It's the PALS Press!

Our Secondary PALS Training was amazing. We had a great turn-out with PALS from just about every high school program (we missed you, Ann Richards, Crockett, and LBJ!) and some fantastic student engagement.

Sessions included: Building Brain-Based PAL/PALee Interactions (where PALS learned how to structure their PALee meetings), PALS as Campus Connectors (where PALS considered the roles they can play on their home campuses to improve school climate), We Brake For Responsive Mentoring (where students were encouraged to slow down and consider the impact of their mentoring practices on the individual students they meet with each week), and Tap In: Activating Your Mentoring Superpower (where PALS considered the gifts and assets they bring to their PALees, and how they can use those assets to bring out the best in the students they mentor).

Major thanks for the day go to ACC Highland for hosting us, and to our phenomenal colleagues Teri Wood, Becky Murillo, Coco Johnson, Rhianna Randall Sween, Kat Kelley, Kim Calvo, David Torres, Josh Jeon, Jane Ross, and Monica Flores. This team made the day happen, and their commitment to student learning and character development is unmatched. We are so grateful to you.

The Elementary PALS Picnic will happen in early May--dates to come in the next week. If you know now that your campus cannot help pay for a bus, please reach out ASAP so that we can try to locate funds and start to put together logistics.

Dates to remember:

3/9 - The SAT (times and administrative info may vary from campus to campus)

3/11-3/15 - Spring Break!!!

3/18-3/22 - AISD Pride Week

3/21 - PALS Teacher/Counselor Social Gathering @ El Arroyo, 4:30 pm-6:30 pm

3/29 - No School: Good Friday / Delores Huerta Day

For secondary folks: now is the time to be selecting your PALS. There are different models for doing this. Here are a few examples:

• Open application and student-led screening and selection. Done at Anderson, Crockett, and McCallum. Pros: Student voice is heard, and students often know their peers better than teachers might. Cons: Favoritism can reign. Modifications to keep it feeling fair: Teacher veto power, use a committee of adults on campus to screen the applications before students get to evaluate them.
• Teacher nomination only. Done at Bowie. Pros: Program maintains prestige and students who are selected are going to be student leaders who are conscientious. Cons: getting new teachers on the same page regarding PALS qualifications may be difficult, some students may be overlooked by teachers.
• Students just sign up for the elective. Done at Ann Richards and Northeast. Pros: PALS can be relatively diverse and students bring a desire to mentor. Cons: It's hard for a teacher to plan for a more random assortment of students in their class, and students may not be as responsible as they need to be to be good mentors.

However you do it, there are folks and resources to help you set up your class. Please let us know how we can help you! Just make sure that PALS is on your campus master schedule.

On February 15th, the Menchaca Mustang PALS met with staff from Tree Folks to plant saplings that will become the trees Tree Folks distributes all over Austin. Counselor Marisa O'Connor did an amazing job organizing the trip and marshaling her students. The Tree Folks staff were impressed with the Mustangs' work ethic, kindness, and great behavior on the trip. Thanks for helping create more shade and fresh air for our city, PALS!

You can always look for service opportunities at https://www.givepulse.com/search

Some upcoming opportunities to serve around town are:

Tree Planting with TreeFolks: Join TreeFolks and the City of Austin's Urban Forestry Program to plant trees at various parks and preserves throughout Austin, Texas.

Volunteer at the Food Bank! Our key opportunities include volunteering in our warehouse, lending a hand in the garden or kitchen, or helping at one of our mobile food pantry distribution sites.

Warehouse- You'll inspect, clean, sort, box and make food donations ready for distribution to our Partner Agencies and the families they serve. Youth ages 8+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Kitchen- The Food Bank facility includes a 4,200-square foot commercial production kitchen that supports on-site meal preparation for multiple programs. Youth ages 15+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Garden- The Food Bank’s Garden serves as a replicable model of sustainable growing practices and teaches clients the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Come help empower your community as you assist our gardener by planting seeds and seedlings, pulling weeds, shoveling compost, harvesting produce, and cultivating the garden beds! Youth ages 15+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Mobile Food Pantry- Asking for help can be the hardest thing folks have to do. We rely on volunteers to ensure our mobile food pantries are welcoming, respectful places for clients to get the help they need. Distributions occur at sites across our 21-county service area, including Austin, Lexington, McLennan, Bartlett, Lott, Cedar Park, Mustang Ridge, Fredericksburg, San Saba, Johnson City, Uhland and Kosse. Youth ages 15+ are welcome with adult (21+) supervision.

Education Supplies Prep Come join us at Austin Creative Reuse for a low-key evening volunteering, chatting with friends, and networking! You'll help our Education Coordinator prepare re-use materials for all of our educational programs! You might: bundle materials for the Creative Cache, create educational kits, or process supplies. But one thing is for certain; we're gonna have a fun time! This is an indoor, seated event located at Austin Creative Reuse in Windsor Park (just 10 minutes from campus!).

This project is very well suited for all ages, including children as young as 9 years old! Just make sure that any participants under the age of 15 are accompanied by an adult.

Craft Supply Donation Sorting and Packing Come join us at Austin Creative Reuse for a high energy night volunteering, chatting with friends, and networking! You will help us sort and package craft or office supply donations to be sold at our creative reuse center. This is an indoor, seated/standing event located at Austin Creative Reuse in Windsor Park (just 10 minutes from campus!).

Austin Creative Reuse is a Austin based non-profit that aims to foster conservation, education, and community building through the creative reuse of old items and the reuse of creative items! We take in ~50,000 lbs. of donations every month and we rely on volunteers to help us process all those donations! Most items we resell at our center at very accessible price points, but we also teach people new creative skills in our classroom, donate supplies to schools, and attend community events to teach our youngest generations about creative reuse.

PALS is a cross-age peer mentoring program founded at Crockett High School in Austin, Texas in 1980. PALS support K-12 students at all levels of their education, and are at work at campuses across Austin ISD.

Email: sbowley@youthlaunch.org
Website: austinisd.org/pals
Location: 4000 South Interstate 35 Frontage Road, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 9176931344
Facebook: facebook.com/AISDPALS