🏠 Built to Belong: 5th graders got their house assignments and t-shirts |
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| Last Friday, we had our house sorting ceremony for our 5th grade Grizzlies. They were sorted into five Houses, each representing important character strengths: 💜Harmony — Kindness & Perseverance 🛡️ Integrity — Respect & Honesty
🧩 Unity — Responsibility & Cooperation
⭐ Valor — Gratitude & Courage
💡 Inspiration — Empathy & Creativity Each 5th grader should have come home with a new Galindo Built to Belong T-shirt. We encourage you to write their name inside the tag or back of the t-shirt so they don't get mixed up.
Now these 5th grade leaders will help sort the rest of our Grizzlies this week! Everyone should have their house assignment and shirt by the end of the week. |
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Our respect challenge for the week was to connect with a friend you haven't met yet, that went to a different school last year. These Grizzlies rose to the challenge and were seen building belonging at Galindo!! |
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🌟 Character Trait of the Month — RESPECT |
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Our students continue to focus on the character trait of the month, respect, as they learn the impact of being an upstander, or standing up for others. They also will practice ways to respectfully stop an unkind behavior, support a person who is hurt, and report it to a trusted adult. When students feel empowered and courageous, they are able to stand up for themselves and for their classmates!
Respect Challenge: Encourage your child to name five trusted adults they can turn to when they see or hear someone not being respectful. Ask them: What would you say to them? How could they help? |
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🏫 Back to School Night — Come See What We’re Building Together! |
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Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 10th, from 5:30–7:00 PM! Back to School Night is a chance for families to visit their child’s classroom, see some of the wonderful work they’ve already been doing, and learn more about what to expect throughout the school year.
This evening will be an open-house style event, so there will not be a formal presentation. It is also NOT a parent-teacher conference. Teachers will be connecting with multiple families throughout the evening, sharing information and answering questions as they visit with families. If you would like dedicated, individualized time to talk with your child’s teacher about their progress or specific needs, we recommend making an appointment with the teacher during their planning time.
But that’s not all! We’ll also have community resources, pizza and refreshments available for purchase, and pre-sales for our Built to Belong T-shirts open to families and community members. 👕✨ We can’t wait to welcome you into our classrooms and celebrate the learning, relationships, and belonging we’re building together at Galindo!
📅 Thursday, September 10th
⏰ 5:30–7:00 PM
📍 Galindo Elementary |
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Other Important Announcements |
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🗓️Labor Day Reminder! Just a friendly reminder that there will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, September 7th, in observance of Labor Day. Our Grizzlies get an extra day to rest, recharge, and enjoy time with family and friends! We’ll see everyone back at Galindo on Tuesday, September 8th, ready for another great week of learning, growing, and belonging! Enjoy your long weekend, Grizzlies!
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🚨 Evacuation Drill: Galindo will conduct an evacuation drill Thursday at 9:00 a.m. This is our opportunity to practice exiting the building quickly, calmly, and quietly so that everyone knows what to do in the event of a real emergency. For students who have never experienced a fire alarm, the sound can be loud and surprising. Please reassure your child that the alarm is simply a signal that helps us practice keeping ourselves and others safe. Our teachers will prepare students ahead of time and guide them throughout the drill. Practice helps us feel prepared, and preparedness helps keep our Grizzlies safe!
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👵👴 Grandparents Lunch at Galindo: We’re excited to welcome our Galindo grandparents and special grandparent figures for a special lunch with their Grizzlies on Friday, September 11th! Grandparents or any special adults are invited to join their grandchildren during their regularly scheduled lunch time between 10:30 AM and 12:45 PM. Bring a favorite lunch from home to enjoy together, or purchase a cafeteria lunch for $5.50. We’ll have fun activities for grandparents and grandchildren to enjoy together, plus a yummy special treat for every grandparent who visits! 🍪💚 We can’t wait to welcome some of the most important people in our Grizzlies’ lives and celebrate the love, stories, and connections that help make our community Built to Belong!📅 Friday, September 11th⏰ 10:30 AM–12:45 PM🍎 During your child’s regularly scheduled lunch time
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🧠 GT Nominations: Gifted and Talented (GT) Referrals Are Now Open! At Galindo, we believe in supporting every student’s unique potential and curiosity. We are excited to announce that the Austin ISD referral window for Gifted and Talented (GT) screening for the 2026-2027 school year is officially open! What You Need to Know:
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Submit Your Referral: You can complete the referral form online here: GT Referral Form.
- The Window: Referrals are accepted from August 18, 2026, through October 16, 2026.
- Who Can Refer: Anyone in our community—families, faculty, staff, and community members—is welcome to submit a referral for K-12 students in accordance with Texas Education Agency guidelines.
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The Process: Submitting this form initiates the GT screening process. Please keep in mind that completing the referral form is the first step and does not guarantee placement in GT services.
- Phone: 512-414-1756, ext. 55566
- Email: danielle.sanders@austinisd.org
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📢 Grade Level Parents We are thrilled to share that we have officially hired our second Parent Support Specialist, Christina Peña. She will be joining our team very soon to help strengthen our community connections. One of her key roles will be organizing parent volunteers and spearheading our Grade Level Parent program. She will be working closely with our Family Engagement Coordinators, Grade Level Parents, and the PTA to ensure all our students and teachers have everything they need to thrive. We are so excited to have her on board—stay tuned for more information coming your way soon!
- 🤝 Volunteering, partnership, & community: We are currently rounding up volunteers, the first step is sign up through https://austinisd.voly.org/. Reach out to our PSS if you need help or to find out more information.
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🌱 Join Our Green Global Team — Grow with Us!At Galindo, Built to Belong extends to our gardens, animals, and outdoor learning spaces! We are looking for enthusiastic parent volunteers to join our Green Global Team. Whether you have a green thumb or simply want to support hands-on learning experiences for our Grizzlies, your time, ideas, and presence are so welcome.Come connect with other families and learn how you can help our students explore, care for living things, and build a sense of stewardship for our school and community.📅 This Friday
⏰ 3:30 PM
📍 Galindo Library We can’t wait to grow together! 🌿🐻💚 -
📈 MAP Growth Testing: It’s time to show what you know and how you grow! Our Grizzlies will be taking the NWEA MAP Growth assessment, a computer-adaptive assessment that helps teachers understand what students know, identify areas for growth, and plan instruction that meets students where they are. (NWEA)MAP Growth is just one piece of the puzzle we use to understand student learning. We always encourage students to get a good night’s sleep, eat breakfast, come to school ready to learn, and simply do their very best, and this is true for MAP testing days. There is no need to stress—MAP Growth is designed to help us celebrate progress and determine the best next steps for learning. Families can learn more about MAP Growth, including how the assessment works, what RIT scores mean, and how to support your child, through NWEA’s Family Toolkit: NWEA Family Toolkit – Parent Resources
- We will test on the following days:
- 9/8 2nd & 3rd MAP Testing
- 9/9 5th Spanish Reading MAP Testing
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🌱 Rooted in Belonging: A Garden Joining Ceremony: Friday, September 18 | 3:30–4:30 p.m. Join us for a special celebration as we honor the histories of Dawson, Becker, and Galindo and officially welcome our communities together as one! During our Rooted in Belonging Garden Joining Ceremony, we’ll unveil our Dawson Dolphin, Becker Bobcat, and Galindo Grizzly statues and celebrate the stories, traditions, and people that make our new Galindo community so special. Come help us mark this meaningful moment as we honor our roots, celebrate our new beginning, and grow together.🌱🐬🐾🐻 All Galindo families and community members are invited!
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🚗Parking: We have two parking lots at Galindo and 97 parking spots, but over 120 staff members who come to Galindo daily. For this reason, we cannot have parents or visitors parking in our parking lots. There is an exception of the 3 labeled visitor spots in the front parking lot for families who are attending a meeting or picking up a sick child from the nurse. Additionally we have 1 Handicap or Accessible parking in the front and two in the back for families with official tags in need. The rest of the time we ask that parents please use street parking on Garden Villa Ln., South Center St., or S. 2nd St.
- 🔔Bell Schedule:
- 7:05 Doors open
- 7:30 Students are picked up in the cafeteria by teachers for breakfast in the classroom
- 7:40 Instructional Bell Rings
- 2:30- Early Pick Up Ends
- 3:10 Instructional Day Ends
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🚗 Early Pick Up: The end of the school day is a busy time, and we appreciate your partnership in helping us keep all of our students safe and our front office supported. For student safety, we ask that parents plan to pick up their child before 2:30 p.m. whenever possible. After 2:30 p.m., our office team is focused on supporting students and families as dismissal begins. When a staff member leaves the front office to retrieve a student, the office is left unattended. We understand that unforeseen emergencies happen, and we will always do our best to support your family when they arise. For planned appointments, trips, or other early pick-ups, please plan to arrive before 2:30 p.m. Thank you for helping us maintain a safe, welcoming, and well-supported environment for everyone during the busy end-of-day transition!
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🍎 School Lunch at Galindo: We want healthy, happy students who are ready to learn! Families can visit schoolcafe.com to view Galindo’s breakfast and lunch menus and learn more about free meals available to students. To help keep our cafeteria a healthy and happy place, we have a no hot chips, no candy, and no soda rule in the cafeteria. Thank you for partnering with us to encourage healthy choices and support our students’ well-being.
- 📕Galindo Student Handbook: The Galindo Student Handbook is an important resource for families to review so everyone understands our school expectations, routines, policies, and procedures. Taking a few minutes to read the handbook helps us work together to create a safe, welcoming, and successful school experience for every Galindo Grizzly!
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AISD Student Success Guide: The 2026–27 Austin ISD Student Success Guide is a helpful resource for families to understand student expectations, rights, responsibilities, safety, behavior, and discipline. We encourage families to review the guide with their students so everyone understands what is expected and knows where to turn when questions arise. Use the Table of Contents to quickly find topics that are most relevant to your family.
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What's Happening in our Grade Levels? |
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- Monday, September 7th
- Tuesday, September 8th
- Morning Assembly
- MAP Testing 3rd Grade
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Happy Birthday, Ms. Sanz Blanco, 1st grade teacher
- ARDs
- Wednesday, September 9th
- MAP Testing 5th Grade Spanish Reading
- Happy Birthday, Ms. Rios, Kinder Teacher
- Thursday, September 10th
- ARDs
- 9:00 am Evacuation Drill
- Back to School Night 5:30-7:00 (Open House style)
- Friday, September 11th
- Morning Assembly
- Grandparents’ Lunch
- 3:30 Green Global Volunteer Meeting
- Sunday, September 13th
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Happy Birthday, Coach Solo, PE TA
- UPCOMING EVENTS
- 9/15: Hispanic Heritage Month Kicks Off (4th and PK)
- 9/17: CAC meeting @ 4:30p
- 9/18: Rooted in Belonging: A Garden Joining Ceremony @ 3:30p
- 9/21: PLED Day - No School
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9/21-9/25: TA Appreciation Week
- 9/25: CAC Sponsored Family Movie Night
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5th grade Bulletin Board: 5th grade needs volunteers to create a cute bulletin board to display our "haiku hike haikus" before Back to School Night. We were thinking something like a "Poetree" with haikus all around but are open to creative ideas to display our students' work. Contact Lauren Berrong, instructional coach, at 512-414-1756 extension 55582 or email lauren.berrong@austinisd.org
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Grandparents Day Decorating: We are in need of some parents to help decorate the hallways, tables, and make a photo backdrop for Grandparents Day Lunch. This work will need to be done on Wednesday and Thursday since Grandparents Day Lunch is this Friday. Contact Contact Danielle Sanders: danielle.sanders@austinisd.org or call 512-414-1756 extension 55566
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Front Entry Bulletin Board: Are you creative and artsy? Our front entry bulletin board needs a re-fresh! Contact Danielle Sanders: danielle.sanders@austinisd.org or call 512-414-1756 extension 55566.
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