Our annual in-depth meeting on the state of Austin International School

Thursday, January 19, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

4001 Adelphi Lane, Austin, TX 78727

Childcare provided on site

You are invited to our annual State of the School meeting led by Head of School Christophe Bonnet and members of our Board of Directors. It’s a time to reflect on where we’ve been, where we are and what’s in store for the future. Please join us in the main foyer of the new campus for this important meeting. On-site childcare is provided for your convenience.

Saturday, November 12, 2011 | 10 – 11 a.m.

Austin International School Family Volunteering Opportunity

Location: Beverly S. Sheffield Northwest District Park, 7000 Ardath Street

We are partnering with Little Helping Hands to organize a family volunteering event for AIS families. Little Helping Hands is a 501c3 Austin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and organizing volunteer opportunities for young children.

Join us for part of your morning helping to maintain the beauty of Northwest Park, a popular destination spot for many families and children in northwest Austin. You and your child/children will join other AIS families to help clean up and beautify the park. Tasks may include picking-up trash/litter around the grounds and picnic areas, wiping down the playscape, and planting flowers in front of the pool entrance. All supplies/materials provided. This is not only a fun volunteer activity for children of all, but also an opportunity to learn about how keeping our parks clean and beautiful is important for our community and environment.

Registration is limited and required.

Please view the full details and easy sign up on our website.

Another great year for Nicolas Poupon and the CE1 class

Nicolas Poupon is a French author and illustrator who already worked with the previous CE1 class last year on another project involving children’s book Fleur de Géant.

This year, the two CE1 classes are going to create a comic book in the three langages. They have started to read one of Nicolas Poupon’s book called Kirouek, a comic which has just been re-published in a new version. The project is to create the follow up of Kirouek, and they are going to meet Nicolas first on Skype so he can help imagine the story. In the last week of November he will come to their classes and help them to work on the drawings and pages of the book. He will sign his books for the book fair.

You can preorder the book ($20) at the front desk and Nicolas will do a personalized drawing for your child.

Nicolas Poupon is also part of the author panel during our International Book Fair.

(Read about last year’s project with the author.)

Did you know that AIS offers after school activities to our students and students from other schools? Want to learn dancing in Spanish? Painting, drawing and other arts in French? Or creative writing and poetry in English? We offer a wide range of extracurricular activities ranging from languages and sports to science club, yoga and more. Check our website for description, registration forms and pricing.

Registration for AIS students opens tomorrow, November 1, and registration for non-AIS students opens Thursday, December 1. All registration closes on Wednesday, December 21.

Thank you, runners!

On your mark...get set...go!

Saturday’s first-ever Halloween Fund Run had a huge turnout and the fundraising runners impressed us all! Our top runners, Callie and David in CM2, ran 7 miles! Next on the agenda is to turn in the pledges you guys raised for the playground, so let’s get those turned in by next Wednesday, November 9. Make sure to collect your funds so that we can give the smoothie party to the class which raised the most funds! And don’t forget, students get raffle tickets based on the funds they collect – the three raffle prizes are gift certificates to Toys-R-Us! It’s easy to turn in your money, just drop off cash or check (with student’s name and donor information) to the drop box in reception, or fulfill your pledge online! Thank you.

We want to talk with you!

Please plan to attend our first curriculum night of this year this Thursday, November 3, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The evening will start with a half hour presentation by the head of school, followed by presentations and discussions on the school’s curriculum across three topics: math, led by Christophe Bonnet; reading, led by Christine Christy; and language, led by Teresa Gisbert-Pomata. Presentations in the topic area occur concurrently, so you will attend one of your choice. Childcare provided.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the 2011-2012 Annual Fund for AIS! The progress we have been making since beginning the fund drive on September 23 during the Thanks-a-Latte morning has been amazing. The combination of pledges, donations, and matches means we have reached 50 percent of the $50,000 goal.

We are encouraging you to help us reach 50 percent participation and $30,000 by Friday. We have 47 percent now.

Everyone who donates makes an incredible difference in the life of the school. If you have not yet donated or pledged, please do so now. The earlier we receive our support from you as parents and families the sooner we will receive support from outside organizations and corporations who, once they see how committed the AIS community is, will want to join in to make AIS an even more amazing place for our students.

Please show your support today and encourage your friends and family to visit our website or sign up for the weekly newsletter.

Back to School Nights are this week!

PS to GS will be on Wednesday, September 7, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

CP to CM2 will be on Thursday, September 8, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

We will start in the multipurpose room at 6:30 p.m. with a short introduction from Christophe and some information from the pedagogical coordinators. At 6:50 p.m., parents and teachers will proceed to their child’s classroom so that the teachers may present an outline of the curriculum and organization of their class.

We look forward to seeing you there!