Roadrunner Rundown | 10/2
Table of Contents
Welcome
Kicking off this Rundown with a shoutout to two of our incredible PTA volunteers - Diana Cruz and Ashley St. Clair!
Diana Cruz was our chair for Loteria Night - she did an amazing job of pulling together volunteers, prizes, and delicious food for this annual tradition. Thanks to all of the volunteers who showed up to make this event a success!
Ashley St. Clair is our Roadies Chair this year - she hosted the first event last weekend. Along with community volunteers - they were able to clear out the pollinator beds. Check out a full recap below - and thanks to all of the volunteers for helping out!
Thanks to everyone who made it out to FinaLEE Friday last week - a special shout out to Lukewarm Poblanos for providing the music and MilkMade for providing the sweet treats - be sure go see them behind Michi Ramen!
October printed calendars should be heading home this week, you can see a full list of October events below. Here's a glance at what's going on next week:
10/5 - 9 Principal Appreciation Week
10/9 No School, Student Holiday
10/12 No School, Caregiver Conferences + Indigenous People's Day
Custodian Appreciation Week
This week we celebrated our amazing Custodial Team - Veronica Ramirez, Enrique Salazar, and David Morales Vasquez - work hard every day to keep our school clean, safe, welcoming, and ready for our students to learn and grow. To show our gratitude, each of our custodians will be getting giftcards to Central Market and Twin Liquors - funded by our PTA through your Roadrunner Rally dollars.
Next week is Principal Appreciation Week - help us say thank you to our amazing principal by sharing a note of gratitude to appreciation@russellleepta.org - our PTA Appreciation chair will compile all of the notes and send them on to Ms. Sileo!
New Merch Through Bonfire
You're now able to order Lee merch on demand through Bonfire! We have new designs - check them out and order yours today!
Pre-Order Your Yearbook Today!
Yearbook orders placed before 10/31 get 10% off! Head over to https://account.treering.com/validate and type in code 1015066231443557 to order today.
ABF Walk & Roll Next Week
Bike to school with us on Wednesday, Oct. 7
Join us on 10/7 at 7:20 am for a Walk & Roll event hosted by Austin Youth Fitness. We'll be meeting at Fresh Plus and Austin Youth Fitness will be leading the Bike Bus to Lee - come one, come all!
Also leading up to Walk & Roll on 10/06, Bicycle House and Austin Youth Fitness will be at Lee from 5pm-6pm to check on bicycles and make sure everything is ready to go for Walk & Roll the next day.
Want to get your kids to get more biking adventures around the neighborhood? The second session of the after school AYF Biking Club is enrolling now - see details below and sign up today.
K-5th | Tuesdays | 3:15 to 4:45pm
Session 2: Oct 20 – Dec 8 (no class 11/3, 11/24)
Cost: $195
Roadrunner Rally - We did it!
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our Lee community, we met — and exceeded — our $50,000 Roadrunner Rally goal, raising $56,705!
That’s more than $6,700 above our goal — an incredible show of support for our students, teachers and school. And beyond the dollars raised, 72% of Lee students were represented by a Roadrunner Rally donation this year!
Thank you to every family who donated, shared the Rally, checked on an employer match, encouraged another family to participate, or otherwise helped us get across the finish line. This was truly a school-wide effort, and every gift played a part.
Roadie Workday Recap
Save the date for our next workday, 10/18
THANK YOU to the parents and students who came and volunteered for our first Roadie Work Day of the school year! We did some great work, and it’s only the start. Keep an eye out for some beautiful pollinator blooms and garden rehab around our school.
Check out the before and afters from a morning of hard work from our amazing volunteers clearing out the garden for more growth.
SAVE THE DATE! October 18 from 8-11 am. We need more volunteers at the next work day! We will have popsicles and lots of projects to tackle - gardening, painting, building - something for everyone! Kids welcome and encouraged!
Please sign up here if you can make it - knowing rough numbers will help us plan
accordingly. Hope to see you on 10/18!
Hopdoddy Receipt Share
Save the date for 10/20
Nando's Fundraiser: Quick (and very exciting!) correction to our Nando’s fundraiser total: we originally shared that Lee families raised $650, but the final total was actually $1,624!
That’s more than double what we first reported. Thank you so much to everyone who came out, ordered dinner, and supported Lee. We’re so grateful to our community—and very happy to be correcting ourselves in this direction!
Save the date for our October receipt share at Hopdoddy in the Triangle - it will be all day from 11 am - 10 pm on 10/20.
Library Lines
by our amazing Librarian, Ms. Jenny Day
This week, with the younger kiddos, we read about how we are all different and how that keeps things interesting.
The older students learned about orienting themselves on a map and in the library with cardinal directions - focusing on "the sun comes up in the East and goes down in the West."
October is upon us and lots is happening in the library. The whole school is invited to participate in our Halloween Costume Exchange. Bring an old costume (or pieces of) and exchange it for something new-to-you. We will begin collecting old costumes next week - Oct. 5 through Oct. 16. Then come to the library afterschool on Oct. 21 to pick out a new costume. The library will be open directly after school until 5:30. We will put leftovers out at the carnival, then donate the rest.
3rd grade will have a Scavenger Hunt with a representative from the Texas Wildlife Assoc. on Oct. 8 in the morning.
We are partnering with BookPeople to bring 2nd grade an Author Visit with Angela DiTerlizza on Oct. 19. Folks are welcome purchase an autographed copy of her new book, A Very Scary Book. You can place an order through Bookpeople here.
And finally we will have our annual Literati Book Fair - October 26 - October 30th. We will have preview day on Monday, Oct. 6 and sales will begin on Tuesday morning at 7am until Friday evening at 8pm. Here is the live link if you want to start purchasing books online:
Advocacy Update
by our PTA Advocacy Chair, Amanda Rohlich
There’s a lot happening in Austin and across Texas that impacts our schools and students. Here are a few upcoming opportunities to stay informed, hear from community leaders, and make your voice heard.
🗳️ Important Election Dates
Last Day to Register to Vote to Participate in Midterms: October 5
Early voting: October 19–30
Election Day: Tuesday, November 3
Vote at any Travis County polling location.
AISD Trustee Election — November 3, 2026
Austin ISD trustees make decisions that affect budgets, boundaries, campuses, and our schools. Learn more about the candidates and upcoming opportunities to hear from them.
Candidate Forums
Sept. 27 | 4–6 p.m. — District 7 & At-Large candidates
Circle C Community Center, 7817 La Crosse Ave.
Hosted by Baldwin, Bear Creek, Clayton, Kiker & Mills PTAs
Oct. 7 | 5:30–7:30 p.m. — Districts 6, 7 & At-Large
Odom Elementary Cafeteria, 1010 Turtle Creek Blvd.
Hosted by Odom Elementary PTA
Oct. 25 | 5–7 p.m. — District 4 & At-Large
Anderson High School Theater, 8403 Mesa Dr.
Hosted by Anderson Vertical Panel
🏫 AISD Board Meeting
September 24 | 6 p.m.
AISD Headquarters, 4000 S. IH-35 Frontage Rd., Austin
Community members can attend, record comments, or sign up to speak.
🚶 Organize with Neighbors to Keep Austin Schools Independent
Keep Austin Schools Independent Block Walk for Public Schools: Chestnut
Come talk to Chestnut and Blackland neighbors about the state takeover and how they can get involved in the organizing effort. No experience needed.
Start: Sunday, October 11, 2026 - 02:00 PM
End: Sunday, October 11, 2026 - 04:00 PM
Location: Chestnut Pocket Park • 2207 E 16th St, Austin, TX 78702
Register here.
📣 Thank You for Speaking Up!
Yearbook Orders - 10% off
Order yours before 10/31 for a discount
Get ahead of your end of year to-do list and order your student's yearbook before 10/31 for a 10% discount! Head over to https://account.treering.com/validate and type in code 1015066231443557 to order today.
Lost and Found
Lost and Found is located inside the school so students can access it easily; parents must check in at the front office. Items may be donated within 2 weeks if Lost and Found is full.
Email lostandfound@russellleepta.org if you have any questions.
Shop + Support Lee All Year Round
Shop with Pride Socks - All Year
Shop this Lee family-owned lifestyle brand that empowers individuals to take pride in who they. Use promo code lee20 for 20% off and Pride Socks will donate 20% of sales back to Lee PTA! Visit https://pridesocks.com/ to shop.
Name Bubbles - All Year
Use this link to order personalized name labels—they're a simple way to keep track of your child's supplies all year long and avoid a trip to lost and found. When you use our purchase link, a portion of every order goes back to support our school!
Minted - All Year
Visit Minted.com and receive 20% off your purchase and Minted will donate 10% of your purchase to the school! Use code: FUNDRAISERUSSELLLEE
This is a great opportunity to get holiday cards and gifts for the upcoming holiday season.
Questions about Shop with Lee events and or interested in partnering with us on Shop with Lee initiatives at your business? Email fundraising@russellleepta.org.
Join the PTA Today!
It's never too late to join the PTA - parents, students, grandparents - anyone can join. Head here and sign up - it only takes a minute and makes a huge impact!
Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors!
Interested in becoming a corporate sponsor? You can get your logo on this weekly rundown, on our printed calendar, and more! Check out our Sponsorship packages and reach out here!
Lee Calendar
10/5-9 Principal Appreciation Week
10/9 No School, Student/Staff Holiday
10/12 No School, Indigenous People's Day + Caregiver Conferences
10/14 2nd Grade Hispanic Heritage Program, 6 pm
10/16 PTA Meeting, 8 am
10/16 Campus Tour, 9 am
10/18 Roadie Workday, 8 - 11 am
10/20 Hopdoddy Receipt Share, 11 am - 10 pm
10/20 CAC Meeting, 3:30 pm
10/26-30 PE Cosmic Week
10/26-30 Library Bookfair
10/30 Principal's Coffee, 8 am
10/30 Fall Carnival, 5 - 7 pm
Download a PDF of this month's Calendar below.
Thanks for reading this week's Roadrunner Rundown! Have something to add?
Share your comments or feature suggestions at communications@russellleepta.org or online here.
Comments