News for the Nest
Clayton Family Update for September 9, 2022
Big news - Aaron Reynolds visit at Clayton!
Author Aaron Reynolds visited Clayton yesterday and we had a blast! Mr. Reynolds had children and staff in stiches as he told the story of how his latest book, Creepy Crayon, came to be. Thank you to our amazing librarian, Dana Sposeep, for organizing this special event and seizing an opportunity for our students to learn from a world-renowned author.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sunday, September 11 - Happy Birthday Alex Ashby, counselor, and Jenny Ribera, nurse!
Monday, September 12
Celebrate Freedom Week for grades 3, 4, and 5 begins
3:30 Campus Advisory Council meeting in Library and via Zoom (link to agenda)
PTA Spirit Night at Torchy’s (check PTA website for details)
Wednesday, September 14
PTA Meeting 6:30 PM in cafeteria and on Zoom (check PTA website for details)
Thursday, September 15
Picture Day
Looking ahead - October 7 early release for students at 1:30 PM, October 14 No School
*correction from last week, which had an error*
Link to Austin ISD district calendar
NEW - All Events for Fall 2022
Please check out our events for the current semester (link). This is a list of combined school-led and PTA-led events. All events are subject to change.
RAVE = Recognizing All Valuable Employees
Austin ISD uses the RAVE platform to Recognize All Valuable Employees. To send someone a RAVE, use the link/button at the bottom of this newsletter.
NEW INFORMATION
Monthly Assemblies will begin late September
We are pleased to announce that assemblies are back! Our assemblies will celebrate the whole child by acknowledging birthdays, recognizing students for exhibiting the Clayton Flight Plan (respectful, responsible, motivated, kind, honest), showing leadership, meeting reading goals, and more.
Family members are welcomed to attend the assembly after checking in at the front office.
Where: Clayton cafeteria
Time: 7:45-8:15 AM
When:
- September 30 - Assembly for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades all together
- October 7 - Assembly for PreK, Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade all together
Assemblies will occur monthly. The first Friday of the month will celebrate PreK through 2nd graders. The last Friday of the month will celebrate 3rd through 5th grades.
Our staff is excited to celebrate our amazing students!
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Still Have Volunteer Opportunities - Lunch and P.E.
P.E. Volunteers: Our PE team is doing amazing work and we want to support them. Come assist in the gym and/or outside by playing games with students and cheering them on. Fill out this form if you would like to join our PE team for a few hours a week.
Cafeteria Monitor Volunteers: We need your help! Come hang out with us in the cafeteria- finally meet this "Mr. Chris", the cafeteria manager that all the kids talk about. Fill out this form if you want to join our volunteer team.
ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST COMPLETE A BACKGROUND CHECK HERE: https://austinpartners.org/
How to Report a Student Absence
In the event that your child will be missing school, please follow these steps:
1) Email both your child's teacher and Deanna McDonald, attendance clerk, at deanna.mcdonald@austinisd.org
2) Please include your child's first and last name
3) Please provide the reason for the absence so we can code it correctly in our attendance system.
Trail of Resolution
The Trail of Resolution is a problem-solving path we will use at Clayton Elementary. The purpose of the Trail of Resolution is to address questions and concerns in an effective and efficient manner. If you have a question or concern, first contact the person who is directly involved in the situation. For example, if you have a question or concern about something in the classroom, first contact the teacher to seek clarification. Follow the trail if the concern persists.
Teacher → Assistant principal → Principal
Immunization Requirements - action needed by September 12
The Texas Department of Health has ruled that students must be current with immunizations in order to attend school unless an exemption has been filed with the school in accordance with Texas Education Code.
Our nurse, Jenny Ribera, is in the process of contacting families whose children do not yet have immunization records on file. Each student shall have current immunization records (or a documented exemption) on file at Clayton by Monday, September 12.
Please visit https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/immunizations for more information.
Campus Visitors and Volunteers
School grounds, including playground - Our playground is open for use by the public after 6 PM. Community members are not permitted to use the playground or school grounds from 7 AM - 6 PM. Only the Circle C Child Development Center has permission to use the playground from 3-6 PM. Thank you for your cooperation.
Lunch visitors - Adults will be permitted to come eat lunch with their child starting Monday, August 29. Be sure to bring your driver's license, which you will present upon entry. Please wear your visitor's pass sticker the entire time you are in the building, stay in the cafeteria area, and check out at the front office when lunch is over. More helpful information can be found at our Clayton website under Parents, FAQ's. (link)
Volunteers - We love volunteers at Clayton! Please visit our website (link) for more information if you are interested in volunteering on campus.
COVID Protocols
Your child's safety and well-being are so important to us.
If you’re feeling sick
If you or your child are feeling sick, regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not, please stay home and contact your medical provider and campus as soon as possible.
If you test positive
Those who test positive will need to stay home and report their case by contacting your child's teacher. The teacher will then notify administration, who will send out a notification to families that we have a positive COVID case.
Returning to school
After testing positive, you need to wait five days before returning to school (the day you tested positive is Day 0). Anyone who tested positive will need markedly improved symptoms and to be fever-free for 24 hours before returning.
Students or staff who return to campus on the sixth day after a positive result will be required to mask for five more calendar days.
If you child has COVID and you have questions about when they may return to school, please contact our school nurse, Jenny Ribera, at jenny.ribera@austinisd.org
Please visit https://www.austinisd.org/student-health/covid-19 for more information about AISD COVID protocols.
Arrival and Dismissal times for 2022-23
7:15 - campus opens
7:15-7:35 - breakfast served in cafeteria
7:35 - 1st bell rings
7:40 - SCHOOL STARTS
3:05 - dismissal begins
3:10 official end of the school day
Stay Connected!
Website: Clayton has a beautiful and informative new website: https://clayton.austinschools.org/ Check it out! Thank you to Jenny Daughtry, Clayton Elementary Bookkeeper, for your leadership and design work on our new website! Pro tip: previous News for the Nest newsletters are archived on our website for easy reference.
Twitter: @claytoncardinals
Weekly News for the Nest: weekly newsletter to families from the principal