Mills Elementary School

Last week, our school community had the opportunity to witness the recently implemented road modifications on Davis Lane and nearby streets, which directly affect the arrival and dismissal periods on campus.

The City of Austin's Safe Routes Department has been actively monitoring the traffic and safety impacts. They have been in contact with the school district and the Mills Leadership Team. Please continue to share your feedback and comments by calling 512-974-2300 or emailing mobilitybonds@austintexas.gov.

This week, Safe Routes will be engaging with our campus to gather input on how these changes have impacted arrival and dismissal times. We will keep our school community informed of any adjustments made based on the feedback provided to the city.

Continue to follow these helpful tips:

• Drop off early. School doors open at 7:15am.

• Consider using both car drop off zones during am arrival. They are the bus lane facing Lantana and the front circle drive facing Davis Lane. Drop off before 7:20am to avoid traffic congestion.

• Park your vehicle (away from Davis Lane) and walk your student(s) to school.

• Consider alternative routes away from Davis Lane between 7:20am-7:50am.

Our district values your feedback! The school district will be surveying Austin ISD families in order to gain insight into your perception of our campus and district effectiveness. We want to know what you think.

Austin ISD has partnered with Panorama Education to conduct our 2024 Family Survey. Panorama safeguards your privacy, keeping your responses

confidential. The survey shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete and will be a valuable source of information for us as we work to make our schools and district as

good as they can be.

You may complete the survey online between March 25 and April 12 using a

computer, tablet, or smartphone by visiting the website

surveys.panoramaed.com/austinisd/family

Dear Parents,

The Book Fair is coming soon! We are thrilled to host a "Book Fiesta" themed Book Fair the week of April 1st-5th.

1) In an effort to make this Book Fair as secure and easy as possible for all our students, staff members, and parents, this will be a NO CASH Book Fair. We're asking parents to please set up a Scholastic eWallet account for their children HERE. It's easy to create an eWallet for your student. Simply add funds or invite family and friends to contribute. It provides a safe, cashless way for students to shop for their own books in person and provides a secure contactless check-out. Scholastic recommends using Chrome as your browser and creating the eWallet using a computer instead of your phone.

2) We'll be open Monday (4/1), Tuesday (4/2) and Thursday (4/4), from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Parents may purchase books using credit cards, debit cards, or eWallet accounts. Also, on Wednesday, April 3rd we'll close at 3:00pm, but then re-open from 5:30-7:00pm for our family night event. Kona Ice will be at Mills that evening as well as Rosemary's Baked Treats. It should be a fun night for our Mills community!

3) All students will be coming to the Book Fair with their classes at a scheduled time during the week of April 1st-5th. We ask that if your child plans to purchase books at school, their eWallet account is set up by Monday, April 1st. To make shopping easier for your child, you can determine which items you'd like to purchase ahead of time by browsing the interactive book flyer HERE or watch selected book trailers HERE.

Please let me know if you have any questions. All Book Fair proceeds will benefit the library. Thank you for your help in making this a fun, safe, and successful event!

With gratitude,

Sarah Rasmussen

Mills ES Librarian

Parents/caregivers are invited to campus to view the April 8 Solar Eclipse with their student. Please complete the form below to RSVP for the event. https://forms.gle/znhrHARvrtN49yR88

Due to safety and space considerations, visitors will be limited to 1-2 adults per family.

Please bookmark and carefully review this document so that we can ensure a fun and safe Solar Eclipse Viewing experience at Mills: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qarOOP6h6V89hcgPgw4dN7ea1HBvyUKWNymGzOT77SM/edit?usp=sharing

Effective March 18, 2024, Austin ISD will enact the following updated Covid 19 protocols:

Staff and student COVID-positive cases will be recommended (not required) to observe a 24-hour exclusion from school/district office and return when symptoms and fever have resolved without medication. Masking upon return is recommended but optional. Based on new CDC Respiratory Virus Guidance.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has released their 2024 Notifiable Conditions and COVID-19 remains a reportable disease. AISD will have to continue collecting minimum information on positive staff and student cases.

3/27- 3rd Grade Field Trip (3 Classes)

3/28- 3rd Grade Field Trip 3 Classes)

3/28- 1st Grade Field Trip

3/29- Student/Staff Holiday (Dolores Huerta/Cesar Chavez Day)

3/31- Easter

4/1- Book Fair Week

4/1- Early Learning Day

4/1- April Campus Advisory Council Zoom Meeting 3:30pm

4/4- Big Art Day

4/8- Solar Eclipse Day

4/10- Student Holiday/Staff Professional Development Day

4/10- Eid al-Fitr

4/12- 2nd Grade Field Trip

4/15- STAAR Reading Assessment (3rd-5th)

4/16- 1st Grade Field Trip

4/18- STAAR Science Assessment (5th)

4/22- Earth Day

4/22- Parent Input Google Form for School Year 24-25 shared

4/23- STAAR Math Assessment (3rd-5th)

4/26- PreK Field Trip

4/29- Track & Field Day for Pre-K & Kinder

4/30 1st and 2nd Track & Field

5/1 3rd and 4th Track & Field

5/2 5th Track & Field

5/3 Cinco de Mayo program (8:00 3-5th) (9:00 PK-2nd)

5/8 Career Day

5/10 Kinder Advancement Ceremony

5/10 PreK Splash Day

5/10 1st grade Mother’s Day Celebration

5/16 5th Grade Musical

5/17- Senior Walk

5/20 4th Grade Wax Museum

5/21 5th Grade Field Trip

5/23 5th Grade Advancement Ceremony

5/23 Last Day of School

The Recognizing All Valuable Employees or RAVE Program was created to honor those who take the extra steps to provide equitable and exceptional experiences. If you had an exceptional experience interacting with a Mills employee , please nominate that staff member by completing the form below.

https://www.austinisd.org/hc/aisd-employee-experience/rave