It is hard to believe we are wrapping up September after this week! Our students have been working incredibly hard, and our teachers continue to collaborate closely to ensure that intentional, rigorous, and meaningful learning happens every single day.

Here are a few important updates and reminders as we look ahead:

Attendance & Tardies

Daily attendance is critical to your child's learning and to our school community. The state funds our schools based on average daily attendance, and every dollar counts. Last year alone, Mills lost over $200,000 in attendance funding.

Official attendance is taken daily at 9:45 AM. If you need to schedule appointments during the school day, please try to book it well before or after 9:45 AM so your child is present for attendance.
We know sickness happens! If your child is unwell, please keep them home to rest and recover.
Tardies: The school day begins at 7:40 AM, and classroom instruction starts immediately. The district requires campuses to track student tardies, so please make every effort to have your child on campus on time. We know morning routines can be unpredictable, and we truly appreciate your partnership to make this a priority.

Supporting Learning at Home

Learning doesn't stop at 3:10 PM! Your support at home plays a vital role in building student confidence and sustaining our campus academic excellence. Thank you for continuing to partner with our teachers to reinforce essential skills, including:

Nightly Reading: Building daily reading fluency and comprehension.
Keyboarding Skills: Practicing typing accuracy and speed.
Math Fact Fluency: 1st and 2nd graders can focus on addition and subtraction facts, while 3rd through 5th graders can sharpen addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division concepts. Nothing fancy is needed here- just simple flashcards, and paper/pencil will do the trick!

Want ideas? Reach out to your child's teacher(s)!

Help Us Reach 600 PTA Members!

We are on the brink of setting an all-time school ( and SW Austin) record of 600 PTA members! We just need about 60 more members to hit our target!

Your $13 membership directly supports our campus programs and gives our school a stronger voice for public education advocacy at the state level. Please take a few minutes to join us at www.JoinPTA.org (select Joe Dan Mills Elementary). Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our students!

Sept 28 Custodian Appreciation Week
October Character Strong WOTM: Responsibility
Oct 5 Campus Advisory Council Meeting via Google Meets 3:30pm
Oct 6 Super Fun Book Club for 5th Grade Participating Students, 3:15pm Library
Oct 9 Student / Staff Holiday /[Bad Weather Makeup Day]**
Oct 12 Parent /Teacher Fall Conference Day (No school for students)- Parents/Caregivers look for a sign-up from your child's teacher.
Oct 13 Mills Mindful Tech Committee De-Device Night, Waterloo Escarpment 5pm-7pm All are Welcome
Oct 19 PTA Spirit Night at P. Terry's, 4pm-10pm (Mention Mills Elementary)
Oct 22 Report Card Grades released
Oct 23 October Principal Coffee, 7:50am Library, Managing Student Anxiety, Conflicts & Bullying VIP Guest Presenters: Pam Martin, AISD Executive Director of Elementary Counseling & Mills Counselors
Oct 26-Oct 30 Book Fair Week (Library)!
Oct 26-Oct 30 Transportation Employees Appreciation Week
Nov 3- Student Holiday; Staff Professional Development Day
Nov 3- Election Day: Mills Elementary is a voting site
Nov 7- Mills Fall Festival, 2pm-5pm Location: Campus grounds

Students, especially those in 3rd-5th grades, are working to strengthen their typing/keyboarding skills at school. Touch-typing turns keyboarding into automatic muscle memory so elementary students can focus on what they are writing rather than how to type. Eliminating the constant search for letters protects a child's train of thought and frees up valuable mental energy for vocabulary, spelling, and storytelling, allowing kids to translate their ideas onto the screen as fast as they think them.

If you would like to support our work, we have a great resource! We have worked with Austin ISD to roster all 1st-5th grade Mills students. Words per minute targets were set using the rule of 5

times the grade level (i.e. 2nd = 10 wpm, 3rd = 15 wpm, 4th = 20 wpm, etc).

Website :

https://typingtraining.com/login/

Students who can access:

Grades 1st-5th

Username:

s(then followed by student ID)

Password: type2026 (for all students)

Happy Typing!

🌟 INVEST IN OUR STUDENTS & CAMPUS! 🌟

Where Do Your Enrichment Fees Go?

📚 Classroom & School Resources to keep learning engaging and hands-on

🚌 Field Trips for memorable real-world learning adventures

🎨 Makerspace Teacher supporting the salary of Mrs. Sanchez, and our amazing Makerspace program!

Flexible Payment Options

Pay in Full: Get it done in one quick step!
Split Payments: Divide into two easy payments (Fall & Spring).

How to Pay in 3 Easy Steps:

Go to Mills Online Payment Portal
Select your child's Grade Level Tab.
Select Enrichment Fees, Type in your child's name/select teacher, and check out!