We had a very engaging parent conversation last night around the topic of kids and technology and how to find balance. Here are links to each of the presentations.
Grace Martino-Brewster, Mathews Principal – Presentation
Lauren Gentry, Ph.D., L.S.S.P., Mathews Parent – Presentation
Mike Brooks, Ph.D., LSSP – Presentation + Resources
Session 1 (June 3-7) and Session 2 (June 10-14)!
Camp session descriptions HERE and registration form HERE. Payment should be submitted via School Cash. Registration is not complete without payment!
If you have questions about School Cash, email dawn.yang@austinisd.org. If you have questions about camps, email suzanne.plyler@austinisd.org.
In our PTA meeting last week, Grace shared a presentation on the state of the district’s budget. One of the biggest ways that Mathews will feel the impact of the budget crunch we’re facing is in our staffing allocation. For the 2019-2020 school year, principals have been told that there will be zero wiggle room when it comes to staffing guidelines. This means that the district is providing staffing allocations for next school year based on a 19:1 student teacher ratio in PreK, a 22:1 student teacher ratio in K-4th grades and a 30:1 student teacher ratio in 5th and 6th grades. As an example, if the district is projecting that we will have 66 students in a K-4th grade level, we will be allocated only three teachers which leaves us no room for additional students who move into the neighborhood or whose transfers have already been approved.
Because of this, it is critically important that every family register online for the next school year and complete the AISD Commitment Form. This FLYER outlines how to do this and you can always contact our amazing registrar, Julie Salazar julie.salazar@austinisd.org, if you have any questions. The district will review the number of students who are actually registered in early spring and make final decisions on the number of teachers we are allocated then. We want to stress again, how important it is to register. Thank you!
Sprinkle Family, Steve & Jakob
Austin Gastroenterology – Pradeep Kumar, MD
The Sam Viersen Family Foundation
McCalla Family
Thomas Family
Jules Familia
Schofman-Wells Family
Bob & Shelly Wynn
Dillon Overton & Atticus Duncan Family
Mini & Raj Patel
Curry-Endresen Family
Dear Wonderful Mathews Community,
Happy Back to School! The staff and I are eagerly awaiting August 20th, when our students fill the hallways and classrooms on the first day of school; we can’t wait to see our returning kids and to warmly greet our new students! At Mathews, we are committed to welcoming all of our students and families into our beautifully diverse community and creating a safe space for each student to learn and grow.
This year, we will frame our work around the ancient art of weaving, which has roots in many cultures. Our goal is to weave together academic learning (including Bridges, our new math program), social emotional learning, Making, design thinking, diversity and creativity into the fabric of our vibrant learning community. All of us who enter the building have unique strengths, skills, interests, and experiences. This is a beautiful thing. When we weave these individual strands together, the result is powerful. Weaving allows us to combine unique pieces together in an intricate pattern while never losing sight of the individual fibers that represent who we are and what our students are learning. I am so looking forward to watching this fabric unfold throughout the year and to seeing how each person contributes to the beauty of a year full of learning and growth.
We will continue to build our community with our 3rd annual school-wide read aloud, assemblies, special academic days like the Most Magnificent Day of STEAM and special events like Octoberama, Fine Arts Night, and International Festival, to name just a few. This year, I am thrilled to announce a new way for us to build connections between grade level classes and across grade level teams. As I met with various students last year to ask them what we could do to make Mathews an even more amazing place to learn, a recurring theme came to light. Our students loved it when we planned ways for them to learn with others across the school. Out of these discussions, our new House System was born! Without giving too much away, (we want our kids to hear about it first) we will have three amazing houses and every student and staff member will be a part of one. I am enthusiastically looking forward to the big reveal when the students return.
Every year, we are joined not just by new families, but by new staff members as well. I love the energy these talented folks bring to the campus. Please help me in cheering on the following staff who are joining our school or moving to a new position: Max Ferguson is our new Assistant Principal and he’s already hit the ground running! Chad Rackowitz and Amy Skoczen have joined our 2nd grade team. Cindy Lopez, an experienced educator, will be taking over 3rd grade math. Melanie Zabludowski made the jump to 4th grade Reading and Health and Kirstie Osten will now be teaching Writing and Social Studies. Faye Holland is our new 5th grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher and Sydney De la Garza is teaching 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. We round things off with Jane Reichle who will be working with us as a teaching assistant. Together with the rest of the staff, we have a strong and dedicated team to serve our students.
New and Important! This year the tardy bell rings at 7:40 am so set your alarms five minutes earlier. Here’s to a fantastic year celebrating the strength and beauty we’ll create when we weave our unique stands together.
All the best,
Grace Martino-Brewster
