Important Upcoming Dates:
| August 20 |
Freshman Parent Orientation 6:30 p.m. |
| August 23
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Freshmen Picnic
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| August 25
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First Day of School
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| August 27
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UFO meeting for booster clubs and other clubs that handle money through LBJ/LASA Activity funds, 4:30 Cafeteria
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| August 29
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PFLASA meeting
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| September 1
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Robotics Benefit
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| September 3
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Back to School Night, 5:30 Pep Rally begins it all
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IN THIS ISSUE
- Note from Mr. Sanchez with list of New Staff Members
- Student ID/Parking Permits
- Schedule Issues
- Freshman Parent Orientation 8/20
- First Day of School info
- Magnet Bus update
- LASA Robotics Team Fund Raiser
- PFLASA NEWS - Freshman Picnic 8/23 – 1st PFLASA meeting 8/29
Hello LASA Families,
We’re one week away from the new school year. So much to do, so little time! First, we have some new members of our faculty and staff and I’d like to mention them now. If you see them, be sure to welcome them in the LASA fold.
Staff Name, Department, (Where they were previously)
| Adrienne Fan, Science (Reagan HS)
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| Alison Earnhart, Science (State College, PA)
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| Celeste Shelton, Math (Liberty Hill HS)
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| Claire Barrett, Science (Boise, ID)
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| David Beckham, Art (LASA HS)
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| Jamie Kocian, College Counselor (TLU, Seguin, TX)
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| Joseph Oleniczak, Science (New York, NY)
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| Lee Willing, Social Studies
(LBJ HS) |
| Lisa Adams, Counselor (Ingleside, TX)
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| Mark Provence, English (Stanford Univ.)
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| Nell Blokkum, Art (TX State)
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| Rick Odum, English (San Marcos, TX)
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| Ruth DeHolton, Math (Ethiopia)
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| Sarah Harrelson, Math (Selden, NY)
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| Sharla Tizapan, English (Dobie MS)
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Freshman Orientation:
Thank you so much for the nearly 200 members of the 9th grade class who attended the freshman orientation on August 12th and 13th. Thank you so much also to the parent and PAL volunteers who checked the students in and assisted with the distribution of materials.
Student ID cards and Parking Permits:
If you were unable to make it to the Take Care of Business Early Days, we will have that information for you during the first week of school. Locker numbers are on the schedule that was mailed home. If there is a problem with your locker, please see Ms. Meyer.
Schedule issues:
Many scheduling issues have already been resolved. If your student has earned credit for a course at ACC, through summer school, or via distance education, please bring proof of credit earned to their counselor so they can change the schedule. Students may only come and see their counselors before school, after school and during lunch. If for some reason a student has a “hole” in their schedule, they need to report to their counselor to fix their schedule during that period. Students MUST NOT REPORT to the class they are ANTICIPATING PLACEMENT into because they will RECEIVE UNEXCUSED ABSENCES in the class in which they are currently enrolled.
Freshman Parent Orientation:
Freshman parents are highly encouraged to come and meet the administration and counselors in the Haynes Theater on Wednesday, beginning at 6:30 pm. There will also be a representative from Capital Metro on hand to answer your questions on the 2008-09 magnet bus routes.
The goal is to inform parents of the systems in place in our school, to put faces to names, and to ease as much of the transitional stress from middle school to high school as possible. We’ll have a short presentation followed by a question and answer session. PFLASA will be on hand to introduce its role in helping LASA students, teachers, and the school.
First day of school:
When students arrive, they need to check the walls (by the bus ramp or at the tops of the stairwells) for their Forum room assignments. As 8:00 nears, the teachers will be by the doors to assist students who do not know where they need to go.
Like every year, there will be a great deal of information that will be sent home with your student. The two most important (three for seniors) will be the SR290 and Free and Reduced Lunch Forms (for seniors, there will also be the transcript request form). The SR290 form is legal-sized and cardstock with a lot of student demographic information as well as a lot of places for signatures or initials. The free and reduced lunch form allows student a free or reduced price lunch as well as admissions applications and SAT/ACT registration fee waivers. Plus, AISD pays a significant portion of your AP exam fees for students on free and reduced lunch. Finally, the transcript request form will get the student’s and parent’s signatures one time so the transcripts can be sent to colleges more quickly.
Magnet buses:
On Friday, there was an article in the Statesman (http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/08/14/0814schoolbus.html) that spoke about a new clarification of a federal policy by the Federal Transit Agency that will require the district and Capital Metro to review the contract much more stringently for the 2009-2010 school year. The clarification of the federal policy is “designed to shield private bus companies from losing business to tax-supported transit agencies.” This clarification will affect not just the magnet buses but also many other shuttles for special events around Austin that Capital Metro currently services.
As of right now, the contract between AISD and Capital Metro is ongoing for the 2008-09 school year. As I get more information, I will be sure to pass it along.
The following is a note from a magnet parent concerning magnet busses.
Kealing and LASA parents, I think this is the time we need to work together with AISD to help better serve the transportation needs of magnet students. We need to understand the constraints the district is under and with some brainstorming, assess possible options to come up with a more palatable solution
Please let me know if you are interested in joining me to discuss possible solutions as a parent group with AISD. Contact Cathy Cocco at 512-838-0659 (t/l 678) or email : ccocco@us.ibm.com
Calculator Discounts:
We do not endorse any specific retailer, but someone sent a link that claimed that Office Depot is offering two $25 mail-in rebates and a coupon (enter code "42206472" in the coupon box at the bottom of the order form online) for $20 off all purchases over $75. When I went to the link I could only find one mail-in rebate for $25 and the $20 coupon code – This means that IF you chose to go to the Office Depot website and select a graphing calculator you can get $45 off the list price.
If students, parents, and teachers tell Office Depot that they are with LASA, the school gets 5% back on qualified purchases (not sure if this is a qualified purchase, but it is worth a shot). LASA's Back-to-School number is 70216539.
For more information go to http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=874733 It appears that these offers are good through 9/13/08, so there should be time if you want to check out what calculators your students will really need.
LASA ROBOTICS TEAM BENEFIT:
Labor Day Holiday LAN Party fundraiser for the LASA Robotics team. All LASA and LBJ students and their friends are welcome to a Labor Day Holiday LAN party hosted by the LASA Robotics team on Monday, September 1st. The LAN is from 1:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Quad 5, Riverbend Church, 4214 N Capitol of Texas Highway. Admission if $10. Reserve a space by sending an email to lan@lasarobotics.org. Participants should bring their own computers and ethernet cables. (No speakers, please.) Come on your own, with a friend, or bring a team to challenge the LASA Robotics team! Snacks and drinks, including pizza in the evening, will be on sale. Proceeds will go to building robots in 2008-09 robotics competitions.
If you have questions, contact, Karen Dvorak, kdvorak2@gmail.com 512-371-0946
Calling all dirty cars! Please share this with your family and friends, and plan to come support the LBJ Class of 2009!
On Saturday, September 6th from 10 am - 4 pm, they will be holding a fundraising carwash at the Wendy's, 3970 Far West Boulevard, just off MoPac.
These have proven to be a fun way to stay cool, build community, and raise money in the past. Some students volunteered to work at LASA Orientation on 8/11, but lots of students and adults are needed to make this a success. To volunteer, please contact Kate & David Friday at kfrida@austin.rr.com.
From Ms. Kocian – Project ADVANCE Facilitator:
The Colleges That Change Lives College Tour is coming to Austin!
The Colleges That Change Lives are a group of 40 schools that are noted for their emphasis on community and strong living and learning
environments that focus on the liberal arts and sciences. Among them are Texas’ own Austin College and Southwestern University.
The CTCL event will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Austin at 208 Barton Springs Road Austin, TX 78704.
The program begins promptly at 7:00 p.m. with a 30-minute information session, and a college fair begins immediately afterwards, lasting approximately 1.5 hours.
The CTCL events are free to the public, and pre-registration is not required.
For more information about the event and to view a list of participating colleges, go to http://www.ctcl.com/events/programs.htm.
We hope that you will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to learn more about these remarkable colleges and universities!
The University of Texas System, The Institute for Public School Initiatives, and Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation is hosting an information session for parents:
Café Con Leche– Parents, Pastries, & the College Process, on August 19th from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. This informal meeting will be held at the Mexican American Cultural Center, Raul Salinas Room located at 600 River St, Austin, TX 78701. Please reserve your spot by calling 512-499-4364.
Rice University invites prospective students and their families to learn about their academic programs, student life, admission and financial aid at an Information Session on Sunday, August 24th at 7:00 p.m. Session will be held at the Renaissance Austin, located at 9721 Arboretum Blvd. Please RSVP: admit.rice.edu/info_session/html
PFLASA NEWS:
FRESHMEN PICNIC!
Incoming Freshmen and Families: Please join us for the LASA Freshman Picnic at Eilers Park and Deep Eddy Pool on Saturday, August 23rd from 12:00 to 2 p.m. LASA will provide pizza, snacks and drinks, but students must pay their own entrance fees for the pool, $2 for 12- to 17-year olds and $3 for 18 and older. We encourage families to stay to meet others in the LASA community. Please make sure your freshman has a ride home at the end of the picnic.
FIRST PFLASA MEETING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!
Please join us, Friday, August 29th at 8:00 a.m. in the LBJ Library Conference Room for the first PFLASA (Parents and Friends of the Liberal Arts & Science Academy) Meeting of the 2008-2009 year. Hear about our goals for the year, get a first-week report from Principal Rene Sanchez, meet the Executive Committee and Committee Chairs, find out continuing and new opportunities to get involved, and more. Mark your calendars...and welcome!
Ann S. Graham and Sharon Dunn, PFLASA Co-Chairs
Get Connected
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact PFLASA co-chairs
Ann Graham at annsgraham[at]gmail.com or Sharon Dunn at sadunn15[at]gmail.com
If you have suggestions for this publication, please contact Karen Foree at editorLOL[at]grandecom.net Please have items in by Thursday afternoon if you want something listed that week.
Resources
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