Mills Elementary School
October 23, 2023 - October 27, 2023
Milo's Message: Avoiding Tardies
Please share this video from Milo with your Mountain Lions! We know the mornings can be tough so THANK YOU for getting your student(s) to school on time by 7:40am!
Rainy Day Dismissal
The forecast is calling for possible rain this week! A Rainy Day Dismissal will be enacted on days we experience heavy rain/storms during our dismissal time. This helps with the safe and efficient dismissal of students in inclement weather.
A School Messenger email will be sent to you by 12:30pm with the below message:
Mills Families,
We are closely monitoring the weather. We are enacting a rainy-day dismissal in order to be proactive and get students safely home with their caregivers.
Email your teachers no later than 2pm if you are changing your child’s mode of dismissal.
Unless they are car riders, PreK and Kinder students will still be picked up on the back blacktop.
Siblings of Pre-K & Kinder students will dismiss together and meet you on the back blacktop, unless you indicate otherwise.
Parents of 2nd grade students (with no siblings) can walk directly to the classroom portable door to pick up their child beginning at 2:50pm.
Do not crowd any areas near exterior doors. Please clear space so that school staff can help assist students safely.
If you do not notify school staff by 2:00 pm about a change for your child who is a walker, the student will be dismissed at 3:00 to walk to their pre-arranged meeting spot.
Car riders will be released beginning at 2:50 once the student dismissal number is inputted into our system. Please have your car number visible.
Thank you in advance for exercising patience. We are dismissing 740 students in possible bad weather- delays are to be expected.
Love Your Brain Week is Here!
Dear parents and families,
Austin ISD will celebrate Love Your Brain Week October 23rd - 27th. This week is a collaborative effort between Coordinated School Health Leaders, Austin ISD Peer Assistance Leadership Members (PALS), School Nurses, and School Counselors.
Our goal is to promote healthy choices, positive activities, and encourage students to avoid drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Each day has a content area focus:
• Day 1: Healthy Coping Skills instead of Smoking
• Day 2: Healthy Coping Skills instead of Alcohol
• Day 3: Healthy Coping Skills with Mindfulness
• Day 4: Avoiding peer pressure
• Day 5: Love your BRAIN Day (celebrate healthy bodies and brains)!
Parents are one of the most important factors in alcohol and drug use prevention. According to National Family Partnership, children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs that those who don’t, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.
We encourage you to take some time this week to talk to your child about your expectation that they avoid drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. There has been a recent rise in vaping or “e-cigarettes” amongst Central Texas teenagers, and parents are key to preventing teen smoking. This resource from the surgeon general provides some tips for parents on how to have the conversation and sample talking points.
Austin ISD is also posting a handout in every nurse’s office that includes information from the “CRAFFT” screener. We encourage you to talk about the warning signs of drug and alcohol dependence with your child. If you need some community based resources for drug and alcohol treatment, contact your primary care physician, school nurse, or school counselor.
Many accidental overdoses occur from children taking unused prescription medications. This is also a good time to check your medicine cabinet and dispose of medication properly. Local Walgreens Pharmacies have “take back” programs, so you can take your old medicines there.
Thank you for partnering with Austin ISD as we help keep our students healthy and safe, so that they can graduate college, career, and life ready!
Sincerely,
Mills Counseling, Mills Administrators, Mills Nurse, and Austin ISD
Clarification on Field Trips
Recently, there has been some confusion regarding field trip fees and enrichment fees. No child will be kept from attending a field trip if the family has not paid Enrichment fees. Part of the 'Experiences' portion of school fees includes field trip fees and enrichment fees. If a family would only like to take care of the field trip fees, we are happy to make this happen. Please let the front office or Principal Frageman know. There are also scholarships available to any family who cannot pay any fee. No child will ever be prevented from attending a field trip due to a family hardship.
It is important for families to let us know so that we can help. The school will email families a few reminders about upcoming field trips (and related fees associated with the field trip). Please check your email. If we do not hear from you via email, the school will give you a call to remind you of the upcoming field trip.
To date, no child has been held back at school and prevented from attending a field trip.
If you have any specific questions, please reach out directly to Principal Frageman or the administrative team. We value the partnership and direct communication.
Book Fair is Around the Corner
Come join the fun! The "Wild About Books" book fair is coming soon. The fair will start on Nov. 4th (Fall Festival day) and run through Nov.10th. It truly takes a village to make a fantastic book fair. You can volunteer to help decorate the outside of the library, set up bookcases and tables inside the library, or run a register during the book fair.
Volunteering is a great way to get to know other Mills parents and see the joy on kids' faces when they experience the book fair! We truly appreciate your help. 🙂
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B4FAAAA2DA0F58-45284338-book
Mills-Giving 2023
Mills-Giving is an annual school tradition of families coming to eat a special Thanksgiving (or bring your own) lunch with their Mountain Lions. Parents, grandparents, and special caregivers are welcome. Last year, we had over 300 families join us for this special event!
Mills-Giving lunch this year will be held on Thursday, November 16, during your child's lunch time.
If you are interested in attending Mills-Giving 2023, please make sure you RSVP by October 25th. Meal tickets are required to be purchased in order for the campus (and school district) to determine the number of meals that need to be prepared and served.
We hope you will celebrate this season of gratitude and togetherness with us!
RSVP Here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6lNkwhGKEg8W40BSa8eC-4uHySrBeZlFtdYVaJRzZORQ7-w/viewform
Dates to Remember
10/25- Kindergarten Field Trip Crowe's Nest Farm
10/23-10/27 Love Your Brain Week
10/28- Austin ISD Trunk or Treat, Nelson Field, 5pm-8pm
11/4- Mills Fall Festival 10am- 2pm
11/6-11/10- Book Fair Week
11/7 & 11/8 3rd Grade Field Trip Texas State Cemetery
11/8 & 11/9- 5th Grade Field Trip iFly
11/10- PreK Field Trip to Austin Zoo
11/13- Student Holiday (No School)
11/15- 4th Grade Choir Concert
11/16- Fall Picture Retakes
11/16- PreK Thanksgiving Program
11/16- Thanksgiving Luncheon "Mills-Giving"
11/20-11/24- Thanksgiving Break
Recognize a Deserving Mills Staff Member with a RAVE
October 16 Principal Newsletter
