 | Room Parents! Please email me your name, phone number, email, grade, and teacher to millsroomparents@gmail.com. If you’d like to make a donation to the PTA through our Love Your School program (100% of your money goes back to the school), then please visit our site at https://millspta.weebly.com/love-your-school-donations.html. To join our official Mills Facebook group, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/JoeDanMillsElementary/ and make sure to answer the intake questions. | Thank you to those 400 parents, teachers, and grandparents who have already renewed your membership or joined Mills PTA for the first time. We have over 75% of last year’s number so far and will receive the “Head Start Award” from Texas PTA but we don’t want to stop here. Our goal is to reach 425 members by September 30. All of you are creating a valued partnership between family, educators and children. If you haven’t already joined there is still time to become a member and gain all the rewards from being a part of PTA. You can give as much or as little of your time as you want – there is no obligation. Come join us and show your support for our Mountain Lions! What is included in the $10.00 dues (per member)?
* Your dues also help support PTA-based services such as the Mills Messenger and Website.
* Being a part of PTA also gets you money saving discounts at places like Schlitterbahn, Six Flags, Great Wolf Lodge, Staples and more. Go to https://www.txpta.org/member-perks and http://www.pta.org/benefits for more information. How do I join if I want to pay cash or check (payable to Mills PTA)?
* Use the PTA Envelope that you may have received from your teacher, complete the member information and return form to the office or your child’s teacher with payment.
* Grab a PTA envelope from the office, complete and submit with payment in the envelope. How do I join if I want to use my debit/credit card?
* Use this link to join via our online store We look forward to a great year for the PTA in 2019 – 2020. Contact Jenny Chang with any questions at membership@millspta.org. Alamo Drafthouse Tickets Raffle - Mrs. Beachum drew a winner at the end of the our first PTA General Meeting. The winner will be notified via email provided on the registration. | Would you like to do something special to honor a birthday or special someone and support the Mills Elementary Library at the same time? You can with the Birthday Book Club! To ‘donate’ a book in honor of your child’s birthday or a special someone, make a $15 per book donation to Mills Elementary. Your child or favorite staff member will select a book from a collection of new/uncirculated books we have set aside in the library. This will ensure that the book is appropriate for our collection and is published in library binding. A special bookplate will be made after their book is selected, and placed in the front cover of the book. If permission is granted, a photo of your child will be displayed on the Library's Birthday Book Club Bulletin Board. Your child will be the first person to check out the new book! And it doesn’t have to be on their birthday! To participate in this year's Birthday Book Club, please fill out and return this form to the library. Forms can also be found in the pocket at the bottom of the Birthday Book Club bulletin board.
Thank you for supporting the Mills Elementary Library! Your librarians,
Jan Higgs and Sarah Rasmussen | Embrace the heat! The Dirt Club (aka Campus Landscaping and Beautification) will be meeting up on the following dates. We'll concentrate on some lighter-duty cleanup and maintenance—weeding, trimming, clearing rocks, cleaning up beds, touching up sidewalk paint, etc. No experience necessary, just a willingness to get dirty! Come for part or all of the time window...all help is appreciated. Meet in the parking lot in front of the school. You probably want to bring some water and a favorite pair of work gloves (we should have extra gloves if needed). ▪ September 12, 6:30PM - Sunset
▪ September 21, 8 - 11AM
| ▪ | September 12, 6:30PM - Sunset | | Library Volunteer Orientation Join us in the library on Thursday (Sept. 5th) morning, from 8-9am to learn about volunteer opportunities in the library. The library is in need of your support with such activities as: shelving books, checking out/in books, helping students to find books, and with our Fall/Spring Book Fairs. Volunteering in the library will allow you to learn more about your child’s school experience and give you an opportunity to observe classes in action. If you already know you will be interested in volunteering, please print out the attached form, complete it, and bring it to the orientation (or turn in to the library or your child's teacher). If you have any questions, please feel free to email Jan Higgs at jan.higgs@austinisd.org or Sarah Rasmussen at sarah.rasmussen@austinisd.org, or call 512-841-2462. Please note: All school volunteers are required to complete the APIE background check (https://www.austinpartners.org/). The application will take a few days to process. | Hello Mills Families, Mills PTA is excited to offer the national PTA-sponsored art program Reflections! Does your student love to choreograph their own dance routines?
Does your student create animated or narrative films for fun?
Does your student enjoy writing stories, poems or screen plays?
Does your student write their own music or expresses their thoughts and ideas through the use of sound?
Does your student enjoy photography?
Does your student enjoy creating drawings, paintings, or another form of creating art? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then encourage your student to submit an entry to Reflections! Reflections is a program offering students the opportunity to create works of art for fun and recognition. Reflections offers students a creative outlet in the areas of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. Students of all ages and abilities can experience the benefits of creative expression and help in finding their own voice in telling their unique story. It is another wonderful opportunity to recognize your student’s individual talent outside of the classroom. The 2019-2020 theme is Look Within. Students are asked to create art focused on this theme. Entries are due October 25, 2019 and a Gallery Celebration of all entries will be hosted in the cafeteria November 14, 2019. For more detailed information, visit the Reflections page on the Mills PTA website https://millspta.org/about-pta/reflections/. If you have further questions, contact Kathy Adelson at kathy.adelson@axiaoi.com | The Mills Math Pentathlon application for 2019-2020 is now open! We would like to welcome new and returning Kindergarten-5th grade families to apply for our limited-space club that meets on Wednesdays after school. The application link can be found on our website, which is found at: https://millspta.org/about-mills/clubs-and-activities/math-pentathlon/. We have an online application process that will be open from September 1-13, 2019. This will be our only signup period for the entire school year. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate all students who apply for admission due to meeting space limitations. Math Pentathlon is run by parent volunteers, and parent participation is the only criteria considered for admission. Math Pentathlon is not a skill- or merit-based team. Please see the “priority of applications” section on our website for a description of our process for selecting team members. We are currently looking for two or three parents to fill leadership (coach & coordinator) positions for Division I (Kindergarten and 1st grade students). Coaches should be willing to attend training to master the games and then teach them to groups of up to 20 students at practice. Coordinators manage the volunteer list and check students in/out at practice. These positions will need to be filled in order to offer this one-of-a-kind program to Kindergarten & 1st grade students this school year. Children of parents filling leadership roles receive automatic admission on the team. Please email us at millsmathpentathlon@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering for a leadership role. | It's TACO TUESDAY Y'all!!! Come on out and support your school and PTA by getting some grub at Torchy's off Escarpment from 4pm-8pm. Make sure to either bring a flyer, or tell the cashier that you are with Mills Elementary so that Mills PTA will get a percentage of the proceeds. The money goes back into the school for use where it is needed!! It is a win win for everyone, so make sure to mark it on your calendar!! TACO TUESDAY at TORCHY'S (escarpment location only) 9/17/2019 from 4pm-8pm!!! | We are not going to have an online directory this year. With the popularity of email, text messaging, and social media platforms like Facebook, usage of our online directory had been steadily declining in recent years; in addition, the tool we used (MySchoolAnywhere) was acquired by another company this year, which meant all of our users would need to register for and learn to use a new tool. So, the PTA board decided this is the right time to end our online directory. As alternatives, we would encourage you to use the Facebook group for families and staff (https://www.facebook.com/groups/28601035708/), form or join a group for your student's classroom, and contact your student's teacher and room mom or dad to help coordinate communication among parents. If you have any questions or need tips or ideas on how to connect with other Mills families, please email directory@millspta.org. Thanks! | Be Kind 21 Challenge Mills is participating in the Be Kind 21 Challenge for the first 21 days of September! Encourage your child to participate beginning on Sunday, September 1st, to Saturday, September 21st. You can participate, too. It's important to be kind and to spread kindness. See the 21 daily challenges listed here! | Young Rembrandts Starts Soon - Sign Up Today! Back-to-school is in full swing at Young Rembrandts, as we present drawing lessons that encompass a fascinating world of color, pattern, and design. All-new lessons including a backpack still-life composition, detailed gumball machine, decorative Egyptian headdress and seasonally inspired drawings will strengthen students’ drawing, coloring and classroom learning skills. All this and more await your child in a Young Rembrandts class. Sign up today!
https://www.amilia.com/store/en/yr-westaustin/api/Activity/Detail?activityId=k4JjgVy
For students in 1st-5th grades. | Startup Kids Club - Sign Up Today! Mills has a great opportunity coming after school! Is your child always coming up with ideas? Does your child want to start their own business one day? Then, this may be the perfect after-school activity. Start-Up Kids Club is an innovative, hands-on youth entrepreneurship program. Students K through 5th are inspired to bring their ideas to life with support from local community experts and "grown-up" entrepreneurs. With a two-market approach, students are given the opportunity to adapt, iterate, and pivot based on outcomes from one market to the next. Start-Up Kids Club teachers using both qualitative and quantitative assessment to encourage reflection and perception of both success and failure as valuable information. Start-Up Kids started here at Mills last semester, and they're back again. Check out the link at https://startupkidsclub.com/austin/ to register today. It's not too late! Classes begin next week on Tuesday, September 3rd. | Submit info to the Mills Messenger. Want to see the Mills Calendar on your Google calendar? Add Mills Calendar to my Google Calendar. Have a friend who isn't getting the Messenger but wants to? Send them this link to sign up:
https://madmimi.com/signups/join/7059 | | |
