visual Arts Fundraiser

https://raise.snap.app/donate/donation-levels/small-middle-school-art-2024?share_type=email_1&donation_invite_id=74861289

BAND MATTRESS SALE FUNDRAISER!

If you or someone you know is looking to replace a bed in your home, now is the time! Clint Small MS Band is excited to announce they will be hosting a one-day Mattress Fundraiser on

When: Sunday, September 29th

Time: 10am - 5pm

Where: Palmer Events. There will be 25+ different styles of beds on display for customers to try. The brand name mattresses are made to order, have full factory warranties, are available in all sizes, and are priced below retail. In addition to beds, there will also be premium pillows, luxury sheets and even adjustable power bases!! Delivery & financing are available. Visit the Facebook event and click “GOING”, INVITE YOUR FRIENDS! SHARE OUR POSTS: FACEBOOK EVENT LINK

PTA Spirit Night

Smallville Travel Section

TIME TO GET ABOARD OUR 2026 INTERNATIONAL TOURS, Small Families!

We will have our online "SMALL's 2026 INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL NIGHT" on Tuesday, September 17th at 6:30 p.m.

HERE is the link to REGISTER: https://rsvp.eftours.com/2g5tcfj

RSVP is required to attend this online informational session where I will share everything about our T W O AMAZING Summer 2026 travel choices! We are proud to say our "Global Cougars Fly" international program will have shown the world to about 150 Cougars by then!

TRIP #1: Italy and Greece (Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Delphi, Athens, the Island of Crete, and more!)
TRIP #2: Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and more!)

OPEN to current and incoming 6th graders, 7th, 8th, Small alumni, and their family members!

I CANNOT wait to share these BUCKET LIST destinations and unbelievable travel plans with you all!

~Mrs. Early

mariel.early@austinisd.org

SMALL STEM TOURS is going to BOSTON!!

Have you ever wanted to walk the halls of Harvard and MIT?

How about whale watching?

Learning about the Salem Witch Trials?

Visit the JFK Library and learn about the Race to Space?

See the famous Blue Man Group in person?

Do we have a tour for you!

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Join SMALL STEM TOURS in Boston June (2025) for the science field trip of a lifetime!

Open to current and former Small students (and parents).

VIDEO MEETING for those interested in attending will be September 3rd at 6:30pm. Fill out the interest form below and the zoom link will be sent directly to you.
https://forms.gle/qtJ9ccimMFVwDHJv6

Deadline to reserve your spot is Sept 20.

Community Information

This section is for anything outside of Small that you might be interested in.

Clint Small Middle School

Home of the Cougars and the Green Tech Academy!

Email: jennifer.newell@austinisd.org
Website: https://small.austinschools.org/
Location: 4801 Monterey Oaks Boulevard, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-841-6700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057069836221