A Message from Interim Principal Rodriguez:

Welcome to the start of a fantastic school year! The wait is finally over, our first week of school is HERE, and we could not be more excited to welcome our students back to campus on Tuesday, August 18th.

First Day Reminders:

When students arrive on Tuesday morning, 6th graders should head straight to the cafeteria, while 7th and 8th graders will report directly to the gym. As a quick reminder, all students receive free breakfast and lunch every day. Any 7th or 8th grader grabbing breakfast should head to the cafeteria first and then make their way over to the gym once they finish eating.

If your child is feeling a bit nervous about where to go on the first day, please don't worry! Our staff will be out in full force Tuesday morning to take care of our students and make sure everyone makes it smoothly to their correct Connect room. Once they arrive in Connect, they will receive their updated schedules for the term. In Connect, they will review the Bell Schedule for the day, learn about their lunch period, and confirm their mode of transportation home.

Finally, please help us start the year strong by reviewing our campus cell phone policy with your child. From the moment students enter our campus gates in the morning until they leave campus at the end of the day, all phones and personal electronic devices must be tucked safely away inside their backpacks. Devices are not permitted in pockets or carried in hand while on campus grounds. Our team will be gently reminding students of this expectation throughout the week as they get settled back into the routine.

Thank you for your partnership, support, and trust. Let’s make this an incredible school year together!

Ram Reminders:

Student Schedules

Our team is hard at work finalizing student schedules. We will be printing updated copies tomorrow and delivering them directly to students during their Connect classes. Once students arrive to their Connect class, teachers will be reviewing their schedules with them to make sure they have a full and complete schedule. For any schedule errors, teachers will guide students to the Ram Cafe on the 2nd floor to our counselors to solve any issues. To ensure every student has a complete and accurate timetable, our immediate priority this week will be correcting schedule errors only. We will not be accepting general elective or schedule change requests just yet, but more information about that process will be shared closer to August 28th. 

Arrival Times & Late Arrivals

To help your child start their day feeling calm and ready to learn, please aim to arrive a few minutes early! Any student arriving after 8:15 AM will need to check in through the front office. Because breakfast service ends promptly at 8:15 AM, only students arriving on a late school bus will be able to grab breakfast after that time. Thank you so much for your help in getting our kiddos here on time!

Arrival Locations & Traffic Flow

Detailed arrival and dismissal maps are available on our website, but here is a quick guide on where to go:

* Bus Riders: Drop-off is at the bus loop, and students will enter campus through the courtyard black gates.

* Walkers: Please enter through the front white gates located off Tilley St.

* Car Riders: Drop-off and pick-up will take place by the gym off Zach Scott St.

* Bus Routes: To look up your child’s specific bus number, route, and stop times, please visit the AISD Bus Finder tool on the district website.

First Day Prep & Technology

On Tuesday, students should arrive with their backpacks and basic school supplies (you can check our website if you still need a copy of the supply list). Please note that we currently do not have enough Chromebook inventory to issue individual devices to every student for home use; however, we are actively setting up dedicated classroom sets so teachers have technology ready for student use during class activities.

We are so grateful for your patience and support as we kick off a wonderful year!

On the Ram Radar:

The Herd Update:

As we kick off the new school year, our administrative team is actively working to ensure every classroom is fully supported. We are currently interviewing and submitting employment recommendations daily, partnering closely with our district offices to source qualified candidates, and securing fantastic long-term substitute teachers who are already familiar with our students and curriculum content as we continue to finalize our permanent hires.

We are still actively looking to fill the following open positions:

* Math Teacher

* Dual Language Social Studies Teacher

* Spanish Teacher

* Orchestra Teacher

* ELA Teacher

* PE Teacher

Our school community is filled with incredible families and supporters, and word-of-mouth is often our best recruiting tool. If you or someone you know would be a great fit for our team and campus culture, please have them reach out directly to me at gabriella.rodriguez@austinisd.org. Thank you for helping us find the best talent for our kids!

Ram Team Highlights:

Bike Bus News!

This past Saturday was General Marshall's first Bike Bus Workshop! We hosted students and staff to practice safe riding skills, and practiced riding various routes to navigate some busy intersections. Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed the lovely morning!

Please join us for our Kick Off Community Ride on Saturday, September 19 at 8:30 am!

General Marshall strives to support students who plan to utilize walking or biking to school by providing Bike Bus Staffers! Staff plan to be at three key intersections to assist students with crossing safely and walking or riding into school:  

1. The gas station corner at 51st Street and Berkman 

2. The pedestrian crossing at Tilley and 51st Street

3. The pedestrian crossing at Manor and Pecan Springs

As this support happens during Teacher Duty time, 7:50 - 8:15, staff will need to stick to a strict schedule in order to return to campus and receive our students for our first class of the day. Please support your student to be timely if they would like to participate with our Bike Buses!  This will be our schedule: 

7:50 Staff leaves campus

8:00 Staff will have arrived to their location by 8:00

Students will be assisted through the intersection if they want to continue on their own. Or students will collect with staff, to ride together back to school. 

8:07 Bike Bus Staff leave to return to campus. (This will change to 8:05 after the first week of school.) 

8:15 Staff are back on campus and rush to meet their students! 

Staff can be identified by the bright yellow vests they'll be wearing, and they will have hand-held stop signs. 

While General Marshall currently plans to provide the support all year, this may change depending on student use.  Parents are encouraged to join our efforts supporting our active commuters, and you can email Ms. Bobby Sandoval (bobby.quindlensandoval@austinisd.org) if you would like to volunteer. 

Guidance about Malfunctions

Please plan ahead with your children; identify a plan for if their bike malfunctions and they are not able to ride it to school, for example if they get a flat tire. We recommend: 

If you have a malfunction and you are close enough to school, lock your bike and walk the rest of the way to school. Communicate with your adults to pick up the bike and address after school. 

If you have a malfunction and are too far to walk, call your adults to come up with a plan. Call the school to let us know, we will support if we are able.

Tubes and pumps are available at school, and we can assist with repair.

2026-2027 is the Year of the Bike Bus! Feel free to reach out to Ms. Sandoval if you or your student would like to be part of it!

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