Roadrunner Rundown | 10/8
Table of Contents
Welcome
Welcome to this week's Rundown - reminder there is no school for students on Friday, Oct. 9 and Monday, Oct. 12. A huge shoutout to all of the teachers for preparing for Monday's conferences - we appreciate all of the hard work you put in!
If you're a PTA member, please join us for a virtual voting meeting next Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 12 pm. We'll be voting the Austin Council of PTA's Resolution regarding Austin ISD and Texas Education Agency Intervention - you can find the full details on Konstella here.
And join us for our regularly scheduled membership meeting on Friday, Oct. 16! Here's a snapshot of what next week has in store:
10/9 No School, Student/Staff Holiday
10/12 No School, Indigenous People's Day + Caregiver Conferences
10/14 PTA Virtual Voting Meeting, 12 pm
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
Want to stay up to date with everything going on with the PTA? Follow us on Instagram!
Pre-Order Your Yearbook Today!
Get a head start on your end of year to-do list and order your yearbook today! Orders placed before 10/31 get 10% off!
Head over to https://account.treering.com/validate and type in code 1015066231443557.
Hopdoddy Receipt Share
Save the date for Tuesday, Oct. 20
Join us for our next receipt share on Tuesday, Oct. 20 all day at Hopdoddy Triangle from 11 am to 10 pm. Lee PTA will get 25% of proceeds - let's see if we can beat our Nando's receipt share total!
We'll post more details around ordering instructions closer to the date, but for now mark your calendars!
Lee PTA Presents: Dia de Los Muertos Carnival
Friday, Oct. 30, 5-8 pm
Join us Friday, October 30, from 5–8 PM for an evening filled with carnival fun! The carnival is free for families and a wonderful way to celebrate our school community.
We’ll have a costume contest, haunted house, games, inflatables, music, food, Kona Ice, & more.
Costumes are not required, but are definitely encouraged! Dress up for a chance to win a trophy in one of five costume categories: Spookiest, Funniest, Best Group, Most Original, and Most On-Theme (Día de los Muertos).
More details to come - but for now we're looking for volunteers to help bring this carnival to life! We're looking for a few more planning volunteers - email carnival@russellleepta.org if you're interested.
We also added volunteer opportunities to our Roadie Workday next Sunday Oct. 18 - help us prep for the Haunted House by pulling inventory from the Lee Dungeon (spooky). Sign up here!
🎬 Help Pick This Year's Outdoor Movie Night! 🍿
Save the date for our next workday, 10/18
Outdoor Movie Night is one of Lee's favorite family traditions, and our entire Lee community gets to help choose the movie! Cast your vote, have your voice heard, and help us decide what we'll watch under the stars, Friday November 6th!
Families will vote for their favorite from the six films below - voting is open until next Friday, Oct. 16.
Once the votes are in, our Student PTA members will review the results and make the final selection from the top three community favorites.
If your student hasn't joined PTA yet, it's not too late! Sign them up for a PTA membership here.
Movie options:🍿 Zootopia 2 (PG)🤖 The Wild Robot (PG)🐷 Babe (G)🐉 How to Train Your Dragon (PG)💛 Minions & Monsters (PG)🎮 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (PG)
👉 Vote here: https://forms.gle/JV1HzYDMU3e1Gb2L9
Grab your blankets and lawn chairs - we can't wait to see which movie our Roadrunners choose!
Roadie Workday Recap
by our Roadie's Chair, Ashley St. Clair
We started the corner garden revamp at the last Roadies Workday, and it’s finally done! Weeded, cleaned, pruned, planted, and wildflower seeds scattered
Here is the progression. And now we wait to see it in the spring:)
An orange-crowned warbler visiting the garden.
In other news, thanks to awesome volunteers last weekend, we were able to bring HEAVY limestone brick pavers to the campus to help build a future rain garden. With all the help, it didn’t take us long at all.
These are saved from the garden at the demolished AGE building, along with some great outdoor furniture you’ll see placed around campus soon.
A big shoutout to 1st grade mom Nicole Mann for connecting us with the foreman at the demo site and getting that ball rolling!
And to the crew of folks who did the heavy lifting with us - THANK YOU:
Kieron W., Nicole M., Hannes M., Micah M., Kevin G., Mario M., Heather H., Otto H.,
Caroline N., Drew N., Billy N.
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!
Have you ordered your new Lee Mech?
Get merch on demand through Bonfire
Shopping for Lee spirit wear is easier than ever! We've partnered with Bonfire to bring you more styles, colors, and designs than ever before. Best of all, your order is printed on demand and shipped directly to your door - no pickup required!
Whether you're looking for a new tee, cozy sweatshirt, tote, or travel mug, there's something for every Roadrunner fan. Every purchase helps support the Lee PTA while showing off your school spirit.
Shop, wear, and rally with pride!
Library Lines
by our amazing Librarian, Ms. Jenny Day
Our Halloween Costume Exchange is now accepting donations! Bring in old costumes (or pieces of) through next Friday, Oct. 16.
Then join us in the library after school 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.
And don't forget to save the date for our annual Lee Literati Book Fair - October 26 - October 30th. We will have preview day on Monday, Oct. 26 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
❗Important upcoming PTA voting meeting!
When: Wednesday, Oct 14 12:00pm - 12:30pm
Where: Virtual meeting: https://meet.google.com/mav-oxsf-uga?hs=224
What: PTA Members - please join us on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at noon for a virtual voting meeting on Austin Council of PTA's Resolution regarding Austin ISD and Texas Education Agency Intervention.
To vote on this resolution, you must be a Russell Lee PTA member and be present at the meeting with your camera on. You can find the full resolution here.
With this resolution, ACPTA aims to provide some amount of alignment and visibility across our communities (district) into the realities of what TEA has put into place in other districts. And to signal to TEA that we are aware and ready to address what they're running elsewhere as they kick off community input sessions at the start of a potential takeover.
We, as a community, will need to have a special session to discuss whether we support this resolution or would like to provide feedback to ACPTA for potential modifications.
Please, review the resolution for yourselves and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our PTA President Jillian DeLaTorre Copeland at president@russellleepta.org
🤝 Get to Know the AISD Trustee Candidates - Spanish versions now available
ACPTA asked each trustee candidate ten questions about what priorities, policies, and perspectives would guide them if elected to the AISD school board. You can read those here to be prepared as you head to the polls.
🗳️ Important Election Dates
Early voting: October 19–30
Election Day: Tuesday, November 3
Vote at any Travis County polling location.
🚶Organize with Neighbors to Keep Austin Schools Independent - Block Walk This Weekend!
Talk to neighbors about the state takeover and how they can get involved in the organizing effort. No experience necessary!
KASI is a districtwide, nonpartisan coalition of individuals and organizations working together to oppose state takeover of AISD and keep Austin schools independent.
📚 Learn More About Texas Public Education
TEA Takeover 101: What Can We Expect in Austin ISD?
A 25-minute presentation with Dan Dawer, a UT Austin PhD candidate researching the Houston ISD takeover. Watch video here.
In the News
Parents decry Fort Worth ISD takeover. Here are their mounting concerns (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 9)
Exclusive: Spending on state-led Bluebonnet curriculum could top $1B (Houston Chronicle, Sept. 30)
Texas schools reported losing 14,200 immigrant kids last year. The true number is likely higher. (Texas Tribune, Sept. 30)
From kindergarten to disciplinary school: Texas sends kids as young as 6 to harsh alternative campuses (The Hechinger Report, Sept. 29)
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
10/9 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